The Élysée Palace, the office of the French Emperor Napoleon III, and now, apart from Napoleon III, only the Duke of Walenfsky, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, is left in the entire office. After all, the two of them were cousins, and if there was anyone else in Napoleon III who could be replaced, Duke Walenvsky would undoubtedly be in first place.

"Walenfsky, tell me honestly, was it a mistake that we decided to betray the Chinese and ally with the British instead?" Napoleon III also had a trace of regret on his face, you know, how impossible it is for a tyrant to make him admit his mistakes! Heroes are often conceited and conceited. Even if they were wrong, they would never admit it.

"No, Your Majesty. We are not wrong, we are only thinking about the interests of France. The only thing that is wrong is that the Chinese Empire is too powerful, so powerful that it exceeds our expectations. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have failed! Duke Walenvsky said. This is justified in the interests of France. What they did not anticipate, however, was that the Chinese Empire was so powerful that they suffered a crushing defeat after uniting with the British. There is no regret medicine in the world, and even if you regret it, there is no other way.

"So, you say, what can we do now to save France? to save ourselves? Napoleon III continued. Although he didn't want to admit defeat, the facts were in front of him. Although France still has a lot of troops, it seems that they are no longer able to recover.

"Your Majesty, we may be able to start talking to the Chinese about the conditions for ending the war. If the war continues, it will only be more detrimental to us. When the Chinese captured Paris. France was completely destroyed. At that time, we will not have any conditions to mention. Duke Walenvsky said. He meant it very clearly. In the current peace talks, perhaps some favorable conditions for France can be mentioned. Guarantee the interests of a part of France and the royal family. But if we wait until China destroys France, will the Chinese accept their terms? It's impossible.

Napoleon III hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded. Although, it would be worse for him to bow down to his former allies than to kill him, and he would rather die than do so. But he had to think about France as a whole and for the sake of the Bonaparte family. Judging from the current situation, if favorable conditions can be reached with the Chinese. This is undoubtedly the best for France.

"Your Majesty, then, we should start sending people to negotiate with the Chinese. The longer it drags on, the worse it will be for us! "The negotiations on the survival of France must not be delayed for too long, otherwise, with the speed of the attack of the Chinese* army, perhaps Paris will be captured before the negotiations are completed. In that case. One qiē's efforts were all in vain.

"Well, then we should think about how harsh the Chinese will ask." It is foreseeable that the Chinese will certainly not let go of this opportunity. "Napoleon III looked helpless. Anyway. France was also an ally of the Chinese Empire, and they naturally understood the greed of the Chinese Empire. Merely. Before, they all watched the Chinese Empire blackmail others, but now. It became the Chinese Empire to blackmail them. Blackmailed by the Chinese Empire, this taste. It's really uncomfortable.

"Territory and reparations, this will certainly be the main demand of the Chinese." Duke Walenfsky summed it up very succinctly. Chinese have a pursuit of land from their bones. In addition, in the war, they often desperately extort money, and invest the extorted money into the construction of the country, making their country stronger. In the past decade or so, the Chinese Empire has been doing the same. There is no doubt that the Chinese Empire was successful, they managed to develop, and they became the most powerful country in the world.

"The size of mainland France is already too small, and it is impossible for us to cede the Northern Map to them, at most some colonies to them. In addition, the war reparations, France has lost enough in this war, I am afraid that we will not be able to offer a price that satisfies the Chinese. "Napoleon III was a little worried. After all, with victory after victory, the appetite of the Chinese is already growing, so big that they may not be able to satisfy it at all. This is not a good thing for France.

"Your Majesty, ceding the colonies may not please the Chinese. However, we can take this as a bottom line and make a little concession in other areas. Perhaps, it will be able to succeed. As for war reparations, I estimate that the Chinese will ask for no less than five billion francs! Duke Walenfsky said with a frown.

"Five billion francs? Those damned Chinese, will they come up with such a high price? A flash of irritation flashed across Napoleon III's face.

