Eagle’s Glory

After receiving the Duke of Wellington's permission to meet, the entire delegation immediately woke up from their previous laziness and irritability. Like a clockwork pocket watch, they each performed their duties and began to mobilize urgently.

Duke Bassano, Count Alexander Valewski, and other members locked themselves in a small room, thinking over every word they would say when they met with the Prime Minister, and even conducted various rehearsals all night to prepare for various possibilities. emergencies

It’s no wonder that they are so nervous. Whether it is for their future or for the master they are loyal to, opportunities cannot be squandered. For the empire that is about to be restored, the relationship with Britain is crucial. It even exceeds the sum of all other international relations, and even affects the success or failure of the entire enterprise. There is absolutely no room for slack or mistakes.

For young Alexander, this meeting had a different meaning -

So far, in his 20 years of life, his only meaningful label is "the illegitimate son of Emperor Napoleon." Whether everyone likes him or hates him, it is not because of him, but because of his label.

Undoubtedly, this is an honor, but it also denies his own value. He definitely does not want the world to remember him in this way.

Therefore, he must seize the opportunity to complete the mission entrusted to him by his "brother", and then in the next ten or twenty years, he will reach the pinnacle stage of the empire's power field, and then create achievements that will go down in history - of course he does not dare to hope He can be compared with his father, but as long as future generations can remember his personal deeds rather than just seeing him as a shadow, for him, he has realized the value of his life.

So he discussed and rehearsed with his colleagues with a hundredfold enthusiasm, just like a trainee lawyer who had just entered a law firm.

Just after they were ready, on the scheduled date, they arrived at the door of the Prime Minister's official residence at No. 10 Downing Street in a carriage, and were then taken into the official residence.

After just a few days of preparation, Alexander thought that he had already made all preparations, but when he was actually in the Prime Minister's residence, he still couldn't help but feel nervous.

It was a very ordinary afternoon, the wind was bright and sunny, and it didn't look dangerous at all. On the contrary, it made people sleepy. However, in this inconspicuous space, the fate of nearly 50 million people (perhaps hundreds of millions) in two countries will be decided at this moment.

Even in this era of popular secret diplomacy and aristocratic diplomacy, there are very few moments of such significance, and he is fortunate enough to be a part of them. It is really a lifetime honor. He is experiencing history, and it can even be said that he is writing history.

What next? Alexander believed,

In my long career, I will definitely experience many moments like today, and it would be a pity if these moments were lost in the dust of history.

When he first came to serve with Prince Talleyrand, he once asked Prince Talleyrand many questions with humility and respect. The prince answered some of the questions patiently, while on other questions, he was evasive. , and then told Alexander that after his death, he would publish his memoirs and make public some of his secret documents and personal opinions. However, there were many things that were inconvenient to say while he was alive, so Alexander was asked to review them at that time. .

Alexander believed this deeply. Only death can make a person truly carefree.

Therefore, he will work seriously and hard throughout his life, patiently accumulate various materials, write down his own experiences and evaluations - and then lock them all in a safe, and then write them down when he is about to pass away. Memoirs make these documents available for the world to appreciate. Only in this way can his ups and downs of life not be forgotten.

Today's meeting with the Duke of Wellington, although he is not the protagonist yet, will definitely become a major chapter in his memoirs. Even out of respect for his own life, he will play his role well and record every moment. A paragraph of text.

They were first taken to the waiting room. They didn't sit there for long before a secretary of the Prime Minister walked up to them and politely informed the Prime Minister that he could now receive them.

Duke Bassano immediately took Alexander and two other members of the delegation, followed by the secretary, to the Prime Minister's reception room.

Just when they had just sat down, the door to the reception room was opened again, and then the Prime Minister of the British Empire, the distinguished Duke of Wellington, strode in with a military habit.

The members of the delegation headed by Duke Bassano quickly stood up again and welcomed the arrival of the Prime Minister.

