Chapter 193 Europa Universalis 2

Talleyrand nodded:

"Yes, Your Highness, taking back Silesia is the common wish of Austrians from nobles to civilians.

Joseph continued:

"And Bavaria, if the Prussians hadn't interfered, Austria might have already obtained this land.

"In fact, both Prussia and Austria want to become the real master of the Greater Germany region, so they have been staring at each other.

"If Austria can get our support, without other factors interfering, they will be very happy to knock Prussia to the ground, even if they have to sacrifice all their national strength.

"Because once it succeeds, the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire will be able to truly own this 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 are all the territories of the empire.

However, under the intervention of the Holy See, the empire began to implement the electoral system. In the 14th century, Emperor Charles IV issued the Golden Bull, which standardized and solidified this model. The Holy Roman Emperor became the "representative" elected by the electors, resulting in weaker and weaker real power, while the independence of the states within the empire became stronger and stronger.

In 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 Holy Roman throne for more than a hundred years, that is, the current Austrian king serves as the emperor.

At the same time, Prussia relied on the similarity of language and ethnicity between the states in the German region and itself, and also wanted to unify Germany. In fact, more than half a century later, Bismarck basically realized this long-cherished wish.

However, at present, Austria, which obviously holds the title of emperor, has more hope of reproducing the glory of the Holy Roman Empire.

The two families are on the verge of war for the "legacy" of the empire, but they are roughly evenly matched.

Joseph returned to the previous topic again:

"Poland is an unexpected factor. If Russia annexed Poland on a large scale and Poland was obviously unable to resist, Prussia and Austria would have to turn their attention to the east. [Note 1]

"Because the two countries could not sit idly by and watch Russia take away such a huge benefit of Poland [Note 2]. They only had two choices, either to support Poland in resisting Russia together, or to join Russia's partition operation and tear off their own piece of meat from Poland.

"In either case, Prussia and Austria would have huge common interests and even form an alliance. As a result, Austria's willingness to go to war with Prussia was greatly reduced. In the worst case, the community of interests they formed would also look for other targets, such as France.

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

Talleyrand couldn't help but become solemn when he heard this. He had to admit that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had a very deep and far-sighted vision.

Joseph continued:

"So, we must erect a 'barrier' between Prussia, Austria and Tsarist Russia, and that is Poland.

"As long as Poland stands firm, Prussia and Austria will definitely turn their attention back to the German region. Fighting for the German region will cause them to have irreconcilable conflicts!"

In fact, Joseph has a further plan that he has not mentioned, which is to help Austria realize his "Holy Roman Dream" and even help him spread the great Holy Roman Empire's prosperity and strength all over the world. At the same time, let France continue to profit from Austria's war to unify the Holy Roman Empire, and it would be best to obtain the 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 giant in Europe will be the Holy Roman Empire under Austria's rule. And with the British's trouble-making nature, they will never sit idly by and watch the hegemon of the European continent.

Afterwards, whether to let Britain create an "anti-Roman alliance" to besiege the Holy Roman Empire, or to gather the already crippled Prussia and incite the annexed German states to rebel, France can sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight and take advantage of the opportunity.

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

In history, Napoleon violated this principle. Although he was extremely martial and led his army to trample almost the entire European continent, he eventually exhausted the country's strength and was dragged to death by the British and a group of minions.

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

Everyone who plays games knows that the truth is to develop under the tower. Look at the United States in later generations. It watched World War I and World War II with a strong spectatorship. When the powers were beaten to a pulp, it slowly left the field, reaped the benefits without much effort, and finally became the world hegemon.

Talleyrand pondered:

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

Joseph immediately shook his head:

"We should try our best to maintain good relations with Russia, so as to maximize the disintegration of the British-Russian trade system. 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 it supports Russia's claims or not, it will not be able to stop them from encroaching on Poland. We can openly follow Russia's statement and then try to strengthen Poland's resistance in private, but this requires us not to come forward in person, but to have a 'white glove'."

"White gloves?"

"Oh, it's a country that helps us take care of Poland's affairs, such as the United States, and the Ottoman Empire can also be considered."

Talleyrand nodded secretly when he heard this. The United States and Russia are both raw material exporters, and they are very far apart, so there is nothing to worry about between them. The Ottoman Empire is Russia's old enemy and has always cooperated with Poland.

Joseph sighed lightly and said:

"Of course, the most important thing is Poland itself. With the current situation in their country, I'm afraid they can't even resist Russia for a month."

He remembered that the second partition of Poland by Russia, Prussia and Austria should be 5 years later. Russia had just ceased war with the Ottoman Empire and turned around to capture Poland.

It is really difficult to make Poland "stand up" in just 5 years.

