After bidding farewell to Vienna, Charles and his convoy headed north, and with diplomatic coordination, he passed Bavaria with ease, and then galloped towards the Free City of Frankfurt. In order to take care of Charlotte's health, after leaving the Austrian border, Charles had her take her back to France first, while he himself embarked on the final journey of the plan, the Johannesburg estate on the outskirts of Frankfurt.

Frankfurt is now the seat of the German Federal Parliament, so there are many diplomats, not only politicians from various German states, but also foreigners living here, so it is a prosperous place and there is an endless stream of traffic on the road. After the tumultuous years of 1848, it was a thriving city, not the "capital of Germany", but at least a charming city.

However, Charles had no plans to visit the city, and his destination was just a manor house not far from the city.

After a long journey, their convoy finally came to a halt in the manor.

Then Prince Richard von Metternich, who had followed the Shire, took him out of the carriage and carefully led him through the manor, which was about a few dozen miles from Frankfurt and was quite quiet.

The well-tended manor house is overgrown with lush vegetation. The vineyards are lush and green, with a striking green color, and the house is surrounded by courtyard walls and rows of fruit trees; The boundaries of the vineyards are also covered with fruit trees. In short, every inch of this garden was put to good use.

Such a dwelling, so simple, yet full of life, fruity and fragrant. It is a good place for the elderly to live alone in their old age.

Wandering in the midst of it, Charles unconsciously slowed down, for fear of startling the people in the manor.

They soon came to the mansion deep in the manor, and then a middle-aged woman soon came to greet them.

The lady was about fifty years old, tall and thin, and wore a gray dress. His face was already covered with wrinkles, but he could still see a few traces of the past. She had a smile on her face and looked very kind.

"You're Monsieur de Treville, aren't you?" She nodded to Charles in a friendly manner and greeted her in very pure French, "It's a pleasure to meet you, I've always heard the Prince and Richard mention you, and when I look at it today, it's really a talent!" ”

Although he knew that it was a polite remark, Charles was still very happy to hear it. "Thank you. Madam, it is a great honour for me to come to your mansion," he said, taking off his hat in salute.

"You've all worked hard along the way, haven't you? Come, please come with me to the restaurant, and someone will bring lunch in a moment. It's a simple place, but the game is good. The lady then looked at Richard next to Charles, "Richard." You've worked hard too, so take a good rest, right? ”

"Thank you. Madam. Richard nodded to her. Is Dad still resting? ”

"His Royal Highness has woken up now, and was listening to someone read the newspaper just now, but I have already sent to inform him, and he is probably preparing to meet Mr. Trevill." Madame answered truthfully.

"That's great!" As if he had accomplished some important task, he suddenly seemed relieved. "Charles, go get something to eat first. I'll go see my father, and I'll take you with him later. ”

"Okay, Richard." Charles waved his hand casually and invited him to do his own thing.

He knew that Richard would follow him all the way back. He must have received a lot of information about him, and before the prince met him, he must exchange information with his father, and then the father and son would discuss a plan to deal with him.

Out of politeness, Charles of course wants to give their father and son such space, and by the way, they can solve the problem of hunger. He immediately followed his wife into the dining room.

At the same time, Charles notices Richard's attitude towards the lady - polite and respectful, but lacking in warmth, and even an unconscious sense of distance.

This was also normal, he knew that the prince's wife was not his mother - Prince Metternich was a merry man, he had three wives, the first of whom was named Eleano-Marie von Kaunitz-Littburg, and this lady bore him eight children, but most of them died young, leaving no children, only the fourth child (who died in 1829), Mr. Franz Karl von Metternich, left an illegitimate child, and the sixth child, Leotina, who married and gave birth to a daughter, Polina.

The second lady was Mademoiselle Maria Antoinette von Leckham, whom he married in 1827, who gave birth to her son Richard two years later and died ten days later at the age of twenty-four. And Richard has become the only surviving son of the current Prince of Metternich, enjoying the prince's inheritance.

The third lady, of course, was the lady in front of her, her maiden name was Melanie, and this lady married Prince Metternich in 1831, when she was 26 years old, 32 years younger than the prince, and the prince was still old and strong, and in the years after the marriage, she gave birth to five children, of which two sons and a daughter lived to adulthood.

In addition, the prince had many mistresses, and bore him many illegitimate children, and he himself could not tell how many there were—like Prince Talleyrand, Prince Metternich's private life was very varied and enviable—but there was no need to mention it.

As can be seen from the above, although Richard is now the eldest son who will inherit the title of Prince of Metternich, he is not the son of the prince's wife, so the relationship between the two of them is somewhat delicate - although Richard also grew up under the care of this lady.

Not long after Charles arrived at the restaurant, the chef's meal was delivered, and Charles, who was already a little hungry, was naturally not polite and immediately feasted. Mrs. Melanie was indeed a very kind woman, and she did her duty as a master, and always spoke with Charles, even if she was not very enthusiastic about it.

Charles chatted with her while eating. Time flies very quickly.

When he was almost full, Richard von Metternich finally returned to the dining room.

"Charles, please come with me, my father is ready, please come with me."

"Really? That's great. Charles immediately wiped his mouth with a napkin, and then stood up simply.

Before leaving. He also made a special effort to thank his wife. "Thank you, ma'am, for your hospitality."

"If you are willing to communicate with my husband in the most peaceful manner because of this, then my hard work will not be in vain." Madame replied with a smile.

