Fran's letters, written with great sincerity, were soon delivered to the telegraph office near the port. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

It stands to reason that the letters prepared by non-military personnel like her were of low priority and had to wait until the army telegrams had been sent before they could be sent, but because of her special status, the overly long letters were quickly transferred to the highest priority and sent to the sender's desk.

The letter was quickly spied out, and it flew along a long cable line at a speed previously unimaginable to Paris. The ticking sound of the telegraph not only took away every word of the letter, but also seemed to carry the sincere love of the letter writer.

That same evening, a telegram retranslated into plaintext was sent to the desk of His Excellency Chancellor Tréville's study.

In the quiet of the winter night, Charles carefully read every word of the letter. At first, his gaze was serious, but soon it became softer and softer, and he felt the longing and unreserved loyalty that filled the words.

"Always love you

Dear relatives. ”

His gaze stayed on the last sentence, and he was speechless for a while.

"It's a pity, it's not her own handwriting, I will definitely get the original back, it deserves to be kept forever." Charles muttered to himself as he put the letter in his small box where he kept his important documents, "Actually, I really miss you too. ”

He is indeed telling the truth, if you calculate carefully, his sister has been away from him for more than half a year, in his short life, such a long separation is really the first time, and only after such a long time of separation, he found that life without her by his side would be so sad.

Although he knew that she would not really face the danger of war in Crimea, he could not help but worry about her, and was afraid that she would encounter some unexpected danger, but fortunately, this nightmare never came true, otherwise he really did not know what to do.

However, no matter what, since things have come to this point, they can only go on, Charles knows how much his sister has sacrificed and how much he has suffered in order to achieve his goal, so he knows even more that everything cannot be done halfway, since he has already taken this road, he must go to the end.

Therefore, after a period of silence, he forcibly suppressed the thoughts and faint regrets in his heart, restored his former calm, and thought about the next road from the position of a minister.

The problems pointed out by my sister in the letter are very acute, and there are indeed objective problems - after a long battle, after repeated battles and heavy casualties, the morale of the French soldiers in Crimea has slipped to a dangerous situation; And because of the harsh environment and insufficient treatment, it is even more difficult to boost morale.

Obviously, if left unchecked, the situation will get worse and worse, and eventually the entire military machine will be paralyzed, which is a price that the Empire cannot afford. The empire has only been established for more than two years now, and almost the entire empire depends on the support of the army to exercise effective rule, if the army is paralyzed, how can the empire continue to continue?

Unexpectedly, my sister has become an anti-war activist, and if someone in China had said this, she would have been arrested and put in prison a long time ago...... Charles couldn't help but smile wryly.

Fran's description of the situation at the front is indeed too worrisome, and if even the commander-in-chief's granddaughter has become so negative about the war, then the mood of the officers and men of the various units is even more conceivable.

Originally, in order to cooperate with Count Bezukhov's plan, he deliberately instructed his grandfather to increase the pressure on the Russians and force them to further invest resources in the war, so Marshal Trever forcibly launched several attacks despite the constraints of the conditions. While it is true that these attacks put the Russians under great pressure and consumed a lot of their human and material resources, the French also consumed too many resources and even more pressure.

Now, it's time for Grandpa to stop all this. The harsh winter in Russia is a good reason, it's time to calm down the battlefield and stop continuing the forced offensive to stick to the front and besiege the fortresses. After thinking about it, Charles finally made up his mind.

By now, he was worthy of Count Bezukhov, and the other party could not ask for more from him.

…………………………

The very next day, Charles went to the palace to meet His Majesty the Emperor.

He was soon summoned by His Majesty, and to his surprise, when he arrived at the Audience Hall, Count Alexander Wallewski, the new Imperial Foreign Secretary, the illegitimate son of Napoleon and Polish Lover, was also present.

When he saw Charles, the handsome middle-aged man smiled and bowed to him, showing the politeness and demeanor of a diplomat, and while Charles saluted him, he also secretly thought that His Majesty the Emperor had the intention of leaving him when the two met.

"Charles, I just have something to look for you." As soon as he saw him, His Majesty the Emperor, who was sitting on the throne in a big hat, made a gesture gently, "Alexander has just reported to me that His Majesty's envoys have made some concessions and met some of the conditions we have put forward, and there has been significant progress in the peace talks. ”

Because of the successive victories of the French army on the battlefield, His Majesty the Emperor now seems more and more energetic, and his gestures are full of imperial majesty, even in the face of his two ministers, who have followed him since his humble beginning, they are quite reserved.

