War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

September 2, 1843.

Paris France.

Under the autumn wind, golden light filled the city. The busy civilians, lazy nobles, and greasy wealthy businessmen formed an oil painting that was both exquisite and vulgar.

When the Queen of England arrived in the city, King Louis-Philippe received her with the highest courtesy.

The soldiers on both sides of the road were solemn and solemn, which was no less impressive than when they greeted Napoleon's coffin.

Because almost every Frenchman did not want to lose face in front of the British, the Gallic rooster stood tall and raised his head as before.

The reputation of the British Empire did not intimidate the French. On the contrary, they watched the huge procession slowly driving on the street like exotic animals in a zoo.

However, in view of the recent security situation in France and Paris, Louis Philippe ordered three times more troops to protect Victoria's security.

The grand welcome ceremony invited celebrities from all walks of life in France, including painters, scholars, politicians, and businessmen. Everyone was dressed in red and decorated with ribbons and medals.

The July Dynasty used to sell medals and titles in bulk in order to win over people's hearts, so such things were particularly worthless in France at this time.

But this does not affect those people's mentality of showing off. At least they think they are handsome.

Victoria's height of five feet and two inches (about a little over 1.57 meters) is slightly petite, but at the same time she is well-maintained. Standing next to Louis-Philippe, from a distance, she looks like a little girl saluting her elders.

This undoubtedly gave the French a good impression and made them less disgusted with the identity of the Queen of England.

In fact, Victoria is really Louis Philippe's junior. Victoria is the niece of Louis of Orleans, Queen of Belgium, and at the same time, the Queen of Belgium is the eldest daughter of Louis Philippe.

That’s right, Louis Philippe is Victoria’s uncle!

So I won’t introduce too much here. I should have introduced it before when I introduced King Leopold I of Belgium.

The fact that the King of France could come to greet the Queen of England in person is enough to show that he attaches great importance to this visit. Both parties are well aware that this is a visit conducted entirely out of political considerations.

But on the surface, the efforts were still sufficient, and British and French reporters and royal literati had already been prepared.

These men of letters naturally knew what to do, which was to turn this meeting into a truly prosperous event that could be remembered by history.

The Queen of England and the King of France are considered family members. Louis-Philippe even claimed that Victoria was like his daughter. The latter also expressed his gratitude and even presented a white dove symbolizing peace to France on behalf of the British government.

The most direct result of this meeting is that the two sides will end the confrontation in the Viceroyalty of La Plata. In fact, both sides have long wanted to stop this meaningless war.

But helplessly, the top leaders of Britain and France were provoked by his own people, and Franz deliberately manipulated public opinion, which almost caused a war between the two sides.

But many times, many things may not develop as Franz expected, even if enough work has been done, it still cannot be achieved.

In the Viceroyalty of La Plata, the British and French generals showed great restraint. Even if Franz caused some troubles, and even if Rosas created tension from time to time, they did not prompt the two sides to go to war.

But even if the war does not happen, the cost of maintaining the expeditionary force is still a large expense.

In fact, the failure to promote war between Britain and France was not entirely due to Franz's incompetence. The main reason was that the distance was too far. Even if he wanted to carry out micro-management, he did not have the conditions. Even if a letter was sent from Austria to La Plata at the fastest speed, it would take a few seconds. Weeks, and no one knows how much can happen in a few weeks.

In addition, there were some special people present at the ceremony. They were neither British nor French, but Polish.

They are the famous Polish Restoration Army. Due to the previous large-scale fighting with another group of Polish Restoration forces, coupled with the joint encirclement and suppression by Russia and Prussia, and Franz's high-intensity poaching.

The original organizational structure had big problems and had to be reorganized. At this time, the top leadership of the Polish Nationalist Army was finally replaced by a group of capable fresh blood, led by a young man named Landry Promi.

It was he who took the initiative to find the French and British to seek cooperation. The presence of Landry Prome at the welcoming ceremony proved that he had convinced at least one of them.

In fact, it did not surprise Franz that Britain and France would accept the Polish Nationalist Army. After all, they had a common enemy, which was the Holy Alliance.

The Holy Alliance and the Vienna System were both obstacles for Britain and France to dominate the world. The Holy Alliance made it difficult for Britain to truly defeat its old rival Russia.

Even at this time, Russia was considered to have lagged behind the times, a sad and ridiculous agricultural country, and was called a barbaric and backward nation.

However, Britain has never let go of its wariness against this European gendarme. Although Austria is recovering rapidly and has even caused a lot of trouble for Britain, in the eyes of the Anglo-Saxons, even the entire German Confederation has not challenged it. qualifications.

Russia, Prussia, and Austria carved up Poland. There is no doubt that the two sides are eternal enemies, and the enemy of the enemy is a friend.

Britain and France followed this logic and decided to help it. In fact, both sides had already had experience in this area, such as the labor movement that was raging within Britain and France at this time.

In fact, there are also labor movements in Germany, but except for Prussia and Silesia, most of them are not serious or have been resolved.

Britain and France also hope that the Poles can set off a wave within the Holy Alliance like the workers' movement at this time, and it is best to regain their country, so that they can better control this powerful opponent.

In fact, even if Britain and France join forces, it is impossible to immediately launch an attack on the Holy Alliance, but there are ways to weaken the alliance until it collapses internally.

In fact, Franz thought the same thing. He didn't want to really fight a war. If possible, Britain and France should never join forces. It would be better to go to confrontation or war.

Such a world is the most beneficial to Austria. Of course, Franz is not the only one who does not want Britain and France to join forces.

Louis-Philippe is planning to invite Queen Victoria to stay at his castle outside Paris.

"Your Majesty Victoria, my little manor is perfect for picnics and hunting. Believe me, you and dear Albert will fall in love there."

Louis-Philippe spoke with great sincerity, for picnicking and hunting were among his few hobbies. After all, he always wanted to maintain a simple and frugal image, and generally speaking, aristocrats' entertainment activities cost a lot of money. For the sake of his own personality, Louis Philippe went to great lengths.

At this time, a gunshot was heard in the distance.