I Am the Crown Prince in France

Talleyrand nodded:

"Yes, Your Highness, retaking Silesia is a long-cherished wish shared by everyone from nobles to common people in Austria.

Joseph continued:

"There is also Bavaria. If the Prussians had not interfered with it, Austria might have obtained this land.

“In fact, both Prussia and Austria want to become the true master of the Greater Germany area, so they have always stared at each other.

“If Austria can get our support, and without interference from other factors, they will be very happy to knock Prussia to the ground, even if they use all their national strength.

"Because once successful, the Holy Roman Emperor will be able to truly own the empire."

Speaking of which, the Holy Roman Empire was the real overlord of Europe in the Middle Ages. From the Netherlands to eastern France, from Italy to Hungary, including Switzerland, Germany, Austria and western Poland, they were all the territory of the empire.

However, with the intervention of the Holy See, the empire began to implement the elector system. In the 14th century, Emperor Charles IV promulgated the "Golden Seal Edict", which standardized and solidified this model. The Holy Ra Emperor became the "representative" elected by the electors, resulting in the weakening of real power and the weakening of the empire. The internal independence of states is getting stronger and stronger.

By the 18th century, the empire was divided into two giants, Prussia and Austria, as well as a large number of small states such as Württemberg, Bavaria, Saxony, Hesse, Hanover, etc. The Habsburg family has monopolized the HRE throne more than a hundred years ago, and the current King of Austria serves as the emperor.

At the same time, Prussia also wanted to unify Germany by relying on the linguistic and ethnic similarities between the states in the German region. In fact, more than half a century later, Bismarck has basically realized this long-cherished wish.

But at the moment, Austria, which obviously occupies the title of emperor, has more hope of regaining the glory of the HRE.

The two families were at war with each other over the "legacy" of the empire, and the war continued, but they were generally evenly matched.

Joseph returns to the previous theme:

"But Poland is an unexpected factor. If Russia annexes Poland in a large scale and Poland is obviously unable to resist, Prussia and Austria will have to turn their attention to the east. [Note 1]

"Because the two countries must not sit back and watch Russia monopolize Poland's huge interests [Note 2]. They have only two choices, either to join forces to support Poland in resisting Russia, or to join Russia's partition and tear off their own piece of flesh from Poland .

"No matter what the situation is, Prussia and Austria will have huge common interests and even form an alliance. As a result, Austria's willingness to go to war with Prussia will be greatly reduced. In the worst case, the community of interests they formed will also look for other Start with a target, such as France.

"You know, the British would definitely be happy to see this happen and actively promote it."

Talleyrand couldn't help but look solemn after hearing this. He must admit that His Royal Highness the Dauphin saw very deeply and very far.

Joseph continued:

“So, we must erect a ‘barrier’ between Prussia and Austria and Tsarist Russia, and that is Poland.

"As long as Poland remains standing, Prussia and Austria will definitely turn their attention back to the German region. And competing for the German region will cause them to create irreconcilable conflicts!"

In fact, Joseph has further plans that he has not yet mentioned, which is to help Austria realize his "Holy Roman Dream" and even help him spread the word all over the world that the great Holy Roman Empire is prosperous and powerful and invincible. At the same time, let France continue to profit from the war of Austria's unification of the HRE, and it is best to obtain territory on the west bank of the Rhine River, so that the Rhine River can become a natural barrier for France.

By that time, the most eye-catching behemoth in Europe was the Holy Roman Empire under Austrian rule. The British, with their troublesome nature, would never sit idly by and ignore the European overlords.

After that, France could sit back and watch the fight between the two, and take advantage of the opportunity.

For a powerful country, the best strategic model is to develop silently and let others fight to the death. When other countries are scarred, I will be the uncrowned king without taking action.

Historically, taking the emperor violated this principle. Although he was extremely virtuous and led a large army to conquer almost the entire European continent, he eventually exhausted his national power and was dragged to death by the British and a group of younger brothers.

Joseph was familiar with the subsequent historical trends. If he made similar mistakes again, wouldn't it mean that his brain was caught in the door?

