Versailles is worse than being queen

◎You bad girl! ◎

Listening to his sister's tone, Joseph guessed that she probably disdained the title of "Minister of the Navy", and couldn't help laughing: "Don't think it sounds like the Minister of the Navy, but he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs before, and he is still actually in control French foreign policy."

That is to say, a petite little princess like my little sister, who only knows how to play crazy and doesn't pay attention to politics, looks down on such a high-ranking official.

Antanya nodded thoughtfully, "So... are you going to talk to His Majesty about ending the war?"

1762 was already the sixth year of what would later be known as the Seven Years' War.

The fighting between the Anglo-Prussian coalition and the French-Austrian coalition has been delayed for too long, and the respective allies of both sides have spent a lot of manpower and material resources on this, and they are exhausted.

"End?" Joseph couldn't help raising his voice, "Of course not! After six years, we finally pushed that monster Frederick back to Breslar Fortress to survive, and the victory is ours!"

The Queen of Austria hated King Frederick of Prussia, always referring to him as a "monster," and her children followed suit.

Antanya couldn't help frowning slightly.

The final outcome of the Seven Years' War was not in Austria's favour.What happened?

Seeing his sister's expression of disapproval, Joseph said again: "France is also determined and cannot give in easily. They are still dealing with Britain in the south. We must hold up the defense against Prussia! It was these barbaric Germans who invaded first. , only force can make them realize who is the number one power in the Holy Roman Empire."

Although the Holy Roman Empire is now more of an honorary union, Prussia and Austria, as the two largest states in the empire, still struggle fiercely for dominance in it.

The current emperor of the Holy Roman Empire is their father, Grand Duke Franz of Tuscany-although the Holy Roman Empire does not recognize the queen, Queen Teresia managed to win this honorary title for her husband.

Joseph finished talking passionately before realizing that he might have said too much.

How can a six or seven-year-old girl understand these things.

Probably his little sister has always been impatient, but this time she didn't interrupt him or run away.This is really unaccustomed.

Before he could think about it, Antanya asked, "Duke Choiseul told you that?"

"Yes." Joseph replied.

Antanya thought for a while, then suddenly smiled, and hooked her fingers at him: "Brother, I have a secret to tell you."

"Oh?" Joseph squatted down with a good temper, and leaned in front of his sister.

"I accidentally overheard the conversation between His Majesty and the Prime Minister yesterday—I swear, I really overheard it!" Antanya leaned into his ear and whispered, "Mother said, this war has ended. It's been too long, we've lost too many soldiers and property, and it's time to find a way to end it gracefully."

"Really?!" Joseph asked in astonishment, "But we haven't brought Silesia back yet! If the preparation ends now, wouldn't Prussia be spared in vain? Then what about our agreements with France and Russia?"

People will subconsciously enter a state of rebuttal and justification when they hear remarks that they disagree with, and Joseph, a very young crown prince, is no exception-he didn't realize at all that he subconsciously regarded his young sister as an adviser.

Antanya blinked: "Brother, the Duke of Choiseul's promise may not be so credible."

After she married to France that year, she had a deep understanding of the diplomat's methods.

Joseph shook his head: "You are still young, don't you know that he came to Vienna six years ago, and we formed an alliance with France to deal with Britain and Prussia. He himself is the main founder of the alliance. Do you want to dismantle your own platform? "

Austria and France were originally enemies for centuries. From the war of Spanish succession at the beginning of the century to the war triggered by the dispute over the succession of the Queen of Austria 20 years ago, almost every time they belonged to the opposing camp on the battlefield.

But six years ago, Prussia and the United Kingdom brazenly launched a war in alliance, which made Austrian law have to join hands and once again practice the truth of the phrase "the enemy of the enemy is a friend".

Brother, you are still too naive.

Antanya sighed in her heart, the promises of politicians are like clothes, which can be changed at any time according to the weather.

In fact, as far as she knew, this "honest" duke secretly signed the "Treaty of Fontainebleau" with Spain in this year, which gave him an extra trick when negotiating with Britain, but Austria was not informed.

She smiled innocently: "Brother, sister Amelia once bullied me and Caroline, they are both older and stronger than me - so what should I do? I will make an appointment with Caroline early Let's deal with Amelia together, but when the situation is wrong, I will sneak away."

