Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 950 - 858 Prey

The final point is that this action of deploying troops to central Italy marks the debut of the Security Organization.

On one hand, it allows the armies of member states to become acquainted with each other, increasing their coordination.

On the other hand, after winning, it enhances the prestige and cohesion of the Security Organization.

At this moment, a clear sound of barking suddenly came from the front.

Joseph looked up to see over a hundred servants driving seven or eight deer in this direction with the help of hunting dogs.

He pointed to the herd of deer and smiled at the representatives beside him:

"Look there, our prey has arrived, everyone, let’s get to work."

Two days later.

At the grand royal ball at the Palace of Versailles, the French King Louis XVI and his wife announced in public that the Iberian-Apennine Summit had successfully concluded.

Queen Mary was quietly discussing the Crown Prince’s marriage with her sister-in-law, Louis XVI’s youngest sister, Elizabeth.

The two occasionally glanced at Joseph, surrounded by people, covering their mouths with fans, showing an aunt-like smile.

As a piece of music ended, Louis XVI came over and extended his right hand to Queen Mary.

The latter placed her hand in his palm, smiled at Elizabeth, and then followed her husband to the center of the Hall of Mirrors to prepare for the next dance.

Elizabeth looked at the affectionate couple and sighed somewhat dejectedly.

Just as the band was about to start the dance music, a tall man in his thirties, with a thick golden beard, wearing a crimson double-breasted coat, came over and bowed to her:

"Your elegance and beauty make this evening shine, and allowed me to spot you in the crowd. Princess, may I have the honor of dancing with you to celebrate this important moment?"

Elizabeth quickly searched her mind for information on the man in front of her.

Fortunately, not many people were qualified to greet her, and she quickly found the information she wanted, hurriedly curtsying in return: "Oh, I would be delighted, Prince Pasqual."

Yes, this tall man was none other than Charles IV’s brother, Antonio Pasqual, Prince of Spain.

Fearing that his Crown Prince was too young, Charles IV had his brother accompany him as a royal representative’s backup.

Pasqual took Elizabeth’s hand and led her to the dance floor as the music began.

The dance steps of these two unmarried middle-aged people were quite in sync. After the dance, Pasqual and Elizabeth laughed and chatted as if they had known each other for a long time.

Indeed, after this summit, the Spanish prince realized that France would become Spain’s reliance in the future.

If he could establish a closer relationship with the French Royal Family, his status in Spain would rise.

Thus, he noticed this unmarried French princess.

He secretly decided that as long as Elizabeth nodded, he would marry her to Madrid, even without a dowry.

On the other side of the ball, the equally unbetrothed and even younger and prettier Princess Therese was being surrounded by admirers.

She had been invited by princes from various countries since the beginning of the ball, almost never stopping...

That night, the streets of Paris were also celebrating endlessly. Gas street lamps illuminated the streets, shining on the singing and dancing people, as well as vendors selling snacks and wine by the roadside.

In fact, most people were unaware of the summit’s significance, but they felt that a good celebration was necessary. At the very least, news of successes from the front continued to come in, right?

The next day.

After a night of song and dance, representatives from various countries embarked on their return journeys.

They watched the bustling and fashionable Paris City from their carriages, wishing to stay a few more days, but had to hurry back home.

Truly, this summit’s content was too important, enough to influence the future of their countries, and they had to return immediately to discuss how to seize this opportunity with their own kings or congress.

...

On the day before the Iberian-Apennine Summit opened, the Duke of Brunswick finally returned to Potsdam.

Sanssouci Palace.

There was no welcoming ceremony. To be precise, apart from a few nobles who had a close friendship with him, no one came to greet him.

On the way to the palace doors, the Duke of Brunswick frowned at the middle-aged man beside him: "Are you saying His Majesty drinks two or three pounds of beer every day?"

"I’m afraid so," the middle-aged noble said, "since the French took over Koblenz, His Majesty has been drinking more and more..."

William II, originally fond of drinking, had his drinking intensified after the military setbacks.

About twenty minutes later, the Duke of Brunswick finally saw William II in the king’s bedroom.

The latter had gained a lot of weight since he left Potsdam and had heavy dark circles under his eyes, reeking of alcohol, and appeared sluggish, obviously just waking from a hangover.

William II signaled his mistress Wilhelmina to move a chair for the old marshal, then said with his head drooping: "I’ve seen the front-line reports, you don’t need to talk about that.

"By the way, just tell me directly when you’re planning to launch a counterattack. Oh, and the army recruitment might have to be done by you too, those guys are utterly unreliable...

"Don’t worry about military funding, I will negotiate with the British, you just need to..."

The Duke of Brunswick suddenly stood up, disregarding etiquette, and said sternly: "Your Majesty, we cannot continue this war!"

"What did you say?" William II sat up a bit straighter, staring at him intently.

"Your Majesty, this war no longer has meaning." The Duke of Brunswick took a deep breath and said, "The British Army has lost most of its forces, with only a few thousand left retreating back to Hanover.

"The Austrians have been completely driven out of the Southern Netherlands, and they are also in chaos in Italy, with tens of thousands of soldiers currently besieged in Mantua...

"The French Army almost entirely controls the Rhineland, with only the Cologne Crossing in the north of the Rhine River not yet occupied by them, but the garrison there won’t hold much longer...

"As for our country... we have no more troops to continue fighting..."

"No, no, I still have an army," William II shouted, "I still have 30,000 guards... The East Prussian garrison also has more than 10,000 men. All of them are at your disposal, we cannot lose!"

The Duke of Brunswick secretly shook his head.

He knew very well that the so-called guards were recently transferred local units from various places and had no fighting capability.

The East Prussian garrison, far from home territory, could not be moved at all.

He persuaded a few more words, seeing that William II had not fully sobered up, he had no choice but to withdraw for the time being.

Behind him, Wilhelmina caught up, walking alongside him, and whispered, "Marshal, is the war truly impossible to continue?"

"Yes, madam. This is probably our last chance to negotiate with the French," he replied.