At noon on June 4, a two-horse carriage sped along the gravel road from Paris to Versailles, speeding as if it were no one.

The carriage and pedestrians who had nearly been hit frowned at first, but when they saw the logo on the carriage — it was the Foreign Secretary's official car.

And the well-informed passers-by who saw the galloping carriage almost understood what could make a cabinet minister so anxious.

The Anglo-French military clash that took place in the port of Calais two days ago is undoubtedly the event that politicians inside and outside Paris are most concerned about at the moment.

Even the major newspapers in Paris devoted an entire front-page page to detailing this extremely sudden and rare military conflict in their morning newspapers this morning.

The newspapers in France reported on the incident in a consistent manner, adopting the words of Lieutenant Colonel Cavill, the commander of the garrison:

The British disguised several warships full of soldiers as merchant ships near Calais with the intention of taking this strategic point without declaring a war, but fortunately all this was detected by the wise Lieutenant Commander Cavill, and the two armies engaged in fierce battles in the city area, and continued to exchange fire with British warships throughout the night, finally succeeding in crushing the dastardly conspiracy of the British.

This narrative was confirmed by many merchants and citizens of Calais, who did witness the exchange of fire between the British and the French in the city, and the exchange of fire between the Royal Navy warships and shore artillery throughout the night.

Therefore, the French people were convinced of this, and after reading the report, they were either filled with righteous indignation, and angrily denounced the British in the street for trying to break the peaceful war attempt; Either they are worried, fearing that the clouds of war will once again loom over France.

But the British and French political elites got a different story: all the attacks were carried out by the French side on their own initiative, and on the basis of the overnight interrogation of the captured British sailors, the French top brass was convinced that the British plan to seize the port of Calais was purely unfounded.

Lieutenant Colonel Cavill, who was the initiator of everything, also took the initiative to secretly confess to the military top brass after interrogating the British sailors, saying that he had misjudged the actions of the British Navy and was willing to bear all the responsibility for it.

And because the diplomatic repercussions of the incident were far from over, and because Lieutenant Colonel Cavill now had high prestige among the population, he was considered a wise commander who thwarted the ambitions of the British.

Therefore, the French side did not do anything to deal with Lieutenant Colonel Cavill, a well-known and so-called war hero, for the time being.

By June 4, the day the news had reached Île-de-France, it was not only the French side that was anxious about the incident.

It can be said that the entire court and government were in chaos because of this unexpected emergency.

...

"Sure enough, it's going to change."

Lawrence also rode in a carriage with the Foreign Secretary, the Count of Vergeg, to the Palace of Versailles to meet His Majesty.

He had in his hand a secret report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the incident in Port Calais, and the Foreign Secretary was naturally entitled to know the whole inside story of the incident, and Lawrence obtained all the information through the intelligence network of the Count of Vergeg.

The Count of Vergegon was even more physically and mentally exhausted and haggard, and he did not expect that he, the new foreign secretary, would have been in office for less than a month before he would jump out of this series of major events.

Of course, the Count of Vergeg would not complain in the slightest, and after tasting the sweetness of power in the marrow, all difficulties and obstacles seemed to be worth mentioning.

"What do you think?" The Earl of Vergegon waited for Lawrence to finish reading the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and asked with a sigh:

"The British ambassador Baron Betula has arrived at the Palace of Versailles, and it may be difficult to appease the British in this matter, Baron Betula must want the lion to open his mouth, alas, but if it is not handled well, the war in southern Italy has not yet been concluded, and we will have to meet the British first."

Lawrence did not jump to conclusions, and after reading the inside report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he also read the reports of several mainstream newspapers in Paris, and after a moment of silence, he spoke:

"Almost all the major newspapers have identified the British aggression, and although this may have been a special attempt by the military top brass to cover up their mistakes, it is estimated that the anti-British sentiment among the people will reach a climax after this public opinion campaign."

"Indeed." The Count of Vergegon agreed.

"In other words, in the eyes of the people—" Lawrence held his forehead and looked solemn:

"We have successfully thwarted the British plot, and the next time should be a full-scale counterattack, at the very least, to make the British pay for it."

