CHAPTER 600: CHAPTER 591: THE CUNNING AND CRAFTY METTERNICH

"Is there any love greater than a mother’s love in this world!"

Minister De Luy’s words were like a key that opened the door to Mira Envoy’s thoughts.

Indeed! There is no love greater than a mother’s love in this world!

The simplest way to please Her Majesty the Empress is to win favor with her unborn child, merely by having His Holiness the Pope bless the unborn child, thus aligning Empress Augusta with the Church.

Then influence the Emperor through Empress Augusta, thereby thwarting Cavour’s schemes.

"Minister De Luy, on behalf of the Pope State, I thank you for your assistance! May God always look favorably upon you!" Mira Envoy expressed gratitude to Minister De Luy.

"Your Excellency, it is my duty!" Minister De Luy responded to Mira Envoy with a slight smile.

Subsequently, Minister De Luy left the Paris Church, and Mira Envoy also departed.

...

That evening, a grand ball was held at the Louvre.

In addition to the Victoria couple, Jerome Bonaparte, Franz Joseph and his fiancée, the German Prince, envoys from various countries, generals of the Empire, and members of the Austrian Empire delegation and the British Kingdom Mission attended the ball.

In short, the ballroom was a "small" place filled with the most powerful forces from Central Europe to Western Europe.

"On behalf of the French Empire, I welcome the visit of Queen Victoria and her husband... Although England and France have undergone countries’ hardships and misunderstandings, and even faced military confrontations, those are matters of the past. Now, England and France stand in the same trench, fighting to free Europe from the shadow of the Russian Empire, fighting for the freedom of people on this land to breathe... I sincerely hope that more countries will join our ranks, fighting alongside us against the Russian Empire for civilization and the future!" Jerome Bonaparte addressed the guests in the ballroom with passionate words.

As Jerome Bonaparte finished his words, the entire ballroom erupted into enthusiastic applause.

After savoring the applause for a moment, Jerome Bonaparte gestured for them to stop. Once the applause subsided, Jerome Bonaparte made a gesture of invitation, passing the stage to the Victoria couple.

"Albert, you do it!" Lacking interest in political affairs and speeches, Queen Victoria habitually left all matters to Albert.

In Queen Victoria’s eyes, Prince Albert was her world, her everything.

Indeed, because of Victoria’s unreserved love for Albert, Queen Victoria had no extra love left for her children.

Victoria’s children felt nothing but indifference and even resentment from their mother.

...

Veering off topic, Queen Victoria’s "abdication" made Prince Albert the focus of the ballroom, drawing everyone’s gaze to him.

"In truth, Victoria and I were quite surprised to receive an invitation from Jerome Bonaparte! Because according to our plans, our family was supposed to head to Scotland at this time..." Albert’s voice, unlike Jerome Bonaparte’s passionate tone, was like a gentle stream, calm yet rhythmic, "But my children told me they wanted to visit Paris! To see the beauty of Paris, to browse its sights, and to take a glimpse of the Emperor of France..."

When Prince Albert said this, a look of astonishment appeared on Jerome Bonaparte’s face, which slowly turned back into a smile after a moment.

"Because in the hearts of my children, France is Britain’s brother, a partner fighting by our side! Our two armies have fought alongside Sardinia and the Ottoman Empire on the Crimean Peninsula against the fierce Russian Army and achieved excellent results. Our naval forces have fought in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea to protect European fairness... I’ve told my children this world should not be a world where the weak are prey to the strong, but a world of peaceful development, a world of European collaboration... I sincerely hope that France and Britain can continue to join hands in the future to fight for Europe’s fairness!"

As soon as Albert finished speaking, Jerome Bonaparte began to clap immediately.

The rest of the ballroom quickly caught on, and thunderous applause erupted in the hall.

After a while, amid Jerome Bonaparte’s solemn proclamation, the ball at the Louvre officially began.

As the star of the ball, Albert danced several dances with Queen Victoria to the elegant music.

Until the arrival of Franz Joseph, which prompted Prince Albert to release Victoria’s hand and look with a smile at the Imperial advisor, Prince Metternich, before him: "Prince Metternich, is there something you need?"

"Prince Albert, I wonder if you would be willing to lower yourself..." Metternich asked if Albert would be interested in finding a quiet place to discuss certain matters.

