Eagle’s Glory

"Even for the benefit of our two countries, you might be able to consider other possibilities..."

We all know that the previous words are just for the occasion, but this sentence is the key point that Duke Bassano wants to say.

"What do you think are the possibilities?" asked the Duke of Wellington bluntly.

Duke Bassano hesitated for a moment.

At the moment, although Duke Wellington's attitude seems friendly, he is actually ambiguous and has not revealed any of his true thoughts. If he tells the truth now, he will be in a passive state waiting for the other party's reply.

It would be okay if the Prime Minister is not interested in this proposal, but if he secretly leaks this proposal, it will inevitably cause a huge shock on the continent, especially those countries that are originally dissatisfied with the Bonaparte family. There was an excuse to attack the ambition of the Roman king and then unite against France.

After all, he was a veteran in diplomacy. After thinking of this, he hesitated again when he spoke.

But now that the arrow was on the bow, Duke Bassano did not dare to hesitate any longer. He calmed down and then raised his head to look directly at the opponent.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, my loyal Majesty, full of enthusiasm and desire for peace, solemnly intends to make you a proposal of great importance. Whether you like his idea or not, I ask you to be conservative about it. secret."

Duke Wellington was slightly confused, but facing the other party's eyes, he nodded slightly, "Of course, as long as this proposal does not harm our country, then I can remain silent about it."

After receiving the Duke's promise, Duke Bassano continued.

"Judging from the current situation, it is difficult to bridge the contradiction between the Dutch and the Belgians, and an independence movement is inevitable. If we allow the situation to develop like this, then it is obvious that there will be big problems. The large-scale bloodshed has allowed the tragedies of 200 years ago to be staged locally again. Moreover, if the Protestants bloody massacre the Catholics, this will inevitably arouse a wave of anger in our country, and the people will become fiercely hostile, which will in turn bring great harm to our country. The government has brought great pressure. I am afraid that it will be difficult for our government to sit back and ignore it at that time. The British government will also be troubled by this tragedy that is so close at hand.

Therefore, rather than letting the situation deteriorate to the point where it is unbearable for everyone, it is better to form a coordinated position among the major powers as soon as possible and let the incompatible couple separate as soon as possible... In summary, His Majesty believes that it is possible He believed that allowing Belgium to become independent from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and become a permanently neutral Catholic country was the best way to maintain peace. "

After saying that,

He looked at the Prime Minister nervously, waiting for the other party's response.

Now he has thrown out the most important thing, and no matter what the result is, it will have a major impact - he can't control the direction of the situation, because the initiative is on the side of the Duke of Wellington, but no matter what, He will try his best to strive for the most favorable results, not only because he is a follower of the Bonaparte family, but also because he is a Frenchman, and he must fight on the invisible battlefield for the benefit of the country.

Duke Wellington did not answer immediately, but frowned slightly. His originally stern expression was now even more oppressive.

However, he didn't seem particularly surprised by this proposal. Obviously, he should have gotten some information from various news channels before.

"In other words, the young Roman king believes that the best way to achieve peace is to dismember a country? I'm afraid this will not make those worried people happy." He said coldly.

"If it is to dismember an ancient and unified country, it is indeed an act of outrage for both humans and gods, and it can also be used as an excuse for others to attack His Majesty, but is this really the case?" Duke Bassano replied, "Since the Netherlands became independent two hundred years ago, Belgium and Belgium have always belonged to different countries, and their beliefs, customs and political traditions are completely different; they became a 'country' only because of the opinions of some adults at the Vienna Peace Conference who had never been to Belgium. It’s just a stroke of a pen! Wouldn’t it offend them to decide the fate of millions of people like this?

