From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

"Well, thank you for your hospitality, Your Excellency the Duke."

In the big red box in the middle of the second floor of the Royal Opera House, Baron Bertula leaned comfortably on the sofa armchair, took a glass of crystal clear brandy and put it into his mouth, and said with great satisfaction:

"It's such a good wine, I would stay in Paris for another twenty years just for this wine."

The Duke of Richelieu on the side nodded with a smile, also picked up the wine glass and took a sip, cleared his throat and said:

"As long as you like it, I will send someone to send a few more barrels to the embassy later."

"Oh, you are so generous and thoughtful."

Baron Bertula said with emotion. After a drunken drink for a while, his face gradually turned red.

However, as an excellent diplomat, Baron Bertula knew that now was not the time to indulge in drinking, so even when faced with the fine wine collected by the Duke of Richelieu, he only tasted it briefly and then put the glass aside.

In the past few days, Baron Bertula has received extremely warm hospitality from the Duke of Richelieu. From watching the theater to attending the horse racing meeting, and now personally accompanying Baron Bertula to attend the royal banquet today, it can be said that he is warm and sincere.

Although Duke Richelieu said that this was only a personal relationship for the purpose of friendship, Baron Bertula was not a fool. It can be said that the two of them had almost never interacted with each other before.

He did not think that a very influential French Duke would want to establish a pure personal friendship with the English ambassador for no reason.

"Ahem."

After Baron Bertula put the wine glass aside, he glanced absently at the performances on the stage. Since the Royal Opera House needed to cater to the taste of the royal family, and Louis XV's artistic accomplishment was quite limited, in Baron Bertula's view The quality of this performance can only be described in words.

The Duke of Richelieu apparently thought so too. He was so addicted to drama that he did not pay attention to the stage at all, but silently tasted a cheese dessert sprinkled with cane sugar.

After realizing that Duke Richelieu was not interested in the drama, Baron Bertula sat up slightly, lifted his somewhat loose dress jacket, and turned to look at Duke Richelieu.

Having received enough hospitality from the Duke of Richelieu in the past few days, Baron Bertula knew that he could not continue to enjoy it so shamelessly, otherwise he would really lose a favor that was difficult to repay.

So he took the initiative to test and said:

"Your Excellency, do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

Duke Richelieu took out his handkerchief and wiped the cheese residue on his hands, and said with a leisurely smile:

"Tomorrow. Now that we have finished attending the royal banquet, we will go back to Paris. We will arrive in the morning around noon, and then we can play bridge together in the afternoon. I heard you are very good at this."

"What you arranged is really fulfilling, but it's a pity."

Baron Bertula put on a very regretful expression, sighed and said:

"Although your warm reception almost makes me want to live in your mansion, I can't leave my post for too long. There are still many things waiting for me to deal with in the embassy, ​​so I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you tomorrow. "

After saying that, Baron Bertula raised his glass to his mouth again, waiting for Duke Richelieu to reply.

Baron Bertula believed in Duke Richelieu's shrewdness, and after hearing these farewell words, he understood what to say next.

Sure enough, Duke Richelieu nodded with a smile and glanced at the stage below. It was only the second act now and he had enough time to express his demands to Baron Bertula.

"Ah, what a pity. I also want to see your poker skills, but of course you are different from an idle person like me. A person like me who has no job and no power can have fun all day long."

Duke Richelieu also showed a look of regret and shook his head sadly.

After hearing this, Baron Bertula quickly sat up and said:

"As you said, you did your best when you were young, and now it's natural for you to enjoy your old age."

Duke Richelieu sighed again, the wrinkles on his face seemed to have deepened a lot, and said slowly:

"Although this is true, rather than enjoying my old age, I still want to do something with these old bones."

Although these words were said very casually and seemed to be just the emotion of a strong man in his twilight years, Baron Bertula couldn't help but raise his brows after hearing this and looked at Duke Richelieu in surprise.

