"Mr. Bismarck is here." Although Richard von Metternich's voice was low, Charles was extremely shaken, and there was a rare wavering.

This vacillation was keenly felt by Prince Metternich, who felt very strange.

Obviously, although Bismarck has become the representative of Prussia to the Imperial Conference in Frankfurt and is already a big man in the eyes of ordinary people, he is not a big deal in front of the rapidly rising Treville, and he does not need to attach so much importance to Bismarck.

Could it be that when Bismarck traveled to France, they met and then reached some tacit understanding? At the thought of this, Prince Metternich was also shocked.

Now the Austrians are most suspicious of the two countries of France and Prussia, the former has just been replaced by Napoleon's descendants, and there is great uncertainty; The latter, now on the rise in national power and ambition to squeeze Austria out of Germany's top spot, would be a great problem, if not a catastrophe, for Austria.

Although Metternich had been ousted from the prime minister by Emperor Franz-Joseph, after all, he had always presided over Austria's national politics and diplomacy, and he was also full of affection for Austria, and he certainly did not want something like this to happen, so he could not help but be a little worried.

As a result, the two people in the room shook and hesitated, and the atmosphere suddenly changed from relaxed just now to a little strange.

Bismarck entered the room at this time, led by the servant, and both Charles and Metternich looked at him with their own thoughts, making him stunned for a moment.

He was just as he was in the Imperial Council. Dressed in a black formal suit and wearing a black top hat. A gentleman's look. However, his body is large and strong, and his attitude is dignified, and there is arrogance in it. There is no way to hide this unruly temperament in formal wear.

When he walked into the room, he was of course a little surprised by the strange atmosphere in the room, but his city was very deep, so he quickly concealed this surprise in his heart.

"Your Royal Highness, it is a great honour for me to be able to visit you again, and it is a pleasure to see you in such good health." He took off his hat and saluted, and said a kind word to Prince Metternich, then turned to look at Charles again. "It is a great pleasure to meet you again, Monsieur de Treville, and I have admired your demeanor since the last time I saw you."

"I admire you just as much, Monsieur von Bismarck." Charles also stood up very respectfully and greeted the other.

"You may be seated." Compared with Charles's courtesy, Prince Metternich was a little more reserved, he waved casually, motioned Bismarck to sit down, and his face could not see the cordial and easy-going attitude towards Charles just now.

This is quite normal. The Prince, who regarded himself as the finest diplomat in Germany to date, was himself a very arrogant man, and after decades as a prime minister, he was naturally accustomed to being more arrogant by his obedient subordinates, in his opinion. Bismarck was nothing more than a junior student in the border country of Prussia, and even if he was excellent, he was not worthy of his currying favor. It is the people who climb to high positions at a young age that make him feel that "this person is like me when I was younger". That's why it's so kind.

Bismarck did not think of this condescending attitude. Sit down respectfully. Of course, he didn't know what he would achieve in the future, so he was indeed willing to be under the prince's throne at this time. The Prince's personal hospitality is in itself a rare privilege.

The three of them sat down like this, although they were very calm on the surface, but Charles's heart was already turned upside down.

Sitting in front of him were two of the most influential men in the whole of Germany in the 19th century, who roamed the continent of Europe, the first shining on the first half century, the second deeply influencing the second half of the century, whether they were positive or negative, whether they agreed with their actions or not, they must agree that both of them had shaped a European era - an era in which Europe ruled the world, which is tantamount to saying that both of them had shaped an era of the world.

The two of them, one in his last years, was waiting for God's call at any time; One is energetic and ambitious, just waiting to do the next great thing, the former is the last remnant of the Middle Ages, the latter is the first cry of the new era, the two have much in common in thought, in world view, and even in ambition, or they both uphold the world view of the supremacy of interests and ignore moral and religious concepts, and also have extremely superb wisdom and extraordinary observation and action.

It was an amazing experience to be able to sit with these two people and to be on an equal footing.

