Chapter 331： Emperor and Crown Prince

After the diplomatic "cold" in December, the French Empire finally ushered in its "spring" in mid-January.

On January 15, 1851, when Jerome Bonaparte once again conveyed the slogan "Empire is Peace" to the Continent, then the leader of the British Tory Party and also the new Prime Minister of Britain, Count Aladdin, sent his The new Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Malmesbury, conveyed to the French Ambassador to Britain that the Kingdom of Britain welcomes the French Empire to the Continental family.

[PS: Tory Count Aladdin accused Prime Minister Russell of various political mistakes between 1848 and 1851 through the social panic caused by the establishment of the French Empire. For a time, public opinion surged, and Prime Minister Russell was overwhelmed by the surging public opinion. After the fall of Russell's cabinet, Palmerston, the foreign minister who once served as the first opposition of Russell's cabinet, was also kicked out of politics by the Earl of Derby and replaced by the timid and inexperienced Earl of Malmesbury (a replica of Huck. )

The fall of Russell's cabinet came nearly a year earlier than in history. 】

At the same time, a letter from the Hanoverian royal family (Queen Victoria) passed through the secret channels of the Rothschild family to Jerome Bonaparte.

In the letter, Queen Victoria "kindly" referred to Jerome Bonaparte as "my brother Napoleon III" (the title among orthodox kings).

Then, once again expressed to Jerome Bonaparte that he wanted to travel to Paris.

It was unclear whether Queen Victoria was sincere or if she meant something, Jerome Bonaparte once again "invited" Foreign Minister De Ruiz into the Tuileries Palace.

After a brief discussion between the two, Jerome Bonaparte wrote back to Queen Victoria saying that Paris welcomes Queen Victoria and Prince Albert at any time.

The letterhead was handed over to Rothschild and the others, and he sent it to Buckingham Palace.

Jerome Bonaparte, who "solved" Britain, is no longer afraid of a sudden all-European war. In his view, the European continent without the financial support of Britain is a mess, let alone a war. To collapse is to be brave.

Of course, this is just a joke. Now in the whole of Europe (referring to the countries on the continent), apart from France, is there any major country that is not troubled by its own finances, and there are many examples of mobilizing half of the government to go bankrupt. To rely on such an army to go to war with France is a fool's errand.

Sure enough, on the second day after the Kingdom of Britain recognized the French Empire, the younger brother, the Kingdom of Sardinia, who had been diving for nearly a month, made a high-profile claim to support the French Empire.

After that, Cavour, Minister of Agriculture, apologized to Jerome Bonaparte through secret channels. His humble attitude made Jerome Bonaparte almost have the illusion that "this brother can handle it".

The reason is simply because the Kingdom of Sardinia is afraid that the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies will take away their position of licking dogs.

No one in Cavour knew better that the situation of the entire Apennine peninsula did not depend on Sardinia and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, but on the French Empire and the Austrian Empire.

The Austrian Empire is destined not to allow the Kingdom of Sardinia to complete the great cause of unification unless they are willing to abandon Lombardy, Venice and a number of middle-Italian states, while the French Empire is very different, as long as the diplomatic gains can fully allow the French Empire's army to help fight. White labor.

No matter what Cavour thought in his heart, Jerome Bonaparte had already decided in his heart that this "shrinked Bismarck" couldn't be more.

In order to obtain the "understanding" of France, Victor Emmanuel II replaced the former chairman of the Council of Ministers, the so-called Prime Minister, with Cavour.

On January 19, the new Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Sardinia Cavour sent a "request" to the French ambassador to Sardinia. He hoped that the Kingdom of Sardinia could also join the agricultural talks between the French Empire and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

This obvious spoiler was naturally rejected by the ambassador mercilessly. Even so, Cavour, who was still unwilling, gritted his teeth and applied for "funding" to Victor Emmanuel II, and then gave it to Jerome Bonaparte as an "admirer". Sister Mathilde Bonaparte.

This euphemistic way of giving gifts naturally won the favor of Mathilde Bonaparte. At the personal invitation of Mathilde Bonaparte, Cavour took advantage of the situation to lead a team of "agricultural experts" to France. Cavour's "secret weapon" is hidden among the group of experts.

On January 20, when Jerome Bonaparte learned that his sister had been invited to Paris by Cavour's gem "captured", he felt a headache.

