When the news of America's successive defeats reached Paris, Louis Philippe had a new idea. Is it possible to unite Austria and Mexico to continue the invasion of the United States?

He soon received the exciting news that Britain, Russia, and Austria would send a combined fleet to deliver humanitarian supplies to Mexican civilians and urge the warring sides to cease fighting as soon as possible.

Louis Philippe was sure that this was a cover for selling dog meat on the head of a sheep, because the French side had been closely monitoring the movements in Austria.

From the beginning of the conference, the Austrians began to transport large quantities of weapons and military supplies to the military port of Trieste, and their main fleet would be back home in a few weeks, and the British, Russian, and Austrian fleets would rush to the Gulf of Mexico together.

The British promised to send a fleet, but in reality it consisted of only six warships, including four frigates of less than 1,000 tons, while Russia intended to send only two cruisers.

Despite the fact that Britain and Russia are not happy about this, their flags are still intimidating. This was enough for Franz, who did not feel that the Americans had the guts to attack the fleets of Austria or any other powers.

In fact, half of the U.S. Navy was on the west coast of North America, and although Robert Stockton and the Marines surrendered, John Fremont took over the lone fleet with his great influence and appeal.

John Fremont did not choose to retreat, but chose to continue to attack coastal cities and ports in the California area.

This prevented Archduke Carl Ferdinand from sending troops to support the St. Gabriel fortress to continue the victory, but this also led to the dispersal of the US naval forces to some extent.

Although the number of ships owned by the United States at this time sounds terrifying, there are very few in tonnage of more than 1,000 tons, and at the same time the forces are scattered and detached.

For example, the Mexican Navy, which has just surrendered, has not been given a rest, but has been sent to the most dangerous Texas coastline to monitor the French Navy's every move, and to play the role of a physical plug at critical moments.

This made the Mexican navy, which had just surrendered to the United States, start to study how to defect back or tie up with the French.

In fact, in addition to these objective reasons, the most important thing is that the Austrian navy has strong enough strength to complete this escort mission.

Archduke Friedrich's fleet consisted of twelve battleships that had been rebuilt and reinforced with ironclad power, and their maneuverability and defensive power were completely unmatched by the battleships of the old era.

Not to mention that Austria still has three super-first-class battleships of more than 6,000 tons at this time, and these monsters can crush the vast majority of warships in the world at this time in either way.

There was no reason for Austria's navy to lose to the U.S. navy, which was still in the Napoleonic era, but Franz did not want to think of conflict, nor did he want any accidents, so he tried to avoid war.

The main thing is that Britain and France have the greatest profits from winning the war, and if they lose, it is equivalent to burying the achievements of Austria's naval reform in the past eight years, and everything has to start from scratch.

But if it wins or loses, Austria could lose an important trading partner and a source of raw materials. This is fatal for a country that is on the rise.

The French did not want to give up this opportunity, and Louis Philippe ordered the Duke of Napoleon Lannes de Montebello to contact the Austrian side.

After the meeting, according to European tradition, a grand celebratory ball was held, which was theoretically supposed to be attended by the emperor himself, but Ferdinand I was not in good health at this time.

Normally, this time should be attended by the second in line to the throne, Archduke Franz Karl, who is also the father of Franz Joseph.

But due to the former's unstable mental condition, such as holding his breath in the fountain of Schönbrunn Palace with the seal, and then just after he surfaced, a BeatBox (broken, cloth, poof!) came to the surface. Burst! Burst! Puff, puff, too pe too pe brie emmmm poof! The seals on the side will also pat their bellies to cheer up.

This has been going on for some time and often attracts onlookers from the palace guards and servants. Everyone thought it was very weird, but Franz listened to it with relish, and even called it "fashion art".

In order to avoid human-to-human transmission, Franz had to attend the council on his behalf.

Naturally, the Duke of Napoleon Lana de Montebello would not go to a child to talk about national affairs, while Prince Metternich took leave to recuperate at home due to "illness".

So the ambassador could only find Archduke Albrecht again.

"Your Excellency, I extend my most sincere greetings to you. I wish you good health and all the best. ”

"Thank you, Mr. Ambassador. Have fun too. Albrecht casually remarked.

"If you don't mind?" The Duke of Montebello continued.

Albrecht glanced at the Minister of War, Count Tural, and several high-ranking Austrian officers, who naturally knew that there was something important to discuss, and nodded in acquiescence.

"Please forgive me for missing me."

The two then entered a box, and the Western, especially Austrian, balls were very social.

In this country, many times, some important matters related to the fate of the country are decided in this kind of box.

However, it is not easy to have a box of your own in this kind of top-level ball.

"Your Excellency, in fact, I have come this time at the behest of our sovereign. He was outraged by the brazen invasion of the United States, and France hoped to join Austria in sanctioning the barbaric and backward country. The Duke of Montebello said straight to the point.

Albrecht's words made Albrecht feel excited, after all, France had an army of nearly 100,000 in North America.

The two sides talked very speculatively, and on the other side, Franz's debut on the international occasion can only be described as decent.

Flowers are everywhere, thunderous applause, the sound of whiskers and horses is endless, and even some ladies scream and faint, quite a feeling of a star walking on the red carpet in later generations.

It was completely different from the usual feeling of appearing in front of the domestic people, and there was no sense of solemnity. In fact, it is not difficult to understand that the people of Austria regarded the Habsburgs as divine rulers.

And these foreign envoys in front of them, although they are more "cultivated" than those civilians, only regard Franz as an ornament, or a freak with status.

Even when they knelt on the ground to give a salute, they still wore a mocking smile on their faces.

In particular, when the archbishop introduced the exploits of Archduke Franz, the guests turned their heads and covered their mouths and snickered, which made him even more annoyed.

However, Franz was the center of attention at this time, and he could only make those movements and expressions that were in line with the status of a royal duke.

"Gentlemen and ladies. On behalf of the Austrian Empire and the Habsburgs, I would like to welcome you and wish you a wonderful evening."

Franz hated the feeling, but Madame Sophie was very moved, after all, every appearance of the Austrian royal family in public in recent decades was usually bad.

Franz was perfect, showing no impatience, no excitement or gaffes, not even a word wrong

(End of chapter)