In the midst of the oppressive atmosphere of the clouds and furious roars, the Foreign Minister of the Russian Empire, Count Nesherro Die, although very shocked by this sudden ultimatum, did not hesitate to reject any of the conditions put forward by the French ambassador, rejected the ultimatum, and demanded that the ambassador and the embassy personnel immediately leave the Russian territory with diplomatic passports -- this is the general diplomatic principle, and once the two countries enter a state of war, then no diplomatic personnel can be left in difficulty. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

The French have French reasons, and the Russians have Russian morality, so the situation is very clear, and the two countries can only meet each other with arms, using knives and guns to decide who is right and who is wrong.

The French ambassador was not surprised when he was sternly rejected by the count, and he politely said goodbye to His Excellency the Chancellor, and the old Count stood up straight and watched the ambassador leave his residence.

After the initial anger had passed, he had regained his usual composure, and though he did not say a word, he gave him a sense of undauntedness, with the demeanor of an old-school diplomat.

As he said, he had seen the superstars of Napoleon Wellington and other generations with his own eyes, so he was not afraid of any storms that came his way.

When the ambassador left, the silence of the residence returned, and the ambassador walked back to his office, silently cleaned up the official documents on the table, and then looked up at the night view outside the window. It was already dark at night, and Petersburg was still peaceful at night, and the lights were already on outside, reflecting the quietly flowing Neva River, showing the charm of the city.

God, please let this peace remain in Russia. His Excellency said silently, and then he shook the bell on the table and called his secretary in.

"Prepare the carriage, I will enter the palace to meet Your Majesty." "Go and inform the ministers who are still in Petersburg," he said, "in a tone that does not give rise to any fluctuations," he said, "and let them enter the palace as soon as possible for an important meeting." ”

"Yes." Although His Excellency's request was strange, and it must indicate that something big had happened, but after years of good training, the secretary nodded yes without asking half a question, and then left the room.

The minister turned around again and walked slowly to the window, looking at the night scene outside the window, as if he wanted to imprint this scene in his heart.

He knew that tonight he was destined to sleepless, and tomorrow the whole of Petersburg would know that Russia was going to face a doomed struggle.

And it has to be won.

The sudden panic in Petersburg had not yet reached Paris, and the city was still immersed in the lazy and cool summer twilight.

In the residence of His Excellency Chancellor Charles de Treville, His Majesty the Emperor of the Austrian Empire was still discussing state affairs with Charles. His Majesty the Emperor was furious when Charles had told him that France was about to deliver an ultimatum to Russia, but after the initial consternation, he had forgotten his anger at least superficially, and continued to talk with the French minister in a calm and pragmatic manner about future cooperation.

For the emperor, what has already happened is irreparable, and it is even more important to look to the future.

And when His Majesty the Emperor was discussing with Charles, his fiancée was not idle, and at this time she was following the hostess Charlotte, teasing the other party's two children.

Both children were boys, the eldest was close to two years old and could already say phrases in a milky voice, while the younger was only a few months old and could only accept the crowd of onlookers in his swaddling clothes.

These two children, one with blonde hair and blue eyes, and the other with black hair and purple eyes, look very different, but they are both very cute, so the princess immediately likes them as soon as they meet, and has been teasing them, and she can't put them down.

"Your Highness!" Under Charlotte's teaching, Clovis shouted to the princess in a crisp childlike voice.

"Don't call Your Highness, it's weird and uncomfortable, just call me Auntie." The princess wiped his smooth face with a smile, "It's a pity I didn't bring you a gift today......"

"You're still so young, it's too inappropriate to call you Auntie." Charlotte smiled and picked up, "It's like his sister." ”

"This is really embarrassing...... the princess blushed slightly, "I am already a person who is about to get married, and I am still young." ”

Embarrassment, she looked to the side, and suddenly realized that someone seemed to be observing her.

When he found her sight, the other party immediately took his gaze back, and then teased the purple-eyed child next to him.

Her Royal Highness the princess paused for a moment, she knew that this person was the sister of His Excellency the minister, but she was very puzzled, obviously the two of them had only met for the first time, why the other party seemed to be a little cold to her, and was secretly observing herself.

However, there is something I can ask her to do.

It was at this time that Lady Charlotte left the children, apparently to oversee the servants preparing dinner, and Her Royal Highness took the opportunity to come to Fran's side without a trace.

And Fran also felt the princess coming over, and she hurriedly looked at the other party again, "Your Highness? ”

"Hello, Mademoiselle de Treville." The princess greeted her politely, and then asked with a little trepidation, "Excuse me, ...... Do you have any opinion on me? Did I do something that embarrassed you? From the moment I was here, I had the feeling that you were really watching me, and ...... And I don't seem to be particularly happy, did I inadvertently cause you some trouble? If so, I think I need to apologize to you, please make me clear......"

