Eagle’s Glory

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[The Duke of Wellington was indeed born in Ireland, but he was never an "Irish". His ancestors were colonial masters who came from Britain after the British conquered Ireland, so he is a role similar to the "Manchu Taijun" in Ireland. .

When he grew up, he did not have any Irish identity. In fact, he hated and was wary of the Irish. He warned the government more than once that the Irish had a grudge against England and might rise up in rebellion at any time.

The Iron Duke was right, but why do the Irish hate England so much? It’s not that the British government and these colonial masters exploited them too much...]

As the Duke of Wellington took the initiative to end the secret talks, the French delegation quietly left the Prime Minister's residence at No. 10 Downing Street and set off back to the embassy.

In the carriage, the young Count Alexander Valewski was still in a daze, and his attention was still focused on the conversation that had just ended.

In his opinion, the performance of the head of the delegation, Duke Bassano, was close to perfect. When faced with questions, he argued hard and tried to show a friendly attitude to win over the Duke of Wellington. If he did not have rich experience, It is impossible to combine the two so well. This shows how bright the stars were in that generation!

Seeing the performance of his seniors, he once again felt painfully that he still had a lot to learn.

Similarly, there was another thing that worried him, because the attitude shown by the Duke of Wellington was really ambiguous. Although he seemed to be interested in the proposal of Belgian independence, he was aloof and did not give any substantive commitment. , but constantly hinted that the Belgian issue should be internationalized.

He finally got a taste of the British man's cunning. He didn't expect that the great commander, who had always been straightforward, was so good at playing such double-dealing tactics.

"Alexander, are you worried about something?"

While he was still deep in thought, Duke Bassano, who was sitting next to him, suddenly spoke.

Perhaps because he spent too much energy in the confrontation with the Prime Minister, the old Duke was obviously a little weak in speaking at this time.

Alexander woke up immediately and answered the Duke's questions honestly.

"Yes, Your Excellency, I think the British are playing tricks on us, they are still waiting and watching, and they want us to make more compromises."

"In the diplomatic arena, when you ask for help from others, others will never be merciful, and the same is true when it is our turn to take the initiative." Duke Bassano smiled bitterly, "I am not satisfied with the Prime Minister's response. Surprisingly, on the contrary, I think he has shown us as much kindness as possible."

"Release kindness?" Alexander was confused for a moment. He carefully responded to the exchange between you and me just now. Judging from the stern expression on the Iron Duke's face, he really didn't feel the presence of any kindness.

"Where do you start talking about this?" he couldn't help but ask.

"You think he was too cold and harsh just now, that's because you didn't understand his implication." Duke Bassano shook his head gently, and then repeated in a low voice what the Prime Minister said just now, "'I want to explain to you, You don't just need to convince me alone. The British are not that forgetful. They all remember what happened before. If you are really enthusiastic about the friendship between the two countries, then you are still busy...', you listen to him carefully. The meaning of the last words is very obvious.”

As if he was afraid that he would not understand, the Duke continued to explain, "The Duke of Wellington wants to tell us that he personally tends to support the independence of Belgium, but the British are afraid of the Bonaparte family, so they will instinctively resent it. The proposal comes from France, so he hopes that we can do a better job of public opinion in the UK and get more people to support this proposal. At that time, the British government can smoothly 'persuade' the Dutch government and get them to agree to make territorial changes. concession."

"So that's it..." Alexander suddenly realized, and then blushed a little. After all, he had just witnessed such a crucial meeting,

But he still felt embarrassed that he hadn't realized the true meaning of the Prime Minister. "Feel sorry……"

"It's okay, you are still too young. For your age, your current performance is already good enough. I believe His Majesty will be deeply satisfied." The Duke shook his head again, indicating that young Alexander did not need to care, "Prime Minister I’m afraid there’s a reason why Mr. Sir is so evasive.”

At this time, Alexander quickly figured it all out.

