Chapter 289 The Crown Prince’s Diplomacy
Chapter 290 The Crown Prince’s Diplomacy
Joseph immediately showed a bright smile: "Mother, I want to go to Vienna in person. After my uncle fell ill, I haven't visited him properly.
“Oh, I will do my best to help my uncle solve Brabant’s problem and give him the peace he deserves.
"In the meantime, my uncle and I still have a lot to talk about."
Queen Mary immediately nodded happily: "That's great! My dear, I have always wanted to visit my brother, but France can't live without me. Now it's time for you to go and see Benny for me. Oh, I have to prepare. Give him some gifts.”
Not long after, the cabinet meeting ended, and Joseph quickly returned to his palace. He first asked Eman to find Count Segur, the assistant foreign minister, and ordered the latter to write a letter to the U.S. Ambassador to Poland in a private capacity.
After Count Segur laid out the paper and pen, Joseph said: "The main content of the letter is to warn Prince Poniatowski never to send troops to support Prussia, as that would offend Austria, the only one of Poland's three neighboring countries that is more sympathetic to them. At the moment, Poland should take advantage of the conflict between Russia and Sweden and the conflict between Prussia and Austria in the Southern Netherlands to solve the problem of the "one-vote veto" system in the parliament as soon as possible and train as many troops as possible. "
Due to France's actions in North Africa, the Ottomans surrendered earlier than historically, which gave Russia more energy to deal with Sweden. If nothing else happens, the Russo-Swedish War should end earlier than in history. Then it will be time for Russia to set its sights on Poland.
To prevent Prussia and Austria from colluding, we must do our best to prevent the emergence of the Russo-Prussian-Austrian alliance to carve up Poland. Then Poland must first be strong.
In order to avoid suspicion among Russia, Prussia and Austria, Joseph asked the United States to be France's white glove to help Poland, so this letter had to be handed over to the Americans.
Count Segur quickly wrote down the instructions of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and Joseph said to him: "By the way, when Archbishop Talleyrand returns from England, you will ask him to go to Strasbourg immediately, and wait for me there. Vienna. Remember to ask him to bring a few reliable assistants."
Strasbourg is the last border city from France to Austria.
"Yes, Your Highness."
At noon that day, Joseph left France, but not to Austria - he had to wait for Foreign Minister Talleyrand to go there, so that some things would be more convenient. More importantly, both Prussia and Austria had to mobilize troops on a large scale. Logistics alone would take several months to prepare, and the Brabant Uprising would not be able to start in a short period of time.
His first stop was Spain.
After all, his old friend Carlos IV was crowned, and he had to express himself on behalf of France, and he still had a lot to explain to Spain, a pig teammate.
Spain currently has very consistent interests with France, and its national strength is relatively weak, so international events almost follow France's lead, making it a good ally.
It's just that this guy owns a large number of colonies and has the third largest naval fleet in Europe, but he has developed into the lowest level of European powers.
If Spain can be made stronger, France can borrow more of his power, especially in dealing with Britain.
You know, Gibraltar, the gateway to the Mediterranean, is on the southern coast of Spain. It was originally Spanish territory and was ceded to the United Kingdom after the Spanish Succession War more than 70 years ago.
Since then, the Spaniards have been obsessed with this strategic location, to the point of being lovesick.
Seizing the Strait of Gibraltar from the British will ensure France's interests in North Africa to a great extent - no matter how powerful the British fleet is, it will not be able to reach the Mediterranean without entering the Strait of Gibraltar, and it will not be able to influence the North African countries on the southern coast of the Mediterranean.
Joseph left Paris and the carriage headed southwest. It took only about ten days to reach the Pyrenees on the border of France and Spain.
However, after passing the pass of the Pyrenees, especially after arriving at the Spanish city of León, the speed of progress immediately slowed down.
The road conditions in Spain are simply worse than those in France.
Fortunately, Joseph was riding in the latest model of "Jewel" carriage, which was very comfortable, but even so, his butt felt like being tortured.
After another half month of bumpy rides, Joseph finally vaguely saw the buildings in Madrid in the distance. He was already thinking about taking a boat directly on the way back.
Carlos IV gave the French crown prince a very high standard of courtesy - the welcoming guards lined up five miles outside Madrid, and the Spanish Minister of State personally guided the convoy to the glorious Royal Palace of Madrid.
Carlos IV pulled his good brother from outside the palace square and walked all the way to the palace. Exquisite carpets were paved along the way, and honor guards stood on both sides. Thousands of Spanish nobles and dignitaries from various countries who came to congratulate gathered in front of the palace and looked at Joseph respectfully. The salutes in the distance almost never stopped.
Everyone in Spain knows that the King of France is a very eccentric person, and it is almost impossible to expect him to come to Spain, so the Dauphin of France represents the King of France here.
Joseph took the flowers sent by a group of Spanish children and walked into the palace with Carlos IV.
He noticed that although the newly crowned Queen of Spain, Maria Luisa, was always by his side, she seemed cautious and made almost no sound during the whole process.
Joseph secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the old king had indeed completely emptied the power of this woman. She should not be able to bully Spain like in history. It was worth his trouble to help Carlos IV catch the adulterer.
After a very sumptuous banquet, Joseph recalled the Spanish meal full of seafood. To be honest, there are many dishes in Spain that are better than French dishes.
For example, the main dish just now - Spanish baked seafood stew. It was directly served in a large barrel. The barrel was covered with oysters on the outermost layer, and there was a layer of lobster inside, and then a layer of fish meat, and then a layer of grilled octopus, a layer of sea urchin...
The whole barrel was baked with cheese and sprinkled with spices. Just looking at it made people's appetite.
Joseph only ate half a barrel, and he was already so full that he couldn't bend down.
Here, Carlos IV dragged his good brother into the theater of the palace, and the French playwright's "Fedra" was performed.
In the VIP room on the second floor, Joseph watched his cousins commenting on the actors' acting skills heartlessly, and couldn't help but sigh secretly. He took advantage of the plot of the prime minister in the play and said: "By the way, speaking of the prime minister, your Majesty, your current Minister of State seems to be the Count of Florida Blanca?" Carlos IV waved his hand: "You should call me Antonio. Oh, yes, it's still Redondo." Joseph frowned slightly. The Count of Florida Blanca was the Minister of State of Carlos III. It seems that without Godoy's messing around, Carlos IV has continued to use the old king's team. However, this Count of Florida Blanca doesn't get along well with France.
