Flowers, Swords and France

"Do you have any plans for Mr. Bismarck?" Richard asked immediately after hearing Charles' reply.

From his standpoint, he was indeed worried that the French and Prussia would come up with some tacit understanding in private, so he wanted to try his best to test and get some information from Charles.

But Charles did not let Richard get what he wanted. He just smiled and avoided the question. "Mr. Bismarck just wants to gain some fame for himself because his career is not going well. We can't react too much, otherwise we will help him."

"That's right." After thinking for a moment, Richard nodded, then sneered, "Then let him continue to play the role of European mediator..."

Now Bismarck, just like in the past, is full of ambitions, thinking about planning the future of Europe and making himself the leader of Europe, but now as a representative of the Frankfurt Imperial Conference, he does not have such energy and can only do some trivial work that he doesn't like.

Of course, he was not content with this status. He wanted to let the king and Prince William see his value and let the entire European diplomatic community see his energy. Now the cloudy air over Europe gave him more opportunities. So he was not doing his job in Frankfurt and had been in close contact with the Russian envoy in Frankfurt. This was not because he loved Russia more, but to let Tsar Nicholas I and his own king see his value.

Yes, just like in that world, Bismarck wanted to play the role of a person who communicated between Eastern and Western Europe, a common friend between the British and the Russians. He played it well in that world, and he was also trying it comfortably in this world.

If everything went well, Bismarck would win the favor of Russia and add a heavy weight to his diplomatic path, but even so, his current status was still not high, and he could not interfere with the policies of Prussia, let alone Britain, France and Russia.

Charles implicitly reminded Richard of this point - given the Prussians' sentiment towards the Austrians, if he deliberately targeted Bismarck, it would give him an opportunity to gain fame. The King of Prussia would specifically praise Bismarck for opposing Austrian interference, giving him the fame he would not otherwise have.

After Charles's reminder, Richard knew that he could not do this, so he immediately changed his mind and encouraged Charles instead. "Charles, I must say that his idea is very dangerous, because Prussia cannot stand idly by in the process of Europe uniting to deal with Russia. This will give others a very wrong signal and make the Russians feel lucky..."

"Although the Prussians are martial, they are rational after all." Charles shook his head, "If necessary, the French and British will remind Prussia in time that they are a European country after all. We don't expect them to fight with Russia, but they must remain quiet at that time, especially not violate the principle of neutrality to help their neighbors in the East. I believe that if we calmly present facts and reason, the Prussians will be able to act rationally."

"That's great, it should have been like this a long time ago!" Richard was overjoyed when he heard this answer. "At that time, we will also remind them with you that they have to face reality!"

The Austrians have long been unable to resist the Prussians' ambitions and are determined to suppress these people from all aspects. If they can use the British and French forces to suppress the arrogance of the Prussians, Austria will certainly be overjoyed.

More importantly, through such a statement, Richard finally convinced that Treville clearly leaned towards Austria between Prussia and Austria, and was willing to show this with actions.

"I am really sorry to bother you for so long today." With a happy mood, Richard finally said goodbye to Charles at this time, "On behalf of our Majesty, I am very grateful for all the statements you made to us today, and I am grateful for your efforts in the reconciliation between France and Austria..."

"I hope you can make the same efforts to me and don't make it difficult for me!" Charles replied with a smile.

"Absolutely, believe me." Richard stretched out his hand again.

The two shook hands again.

"By the way, there is one more thing I want to tell you..." Just when Richard decided to leave, Charles suddenly whispered.

"What?" Richard asked curiously.

"Our Queen, she has a good impression of Austria. She has the same expectations as me, hoping that France and Austria can work together to move towards the future..." Charles said calmly, "Compared to me, she is more suitable as a bridge of communication and friendship between the two countries."

Richard did not answer, although he did agree in his heart.

Because Her Majesty the Queen grew up in the Austrian Empire and her family had received many years of favor from the Habsburg royal family, it was normal for her to have a good impression of Austria, and the Austrian Empire's top leaders had placed high hopes on her.

However, due to historical factors (Napoleon I's Queen Louisa was an Austrian princess and eventually betrayed the emperor), the Austrians did not dare to approach Her Majesty the Queen so quickly, and there were too few people in the Bonaparte family's court who could act as a matchmaker for the Austrians, so the Austrians had no way to approach Her Majesty the Queen and use her for their own benefit for the time being.

When Charles said this, of course, hope arose in his heart, expecting this minister to make the connection so that the Austrians could influence Her Majesty the Queen of the Empire.

However, what Charles said next surprised him.

"But, friend, although Her Majesty the Queen is determined to bring the two countries closer to friendship, she is now alone and can provide too little substantial help..."

What does this mean? Richard was confused.