Although Britain is known as the Whig Party and the Tory Party, it takes turns to be in power. In the past 50 or 60 years, because the two generations of kings George III and George IV were very leaning towards the Tory Party, the Tories have basically been in power for a long time. , William Pitt Jr. alone was in power for nearly 20 years.

However, with the death of King George IV in June, things began to change.

First of all, because the Tory Party itself has been in power for a long time, it has begun to have internal conflicts. Several major oligarchs are fighting among themselves. For example, George Canning and Carlsley, two extremely famous foreign secretaries, had a duel in 1809 over personnel issues. Shots were fired, in which George Canning was wounded.

Later, over the "Catholic Emancipation Act", greater disputes arose within the Tory Party. The right wing and reformists in the party were almost incompatible. This state of political division within the party made even the great hero of Waterloo Welling The Duke of Don couldn't solve it either - for this commander, Boyun's treacherous political scene made manpower inadequate, and it was much easier to face the enemy with swords and guns on the battlefield.

In order to bridge the political differences within the party, even though he did not like the Irish at all, after becoming prime minister, he promulgated the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829, which lifted the restrictions on Catholics holding public office and at the same time officially Discrimination against Catholics has been abolished at the social level (of course, discrimination at the social level will continue for a long time).

However, even so, the political disputes within the Tory Party were still not over. Many people chose to quit the party and switch to the opposition party amid the internal strife. Faced with such chaos, the Duke of Wellington himself felt a little exhausted. At this time, King George IV At the time of the death, everyone had a premonition that the long-term Tory rule would temporarily end and the Whigs would come to power.

In this situation, even if you are the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington will not be able to do much. It may not be long before he chooses to resign.

Alexander had heard Prince Talleyrand say these things before setting off, and what the Prime Minister was doing now was tantamount to personally admitting this to the members of the delegation.

So he can't make it too obvious. He can't openly encourage these foreigners to contact members of his own opposition party.

After understanding the Prime Minister's hint, Alexander's spirit suddenly lifted up. Although this was just a hint, it also proved that the British government would not prevent members of the delegation from contacting the opposition parties - as long as they did things beautifully That's it.

"I understand, Your Excellency." He finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Then what do you think we should do next? Contact prominent Whig figures in private?"

"I told you that you are very smart, Alexander." Duke Bassano smiled slightly, and then he raised his finger and waved it slightly, "This is the focus of our next work, but we must be careful and don't It would embarrass the Duke of Wellington, let alone harm the reputations of our potential collaborators..."

Of course Alexander understood what the Duke meant.

The British are stubborn and proud by nature, and they hate all foreigners indiscriminately. In addition, their long war with the French has just ended, so their hostility towards the French is quite strong.

In this case, if they feel that a politician has a close relationship with the French, it will definitely affect that person's political career, so they must proceed with caution.

However, Alexander is very confident about this. In his opinion, there are no conflicts between Britain and France that can be resolved by extreme means, and Belgium's independence is also beneficial to British interests, except for a little bit that is outdated. Apart from his hatred, there were not many obstacles before him.

British politicians have always been known for their realism and will never dwell on past hatreds. Although they cannot expect their friendship, at least there is no need to worry that they will give up real interests because of emotions.

At this time, he remembered the advice Prince Talleyrand gave him before leaving.

Palmerston, this Tory member who took advantage of the situation and "defected" to the Whig Party, has become a Whig because the Whig Party, which has been in opposition for decades, is extremely short of practical talents. If the Whigs were appointed to power by the king, he might become the future British Foreign Secretary.

According to Prince Talleyrand's judgment, this ambitious politician would be very happy to promote Belgium's reform in order to eliminate other people's ridicule of him taking advantage of the situation and to earn a higher level of political capital for himself. process, and in this case, this delegation will be able to get the greatest help.

Alexander had no way of knowing whether Prince Talleyrand's judgment was right or wrong, but since it was the prince's judgment, he must resolutely implement it to the end.

