After resolving the "Sword of Damocles" hovering over the head in St. Petersburg, Duke Golitsyn quickly, under the authority of Nicholas I, issued a negotiation request in the na of the "new governnt" to the Kingdom of Britain, the French Empire, the Sardinian Kingdom, the Kingdom of Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire.
Duke Golitsyn publicly declared: The new governnt is committed to maintaining bilateral relations with the Western World, hoping that England and France can consult and cooperate on the basis of mutual respect!
In response to the request from St. Petersburg, the British Cabinet, unsure of what exactly had occurred in St. Petersburg, appeared especially sluggish.
Although Palrston convened several cabinet etings in succession, the British Cabinet never managed to reach a consensus.
Having no other option, Palrston had to head to Windsor Castle to seek the assistance of Prince Albert.
Led by a steward, Palrston entered a guest room in Windsor Castle.
There, he saw Prince Albert standing with his hands behind his back.
"Your Highness!" Palrston bowed slightly to Prince Albert as a sign of respect.
"Pri Minister Palrston, please have a seat!" Prince Albert invited Palrston to sit down and then poured a cup of tea for both Palrston and himself.
Subsequently, Palrston, in a lengthy and convoluted official manner, tentatively inquired of Albert how he should respond to Duke Golitsyn’s invitation to negotiate.
"Pri Minister Palrston, that depends on you!" Albert took a small sip of tea and smiled as he replied to Palrston, "Because you are the irreplaceable core of the entire cabinet!"
"I..." Palrston pondered for a long ti, unsure whether Albert’s words were a complint or a criticism.
After all, his actions recently had indeed been sowhat overinflated.
(As the Anglo-French Army had achieved decisive success in capturing Suonlinna not long ago, a confident Palrston ignored the warnings of the French Empire and insisted on relying on Britain’s own forces to seize the Kronstadt Military Port, only to be directly reprimanded by the Russian Army there, almost leading to the complete annihilation of nearly 6000 British soldiers.)
"Your Highness, the Royal Family is the undisputed core of Britain! The Cabinet rely aids the Royal Family in conveniently managing Britain!" Palrston humbled himself before Prince Albert.
Seeing that his admonishnt of Palrston had yielded so effect, Albert casually responded to Palrston in a nonchalant tone, "However, I have heard so news! I wonder if you, Pri Minister Palrston, would like to hear it!"
"Your Highness, please speak!" Pri Minister Palrston promptly asked Prince Albert.
Prince Albert inford Palrston that just a day earlier, Empress Augusta of Paris had sent them a telegram, ntioning her imminent childbirth, and at the end of the telegram, she subtly referred to the events unfolding in St. Petersburg, expressing her wish for the Romanov Clan’s safety.
Upon hearing Albert’s words, Palrston imdiately realized that what was happening in St. Petersburg, if not directly related to France, at least they were aware of it, and he only needed to inquire the French Envoy’s opinion on the new governnt.
Palrston hurriedly expressed his gratitude to Prince Albert, acknowledging that without Prince Albert’s insight, he would have been running around aimlessly like a headless chicken.
Having sorted out his thoughts, Palrston hastily bid farewell to Albert, who waved with a smile.
Returning from Windsor Castle to 10 Downing Street, Pri Minister Palrston, in a personal capacity, invited the French Envoy to Britain for a al at a restaurant.
During the al, Pri Minister Palrston delicately inquired of the French Envoy in Britain about his views on the new governnt ford by Duke Golitsyn.
"Mr. Palrston, in what capacity do you ask this question?" Envoy Vallette casually inquired.
After hesitating for a mont, Palrston responded to Vallette, "Vallette, of course I am asking as a friend!"
"Since we are friends, I will speak openly!" Vallette naturally didn’t believe in the so-called friend identity; he was willing to disclose information only because of orders from Paris, "Paris’s stance is, whoever holds power in the current Russian Empire, we will converse with them!"
"So, you intend to engage in negotiations with the governnt led by Golitsyn?" Palrston instinctively queried.
"I never said that!" Vallette imdiately retorted, "That’s entirely your own conjecture!"
Pri Minister Palrston shrugged his shoulders, showing a helpless smile.
"The stance is, as long as Duke Golitsyn is willing to maintain the monarchy and cede so Russian interests, negotiations are not out of the question!" Vallette continued softly to Palrston, "After all, our goal is to bring the Russian Empire to submission!"
"What about Cria?" Palrston followed up with a question.