Now, after an unprecedented war, the nations of Europe have rediscovered the great power of France, and have changed their former contempt for him, and have watched the actions of the Empire tremblingly in France, in the presence of him, and in every possible way of flattering and currying favor with His Majesty, which greatly satisfies the vanity of His Majesty, who is the head of the House of Bonaparte.

How could he not be complacent that his family had fallen from a glorious throne close to dominating Europe, and that he had rebuilt the empire and vaguely seemed to see it again?

"Your Majesty, your brilliance has overshadowed the Russian Tsars, and they have finally come to see the reality." Charles immediately congratulated His Majesty the Emperor, "However, I think that at the moment they have some luck mentality, so they will not bend the knee with us anytime soon, and even if they make some concessions, I am afraid they will only make half-hearted concessions, and we need some more powerful blows in order to make them face reality." ”

"Yes, we need to wait for these arrogant Russians to face reality." His Majesty the Emperor smiled a slightly sarcastic smile, "They will soon learn such a lesson." ”

In order to delay the peace talks between the two countries, Charles told His Majesty the Emperor the plan of Count Bezukhov in a vague way, and he naturally quickly tasted the benefits, no matter what happened to the Count and these thieves, France could take the opportunity to fish in troubled waters and profit from it, so he also decided not to rush to reach a peace agreement with Russia, and under his instructions, the progress of the current peace talks was deliberately slowed down a lot.

"Your Majesty, the attitude of the Russians is getting softer day by day, and it is clear that your judgment is very accurate, they have been weakened by the long war." His Excellency the Foreign Secretary also duly complimented His Majesty the Emperor, "I think His Majesty the Tsar himself must have felt the danger in the domestic political air, and he wanted an early end to this war, which was making him increasingly unpopular......"

"Whether the war begins or not depends on him, but whether it ends or not depends on him anymore." With a happy and happy mood, His Majesty the Emperor replied with a sneer, "He must pay the due price for his disrespect to the Empire at that time, and it is not far off. ”

"You do see the truth." The Foreign Secretary bowed again to His Majesty the Emperor.

"Your Majesty, although the situation is extremely favorable to us, the situation on the front line cannot be ignored." After His Majesty the Emperor had had enough of the compliments and flattery, Charles finally turned to practical matters, "After many days of hard fighting, although they have made brilliant achievements, they have also suffered great losses and great pressure...... And the harsh living conditions on the front line will also increase this pressure on them, so I think we must do everything we can to relieve the pressure of the officers and soldiers so that our brave soldiers can continue to fight bravely for the Empire. ”

"The soldiers of France are brave and resilient, and they will not be intimidated by pressure." Perhaps because he didn't like this, His Majesty the Emperor commented rather coldly, "Besides, I have been urging you to mobilize reinforcements for the front line as soon as possible and deliver more supplies to the front line, if you fulfill your duties well, then the situation will definitely be brought under due control, isn't it?" ”

"I have always tried to do my duty, Your Majesty." Charles hurriedly defended himself, "Although due to the limitations of objective conditions, I may not have 100% left the front line without supply pressure, but at least we have maintained the attrition of the entire army, so that they do not affect the operation due to supply defects. ”

"I'm not criticizing you, Charles." His Majesty the Emperor finally smiled again, "You have done a good job so far, and I hope that you can continue to work hard so that the next war can continue to develop in a more favorable direction for us." ”

"I will do my best, Your Majesty. But...... After all, now that winter is coming to the front line, the winter in Russia will change a lot of things, and it will also affect the movement of materials. "In addition, according to the information we have so far, the long hours of fighting have indeed brought morale setbacks and blows to the officers and men...... Your Majesty, I think the front line needs some encouragement, inspirational encouragement. ”

"What do you mean?" His Majesty frowned.

"Human emotions are unpredictable, and there is only a thin line from loss to excitement, so if we want to cheer up the soldiers, we need more spiritual encouragement." Charles said his calculations unhurriedly, "What if...... Your Majesty, if you come to the front in this harsh winter, then I think it will be the greatest encouragement to the soldiers on the front, they will think of His Majesty the old Emperor, they will think of the most glorious days of the Empire, and this will certainly be the greatest encouragement to them, and any soldier who has a heart for France will leave all his complaints behind after seeing His Majesty the Emperor, and go into war with great excitement, I am convinced. ”

“…… Want me to go to the front? His Majesty the Emperor finally understood what Charles meant, and then immediately frowned slightly.

"It's just my suggestion." Charles lowered his gaze.

The hall fell silent for a moment, and it was evident that His Majesty the Emperor was thinking and weighing the pros and cons, and neither Charles nor Count Alexander-Valewski bothered His Majesty's thoughts at this time.