As the ambassador to France, Baron Bertula can be said to know the political situation in Paris and Versailles better than many French people, and the party struggle between Duke Richelieu and Duke Choiseul is a crucial part of the situation. Bertula The Baron was naturally very aware of it.

Now, with the Duke of Choiseul holding sole power, the first and most important thing for the Duke of Richelieu to regain political power is undoubtedly to remove the obstacle of the Duke of Choiseul.

And since Duke Richelieu mentioned this matter in front of Baron Bertula, it is obvious what the center of the conversation between the two will be next.

Baron Bertula frowned slightly and looked at Duke Richelieu. His words were equivalent to bringing the topic to the party dispute with Duke Choiseul.

So Baron Bertula gathered his thoughts for a while and asked tentatively:

"It's great to see you have such energy and spirit, but it seems that it's difficult to do what you want to do in your current situation, right?"

Baron Bertula is not afraid of being involved in this struggle. After all, he is an outsider. Even if the team is correct, he and England behind him will be the ones who benefit.

"That's right. I haven't been in good health lately, but as long as the king appoints me, I'm still willing to work hard again."

Duke Richelieu said with a smile, his words already hinting to Baron Bertula that the key to this struggle does not lie in the current political power of both parties, but the core lies only in Louis XV.

Baron Bertula nodded slightly. The records of the embassy's intelligence agency over the years can show that Duke Choiseul is gradually being alienated and distrusted by the king.

Of course, the recent surrender of Corsica has made Louis XV change his views on the Duke of Choiseul, as long as the treaty can be signed smoothly.

Thinking of this, Baron Bertula lowered his head, avoided Duke Richelieu's thoughtful eyes, picked up the wine glass and took a slow sip.

"Since Duke Richelieu told me this, he definitely hopes that I can help him to a greater or lesser extent. For this, I should be able to put forward some conditions in exchange, but can he bring down Duke Choiseul?" "

Baron Bertula played with the wine glass in his hand and calculated silently.

Seeing Baron Bertula's hesitation, Duke Richelieu calmly changed the topic and said:

"Oh, I'm so sorry for talking so much about me. By the way, how is your work lately? Isn't that Choiseul guy difficult to get along with?"

Baron Bertula glanced at Duke Richelieu, and then nodded slowly.

As a radical militant, Duke Choiseul also manages France's foreign policy. His tough diplomatic style naturally gives Baron Bertula a headache, and he must avoid conflicts or even wars with the French.

After all, Britain is still digesting the fruits of victory in the Seven Years' War. Although the British are not afraid of going to war with France, the British government is not willing to engage in such a high-risk behavior as a war if it is not driven by interests.

As long as the British develop peacefully for twenty years, after they have completely taken over and digested French Canada and French East Indies, England, whose national power will have greatly increased, will no longer be afraid of France's war threat.

The Duke of Choiseul was also thinking about this, hoping to go to war with Britain again after military reforms and armament expansion in order to regain the colonial interests lost after the Seven Years' War.

From this perspective, Baron Bertula, as the ambassador to France, certainly hopes to see a conservative foreign minister appear in the court of Versailles instead of the warmonger Duke Choiseul.

Thinking of this, Baron Bertula also directly erased the option of supporting Duke Choiseul in his mind. Now before him, he either remained neutral and did not get involved, or supported Duke Richelieu and pushed Choiseul The Duke of Er was defeated.

"The Duke of Choiseul is still the same, and you should know that."

Baron Bertula smiled helplessly, sighed and said:

"For someone as radical as him, I wouldn't be surprised if he just throws a declaration of war in my face the next time we meet."

Duke Richelieu also echoed:

"Yeah, he can't wait to send his army and fleet to the English Channel tomorrow. It's really disturbing. Who likes war. If I have the chance, I will never let such a person control France's foreign policy."

