"Hmm... Thank you for your hospitality, Your Excellency. ”

In the big red box in the middle of the second floor of the Royal Opera House, Baron Betula leaned comfortably in the sofa armchair, took a glass of crystal clear brandy and put it in his mouth, and said with great satisfaction:

"It's a good wine, and I'm willing to stay in Paris for another twenty years just for it."

The Duke of Richelieu, who was on the side, nodded with a smile, also took a sip of the wine glass, cleared his throat and said:

"If you like it, I'll send someone to send a few more barrels to the embassy when I get back."

"Oh, you're so kind and thoughtful."

Baron Betula said with emotion, and after a moment of drunkenness, his face gradually turned flushed.

However, as a brilliant diplomat, Baron Betula knew that now was not the time to indulge in drinking, so he only tasted the Duke of Richelieu's treasured wine, and then set the glass aside.

In the last few days, Baron Betula has been extremely warmly received by the Duke of Richelieu, from watching a play to attending a horse race, and then personally accompanying Baron Betula to a royal banquet today.

Although the Duke of Richelieu stated that it was only a private, friendship relationship, Baron Betula was not a fool, and the two of them could be said to have almost never dealt with each other before.

He did not think that a fairly influential Duke of France would want to establish a pure personal friendship with the ambassador of England for no reason.

"Ahem..."

Baron Betula set aside his glass and glanced absentmindedly at the performance on stage, which was difficult to describe in Baron Betura's opinion because the Royal Opera House needed to cater to the tastes of the royal family, and Louis XV's artistic accomplishments were rather limited.

The Duke of Richelieu apparently thought so, and his play-loving appetite did not pay attention to the stage at all, but silently savored a cheese dessert sprinkled with cane sugar.

Sensing that the Duke of Richelieu was not interested in the play either, Baron Betula sat up slightly, lifted his somewhat loose gown jacket, and turned his head to look at the Duke of Richelieu.

It has been enough to be entertained by the Duke of Richelieu in the past few days, and Baron Betula understands that he can't enjoy it so cheekily anymore, otherwise he will really fall into a favor that will not be repaid.

So he took the initiative to say tentatively:

"Your Excellency Duke, do you have any arrangements for tomorrow?"

The Duke of Richelieu took out his handkerchief and wiped the cheese residue from his hands, and said with an unhurried smile:

"Tomorrow... Now that we're done with the royal feast, we'll go back to Paris, and we'll be there in the morning around noon, and then we'll go together in the afternoon to play bridge, and I've heard you're pretty good at it. ”

"You've got a lot to offer, but it's a pity..."

Baron Betula put on a very regretful expression, sighed and said:

"Although your hospitality almost makes me want to stay in your mansion, I can't leave my position for too long, and there are still a lot of things to attend to in the embassy, so I'm afraid I won't be able to accompany you tomorrow."

With that, Baron Betula raised his glass to his lips and waited for the Duke of Richelieu to reply.

Baron Betula believed in the shrewdness of the Duke of Ericelieu, and after hearing the words of resignation, he knew what to say next.

Sure enough, the Duke of Richelieu nodded with a smile and glanced at the stage below, and now that the second act had been played, he had plenty of time to express his appeal to Baron Betula.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'd like to see your poker skills, but of course you're not like an idler like me, and a person like me who has no job or power can have fun all day long."

The Duke of Richelieu also showed a look of regret, and seemed to shake his head very sadly.

When Baron Betula heard this, he quickly sat up and said:

"When you say this, you did your best when you were young, and now you deserve to enjoy your old age."

The Duke of Richelieu sighed again, the wrinkles on his face seemed to have deepened a lot, and he said slowly:

"Although this is the truth, but compared to enjoying my old age, I still want to do something with this old bone."

Although these words were said very casually, it seemed to be just the emotion of a strong man in his twilight years, but Baron Betula couldn't help but raise his brows when he heard it, and looked at Duke Richelieu in surprise.

