Chapter 194 Europa Universalis 3
The Crown Prince of Spain was playing with Louis XVI’s gear machine with great interest, and turned to greet Joseph:
"Look, the angle of this blade is so exquisitely designed..."
However, he saw the latter lying on the workbench beside him and did not answer.
Antonio walked over and shook Joseph:
"Your Highness, are you asleep?"
Joseph raised his head with half-closed eyes, rubbed his temples hard and said: "Oh, I shouldn't have drank so much wine at the dinner just now... The wine made in Bordeaux this year is really unexpectedly delicious, but I have a headache now... "
In fact, of course he didn't drink too much, he just had to follow the "script".
Antonio nodded: "Yes, the wine today is indeed very mellow, and I drank a lot. Then shall I take you back to rest?"
"Oh, okay, thank you very much..."
Upon seeing this, Emang winked at the servant standing at the door without leaving a trace, and then quickly came over to help his crown prince up.
The servant dodged out of the house and gave the "do it" signal to the police intelligence agents who had been preparing for a long time.
Soon, the two people sent by Godoy to keep an eye on the Spanish Crown Prince had some "conditions".
One person was spotted by two "turbulent" noble ladies, and they started fighting out of jealousy. In the end, the winner smiled coquettishly and dragged him into the lounge not far away; while the other person accidentally bumped into a man holding a tea tray. As a maid, a priceless set of oriental porcelain was broken into pieces. The maid reluctantly took him to see the chamberlain.
At this moment, the "drunk" Joseph put his right hand on the Spanish Crown Prince's shoulder and walked out of the royal workshop in vain.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Emang nodding. He immediately pointed to Antonio's residence and said in a long voice: "Oh! My dear friend, I want to continue discussing the improvement plan of the gear machine with you... Come, let's go to you. There... chat all night long..."
Antonio just thought he was drunk and couldn't refuse, so he had to let him go to his room.
Outside the room of the Spanish Crown Prince, a stalwart noblewoman seemed to have recognized the wrong person and took Luisa's maid away who was looking out without explanation. The latter disappeared around the corner of the corridor before he even had time to shout.
After a while, Joseph and Antonio came outside the house, and the latter gestured to his attendant:
"Open the door quickly."
As soon as the attendant took out the key, Emang took it over diligently and said with a smile:
"Let me do it."
Emang gently turned the door lock, opened the door gently, and then stood aside.
Joseph pulled Antonio into the house and saw that the living room was dark, the guard room seemed empty [Note 1], and there was a faint candlelight coming from the direction of the master bedroom further inside.
Joseph retracted his arm on Antonio's shoulder in time. The latter was also a little confused and subconsciously took a few steps in. Then he heard a sound that he shouldn't have heard——
The female voice is mellow and high-pitched, constantly shouting "Godoy" or "you are awesome" inarticulately in her words.
The male voice is duller, mostly exhaling and making "hey", "drink" and the like.
Antonio suddenly froze on the spot.
These two voices were all too familiar to him - they were clearly his crown princess and her bodyguard Godoy!
What are they doing? !
Antonio really wanted to lie to himself that they had done nothing, but the answer was self-evident!
He felt a surge of anger rising from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He clenched his fists tightly and veins popped out on his forehead. He gritted his teeth and took two more steps forward.
However, he stopped unexpectedly.
Immediately, he lowered his head, tremblingly retreated to the door, paused for a few seconds, suddenly took a deep breath, turned around and walked out.
Joseph was completely stunned.
No, I said, brother, why don't you rush in? I have the guards ready here, just waiting for you to say hello, go in and drag the swordsman out to "dip the pig cage" or something.
Why did you slip away at the critical moment? !
You can’t just rush in and help you catch the enemy as a brother, right? If your master is not present, what will happen if I go in?
He was stunned for a few seconds, and had to exit the house, quickly caught up with Antonio, grabbed him and said:
"Why did you leave? Is there anything 'special' in the house?"
Antonio just lowered his head in silence and kept walking forward. Joseph simply made his words clearer:
"Was the Crown Princess in the house just now? Why don't you go in and take a look?"
It wasn't until he came back to the Royal Workshop that Antonio seemed to have regained his soul. He looked at Joseph with red eyes and said with trembling lips:
"She...she betrayed me..."
Joseph nodded:
"Then you should rush in and teach her a lesson."