According to etiquette, neither of the young men spoke first, but waited for the prince to speak, but the prince closed his eyes slightly unhurriedly, as if pondering something, so they both waited quietly, and neither of them seemed impatient.

"I have always thought that there are only a few people in Europe, a very small number of people who think soberly and act calmly and pragmatically according to their own ideas, and that most of the others are either confused, or have to be coerced by the situation and go with the flow, waiting for others to prepare a fate for him......" After a long silence, the prince finally spoke, "This kind of person was rare in the past, and now it is even rarer, so I think today we can almost speak on behalf of Europe, Anyway, everyone else can only listen or they don't even have a chance to listen. ”

It's a bit pretentious, but it's surprisingly convincing when he says it.

"I think the two of us, as juniors, should listen to your teachings." Charles certainly did not dare to be as arrogant as him, and immediately lowered his tone, "You dominated, or at least participated, in the fate of the majority of Europe, and influenced the whole of history, and I ...... I didn't even know that I would still be on stage a few months later, but I was just being forced by fate to go with the flow. ”

"You don't have to be so humble, Mr. Treville, at least you're on top of the mountain. You can show your ambitions. That's much stronger than I am......" Bismarck interrupted Charles abruptly, "Your Royal Highness has done something that will be remembered in history. And you have the opportunity to replicate his success, but what about me? Where am I qualified to do anything now? It's true. His Highness's words made me feel ashamed. ”

"You don't have to be so modest......" Now it was Charles' turn to comfort him.

"It's not modesty, I'm not a humble person, I'm telling the truth, sir." Bismarck shook his head, his face becoming more and more ugly, as if he had thought of many very unpleasant things, "Look what I am now?" A delegate to the Imperial Assembly, who spends his days in the synagogue with a bunch of fools, their language tasteless and their authority low. It's unappetizing, and I have to hang out with them! You are making history and I can only stand and watch, with nothing but desire, and I don't even know when I will be able to fulfill my ambitions, and I really envy you. ”

"Isn't the Imperial Council enough to express your ambitions, young man?" Prince Metternich suddenly laughed, "Your Majesty the King would have felt aggrieved if he heard this, knowing that he had sent you here against all odds. ”

"I thank Your Majesty. But I must say that this is not at all sufficient, and that the noisy vegetable market of the Imperial Council is unlikely to have any significant impact on history, except that I have wasted my time. Bismarck shook his head again, "I thought I would get a more important appointment." I really didn't expect to be thrown here. In 1848, I risked my life to fight against the mob in order to defend the monarchy, and the monarch sent me away with such humble sweets after surviving the crisis...... If it weren't for the fact that this place could have visited you often, this place would have driven poor people like me crazy. Your Highness. ”

In addition to compliments, he also has a lot of heartfelt emotion. Bismarck today. Although it seems to others that the representative of the Plenum to the Imperial Assembly is already a rare courtesy, in the eyes of people like him, it is nothing more than an idle job. What he wants is to enter the cabinet, become a minister, or even become the prime minister, and use the military and financial resources of the entire country to realize his personal ambitions, but the current reality is difficult to satisfy him, so he is not as reserved, arrogant and aggressive as he was when he became famous, but because his career was faltering, he was unable to achieve his ambitions and complained.

He had many complaints with his friends and wives, many of which were critical of the king and his cabinet, and it was because of this that he became more and more disliked by the king and his cabinet, and even Prince William, whom he believed to be his supporter, became disliked by the princess and his support for him was greatly weakened, and he became even more disheartened.