In terms of stature, the Duke is not particularly tall, but his thin body and serious face still give him a dignified and majestic temperament. This kind of temperament cannot be performed by pretentious politicians. Only the commanders who have truly seen those mountains of corpses and seas of blood and won the laurels of victory are qualified to possess it.

However, Duke Bassano had followed Emperor Napoleon for many years, so he certainly did not suffer from stage fright.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I am very grateful that you took the time to meet us despite your busy schedule." He bowed slightly, and then paid tribute to the Prime Minister in a neither humble nor condescending manner.

"Your Excellency, I have heard of you for a long time, but it's a pity that I have never had the opportunity to deal with you." The Prime Minister did not show an arrogant or distant attitude. Instead, he walked up to the Duke and extended his hand to him. hand, "Congratulations on your return to politics."

The Duke of Wellington replied to him in fluent French, but this was not surprising. In his early years, the Duke had briefly studied abroad at the Angels Military Academy in France, and he had never had any particular hostility towards the French.

Since the Prime Minister's attitude was so easy-going, Duke Bassano would not let go of the opportunity. He immediately reached out and shook hands with the Prime Minister.

After shaking hands with the Duke of Bassano, the Duke of Wellington shook hands with the other three members of the delegation. Every time he shook hands, the secretary next to him would remind him of this person's identity, and when he reached the lowest status , the youngest Alexander, the secretary next to him quietly reported Alexander's well-known "hidden identity" to the Prime Minister.

The Duke of Wellington knew the specific members of the delegation in advance, so he did not appear very surprised, but he still paid attention to Alexander and then laughed happily.

"I haven't seen that son yet, but after all, a son has arrived!"

Alexander's face burned at the Duke's burning gaze.

As Napoleon's illegitimate son, he could not have any affection for the Duke of Wellington, but he also had no way of hating the commander-in-chief.

Among the generals of the same period, those who were capable often had poor personal ethics, and those with good personal ethics were often lacking in ability. However, the Duke of Wellington had both of these two points extremely well. He did not like looting either. He didn't kill innocent people indiscriminately, and he didn't retaliate against the enemy for the casualties of his subordinates. Even his enemies couldn't say there was anything wrong with him.

His most famous deed was that after Emperor Napoleon was defeated and captured in 1815, he resolutely resisted the Prussians' request to shoot Napoleon, even if the Prussians offered to do it for him. So much so that Blücher was so angry that he mocked him and said, "You must be very grateful to Napoleon, because he brought your British career to its peak."

Because he knew all this, Alexander had no way to accuse the Duke of Wellington. It was only natural that everyone should fight for his country.

No matter how painful the past was, it is in the past. For the sake of the present career, we must base ourselves on the present instead of getting entangled in meaningless hatred.

In the blink of an eye, Alexander stopped feeling a little emotional, and then shook hands with the Prime Minister with the honor of being a little secretary.

It was these hands that were not strong, that had defeated several marshals of Emperor Napoleon, and killed Emperor Napoleon's last hope of restoration at Waterloo. However, at this moment, the successors of Emperor Napoleon's career seemed like friends. He held this hand and paid tribute to the owner of this hand.

Destiny is so mysterious and unpredictable!

This has been the case in European countries for thousands of years. One moment they were fighting each other to the death, and the next moment they were intimate, and it was like this through thick and thin.

After shaking hands, Duke Wellington nodded with satisfaction and motioned for everyone to sit down. Then his eyes fell on the head of the delegation, Duke Bassano.

"Sir, according to your country's official documents, you came to our country with a peaceful mission, and we also have friendly expectations for you; however - just a few days ago, I heard from the news There are some discordant murmurs. It is believed that the King of Rome made some unfriendly remarks while traveling in Lille. What is going on? His Majesty and I need an explanation to allay our doubts."

The Prime Minister's question did not go beyond Duke Bassano's expectations. In fact, just before arriving, they thought this was an unavoidable topic in the rehearsal and prepared various responses.

