Under the gaze of all, Monsieur de Radney, who had two large beards, shook his body a little uneasily, and looked around rather cautiously.

"What instructions do you have, Monsieur de Treville?" He asked in a low voice.

"Instructions are not at all, there are just some things that need to be conveyed to you." "You're stationed in the Kingdom of Sardinia, which, according to what we've learned now, is a vibrant country with a very ambitious king. ”

"Yes, sir, you are right." The ambassador nodded in agreement, "The Kingdom of Sardinia is the most powerful country in Italy today, and its new king, His Majesty King Victor-Emmanuel II, who had just succeeded to the throne the year before, is now in his early thirties, full of energy, and bent on expanding his power in Italy—"

"Until the unification of Italy?" Charles asked rhetorically.

"Yes, sir, as far as I can see, he does think so." The ambassador nodded again. "His Majesty the King made no secret of his determination, and his Prime Minister Cavour shared the conviction that the creation of a united Italy was the inevitable mission of the Kingdom of Sardinia."

"Poof......

Hearing his words, many people couldn't help but laugh.

Yes, in the eyes of today's Europeans, Italy, which had been divided for thousands of years, was nothing more than a geographical term, and no one believed that the Kingdom of Sardinia and the unknown King Victor-Emmanuel II could accomplish this feat, which they should not have been able to accomplish in the light of Sardinia's strength and the king's personal ability.

But. Later "history" proves that although he will not fight. At least he will take advantage of the situation and find good thighs to hold.

The Kingdom of Sardinia had been seeking help from France for decades. At that time, France was still in the era of the Restoration, and although relations between the two countries had been damaged by the impact of the February Revolution, after Louis Bonaparte came to power, the Kingdom of Sardinia began to seek an alliance with France - or in other words, to accept French asylum.

"What is their attitude towards France -- towards Mr. President?" Charles asked in a low voice.

"Their attitude towards France is the same as it has always been." The ambassador replied rather cautiously, "They are willing to be good friends of France as long as France is willing to support them." ”

Then he lowered his voice. "On my return to my homeland, His Majesty summoned me and told me that he was glad to see ...... France is on the verge of once again heeding God's call to become a monarchy. As a monarch, he was more than happy to see his brother sit on the throne of France. A monarchical France must be the best friend of the Kingdom of Sardinia, and the Kingdom of Sardinia is equally willing to go to great lengths for the French monarchy. ”

"Oh! That's a beautiful thing to say! Charles couldn't help but tapped the table gently. France is also happy to be friends with it. It seems that you have done a very good job, Monsieur de Radgny, and that you have effectively preserved the relations between France and the Kingdom of Sardinia. Your duties have been accomplished. ”

Under the watchful eyes of his colleagues next to him, De-Radni straightened up quite smugly. "It's in the service of French interests."

He seized the opportunity to speak in favor of the president before the others did, through the mouth of the king of Sardinia. It was a double act - it showed that he had done a good job and had won over Sardinia; It also shows that his political stance is correct and that he is unequivocal on major issues of right and wrong.

"Good. In that case, prepare a report when you go back. Write down your views on how to bring in relations with the Kingdom of Sardinia, which I will convey to Mr. President. Charles nodded approvingly. The President had taken note of the recent friendly gestures of the Kingdom of Sardinia towards France, and he was happy to keep that friendly kingdom under his patronage. ”

"The Sardinians were disgruntled with Austria, and if they wanted to unify Italy, they were doomed to become enemies of Austria." At this moment, the Minister to Austria, Count de Elomont, could not help interjecting, "As far as I know, the Kingdom of Sardinia regards the Austrians as the main imaginary enemy, and I think it is for this reason that they are so desperate to seek the refuge of France." It is clear that they want to borrow the power of France against Austria and then reap the benefits of it themselves......"

He said this out of jealousy of his colleagues and did not want to make the other party show off, and secondly, to preserve the relations between France and Austria, and did not want to see Charles being used to the detriment of French interests because of ignorance.