"Outstanding talents are sometimes envied and even suppressed, and even Napoleon, after his rise to prominence, was almost thrown into the colony by a minister who was jealous of him." Charles laughed too, "Mr. Bismarck, although you feel that you are not willing to do so now, I believe that this is absolutely only temporary, and I think it will not be long before you become the man that Prussia must obey." ”

"Really?" Bismarck looked a little disconvinced, "Then I thank you for your prediction." ”

"I'm convinced, young man." Prince Metternich suddenly took over and said unhurriedly, "Prussia is a country accustomed to obedience, and there are too few brains willing to think for themselves, and you are the best of these people, so in the final analysis, they still have to rely on you to run the country." I think it will be fate for you to soar, and you don't need to blame fate for being too unfair to you, otherwise you will be laughing at the vast majority of philistines in Europe. ”

Then he slowly turned his gaze and circled among the two young men, Bismarck and Treville.

"I had already believed that the two of you were very outstanding, and I was even more convinced of this after meeting separately, so ...... Don't worry, the future is yours. I'm talking to Europe in 10 or 15 years' time, though maybe I don't see that day anymore...... But I'm still curious and looking forward to it. ”

Charles and Bismarck looked at each other, both amazed at the other's affection for them and relieved by the Prince's words—not everyone could be appointed by Prince Metternich.

"The real point is, what was Europe like at that time?" The prince continued, "It boils down to the question of how the Europe you two want can be bridged, and so different that one outcome must be separated?" ”

"What do you mean?" Charles was secretly shocked.

"I know very well what I mean, I have gathered you together to see if your ideals can be compromised with each other." The prince replied calmly, "Young people, although you are very polite to me, I know that, like me, you are very stubborn and arrogant people, and only stubborn and arrogant people can keep going with your eyes closed and no matter what others say, and go where you want to be, so I am not going to change your mind or philosophy. But you must also know that reality is never smooth sailing, and there is never a world that can be completely according to our own minds, and in the end we have to adapt to the edges and corners of reality and make some kind of compromise. It seems to me that the future of peace and tranquility in Europe depends on the compromise of those who really grasp the times, just as we did in Vienna. ”

After a pause, he continued to say calmly, "Although most of us have now become harlequins in comics, or the laughing stock of people's mouths, but we also had bright stars in the past, everyone was ambitious, and they were bound to win the highest glory for themselves and their country, but in the end, tragedy struck one after another, and the land of Europe was covered with blood, and millions of people lost their lives, until finally everyone made a compromise, One of the brightest stars has fallen with the empire he has single-handedly built...... I don't expect you to remember all of this tragic lesson, but I hope you can take it to heart. ”

"Of course we can remember those things." Bismarck sank his gaze, and he couldn't tell whether it was sad or yearning, "Thanks to people like you, the tragedy did not last forever, and Europe had a new order and peace for decades." ”

"But the new order will become the old order and eventually shatter." The Prince shook his head, "Mr. Treville spoke with me just now, and he told me bluntly that the order that my generation had established in Vienna had been shattered. The news is poignant, but it's the reality and I'm glad he saw a reality......"

He lengthened his voice, and the two young men looked at him unconsciously.

"The new order in Europe needs a new generation to rebuild, and it is up to you to rebuild. Please rebuild it, and don't be carried away by your own power like that great man, and let blood and fire swallow everything, including himself! ”

The prince's expression was still unwavering, as if there was no more fire in his blood, but this remark still shocked both of them.

"France is peace-loving." Charles immediately replied, "He has had enough of the lesson, and is willing to uphold everything that is conducive to peace in Europe, and we love peace." ”

"Prussia is also peace-loving." Although he was preempted by Charles, Bismarck also showed the same sincerity, "We have been fighting wars since the founding of the country, and we have experienced countless wars before and after, and the horror of war has left a deep wound in the hearts of each of us, and no one knows the cruelty of war better than us Prussians, and no one loves peace more than us Prussians." ”

Hearing such an answer, the prince struggled suddenly, raised his head to look at the two young men, and then glared at them angrily, like a teacher who heard a student's answer incorrect.

"You guys are so pretentious! You guys are so pretentious! Why can't we be honest when we're the only ones here? If you do this, you will definitely bring about a great war that will spread across Europe! (To be continued.) )