Although Duke Wellington was questioning at the moment, his attitude was quite relaxed and easy-going, and his tone was not serious. This was the best situation they expected.

He immediately responded to the Prime Minister's query.

"Your Excellency Prime Minister, please don't worry about His Majesty the King of Rome's love for peace. Since you have been receiving news from France, you can definitely see that he has been working hard these days to bridge the gap between the various political factions in the country. and to appease the army. He never showed any hostility to the status quo, and was even less likely to change the balance of power in Europe after 1815. France would always be a member of the Holy Alliance, and he was happy to be a defender rather than a destroyer. By."

Hearing this latter sentence, Duke Wellington couldn't help but curl up his lips and almost laughed.

The Holy Alliance was formed by Russia, Austria, and Prussia after the Vienna Peace Conference in 1815. The purpose was to suppress all possible revolutions and to unite to maintain the existing order without changing it. After the restoration of the British and Bourbon monarchies, France Then he joined in.

But now, the Bourbon family has fled France again, and the Bonaparte family has returned.

Logically speaking, this is an organization of Bonaparte's "enemies". However, neither Prince Talleyrand nor the King of Rome himself expressed a word of opinion against the Holy Alliance, as if nothing had changed. As a result In theory, France is still a member of the Holy Alliance.

This is certainly not an oversight, but a strategy. Prince Talleyrand wanted to use this position to actually paralyze the Holy Alliance itself.

After all, although the Holy Alliance is a family of European monarchs, it is not a real international organization with an executive body. It does not have a chairman or even a leader. As long as the French do not propose it, there does not seem to be a mechanism to kick France out - unless The great powers held another conference for the status of France, and then made a joint decision.

But now, neither Austria, the initiator of the Holy Alliance, nor the important Britain have the idea of ​​​​initiating such an anti-French conference. Therefore, the wonderful idea that "the Bonapartist regime that is about to be born in France still remains in the Holy Alliance" And the embarrassing scene continued inexplicably like this.

However, there has always been no shortage of people with thick skins in the political and diplomatic circles. As long as the person involved is not embarrassed, no one can be embarrassed.

"A defender, a peace-loving person, should not say such aggressive words." After a moment, the Duke of Wellington regained his composure, and then continued, "The Dutch are very nervous about this, even They also came to me and asked me to say a few words of justice in order to curb the untimely thoughts of the Roman king..."

"Untimely idea!" Duke Bassano raised his eyebrows, and then shouted out in an exaggerated manner, "Your Excellency, what exactly did His Majesty the King of Rome do? He did not send more troops to the border, nor did he coerce any foreign government. , and did not even provide the most basic support to the Belgians. He only expressed sympathy for the oppressed Belgians with a just and compassionate heart - and you can also see that this kind of oppression is real. It is true that the Belgian people are spontaneously resisting the oppression and suppression of the Dutch..."

"A country has the right to act on its own within its own borders." Duke Wellington's face darkened, and then he warned Duke Bassano sternly, "Even if you express sympathy, I'm afraid it is suspected of interference and will only arouse doubts and suspicion from the outside world. disturbed."

Although Duke Wellington sounded harsh, Duke Bassano was relieved.

This was the calmest reaction expected.

"Okay, Prime Minister, I will convey your warning to His Majesty. I believe that Your Majesty will also pay attention to your opinions." He nodded lightly.

Then, he immediately changed the topic and said what he had prepared, "But I also have to ask you to face it. An unstable lowland will only harm the interests of all of us! Netherlands and Belgium have parted ways. This has been a reality for centuries. Forcing them together will not calm the unrest, but will only create a steady stream of unrest, as we are seeing today.

Therefore, as two countries with the heavy responsibility of maintaining order, not only for the welfare and future prosperity of the lowland people, but also for the interests of our two countries, you may be able to consider other possibilities..."