In fact, both Metternich and Nathan Rothschild were actually very practical people, and of course they knew that the crown of the "Holy Roman Emperor" did not have much practical significance, and theoretically, relying on this crown, Austria had the power to intervene in the Rhine region. But in reality the Rhine region was already the sphere of influence of the French, and the Austrians could not reach out at all.

And considering that the Rhine region is basically already the land of heretical Protestants, in the current situation, Austria cannot even intervene in the Rhine region, let alone intervene. Now, even if Austria were to open its mouth, the heretics of the Rhine, who had carried out land reform with the support of the French, would surely reply in unison: "Shut up, we are talking about a republic!" ”

So, at least for now, the significance of this crown has decreased a lot. But this is the glory of the Habsburgs after all, and it would be a bit ...... to abandon it like this Besides, although it is no longer very useful when it comes to interfering in European affairs, it still has a certain effect, at least in Austria.

Unlike France, even during the Bourbon period, Austria was a country with particularly large feudal remnants. Bourbon France has at least achieved centralized power, and those dukes and marquis in France, although they also have fiefs, but these fiefs are also under the direct control of the royal government, and the lords actually do not have the same power as before, and they can establish themselves as kings in the fiefs.

However, the centralization of power in Austria is not particularly good, and the domestic lords still have a very high degree of autonomy, in this case, the hat of "Emperor of the Romans" certified by the Pope is still very useful. Besides, giving up the crown is also a huge sacrifice, how can it be said that it will be conceded? Even if you want to let it out, you have to add money!

However, this kind of thing, Metternich can't do it. He could only write a letter immediately after sending off Nathan Rothschild and send it to Vienna in carrier pigeons.

By this time, there was already a cable telegraph between Vienna and Paris. But because the operator of the cable telegraph was French, Metternich always felt uneasy, although there were secret words. A year earlier, Metternich had deliberately sent a fictitious, misleading document to Vienna via the cable telegraph system, and then carefully observed the movements of the French, and as a result, he found a lot of suspicious things. So the Austrian embassy began to use carrier pigeons to deliver the most confidential information. Although the carrier pigeon is slower than the telegraph, it is much more reliable.

After watching the pigeon with the letterbox on his lap soar into the sky, Metternich turned to visit a few friends and let them probe the French. Metternich knew that he could not get Napoleon to give up his ambitions, but at least he had to probe to see if he could get the French to pay more.

But at that moment, the sound of wings flapping was heard in the sky, and Metternich turned his head to see a gray carrier pigeon landing, with a small bamboo tube tied to the pigeon's feet.

Two days earlier, when the incident had just happened, Metternich had immediately telegraphed what had happened in France to inform the country, which presumably sent him new instructions.

The pigeon's staff removed the fire-lacquered letterbox from the pigeon's leg and handed it to Metternich, who examined some of the fire-lacquered seals and confirmed that the letterbox had not been opened halfway. He took the letter back to his office, took out the letter, and read it against the secret book.

The letter was indeed about the incident, and it began with an account of the investigation and the reaction to the investigation in Vienna. The Austrian government has shut down the nonsensical newspaper and arrested its editors on charges of "insulting friendly leaders." Ready to go to court and punish severely. This is also normal, after all, these guys are talking nonsense, which makes friends inexplicably surprised, and in the long run, I am afraid that it will really be a country.

The letter suggested that Metternich should take immediate measures to inform the French press that the Austrian Government attaches importance to the traditional friendship between Austria and France and that it is resolute in cracking down on the use of Austrian territory against France, and to convey to them Austria's goodwill in order to resolve the situation.

"Why are these guys in China so sluggish?" Metternich thought, "This is obviously a deliberate effort by the French, so what's the use of that alone?" ”

But even so, this move, this posture still has to be done, Metternich thought about it, called the secretary, and asked him to hurry up and arrange a press conference. Metternich himself immediately went to the French Foreign Office to express the goodwill of the Austrians to the French government.

Metternich and French Foreign Minister Talleyrand are old friends, of course, this old friend does not mean that they have known each other for a long time, but that the two have made a fortune together and have many fairly reliable common interests.

After the two met, Metternich conveyed to Talleyrand the Austrian government's move, and conveyed to Talleyrand that Austria cherished the traditional friendship with France, hoping that this incident would not affect the friendly attitude between the two countries.

Talleyrand also said that France also attaches great importance to its friendship with Austria and appreciates the Austrian Government's move to safeguard the friendship between the two countries, which are and will be friendly neighbors in the future.

Talleyrand's official words did not please Metternich, and he knew that at such times, the more official words there were, the more troublesome things might be. However, at this time, Metternich had not yet been authorized to bargain with the French over the crown, so he could not talk to Talleyrand about asking the French to increase the money. He could only vaguely express to Talleyrand that he hoped that the French would not be in a hurry, and that many things could actually be discussed.

The next day, Metternich held a press conference at the Austrian Embassy. At the press conference, Metternich informed the newspapers attending the meeting about the Austrian government's actions, and finally said that many French media had misunderstood Austria because of the incident. He expressed the hope that the Austrian Government's action would help clear up misunderstandings and further deepen the friendship between the two countries.

After the news briefing, it was time for the reporter to ask questions. The first to stand up and ask questions was a reporter from Kommersant.

"Mr. Ambassador, we note that the newspaper you mentioned, which has just been seized for illegal activities, has in fact been carrying out similar illegal activities in your country for several years, why has your country only taken such measures now?"

"Ah, you know, those guys are cunning, they've been playing the sidelines all along. Like France, we also want to protect freedom of the press, and those fake news outlets are best at exploiting loopholes. Metternich replied.

At this time, the reporter of the "Sun" stood up and asked: "Mr. Ambassador, we know that earlier this year, our country uncovered an assassination plot against His Excellency the First Consul. It is rumored that these Assassins lived in your country for a long time before entering our country, can you explain a little about this? ”