Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 919 - 827 Busy Diplomacy

Tugut merely praised a few words in a diplomatic tone, but Prince Henry’s eyes flashed with surprise.

He had communicated with the Marquess of Wellesley regarding the latter’s new army and was well aware that it was a very powerful elite force.

"So, victory will ultimately belong to the Allied Forces." He tapped the marble of the corridor with his cane, happily saying, "The war will definitely end before the year’s end!"

Lord Grenville nodded with a smile: "That’s right. Therefore, the direction of Luxembourg needs to launch a general offensive as soon as possible, which will greatly stabilize the morale of the troops. Additionally, Basel can coordinate the attack; I heard that the French people have transferred Alsace’s defense forces to Italy, this should be an opportunity."

Baron Tugut shared a smile with him: "The Royal War Committee agrees as well."

...

Northern Mediterranean.

Ligurian Bay.

Count Milandora, the envoy of the King of Modena, listened leisurely to the "pattering" sound of the paddle wheel hitting the sea, turning to the captain beside him: "Mr. Pico, how far are we from Marseille?"

"You can enter the port by noon tomorrow, Your Excellency."

Milandora nodded in satisfaction, then turned to the attendant beside him: "Those guys from Parma actually think that crossing the Cadipona Pass would get them to Paris earlier than me?"

The attendant hurriedly flattered: "He probably hasn’t heard of the orderly paddle steamer. We can continue to take the inland river ferry at Marseille, going north along the Rhone River, reaching Paris at least 4 days earlier than Prince Ludovico."

"Ha, this is the miracle of industry." Milandora gave a thumbs up to the chimney behind him, "There’s no need to mention the envoys from Lucca and Milan. Probably only the Sardinians can enter the Palace of Versailles at the same time as us."

No wonder he was so excited.

Right now, several states in Northern Italy have received France’s security guarantee and the promise of providing them with low-interest loans to help them develop. Immediately, a race to Paris unfolded among these countries. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

On one hand, the total amount of loans is certainly limited; those who arrive first will have the opportunity to get more, while those who go late might not even have any crumbs left.

On the other hand, whoever can arrive first at the Palace of Versailles will leave the deepest impression on the French Royal Family. Northern Italy will basically follow France in the future, and the use of this good impression will be significant.

Milandora is a person with a flexible mind and is also exposed to new things more often. When he confirmed that the British fleet had withdrawn from the Mediterranean Sea, he immediately decided to take a steamship to France.

As a result, he indeed took a substantial lead.

It should be known that Parma is much closer to France than Modena, and Sardinia is closer by over a hundred kilometers.

However, what Milandora did not expect was that Prince Ludovico of Parma, upon arriving in Toulon, was generous to the local French officials, and therefore someone revealed to him something called the "Sharp Signal Tower," which could transmit messages to Paris in 40 minutes.

Ludovico was overjoyed and immediately spent 4,000 francs, asking the Governor of Toulon to send a respectful and humble greeting letter to the King and Queen of France using the Sharp Signal Tower.

days earlier than Milandora.

...

Saint Petersburg.

Winter Palace.

Count Stroganov, Ambassador to France, anxiously walked quickly through the corridor; considering court etiquette, he almost wanted to run all the way to His Majesty the Emperor.

He had set off from Paris more than 4 months ago, but when he reached Strasbourg, he encountered the collision between French and Austrian forces.

He dared not risk crossing the battlefield full of artillery fire, nor did he know when the fighting would end, so he had to turn back north of France, intending to go through Luxembourg.

However, a battle broke out there as well.

He wanted to travel by sea over the Nordic, through the Baltic Sea, from Riga to Saint Petersburg, but again encountered the British fleet blocking the French coast.

Although he had a diplomatic status, he still dared not take the risk—who knows if the British Battleship would fire a few shots before boarding to check his diplomatic credentials. Many French merchant ships would hang Russian or Danish flags trying to get by undetected.

Ultimately, he waited until Russian warships came to pick him up and successfully returned to Russia.

It was already August.

Count Stroganov, though unaware of His Majesty the Emperor’s attitude towards the marriage proposal from the Queen of France, knew he had delayed national affairs as a messenger, and was naturally anxious.

On the corridor, several young noblemen passed not far from him, and deliberately lowered their discussion voices still reached his ears.

"His Majesty is too old, even to the point of repeating what others say several times to hear it clearly..."

"I heard she’s already struggling to walk."

"Now all the national affairs are taken over by that Zubov fellow, and he is completely a waste!"

"Yet, His Majesty the Emperor trusts him completely..."

"We must overthrow this sycophant! All he does is embezzlement and suppressing dissidents, if this continues the Empire will be doomed!"

"You’re right, but His Majesty the Emperor prohibits anyone from speaking ill of that guy."

"The Empire is already in a huge crisis, if you ask me, we should just..."

The few were startled, hurriedly covered the last speaker’s mouth, and looked around vigilantly.

Count Stroganov pretended to turn his head and talk with his attendant, passing by them quickly.

A moment later, he arrived at Catherine II’s bedroom, adjusted his collar, and entered the room with the Tsar’s attendant.

Catherine II was reclining on the bed, listening to Zubov talk about something, and, seeing the Ambassador to France bow to her, she barely managed to prop up her ample body:

"Oh, you’ve returned, Count Stroganov. Ivan, get him a chair."

The Ambassador to France sat by her bed and immediately took out a handwritten letter from Queen Mary: "Your Majesty, this is a letter written to you by the Queen of France. The content should involve the marriage of the Crown Prince."

Catherine II gestured for Zubov to open the envelope, nodding with a smile: "I looked at your report. To be honest, I was surprised. The Romanov family and the Bourbons have never had a history of intermarriage."

She said this actually to save face for Russia. The French Royal Family always looked down upon these Eastern European "barbarians."

Russia had never previously hoped to intermarry with the French Royal Family; they mostly targeted the German states.

The Tsar listened to Zubov read Mary’s letter—the content was very official, not involving too much political content—and then turned to Count Stroganov: "So, what is your opinion on this?"

The latter pondered for a moment, saying: ""

————

Milan is an important city for handicrafts and trade in Europe, its dominant industries focused on silk textiles, metal processing, food agriculture, and printing publishing. These industries not only relied on local resources and technology but also benefited from open policies and geographical advantages under Austrian rule, laying the foundation for Milan’s transformation into Italy’s economic center during the 19th-century Industrial Revolution.