Moreover, it was only fifteen years ago that the Vienna Peace Conference made such arrangements. On the scale of time, fifteen years is like a blink of an eye. It is not even a quarter of my current age. Do we have to Do you regard fifteen years as an eternity and obliterate their efforts to pursue their own freedom and rights? Prime Minister, you can support or oppose this proposal. This is your right. However, please believe that your Majesty made this proposal with full consideration of the current situation and with good intentions. He does not have any territorial ambitions. He has no intention of challenging the dignity of all countries. He just hopes that everything will calm down and that those who pursue freedom will receive a fair and reasonable treatment. They deserve such a treatment. "

"As a diplomat, you are indeed very eloquent." The Duke of Wellington listened quietly, and after he finished speaking, he slowly spoke, "However, I must remind you that I have been used to seeing In order to prevent diplomats from using the most beautiful words to hide their evil intentions, maybe you have also done a lot. As you said, I am full of affection for the Belgian people, and even to use slightly offensive words, it is the most glorious thing in my life. The pinnacle was achieved in Belgium——

Generally speaking, I hope that the people there can enjoy peace and prosperity, but this should not be at the expense of destroying the tranquility of the entire Europe. If the Roman king thinks that he can rely on the unrest there to coerce us Britons into giving in, then I think He was a little too naive. "

Duke Wellington's straightforward response made Duke Bassano understand that at this time, the British did have doubts about His Majesty, so they instinctively felt some resistance to his proposal, and this resistance was indeed well-founded. After all, not long ago , France directly annexed Belgium. They were afraid that this "independence" would become a cover for annexation, or the first step in a gradual "salami slicing".

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, I have full respect for you. Although the honor you received at Waterloo was based on the suffering of our people, you deserved it. Although we were once enemies, everything is now It’s over. I don’t harbor any hostility toward you, and neither does Your Majesty! Please don’t misunderstand His Majesty’s intentions. His sympathy and concern for Belgium are only based on France’s own interests, and there is no annexation or disguised annexation. If the British government supports his proposal, he can sign an agreement with Britain or any peace-loving power to guarantee respect for Belgium's independence and never interfere in its internal affairs. Please believe that for those continuous conflicts in the past He has learned a lesson as profoundly as you, and is absolutely unwilling to repeat it again."

Under Duke Bassano's explanation, Duke Wellington's expression softened a little.

It was not that he believed the other party's various assurances - these assurances were diplomatically meaningless - he was able to glean from the other party's words the thoughts of the young man he had not yet met.

In fact, although he remained calm, the British also knew over the years that after Belgium was annexed by the Netherlands, the local resistance never ceased. Therefore, within the British political arena, there was already a "Why don't we just let it go?" Belgium should become an independent country."

But this idea has not yet become the mainstream opinion - because France is too powerful, so powerful that it can easily shock any neighboring country.

Even if Belgium is annexed to the Netherlands, it will still be difficult for this federal country to compete with France. Once Belgium becomes independent, won't it be even weaker and unable to resist?

Precisely because of its wariness against France, the British government has never put this idea into practice.

However, as France was in turmoil, Belgium also began to be turbulent. The Dutch rule over Belgium seemed to be shaky. If they wanted to continue to maintain their rule, they could only carry out bloody suppression. Once this suppression started, it would It will trigger larger-scale turmoil and eventually involve the surrounding big countries.

If this is the result, the British are also unwilling to see it, because for the British at this time, war is not the top priority. Its economy is currently prospering due to the development of technology, and its factories and Merchant ships are bringing a steady stream of wealth to the British Empire. As the largest vested interest in the current order, peace is naturally the most beneficial to it.

It neither wanted to send troops to help the Netherlands suppress the revolution and maintain its rule over Belgium; nor did it want to see major powers taking the opportunity to infiltrate their power into the lowlands.

The Duke of Wellington relied on war to step by step from the hopeless second son of a low-level landowner to the highest-ranking nobleman in the British aristocratic system and to a very humane prime minister, but he was not a bloodthirsty and warlike person. A fanatic, he will go all out when Britain needs a war, but he will not fight unnecessary wars.

