CHAPTER 579: CHAPTER 570: THE CONTRADICTORY FRANZ JOSEPH

After a brief exchange on the platform, Jerome Bonaparte asked Franz Joseph whether he preferred to ride a horse or take a carriage.

Faced with Jerome Bonaparte’s "provocation," Franz Joseph decisively chose to ride a horse.

"And you, Princess Elizabeth?" Jerome Bonaparte turned to ask Princess Sisi.

"Then I will ride..." Before Elizabeth could finish, Franz Joseph glanced at her with his slightly melancholic eyes, reminding her of what her mother had told him before he left Vienna. Elizabeth immediately changed her mind and said, "I’ll take the carriage instead!"

The small interaction between Elizabeth and Franz Joseph did not escape Jerome Bonaparte’s notice. Looking at this couple, already showing signs of discord before marriage, Jerome Bonaparte inwardly felt pity for Elizabeth’s future plight.

Alas! Poor Elizabeth, she probably doesn’t yet realize what kind of situation she will face in the future!

Although he pitied them, Jerome Bonaparte could never tell them that their future marriage wouldn’t be happy, and to dissolve it as soon as possible.

If he dared to say such things, the relationship between the French Empire and the Austrian Empire would likely face troubles.

Besides, that was their personal affair and none of his business!

...

After inquiring about Franz Joseph and Elizabeth’s choice of transportation, Jerome Bonaparte introduced the people following him to Franz Joseph, including Nie’er and Vayan.

Franz Joseph nodded and then verbally encouraged the generals present.

Praised them as the best military commanders in all of France.

"You overpraise us!" Jerome Bonaparte humbly responded to Franz Joseph on behalf of Generals Nie’er and Vayan, and then said to Franz Joseph, "Time is running late! We should depart now!"

"Very well! Let’s depart!" Franz Joseph nodded in response to Jerome Bonaparte.

The two monarchs walked side by side and soon reached the carriage.

"Princess Elizabeth, please get in first!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Elizabeth.

After responding, Elizabeth sat in the gilded open-top four-wheeled carriage.

Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph mounted their horses simultaneously, followed by Franz Joseph’s entourage.

Except for those who absolutely could not ride horses (like Prince Metternich), the rest mounted the specially prepared horses.

After everyone was mounted, Jerome Bonaparte announced, "Depart! Paris City Hall!"

Riding beside Jerome Bonaparte, Franz Joseph showed a hint of panic upon hearing "Paris City Hall" mentioned.

He didn’t understand why Jerome Bonaparte wanted to take him to Paris City Hall.

Logically, they should be heading straight to Tuileries Palace.

The Austrian delegation, lagging one or two positions behind Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph, also showed surprise upon hearing "Paris City Hall."

Therefore, Foreign Minister Bao’er cautiously approached Richard Metternich on horseback, quietly asking him what was going on!

Richard Metternich also lowered his voice to tell Bao’er that he didn’t know what was happening either!

Perhaps this was an impromptu act added by the Emperor of France.

However, at this point, they could only follow Jerome Bonaparte to Paris City Hall first and see.

After Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph left Paris Railway Station, the soldiers stationed there began to systematically withdraw.

...

The procession starting from the temporary Paris Railway Station (located in the Tenth District of Seine Province, which is still undeveloped) headed south and soon arrived at Rivoli Street.

Then they set off westward along Rivoli Street, with the Paris City Hall just a short distance away.

As Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph gradually approached the Paris City Hall Square, more and more residents gathered along the road, looking curiously at Franz Joseph riding on horseback.

This is the "first" great monarch to visit Paris since the empire was established! (In fact, some minor princes had already arrived, but they were relatively low-key.)

Moreover, the last visit of a Habsburg Emperor to France was one and a half centuries ago, meaning that only a handful of Parisians knew him. To the vast majority of the Parisians, Franz Joseph was an extremely mysterious monarch.

Therefore, many people were curious about Franz Joseph. They looked around eagerly, unwilling to miss a single detail, as if watching a grand theater performance.

Despite all the attention, Franz Joseph’s face remained expressionless and melancholy, as if countless worries surrounded him, overshadowing the sunshine in his heart.

