As the calendar approaches the end of the year, the weather is getting colder, but Paris is uncharacteristically restless.
Although the official is tight-lipped about what happens next, the gossip has already spread throughout the streets, and even a citizen who doesn't care about current affairs can tell from the increasing number of soldiers on the streets, as well as various flags, silk flowers and colorful strips, etc. Among the items related to the celebration, you can guess what will happen next.
Although the referendum on "whether to support His Majesty the King of Rome as Emperor of the French Empire" has not yet officially begun, the preparations for the celebration have begun slowly, and even seem a little impatient.
Similarly, although the official has not said when the coronation ceremony will be held, almost everyone knows it.
——That must be December 2nd.
Because on December 2, 1804, Emperor Napoleon crowned himself in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on this day.
Since then, this day has become a sacred anniversary of the Bonaparte family. Whether in the Empire era or the Restoration era, supporters of the Bonaparte family will hold celebrations. It is obvious that they want to commemorate the Rome of the late emperor. His Majesty the King will definitely choose to crown himself on this sacred day.
[In the original historical line, Napoleon III also deliberately chose December 2, 1852 to crown himself. 】
In the history of mankind, there have probably been very few such mysterious "secrets" - the officials did not say a word, but everyone knew what would happen, even as much as the officials themselves knew.
Of course, everyone knows that people have chosen different ways of coping according to their own positions: some people are sad and choose to turn a blind eye, while some people are cheering and wishing they could be among them.
Among the people who supported Bonaparte, there were many veterans of the imperial era. These people were demobilized after the collapse of the empire and then scattered across the country. Some were doing business and some were farming. At this moment, many of them were rekindled. With their long-extinguished enthusiasm, they rushed to Paris one after another, hoping to offer their cheers and applause to the new emperor as soon as possible.
In order to satisfy the enthusiasm of these people and to gain momentum for himself, Aigron specifically asked the government to allocate funds to companies that operate public carriages to transport these die-hard supporters to Paris for free, and also set up special carriages on the outskirts of Paris. Place to stay.
When the time comes, Aiglon will take his knights on a parade in Paris after his coronation, and these supporters from all over the country will join him to commemorate this historic moment.
At a time when the situation was becoming more and more incensed, a low-key and mysterious team quietly crossed the English Channel, landed in Calais, and then quietly returned to Paris.
They were members of the delegation that Aigron and Prince Talleyrand sent to Britain before. They were led by Duke Bassano, the former foreign minister of the empire. Aiglon's illegitimate brother, Count Alexander Valewski, was also among them.
During the months-long activities, they tried to reach a consensus with the British government, and also contacted heavyweight politicians in private. After their unremitting efforts, they finally successfully completed the explanation between Agron and Talleyrand. mission, quietly returned to China with the tacit understanding of "let Belgium establish an independent country and ensure its neutral status."
Because the tacit understanding between Britain and France is still in the "secret" stage and has not been made public, Duke Bassano's delegation did not receive a grand and warm reception from the government after returning home. However, everyone in the delegation, including the Duke himself , are very satisfied with the results of their trip, and are convinced that His Majesty will also be satisfied.
And Aiglon is indeed extremely satisfied, because this is not only the first time he has dealt with great powers in the name of "France" on the diplomatic stage (albeit under the guise of Talleyrand), but it also means that the British have acquiesced to Poland. The Napart family came to power again in France.
In this international situation where the sun never sets on Britain, when Britain acquiesces that he can ascend the throne in France, he actually does not have to worry about any risk of international interference.
However, although the British "disregard past grudges", after all, the Napoleonic War just ended less than 20 years ago. The British must still have fresh memories of it, and they must have doubts and wariness about Aiglon and the French Empire. However, this It didn't matter, the two countries had always been wary of each other for hundreds of years, and life went on as usual, and Aigron didn't mind peacefully coexisting with the British.
In order to show his satisfaction with the delegation, Aigron called them to him as soon as possible after they returned to Paris, and then expressed his gratitude to them personally.
"Gentlemen, Prince Talleyrand and I thank you very much for your hard work during this period. You used your talents to not only break the deadlock for our country, but also found a gap in the annoying pattern of 1815. , from now on, we are no longer that second-class country surrounded by collectives, and we also have the right to determine the future of the European continent."
Having said this, Aigron smiled bitterly again, "Although some people will not understand your merits for the time being, I believe that time will prove how much you have contributed to the country, and you will also get the praise you deserve. "
Obviously, when this tacit agreement is put into practice, it will inevitably be known to the outside world, and then it will trigger protests from some radical nationalists - in their view, this is undoubtedly the government's voluntary abandonment of what was once French territory. of Belgium, abandoning important cities such as Antwerp and Brussels.
This kind of protest was also expected, so the delegation raced against time to complete the necessary procedures before Aiglon ascended the throne, leaving the moral responsibility for the entire agreement to fall on the head of the interim government, Prince Talleyrand, and the members of the delegation. on his own head.
However, Agron believes that the clamor of radical nationalism will never be able to compete with the needs of realism. After the initial upsurge of enthusiasm is over, the calm people will eventually acquiesce to the rationality of reaching a tacit agreement with the United Kingdom——
After verbally speaking about the commendation, Aigron turned to another question.
"Apart from the negotiations about Belgium, did you get anything else from your trip to the UK?"
"There are many more, Your Majesty." The head of the delegation, the elderly Duke of Bassano, respectfully replied to Aiglon, "These days, following your instructions, the young members of the delegation have been traveling around London and some British cities. , visited the factories, docks and mines, as well as the railway station they began to build, and they all left detailed investigation reports, which I have personally compiled for your and other government officials' perusal."