Count Vergeg's pupils were shocked, and he suddenly realized, and he couldn't help but gasp:

"But what is being discussed in the court is how to make compensatory concessions to Britain to calm the situation, but the people think that we are the victors in the battle, and they will certainly not accept that the government and the court have made a decision to lose power and humiliate the country under such circumstances."

Lawrence bowed slightly, closed his eyes and sighed:

"The Duke of Choiseul is undoubtedly the one who is most happy to see this, and this time he has completed the manipulation of public opinion in such a short period of time, and I think it is also from his handiwork."

As long as the anti-British sentiment among the people was at its peak, and under the influence of this surging public opinion, the Duke of Choiseul's attempt to provoke war would undoubtedly be more easily achieved.

"What do you mean—" Count Vergek frowned,

"Was the shelling of the port of Calais the work of the Duke of Choiseul?"

Lawrence hesitated for a moment, but shook his head:

"It's not quite a duke's style, it's too radical... But it does make his war plan a big step forward, it's just that it doesn't matter who is behind it, what matters..."

The Earl of Vergegon understood, nodded and added:

"Who does His Majesty think it is?"

......

In the early afternoon, the Palace of Versailles.

The ministers of France and several prominent dukes gathered in the Apollo Room, which served as the throne room, and even His Majesty the King got up from his sickbed for a long time and sat down on the silver throne of the Apollo Room.

Everyone looked solemnly at the only foreign ambassador in the Apollo Room, the British ambassador, Baron Betura.

Naturally, there was only one reason why the ministers and the British ambassador gathered here, to discuss with the British ambassador the settlement of the shelling incident at the port of Calais two days earlier.

It can be seen that Louis XV attached great importance to this event.

In the case of an ordinary diplomatic accident, Louis XV only had to stamp and sign the final negotiation agreement as long as the foreign secretary negotiated with the ambassador of the other side.

But today, Louis XV not only set the place to receive Baron Betula in the most ornate and solemn Apollo Room, but even the scale of the people involved in the negotiations is completely comparable to a small royal council, not to mention the presence of His Majesty the King of France, who is still ill today, is enough to see the importance of Louis XV.

Lawrence, who stood among the ministers as Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Corsica, could also understand the importance that Louis XV attached to the fact that the king did not want to be involved in a small civil war in southern Italy, let alone an Anglo-French war with Great Britain.

Louis XV also wanted to use this high-level reception to show Baron Betula his sincerity that he had no intention of expanding the situation.

After the attendees had almost arrived, Louis XV looked at Baron Betula and tried his best to squeeze out a friendly smile despite his illness:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ambassador..."

Louis XV cordially exchanged pleasantries with Baron Betula, followed by a set of clichés about the friendship between England and France and the preciousness of peace, before finally turning the conversation to the bombardment of Port Calais.

Baron Betula was also polite to Louis XV without humility or arrogance, and only after greeting him several times did he offer his own conditions:

"I am glad to learn from you that this appalling accident was a misunderstanding, Your Majesty, but within our country there is great anger that this is a provocation by your country, and that both Whitehall and His Majesty the King of England are ten

If you fail to properly compensate us for our losses, it will be difficult for us to forgive you for your offensive."

Louis XV nodded, of course he knew that France needed to take the initiative to make concessions in exchange for the stability of the situation, so he also directly motioned to Baron Betula to continue.

Although the final treaty will certainly not be finalized at today's meeting, Louis XV must at least hear what the attitude of the British is.

Baron Betula smirked, and it seemed that he was ready for the lion's mouth:

"First of all, for our people who have been harmed in this incident, your country needs to pay a lump sum of not less than 60 million livres; Secondly, in order to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents, we demand that your country's troops withdraw from the port of Calais and its environs, and that the port of Calais be designated as a demilitarized zone, with only police and customs personnel retained; Thirdly, British merchant ships should be exempted from inspection and exemption at the port of Calais, so as to prevent your country from making things difficult for our merchant ships again in the name of inspection; Fourth..."

The English ambassador was very fluent in reporting his conditions to Louis XV.

However, listening to this series of non-stop demands for concessions, not only Louis XV, but also the ministers present gradually became gloomy.