Everyone who plays games knows that the obscene development under the tower is the truth. Looking at the United States in later generations, it watched World War I and World War II with great force. When the great powers had all lost their minds, it came on stage slowly, reaped the benefits without any effort, and eventually became the world's hegemon.

Talleyrand thought:

"Your Highness, then we should reject the Russian Tsar's claim to Poland?"

Joseph immediately shook his head:

"We must try to maintain good relations with Russia so that we can disrupt the British-Russian trade system to the greatest extent. At the same time, Russia's export raw materials are also what we need."

Talleyrand was a little dizzy:

"But you just said..."

Joseph smiled slightly:

"Unless France forms an alliance with Poland, whether or not it supports Russia's claims will not stop them from occupying Poland. We can openly follow Russia's stance, and then privately try to strengthen Poland's resistance, but this requires that we cannot Showing up in person requires a 'white glove'."

"White gloves?"

"Oh, it's a country that helps us deal with Poland. For example, the United States is good, and Osman can also consider it."

Talleyrand nodded secretly after hearing this. The United States and Russia are both exporters of raw materials, and they are far apart. There is nothing to worry about between them. Ottoman is Russia's old enemy and has always cooperated with Poland.

Joseph sighed softly and said:

"Of course, the most important thing is Poland itself. With the current situation in their country, they may not be able to resist Russia for even a month."

He remembered that the second partition of Poland between Russia, Prussia, and Austria should have been five years later. Russia had just reached an armistice with the Ottomans and then turned around and captured Poland.

It is really difficult for Poland to "stand up" in just five years.

After talking about his plans for the European strategy for a while, Talleyrand continued to report on his trip to Russia:

“The Russian Tsar is very active in the Russian-French trade and hopes that we can make better use of the Russian-French Trade Agreement to expand the trade volume between the two sides.

"Oh, by the way, she also expressed great support for your Gemini Trading Company and promised to hand over the fur export monopoly in the Russian Far East to Count Bobulinski as her gift to the company."

Joseph was amused. Ekaterina was indeed an old fox. It was obviously given to her illegitimate son, but she said it was a gift to the Gemini Trading Company. France had to accept her as a favor.

However, the volume of fur exports from the Far East is also very impressive, and the company's annual profits from it are indeed not small.

Talleyrand continued: "Your Highness, there is one more thing. When His Majesty the Russian Tsar summoned me for the last time, she repeatedly showed her appreciation for you and hinted at the possibility of a marriage between the two countries."

Joseph couldn't help rubbing his eyebrows. Being a crown prince was really tiring. Almost the whole of Europe was worrying about his marriage...

It's just that the marriage between France and Russia will involve many issues. He hasn't sorted it out carefully yet, so he won't respond for now. Anyway, I am still young. Even according to the current European tradition, you usually have to be 16 years old before considering marriage. There are still two years to think about it slowly.

He then chatted with Talleyrand for a while, and then asked the latter to rest first.

Talleyrand came out of the living room, recalling what the Crown Prince had just said, but he was shocked. In Paris, this young His Highness had already clearly planned the layout of Europe for the next ten years. How is it done? Perhaps, in a few decades, France will have a great king who will go down in history and lead the country to the pinnacle of incomparable glory!

At 9:50 pm, Joseph once again saw the Spanish Crown Prince and his Crown Princess at the grand banquet hosted by the King.

Joseph turned his head and cast a questioning look at Eman, who hurriedly whispered:

"Your Highness, everything has been arranged. Mr. Fouche has also sent someone to help."

Joseph nodded. Mr. Butler's work was indeed reassuring, so he smiled and walked towards Antonio.

After greeting each other, he sat down on the left side of the Spanish Crown Prince, and the chamberlain also ordered the seats to be rearranged with great discernment.

Joseph still started the topic from the mechanical aspect, and soon talked about the new boring machine:

"You know, the British are very knowledgeable in this area. When their machines are used for boring holes, the error can be less than the thickness of two pieces of paper. His Majesty the King personally made adjustments. Now the boring machine can be said to be the best in Europe. precise."