"We very much hope that Her Majesty the Queen can enjoy her due status in the court. She also has all the excellent qualities that are enough to honor France." Under doubt, he could only give such a vague answer, "Our country has taken care of Your Majesty. For twenty years, she has been deeply loved by our court, and if there is anything we can do to help her, we will do it."

"Actually, you don't need to do much. The less foreign forces are involved in palace affairs, the better, because the Emperor still remembers his uncle's lessons. In fact, I personally suggest that you should not frequently talk to the Queen or the princess and the Married women are courteous so as not to cause some unhappiness. Necessary dissatisfaction." Charles's answer made Richard even more confused, "But Her Majesty the Queen also has many troubles and needs people's help. The most worrying thing is that she has not completed her obligations to the empire and served the empire. Bring a child worthy enough to inherit it..."

"Huh?" Richard looked at Charles suspiciously.

Can't we help with this? I can only ask your emperor to work harder at night... he thought with a hint of joking.

"To tell you the truth, Her Majesty's affairs are supposed to be the internal affairs of the Bonaparte family, but the Bonaparte family does not seem to be anxious about this matter - as far as I know, some people even secretly "Happy, because if there is no heir, they will have hope for the throne of the empire." Ciel remained calm, as if he didn't know what dangerous topic he was talking about, "Therefore, as a loyal minister of the empire, I must work on this issue." Let’s think about it for Your Majesty…”

"Then what are you going to do?" Richard asked curiously, "Of course I will tell you that we are willing to help Her Majesty the Queen, as long as we can do this."

"It's useless for us to work hard to give birth to a child." Charles smiled bitterly, "But I think we can improve Her Majesty the Queen's status and then strengthen her status in the court, and there are not many people in the world. The title is higher than that of the Habsburg Emperor, isn't it?"

"Thank you for saying that..." Richard was also very happy when he heard the other party compliment his emperor so much.

"Furthermore, if the Emperor and the Empress are in a good mood, it will be easier for them to bring an heir." Charles' tone was very strange, but it seemed to mean something, "So, under this environment, , I very much hope that your kind emperor can help the empire and our queen. "

"For example...?" Richard asked again.

“Her Majesty the Queen’s 20th birthday will be in two or three months. This is an unusual anniversary. I can boldly invite your Majesty the Emperor and the future Queen to come to France at this time on behalf of France to pay tribute to you. Is it okay for our Majesty the Queen to celebrate her birthday?" Charles stared at Richard closely and asked word by word, "Congratulating a married Austrian darling on his birthday will definitely not damage the reputation of His Majesty the Emperor. Bar?"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

During the Second French Empire, the Queen of England visited Paris, but the Habsburg Emperor did not (and after Marie-Antoinette married Louis XVI, her brother, Emperor Joseph II, did , and suggested that Mary should not squander her life, be a virtuous queen, and maintain friendly relations with France and Austria). Of course, there was a reason why Habsburg looked down on the upstart emperor.

But if there was Her Majesty Queen Caroline, who was born in the old royal family of Holstein-Gothep, in the French court, the situation would be different.

At least the Habsburg emperor had an excuse to get rid of worries about status and family status and personally close relations with France - if he really wanted to reconcile with France.

So, in a sense, this became a test for the French - if His Majesty the Emperor of Austria is unwilling to attend the 20th birthday celebration of His Majesty the Queen of France, it would become a litmus test for Austria's attitude towards France.

At least Ciel had given Richard this impression.

He has made it very clear that the person who can best bring France and Austria closer is Her Majesty the Queen. Her Majesty the Queen is now alone and needs support from the outside world, and no one's support is more useful than the support of the Austrian Emperor. , more pleasing to the Bonaparte family.

If you don't come, it will not only be a loss of face for Charles, but also a loss of face for the Queen.

This kind of request that was both soft and yet very sincere suddenly made the unprepared Richard at a loss.

But he knew that this was actually a request that was difficult to refuse.

And he didn't want to say no.

If it can really work and allow His Majesty the Emperor to bring Princess Sissi to meet with the French Emperor and Queen, it will be such a diplomatic success that it will be enough to make him famous and enough to carry out his pro-French line.

A descendant of Prince Metternich can try.

"Okay, Charles." After a moment, Richard von Metternich's words were very obscure, but undoubtedly he had clearly expressed his attitude towards the matter. "We are diplomats, we can do elegant things, but diplomacy is not only elegant. Some unpleasant things still have to be done by someone, and they must be done with a more cautious attitude..."

"Very good, Richard." Charles laughed, and then he patted the other's shoulder to encourage him, "Then let's work together, goodbye, my friend!"

He was not just considering that little bit.

If the Austrian emperor really came, then when France submitted the ultimatum to Russia, the Austrian emperor happened to be in Paris, then... no matter how the Austrians explained to the Russians, they would definitely make a big mistake in the eyes of the Russians.

It couldn't be better.