Dominate the Country

On the vast and boundless plains of Bode, a railway stretches across it, extending straight forward from south to north.

There are fertile lands on both sides of the railway. Although the fields are now bare, everyone on the train knows that this endless land will be covered with rolling wheat waves in summer and autumn. The endless wheat fields can dye the earth and the sky golden yellow.

Today's loneliness is just in accordance with the rules of nature. Winter is coming and everything withers.

Occasionally, a carriage will pass by on the dirt road beside the field. Some of them are carrying people, and some are carrying goods. It is precisely because of the existence of these carriages with large cargo capacity that all kinds of goods produced in big cities can appear so quickly in the huge rural market.

Lamp oil, cloth, ironware, non-staple food, etc.

The era of manor economy has become a thing of the past in Europe. In the face of the developed commercial atmosphere and innovative industrial technology, the traditional workshop-style handicraft economy has long been unrecognizable. People are still the same people, but the means of making a living have completely changed.

This railway that runs from north to south in Europe was jointly invested and built by countries along the route and the British. Britain holds 45% of the shares, and it runs through Russia, Prussia, Austria, France, Italy and other places. It was not built along the seaside, but through the center of the European continent.

The construction of this railway once set off a big wave in Europe. Some people supported it, and some opposed it. But in any case, after the merger of Britain and France, this matter was quickly launched and construction began. Up to now, the entire route is far from being connected. Even if most of Europe is a plain area, it is not easy to connect various regions.

That is, the Po Plain, Prussia and Russia have Britain as a backer, and it was built in just two years. Of course, this is also closely related to the simplicity of railway construction in the current era, and Prussia itself has long had the idea of ​​building a railway and has done some work in advance.

With the construction and completion of this railway, more and more rural labor has been released, and the originally quiet countryside around the railway has become more and more noisy. The significance and role of railway construction are obvious. This has greatly encouraged the supporters of railway construction.

With a few long whistles, the tranquility of the station was broken. The farmers and vendors around the station became nervous, because just by the sound of the wheels hitting the rails, they could tell that the train was a passenger train, not a truck with no oil or water to be fished out.

These farmers were farmers from the villages around the station. They brought their bread, eggs, meat, dairy products and other agricultural and animal husbandry products to sell, and some sold them to small vendors at the station, which stimulated economic development and material circulation to a certain extent.

The French-made steam locomotive spewed billowing black smoke and dragged ten carriages. It roared and drove past in the expectant eyes of countless people, and soon left the farmers and vendors who were extremely enthusiastic about it far behind.

This was an executive train, carrying the current French Prime Minister Talleyrand and his party, and it would not stop at a random small station.

According to the Western calendar, it is now 1816. The new year has arrived, and the relationship between France and Russia is rapidly repairing. After all, Napoleon had agreed to the French troops in North America in 1816. Czartoryski successfully completed his task, although the secret agreement between France and Russia was eventually exposed.

This is not to blame France.

From 1814 to 1815, in two years, France and Napoleon had restored their former strength. In addition to the 100,000 French soldiers sent to North America, Napoleon also had more than 200,000 mobile troops, and France also had more than 100,000 local corps. In addition to the troops of Italy and the Lane Alliance, Napoleon had at least 500,000 troops that could be mobilized.

The recovery of France's combat effectiveness not only made Talleyrand's voice louder and louder, but also made Talleyrand's back straighter and straighter.

Of course, the task of supporting the Lighthouse Country has burdened the French. After all, France is not the France of 1812. France certainly has hundreds of thousands of troops, but fighting is not just about soldiers. It is true that a cannon is worth a lot of gold. Financial problems have always been a curse that troubled Napoleon. It's okay if hundreds of thousands of French troops don't move. Once they move, France's financial and military reserves may not be able to support it for a month, unless Napoleon only brings tens of thousands of troops.

But this does not mean that Paris has no money.

Those big bankers in Paris are all powerful. If they can support Napoleon wholeheartedly, Napoleon might have unified Europe long ago. But these big bankers and financiers did not support Napoleon in the past, and they are unlikely to support Napoleon now. It's just that these people also need to rely on Napoleon's government, such as the current loan to Russia.

After Napoleon agreed to Russia's request, the friendship between Russia and France cannot be said to be reunited, but it has recovered rapidly. Now Talleyrand went to St. Petersburg and then to Moscow, which was to strike while the iron was hot. Take the opportunity to finalize the matter of Paris's capital investing in Russian railways.

