Faced with Ivanov Gorchakov’s rebuttal, Grand Duke Constantine was left speechless.
Although his intuition told him that there must be a conspiracy behind Jero Bonaparte’s peace talks, he could not prove his suspicions.
All signs indicated that Jero Bonaparte truly hoped for cooperation between the French Empire and the Russian Empire, setting aside past grievances.
Moreover, from a strategic perspective, collaborating with the Kingdom of Britain to dismber the Russian Empire would not benefit the French Empire greatly.
On the contrary, it might make the French Empire the next target of the Kingdom of Britain.
Of course, if they knew that Jero Bonaparte was colluding with rebels in St. Petersburg, then everything behind the peace talks could be explained.
Unfortunately, they were unaware of this most crucial link.
Almost at a dead end on the Cria Peninsula, they chose to believe the olive branch extended by Jero Bonaparte.
"By the way! Did Emperor Jero Bonaparte tell you what the conditions for the peace talks are?" Crown Prince Alexander asked Ivanov Gorchakov.
"Yes!" Ivanov Gorchakov took out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and ceremoniously presented it with both hands, saying, "The conditions of Emperor Jero Bonaparte are all in here!"
Crown Prince Alexander took the folded paper, unfolded it, and read it.
The others present also watched with curiosity what was in Crown Prince Alexander’s hand; they did not yet know what conditions Jero Bonaparte would propose this ti.
Crown Prince Alexander read the conditions one by one, then lightly exhaled and, smiling, handed the paper to Jomini, seated beside him, saying, "Teacher, take a look at the conditions proposed by Emperor Jero Bonaparte!"
Jomini took the paper from Crown Prince Alexander and carefully reviewed the conditions proposed by Jero Bonaparte.
"Once Teacher Jomini has finished, you all can look as well!" Crown Prince Alexander said to the others present.
After a while, Marshal Jomini finished reading the four conditions on the paper and then handed it to Gorchakov beside him.
After reading it, Gorchakov passed it on to Orlov and Grand Duke Constantine, who also completed their reading in turn.
Once the paper recording Jero Bonaparte’s proposed conditions had made a round, it returned to Crown Prince Alexander’s hands.
"What do you think of these conditions?" Crown Prince Alexander leaned back slightly, crossed his hands on his lap, and appeared relaxed.
"Your Highness, the conditions of the French Empire are unlikely to be acceptable to His Majesty the Tsar!" Orlov stated with slight anger to Crown Prince Alexander, "The conditions proposed by France are almost identical to those proposed by the three countries of England, France, and Austria in Vienna.
The four conditions they proposed practically nullify decades of our efforts!
The advantages we’ve painstakingly achieved in the Black Sea and the Danube River Region would vanish the mont the agreent is signed!"
"Count Orlov is right! Brother, we cannot sign this agreent!" Grand Duke Constantine quickly supported Orlov.
"Constantine!" Crown Prince Alexander sternly replied to Grand Duke Constantine, "This is a place for discussing military matters; there’s no ’brother’ here!"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Grand Duke Constantine replied with a serious expression.
"Constantine, do you also think we cannot agree to these conditions?" Crown Prince Alexander asked Grand Duke Constantine.
"Of course!" Grand Duke Constantine firmly replied, "Father... No! His Majesty the Tsar did not agree to these conditions back then, and it is unlikely he would agree now!"
"Good!" Crown Prince Alexander nodded and then turned to ask Marshal Jomini beside him, "Teacher, what do you think?"
"Your Highness, if I may ask you sothing!" Marshal Jomini calmly asked Crown Prince Alexander.
"Please go ahead, Teacher!" Crown Prince Alexander respectfully replied.
"Do you believe the Russian Empire can still achieve ultimate victory?" Jomini asked Crown Prince Alexander.
Crown Prince Alexander instinctively shook his head, then quickly nodded.
"I understand what you an!" Marshal Jomini turned his gaze to Grand Duke Constantine and Count Orlov, and this ti he changed his tone, asking seriously, "Your Excellencies, Grand Duke and Count, how confident are you that you can defeat the French Army on the Cria Peninsula?"
Although both Constantine and Orlov firmly opposed the conditions proposed by Jero Bonaparte, they were equally hopeless about the Russian Empire’s chances of winning in Cria.
