Prince Albert’s response made Palrston realize that a change might be occurring within the German Confederation. He tactfully asked Prince Albert if he had heard any rumors.
Prince Albert did not directly answer Palrston’s question. Instead, he smiled and changed the subject to ask Palrston his opinion on the current French Empire.
Although Palrston disliked Jero Bonaparte, the monarch making headlines worldwide, he had to begrudgingly admit that, given the current situation, Britain indeed could not do without France.
The reports from Cria were enough to indicate the issue. From the start of the Crian War to the present, aside from the glory at the Battle of Alma, the Kingdom of Britain was either reinforcing its troops or in the process of doing so.
As for the report from Britain yesterday (the Kingdom of Britain’s frontline reporter also relayed the ssage to Britain as quickly as possible), the French Army had annihilated 100,000 Russian troops in one battle (as reported by The Tis, Palrston was skeptical), while their Kingdom of Britain was nearly overrun by 40,000 Russian troops (self-depreciation from The Tis, Palrston did not believe it). Were it not for the French Empire’s desperate help, the British-maintained Sevastopol might have turned into Russian territory.
With ceaseless self-criticism from the press, the entire Kingdom of Britain, from the Cabinet to the public, fell into a state of complete lack of confidence.
[PS: Regarding this, at that ti, although The Tis had been sowhat restricted by Jero Bonaparte, its telegrams returning from Sevastopol to Britain were still faster and more reliable than the official newspapers.
Even the Cabinet Ministers had to compare The Tis’ statents before checking the battle reports.
The political jokes of the Pri Minister learning about politics through television in ’Yes, Pri Minister’ were not out of place in this era of Britain. ]
The less confidence Britain had, the more it relied on the French Empire to carry it.
Therefore, Palrston’s assessnt of the French Empire was: Our dubious ally.
Subsequently, Albert once again asked Palrston whether he believed the French Empire could continue indefinitely!
"Your Highness, ever since that turmoil (the Great Revolution), the Parisians have lost patience. In just fifty years, they have witnessed the downfall of three dynasties!" Palrston tactfully expressed that he did not believe the French Empire could avoid such a fate.
"In fact, Augusta thinks the sa way!" Prince Albert responded to Palrston.
"Are you referring to the Empress of France?" Palrston paused for a few seconds and then said to Albert.
"That’s correct!" Albert nodded to Palrston, "So ti ago, she ntioned this in a letter to Victoria! She hopes to secure a place for her unborn child to settle! You should understand what I an!"
"Your Highness, you an Luxembourg is Empress Augusta’s fallback plan!" Palrston imdiately understood Prince Albert’s aning.
"That’s one way to put it!" Prince Albert shrugged and said, "Paris is like a powder keg ready to explode at any mont. Anyone sitting atop it could be blown to pieces with a simple misstep!"
"If Luxembourg were annexed by France, wouldn’t Empress Augusta end up with nothing?" Palrston asked with a furrowed brow.
"Why annex?" Albert replied with a rhetorical question, "Why not make Luxembourg a private domain?"
"You an union?" Palrston quickly inquired.
"That’s up to your interpretation!" Albert responded to Palrston, "Augusta told Victoria she is willing to pay any price to acquire this land!"
"I understand!" Palrston replied with a bitter smile, aware that De Luy saw the Suez Canal as a tacit deal with Britain.
Although inwardly displeased with Empress Augusta’s calculations, the transformation of Luxembourg into a private domain did not threaten the fundantal interests of the Kingdom of Britain.
As long as no one stands out in opposition, Palrston was not inclined to pursue the matter.
After all, the most crucial goal for Britain right now was the Russian Empire.
Nevertheless, Palrston was curious about the role Prince Albert played in this affair.
Having understood De Luy’s true intentions, Palrston took his leave from Albert.
Prince Albert ordered the servants to escort Palrston out of Buckingham Palace.
Over the next two weeks, as the Anglo-French Army in Cria successively thwarted the Russian Empire’s sches to use feints to seize Yevpatoria, the allied forces and the Russian Empire entered a cold war due to the sudden drop in Crian temperatures, resulting in a standoff.
During this period, Palrston and De Louis engaged in two additional exploratory negotiations, with both showing progress compared to the first eting.
In late September, after probing each other’s bottom lines, Palrston and De Luy began their final negotiations.
