Chapter 192: Europa Universalis (Asking for Monthly Votes)

In the middle of the ring, Sorel touched her opponent with her sword. Then, she stepped back three steps, turned sideways, and put her left hand behind her back, making a standard starting gesture.

The audience in the audience immediately whispered:

"Wow! This lady seems to really know how to use a sword."

"Don't you know? She is the sister of Viscount Fritz, and she is a student of Marquis Villafuerte. She is very good at swordsmanship."

"Marquis Villafuerte? The famous Spanish swordsman?"

"Yes, that's him."

"Aha, it looks like there will be a good show today!"

The referee's bell rang. Sorel's eyes suddenly became sharp. She saw the swift sword in her hand first swung to the opponent's left chest, and her feet were extremely flexible. Almost at the same time, she had turned to the right at an angle, and the tip of the sword pressed down, directly hitting the young man's abdomen.

The tall noble boy was not a commoner. Although he was robbed of the opportunity, his defensive posture was not messed up at all, and he used the sword to push to the side.

Before the two swords collided, Sorel had already retracted his sword and stepped back half a step. He looked up and saw the gap in the opponent's upper body, and stabbed him in the face again.

The young man felt that he could not avoid it, so he had to swing his sword horizontally to force Sorel back.

The latter, like a butterfly flying among flowers, lightly shrank back and dodged the sword light, and stabbed the opponent's thigh again.

Next, the young man's two awkward blocks and counterattacks were easily avoided by Sorel, and he stabbed at a tricky angle.

The audience applauded.

However, after only five or six rounds of fighting, Sorel felt that his left heel was against something.

She immediately realized that it was the edge of the ring, and her heart tightened. It turned out that she was used to relying on speed to jump and dodge, and then wait for an opportunity to counterattack, but she ignored the size of the ring.

The opponent took advantage of her distraction and swung his sword without hesitation - there were hundreds of nobles around, and even the crown prince was watching the game. He would not have any idea of ​​giving way to a lady. He also wanted to show his sword skills in front of His Majesty the King the day after tomorrow.

Sorel was blocked by the wooden fence beside the ring and could not dodge, so she had to raise her sword to block.

She heard a "clang" sound, and her wrist suddenly felt numb. Strength is definitely not her strong point.

The opponent seized the opportunity and chopped from another direction. She had no choice but to block again.

The difference in strength between the two sides was too great, and this time her sword was even knocked to one side. The young man on the opposite side immediately raised his wrist, and the tip of the sword wrapped in the wooden sheath was against her abdomen.

Lost...

I came here to win the championship, but I didn't expect to lose in the first game!

Sorel felt a blank in her mind, and she walked off the ring in a daze until the referee came to urge her.

She remembered that she had proudly asked the prince to bet on her to win the championship, and that she would be guaranteed to get the prize money. She was so ashamed that she wanted to dig a hole to bury herself.

The five fingers that the prince had raised when he placed the bet just now flashed before her eyes, and she couldn't help but tremble in her heart. With the pomp of the royal family, he must have bet at least 500 livres!

Even 5,000 livres...

Yes! It must be 5,000 livres!

It's over, it's all over. Sorel almost cried. The prince helped her get the opportunity to play, but she caused him to lose so much money. What should she do? Will the prince hate her? Yes! He will definitely hate her!

She heard the laughter of the audience. Indeed, this was not a mockery. Most people thought this episode was quite interesting.

When Sorel heard the laughter, he lowered his head and chest like a kitten caught stealing food, silently saying "No one can see me, no one can see me, no one can see me!", and ran past the audience and into the crowd.

No! No!

She kept shaking her head as she walked. That was 5,000 livres! She couldn't pretend that nothing happened!

Right! She made up her mind that although she couldn't take out so much money now, she would return it all to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sooner or later!

In the stands, Clementine waved the candy heartlessly, looking quite regretful:

"Cousin, I was going to give the lady candy after she won, but I didn't expect her to leave so quickly.

"Well, but fortunately, you only bought her 10 livres."

Joseph smiled and said, "This may not be the environment she is good at."

"Then where is she good at sword fighting? "Clementine asked, looking up.

Joseph smiled but said nothing, thinking that he could go to the Royal Palace, where hundreds of soldiers could not stop him.