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and the Kingdom of Sardinia already had some irreconcilable contradictions on the issue of Italian unification.

However, Jerome Bonaparte believed that Cavour should not be so politically savvy.

That night, Jerome Bonaparte went alone to the Palace of Fontainebleau to meet with the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

The crown prince and the emperor, two people of different identities and ages are sitting on the seats of the Palace of Fontainebleau. Above their heads is an ancient Greek portrait with a gold border, and on the table beside the seats is also placed. Vessels carved with ancient Greek motifs.

These ornaments are mostly from the Bourbon period, and some objects even witnessed the whole process of the rise and fall of the Bourbon dynasty.

Now that the Bourbon dynasty has been "destroyed", they are still intact in the Palace of Fontainebleau. I have to admit that sometimes the lifespan of cultural relics is much longer than that of a dynasty.

Looking at this young boy in front of him, Jerome Bonaparte couldn't help but think of himself back then (in his previous life), he vaguely remembered that he was still in high school at that time, and he didn't know anything about national affairs at all.

Jerome Bonaparte's eyes gradually softened, and he asked slowly: "Do you know why you were sent to France by your father?"

"No...I don't know!" Francesco II, who was only sixteen years old, responded timidly.

Francesco II, who is slightly timid in character, did not understand why his father sent him to the French Empire, and what was his purpose in coming here. Since arriving in Paris, Francesco II has never been Step out of the gate of the Fontainebleau Palace.

Looking at the future king of the Two Sicilian Kingdom with some lack of character in front of him, Jerome Bonaparte suddenly understood why the historical Two Sicilian Kingdom would collapse at a touch.

In a country with an absolute monarchy, the character of the monarch will affect the future direction.

Especially when the war of unification in Italy was in full swing, the weak monarch was destined to be abandoned by his subjects.

Jerome Bonaparte decided to instill some political experience in this guy whose political experience was still a blank piece of paper. The unification of the Apennine Peninsula was not a good thing for France.

"The purpose of your father sending you to France is to open your eyes to see the world clearly!" Jerome Bonaparte explained to Francesco II as he slowly adjusted his cuffs.

"Open your eyes and see the world?" Francesco II's eyes were full of doubts. These were words that he could not hear in the mouths of teachers and priests. His teachers would only keep teaching him to be devout to God. , to be kind to the world.

"Take the previous example! Why wasn't the Sardinian kingdom overthrown by their people? Why did your father Ferdinand II have to suppress the army?" Jerome Bonaparte asked a pointed question.

Francesco II had a disgusted expression on his face. He was not good at disguising and said bad things about Sardinia to Jerome Bonaparte: "The kingdom of Sardinia has betrayed the Lord, and they are associated with the mob. !"

"If you really think so, I can assert that the rule of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies will end in your hands!" Jerome Bonaparte responded coldly: "You will become a sinner!"

Jerome Bonaparte's cold words made Francesco II's face pale. He couldn't imagine what would happen if the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ended in his own hands.

"No... it won't!" Francesco II shook his head desperately and retorted: "We still have a loyal army and loyal nobles!"

"Loyalty?" Jerome Bonaparte still tore up Francesco II's disguise mercilessly: "You mean those Swiss Guards? Don't forget how His Majesty the Pope was taken Driven out! The so-called loyalty is only relative, when the army's guns face a mob of 10,000 or even 100,000, can they really be ruthless? Even if your army can resist the mob, what will you use to resist Garibaldi? The kingdom of Sardinia?"

Under the blow of Jerome Bonaparte's words, Francesco II's face became paler and paler, and the scene of the overthrow of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies appeared in his eyes.

"I...I..." Francesco II was speechless.

Jerome Bonaparte looked at Francesco II quietly, and he sat on the chair with his legs crossed.

After a while, Francesco II finally realized the purpose of his father calling him to go to France, and he said humbly: "You must have a way, right!"

Francesco II looked at Jerome Bonaparte with earnest eyes. Due to the influence of Ferdinand II's liberal ideas, Francesco II was very interested in Jerome Bonaparte. Ba is not as disgusted by the real orthodox monarch. He believes that the guy who builds the empire on his own must have his own advantages.

"It's a pity! I don't have a complete solution!" Jerome Bonaparte spread his hands, and then added: "The situation on the Apennine Peninsula is far more complicated than you think!"