According to Constantine’s thinking, it would be best for the Crian War to experience a non-critical defeat, after which they could use the loss to abandon Bakhchisaray, Simferopol, and even Perekop.
Once the army retreats to the Ukraine Region, they can utilize the vast, boundless land to resist progressively.
As long as the Anglo-French Alliance Army cannot capture the main Russian forces and defeat them, all they need to do is wait until the British and French public are tired of the war, then they can obtain a decent peace on relatively fair terms.
Jero Bonaparte’s conditions clearly deprived Grand Duke Constantine of his desire for decency.
"But we can’t agree to it now!" The emotionally charged Grand Duke Constantine couldn’t help but say to Marshal Jomini, "Teacher, you can’t just because you’re French, and..."
Before Grand Duke Constantine could finish, Crown Prince Alexander imdiately shouted, "Constantine, do you know what you’re saying?"
Grand Duke Constantine imdiately realized his words were inappropriate and hurried to redy them, "Teacher, I didn’t an that..."
No matter how much Constantine tried to nd the situation, Marshal Jomini’s mind was a whirlwind of confusion.
Indeed! He knew why the French would go through such trouble to help the Russians against France.
Holy King Alexander and His Majesty Nicholas I had already been repaid for their kindness with his actions.
Why was he still here now? Ah! I shouldn’t have listened to the summons of His Majesty to co here! I should just leave!
Thinking of this, Marshal Jomini imdiately addressed Alexander II, "Your Highness, please allow this unworthy old man to submit his resignation to you!"
"Marshal, you can’t leave!"
"Indeed, Marshal! Cria still needs you,"
Upon hearing Jomini’s public resignation request, several people present pleaded with Jomini to stay.
The current Russian Empire was also in a transitional period regarding famous generals; the old generation who participated in the Napoleonic Wars with excellent records was left only with Marshal Jomini, while the new generation (Commander Gorchakov) mostly belonged to the category of being incapable of much either above or below.
In terms of the current situation, if Marshal Jomini were to leave, they would be even less confident.
"Teacher, I was wrong! Please don’t go!" As the instigator of all this, Grand Duke Constantine also panicked and hurried to Marshal Jomini’s side to apologize.
Jomini shook his head, his eyes revealing a loving gaze, "Your Grace, you are not wrong! As a Frenchman, I shouldn’t have participated in this battle..."
"Teacher! Although you are French, your love for Russia is obvious to all of us. I don’t believe a single nationality can easily erase your contributions to the Russian Empire!" Crown Prince Alexander also tried to salvage the situation with Jomini.
"Yes! Teacher, we need you! The Russian Empire needs you!" Grand Duke Constantine pleaded with Marshal Jomini.
"Your Highness, Your Grace, thank you very much for your affirmation of !" Marshal Jomini expressed his gratitude for the demands of Crown Prince Alexander and Grand Duke Constantine for him to stay: "However, I really shouldn’t stay here anymore! As a Frenchman, I love Russia and also love France! I really don’t want to see either side defeated by the other, so please allow to take my leave!"
"No? I disagree!" Crown Prince Alexander responded resolutely, and then deliberately emphasized, "I absolutely will not agree to your resignation, I believe my father won’t agree either!"
"Your Highness, is there a need for this?" Marshal Jomini said with a wry smile to Crown Prince Alexander.
Subsequently, Marshal Jomini told Crown Prince Alexander that even if he were forcibly made to stay here, he would no longer engage in any military-related matters.
"Your Highness, please allow to leave here!" Marshal Jomini once again bowed to Crown Prince Alexander, then turned and pushed the door open to leave.
Watching Marshal Jomini’s disappearing figure, Crown Prince Alexander once again shouted at Grand Duke Constantine, "Look what you’ve done!"
"I..." Grand Duke Constantine lowered his head in sha.
"From now on, I will strip you of all your rights within the military! Constantine, you will no longer have the qualifications to participate in military etings!" Alexander II commanded Constantine with authority.
Knowing he was at fault, Constantine bowed his head and responded to Alexander II, "Yes, Sir!"
Subsequently, Constantine also followed Marshal Jomini and left the room.
Now in the room, only Crown Prince Alexander, Count Orlov, Commander Gorchakov, and Major Ivanov Gorchakov remained.
"Ah! Let’s return to the previous topic!"
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