Faced with the current dilemma of the cold and realistic British, ideas that had been shelved on the shelf have been put on the table again.

If Belgium becomes an independent country and becomes a peaceful small country, then England's window to the world will be calm, and it will not have to worry about any outside interference. Its peace and prosperity will continue. The sun never sets on the Empire. It will set.

At this time, the proposal from France and the border speech of the King of Rome became a catalyst, further accelerating the attention of British politics to the Belgian issue.

Some people think that they should simply go with the flow and take advantage of France's willingness to guarantee Belgium, making Belgium a neutral country protected by Britain in one fell swoop. From then on, the lowlands will become Britain's outermost protective circle; some people think that the Bonaparte family cannot be trusted, and the French They are also full of ambitions, so it is better to continue to maintain the status quo and support the Netherlands to suppress Belgium; of course, there are a small number of people who think it is better to just fight and repeat what happened fifteen years ago, rush into Paris and completely drive away the Bonaparte family and solve the entire Fundamental problem.

Although there are different opinions, the Duke of Wellington has already made up his mind. Of course, he will not listen to the most radical and unrealistic ideas, because in his view, the ambition of the French is natural, no matter who sits on the throne. Whoever he is, he will definitely try his best to expand the power of France, so simply fighting a preventive war against the Bonaparte family is futile and will only bleed in vain.

However, he did not want to agree with the King of Rome's proposal so easily, because in his opinion, this matter was of great importance. Not only Britain and France were involved in the matter, but the attitudes of other countries should also be taken into consideration. Britain's The benefit lies precisely in letting the parties get involved in the dispute and then make the final arbitration with a detached attitude.

Therefore, in front of Duke Bassano, he always maintained a non-committal attitude.

"What you said is not completely unreasonable, sir." He looked at Duke Bassano, and then replied lightly, "The Belgian people have the right to fight for their freedom, but their struggle should not become a tool for other countries to fight for their interests. We do not We will not allow any foreign soldiers to enter Belgium, I must make this clear to you."

"I can also assure you that His Majesty has no such intention." Duke Bassano spread his hands.

"If he is willing to curb his ambitions and sincerely hopes to protect the freedom of the Belgian people, then I think this issue can be discussed." After receiving the assurance from the Duke of Bassano, the Duke of Wellington continued unhurriedly He continued, "But this issue should not just be limited to our two countries. We cannot decide the fate of so many people in private. We should resolve this issue openly and honestly internationally -"

Duke Bassano was slightly stunned.

He didn't expect that the Duke of Wellington would reply to him like this.

From a good point of view, this shows that he really hopes to solve this problem and is interested in His Majesty's proposal; but from a bad point of view, if it is raised to an international discussion, the Bonaparte family will be affected by its own "history". Criminal record" will inevitably be subject to greater doubts and attacks from the great powers.

In other words, one must side more with the British position.

"He said he hopes for peace and protection for everyone. I believe him. Gentlemen are always willing to trust strangers." Just when Duke Bassano hesitated, Duke Wellington continued, "Of course, I believe It's not that I'm stupid, but I'm not afraid of any tricks he might have. If he wants to do it again, England will definitely support him with all his strength. But I believe that with his intelligence, he won't want to do such a futile thing. Sir , if the King of Rome really wants to work with me to solve the problem, then let's try it together, after all, we all bear huge responsibilities, and we are not allowed to dodge or escape."

After he finished speaking, he waved his hand gently, indicating that the topic would end here, "Sir, I will keep my promise to you and keep this secret. In addition, out of goodwill towards you, I want to explain to you that you are not only I need to convince someone that the British are not that forgetful, they all remember what happened before, and if you are really enthusiastic about the friendship between the two countries, then you are still busy, it will be a very difficult job. I wish you the best All the best to you, for I have never been hostile to the French... If I could choose, I would be a Francophile, if only the young King of Rome would let me choose."

After speaking, the Prime Minister gently shook hands with the group and then left the reception room.