When the fencing match was over in the afternoon, Joseph, the Crown Prince of Spain and the little girl came down from the stands, talking and laughing. Emmanuel immediately walked quickly to Joseph's side and whispered:

"Your Highness, Archbishop Talleyrand is back and is waiting for you in the reception room. "

Joseph nodded slightly. He knew that Talleyrand would have a lot to report after his trip around America and Europe.

So, he said goodbye to Antonio, handed Clementine to her maid, and went to his own bedroom.

On the way, he remembered Antonio's eco-friendly hat, which had to be arranged in advance.

He pondered for a moment, turned around and gave instructions to Emman. The latter immediately took the order and left.

Joseph returned to his reception room. Talleyrand hurriedly came up and bowed seriously:

"May God bless you, Your Highness, I always miss you after leaving Paris. Look, I just got off the carriage and came to you immediately. "

His words seemed to be polite, but in fact they were a show of loyalty to Joseph. After I returned to the Palace of Versailles, I did not go to see the Chief Minister, nor did I report to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but first came to see Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

"Oh, I miss you too, Archbishop Talleyrand. Please take a seat." Joseph smiled and gestured to the sofa, "You have traveled more than 7,000 nautical miles since you left Paris this time?"

Talleyrand nodded and said, "More than 7,800 nautical miles, Your Highness, crossing the Atlantic twice."

"Thank you for your hard work." Joseph said, motioning the maid to bring coffee and snacks to Talleyrand, "In fact, you could have come back with the Crown Prince Paul's motorcade."

Talleyrand nodded to thank the maid, then looked at Joseph and smiled:

"Your Highness, I came back by boat, leaving several days later than the Russian Crown Prince, you see, I arrived first. And I think it's better to report some things to you in advance."

Joseph leaned forward: "Please go ahead."

"Things in the United States are exactly as you expected. Their 'Federalists' are very supportive of buying warships and jointly fighting pirates." Talleyrand said, "If it weren't for the lack of money, Mr. Hamilton would even want to buy a small fleet."

Joseph said: "We just want to sell some old ships, not to expand the US Navy."

Talleyrand nodded immediately: "Yes, Your Highness, I also feel that they have an unusual interest in the Caribbean."

"Your insight is very strong." Joseph knew that after the Americans had some money, they immediately set about forming a large fleet and had a fierce battle with France in the Caribbean.

The final result was that France lost a lot of benefits in the Caribbean. Coupled with the fate of Haiti, France's income in the American colonies was almost zero.

"For the Americans, we must not only use them, but also try our best to restrict them. In particular, we must guard against their westward expansion. They are as greedy as the devil for the land in North America." Joseph said seriously.

Talleyrand said indifferently: "Your Highness, Americans are stingy and lack courage. I think they are not brave enough to challenge the interests of Spain."

It is Spain that currently controls the western territories of the United States.

Joseph was too lazy to explain to him that in history, it took the United States only more than ten years to nibble away at Louisiana.

Talleyrand continued: "As for trade, Hamilton privately assured me that at the same price, we will get their cotton first than the British."

"Very good." Joseph nodded with satisfaction. North America is now the world's largest cotton exporter. With the supply of American cotton, France has more confidence in competing with the British textile industry.

The affairs of the United States are relatively simple. Talleyrand finished talking quickly, and then it was Russia's diplomatic experience.

"Your Highness, after I arrived in St. Petersburg, I soon met their Tsar. In the next ten days, she summoned me twice, which shows that she attaches great importance to the relationship between Russia and France."

Joseph was not surprised by this. Russia and France have many common interests and broad prospects for cooperation. As one of the most powerful monarchs in Russian history, Catherine II would naturally understand.

Talleyrand said: "The Russian Tsar expressed his gratitude for the guns and uniforms you sent her. Especially those uniforms, which have almost become exclusive to officers."

At present, Russia's manufacturing technology level is at the bottom of Europe. Although it can also make flintlock rifles, the quality is still much worse than the top French products in Europe.

Even the old guns that Talleyrand brought back from the United States are also popular among Russian soldiers. Catherine directly distributed the 15,000 Charlevilles to the troops at the forefront of the Russo-Turkish War.