Moreover, judging from the current situation, Prince Talleyrand has a clear understanding of the situation in the island countries around him. He has foreseen so many things in Paris, so his judgment must be somewhat reasonable.

So after thinking about all this, Alexander also made clear the focus of his next work - to help Duke Bassano strive to expand the delegation's influence on public opinion in the British upper class, and at the same time secretly contact the Whigs who may come to power soon. Party politicians.

On the carriage, he truthfully told Duke Bassano his thinking process and results, just like a student handing in his homework to the teacher. The elderly Duke Bassano also nodded frequently, showing his respect for him. The performance is also quite satisfactory.

"You have really grasped the point, Alexander. Now that you know what to do, then just go ahead and do it. I am already old and cannot move around. Since His Majesty and Prince Talleyrand have such high expectations for you, If you have high expectations, then you should work hard to prove that you are indeed as good as they expect.”

At this point, he suddenly lowered his voice again, "I have told you everything that should be given to you, but there is one more thing that I want to explain to you - no matter how we discuss His Majesty's opinions with others in private, in private In the open external channels, all negotiations and transactions are handled by Prince Talleyrand alone. Belgium's independence will be the result of negotiations between the Prince and the British. During this period, His Majesty not only expressed sympathy for the Belgian independence movement. Apart from that, we have no thoughts or actions to interfere with other countries, do you understand?”

"I understand." Alexander understood.

Of course he knew the meaning.

His Majesty did not want the radical nationalists among the French to think that he would cede territory as soon as he came to power, so he simply wanted to put all the responsibility for the Belgian independence issue on the current provisional government. Prince Talleyrand did not care about his reputation. , he happily took over this difficult task, so the current situation is-even though everyone knows that the French government cannot make such a major decision without the nod of the Roman King, he did not participate in the government process. Even as a member of the delegation, he was not appointed by His Majesty. He and his team were just visiting the UK on behalf of the provisional government.

During the meeting just now, the Duke of Wellington promised to keep secret, not only the proposal, but also the "King of Rome" they mentioned. At this point, the Duke's credibility is absolutely trustworthy.

"However, if the Duke of Wellington or other British people deliberately internationalize the Belgian issue, then His Majesty will have to come to the stage." Alexander raised doubts.

"If the British need to delay time and hold an international conference, then we can participate in it, and His Majesty can also take responsibility for it. But I believe that as long as we reach a tacit understanding with the British, no one can stop us from achieving our goal." Barcelona Duke Nuo suddenly concluded with confidence. "Your Majesty is not blindly trying to evade responsibility. If Prince Talleyrand has tried his best, no one can blame him... Your Majesty is waiting for the right time. If the whole issue becomes international, then of course His Majesty will have to bear the responsibility, but Others must recognize his legitimacy, right?”

Alexander understood.

If it is a private transaction, then His Majesty does not have to go to the stage, and Prince Talleyrand will bear the infamy; if the issue is internationalized, then of course he has to appear in person, but it also means that he is accepted as a member of the monarchs—— So as long as the problem is exacerbated, it will be beneficial to him no matter what the development is.

Duke Bassano let him go, not only because the Duke was old, but probably more because his special status could enjoy more "rights of exposure" in front of His Majesty. Any progress he made would mean that the Bonaparte family His position becomes more and more stable, and on the other hand, if he accomplishes nothing, it means that the understanding between Britain and France has become a mirror, and his "brother" has to face a more dangerous diplomatic environment.

Young Alexander opened the closed car window and looked at the rows of houses and the endless flow of people on both sides of the streets in London, and then he couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Whether it is for himself, for the family that has not accepted him as a member, or for the empire that has not yet been born, he must work hard.

There is no doubt that he is still very young and has a lot to learn, but he believes he can do it.

Napoleon's son finally came to London. Even though his role at this time was no longer a conqueror but a "reconciliator," he believed that he could still write a new chapter in history.

"Then let's have a good fight!" He muttered in a low voice that only he could hear.

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