Charles did not lie, and the next day he returned to his home and met with the Russian minister, Count Durovyev, who had been invited.

"On behalf of myself and His Majesty the Tsar, I would like to express my deep condolences to you, Monsieur de Treville." In Charles's exquisitely decorated study, the tall Russian minister, who was full of gray hair, expressed his condolences to Charles with a very serious expression, "The Duke of Treville is a very talented statesman, who has devoted himself to the friendship of our country and your country for decades, and his death is a great loss to France and Europe. I will represent Russia at his funeral. ”

"My Majesty's condolences, I will convey to my cousin," Charles nodded solemnly, and made a gesture to take a seat, "I would like to thank you and Your Majesty for him. ”

Although he is thanking him, he knows that in diplomatic exchanges, congratulations and condolences are worthless, but they can be used as a topic of discussion.

He invited the Russian envoy to his home today not just to pay his respects.

"Mr. Ambassador, thank you very much for taking the time to come to me after your busy schedule." Once he was seated, Charles thanked him again, "I hope I didn't disrupt your schedule." ”

"We don't dare to turn down an invitation from someone as important as you." The master hurriedly replied, "You represent France, and your reception is of great significance, and my schedule should be changed for you. ”

"Actually, I have always wanted to meet you and enhance the friendship between the two countries." Charles nodded, and said with a look of sincerity. "It's just...... The recent political situation in our country has changed a bit, so I haven't been able to find time to meet you. Thank you for your understanding. ”

Political changes? The ambassador's heart moved slightly.

It was nothing more than an attempt to test Russia's attitude towards Louis Bonaparte's proclamation as emperor.

Since Louis Bonaparte launched the Revolution and became the dictator of the French Republic. It is no secret that he will soon become emperor in the political circles of the European countries, and after several months of diplomatic coordination, the countries have already agreed to do nothing.

"Although the political situation in your country is constantly changing, I think this kind of friendly relationship can be passed down." "Europe is a close association, and its peace and prosperity require the joint efforts of each member, and the efforts of your country and a large country like ours are particularly important," the ambassador replied quietly. ”

As long as France follows the rules. Russia would see it as a member of the European family and continue to keep peace with it, a position he quietly conveyed to the Shire.

Then, the two of them continued to talk a bunch of clichés as diplomatic protocol allowed, and the atmosphere began to become a little stiff and serious.

Originally, even if the two of them were diplomats who were accustomed to clichés, the communication would never be so dull, but now the position of the two people is a little awkward, so they have to pick up some clichés that are not salty or light.

Up? How? Grandpa followed Emperor Napoleon - in this situation, both sides of this black history have to find a way to avoid it. I can't mention it.

"Sir, I must admit that although I thought you were very talented, you are more suitable for the profession than I thought." After all, there is a duty. After talking for a while, the Earl finally couldn't help but start to probe, "I thought you would need some more time to get used to your new position. But I didn't expect you to be able to do your job very well as soon as you got started. I heard from my colleagues in the UK. Your visit has aroused a general goodwill among the British, and Her Majesty has a great appreciation for you. ”

"Thank you for the compliment. But I think I still have a lot to learn from seniors like you. Charles smiled humbly, "To be honest, I have just entered this world of rhetoric and medals, and I am really a little nervous, for fear that if I say the wrong word, it will cast a shadow on the bright future of Europe." ”

"You've proven to be pretty good, better than any fledgling young man, at least I've never met another young man with such a mastery of rhetoric as you." The Minister also laughed, "Besides, if you like medals, His Majesty the Tsar will not hesitate to give you a few." ”

"Of course that's good! Who doesn't love medals! Charles smiled even more heartily, as if he didn't hear the other man insinuating that he was using rhetoric to evade, and that he couldn't say anything.

"Shouldn't the British send you a few too?" Because Charles has not been in the trap, the ambassador who is in a disadvantaged position has to uncover the superficial disguise and start to get to the core. "Even if they invite you privately, don't they also make you shoulder the heavy responsibility?"

"I don't think I know what you're referring to." Still smiling, Charles continued to dodge the ambassador's question.

"Sir, I understand your prudence, and in your position, your words and deeds are at stake in the interests and peace of the nations of Europe." The slight setback did not deter the ambassador from his resolve, and he continued to probe, "But you are much more cautious than I thought. In fact, since you have called me here, why is it necessary to avoid the question so much? ”

"Sir, do you remember the last time we met?" Charles suddenly smiled.

The Count stiffened slightly, and his brow furrowed.

The last time they met, it was at a military parade in Sartori.

It was at that parade that the young man's grandfather was made Marshal of France by Louis Bonaparte.

At that time he taunted the marshal, and ended up in a small quarrel with the young man. Unexpectedly, a few months later, he became one of the important heads of the French Foreign Ministry, and he also came to the door with old grudges.

Presumably, his performance at that time did not leave a good impression on this young man, but as a result, he held a grudge and used his excuse to squeeze himself today.

Hum! This bastard boy really doesn't have any energy at all!

In the course of diplomatic work, he actually brought in some small contradictions in the old days and used his personal feelings to influence major national affairs. He couldn't help but feel a little contempt for the young man.