"Oh, that's a certainty." Charles was also amused by her humor, "I am full of admiration for seniors like the Prince, and this time I am here to ask for advice with the attitude of learning from him. ”

……………………

Led by Richard, Charles walked out of the dining room, then up to the second floor, to the door of the study.

Then he pushed the door open. He brought Charles in.

Among the rows of bookshelves, Charles saw the old man sitting in an upholstered walnut rocking chair.

The old man was gray-haired, and his face was wrinkled, but his whole body was neatly groomed, even his beard was shaved clean, and he was obviously very well cared for.

He was also in good spirits, with sharp eyes, and he looked at Charles the moment he entered the door. It was as if he was going to see through his whole being.

The eighty-year-old man was thin and had a pointed chin. His skin was pale from old age and seclusion, and the smile on his face was charming, still with the grace of youth. If Marshal Sirt and the Duke of Wellington gave Charles a fierce impression, then he gave Charles a somewhat feminine impression - worthy of being a talented woman who could escape from Vienna in women's clothes!

"Prince von Metternich, I am truly honored to have the opportunity to meet you." After collecting the banter in his heart, Charbie bowed respectfully to him. "Plus, it's great to see you so healthy."

"I'm glad to see a young man like you, sir." The prince smiled, then stretched out his hand and motioned for him to sit down, "Thinking that I am here today after I have retired. I consider myself a little lucky to be able to be visited by someone as good as you. ”

"Unlike clowns, big shots are still big shots even when they walk off the stage." Charles complimented and sat down.

"There is one thing I must make clear, Monsieur Treville," said the Prince, smiling slightly as he sat down, and the wrinkles on his face deepened, "I do not hate Napoleon, nor have I even intended to destroy his empire, so you should not carry on your hatred from forty years ago to the present, and I think that although we are diplomats, we can occasionally communicate with each other in a sincere manner." Yes, true sincerity - the sincerity of a wise person, who does not insult each other by saying stupid things or hypocritical things, but teaches each other lessons based on the principle of facts. ”

"Your Highness, I have one more thing that I must make clear to you." Charles laughed as well, "I really don't hate you at all, I only have respect for you. Even...... I don't hate Talleyrand. ”

Charles was indeed sincere in what he said, but as a Bonapartist he did not blindly worship Napoleon, let alone perpetuate Napoleon's old hatred. Moreover, even from the point of view of Napoleon alone, Prince Metternich really could not speak of enemies.

Metternich really had no hatred for France and Napoleon, and his only thought was to maintain Austria's strength and prestige.

When Napoleon's empire was in its infancy, he flattered Napoleon and facilitated his marriage to the Habsburg princess. At a time when Napoleon's empire was on the brink of collapse, he also did not intend to fall into the trap from the very beginning.

In the turbulent years of Napoleon's unsuccessful return from Russia, he rightly recognized that the complete destruction of the Rhine League would only turn the Rhine region into a weak and small state that would benefit Prussia when Austria was no longer able to return to the status quo of the Rhine and the Netherlands. On several occasions in 1813, he made a request to the Napoleonic Emperor to make peace between France and Austria in the form of French recognition and respect for the rights and interests of other countries, in other words, withdrawal from the conquest of the lands after the Revolution.

His wishful thinking was to maintain a sufficiently strong but hostile France after the war, and then maintain the existence of a strong Rhine League. In this way, the pressure of the countries could not only immobilize France, but also the pressure of France could immobilize Prussia, and as a result, it would not be able to touch the Rhine region.

However, his wishful thinking was soon shattered by reality, and Napoleon, who had fallen out with Talleyrand, saw Metternich as a despicable person like Talleyrand, and refused to trust him at all, and he still had a fluke mentality, thinking that he could turn the tables, so he completely rejected all of Metternich's proposals, and must fight to the death on the battlefield with European countries.

Shattered, Metternich had Austria join the Allied army, and the Allied forces crushed Napoleon's army at the Battle of Leipzig.

Even then, Austria and several other great powers did not intend to put the French Empire to death on the basis of the balance of power, and they put forward conditions to end the protracted war by keeping the borders of 1790 in France and Napoleon abdicating the throne to his son.

However, Napoleon refused, and like a gambler on the verge of doom, he tried to make a fortune with less and less money, and he reorganized his army to fight against the French League, which resulted in the Allies marching into France and capturing Paris in March 1814, and Napoleon had to sign an abdication at Fontainebleau on April 13.

This time, he wanted to abdicate in favor of his son, but the coalition forces refused, and he had to face the complete collapse of the empire and his own exile.

In general, after the start of the Russian campaign in 1812, the Emperor Napoleon made a fool of himself and refused every opportunity to stop the loss, only to finally come to his senses, when it was too late.

Louis Bonaparte had managed to regain power in the country, and he certainly did not want himself to perish with the empire under the siege of all Europe, like his uncle, and he did not want to perpetuate his hatred, and Charles did not have any of the same thoughts.

"I'm glad you could say that." Seeing Charles' sincere answer, the prince's smile deepened, "So, do I assume that you are saying this on behalf of France?" ”

"Yes, at this very moment, I am talking to you on behalf of the interests of France." Charles looked up at the great man who had been in Europe for forty years, and there was no flinch in him, "My words now count." ”

"Oh, what a beautiful bearing! Richard should have learned! The prince exclaimed, then clapped his hands gently, "God bless you, young man. (To be continued.) )