After finishing speaking, Antanya couldn't help sticking out her tongue.

This is indeed something that seven-year-old "she" did a few days ago - after all, she is a naughty little princess.

Joseph was dumbfounded: "...you bad girl!"

"Hush!" Antania took his hand and shook it for a while, "Brother, you have to keep it a secret for me! Otherwise, my mother will scold me again. I will go to accompany Isabella's sister-in-law and never let her If there is a slight mistake, don't worry!"

She ran away laughing.

The child's body runs light and full of vitality, which is completely different from the feeling when it was at the end of its life.

She really came back to life, Antanya sighed in her heart.

The young Austrian Crown Prince stood there laughing, shook his head, turned and left.

Joseph walked quickly, through the newly waxed and gleaming corridors of mirrors, and everyone he met head-on bowed deeply to the future ruler of the dynasty.

A moment later, he knocked on the door of the queen's study.

"Come in."

Deep purple velvet curtains hung in the queen's study room, and layers of scrolls and books were stacked on the large drop-shaped ebony wood table. A huge map of Europe was spread out in the center of the table.

Standing across the table was the Austrian Prime Minister, Prince Kaunitz, who was as exquisitely dressed as ever-a thick wig, thick foundation on his face, and rich perfume on a golden brocade dress without a trace of wrinkles.

"Joseph," the queen didn't look up, her tone seemed to suppress anger, "what does France say?"

Kaunitz didn't speak, but just looked in the direction of the Grand Duke.

"The Duke of Choiseul conveyed the words of King Louis XV, saying that now we have mobilized almost all of Europe for war, and now we need to strengthen the defenses against Prussia and England, and we must take back the territories that were taken. They will be in the south Strengthening the fleet against the English Channel will also provide us with more financial support," Joseph replied.

"Fight against Britain," Kaunitz repeated lightly, "tsk."

Joseph glanced at him inexplicably, and then his eyes flicked to the map direction pointed by the quill in the queen's hand - that was the northeast of Austria, the Russian Empire that extended to the ice sheet.

Joseph's heart skipped a beat.

"What do you think?" The queen still didn't look up, but her expression seemed to be even colder.Those blue eyes were staring at the white territory, as if gnashing their teeth.

Joseph froze for a moment, and when he was about to speak, his little sister's innocent words just now came to mind in his mind: "His promise may not be so credible."

"..." He hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister—is there any new news?"

……

After returning to the banquet hall, Antanya went straight to Isabella.

After finding out the current situation, she was actually most worried about this sister-in-law.

This princess, known as Isabella of Palma, has a weak personality and body. She has been depressed since she married her brother two years ago. In addition, her mother died of smallpox on the eve of her wedding. Doomed to die early.

— as if by fate, she did die of this horrific disease more than a year later.

Smallpox is the lingering shadow of death that haunts all people in this era, no matter nobles or commoners.

Fortunately, today Isabella was surrounded by a group of laughing younger brothers and sisters, and Antanya deliberately made her happy again, and seemed to be in a good mood.

Seeing that the time for the banquet was approaching, the younger children couldn't help being hungry, so they started eating snacks before meals.

On a golden porcelain plate, a golden Salzburg custard is baked next to a snow-white napkin in the shape of a carp and a rabbit.This sweet Austrian pastry sheds lots of crumbs when you bite into it, while its soft, moist interior melts in your mouth.

"Is Your Majesty and the Grand Duke still discussing things?" Antanya asked in a low voice.

A few minutes had passed since the scheduled banquet time, but there was still no sign of the queen, and His Majesty always hated unpunctual behavior.

"Yes."

Antanya frowned slightly.There seems to be something wrong.

Everything around me suddenly seemed to be shrouded in a mist of deja vu. The shining hall of mirrors, the joking brothers and sisters, and the warm and sweet aroma of food made people greedy, but the queen and brother Joseph were late for the first time...

At this moment, a wave of whispers came from the corridor far away from the open banquet hall like a tide.It was as if some huge invisible presence had passed the hall—the panic and uneasiness under the waves suddenly swelled.

The queen walked in, and she and the crown prince who followed her all looked serious.

