Prince Charles was still dressed very fashionably and appropriately, but his spirit was obviously a little decadent.
Chu Yuqiang handed the gift to Prince Charles' servant, bowed and sat down, and asked:
"Your Majesty, please come here. Do you have any new ideas?"
Nowadays, the products of Dashi Clothing Store are no longer just Zhu Jingyuan's designs. It should be said that most of them are no longer designed by him.
Professional clothing design craftsmen constantly introduce new products based on Zhu Jingyuan's design ideas and styles.
At the same time, Prince Charles, a collaborator, often puts forward some ideas and is also known as a designer.
He took the title of designer himself, and the clothing company produced several sets of clothes designed by the French prince, and both parties took what they wanted.
It has always been a pleasure to work together.
Charles sighed melancholy, shook his head and said:
"I don't have any special thoughts. It's just that the atmosphere has been quite depressing recently, so I wanted to have a chat with Shopkeeper Chu..."
Chu Yuqiang can guess the general situation, but he never directly gets involved in politics:
"If the prince feels bored, you might as well go out more and visit various places..."
Charles shook his head slightly without interest:
"It's the same in Paris... The whole of France is like this now, it feels like it's going to rain...
"The war has made everyone very tired..."
Chu Yuqiang smiled and said:
"Then let's go abroad and have a look. It's just winter in the western continent. You can go to Mexico to spend the winter, go to Morocco, Senegal, go to Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)..."
Chu Yuqiang felt that if the French king and ministers could not handle the current problem well, civil strife might break out in France.
By that time, anything can happen.
It's not impossible for a king to die or something like that.
At the same time, according to Tessie inheritance tradition, Charles is the unquestionable heir to the throne of France.
The status of the traditional prince in China is more stable.
If he could save Ciel by chance in this environment, it would be a rare commodity.
But of course it's not 100% certain that this will happen.
So I couldn't tell him to let Charles escape, I just suggested that he go out for a walk.
If there is really chaos inside France later, he will let him stay outside to avoid the limelight.
If the internal problems are solved, then he can go out to play normally and come back to continue being his crown prince.
When Xiaer heard Chu Yuqiang talking about Mozhou, he suddenly became energetic:
"Mozhou! Can I visit Meng County? I want to see how those artificial silk threads are made.
"I want to see my best friend... My best friend is going to Yinzhou now. Can I go to Yinzhou to visit?"
Chu Yuqiang immediately realized that it would be better to let the Prince do this.
However, Chu Yuqiang said with some worry:
"Will His Holiness allow the Crown Prince to leave the country?"
Morocco is now an internationally neutral country, with free ports throughout the country, and crucially, a French exclusive port.
Senegal and Cote d'Ivoire are both French colonies, so it is normal for the French prince to visit them.
But Mengxian and Yinzhou are the vassal states and imperial estates of the Ming Dynasty. If the French prince goes there, won't he be afraid of becoming a hostage?
Ciel stood up directly:
"Please wait here, Shopkeeper Chu, for a moment. I'm going to go find my father and ask..."
Prince Charles confessed his crime to Chu Yuqiang and went directly to his father Louis XVI, the king.
Louis XVI was discussing the Yinzhou war and finances with the Duke of Richelieu, the Duke of Orleans, French Foreign Minister Talleyrand, and Finance Minister François Maulian.
A group of people were in a state of panic.
Louis XVI looked at the ministers in front of him:
"The most wealthy people in France now are probably the aristocrats."
Morian nodded directly and said:
"Yes, Your Majesty, although civilians also have merchants and factory owners, there is still a gap compared with the nobles' industries."
Louis XVI said of course:
"Now that the country is in crisis, the nobles should come up with money, right?"
Morian said bitterly:
"That's the theory..."
The sixty-one-year-old Duke of Orleans said immediately:
“The nobles’ money is not free, it is an asset passed down from our ancestors.
"We have worked so hard to achieve that little growth, so why should we pay more taxes for no reason?"
Regarding the situation in France, the Duke of Orleans is just watching the excitement and not taking it too seriously, and even wants to fan the flames.
Otherwise, he would not allow his store to adopt a "welcome" attitude.
He is actually providing shelter to these people
Historically, this generation of Dukes of Orleans actively participated in the French Revolution.
He also changed his name to "Philip Equality".
As a result, he was beheaded during the Revolution.
His ideal in history was to establish a country with a constitutional monarchy, similar to that of the United Kingdom.
But who will be the king?
If it were to be reformed directly now, of course Louis XVI would still be king, and Prince Charles would succeed him.
Even if Charles died in infancy, Louis XVI still had two biological brothers, Louis XVIII and Charles X in history.
It's never the Orleans family's turn.
The Orleans family had coveted the throne of France for nearly a hundred years.
The ancestor of the current Duke of Orleans was the younger brother of Louis XIV.