Antonio's eyes turned redder, and he was as helpless as a 40-year-old child. It took him a long time to whisper: "I...I...I don't dare..."
Joseph immediately had a question mark, and after communicating with him for a long time, he finally figured it out. It turned out that his Spanish relative had a "raked ear", and it was an extremely serious kind.
He suddenly felt angry. He had never seen such a cowardly man.
"Can you bear this?"
"Can't..." Antonio lowered his head and said, "Maybe you can help me?"
"I..." Joseph suddenly had black lines on his head.
On the other side, Eman saw that the two crown princes left for a long time and did not come back, so he had no choice but to lock the door gently again in embarrassment. The two people in the room didn't notice anyone coming from the beginning to the end.
…
Early the next morning, Joseph followed his planned schedule and greeted the Russian Crown Prince Paul Petrovich, the future Tsar, Paul I, outside the Palace of Versailles Square.
Crown Prince Paul seemed very happy that the French Crown Prince could come so far. After getting out of the car, he quickly came to Joseph, saluted, and then said in standard French: "It's an honor to meet you. , Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince! Thank you for coming to pick me up. I often hear people talking about you in St. Petersburg, saying that you are a legendary 'son of God', pious and full of wisdom..."
He was so eloquent in his words of praise that Joseph felt a little embarrassed. He quickly bowed and returned the compliment, and suddenly noticed that there was a six or seven-year-old man next to Paul, wearing a blue and white gauze dress, with very fair skin and long hair. A little girl with big, smart eyes.
Joseph quickly changed the subject and said, "Who is this?"
The little girl took a step forward, lifted up her skirt, tilted her head slightly, curtsied in a graceful manner, and said in a clear voice: "May God bless you, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince. My name is Alexander. Della Pavlovna." Her French was also very good.
Paul smiled and said to Joseph:
"Your Highness, this is my eldest daughter. I plan to take this opportunity to celebrate His Majesty the King's birthday and take her to see the most prosperous center of Europe - Paris."
"Welcome." Joseph smiled at the little girl and recommended, "There is a Garden of Eden amusement park in Paris that is very fun. You must not miss it."
Alexandra's eyes flashed with unconcealed desire, but she immediately bowed politely again:
"Thank you for the introduction, I'm looking forward to going there too."
Immediately, Joseph and Paul walked towards the Palace of Versailles. Although the latter was more than twice as old as Joseph, his attitude seemed a bit humble: "Your Highness, thank you for taking care of Alexei. You helped him find his goal. Please believe that in the future you will There will always be two truest friends in Russia - Alexey and me."
Alexandra was like a little adult, following behind the two of them with her chest raised and her head raised. Every step she took followed the most standard palace etiquette, and she had obviously undergone very strict training. Only her big eyes, curiously glancing around from time to time, showed the childishness in her soul.
After packing her luggage and dressing up briefly, she followed her father to visit the King and Queen of France, and then watched the fencing competition with the Crown Prince.
The two princes gathered together and talked about something. Alexandra sat on a chair and watched the young nobles fighting in the shadow of swords and swords.
To be honest, she had no interest in any of this, but before leaving St. Petersburg, the emperor's grandmother had warned her to follow court etiquette at all times, so she did not complain at all.
And she also had to complete another task ordered by the emperor's grandmother - to carefully observe His Royal Highness the Dauphin of France.
But just as she secretly glanced at the Crown Prince from the corner of her eye, she suddenly saw a teenage girl wearing a tutu skirt jumping over.
Clementine first saluted Joseph, then curtsied to Paul with a smile: "You must be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Russia, right? It's an honor to meet you. You seem to be a very kind and friendly person. . Oh, my name is Maria Clementini.”
Crown Prince Paul hurriedly returned the gift to her, and after the two exchanged a few polite words, the little Loli quickly got together with the younger Little Loli.
"Your name is Alexandra, what a majestic name! Hehe, let me treat you to some candy."
The little loli took the vanilla mint candies cautiously and thanked her politely:
"Thank you very much, but I don't have anything to give you in return."
"You're welcome. I have a lot more here." Clementine smiled, "By the way, you are Russian, and your French is really good. How much French do you learn every day?"
Alexandra immediately said: "Did you mean 'how long'?"
"Ah, yes, it's 'how long', haha."
"Two hours a day."