Antonio's eyes suddenly lit up:

"Oh, dear Joseph, you must show me this incomparable machine."

"Of course you can." Joseph's purpose was to "lead" him away and create "opportunities" for certain people. "After the dinner, I will take you to the Royal Workshop. There are many interesting things there."

"Thank you so much!"

The sound of trombones sounded from the east side of the hall, and the ceremonial officer immediately tapped the ground with his cane. The nobleman in charge of serving food put two large soups and two small soups on the table.

According to palace etiquette, casual conversations were not allowed at this time, and everyone began to lower their heads to eat.

Joseph was thinking about the action plan for the meeting. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Antonio swirling the partridge soup in front of him with great interest. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart. He was really worried about this cousin.

More than an hour later, the banquet ended, and the Spanish Crown Prince couldn't wait to take Joseph on a tour of the royal workshop.

However, the Crown Princess expressed that she was not interested in those things and wanted to attend a gambling party.

Antonio said goodbye to her happily without thinking. This is the current trend among European aristocrats. Both sides play their own roles without interfering with each other.

Crown Princess Louisa took Godoy towards the game hall. Along the way, she saw couples in the corners of various corridors and behind the pillars, which made her feel itchy.

As expected of a French person, they are bold. She blushed and sighed to herself, walking into the game hall.

As soft music lingered, Louisa found a card table to sit down, smelled the high-end incense, and started playing cards.

Somehow, after only playing for half an hour, she felt hot all over. Her mind unconsciously recalled the scenes of Xiangyan she had seen in the corridor just now, and her mouth suddenly became dry.

"The fireplace in this place is burning too brightly!" she muttered in a low voice, dropped her cards and wanted to go out for some air, but she happened to catch a glimpse of her lover when she turned around.

His face turned out to be particularly handsome and charming today.

Louisa came outside the hall, looked at Godoy with charming eyes, and whispered:

"Um, are the arrangements made?"

The latter smiled and nodded:

"Don't worry, I've sent Juan and Negro to follow you all the time. There will be absolutely no mistakes."

Louisa looked happy when she heard this and asked, "Is there a suitable place?"

"There are a lot of them. The French like to go as soon as the mood strikes... ahem, so they have arranged a lot of lounges, and there will be no servants nearby."

Louisa was about to let him lead the way when she suddenly remembered the bedroom arranged for Antonio in the Palace of Versailles. It had wide soft curtains, warm and comfortable rooms, and a proud chuckle suddenly appeared on her lips.

"No, come with me."

In the royal workshop, since Louis XVI was still entertaining, this became Antonio's special place.

It was as if he had entered a museum of treasures, touching and looking at this and that, completely forgetting the things and me.

Not long after, an ordinary-looking servant came in with wine and drinks, and said something quickly to Emang at the door.

The latter took advantage of the Spanish crown prince playing with a rotating clock to report to Joseph in a low voice.

"Oh? Playing so crazy?!" Joseph showed a meaningful smile.

It's no wonder that he took so much trouble to arrange so many "programs" for the Spanish Crown Princess, and she really couldn't hold it anymore.

Yes, the "emotional scenes" Louisa saw today were all arranged by Eman, including the addition of special potions to her incense. With her wild personality, how could she control it?

But Joseph didn't expect that this woman would be so bold as to hang out with Godoy in her and Antonio's room.

Of course, she was also very cautious and sent two people to keep an eye on Antonio. If he showed signs of returning, they would immediately notify her.

But this is Joseph's territory, and their tricks are like playing house in the eyes of the police intelligence agents. Not long after the two people set off, agents were already following them.

[Note 1] At the end of the 18th century, the location of the major countries in the northern part of the European continent: the westernmost side, the Netherlands, and Belgium (Southern Netherlands). To the east of the two countries were Hanover and Prussia. To the southwest of Prussia are a large number of HRE states. To the south of Prussia was Austria. Prussia and Austria are bounded by Poland to the east and Russia to the east.

[Note 2] At this time, the area of ​​Poland was about the same as that of Austria, and far exceeded that of Prussia. It was definitely a "big fat" that could not be ignored.