The relationship between Louis XIV and his younger brother can be considered good, but the relationship between their descendants is not good.
Louis XIV lived an exceptionally long life, but his descendants did not live long.
When Louis XIV died, there was only one direct descendant, a five-year-old great-grandson, Louis XV.
Another grandson became King Felipe V of Spain after the War of Spanish Succession, but at the same time gave up his right to the French throne.
If Louis XV died in infancy, Felipe V's claim to the French throne might trigger a new succession war.
But Louis XIV still made a will, and if Louis XV died young, Felipe V would inherit the throne of France.
Instead of letting his nephew, the second Duke of Orleans, succeed him.
Louis XIV originally wanted his illegitimate son to serve as regent.
But Louis XIV's nephew, the 2nd Duke of Orleans, launched a coup and assumed the status of regent.
and asked the French Supreme Court to declare Louis XIV's will invalid.
If Louis XV died in infancy, he would be succeeded by the Duke of Orleans as regent.
In those days, it was very common for children to die...
However, Louis XV eventually grew up safely, and later gave birth to a son and several grandchildren.
Although his son also died earlier than him, his grandson Louis XVI has reached adulthood.
The Duke of Orleans' first relatively legal attempt to take the throne failed.
Now their family saw another opportunity.
Duke Richelieu took the initiative and said:
"I think it's time to end this war..."
The Duke of Orleans immediately asked:
"Are we going to abandon the Canadian colonies? Then what will be used to fill the holes left by the three years of war?"
The Duke of Richelieu said:
"Ending the war does not necessarily mean giving up all the colonies. We can give up the interior areas west of the mountains.
"We have occupied most of the coastline, and Napoleon's troops have also retreated to the west of the mountains.
“We want to forcefully conquer the mountains of the domain, which is a difficult task to accomplish.
"Napoleon should not be able to counterattack now."
Talleyrand also joined in:
"I also think this is feasible. We can even ask Daming to mediate..."
The Duke of Orleans immediately interrupted again:
“Is this giving up all the land west of the Appalachians, giving up all of the Great Lakes?
“Without the minerals and taxes from these areas, how are we going to repay the debts owed during the war?”
The Duke of Orleans did not know the negotiation process between Britain and France on "borrowing teachers to assist in the suppression" with the Ming Dynasty.
But Louis XVI knew it.
When Louis XVI heard what the Duke of Orleans said, he immediately thought of what happened before:
“The Ming Dynasty should have been allowed to directly send troops to join the war, and all the land west of the mountain range should have been handed over to the Ming Dynasty as a reward.
"We can take back the territory east of the mountains without spending a single soldier or a single gold coin!"
Talleyrand and the Duke of Richelieu knew from the beginning that directly asking the Ming Dynasty to help suppress the rebellion might be the best option.
But they also understood that France at the time could not make that kind of decision.
The Duke Richelieu and Talleyrand looked at each other, and then the Duke Richelieu stood up and said:
"Your Majesty, it's too late to say this now. It's better to make a decision as soon as possible to solve the immediate trouble."
Louis XVI was originally a weak character, but at this time he said with great annoyance:
"Then try your method, talk to the British first, and ask them what they mean...
"It would be best to invite the British to participate and contact the Ming Dynasty together to mediate..."
The Duke of Richelieu and Talleyrand agreed together:
"Your will..."
This war was fought by the French and the British. Of course, peace talks and mediation had to involve the British.
The domestic situation in the UK is not much better than that in France, and there is a high probability that it is willing to accept this result.
Even if Britain does not accept it, France will not fight again. If France adopts this attitude, Britain will have to accept it.
The Duke of Orleans didn't want the war to end like this, but the king and ministers had already decided, and there was nothing he could do to change the outcome.
At the same time, the palace servant came in and reported:
"Your Majesty, His Highness Charles is here."
Charles walked in directly with the servant, not paying attention to what was being discussed at the scene, and said directly:
"Father, I want to leave Paris for a while, visit the Great Food Country and the New Tianfu of the Ming Dynasty, and visit my close friends."
Louis XVI was obviously taken aback, but Duke Talleyrand next to him said subconsciously:
“Your Majesty, in the name of His Highness Prince Charles, you can invite Prince Dashi to mediate this matter.
"Prince Dashi is now the Governor of Yinzhou in the Ming Dynasty and concurrently serves as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. His status is very suitable..."
Prince Charles is the "close friend" of Prince Daushi. This is a well-known fact in the French court and even in Paris as a whole.
Louis XVI also felt that using the name of Charles, a close friend, was much better than using the name of France.
So Louis XVI told Prince Charles:
"Charles, there is a task for you now. Lord Talleyrand, please tell me..."
Talleyrand immediately informed Prince Charles of the situation.
After hearing this, Prince Charles shook his head directly:
"Please forgive my refusal. I don't want my friendship with His Highness Prince Dashi to be mixed with any political factors."
