CHAPTER 513: CHAPTER 506 VIENNA CONGRESS (1)

"Your Majesty, this is the French Empire’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. De Luyis!"

Count Bao’er walked between Franz Joseph and De Luyis to introduce each of them. He introduced Franz Joseph and Princess Helen to De Luyis: "Mr. Luyis, standing before you is His Majesty Joseph Franz, Emperor of the Austrian Empire, and his fiancée... (Count Bao’er suddenly noticed the displeasure on Franz Joseph’s face and quickly corrected himself) companion, Princess Helen!"

Standing next to Joseph Franz, Princess Helen’s eyes dimmed for a moment when she heard Count Bao’er call her "companion" instead of "fiancée."

The Emperor ultimately did not like her, even with the support of Empress Dowager Sophie, she could not compete with her own sister.

Thinking of this, Princess Helen’s mood became slightly melancholic, yet Franz Joseph, standing beside her, was completely unaware as he had his full attention focused on Minister De Luyis.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness the Princess!" De Luyis bowed to the two most respected figures of the Austrian Empire standing before him.

"Mr. De Luyis!" Franz Joseph nodded slightly, speaking to De Luyis with a tone tinged with arrogance.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" De Luyis responded humbly to Franz Joseph.

"Mr. Luyis, I wonder if you have come to the Austrian Empire bearing flowers or long guns and cannons!" Franz Joseph spoke in the calmest tone words that caused everyone present to change their expressions.

Indeed, as soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s faces in the hall showed different expressions: surprise (De Luyis), panic (Prince Metternich), terror (Count Bao’er), and delight (Count Orlov).

Although De Luyis did not understand why Franz Joseph would speak such explosive words on such an occasion, he, as a diplomat, chose to express his stance in a vague manner.

"Your Majesty, I have naturally come with flowers and blessings! In this sacred palace, I absolutely cannot carry guns or cannons!" De Luyis straightened his posture and responded to Franz Joseph calmly and composedly: "I can swear here that I will devote my life to safeguarding the friendship between France and Austria!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions on Count Bao’er and Prince Metternich’s faces gradually became calm, while Count Orlov, hidden in the crowd, frowned in thought.

As the instigator of all this, Franz Joseph’s gaze also softened under De Luyis’ firm and composed gaze.

"Mr. De Luyis, thank you for your support of the Austrian Empire!" Franz Joseph softly replied to De Luyis: "I believe... hmm! The friendship between our two nations will last until the end of the world! May God bless it!"

Franz Joseph’s weak response left De Luyis feeling somewhat unfulfilled.

If his monarch, Jerome Bonaparte, had answered this question, he would have received an immensely confident declaration.

De Luyis believed that even when faced with great difficulties, Jerome Bonaparte would tackle them with a confident attitude.

This natural leader (or perhaps performer) personality was deeply loved by the Parisians.

And in the stagnant waters of the Austrian court, one could never hope to cultivate such a person.

"I also firmly believe that the friendship between our two nations will not change with time!" De Luyis said resolutely.

After a simple meeting between the two parties, De Luyis returned to the crowd, and Franz Joseph continued to stand in the midst of the crowd, enjoying the attention.

Nevertheless, Franz Joseph himself seemed not too fond of this feeling.

Upon entering the crowd, De Luyis soon encountered the Austrian envoy to France, and after exchanging information with each other, they parted ways.

After that, De Luyis met with the British Minister of Foreign Affairs, Earl of Clarion.

"How long have you been here?"

"Only a day earlier than you!"

...

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, they moved on to the main topic.

Count Clarendon learned from De Ruyis that the negotiating representative sent by the Russian Empire this time was Count Orlov.

Upon hearing this news, De Ruyis showed a surprised expression on his face: "Why would Nicholas I send a policeman to participate in this negotiation? Could it be that the Russian Empire’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs couldn’t find a qualified representative?"

Count Clarendon shrugged and whispered with a half-smile: "Perhaps Tsar Nicholas really cannot find a suitable candidate now! And I heard that the Russian Empire’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nesselrode, has now been excluded from the power structure by Nicholas I!"

"Such speculation seems reasonable!" De Ruyis nodded and answered Count Clarendon.

Then, De Ruyis displayed a mocking expression and said, "However, letting a policeman handle major diplomatic affairs, Tsar Nicholas I’s governmental institutions are indeed quite arbitrary!"