Admittedly, Charles's suggestion was indeed very reasonable, and if His Majesty the Emperor could be on the front line at a time when the soldiers were under great pressure and suffering from the Russian winter, it would certainly be a grand public relations show, at least for those soldiers who still believed in the glory of the Empire, and would be greatly encouraged to fight for the Empire with enthusiasm again.

But His Majesty the Emperor could not do so now, for Paris was a source of turmoil, and several dynasties had come to an end in the sudden riots of Paris, and he could not dare to risk the empire which he had built in just a few years, and in a way he feared that after leaving Paris, there would be a sudden new upheaval in the capricious capital, and then the politicians who were accustomed to rudder the rudder would change the form of government in France again.

Maybe later he will go to the front in person, but for now, he will not make such a gamble.

And Charles knows that.

"Now the state is too heavy for me to leave Paris." Sure enough, as he expected, in the end, after a long hesitation, His Majesty the Emperor shook his head and rejected Charles's suggestion, "I empathize with the hardships faced by the soldiers on the front line, and I will find a way to relieve the difficult situation they are facing." ”

"If you think so, then I take back my suggestion." Charles immediately nodded, "However, I ask your permission for me to personally go to Turkey to supervise the movement of supplies, because winter does have the potential to cause great trouble at the front. ”

"Huh...... Ha. His Majesty the Emperor burst out laughing. You kid! ”

After the foreshadowing in front of him, His Majesty the Emperor of course also understood, it turned out that this young minister was making a request for himself.

That's right, in the case that His Majesty the Emperor has no way to come to the front line to comfort the soldiers, it is indeed necessary to assign someone to the front line, at least to boost the morale of the soldiers on the front line.

Originally, this kind of thing should be best done by people from the royal family, but a while ago, Prince Joseph Bonaparte was directly relieved of his command by the marshal because of some conflicts with Marshal Treville, and now he has returned to France, he will definitely not be a good candidate, and the princes of other royal families are not very suitable.

Then, if you think about it this way, it is logical to let this young minister go to the front on his behalf.

"Okay, Charles, it's rare that you have thought of this step, well, since you are willing to endure that hardship, I will approve your request, you can deal with the matter at hand first, and then go to the front line to inspect." Without any hesitation, His Majesty the Emperor waved his hand directly, "I allow you to go on my behalf to comfort the officers and soldiers on the front line and pay tribute to them." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely fulfill the mission you have entrusted me." Charles immediately picked up. "I will arrange the affairs in hand as soon as possible, and I will definitely not delay the big thing."

He was very happy in his heart, because he had achieved his goal in such a subtle way, and he could personally go to the front line to visit his two relatives who had been suffering there for so long.

More importantly, he could take the opportunity to take a moment to dissipate the resentment of the long hours of fighting at the front, lest the terrible situation that Fran had described really happened. Disasters must be eliminated before they erupt, as he has always been.

However, he soon got another surprise.

"When we get there, let's find a way to contact the Russian generals and Russian diplomats at the front, we need one more channel of communication with the Russians, and by the way, test the sincerity of the Tsar's peace talks," His Majesty the Emperor said suddenly, "Maybe one day, we will be able to use this channel." ”

"It is the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to negotiate with the Russians...... although he was overjoyed, Charles was a little hesitant on the surface.

His Majesty the Emperor glanced at the Foreign Secretary.

Count Alexander Valewski, who had been keeping an eye on the two men all along, immediately bowed gently to His Majesty the Emperor, saying that he was not greedy for power, and that he would never act rashly out of personal feelings, and would not affect the private contacts between His Excellency Chancellor Trevil and the Russians.

"Okay...... In that case, then I will do my best to serve you, Your Majesty. Charles bowed down and accepted the task, which surprised him a little.

This is indeed a bonus, with the help of this channel, he can personally control the pace of the peace talks, which is much more useful than indirect influence.

Wait, Your Majesty has left the Foreign Secretary here, did you plan to propose this task to me a long time ago?

But, in the midst of the euphoria, a flash of inspiration suddenly flashed in his mind.

Then his heart sank suddenly, and most of his original joy was gone.

The monarch and the minister know each other too well, and they are too smart.

"Okay, you go back and prepare first, time waits for no one." Before Charles could sort things out, His Majesty the Emperor gave instructions to end the audience, "Charles, the exploits of you and your grandfather will be remembered by France." ”

As Charles took his leave, His Majesty the Emperor's gloomy gaze was still looking at his back.

The Tréville family's ever-expanding influence and power have indeed swelled to the point of being fearful.

Still, at least for now, they are needed.

His Majesty the Emperor stood up silently, and then left the audience hall surrounded by the royal attendants.