Chapter 424: Chapter 418 Trials of War Among Nations
That afternoon, the members of the Russian Embassy in the Great French Empire, under the orders of the Russian Envoy, began to evacuate in an orderly manner. A mountain of documents was rudely thrown into the burning fireplace for destruction, and the internal staff and servants of the embassy were dismissed. In full view of everyone, the Russian Envoy personally took down the national emblem from the premises of the Russian Embassy in France.
The removal of the embassy’s emblem implied that Paris would not have a Russian Embassy for a long time. It was precisely this act by the Russian Envoy that made all the foreign envoys in Paris realize that the Russian Empire and the French Empire were likely to face a severe diplomatic crisis, possibly even a war.
A portion of foreign envoys who maintained good friendship with the Russian Empire (Greece) and were almost allies (Prussia) could not sit still after hearing the news of the Russian Envoy’s departure from Paris.
These foreign envoys, who had the power to directly see the Emperor, hurriedly ordered the embassy servants to prepare carriages for them. They wanted to personally go to the Tuileries Palace to inquire of Jerome Bonaparte, the Emperor of the Empire.
When these carriages arrived at the gates of the Tuileries Palace Garden, they were stopped by a squad of soldiers outside the gates of the Tuileries Palace.
From the attire of these Imperial Guards, they were members of the most elite unit of the French Empire—the Guard Army Grenadiers.
The foreign envoys sitting inside the carriages felt uneasy when they saw the grenadier soldiers guarding the inside and outside passages of the Tuileries Palace.
Although they did not understand why the grenadiers were there, the presence of the grenadiers undoubtedly cast a shadow named war over Paris.
The foreign envoys got out of the carriages one by one, including the British Envoy, the Prussian Diplomatic Envoy, and the Greek Envoy. Each had different purposes for coming to the Tuileries Palace, hoping to meet the Emperor inside.
"I have an urgent matter and need to see Your Majesty the Emperor! Please go and report!" British Envoy Lord Cowley gave orders to the grenadier soldiers.
"No!" The loyal grenadier soldiers responded to the British Diplomatic Envoy without hesitation: "We have orders to prohibit all unrelated persons from entering the Tuileries Palace!"
The grenadier’s response further convinced Lord Cowley that the French Empire was planning a war with the Russian Empire.
"Then can you tell me if Minister De Luy is inside the Tuileries Palace?" Lord Cowley asked the grenadiers once more.
Since they couldn’t contact the Emperor, they could only seek the Minister of Foreign Affairs for an answer.
The grenadiers exchanged glances before one of them responded, "His Excellency the Minister is not inside!"
"It seems we can only head to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs!" Lord Cowley turned to the Prussian and Greek Envoys behind him and said.
The Prussian and Greek Envoys nodded to the British Envoy, and the three of them left the Tuileries Palace by carriage.
The carriage appeared along the Champs-Élysées where the Tuileries Palace is located, passing through Rivoli Street, Saint Michel Street, and other streets, and soon reaching a pier in the Seventh District of Paris, where the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs was adjacent to.
Lord Cowley and the other two envoys parked the carriage at the entrance of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At this time, there were also two soldiers responsible for guarding the entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, checking everyone who wanted to enter the building.
"Who are you?" the soldiers asked Lord Cowley and others sternly.
Lord Cowley and others stated their positions in turn, and after the soldiers inspected them, they were allowed to enter the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Just stepping through the entrance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lord Cowley met the Secretary of State serving under De Luy.
He seemingly anticipated the appearance of Lord Cowley and others, saying to them, "His Excellency the Minister has been expecting you for a long time! Please follow me!"
Lord Cowley’s face showed a hint of surprise as they followed the Secretary of State to one of the rooms in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Secretary of State gently pushed open the room’s door, revealing the figure of De Luy to Lord Cowley and others.
Lord Cowley and others hurried into the room, shaking hands with De Luy one by one.
De Luy invited them to sit on the red long sofa near the fireplace.
Just after sitting down, Lord Cowley eagerly asked De Luy what had happened at the Tuileries Palace.
De Luy merely smiled slightly and shook his head.
Seeing that De Luy was unwilling to answer, Lord Cowley had to change the subject and ask De Luy if the French Empire would soon have a military conflict with the Russian Empire.