In contrast, Jerome Bonaparte, who rode alongside Franz Joseph, exhibited the opposite demeanor. He was high-spirited and flamboyant, as if everything was under his control. The Napoleon Hat atop his head was frequently taken off and waved in the air by him.

Each wave inevitably elicited cheers from the Parisians lining the streets.

Under the watchful eyes of the Parisians, Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph arrived at the square of the Paris City Hall, stopping in front of the city hall government officials led by Ossman.

"Your Majesty Jerome Bonaparte, Your Majesty Franz Joseph! On behalf of all my colleagues at the Paris City Hall, I welcome Your Majesties!" declared Ossman, the governor of Seine Province, in a powerful voice to the two monarchs on horseback.

"Salute!" The officers in the square quickly shouted, and the soldiers responsible for maintaining order in the square almost simultaneously raised bayonets in salute to the two monarchs on horseback, the bayonets reflecting a dazzling cold light in the sunlight.

His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte solemnly waved to Ossman and the surrounding soldiers, a sense of pride unconsciously revealing itself between his brows! Alongside him, Franz Joseph also showed a smile, although his smile appeared very forced.

This smile was like an expression he was compelled to show, but his reluctance was understandable.

Franz Joseph himself was not a monarch who enjoyed closing the distance with people like Jerome Bonaparte. Raised in the strictly hierarchical Habsburg Court, he was instilled with the concept of a bloodline system from a young age.

Therefore, he believed there should be a fence forged by nobility between the monarch and his subjects, serving as protection for the monarch himself.

Additionally, the massive revolution a few years ago made Franz Joseph see the "mob" more clearly, making him more reliant on the noble class.

Honestly, if the Austrian Empire under Franz Joseph’s leadership had any alternatives, he would not have agreed to his ministers’ persuasion to come to Paris and curry favor with the Bonaparte Clan (Franz Joseph believed that his posture was already very humble).

It was the same back then (referring to the Holy Roman Emperor Franz marrying his daughter to Emperor Napoleon), and it remains so now. Even with the most revered bloodline in the world, one cannot avoid making some sacrifices and compromises for realistic benefits, and such unavoidable sacrifices always generate a sense of resentment in the heart of the sacrificer.

Even if Franz Joseph internally resented Jerome Bonaparte and the empire he established, he still had to bow to Jerome Bonaparte and agree to his arrangements.

The fact is that the Habsburgs’ strength no longer aligns with their status, and "neighbors" to the north, west, and east constantly cast hostile glances toward them.

If the Austrian Empire does not choose a powerful nation as a reliance, those three countries may well tear the Austrian Empire to pieces.

Excluding the incompatible Kingdom of Prussia to the north (Franz Joseph and others believe that compromising with the Kingdom of Prussia would gradually exclude them from the German sphere of influence), there were only east and west options available.

Compared to the poor and greedy Russian Empire, the French Empire appeared more "attractive," at least at this stage. The French Empire had not, like the Russian Empire in the past, demanded everything from the Austrian Empire. To win them over, the French Empire even backed their occupation of the Danube Duchy.

Unlike the Russian Empire, which only extended a helping hand during the Austrian Empire’s crisis but expected the Austrian Empire to follow them into a pit of fire.

In a sense, they would rather bow to France, which lacks their esteemed bloodline, than kneel to the barbaric and insatiably greedy Russian Empire.

The former only desires the Austrian Empire as a junior partner, while the latter wants them as a son.

Given the choice between being a son or a junior partner, any rational person would know what choice to make.

As for the idea that the Habsburgs could rely solely on self-efforts without others!

Don’t make jokes. If the Habsburgs could rise through self-efforts, they wouldn’t be here.

Internal contradictions within the empire and the external diplomatic environment have completely cut off the Habsburgs’ bridge to self-effort.

Under the watchful eyes of the Parisians in the square, Jerome Bonaparte and Franz Joseph dismounted, and Countess Elizabeth inside the carriage also lifted the curtain, revealing her exquisite features, which garnered favor among the Parisians present.