This is also very normal.

Why was the relationship between France and Russia so good before? Or maybe it was just a few years after the Crimean War ended that Russia and France got involved again?

That was all about money.

Although the relationship between France and Russia is partly due to the situation on the European continent, the other part is France's financial assistance to Russia.

It's just that the current Napoleon government itself is also stretched, so it can only introduce private French capital. Because of the French Revolution, the capital exchanges between France and Russia have been reduced to zero, and the British took the opportunity to enter Russia. Now that the relationship between Russia and France has eased, although the Napoleon government has no extra funds to invest in Russia, the bankers and financiers in Paris have a lot of francs.

And a large number of francs invested in Russia is also Napoleon's proof of himself in another aspect.

With the recovery of France's national strength, a lot of people in France, especially in the French army, have once again developed ambitions. For example, Murat, Napoleon's brother-in-law, the current king of the Kingdom of Naples, is one of the representatives.

Murat is a handsome man with a muscular body, but he has muscles in his head. He doesn't know the difference between the current French army and the original French army, nor the difference between the current Napoleon and the past Napoleon.

Napoleon was very suspicious whether he was being used as a gun.

Ferdinand IV, the king of the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples, has been clamoring to take back Naples these days, which poses a great threat to Murat.

In Warsaw, after Napoleon's expedition to Russia failed, he was eager to return to Paris to stabilize the situation and teach the remaining French army to Murat. And Murat abandoned the army and returned to Naples alone when he heard that the political situation in the Kingdom of Naples was also unstable. This guy's brain is smaller than a chicken's brain.

But whether Murat was instigated or not, in any case, a wave is surging in France now.

Even though everyone with a discerning eye knows that the friendship between China and France cannot surpass the "friendship" between Britain and France, once the wave is instigated, it will not fade away so easily.

And what about Talleyrand?

This prime minister of Napoleon's government can be said to be the leader of the moderate faction. From the marshals and dukes to the beggars and refugees in France, few people do not know his political inclinations.

Napoleon also had a plan for Talleyrand to lead the delegation to Russia this time.

However, although Talleyrand was the Prime Minister of the Napoleonic Empire, he could not completely suppress the entire delegation, because the composition of the delegation was too complicated, including not only radicals and moderates, but also royalists and some liberals.

Moreover, there were many noble ladies on the train. After all, Talleyrand brought his concubine, Mrs. Dorothea Berger-Dino, on the train, so he naturally could not control the others.

After all, taking a train was a rare thing. Only the senior officials of the entire delegation went ashore from Hamburg to take the train. The others still took a ship to Kaliningrad, where they were waiting for Talleyrand and his party.

After the latter entered Warsaw by train, they would change to a carriage to Kaliningrad on the edge of the Baltic Sea. After all, they needed to go to St. Petersburg and then to Moscow.

The railways in Russia are far from being completed. Even if the funds can be in place in time, it will take two or three years to complete the railways from Warsaw to St. Petersburg and to Moscow.

Talleyrand was already a bit fashionable. Although he had cut the ribbon for the operation of the railway before, which was a ritual from the East, Talleyrand had never personally taken a train to experience it. Napoleon had taken a train himself, but Talleyrand did not like this change.

But as a smart man, Talleyrand knew that he could not resist this change.

Now he was accompanied by several people, standing at the last guardrail of the carriage, holding the railing with his hands, facing the cold winter wind and looking at the vast plain.

Poland, not long ago, it was still part of France.

"The land of Poland is really vast and flat!"

Many of the entourage of the Russian delegation had been to Poland, including Talleyrand, but few people really walked around and took a look on the Polish land. Of course, the people on the train now could not be considered to have really walked around and taken a look, but at least they really saw the Polish plain.

In Poland, more than 70% of the land is plains below 200 meters above sea level, that is, the terrain around the Carpathian Mountains and the Sudeten Mountains in the south is higher. But the area occupied by these two mountains is really very small.

Poland's terrain is high in the south and low in the north. There are many moraine lakes in the north, and the lake areas in the northeast near Belarus and Lithuania are densely forested but sparsely populated. Talleyrand also sighed from the bottom of his heart, saying that Poland was really a pity, which resonated with several people around him again.