"News came from St. Petersburg that the Empress of Russia has died." The news exploded in the hall with a bang.

The belated rulers sat down with solemn faces, and the younger children all looked ignorant, but the Grand Princess Isabella raised her head worriedly after thinking for a while: "Then the one who will succeed is the... ..."

"That's right." Joseph replied with a heavy tone, "The current tsar is Peter III, the German who admires Frederick."

Antanya finally remembered.

At the beginning of the year, Russia experienced a change of rulers.

The problem was that the newly enthroned Russian emperor had grown up in Germany as a fanatical follower of King Frederick of Prussia.

"We just got the news, and Russia hasn't taken any action yet." Queen Theresia said in a heavy tone, "But it will soon."

At this moment, politicians with a keen sense of smell must realize that as Russia is about to fall to Prussia, the political situation on the European continent will undergo major changes.

For the Queen of Austria, the most important thing now is to find out what is going on in the Russian court as soon as possible.

What does the new tsar intend to do?

When will it be done?

What impact will this have on the war situation between Austria and Prussia, and even the war situation in the entire European continent?

In any case, it will never be a good influence.

"The Earl of Melsey is leaving for St. Petersburg in three days' time."

As the queen said, she looked around for a week with sharp eyes, "But the name of the visit is to represent me to attend the funeral of the Russian empress and the coronation ceremony of the new emperor, and members of the royal family need to go with her."

Now all the queen's children understood.

Queen Theresa herself, as the ruler of the Habsburg dynasty, of course will not go in person, so a distinguished royal family member will go on her behalf.

The problem was that the incoming tsar was likely to be hostile to Austria.

Both Russia, which believes in the Orthodox Church, and Germany, which believes in Protestantism, are pagans whom the traditional Catholic Habsburgs are extremely wary of.

What's more, the absurd willfulness of the newly enthroned Russian tsar's behavior had already reached Vienna before.

At that time, they were just making fun of the withering descendants of the Romanov dynasty in Russia, so that they had to find such a ridiculous and terrible descendant to inherit the throne.

But in a blink of an eye, it may be his turn to be killed by this terrible heretic in the wild north.

There was a sudden silence in the banquet hall, and all the children dared not show their spirits, for fear that they would be appointed by the queen to face the terrifying new tsar.

After more than ten seconds of awkward silence, Joseph finally couldn't help sighing: "Your Majesty..."

As the eldest son of the queen, he should bear certain responsibilities.He couldn't force his younger brothers and sisters to face the danger, so he had to do it himself.

"No." The queen flatly refused, "You are the crown prince."

Joseph shut his mouth embarrassingly.

The Queen didn't say so, but all the children present understood that the Crown Prince couldn't go on the visit because he was so important - which speaks to the dangers of the visit.

After all, no one had ever dealt with the newly enthroned Tsar Peter III, and in this day and age, wayward kings often acted without restraint - such as King Frederick II of Prussia, who once imprisoned Venetian ambassadors to force Venice to The governor sent a dancing girl to the new opera house in Berlin.

Considering that the idol of Russia's new tsar was the infamous Frederick the Great, the odds skyrocketed that he was a madman.

"Excellent." In silence, the queen looked around for a week, almost unable to suppress her anger.

"I gave birth to [-] children for this country, and [-] survived, all bearing the title of Archduke of Austria, but now none of them can share my worries."

There was a dead silence in the banquet hall, and all the children who were familiar with the queen's temper lowered their heads tremblingly.

They knew that the queen might directly appoint someone to go next.Who could be this unlucky fellow?

"In that case, I have to choose one." The queen said coldly, "then—"

"Your Majesty, let me go." A childish voice suddenly sounded from the corner.

The mother and all the brothers and sisters in the ruler's family, together with all the courtiers, maids and servants serving in the banquet hall, all looked over in astonishment—who is it?

Where everyone's eyes met, the little girl with light blonde curly hair gracefully saluted the Queen.

Antanya calmly met the astonished gazes, and smiled lightly: "I heard that the wine in Russia is very strong, and the snowy night in St. Petersburg is very beautiful."

The author says:

Antanya: And Russian women are fierce.

The little princess went to Russia for a special reason, related to the fate of Europe for the next 30 years.guess what?