"Of course!" Prince Albert immediately nodded to Metternich, and then, together with Queen Victoria, he walked with Prince Metternich away from the dance floor to a slightly secluded area, where Franz Joseph was also standing.

Prince Metternich tactfully informed Prince Albert that the Austrian Empire hoped to obtain a loan from the Kingdom of Britain.

"If the Austrian Empire meets the conditions, Britain would certainly be willing to provide a substantial loan to the Austrian Empire!" Prince Albert tactfully refused Prince Metternich’s request and told him that he did not wish to discuss political matters in the ballroom.

Seeing that Prince Albert was not in the mood to continue the discussion, Prince Metternich had to apologize to Albert.

"If the Austrian Empire is willing to make some concessions on the Danube issue..." Prince Albert tactfully persuaded the Austrian Empire to abandon its claims on the Danube Duchy.

After all, the nature of the Danube in the hands of the Ottoman Empire and in the hands of the Austrian Empire are entirely different.

In the former case, the Kingdom of Britain could rely on its national power to suppress and coerce the Ottoman Empire into compliance.

In the latter case, the Kingdom of Britain could only calmly discuss navigation issues with them.

After all, the Austrian Empire is considered a first-class Great Power in Europe.

The Kingdom of Britain, when dealing with second-rate (Sardinia) or third-rate (Kingdom of Two Silesias) Great Powers, can conduct diplomacy without regard for their feelings at all.

In its dealings with first-class Great Powers, the Kingdom of Britain has always adhered to a principle of resolving issues within the framework; if it can be solved through diplomacy, it will absolutely not resort to war.

Defeating a first-class Great Power is indeed too difficult, as the indebtedness of the Kingdom of Britain during the Napoleonic Wars is still vividly remembered by some.

For this reason, when the French Empire endorsed the Austrian Empire to hand over the Danube Duchy to the Austrian Empire without the consent of the Ottoman Empire High Gate government (except for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, most of the High Gate was pro-British at the time), the Kingdom of Britain did not incite the High Gate government to oppose it.

Instead, it worked alongside France to suppress the High Gate government, forcing it to agree.

Faced with Albert’s conditions, Prince Metternich would naturally not agree; the benefits of Danube navigation to the Austrian Empire are long-term, while the loan is something that needs to be repaid!

[PS: From this perspective, the Lend-Lease Act adopted by the United States of America during World War II, providing aid to the Soviet Union without repayment at least makes it more conscientious than Britain.]

"Prince Albert, I must apologize for not being able to agree to your conditions!" Prince Metternich responded to Albert, maintaining an attitude of neither subservience nor arrogance.

"Then I’m powerless to help! After all, Mr. Metternich, you also know! Britain is different from France and Austria, the rights of the Royal Family are subject to the Cabinet’s constraints!" Prince Albert casually found an excuse to prevaricate Prince Metternich.

Subsequently, Prince Metternich, Franz Joseph, Prince Albert, and Queen Victoria parted ways.

Franz Joseph, who hadn’t said a word from beginning to end, quietly asked Prince Metternich, "Mr. Metternich, what is the purpose of doing this? If I were Albert, I probably wouldn’t agree in such a venue either!"

"Your Majesty, the reason I discussed investment with Prince Albert in the ballroom was not solely for the investment!" Prince Metternich responded to Franz Joseph with a look of assured victory on his face.

"Then what was it for?" Franz Joseph inquired, somewhat curiously.

"Your Majesty, I’ll tell you after the banquet is over! For now, what you need to do is to go before His Majesty Jerome Bonaparte..." Prince Metternich once again instructed Franz Joseph.

Franz Joseph and Prince Metternich went to Jerome Bonaparte, where Prince Metternich recounted to Jerome Bonaparte what he had said to Prince Albert.

"Mr. Metternich, I do not wish to discuss this matter at this time! If you truly wish to talk about it, then we can discuss it tomorrow or the day after!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to Prince Metternich, "This issue cannot be decided with a brief conversation here!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Prince Metternich took his leave from Jerome Bonaparte.

As he watched Prince Metternich leave, Jerome Bonaparte mumbled to himself, "What on earth is Metternich up to? Why bring up this issue at such a time?"

After a while, when the Kingdom of Prussia’s ambassador discreetly inquired about what Prince Metternich had discussed with him, Jerome Bonaparte realized Metternich’s strategy.

"Nothing much!"