Five billion francs, equivalent to 200 million pounds, 800 million Chinese dollars. And France's pre-war fiscal revenue was only 1.5 billion francs a year. If the five billion francs were to be repaid, the French would have to go without food or drink for more than three years.

Of course, Napoleon III may have underestimated France's ability to repay its debts. In later history, the French were also required to pay five billion francs in war reparations after their crushing defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, but it took only three years for the French to repay the five billion francs. It can be seen that the ability of the French to repay.

"Perhaps, five billion francs, is nothing more than a foundation. Perhaps, the Chinese will want more. However, it would undoubtedly be a good deal to keep France and the Bonaparte family in France with five billion francs. Duke Valewski said.

Napoleon III nodded, and in exchange for five billion francs and some overseas colonies for France, it was undoubtedly a good deal. But now he is equally worried about whether the Chinese will accept the French terms. If the Chinese refuse, then all the qiē will become empty talk.

"Well, Valevsky, you send people to negotiate with the Chinese! And, make every effort to promote this negotiation! Napoleon III said solemnly. He had no hope of defeating the Chinese Empire on the battlefield. The only thing we can rely on now is diplomacy.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Duke Valevsky also nodded. In fact, he also knew that it was very important for him to facilitate peace talks with the Chinese Empire and keep France. After all, if the French Empire survives, then he is the French Foreign Secretary, the Duke, in France, belongs to the top figures. But if France is gone, then he has nothing. At the end of the day, he was nothing more than the illegitimate son of Napoleon the Great.

"That's right, Your Majesty. When we negotiate with the Chinese, the troops on the front line must do their best to stop the Chinese. Buy more time for peace talks. Duke Valewski said.

"Well, that's what I'll say to A.J. Saint-Arnault."

"In addition, we must be wary of those with bad intentions. This time, the defeat of France is undoubtedly an excellent opportunity for them. ”

Napoleon III nodded, he knew that Duke Valewski was referring to those people. These people were those who were dissatisfied with the rule of the Bonapartes, including those who overthrew the Orleans dynasty by them, and even those who preceded the Bourbon dynasty. In addition, there are many people who are dissatisfied with the war and have a grudge against the government. After all, the French have always been very fond of revolution, especially when they lose on the battlefield, which is often the peak of revolution. Didn't the original Bonaparte family become the emperor of France by virtue of the revolution? This was the culmination of France's glory.

Napoleon III, of course, must also guard against this, if the revolution breaks out and succeeds, then the fate of the Bonaparte family is estimated to be no different from the original Bourbon dynasty.

Because of the outbreak of war, diplomatic relations between the Chinese Empire and France have been severed, and the ambassadors of both countries have been evacuated. Therefore, it is very difficult for the two countries to carry out exchanges and communication on peace talks. We can only rely on the power of a third party.

Switzerland is adjacent to France, and after the French minister in Switzerland Loire received an order from the Duke of Valewski, he had no choice but to contact Liang Botao, the minister of the Chinese Empire in Switzerland, as soon as possible. Although Loire and Liang Botao often meet on many occasions in Switzerland, the two sides often only nod politely.

You must know that when the Chinese Empire and France were still allies, the foreign envoys of the two countries had a very close relationship. However, with the outbreak of war, the envoys of the two countries quickly turned from friends to enemies.

That evening, Minister Loire and Minister Liang Botao met in a secret room of the Imperial Chinese Legation in Switzerland. The main content of their meeting was that France begged for peace with the Chinese Empire. Although the word begging and harmony is a bit unpleasant, this is the situation now. France could no longer survive the war and had to pray to the Chinese Empire for peace.

"In this war, too many innocent people have been killed, we don't want to see this happen any longer, we want peace. Therefore, we hope that peace can be restored between the two countries! Even though Loire was a diplomat, his face turned red when he said these words in clear conscience. (To be continued......)

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