What is face?
Duke Charles cared not one bit.
Look at the currently ascendant France and England in Europe. When have these two ever cared for their reputation?
The Hundred Years' War, the Thirty Years' War, the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the War of the Spanish Succession, the War of the Austrian Succession—the history of Europe is almost a history of France and England relentlessly battling each other.
And now?
These two nobodies merely exchange a few verbal barbs. When the Habsburg family declared war on France, England, in full view, declared its support for France.
While I don't know what these two nobodies' so-called "little broken pot" truly signifies, the fact that they can set aside their ancient grudges and join forces against the Habsburgs is enough to prove their emphasis on the "little broken pot."
It also sufficiently demonstrates the shamelessness of England and France.
Then there's Napoleon. No sooner had he escorted the Mistress of the Treasury to the border of Luxembourg than he launched an offensive on the city of Austerlitz in Luxembourg, directly trapping Emperor Francis II of Austria within the city for a second time. He also dispatched troops to sneak attack on Rêdan, and sent others to harass the supply lines of the Habsburg coalition forces. With all these operations, which one of them was concerned with maintaining face?
Therefore, Duke Charles understood very clearly: maintaining face might not save Sweden, but the benefits of being shameless were abundant.
After a moment's thought, Duke Charles continued, "How about this, we first heartily praise the existence of the 'little broken pot,' declare our intention to join it, and at the same time condemn France and the Habsburg coalition for initiating the war."
Hearing Duke Charles' words, Gustav IV became even more bewildered, "I understand your intention to join the 'little broken pot' and the benefits of declaring permanent neutrality, but... condemning both France and the Habsburg coalition, are you sure that won't offend both of them simultaneously?"
Duke Charles smiled faintly and said, "Of course, doing so will, at most, offend the Habsburg coalition, but it will absolutely not offend France, even if we criticize France."
"Because France's ultimate goal should be to have all countries join this 'little broken pot,' and to have all of Europe operate within a framework formulated by the joint efforts of France and England."
"Therefore, it doesn't matter if we criticize France. As long as we are willing to join the 'little broken pot' and act under its guidance, then France and England will be our strongest backing. They will absolutely not stand by and watch the Habsburg coalition launch an attack against us."
"Otherwise, who else would join the 'little broken pot'? If the 'little broken pot' loses its meaning, then what meaning would France and England's war have?"
Looking at the still somewhat bewildered Gustav IV, Duke Charles couldn't help but laugh, "You must remember, as the King of Sweden, you must consider Sweden, not any other country. What is beneficial to Sweden, you should boldly pursue. What is harmful to Sweden, you must resolutely avoid."
Gustav IV nodded, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly looked up at Duke Charles, saying, "Then, do you think there's another possibility—that France and England have suddenly become so assertive and are able to set aside their old grudges because another, more powerful and more terrifying nation has brought all this about?"
Hearing Gustav IV's words, Duke Charles was first taken aback, and then revealed a pleased smile, "Little Gustav, you've finally grown up and learned to think for yourself."
"Yes, behind all of this, there must be a more powerful and more terrifying nation that has orchestrated it. Because of that nation's power and terror, France and England have been forced to set aside their two-hundred-year-old hatred and attempt to unite to control the discourse in Europe."
"And that nation is precisely the powerful Far Eastern nation that France has always boasted about—Ming."
"The war against the Habsburg family is both a letter of guarantee from France and England to the Ming nation, and also a display of their own strength. They are trying to tell the Ming nation through this war that Europe belongs to them, not to Ming."
"Of course, none of this will be openly discussed; everything is being conducted in secret."
"You see, this is statesmanship."
A look of horror finally appeared on Gustav's face.
Is statesmanship truly this dark?
After a long silence, Gustav finally couldn't help but ask, "Then what about the Philson family? Their heir was killed by Napoleon of France."
"As you said, by joining the 'little broken pot,' we are effectively siding with France. Whether it's France, the Habsburg family, or the Philson family, I believe they will all understand this. So, as for the Philson family..."
Duke Charles shook his head and said, "Even if they understand, what can they do?"
"Remember, little Gustav, you are the King of Sweden, and I am the Duke of Södermanland. With my support, even if the Philson family is dissatisfied, they can only suppress their anger, unless Old Philson wants to sever their family's lineage."
"You must remember, we in Sweden are not the most powerful in Europe. There are many countries more powerful than us, so we must learn to find a patron who can protect us."
"As long as this patron is willing to protect us, no matter how much the Philson family makes a fuss, even if they manage to occupy the royal palace, it will not change the fact that you are the King of Sweden."
"Including the fact that I present your ideas as my own, and those ministers still think I'm doing the right thing—it's all the same principle."
"You see, this is statesmanship."
With that, Duke Charles patted Gustav's head again and said, "Little Gustav, you must remember, this kind of declaration of neutrality while leaning towards one side must absolutely not be proposed by you, do you understand?"
Gustav asked blankly, "Why?"
Duke Charles smiled and shook his head, "Because you are the King of Sweden. If doing so is wrong, then it is my responsibility as regent, do you understand?"
After leaving the royal palace, Duke Charles signaled for Mornay to make a trip to Paris, representing Sweden in submitting the letter of intent to join the "little broken pot." Simultaneously, through the "Le Moniteur" and "The Times," he publicly declared that Sweden would maintain permanent neutrality and would not intervene in any war.
When the news was released, Francis I was shocked.
Francis I saw very clearly that Sweden was chickening out, but didn't want to offend either France and England, nor the Habsburg family.