"Negotiations are possible there as well!" Vallette responded to Palrston. "Our aim is to weaken the Russian Empire, not to help them maintain their regi!
"Whoever offers more benefits, we will lean towards them!"
"I understand!" Palrston hurriedly nodded.
Subsequently, using busy official duties as an excuse, Palrston left the al early, leaving Vallette alone to eat leisurely.
After Vallette finished his al, the restaurant manager handed him a check worth 10,000 British Pounds, explaining it was a token of appreciation from the restaurant.
Vallette, upon accepting the check, naturally understood that this was Palrston’s reward to him.
After all, diplomatic envoys are allowed to sell so undisclosed diplomatic policies as long as it does not harm their country’s interests.
This is considered an unwritten rule in diplomatic circles.
"Thank your boss for !" Vallette said to the restaurant manager with a smile, then got up and left the restaurant.
Two days passed, and Sardinia was the first to extend a request for peace talks to Duke Golitsyn, making a responsive move.
The Sardinian Kingdom expressed willingness to negotiate with all forces that desire to maintain peace in Europe... In other words, Sardinia was willing to accept the new governnt led by Duke Golitsyn.
This response was like a stone thrown into a thousand waves. Although Sardinia is a second-rate power in Europe, it has the backing of the French Empire.
The statents made by Sardinia were likely the intentions of the French Empire.
And the reason why the French Empire was unwilling to issue this statent in its own na was probably due to concerns about the legal inadequacies of Duke Golitsyn’s newly ford governnt.
Thus, Palrston also mimicked the French Empire’s approach of operating under cover.
That afternoon, the Kingdom of Sweden also quickly followed the Sardinian Kingdom, announcing its willingness to cooperate with the Russian Empire on bilateral issues to jointly maintain peace in Europe.
Early the next morning, Duke Golitsyn once again declared his willingness to engage in friendly consultations with the Sardinian Kingdom and the Kingdom of Sweden to resolve so contentious issues. He also hoped that the "Kingdom of Sweden" and the "Sardinian Kingdom" would send special envoys to the Russian Empire for face-to-face talks.
This proposal from Duke Golitsyn quickly received approval from the "Kingdom of Sweden" and the "Sardinian Kingdom." They declared they would send special envoys to St. Petersburg for negotiations soon, hoping the Russian Empire would maintain order in St. Petersburg during this period!
Upon receiving the responses from the "Kingdom of Sweden" and the "Sardinian Kingdom," Duke Golitsyn excitedly said to Andrew Nikolaevich Golitsyn, "We’ve succeeded! Who would have thought they would help us in this way!"
Slightly politically insensitive Andrew Nikolaevich Golitsyn asked Duke Golitsyn how exactly England and France were helping them!
Duke Golitsyn told him that England and France’s request for them to "maintain order in St. Petersburg" was an indirect way of helping them.
"I still don’t understand!" Andrew Nikolaevich Golitsyn remained puzzled.
Duke Golitsyn explained that now both Russian Empire nobles and citizens do not wish to continue fighting. Engaging in peace talks with England and France can be considered a common desire in the Russian Empire. Now that England and France proposed holding peace talks with his newly ford governnt, it is tacitly recognizing the legitimacy of the governnt he leads. Moreover, the request to "maintain order in St. Petersburg" is a warning to those nobles planning potential uprisings in St. Petersburg to behave during the peace talks.
Otherwise, the hope for peace talks may shatter in an instant.
Duke Golitsyn believed that even if the Russian nobility in St. Petersburg hated him, they wouldn’t dare eliminate him at this ti.
If the peace talks failed, their wealth would further diminish.
In terms of maintaining the Tsarist regi and protecting personal property, most nobles would likely choose to safeguard their property.
Therefore, they could use this period to greatly reorganize St. Petersburg.
"I see!" Andrew Nikolaevich Golitsyn awoke as if from a dream, then shook his head and said with emotion, "I’m not cut out for politics!"
"Then just diligently keep an eye on the army for !" Duke Golitsyn said in a lighthearted tone, then asked Andrew Nikolaevich Golitsyn to bring Third Hall Chief Nikolai Orlov over.
"Yes!" Andrew turned and left.
A while later, Nikolai Orlov appeared before Duke Golitsyn.
Duke Golitsyn inford Nikolai Orlov that from now on, the Third Hall would be granted the functions of the Public Security Committee, tasked with eliminating anyone unfavorable to the new regi.
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