"Oh?" Baron Bertula narrowed his eyes and nodded. After Duke Richelieu said so much, he began to set out the conditions to win over himself. From what he meant, after Duke Richelieu came to power, France China's foreign policy will be quite conservative, at least it will not advocate war against Britain every day.

This is a result that Baron Bertula and even the British government are happy to see.

As for Baron Bertula personally, if he can really bring a conservative French foreign minister to power, it will undoubtedly be a great achievement. People will even regard the peace in the next few decades as his of credit.

"You are absolutely right, long live peace."

Baron Bertula smiled meaningfully, raised his glass and touched it with Duke Richelieu.

With a crisp clang, the two looked at each other and smiled, and both generously took a big gulp of the brandy in the glass.

Since overthrowing the Duke of Choiseul is the common interest of the two of them, the rest of the matter will be much easier to discuss.

After exhaling very freely, Baron Bertula continued:

"I also hope that France can have a peace-loving foreign minister. It's really distressing. How can we get a foreign minister who really cares about France's interests to come to power?"

Duke Richelieu said happily:

"I know a lot of pacifists, and I think they would be happy to accept the position of foreign minister as long as Choiseul falls."

"But this is not an easy task, right?"

Baron Bertula asked cautiously. Although he knew that as long as he made good use of Louis XV, he would have a good chance of overthrowing Duke Choiseul, the power in the hands of Duke Choiseul still made Baron Bertula hesitate.

Duke Choiseul can even directly ask the British government to replace a new ambassador to France in the name of the French government. In this way, Baron Bertula's diplomatic efforts in Paris over the years will be in vain.

Duke Richelieu also saw Baron Bertula's hesitation, so he immediately said:

"Of course it's not easy, but there is a great opportunity right in front of you. Just take advantage of it."

"Opportunity?" Baron Bertula asked with a frown.

Duke Richelieu moved closer to Baron Bertula, lowered his voice, and said only one word:

"Corsica"

"Corsica?" Baron Bertula was stunned for a moment and did not react.

"You should have an impression of this island, right?" Duke Richelieu nodded and asked.

"Of course." Baron Bertula frowned and gritted his teeth and said:

"It would have been England's land if nothing else happened, but it's a pity that Bonaparte. Moreover, our former Prime Minister, Lord Pitt, has been imprisoned on the island and his life and death are uncertain, not to mention that a Royal Navy battleship and officers and soldiers are still there. On the island. I can tell you privately because the British Foreign Office is crazy about this.”

Duke Richelieu took a sip of wine silently and said lightly:

"I also heard that Bonaparte executed all the officers on the ship. I didn't expect you to be able to endure this."

Baron Bertula waved his hands irritably and said:

"Of course neither the king nor the Royal Navy could bear it, but our Prime Minister still suppressed the matter. If the Royal Navy forced a landing in Corsica, it would be playing into Choiseul's hands. It is estimated that the French army and fleet would have been It's ready. The information I have even indicates that Duke Choiseul may have been contacting the Austrians to form an alliance."

"So you just let this matter go?" Duke Richelieu asked with a chuckle.

Baron Bertula glanced at Duke Richelieu and said helplessly:

"At the moment it seems that it will be resolved through diplomatic channels, and it should be negotiated between me and that damn Governor of Corsica. However, when England is ready for war, we will bring up this matter again."

"That's right." Duke Richelieu nodded, but didn't say anything.

Baron Bertula looked at Duke Richelieu in confusion and asked aloud:

"Why did you mention Corsica? Are you trying to break the treaty between Duke Choiseul and Bonaparte? I think this is still very difficult. After all, King Louis has almost recognized this fact."

"No"

Duke Richelieu shook his head slowly, as if he was still hesitating whether to tell Baron Bertula about the plan. After five or six seconds, he slowly opened his mouth, but in a low voice.

Even the sound of the organ on the stage almost drowned out Duke Richelieu's words. Baron Bertula still pricked his ears to barely hear what he said:

"Don't the Duke of Choiseul want a war? We will give him a war."