"I know what you mean, sir." Charles made a gesture to signal him to stop talking, "The strength of the Kingdom of Sardinia is not the most important issue, or rather, it is far less powerful than ambition, but it is a good thing for us. ”

All eyes were on him, and it was a wonderful feeling.

"The point is, Mr. President needs a vassal state to improve his position in Europe - the Kingdom of Sardinia, although not strong, has enough strength to fill the façade, and it is good to be a follower."

"But they are too dangerous, and France may at any moment be incited into direct confrontation with the Austrians, and if that happens, France will be thrown into an unpredictable risk." Count de Elomont couldn't help but continue, "Mr. Treville, I heard...... I've heard that you're more pro-Austrian, so you'd better not be too friendly with these Sardinians......"

Charles's face slowly sank.

"It is our responsibility to judge France, and indeed to judge what I should do, and not to anyone else!" In a tone that bordered on reprimand, he forcibly interrupted, "Besides, my desire to gain the favor of the Austrians and my desire to strengthen relations with the Sardinians are not contradictory, and may even be said to be promoting. When a person has a stick in his hand, others are always more willing to befriend him. Didn't the Sardinian and Austrians fight each other, and that just gives us the opportunity to get involved? ”

In international exchanges, when you seek to make friends with a certain country. In fact, in a sense, it is more necessary to counter the other party. With the vicious dog of the Kingdom of Sardinia as a threat, the Austrians must have been even more fearful. At that time, if they want to keep their existing interests, they will have to seek the help of the French - no matter how unwilling they are, the considerations of realpolitik will outweigh the needs of feelings.

After 1866. The Austrians were just as unwilling to become loyal allies of the Germans.

"You have a point...... But will we really be able to control the Sardinians? Although he knew that Treville was already very unhappy, the Count de Elomont was still a little hesitant, "Once they get out of control, I'm afraid your plans will also get out of control." ”

"I'll consider this." Charles replied casually, "It's just ideas for now, and we'll have to wait until everything becomes a reality." Mr. de Radney, remember to report it to me earlier, is that okay? ”

"Yes, sir." The other party hurriedly agreed.

When Charles ended the conversation with these words. The atmosphere swept away the lightness just now, but became a little solemn, and everyone was secretly speculating about the thoughts of Charles and the person he represented.

"There's one more thing I want to announce to you." While they were still thinking, Charles's words broke the silence again.

Everyone looked at him again.

"Gentlemen, Mr. President...... It's time to rebuild the empire. Charles's expression was very calm, and he couldn't see any fluctuations, "The preparations for the referendum are almost complete, and we are expected to be able to hold the referendum in the fall, and I tell you honestly." There will be no mistake in the outcome of the referendum, so that the Bonaparte family will return to France, as it did 50 years ago. We're about to have an empire again...... If you have a different opinion, can you bring it up with me now? ”

This mischievous question. Of course, there was no response, and everyone held their breath. Lowered his gaze, for fear that Treville would be regarded as a "rebel with bad intentions".

"Good. I am grateful for your loyalty to the Empire. Charles laughed again, "Although the Empire has not yet been founded, I am convinced that it will bring the most glorious page to France, as it has done." You are all meritorious ministers of the empire, Your Majesty is very trustworthy of you, as long as you can complete the tasks given by the empire, then I can guarantee that in the future empire, you will be able to have a place. ”

No one questioned him for saying this in the name of the Emperor, and he was already regarded as one of Louis Bonaparte's main cronies and assistants, both in France and abroad.

"For the sake of the stability and longevity of the Empire, I entrust you with a very important task." Charles glanced around, "I hope that, as the Empire's envoys, you will be able to accomplish this task for the Empire with the utmost zeal. ”

What task? Everyone's eyes have this question in their eyes.

"The Empire, from the day of its existence, will be the most urgent thing for it to realize its self-continuation. That is, the question of the heir will be the biggest problem of the empire. Charles slowly stood up and looked down at the envoys present, "And the current concern is that our future Emperor His Majesty does not have a legal wife at present, and naturally there is no legal heir to inherit the empire...... Therefore, it is necessary for His Majesty the Emperor to find a lawful wife to rule the country with him as soon as possible after ascending the throne, and to bring him a legitimate heir to the empire. This queen must find ...... from among the families and bloodlines worthy of the throne of the French Empire."