Baron Betula's demands were not just excessive, they were unacceptable.

The so-called compensation of 60 million livres alone was enough to bleed the French government, which had a huge deficit, and it was comparable to the war reparations after a defeat in a small war.

Not to mention the so-called demands for the port of Calais to be designated as a demilitarized zone and to allow British merchant ships to be exempted from inspection and exemption in Calais are almost to the point of losing their power and humiliating the country, in which case it will be completely easy for the British to really want to seize the port of Calais in the future.

Not to mention the generals, marshals and ministers on the field, even Louis XV, who did not care about political affairs, knew that Baron Betula's request was absolutely unacceptable.

Once this kind of treaty is accepted, not only the British, but also the entire European continent will probably re-examine the true national power of France, and the courts of various countries will wonder whether the giants of Western Europe in their eyes are actually strong and weak.

"Mr. Ambassador—" Louis XV's face was already a little more displeased:

"I met with you with all sincerity, but you don't seem to be reciprocating the sincerity."

Baron Betula is still neither humble nor arrogant, and does not retreat:

"Truth be told, the Royal Navy of Great Britain has begun to assemble in the port of Dover, and His Majesty ordered the day before yesterday to begin the deployment of three fleets from the Americas to the mainland, and ordered five infantry divisions to mobilize for battle... Your Majesty, Great Britain is ready."

As the British ambassador, Baron Betula certainly knew that the political struggle between Louis XV and the Duke of Choiseul was now at a fever pitch.

Therefore, Baron Betula was also perfectly free to use the threat of war to put pressure on the French court.

Although Great Britain was also trying to avoid war with France, in many cases the best option was to gain the most by trying to capture the past and retreat.

And Louis XV's face was completely dark, just being threatened by the British ambassador in front of the ministers, this shame had already made His Majesty the King furious, and at the moment he was just forcibly holding back the anger in his heart.

Seeing this, several ministers on the side also hurriedly stepped forward to negotiate with Baron Betura, including the Count of Vergeg, who also stepped forward to argue with reason, and tried their best to show that Baron Betura's request was completely nonsense and insincere.

Even the Duke of Aegion pretended to lash out at Baron Betula, saying that he had no respect for His Majesty.

But no matter how hard the French ministers tried to speak, Baron Betula remained unmoved, did not make any concessions in the negotiation of the treaty, and did not even lose a single copper in the indemnity of sixty million livres.

The whole negotiation lasted for nearly two hours, and Baron Betula and the ministers were a little dry-mouthed, but there was no progress in the negotiations.

In the end, there was almost nothing to say on both sides

Under these circumstances, Louis XV announced the end of the meeting with a gloomy face, and sent Baron Betula back to the British embassy and consulate.

As Baron Betura's footsteps faded into the cloister, there was silence in the Apollo Chamber, the silence before the storm.

The ministers all bowed their heads tightly, not daring to even gasp, silently waiting for His Majesty's instructions.

Louis XV glanced around the ministers in the audience and asked, unapprehensively:

"Guys, what do you think?"

The king's voice echoed in the throne room, but no minister stepped forward for a long time, after all, no one was sure that a better treaty could be obtained from Baron Betura.

And just as Louis XV was about to announce the dissolution of the meeting in disappointment, the Duke of Aguilon suddenly stood up:

"Your Excellency has an idea that may be able to resolve this matter properly, but I don't know if it's appropriate to bring it up."

Louis XV's eyes lit up suddenly, and at this critical juncture, he didn't care about the fact that the Duke of Aguion had offended His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and immediately allowed him to raise it in public.

The Duke of Agilon stood out of the line, glanced at the expressionless Duke of Choiseul with his spare eyes, and proposed in a loud voice:

"Ahem, in fact, my uncle, the Duke of Richelieu, had a good personal relationship with the British ambassador, and my uncle had discussed the matter of the Anglo-French non-aggression pact with Baron Betula very early on, and the two sides had a very happy conversation about it, and if the Duke of Richelieu came forward to negotiate with Baron Betula, perhaps not only the shelling of the port of Calais could be resolved, but also the non-aggression pact between the two countries could be further obtained."