However, Sweden wasn't completely cowardly. Their so-called neutrality was more like a joke—if you're neutral, why are you joining the "little broken pot"? Don't they know the Habsburg line hasn't joined the "little broken pot," you idiot!
What made Francis I even more displeased was that, with Sweden's announcement of joining the "little broken pot" and declaring permanent neutrality, other principalities, large and small, throughout Europe began to choose sides.
A portion of smaller nations, feeling they were too weak and insignificant, chose to follow Sweden's example, announcing their joining of the "little broken pot" while also declaring neutrality, stating they would not intervene in the conflict between France and the Habsburg coalition.
Another portion, whose strength was neither particularly strong nor particularly weak, announced their joining of the "little broken pot" and sided with France and England, preparing to seize the opportunity to expand their power.
In any case, they did not have high hopes for the Habsburg coalition—the venerable Habsburg family being cornered in Austerlitz by an unknown nobody named Napoleon, how could anyone have high hopes for the Habsburg coalition? By their feet?
Francis II could not accept this.
Summoning his trusted confidants, Francis II stated directly, "The situation is very unfavorable to the Habsburg family. If no changes are made, gentlemen, what do you think those French frogs and rose beef will do to us?"
"Will they cause our nation to perish? Or replace our monarch? Or will they hang all of us on lampposts?"
The Chief Minister of the Interior of Austria, Zweig, shook his head and said, "Your esteemed Majesty, although the battlefield situation is unfavorable to our Habsburg family, those French frogs and rose beef are not having an easy time either."
"Currently, we have the advantage of fighting on our home territory, while the French frogs and rose beef are on an expedition, and their logistical pressure is much greater than ours."
"Therefore, I believe as long as we can drag this out, until their logistics and finances collapse, the alliance between France and England will break down, and the advantage will still lie with our Habsburg family."
After Zweig finished speaking, Francis II erupted, "Has your head been kicked by a donkey?"
"It's true that France is on an expedition and has logistical and financial pressures, but don't forget that the battles are taking place on Habsburg territory, and the land that is being destroyed is Habsburg land!"
"Advantage in me? What advantage do we have left? Don't you even read the newspapers, you idiot? Don't you know what the alliance of French frogs and rose beef means?"
"It means their land and naval advantages will be integrated. It means, even if the French frogs have financial problems, the rose beef will help them!"
"If we continue to drag this out, it's likely the Habsburg family that will face financial collapse, not the French frogs!"
Seeing Francis II fall into a rage, the Commander of Cavalry, Fred Jelinek, couldn't help but step forward and say, "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. I may have a method that could be of some help in the current situation?"
Francis II's anger slightly subsided, and after a cold snort, he asked, "What method?"
Fred Jelinek replied, "You just mentioned newspapers, so you must know that 'Le Moniteur' states that the Ming nation will launch an offensive against the Ottoman Empire, and the Tsar of Russia has already begun its offensive against the Ottoman Empire."
"Louis XVI has consistently boasted in 'Le Moniteur' that France and the Ming nation are each other's most steadfast allies, and that the Ming nation and the Tsar of Russia are both among the five benevolent persons of their 'little broken pot.' Therefore, can we send envoys to the Ottoman Empire to seek their help?"
"Although the Ottoman Empire is not exactly a paragon of virtue, compared to the current situation..."
Hearing this, Francis II couldn't help but nod, and then turned his gaze to Zweig, "Then, who do you think should be sent to the Ottoman Empire?"
Zweig desperately wanted to say, "Go to hell, go!" The problem could be solved by delaying tactics, so why must they seek help from the Ottoman Empire?
Furthermore, even if the Habsburgs were willing to ally with the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire was willing to help the Habsburg family, did the Ottoman Empire have the capacity for it?
After all, the Ottoman Empire was currently being beaten by the Tsar of Russia, and soon another nation, Ming, would join in the beating. With attacks from two sides, how could the Ottoman Empire help the Habsburg family?
But Zweig had no other solution.
At the very least, the Ottoman Empire could still put up some resistance against the Tsar of Russia, while the Habsburg family was purely taking a beating. If they didn't find external aid soon, the Habsburg family would truly be unable to hold on.
As for seeking help from the Ottoman Empire, and thus betraying European interests...
Don't be ridiculous.
Although the interests of the Habsburg family and the interests of Europe partially overlapped, when faced with a choice between the two, the Habsburg family would definitely prioritize protecting its own family interests.
Or rather, any family in Europe, including the Bourbon family, would make the same choice as the Habsburg family.
See, this is statesmanship.
After careful consideration, Zweig bowed slightly and replied, "Your esteemed Majesty, I believe we should allow Ernest Gold to be an envoy to the Ottoman Empire to discuss an alliance."
Francis II nodded and was about to agree, but Zweig went a step further on Fred Jelinek's suggestion, proposing an even bolder idea.
"I believe we should also send Christoph Waltz to the Ming nation, to express our Habsburg family's willingness to join the 'little broken pot'."
"You know, the financial situation of the French frogs has always been a major problem. After they formed an alliance with the Ming nation, the French frogs' financial problems were gradually alleviated, and now they can even launch attacks against our Habsburg family."
"Moreover, aren't the firearms and cannons equipped by the French frogs also from the Ming nation? Including that highly capable Napoleon, he also has experience being trained in the Ming nation."
"All indications suggest that the reason the French frogs have become so formidable is entirely due to their Far Eastern ally—if we establish an allied relationship with the Ming nation, would the French frogs still dare to attack us?"