As mentioned before, the members of the delegation on this train, except for the necessary security, entourage and those noble ladies, the rest are the senior members of the delegation. The entire delegation is complex, and as far as Talleyrand knows, there are many radicals among the people around him.

"Yes, from Berlin to here, it's nothing but plains. What a vast land! These are the foundations of the country!"

"The Poles are really pitiful and incompetent for guarding such a vast and fertile land but not being able to defend it properly. This is an endless plain. After it is fully developed, the annual grain produced is enough to supply half of Europe. Instead of letting the barbaric Russians and rigid Prussians take it, it is better for us, the glorious France, to use these resources."

"Warsaw should not be abandoned. This is the lifeline of the empire, and the empire's hegemony lies on this vast plain! By grasping Warsaw, the empire can easily suppress Prussia and Russia. Austria without foreign aid will soon be in the hands of His Majesty the Emperor..."

"Annex Austria, then annex Prussia, the empire will regain its glory, and the empire will be able to despise the European continent again!"

No matter how arrogant the French are, they dare not say that their legions can easily cross the narrow English Channel, but every French radical firmly believes that Russia cannot stop His Majesty the Emperor's second expedition.

Compared with 1812, today's Russia is a giant as thin as a dead firewood and exhausted. No matter how tall he is, he can't withstand a blow from the French army.

Listening to the "confessions" of the people around him, Talleyrand no longer scolded them for their stupidity, but his heart was a little bitter.

Glory is the most difficult to be forgotten.

This is like the Mongols will always remember Genghis Khan, the Eight Banners Tatars will always remember Wild Boar Skin and Kang Mazi, and the Han people will always remember Emperor Wu of Han, Wei Qing, Huo Qubing, Li Jing, Li Ji, Yue Fei and Yue Wumu.

The French will never forget Napoleon's glory.

Talleyrand didn't even look at those people. People with different ideals cannot work together. He is the leader of the moderate faction. What he hates most in his life is that France will unify the European continent and dominate the world.

Talleyrand took the radical wave started by Murat seriously because he knew Napoleon very well. He was a man who valued family affection. Murat was not only Napoleon's prince and marshal, but also Napoleon's brother-in-law. Even if he had fled back to Naples privately, Napoleon chose to forgive him. Murat had a special place in Napoleon's heart!

And Murat didn't know what was going on at this time, and he colluded with Ney. Although the Duke of Elchingen was not very smart, his influence on Napoleon was not small. Fortunately, Talleyrand stabilized the two clear-headed marshals Lannes and Desaix in time, and did not let the voice of the radicals spread throughout the French army.

But this also made Talleyrand see the danger. In the French army, especially the veterans over the age of 30, many people still remember the previous glory.

Talleyrand felt fortunate that Napoleon had not changed. He knew Napoleon very well. If Napoleon changed his mind, it would not be hidden from Talleyrand.

But even so, this put a lot of pressure on Talleyrand. Talleyrand even felt that Napoleon did not participate too much in this matter, which might be to restrict himself by using the hands of Murat and others. After all, in the past two years, Talleyrand's dominant position in the French government was too dazzling.

Napoleon was not a master who could be fooled casually. Talleyrand had been mentally prepared for this day, so he was not surprised. And he didn't like being a powerful official. Compared with the powerful red prime ministers Richelieu and Mazarin, he wanted to be Pierre Seguier during the Sun King period.

Talleyrand didn't have such a strong desire for power. He was not Fouché!

Now the most important thing for him was to do this job well. Before the news of the abdication of the great emperor in the East was spread to Europe, he had to get everything done and officially start a new chapter of friendship between France and Russia.

...

At this moment in Warsaw, Poland, the destination of Talleyrand's train journey, a man with an oriental face was looking at the map of Warsaw Railway Station in front of him.

Next to him stood a Pole. Why was he called a Pole? It was because this guy was wearing a military uniform and had a White Eagle Medal on his chest, which was specially set up by the Russians for the Poles in the army.

"One hundred thousand pounds. As long as the assassination is completed, this hundred thousand pounds will be yours..."

The oriental man stared at the station. Talleyrand was a big shot, a giant in French politics. Killing him would have a shocking impact on France.

Unlike the British who are looking for opportunities to disgust Chen Han and cause trouble for China, the relevant departments under the European Office are disgusting the Europeans all the time.