The Palace of Versailles is a model of the French palace complex. This gorgeous palace was built by Louis XIV, but it completely declined in the flames of the Revolution.
During the Revolution, the Palace of Versailles suffered several large-scale robberies. The furnishings in the palace, including furniture, murals, carpets, fireplaces, chandeliers... including some small displays, including tile paintings in the baths, were also looted, and even Even the doors and windows were taken away.
In 1793, in order to protect the palace, all the artworks and remaining displays were transported to the Louvre, leaving the Palace of Versailles completely empty.
It was not until 1833 that King Louis Philippe of the Orleans Dynasty ordered the renovation of the Palace of Versailles, which gradually restored about half of its original glory.
During the reign of Napoleon III, although the Palace of Versailles had not been restored to its peak, it still had good living conditions. Napoleon III lived here for a period of time every year and especially liked the Hall of Mirrors here.
When Bismarck walked into the Hall of Mirrors for the first time, he was stunned by this treasure of the Palace of Versailles!
There are 17 huge floor-to-ceiling mirrors composed of 483 lenses. The huge mirrors can not only reflect the gorgeous murals on the ceiling, but also correspond to the 17 huge windows.
Outside the window is the back garden of Versailles, and the beautiful scenery of the four seasons can be presented in the mirror. This design makes the already extremely spacious Hall of Mirrors even more spacious.
Bismarck stood in the middle of the hall without saying a word for three full minutes. He just looked around at everything in front of him, while the palace butler who stayed behind at the Palace of Versailles smiled humbly behind the Prime Minister.
"Dear Prime Minister, this palace becomes even more magnificent at night. Look at the crystal lanterns with so many candles above your head that can be lit..."
"The 17 floor-to-ceiling mirrors are composed of 483 small mirrors with different angles. Some of the mirrors can reflect the light of burning candles..."
"Once a grand banquet is held, the place will be radiant. The mirror reflects 150 candles but can show the effect of 3,000 candles... That is the real splendor..."
Bismarck sighed, "It's so arrogant and lustful that it makes no sense for such an empire to survive..."
The palace butler slapped the horse's leg with his flattery, and suddenly did not dare to speak. At this moment, a Prussian guard soldier trotted over quickly and whispered.
"Prime Minister... a group of MPs have escaped from Paris. They keep saying they want to see you... they all seem to be from the royalist group..."
"Oh? It's fast enough. There's a reaction... Xiao Letian is definitely developing in Paris. He's such a cunning guy!"
"Let them come here and I'll meet them in the Hall of Mirrors!"
The royalist MPs who escaped from Paris did not expect to be received by the Iron Prime Minister in the Hall of Mirrors, and they walked into this dream palace intoxicated one by one.
This is the holy place in the hearts of all royalists, including the Tuileries Palace, the Louvre, etc. Everything that has anything to do with imperial power is their holy place.
The moment the door to the Hall of Mirrors opened, when they saw the familiar scenes and thought about the destroyed Paris, several old councilors had sore noses and tears fell.
"Prime Minister... please save Paris... this city is going to be destroyed... the revolution has begun again... wu wu wu..."
The royalist MPs cried and told their grievances, while Bismarck arranged chairs for them to sit down politely.
Some congressmen said, "Let the Crown Prince ascend the throne. I know that the French Emperor has offended your country, so let him accept punishment... But France cannot live without an emperor. Let Prince Eugène ascend the throne!"
"If it doesn't work, just form a government in exile. We can't leave this country to those lunatics..."
"Prime Minister! All the royal families in the world belong to the same family. Protecting the Bonaparte family also protects the Hohenzollern family! We can't let these mobs be in power!"
"We are willing to accept any conditions as long as we can restore the empire..."
Bismarck looked at these royalists begging for them, his expression was very embarrassed but his heart was very happy. People who were once proud and had their nostrils turned to the sky now know how to beg?
The drama still needs to be adequate. "Oh... this matter is very difficult to handle. We are currently at war. The people of France hate me so much. What can we do?"
"Whether it is the Republic or the Committee of 26, or even the leftists entrenched in Montmartre, after all, it is not the choice of you French people?"
"Even if I speak, the French people won't listen..."
"No, dear Prime Minister, you still have a way... Please order the Crown Prince to return to the country, please? As long as the Crown Prince returns to the country, as long as the Crown Prince is safe, he can quickly form a new army for the empire!"
"If that doesn't work, you verbally agree to the prince's establishment of a government-in-exile. As long as you declare your support for the government-in-exile, everything will be easy. Royalists across France will help the prince fight for power..."
Bismarck sneered and said, "What good will this do to us?"
"Of course there are benefits... We will pay you a high war indemnity, and we can also give you a large number of colonies. The conditions are negotiable!"
"The royal family in the world is one family, and the nobles in the world are one clan... If we don't unite, we will be bullied to death by those thugs who have no king or father!"
"Make a decision! Prime Minister, we can't let Paris continue to be in such chaos..."
Everything is as Xiao Letian said. The emperor and the nobles are not nationalists. They only have the noble class or higher bloodline in their hearts.
Territory and national interests don't matter. These have nothing to do with them. Maintaining the rights and interests of the nobles is what they want to protect!
As long as France can restore its empire or constitutional monarchy, what does it matter if it cooperates with the invaders?
It doesn’t matter if we cede land and pay compensation!
In the end, reparations will pay for the wealth of the people. As for ceding territory, isn’t the entire history of Europe a history of border changes? What does it matter if the border line is changed?
To put it bluntly, was there a country called Belgium before? It hasn’t been separated from the Netherlands. These things are not important. What is important is that nobles will always be nobles, and untouchables will always be untouchables!
Of course, Bismarck did not directly respond to their request. Instead, he ordered his subordinates to find a comfortable place for these congressmen to rest. The small town of Versailles was basically requisitioned by the army, so there were so many empty rooms that they could live in casually.
But before leaving, Bismarck gave these people a little hope in a vague way, "I can't promise you anything now...but maybe it won't be long before a surprise falls on your heads!"