Louis XVI immediately comforted and comforted him and taught him:
"Charles, one day my life will come to an end and you will become the new king of France.
“You will eventually have to deal with political-related matters personally, and among them there will inevitably be matters related to the Ming Dynasty.
“Moreover, politics is not just about interests, not just about hostility and competition, it can also be about mutual help.
“This time, I want you to invite Daming to mediate the war, rather than dragging Daming into the war or asking for help.
“This will not harm the interests of Prince Dashi and Daming, but will increase the reputation of Prince Dashi.
"This kind of thing can enhance the friendship between you, not the other way around."
Prince Charles is not stupid and thinks what his father said makes sense.
This matter is indeed not a competition for interests, but for world peace.
I am tired of this war and the current depressing atmosphere in Paris.
He could just use this as a reason to go to Xintian Mansion to meet his best friend.
Then Prince Charles nodded and said:
"I can visit Prince Dashi and invite him to mediate the Yinzhou war..."
Talleyrand immediately reminded:
"It's just in your name, you don't need to visit Prince Dashi in person."
Prince Charles said:
“Only by meeting in person and explaining in person can we show our sincerity.
"Otherwise, just do it yourself, don't use my name."
Talleyrand's expression was a little tangled. He actually didn't care whether Charles went there in person. It was even better to go in person.
But letting the king's only son go on such a far journey was not a decision he could make.
Talleyrand looked at Louis XVI:
"Your Majesty... Do you want His Highness to go to Yinzhou..."
Louis XVI was a little worried:
"Is there any danger? For example, being detained by Ming Dynasty as a hostage or something..."
Prince Charles said immediately:
"Impossible! Prince Dashi is not that kind of person. If Ming Dynasty wanted to detain me, he should have done so during the negotiations at the Western Cape."
Talleyrand also explained:
"Probably not. As His Highness said, Ming Dynasty does not need to do that. Even if it does, it is not now."
Here the Duke of Richelieu added:
“In fact, asking His Highness Charles to find Prince Dashi can better ensure His Highness’ safety than staying in Paris.
"The situation in Paris and the country is not stable now. If something unexpected happens..."
Duke Richelieu did not finish his words, but Louis XVI understood what he meant.
It is safer for Ciel to go to the Ming Dynasty. If anything happens to him, Prince Dashi will escort Ciel back to succeed him.
Louis XVI finally nodded with some confusion:
"Well, Charles, go and see Prince Dashi in person. I will ask His Excellency Talleyrand to accompany you there. If you encounter any problems, you can consult him for advice..."
Prince Charles received the permission and immediately thanked his father very happily.
Louis XVI gave Talleyrand full authority over the travel and negotiations in the Charles.
Talleyrand, the foreign minister, was the real messenger negotiating with Zhu Jingyuan.
Prince Charles and Talleyrand were also acquaintances, and they once went to the Western Cape to participate in negotiations.
At this time Charles held up his hands to Talleyrand and said:
"Please get ready as soon as possible. Let's set off as soon as possible. The weather is getting colder now. I want to spend the winter in Xintianfu."
Talleyrand nodded with a wry smile:
"My subordinate understands that we must do it as soon as possible. When we are ready, I will inform His Highness immediately."
Ciel said goodbye to his father and several nobles and ministers, and returned to his palace with extremely brisk steps.
Very happily, he told Chu Yuqiang the news that he was going to Xintianfu:
"Father has given permission, but I also have additional tasks and will set off soon.
“But after I left Paris, I didn’t have the opportunity to chat with Shopkeeper Chu often.
"I don't have the opportunity to experience any new clothes in the store for the first time..."
Chu Yuqiang was a little surprised, but he didn't expect Louis XVI to agree directly.
But now that it's done, it's a good thing for myself.
Chu Yuqiang considered the current situation in Paris and France, and directly followed Prince Charles's words and said with a smile:
"Then I will accompany the prince to Xintianfu, and the clothing store will be closed for a while.
Charles was really surprised this time:
"Shopkeeper Chu, are you kidding me? Are you going to Xintianfu with me? You want to close the store directly!"
Chu Yuqiang nodded with certainty and said:
"I have been in Paris for three years, and I just want to go back this time to report to His Highness the Prince.
"And the current situation in Paris can really be regarded as a storm that is about to come.
“My luxury clothing store could become a target.
"My store will be closed for a while, maybe it's a good thing."
Ciel directly expressed his agreement without thinking deeply:
"Indeed, under the current circumstances, it would be better for the clothing store to close down for a while."
Chu Yuqiang immediately reminded again:
"Please, Your Highness, please do not reveal the news of my departure and the closure of the store."
Charles didn't think about why such things should be kept secret, and nodded directly in agreement:
"no problem."
(End of chapter)