"You...... You're so sharp. Fran was a little surprised, she didn't expect the other party's senses to be so sensitive.

Her Royal Highness was very polite, but there was also some hidden toughness, which Fran could certainly hear.

"I have no ill feelings towards you, Your Highness, today is the first time we have met, and you can't hurt me before." She said as modestly as she could, "I'm just curious about you......"

"Curious?" The princess was even more curious, "What do I have to be curious about?" ”

"You are the future Empress of the Austrian Empire, and I am very curious about you just because the social world has talked a lot about you, and most of it is in praise of you......" Fran replied in a low voice, "so it's not surprising that I'm a little curious about you, right?" What's more, even my brother was full of praise for you after meeting you in Austria, and he was a person I knew, and he was by no means the kind of person who liked to brag, so this added to my curiosity. ”

"Original...... I see. The princess sighed.

It seems that talking about herself everywhere has provoked her jealousy? That's right, this kind of aristocratic lady with a superior family background is all arrogant, seeing that she is so beautiful, she must be held by the stars of the moon, so after hearing rumors about herself, she will be unconvinced, and then become hostile. The princess thought to herself.

This kind of "hostility" really makes her feel a little ridiculous. Because she never expected to be the center of attention in the eyes of others.

"So now you see it, right? The rumors against me are all exaggerated, and what is standing in front of you is just a confused and shy ordinary person. She smiled wryly, "She really doesn't deserve too much attention from others, she just wants to be able to live quietly." ”

"If a person can still think like this after getting your status, then she will definitely not be an ordinary person." Fran shook her head, but complimented the other party, "Your sobriety proves that you are worthy of the title of queen." Not to mention that you are so beautiful......"

However, although she was complimenting the other party, she was still a little unconvinced, she felt that her appearance would never lose to the other party, considering that her brother preferred blonde hair and blue eyes, she should still be more than right-if Her Royal Highness the princess knew that she still had such thoughts in her heart, I am afraid that she would cry and laugh even more.

"I'm ashamed of your compliments. I beg you not to say such things to me again, whether in Austria or in France, this compliment has enveloped me and almost made me breathless, and I wish you would treat me like a normal friend. Her Royal Highness the princess became serious again, "By the way, I have one more matter, and I would like to ask you for personal matters. ”

Leave me to private matters? Fran was a little surprised, but immediately agreed.

"Tell me."

Under her gaze, Her Royal Highness took a look out of herself, then took out a small purse from herself, and then, after looking around her, and when she was sure that no one was looking at her, she took something out of her purse.

The golden light immediately pierced Fran's eyes.

This is a pocket watch.

After a moment of doubt, Fran immediately understood—wasn't this a pocket watch that her brother used to love?

This is......

"This is a gift from your brother when he was in Austria." The princess whispered, "I appreciate his gift, but I want to...... In my capacity, it is better not to accept a private gift, especially one from a foreign minister. ”

When Charles was about to say goodbye to Austria, he finally found an opportunity to meet the princess privately for a few minutes in Schönbrunn Palace, and after telling him about his enthusiasm, Charles gave his pocket watch as a gift, and said that it was a token, and the princess would tell him if she needed help in the future.

And this gift has always been a source of unease for Her Royal Highness, who instinctively knew that she should not accept such a gift, so as soon as she arrived in Paris, she thought about returning it.

In view of His Excellency's Excellency and her own reputation, she could neither send it back with great fanfare, nor could the two of them meet in private, so that Mademoiselle de Treville was probably the best person to do now.

"So...... I would like to ask you to do me a favor by returning this pocket watch to him, and to help me tell him that I am very grateful for his kindness, but that I cannot bear it, and that I would only like to ask him to continue to devote himself to friendly relations between the two countries in the future, and that this will be the greatest help to me. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the princess finished the passage with great speed, and then handed it to Fran with her pocket watch.

Has it come to this point? Thank you for doing it!

Fran was surprised, and secretly annoyed.

Although her brother has said several times that he appreciates Her Royal Highness the Princess, she didn't expect him to be so bold and reckless.

Annoyed, she didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Miss?" The princess asked curiously.

Under her gaze, Fran finally came to her senses.

Now is not the time to get angry.

"You'd better not do that." She shook her hand and refused the princess's request. "Since he told you so, it means that he may have something else to say, and you'd better keep it. I'm not a good middleman, and if you have to return it, you can just give it back to him. ”

"This ...... That's embarrassing. Her Royal Highness hesitated.

In the current situation, of course, she could not meet the young minister in private, and she instinctively felt that if she passed through the other party's wife, it would probably be even worse.