"Whether the Empire and Russia will have a conflict does not depend on the Empire itself, but on the Russian Empire!" De Luy immediately responded to Lord Cowley: "As long as the Russian Empire is willing to leave the Danube Duchy and guarantees never to step into the Danube Duchy again, the French Empire will naturally not take action against the Russian Empire!"
After hearing De Luy’s statement, everyone present immediately understood that there was no possibility of reconciliation between the Russian Empire and the French Empire.
The Russian Empire would absolutely not allow its influence in the Danube Duchy to be weakened.
"Will the French Empire and the Ottoman Empire cooperate in battle!" The person asking this was none other than the Greek Envoy. At this time, the Kingdom of Greece was planning to declare war on the Ottoman Empire together with the Russian Empire, or to first declare war on the Ottoman Empire by itself, thereby forcing the Russian Empire to join the war.
According to the Kingdom of Greece’s idea, as long as the Russian Empire joined the war, the balance of escalation would inevitably tilt in the direction of the Kingdom of Greece.
The Kingdom of Greece could completely seize large territories of the Ottoman Empire, including Macedonia, and even capture Constantinople, achieving the resurgence of Greece.
And now with the French Empire’s involvement, the Kingdom of Greece realized that the balance of victory began to tilt towards the Ottoman Empire. Whether it’s France or Russia, or the declining Ottoman Empire, each country is an entity that Greece cannot currently contend with.
"The French Empire does not rule out cooperating with the Ottoman Empire in battle!" De Luy glanced at the Greek Envoy and said with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
The face of the Greek Envoy immediately turned pale. He knew that the dream the Kingdom of Greece pursued since its founding had become distant with the involvement of the French Empire.
"Your Excellency, can I understand it this way? If the Russian Empire is unwilling to leave the Danube Duchy, the French Empire will go to war with the Russian Empire!" the Prussian Envoy asked knowingly.
"Exactly!" De Luy nodded, responding to the Prussian Envoy.
"As far as I understand, the Ottoman Empire has not yet declared war on the Russian Empire! The French Empire’s support for the Ottoman Empire will encourage it to take the risk of declaring war on the Russian Empire! The situation in the Near East may no longer have the possibility of reconciliation because of this declaration of war! Should the French Empire reconsider?" The Prussian Envoy sincerely advised De Luy.
For the Prussian Envoy, the battle between the French Empire and the Russian Empire might lead to the whole of Europe being engulfed in flames.
If the Russian Empire finds itself at a disadvantage and requests the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire to join the battlefield, should the Kingdom of Prussia join the battlefield?
If they do not join, they will face hostility from the Russian Empire and the Austrian Empire (the Prussian Envoy did not know that the Austrian Empire had already betrayed the Russian Empire. In his eyes, the Austrian Empire was an "avatar" of the Russian Empire).
If they join, Germany will face enormous wartime pressure.
The Regent King William, notorious in the Rhine Land for his brutal dissolution of the Lower House, can’t ensure that if war starts, the Rhine Land people will not welcome the new era of Emperor Napoleon.
After all, apart from sharing a nationality, Prussia and the Rhine Land differ greatly in religion and law, making it an anomaly within Prussian territories.
If this Emperor Napoleon is, like his uncle, a military genius, then the Kingdom of Prussia may face a fate of defeat again.
There might be another "miracle" of being defeated by a minor division of the Emperor of France.
The war in 1849 had already taught the Kingdom of Prussia a new lesson in failure. The elite troops of the Austrian Empire, led by Albrecht, with audacious tactics, managed to crush the spirit of the Kingdom of Prussia.
Originally lauded as the "Star of Tomorrow," Ron is now considered the disgrace of the Prussian army.
Despite his continued rise with the help of Regent King William, this disgraceful defeat remains an indelible stain on his life.
The entire Prussian army is permeated with an air of insecurity, and how can such an army win a war?
Therefore, the best outcome is for there to be no battle between the Russian Empire and the French Empire, sparing the Kingdom of Prussia from having to make a choice.
"Mr. Envoy, your information is outdated! Just this morning, the Ottoman Empire has announced a war against the Russian Empire!" De Luy responded to the three envoys present.
"What?" The three envoys showed varying degrees of shock, as they were completely unaware of the series of events happening in the Near East.
"The purpose of the French Empire is merely to ensure peace and stability in the Near East! Any attempt to disrupt the Near East will face severe punishment!" De Luy expressed his strong stance, also reflecting some of Jerome Bonaparte’s political views.