As soon as he said this, everyone was shocked. Everyone's face was pale, and they didn't know what to say.

To tell the truth, it is not surprising that he wanted to find an empress from among the royal families of Europe, as Napoleon did by finding himself a Habsburg, and other brothers and adopted children also royal spouses, which greatly satisfied the vanity of the small landowners of Corsica. But...... The current situation is obviously a little different, he is the emperor who has made the whole of Europe tremble!

"This ...... I'm afraid this is a bit troublesome......" After a long silence, one of the ambassadors asked cautiously, "...... Our full-time job is to maintain relations between the two countries, and if we do this, I am afraid that it will ...... I'm afraid it will affect our main work, and I'm afraid that the princesses of the royal families are not so easy to find now. If you force a marriage proposal, I am afraid that it will destroy the diplomatic relations between the two countries......"

Although his fears may seem ridiculous, there is a precedent for everyone to say that Napoleon decided to turn against Russia because Alexander rejected his proposal to his sister?

Since Napoleon was like this back then, Louis Bonaparte's reputation in various countries is even worse than Napoleon's, and if he rashly proposes to the royal families of various countries, I am afraid that he will get the same fate as Napoleon back then...... Almost everyone thought so, but no one said it.

Of course, even if they didn't say it, Charles understood exactly what they meant, and to be honest, he and Louis Bonaparte themselves thought so, so they didn't have the idea of being bored at all in the first place.

"Don't worry, everybody. I'm not saying that you should throw yourself into this without regard for your own work...... In any case, maintaining good relations with all countries is our most important task at the moment. For a necessary reason, Charles's answer was a little vague, but the people on the other side were perfectly understandable. It will be done on the basis of not affecting the relations between the two countries as much as possible and not offending the royal family of a certain country. ”

"Oh, oh......!" Everyone suddenly realized.

"Europe has a large high society with all kinds of royal families, and in my opinion, it's not just the royal family that sits on the throne. On the contrary, dealing with these royal families, historically, has only brought us many unnecessary disputes...... "Charles continues, "for the sake of France, and in order to avoid future disputes, I think it is fitting to find branches of the royal family that are in need of help and willing to help us." ”

This is true, although the Bonaparte family has already produced an emperor, and is about to produce another emperor, and has been close to several European royal families back then, but in the eyes of the royal families of various countries now, after all, he is just a nouveau riche, not to mention that Louis Bonaparte has just gained a foothold in France, and it is really difficult to win the favor of the royal families in power in various countries.

However, European royal families have multiplied for generations, and the situation has been very chaotic over the years, so there are many down-and-out royal families, and if you find a way to find them from inside, you shouldn't be unable to find someone who can be the queen of France - even a second-married woman like Josephine can be a queen, is it possible that a woman from a down-and-out royal family can't be a French queen?

After hearing Charles's explanation, everyone was slightly relieved.

"We see what you mean." After whispering again, they agreed to Charles's request. "We will do our best to do your assignment."

"You are in charge of visiting, offering people to consider, and then gather them all to me, and let me make my judgment. Remember, this matter must be kept secret, so as not to cause a commotion from the outside world, and it is not particularly good for our image. Charles shrugged, "Please take it seriously, as this will be one of the most important events since the creation of the Empire." ”

He said it so seriously that the others couldn't help but stop whispering.

"If anyone can help France find the Empress, then whoever will be grateful to His Majesty the Emperor—" Charles paused deliberately, "and how much of the meaning and value of this gratitude is, I believe I don't need to explain it again?" ”

"Understood." Everyone nodded yes again.

However, even Louis Bonaparte's face would not dare to tell him directly, so Charles was naturally happy to help him share this worry.

For his own personal purposes, he wanted to curry favor with Louis Bonaparte and win the continued trust and reuse of His Majesty the Emperor.

"Okay, then please work hard for the sake of the empire." Madame Trevier smiled whimfully, but her heart was full of sarcasm. "We must find someone worthy of your surname......

She just looked down on Louis Bonaparte. (To be continued.) )