Just as she was still hesitating, there was another sound of footsteps in the hallway, and she looked up to see that her fiancé and the Minister were walking towards it together, and in desperation she immediately put the pocket watch back away.

Having just taken it back, His Majesty Franz-Joseph had already come over.

Her Royal Highness the Princess found that Her Majesty the Emperor's face was solemn, as if something important had happened.

"What's wrong?" She walked up to the emperor and asked in a low voice.

"We've got to get ready to go back as soon as possible." The Emperor replied coldly, as if still in his anger, "As fast as you can." ”

"Why? Isn't that etiquette? The princess was astonished.

The emperor had a gloomy face, attached to his fiancée's ear, and whispered a few words.

"Oh God." Her Royal Highness opened her eyes wide, and then looked at Charles with a complicated expression.

Is this group of people who started a war between talking and laughing? Do they really understand what the consequences will be? Or do you really care?

Charles was as calm as he was now, and he smiled and nodded at the princess, as if he had returned to Schönbrunn Palace.

"Let's have dinner first, Your Majesty. There's a long way to go, and we should always replenish our energy so that we can face all kinds of crises head-on, right? ”

……………………

In the early morning of the next day, the city of Paris, which had been jubilant for the celebration of Queen Carona's birthday, suddenly changed its atmosphere, and as soon as the citizens took to the streets, they found that the streets were full of soldiers patrolling, and the air seemed to be filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Is there a new coup d'état? People are in doubt.

However, no one is in the mood to answer their questions.

At this time, His Majesty Emperor Napoleon III, with his cronies and important ministers, arrived at the Bourbon Palace, where an emergency meeting of the Imperial Legislative Council had been convened.

The councillors, who had been summoned directly, were still confused, and some were even sleepy-eyed, apparently still recovering from their recent pleasures.

The predecessor of the Legislative Council was the National Assembly of the Republic, but after a coup d'état, the Bonapartes rebuilt the empire, and His Majesty the Emperor's first move to centralize power was to take the Parliament.

He rebuilt the Senate, installed a large group of cronies in it, used the Senate to divide the powers of the National Assembly, and then he stipulated that the government's budget and legislative corps had no right to consider each item, but could only pass it in its entirety or oppose it - in fact, it had no right to oppose it.

At the same time, he stipulated that there was no salary for the office of a member of the Legislative Council - politics was actually an expensive profession, and the absence of a salary meant that these members of the Legislative Council had to rely on the government's nose, otherwise there would be no government support and allowances, that is, he turned the Legislative Council into his royal instrument.

As a result of his efforts, the unruly National Assembly, now the Legislative Council, became the imperial instrument of His Majesty the Emperor, and was largely approved by the Imperial Government if it made a budget request.

Of course, even if it is a royal tool, it must be put on the façade of the Congress, and the imperial government needs this rubber stamp to endorse its own adventures.

In full view of everyone, the emperor stepped onto the pulpit of parliament, and then faced his puppet councillors with pride.

"Parliamentarians of the Empire!" He directly stated his purpose, "There is a special bill of the government today, and I hope you can pass it as soon as possible, and that is...... Emergency appropriations for the Russian war. ”

"Oh?!" After hearing His Majesty's words, the parliamentarians were surprised.

Although relations between the Empire and Russia were poor, there seemed to be signs of improvement recently, and they did not expect to go straight to the situation of fighting each other so quickly.

"At this very moment, the Russians are marching on Europe, and with ruthless determination, they are unleashing their eternal and evil ambitions in a vain attempt to gradually encroach on the whole of Europe." His Majesty the Emperor continued, "After painful consideration, I have come to realize that we cannot concede these men by a rational declaration of peace, nor can we make them give up their boundless ambitions by moral persuasion, so ...... In desperation, we can only stop this boundless evil by last resort, yes, we love peace, but when the crisis comes, we will never back down! I am convinced that our military traditions and our brave officers and men will be able to defend France and all of Europe, and that no one will be able to stop us, as long as we can bring out the spirit of the old and regain our sword. ”

He raised his head, looked at all the parliamentarians, and then cried out loudly, "Now, my country is facing the most critical moment, and I need every citizen to stand up and assume his duty to defend the motherland, today I don't know any Bonapartist or Orthodox, I only know the French!" Please tell me if you are willing to give everything for France?! ”

The parliamentarians, who had come to their senses, certainly understood that this was an unquestionable decision of His Majesty the Emperor.

The room suddenly turned into jubilation, and some of the parliamentarians, who had already been very supportive of the empire, immediately raised their hands, as if they were veterans who had seen the Napoleonic Emperor.

"Long live France! Long live the Empire! Long live the Emperor! ”