As for the uniforms, they were specially customized in Lyon by Joseph in order to better open up the Russian clothing market, a total of 1,800 sets.

Anyway, there is no unified standard for military uniforms in this era, and Russia is even more chaotic, as long as the colors are roughly the same.

Therefore, the styles of these uniforms designed by French designers look much more "trendy" than the existing uniforms of the Russian army, and they were immediately snatched by Russian officers as soon as they arrived there.

Although these uniforms were not cheap, costing more than 60 livres per set, Joseph still made a very good deal - France only provided some guns and uniforms, and could reap the political benefits of supporting the Russo-Turkish War. You know, those Russian soldiers with French guns and French uniforms won the battle, and their military merits should be attributed to France.

Austria actually sent tens of thousands of people to fight in the Ottoman Empire, and Russia's gratitude to them was not necessarily much greater than that to France.

In addition, as long as these uniforms given to Russia were sought after by Russian officers, there would definitely be a large number of nobles who wanted to buy them later.

In fact, two batches of the same uniforms were shipped to Russia, and each piece was sold for more than 100 livres.

Talleyrand smiled as he spoke:

"The Russian Tsar expressed her support and gratitude for our actions to contain the Ottoman Navy in North Africa, and even hoped that we could extend our attack range to the Alexandria Bay area."

Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly when he heard this. The Alexandria Bay was near Egypt, and Catherine meant that Russia recognized that North Africa from Algiers to Egypt was France's sphere of influence!

This means that among all the major European powers, only Britain has not yet recognized France's claim to North Africa. Of course, Prussia probably doesn't recognize it either, but with Prussia's pitiful navy, they don't need to care about their attitude towards North Africa.

Talleyrand continued: "At the same time, the Russian Tsar also hopes that we can support some of their demands on Poland.

"Although Russia is currently tied up in the Ottoman battlefield, she seems to be hinting that when the war on the southern front is over, they will expand again in the direction of Poland. "

Joseph couldn't help but sigh. No wonder Catherine II was so generous in supporting France to gain North Africa. It turned out that there were more conditions behind it.

It is almost common knowledge that Tsarist Russia coveted Poland. In history, Catherine II did indeed entangle Prussia and Austria three times and divided up poor Poland.

However, Tsarist Russia also shouldered the heavy burden of destroying the European order because of the division of Poland, and naturally hoped that more major powers would stand up for them.

Especially now that Austria's attitude towards the division of Poland is still very negative, France needs to express its position even more.

Talleyrand said: "Your Highness, perhaps we can use Poland to get more benefits from Russia."

Joseph shook his head: "Although Poland does not have too many benefits for us, we should try our best to ensure that it is not eaten by Tsarist Russia, at least not too easily."

Talleyrand was stunned and asked in confusion: "Why is this?"

"Because Prussia and Austria must not get too close. "

"This... I still don't quite understand, Your Highness. ”

Talleyrand was a diplomatic minister selected by Joseph, so it would be better to explain some political arrangements to him in advance.

So, Joseph patiently explained:

"France's most direct opponent on the European continent is Prussia. This is not only because Prussia has always coveted the Rhine River Basin, but also because it is Britain's spokesperson on the European continent. Consuming Prussia is equivalent to consuming Britain. ”

Talleyrand nodded thoughtfully. Britain is France's eternal enemy and the biggest obstacle for France to become the hegemon of Europe. The two countries have been fighting on and off for hundreds of years. Strategically, it is "absolutely correct" for France to contain Britain. Of course, the same is true in reverse. At present, Britain is also trying its best to contain France.

However, he still doesn't quite understand what this has to do with Poland.

Joseph continued:

"To deal with the British-Prussian alliance, we must try our best to bring Austria together. Fortunately, Prussia and Austria also have many conflicts, such as Silesia. "

Silesia is a fertile land in the northwest of Austria. More than 50 years ago, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI died, and his daughter Maria Theresa, the mother-in-law of Louis XVI and the grandmother of Joseph, inherited the throne. At that time, Prussia provoked the Silesian War on the pretext that women had no inheritance rights.

Austria could not defeat Prussia and was under pressure from Britain, so it eventually ceded the Silesia region to Prussia.

Since then, Silesia has become a thorn in the hearts of Austrians.