"Of course I do, Mr. Treville." The ambassador was filled with resentment. He looked at Charles with a very apologetic expression, "I'm sorry. At that time, I made a few jokes, which made you unhappy, and I hope you will not mind because of this, which will affect the relationship between the two countries. ”

For a veteran diplomat, apologies and thanks are commonplace, and he can give as much as others want, so he is not stingy with giving Charles some, as long as he can make him happy.

"Oh no. Of course I won't mind! Charles smiled and shook his head, "If I minded, I wouldn't have called you over, please believe that it is for the sake of the overall situation of Franco-Russian relations that I will invite you over and say something that we can only say in private." ”

Sure enough, it's coming! The ambassador's heart jumped, and he hurriedly put on his most serious appearance.

"What is it? I'm listening. ”

"Since you have your own diplomatic channel, you must know. The British took the opportunity to talk to me about a number of issues. Charles whispered, "But I guess you don't know exactly what we're talking about, do you?" ”

"I don't know very much though...... But I think you should have talked about some issues about my country, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have called me. "Although I have received a lot of news from the UK and China in advance. But the ambassador pretended to be ignorant and asked.

Hmph, I really know. Looking at him like this, Charles sneered inwardly.

He counted the time to set the invitation for today.

When I was in the UK before. He instructed someone to leak some of the information to the Russian embassy in England, and after all this time. Almost the news had been passed from London to Petersburg, and then turned into a directive. From Petersburg to Paris.

That is to say, by now, the count had understood that it was in the present isolated and dangerous environment that he was looking for de Treville, not de Treville.

"That's right, they talked to me about your country." Charles nodded, his expression becoming very serious, "Although in general, we shouldn't divulge conversations between gentlemen, but sometimes...... Because things are so important, I have to make a painful choice......"

The ambassador didn't answer, just stared at him.

"Although the British are very subtle, I can feel that they are very dissatisfied with your country." After a moment of silence, Charles told the truth, "They have been speaking ill of your country in front of me, trying to stir up my hostility towards your country. ”

As he expected, even if he was mentally prepared in advance, even the old and sophisticated earl stiffened a little when he heard the news.

"The British are like that, they like to see the mainland squabbling so that they can reap the benefits." After a moment, the ambassador forced a smile. "As long as we fight each other, they will be able to lie on their gold coins and sit back and relax. However, I believe that a smart person like you would not fall for such a shoddy trick. My country shares France's peace-loving nature. ”

"If it's just verbal provocation, that's fine...... Charles shook his head, "the British go further than you think, and as far as I am concerned, they are striving to form some kind of alliance against your country in the near future, and to take a unified and coordinated position against your country. Mr. Palmerston has been telling me that your country's momentum must be contained, if necessary...... It takes some kind of tough way to deal with it. ”

The minister's face became more and more ugly as Charles explained, but he managed to maintain his composure.

In today's world, if the British take the lead in forming an alliance against a certain country, no one dares to ignore it - the weight of this country on the earth is really astonishingly high.

"I appreciate your kindness in telling us all of this." After quickly regaining all his poise and composure, the ambassador nodded to Charles, "I will bring your message back to the country, and they will respond in the most appropriate way." ”

After a deliberate pause, he seemed to want to show off his strength in front of Charles and deter him, "Besides, I ask you in particular not to take seriously the provocations of the British--the English are the most cunning, they have always thought only of themselves, and if your country listens to their instigation and turns against us, I am afraid that at any time there will be a risk of betrayal by them-Besides, our country is so strong that even if the British do what you say, they will not be able to overwhelm us." ”

Charles was noncommittal, just smiling.

"So you...... What do you think? "The Count sensed something was not right, and tried again." Why did you tell him all this? ”

"Because I am as dissatisfied with the attitude of the British as you are." Charles replied very simply, "England thinks of itself as the shepherdess of the European continent, but we don't want to be just a sheep, and shouldn't France be her sister too?" They are not to support us at will, we do not need them to tell us what is good for us, and France has its own judgment of its own interests. ”

"Yes! You're right! Every country has the right to do its own thing, and there are not only people on the planet in Britain. Although the Count was still very calm on the surface, a little bit of indignation was leaked out.

Then he looked tentatively at Charles again, "Can you, then, tell me what attitude Louis Bonaparte had towards this proposal of the British?" ”

"I don't need to tell you this," Charles shrugged, "you're not qualified to know. ”

"Huh?" Charles's sudden blow made the Count stunned for a moment.

"Since you are a Russian minister, you will naturally understand that there are some things that you cannot handle." Charles replied with a slight mockery, "To be honest, in the case of a strong leader, every minister, to put it bluntly, is just a puppet, I will not give much autonomy to the minister, so obviously, people like me will not give it, so what's the point of me telling you more?" I need Petersburg to tell me what to do. ”

This kind of obvious humiliation in front of the earl made the earl's face blush.

His massive body shook suddenly, almost making Charles suspect that he might be going to do it without etiquette.

"If you will give me a message and convey to the Tsar what I want to say, then I will be very satisfied. That's what I ask for the most. Although he was obviously annoyed, Charles didn't take it seriously, still looking at him with a smile, "You can't do anything more, can you?" If there are instructions from Petersburg, you can come back to me for advice. At that time, I hope you will show more respect for our family. ”

The count's brow furrowed, and then he stood up.

Of course, he didn't want to make a move with Charles, but he just walked away without saying a word.

"Please go slowly, sir." Looking at his departing back, Charles shrugged. (To be continued......)