While the two were talking, the sword fighting competition entered a break, and a circus came to the middle of the arena and began to perform for the fun.
The attention of the little girls was immediately attracted.
Soon, a magician in a red robe came on stage and raised his hand to conjure more than a dozen pigeons and a small black bear.
Clementine cheered excitedly:
"Wow! That's amazing! How on earth did he do it?"
Alexandra immediately continued calmly: "The pigeon was tucked into his sleeve in advance, while the bear was under the floor, blocked by his robe. Well, generally speaking, there is still something in his coat. Hide some rabbits, dogs and the like.”
As soon as she finished speaking, two fox hounds appeared in the magician's hands.
Clementine suddenly pouted in dissatisfaction:
"How can you tell the magician's tricks? What's the point of looking like this?"
Alexandra said calmly: "You asked me, 'How did he do it?'"
"I was just sighing!"
"Then you shouldn't blame me."
"I don't……"
"You have..."
"No!"
"have!"
"snort!"
"snort!"
The two little guys who had hit it off just now were at odds over magic, and each turned their heads to one side.
Paul smiled and glanced at his daughter quarreling with the Tuscan princess, turned his head and said to Joseph: "Your Highness, I hope you can understand that there are a large number of Russian people in Nesvizh and Slutsk. , and the Orthodox Church.
"And they are often treated unfairly, especially in the Polish Sejm, where Russians are being squeezed out very seriously."
The "Sejm" he refers to is an institution similar to the Polish House of Representatives. At present, the Polish Sejm is dominated by parliamentarians who advocate resistance to Russia and self-reliance, and is undergoing a series of reforms to eliminate the country's ills.
Paul continued: "Based on this, we can only take some diplomatic measures against Poland."
Joseph said in his heart: Russian groups are making all kinds of troubles in Poland and are arrogant and domineering. Why do they feel marginalized when they come here?
However, international politics is like this. No one can tell the truth. In the end, we have to rely on our fists and brains. Well, you can also rely on the lower body, but that can only be regarded as an "evil way".
He immediately showed a sincere smile and whispered in Paul's ear: "Please believe that I understand Russia's actions in Poland very much, just like you understand our country's actions in North Africa. And, I think, The best way for Russia to prevent Russians in Poland from being harmed is to place them directly under the 'protection' of His Majesty the Tsar."
Anyway, annexing Poland is Catherine II's established national policy, and a lot of resources have been invested in preparations for this. Even if France expresses opposition, it is unlikely that she will stop. Therefore, in front of the Crown Prince of Russia, it is better to give her a favor and get some benefits.
Paul looked at Joseph in surprise: "Are you making a personal statement, or are you?"
"His Majesty the King thinks so too."
Paul was overjoyed: "I have always believed that France and Russia are the defenders of the European order! The friendship between our two countries has always been indestructible!"
Joseph sighed inwardly. The emperor and your son may have been so warm at the time, but later they were all brainless.
However, he still nodded very sincerely:
"You are absolutely right!"
Immediately, he tried his best to steer the rhythm in the direction he wanted: "Your Highness, compared to Poland, the Ottomans are the enemy that we should pay most attention to right now! I hope that Russia can serve as the 'Spear of God', Completely pierce the Ottomans and our country will fully cooperate in the direction of the Mediterranean.”
If Russia and the Ottomans can be allowed to consume a few more years, Poland may be able to accumulate enough strength to resist the Russian invasion.
Paul was also a little funny in his heart. France and the Ottomans seemed to have an alliance [Note 2]. Why did His Highness the Crown Prince talk like a feud?
[Note 1] In the large suites of the Palace of Versailles, there is usually a small room similar to a porch after entering the door. Guards guard this room, which is called the guard room. Go through here to enter the living room.
[Note 2] In the 16th century, King François I of France failed in the war with the Habsburg Emperor Charles V, so he formed an alliance with the Habsburg enemy Ottoman, known in history as the "Sacrilege League." But this is all from the old almanac of more than two centuries ago. France and the Ottomans no longer have an alliance.
Dear reader, Tianhaishan wishes you a happy New Year, good luck in the Year of the Dragon, success in everything, and a higher salary! Be happy every day, be in good health, and eat deliciously!
In order to communicate more with everyone, the young author has established a reader group with the group number 1036217580. Everyone is welcome to join the group and chat and discuss together.
(End of this chapter)