As ambassador to France, Baron Betula can be said to know more about the political situation in Paris and Versailles than many Frenchmen, and the partisan dispute between the Duke of Richelieu and the Duke of Choiseul is a very important part of the situation, and Baron Betula is naturally very aware of it.

Now, with the Duke of Choiseul in power, the Duke of Richelieu wants to regain political power, and the first and most important thing is undoubtedly to remove the obstacle of the Duke of Choiseul.

And since the Duke of Richelieu brought up this matter in front of Baron Betula, it is self-evident what the center of the conversation between the two will be.

Baron Betula frowned slightly and looked at the Duke of Richelieu, his words were equivalent to pulling the topic to the party dispute with the Duke of Choiseul.

So Baron Betula collected his thoughts a little, and asked tentatively:

"It's great to see that you have such energy and spirit, but it seems that it's difficult to do anything in your current situation, right?"

Baron Betula was not afraid to be drawn into this struggle, he was an outsider after all, and even if he took the right side, he and England behind him were the ones who benefited.

"That's right, I'm not in good health lately, but as long as the king appoints me, I'm still willing to work hard."

The Duke of Richelieu said with a smile, already hinting to Baron Betula that the key to this struggle was not the current political strength of the two sides, and the core was only Louis XV alone.

Baron Betula nodded slightly, the embassy's intelligence agencies for so many years can show that Duke Choiseul is gradually alienated and distrusted by the king.

Of course, the recent Conversional of Corsica had caused Louis XV to change his mind about the Duke of Choiseul, as long as the treaty had been signed.

Thinking of this, Baron Betula lowered his head, avoided the meaningful eyes of the Duke of Richelieu, and took a slow sip of his glass.

"Since the Duke of Richelieu has told me about this, he must have hoped that I could help him more or less, and I should have made some conditions in exchange, but whether he could bring down the Duke of Choiseul..."

Baron Betula played with the wine glass in his hand and silently calculated.

Seeing that Baron Betula was hesitant, the Duke of Richelieu unhurriedly opened the subject and said:

"Oh, I'm sorry for talking so much about me. Then again, how has your recent work been? That guy from Choiseul shouldn't be easy to get along with, right? ”

Baron Betula glanced at the Duke of Richelieu, then nodded slowly.

As a radical warlord, the Duke of Choiseul also controlled French foreign policy, and his tough diplomatic style naturally gave Baron Betula a headache, and he had to avoid conflicts and even wars with the French everywhere.

After all, Britain is still digesting the fruits of the Seven Years' War, and although the British are not afraid of war with France, the British government is not willing to engage in the high-risk behavior of war if there is no interest to drive it.

As long as the British developed peacefully for twenty years, when they had completely taken over and digested French Canada and the French East Indies, England, whose national strength had grown greatly, would not be afraid of the threat of war from France.

The Duke of Choiseul also had this in mind, hoping to go to war with Britain again after military reform and armament build-up, in order to regain the colonial benefits lost after the Seven Years' War.

From this point of view, Baron Betura, as ambassador to France, of course, wanted to see a conservative foreign minister appear at the court of Versailles, not the Duke of Choiseul, a warmonger.

Thinking of this, Baron Betula also directly erased the option of supporting Duke Choiseul in his heart, and now what was in front of him was either to remain neutral and not interfere in it, or to support Duke Richelieu to bring down Duke Choiseul.

"The Duke of Choiseul is still the same, as you should know."

Baron Betula smiled helplessly, sighed and said:

"I'm not surprised that he's such a radical person that even throws a declaration of war in my face at the next meeting."

The Duke of Richelieu echoed and said:

"Yes, it's unsettling that he can't wait to sail his army and fleet to the English Channel to-morrow, and who likes war. If I had the chance, I would not have allowed such people to control French foreign policy. ”

"Oh?" Baron Betula narrowed his eyes and nodded, the Duke of Richelieu said so much, it can be regarded as starting to put on the conditions to win over himself, and from his meaning, after the Duke of Richelieu came to power, France's foreign policy will be quite conservative, at least it will not advocate war against Britain every day.