This ti, Palrston and De Luyis had a discussion in the Pri Minister’s office at 10 Downing Street.
As soon as the eting started, Palrston was straightforward: "The Kingdom of Britain is willing to support all the recent actions of the French Empire!"
De Luyis showed a hint of surprise on his face, he did not expect Palrston to agree so quickly, and he hurriedly thanked Palrston: "Thank the Kingdom of Britain for understanding and support!"
Subsequently, Palrston also expressed hope that the French Empire would continue to support the actions of the Kingdom of Britain in certain areas.
Although Palrston did not specify which areas, De Luyis understood that Palrston wanted the French Empire’s support for his plan to dismber the Russian Empire.
De Luyis also expressed that the French Empire and the Kingdom of Britain are steadfast allies, and France will unwaveringly support the Kingdom of Britain’s plans.
Then De Luyis told Palrston that, in the spirit of mutual assistance, the French Empire is willing to sell a portion of the Suez Canal shares (registered capital of the Suez Canal Company is 200 million francs, with 70% French stock (140 million francs) and the remaining 30% temporarily held by Said (60 million francs), France transfers 30% of the shares to the Kingdom of Britain.) to the Kingdom of Britain, and is also willing to exchange and learn from the Kingdom of Britain in the field of ironclads.
Palrston, who had long coveted the ironclad technology held by the French Empire, certainly would not miss this opportunity, and he imdiately agreed to De Luyis’ proposal.
After the negotiations ended, De Luyis and Palrston shook hands with each other, and De Luyis smiled and said: "I hope that France and Britain can continue to cooperate and help each other on the path ahead! I sincerely wish the Pri Minister can lead Britain to greatness!"
"I also sincerely wish that your France can walk further and further on the road to peace!" Palrston’s face also carried a smile.
After De Luyis left, Palrston’s expression turned grim once again.
He quickly called his secretary and ordered him to summon the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Earl of Clarion, to 10 Downing Street.
After the Earl of Clarion arrived at 10 Downing Street, Palrston imdiately said to him: "Around mid-October, you should convey a ssage to the Kingdom of Prussia (Palrston expects France to take action in mid-October), saying that the French Empire intends to annex Luxembourg!"
The Earl of Clarion cautiously reminded Palrston that the French Empire is still their ally; making such a rash betrayal might lead to enmity between both sides.
"As long as we don’t directly intervene, it should be fine!" Palrston replied confidently.
He was ready to repeat the old trick from the Thiers period, where Palrston had agreed outwardly but reneged later, putting France in a difficult position.
Even if the Austrian Empire tacitly allowed the French Empire to annex the Luxembourg Duchy due to its resistance against the Russian Empire, the opposition from the Kingdom of Prussia would also keep the French Empire busy for a while.
Of course, Palrston didn’t expect the German Confederation to actually stop the French Empire’s actions; he just wanted to create so trouble for France.
Finally, under Palrston’s strong insistence, the Earl of Clarion had no choice but to agree with Palrston’s request.
On the other hand, after leaving Britain, De Luyis did not return directly to France, but instead, followed a telegraph from Cria and took a ship to Prussia.
When De Luyis arrived within the Kingdom of Prussia, he was imdiately warmly welcod by them.
The son of the Regent King, Friedrich Wilhelm Nikolaus Karl, appeared at the port pier and shook hands with De Luyis.
The two took a carriage together and arrived in Berlin. The Regent King’s nephew told De Luyis that his father, William I, needed so ti to prepare for the eting with De Luyis and hoped De Luyis would patiently wait.
De Luyis nodded and returned to reside at the French Embassy in the German Confederation.
After spending a day at the embassy, De Luyis received an invitation from William I to go to Charlotten Palace.
In full dress, De Luyis formally t with William I in the hall of Charlotten Palace.
William I first inquired warmly about De Luyis, and then expressed condemnation towards the Russian Empire.
De Luyis feigned inquisition to see if the Kingdom of Prussia was preparing to go to war with the Russian Empire.
William I was hesitant and could only express that the Kingdom of Prussia was not yet ready to go to war with the Russian Empire.
However, William I still expressed willingness to stand with Britain and France to jointly resist the Russian Empire, with their conditions being quite "simple," as long as France does not take action against the Rhine Region or take any asures regarding the Polish issue.
"Your Highness the Regent King, please forgive my dullness! I do not understand which side you and your kingdom are truly on!"
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