"Who wouldn’t say so!" Count Clarendon also sighed with a similar sentiment.

After Count Clarendon and De Ruyis finished exchanging information, they parted ways.

After parting, De Ruyis once again went to other areas to talk with diplomatic envoys from other countries in hopes of finding some useful information.

However, much to De Ruyis’s disappointment, he did not manage to gather any useful information after going back and forth several times.

With the arrival of all guests, the banquet formally began.

De Ruyis and Lord Clarendon were arranged in the first and second positions on Franz Joseph’s right-hand side, while Count Orlov was positioned in the third spot on Franz Joseph’s left-hand side (the first and second being occupied by Count Baur and Minister of Internal Affairs Bach).

This arrangement caused the guests at the banquet to let their imaginations run wild, and Count Orlov remained silent throughout the banquet with a sullen expression.

After the banquet ended, De Ruyis was specially invited by Count Baur to his castle on the outskirts of Vienna for discussions.

The two sides once again reached an agreement on the issue of the Two Danube Principalities, with the French Empire not opposing the Austrian Empire maintaining its interests in the Danube Duchy.

In return, the Austrian Empire was required to stand by the French Empire’s side in its war with the Russian Empire, urging the Russian Empire to withdraw from the Danube Duchy as soon as possible, and the Austrian Empire was also expected to declare war on the Russian Empire without delay.

Regarding the agreement that the Austrian Empire needed to fulfill, Count Baur maintained an ambiguous attitude on the point of "declaring war on the Russian Empire."

However, Count Baur promised that if the Russian Empire’s army refused to leave the Danube Duchy within the specified time, the Austrian Empire would certainly declare war on it.

In this regard, De Ruyis reluctantly accepted Count Baur’s statement.

Because in his opinion, the Russian Empire was unlikely to give up easily, and the Austrian Empire would sooner or later be drawn into the war. (In fact, De Ruyis was wrong; the Russian Empire did not declare war on the Austrian Empire.)

After the negotiations between De Ruyis and Count Baur ended, De Ruyis was informed that the four-way talks (England, France, Russia, and Austria) would be held at Mei Quan Palace on April 6th, and hoped that De Ruyis would not forget to attend.

De Ruyis assured Count Baur that he would definitely arrive on time to participate.

Time flew by, and soon it was April 6th.

De Ruyis, Count Clarendon, Count Orlov, and Count Baur gathered in a room at Mei Quan Palace for discussions.

Compared to the star-studded Vienna Congress, the current four-way talks seemed particularly impoverished.

The opening of the four-way talks was a speech by the host, Count Baur, who still used clichés such as "maintaining European peace" and "harmonizing the monarchy" as the opening of the talks.

After Count Baur’s introductory remarks, Count Clarendon immediately launched into aggression, accusing the Russian Imperial Government of disrupting peace in Europe, especially in the Near East, in recent times. Count Clarendon proposed that the Russian Empire should withdraw from the Two Danube Principalities under the supervision of England, France, and Austria and promise not to infringe on the interests of the Ottoman Empire under any pretext in the future; only then would Britain agree to conclude peace with the Russian Empire. Besides, the Russian Empire had already been driven back by the Anglo-French Alliance. If the Russian Empire continued to be stubborn, it wouldn’t be long before England and France struck into the Russian Empire’s territory, igniting the flames of war right on its home soil.

No sooner had Count Clarendon spoken than Count Orlov immediately argued that the Russian Empire’s attack on the Ottoman Empire was entirely out of Tsar Nicholas I’s sympathy for the oppressed Slavs within the Ottoman Empire (as Orlov said this, Count Baur’s face showed a slight hint of hostility), the Russian Empire would never abandon their South Slav brothers; likewise, Orlov hoped that the French Empire and the Kingdom of Britain could join the Russian Empire in the fight to safeguard the religious order.

Additionally, regarding Clarendon’s claim of the Russian Empire being driven back, Count Orlov resolutely denied it. He told Count Clarendon that the Russian Empire’s withdrawal was mainly because they had already completed the first phase of their mission and were now moving on to the second phase.

"I would like to ask, what exactly is the Russian Empire’s first phase of the mission? Is retreating your phase mission?" De Ruyis immediately mocked.