Such an outcome would have been glad to see by Baron Betula and even by the British government.

As for Baron Betula personally, if he was able to bring a conservative French foreign minister to power, it would be undoubtedly a great achievement, and people would even take credit for the peace that followed for decades.

"You're right, long live peace."

Baron Betula smiled meaningfully and raised his glass to the Duke of Richelieu.

In a crisp ding, the two looked at each other and smiled, and they very generously swallowed a big mouthful of brandy in the cup.

Since the overthrow of the Duke of Schwarcel was the common interest of the two, it was much easier to talk about the rest of the matter.

After exhaling very freely, Baron Betula continued:

"I also wish France could have a peace-loving foreign secretary, but it is really distressing, how to put a foreign minister who really cares about the interests of France to come to power."

The Duke of Richelieu said happily:

"I know quite a few pacifists, and I think they will gladly accept the post of foreign secretary as long as Choiseul falls."

"But it's not an easy task, is it?"

Baron Betula asked cautiously, even though he knew that Louis XV would have a good chance of overthrowing the Duke of Choiseul, but the authority in the hands of the Duke of Choiseul still made Baron Betula hesitate.

The Duke of Choiseul could even ask the British government to replace a new ambassador to France directly on behalf of the French government, so that Baron Betura's diplomatic efforts in Paris all these years would be in vain.

The Duke of Richelieu also saw Baron Betula's hesitation, and immediately said:

"It's not easy, of course, but there's a great opportunity right in front of you, as long as you take advantage of it..."

"Opportunity?" Baron Betula asked with a frown.

The Duke of Richelieu leaned over to Baron Betula, lowered his voice, and said only one word:

"Corsica"

"Corsica?" Baron Betula was stunned for a moment, not reacting.

"You should have an impression of this island, right?" Duke Richelieu asked with a nod.

"Of course." Baron Betula frowned, gritted his teeth, and said:

"If nothing else, it would have been the land of England, but it's a pity that Bonaparte... Moreover, our former Prime Minister, His Excellency Pete, has been imprisoned on the island in the uncertainty of his fate and death, not to mention the presence of a Royal Navy warship and officers and men on the island. I can tell you privately, because the British Foreign Office is going crazy on this matter. ”

The Duke of Richelieu silently took a sip of wine and said:

"I've heard that Bonaparte put all the officers on the ship to death, but I didn't expect you to be able to bear it."

Baron Betula waved his hand irritably and said:

"Of course, the king and the Royal Navy can't bear it, but this matter is still suppressed by our Prime Minister, if the Royal Navy forcibly lands in Corsica, it will fall into the hands of Choiseul, and it is estimated that the French army and fleet have long been ready. The information I have even suggests that the Duke of Choiseul may have been contacting the Austrians to form an alliance. ”

"So you're going to leave this matter behind?" Duke Richelieu asked with a chuckle.

Baron Betula glanced at the Duke of Richelieu and said helplessly:

"For now, it's going to be resolved diplomatically, and it's probably up to me to negotiate with the damn governor of Corsica. However, when England is ready for war, we will bring it up again. ”

"That's right—" The Duke of Richelieu nodded, but said nothing.

Baron Betula looked at the Duke of Richelieu suspiciously, and asked:

"What do you do when you mention Corsica? Is it to break the treaty between the Duke of Choiseul and that Bonaparte? I think it's still very difficult, after all, King Louis has almost recognized this fact. ”

"No"

The Duke of Richelieu shook his head slowly, as if he was still hesitating to tell Baron Betula about his plan, and it was after five or six seconds that he opened his mouth slowly, but in a low voice.

Even the sound of the organ on the stage almost drowned out the Duke of Richelieu's words, but Baron Betula pricked up his ears to barely hear what he said:

"Didn't the Duke of Choiseul want war, so we'll give him a war."

82 Chinese Net