Having said this, he specifically set his sights on Count Alexander Walewski, "Here, I would like to commend Count Walewski. He is the most active and action-oriented among our members. One of his greatest abilities is that he took the initiative to establish contact with Lord Palmerston, an important British politician; it was also he who visited and investigated everywhere and wrote the most reports. I have met many young and promising people in my life, but even though Among these elites, Count Walewski is also an outstanding one."
It stands to reason that with Duke Bassano's status in the world, he does not need to praise a junior like this in front of everyone. However, the Duke has been in the political arena for many years and has a clear understanding of the situation. Of course, he can see that Aiglon intends to support his illegitimate brother. , Count Valewski's future is limitless.
He himself was old and didn't know how many years he could live. For the sake of the future of his descendants, he naturally deliberately supported and won over Alexander, and at the same time used this to please Aigron himself, so he did not hesitate to sacrifice his own life. The old face came to save Alexander’s face.
Of course Aigron was well aware of the Duke's thoughts, but he was also happy to see things go this way, so he smiled and nodded. "Count Walewski is indeed young and promising. I have read the report he wrote. It is not only detailed but also has his own unique analysis. He does have a bright future."
After Agron's official certification, Alexander's "outstanding meritorious service" has become an indelible fact. This not only means that his ability has been recognized, but also means that he will surely rise to the top in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the future.
Faced with such a surprise, Alexander couldn't help showing a little bit of the pride of a young man, even if he was worried about it.
But he didn't expect that his surprise didn't end there.
After the official meeting was over, Eggron left Alexander alone.
Although the two of them had the same blood, Alexander knew the rules and knew that he was just a servant of the other party, so he lowered his eyebrows and waited for the other party's instructions respectfully.
"Alexander, I think you should know that my coronation ceremony will be held on December 2, right?" Aigron asked.
"I heard, congratulations, Your Majesty!" Alexander replied immediately.
"In recognition of your meritorious service, in addition to Duke Bassano, you can also attend the coronation ceremony. I have already reserved a place for you, right in the middle of the Knights of Fontainebleau." Aiglon told the other party.
"Thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!" Alexander was overjoyed, and then solemnly thanked Aiglon.
Because of his status as an illegitimate son, he knew that he would not be able to get a front-row seat like the real royal family members, and he could not have such unreasonable thoughts. For him, it was an unexpected surprise to be qualified to attend. ——Because this means that he has passed the "examination" and officially became a member of the ruling order in His Majesty's mind.
"You deserve this. I never treat my subordinates badly. There will be rewards as much as you contribute. Alexander, with your talent, you can expect more things, so work hard in the future."
After saying some words of encouragement, Aigron lowered his voice again, "You have been active in England for so long, how do you feel?"
"Your Majesty, the British industries are now so prosperous that they have left France behind. I have witnessed with my own eyes their spectacular factories and stations, and those machines that work day and night. I feel fear and jealousy. Compared to Their navy comes, and their achievements in industrial construction are even more impressive." Alexander answered Aigron's question truthfully, "Fear because they are so powerful, and jealous because I don't want to see them so powerful."
"You're right, jealousy, we just have to be jealous, because jealousy will give us the motivation to change something. You can correctly observe their strongest points instead of blindly hating them, which shows that you have a clear mind. ." Aigron nodded heavily and agreed with the other party's opinion, "Although I hate this neighbor as much as any Frenchman, now we will try our best to learn from them until we can overwhelm them."
Under Aiglon's instructions, in addition to performing diplomatic missions, Alexander also observed the achievements of the British Industrial Revolution at close range and was deeply shocked by it.
So he privately purchased relevant machines and drawings from everywhere, and also hired some technical personnel with high salaries, and planned to bring them to France to develop corresponding things in his country as soon as possible.
Of course, the British will also find ways to implement technical controls, but in most cases they have not encountered any obstruction to their activities.
Keeping core technologies secret is nothing new in Europe. For example, in order to monopolize the production process of flat mirrors, Venice deliberately placed its craftsmen and related glass manufacturing factories on an isolated island, and it was heavily guarded. .
However, with the changes of the times, the situation has been greatly changed.
In the past era, the world was almost "static", and society often did not change much after a century or two. After a major technological breakthrough was perfected, it could last for hundreds or thousands of years. Except for the mirrors of Venice, The same goes for porcelain and silk.
With the development of modern science and education, human knowledge has entered a period of unprecedented explosion, and technology is also developing at an unprecedented pace, with larger blast furnaces, deeper mines, and more sophisticated machines... often in just a few days. There will be huge changes over the years.
During this period, the speed of technology updates and iterations will not be slower than the speed of technology diffusion. In other words, a technology is likely to fall behind or even be eliminated in a short period of time. Therefore, instead of worrying about spending a lot of money to maintain strict technical confidentiality, It's better to make more profit as soon as possible or even sell it directly before it is eliminated by updates.
Therefore, in this era, the Industrial Revolution that originated in Britain quickly spread beyond the borders of Britain. First France, then Prussia, then Russia and even Japan, all tried their best to learn from British factories about textile factories and The construction and technical standards of railways and tracks, and later the manufacture of merchant ships and even warships.
As a person standing at the door of the new era, Aigron is enthusiastic about bringing the country in his hands into the new era as soon as possible, and he will also urge his subordinates to work hard with him for this cause.
"Alexander, we will build everything you see one by one, and we will have better ones, just wait and see."
(End of chapter)
