There were not many new faces in the crowd. For example, the Austrian side sent General Benedek, the commander of the Austrian army during the Austro-Prussian War. At that time, Xiao Letian's new army had a battle with the Austrian army at Shiqiao Heights. bloody battle.
A few years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the smoke and fire of that year is still vivid in my mind. Although Xiao Letian has not had much contact with this general, he did have a chance encounter after the war. Although this meeting was embarrassing, it was There's not much hate in it.
Xiao Letian knew very well that his advice after the war worked. At that time, the King of Prussia, Prince Karl and others were dazzled by the victory and insisted on pursuing the victory and entering Vienna.
Only Xiao Letian and Bismarck suggested an immediate ceasefire and the start of negotiations, and they also wanted to give Austria a nice step down and not accumulate hatred.
At that time, Xiao Letian and Bismarck's consideration was that they were afraid that the war would drag on for a long time and then allow Napoleon III and Tsarist Russia to intervene militarily.
At that time, Prussia was overwhelming its troops on the Eastern Front. If France and Tsarist Russia carried out a sneak attack on the abdomen, Prussia would probably be in vain for all its efforts.
Not only these considerations, Bismarck and Xiao Letian also considered national sentiment and future war against France.
After all, Austria and Prussia are the same nation, both speak German and have the same cultural system. To put it bluntly, they are two brothers in one family.
As long as the bonds of language and culture are not broken, there will be many opportunities for merger and unification in the future.
Nothing must be done, and a ray of leeway must be left for the future. When Prussia fights France in the future, whether it can prevent Austria from backstabbing depends on its previous emotional investment.
Based on this consideration, the Prussian-Austrian War finally came to a favorable condition that even the Austrians could not believe. Under the general trend of defeat, Prussia did not force too much, and all the terms were as generous as if they had never been born. Same as war.
The hatred stirred up by the war was instantly suppressed like a balloon deflating. At that moment, many Austrians were even thinking about whether their country had done something wrong.
After the war, people-to-people exchanges between the two countries did not end at all, nor did official communication. In a few years, the relationship between the two countries recovered even closer than before the war.
The future Kaiser Wilhelm II may not realize that his alliance with the Austro-Hungarian Empire at one stop was actually based on Bismarck's political legacy, although he looked down upon Bismarck's forbearance strategy. , but he must admit that the battle he provoked was still Bismarck's capital.
General Benedek welcomed Xiao Letian with very complicated emotions. As a general, of course he did not want to see his opponent who had defeated him, but as a politician, he had to admit that Xiao Letian's advice back then is beneficial to Austria.
You can't deny the favor! General Benedek smiled wryly and stretched out his hand, "Welcome to you, His Majesty the Great Emperor! Welcome to you too, Mr. Yuan..."
Xiao Letian's intelligence network had already found out everything about Austria at this moment, and he had a clear idea of the general's tangled psychology.
Xiao Letian held General Benedek's hand and even pulled it toward him, and the two of them were soon touching each other, looking extremely affectionate from a distance.
"Hello, my friend... I haven't seen Austria for several years and I really miss it. Please stay in London for a few more days. I will prepare a banquet the day after tomorrow. You must have a copy of the invitation..."
Because Xiao Letian whispered in General Benedek's ear, this caused other people in the distance to have an illusion. They subconsciously thought that Xiao Letian had a very close relationship with Austria. At that time, there were many countries The special envoy made a small plan in his mind.
Benedek's hand was so painful that Xiao Letian clenched it, and he couldn't help but let the Chinese plot against him again!
"Okay, okay, I accept your kindness. I will definitely go there when the time comes... Can you please let go of my hand now? I didn't expect that you, like a scholar, have quite strong hands..."
With a sincere smile on his face, Xiao Letian whispered in his ear, "No, no, no, you'd better let me hold it for a while. This is the wolf's den. Only when I see you old friends can I feel more at ease." ah……"
Benedek smiled bitterly and whispered, "Okay, okay! I don't have any important information for you, but you have to be careful about the French envoy. Before the ceremony just started, he had already openly declared that he wanted you to suffer. Already..."
"There is also the special envoy of Tsarist Russia, you have to be more careful, he is a madman...Okay, I gave you the information, let me go, I will definitely go back to the banquet the day after tomorrow..."
Xiao Letian patted the back of General Benedek's hand and finally let him go. Following him, Xiao Letian saw another old acquaintance.
"Oh! Jonas...my old friend, I'm so happy to see you again!" Xiao Letian stretched out his arms and hugged the tall knight opposite him tightly.
Jonas was an old friend of the Chinese. He was the bridge between Xiao Letian and Prussia to establish diplomatic relations. When Jonas was running into obstacles everywhere in Beijing, it was Xiao Letian who gave him a chance.
The cooperation between the Chinese and Prussians was started by Jonas. This is really an old friend. Bismarck sent him as a special envoy. This is the clearest signal of support.
Jonas exchanged a few pleasantries and then whispered in Xiao Letian's ear, "Be careful of the special envoys of France and Tsarist Russia. They are in the late stage of mania... But don't worry too much. Prime Minister Bismarck has said, if you have any Unexpectedly, he is willing to come to London in person for diplomatic mediation..."
"Thank you, thank you very much! I will ask my soldiers to pick you up tonight, and we will talk by candlelight..."
What is supposed to come will always come. After sending off the envoys from Jonas and the two countries, a tall soldier with a hooked nose stood in front of Emperor Tongzhi with a mocking expression on his face.
With a shallow bow, the visitor announced his home: "French envoy, Charles de Montauban... pays homage to His Majesty, and wishes the Emperor long live, long live, long live!" The last words of praise were actually spoken in Chinese.
Zai Chun obviously didn't know the details of this person. "Oh! Mr. Montauban, your Chinese is really good..."
Before he finished speaking, Xiao Letian next to him sneered, "Haha...can it be better? I learned it in Sijiu City. As expected, the standards should be as high as possible..."
"Your Majesty, let me introduce to you that Mr. Montauban is a count in France... Do you know what his title is? Baliqiao! This is the famous Earl of Baliqiao..."