After talking about the strategic plan for the European continent, Talleyrand continued to report on his trip to Russia:

"The Russian Tsar is very positive about 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 give the Russian Far East fur export monopoly to Count Poplinsky as a gift to the company."

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

However, the export volume of fur in the Far East is also very amazing, and the company's annual profit from it is indeed not small.

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

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

It was just that the marriage between France and Russia would involve many problems. He hadn't sorted it out carefully yet, so he wouldn't respond for the time being. Anyway, he was still young. Even according to the current European tradition, people usually had to be 16 years old to consider marriage. There were still two years to think about it slowly.

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

Talleyrand came out of the reception room, recalling what the crown prince had just said, but he was shocked in his heart. This young prince in Paris had actually planned the pattern of Europe for more than ten years in the future. How did he do it? Perhaps, in a few decades, France will have a great king who will go down in history and lead the country to an incomparable peak of glory!

At 9:50 p.m., Joseph saw the Spanish crown prince and his crown princess again at the grand banquet hosted by the king.

Joseph turned his head to cast an inquiring look at Emman, who hurriedly whispered:

"Your Highness, everything is arranged. Mr. Fouché also sent someone to help. "

Joseph nodded. The housekeeper 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 chief chamberlain also ordered people to rearrange the seats with great tact.

Joseph continued to talk about machinery and soon talked about the new boring machine:

"You know, the British are very good at this. If their machines are used to bore holes, the error can be less than the thickness of two sheets of paper. His Majesty the King has made adjustments himself, and now the boring machine can be said to be the most precise in Europe. "

Antonio's eyes lit up immediately:

"Oh, dear Joseph, you must let me see this unparalleled machine."

"Of course," 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, where there are many interesting things. "

"Thank you so much! "

The sound of a trombone rang out from the east side of the hall, and the etiquette officer knocked on the ground with his cane. The nobleman in charge of serving the dishes placed two large soups and two small soups on the table.

According to court etiquette, they could not talk casually at this time, and everyone began to lower their heads to eat.

Joseph was thinking about the action plan later. He saw Antonio beside him spinning the partridge soup in front of him with great interest. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that he was really worried about this cousin.

More than an hour later, the banquet ended, and the Crown Prince of Spain couldn't wait to pull Joseph to start the tour of the royal workshop.

But the Crown Princess said that she was not interested in those things and wanted to attend the gambling party.

Antonio didn't think about it and I happily said goodbye to her. This is the current trend of European aristocrats. Both parties play their own games and do not interfere with each other.

Crown Princess Louisa took Godoy to 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 the French, they are bold. She blushed and sighed, and walked into the game hall.

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

Somehow, she felt hot all over after playing for only half an hour. She unconsciously remembered the scenes of incense she saw in the corridor just now, and suddenly her mouth was dry.

"The fireplace in this place is too hot!" She muttered quietly, threw down the cards and wanted to go out for some fresh air, but when she turned around, she happened to catch a glimpse of her lover.

His face was particularly handsome and charming today.

Luisa came to the outside of the hall, looked at Godoy with seductive eyes, and whispered:

"Um, have you arranged it?"

The latter smiled and nodded:

"Don't worry, I sent Juan and Negro to follow you all the time, absolutely foolproof."

Luisa was delighted when she heard this, and asked again: "Is there a suitable place?"

"There are many. The French like to get up immediately when they are in the mood... cough, so many lounges are arranged, and there will be no servants nearby."

Luisa was about to let him lead the way, but suddenly remembered the bedroom arranged for Antonio in the Palace of Versailles, which was soft and wide, warm and comfortable, and a smug smile suddenly appeared on the corner of her mouth.

"No need, follow me."

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

He was like entering a treasure house, touching and looking at things, completely oblivious to everything.

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

The latter took advantage of the Spanish Crown Prince fiddling with a rotating clock to whisper to Joseph.

"Oh? So crazy?!" Joseph smiled meaningfully.

It was worth his trouble to arrange so many "programs" for the Spanish Crown Princess. She really couldn't hold back.

Yes, the "emotional dramas" that Luisa saw today were arranged by Emmanuel, including her incense, which was also added with special drugs. With her bohemian character, how could she control herself?

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 any signs of returning, they would immediately notify her.

But this was Joseph's territory, and their tricks were just like playing house in the eyes of the police intelligence agents. Not long after the two men set out, agents were already following them.

[Note 1] At the end of the 18th century, the location distribution of the main countries in the north of the European continent: the westernmost side, the Netherlands, Belgium (Southern Netherlands). To the east of the two countries were Hanover and Prussia. To the southwest of Prussia were a large number of Holy Roman States. To the south of Prussia was Austria. To the east of Prussia and Austria was Poland, and to the east was Russia.

[Note 2] At this time, Poland's area was comparable to that of Austria, far exceeding that of Prussia, and it was definitely a "big fat piece of meat" that could not be ignored.