Maladin did not want war, let alone a river of blood, but he had to kick it off with his own hands.

In addition to this, he has some guilt in his heart, ashamed of himself, ashamed of his friends, ashamed of France.

However, the career was not smooth, the poetry was smooth, the country was unfortunate, and the poet was fortunate, and Maladin created a series of romantic tragedy songs during this period.

In fact, he liked the city of Vienna, where the artistic and cultural atmosphere was stronger and purer than that of Paris at this time.

Maladin was a little reluctant to let the flames of war engulf the place, but he could not betray his homeland, and he only hoped that the Emperor of the Austrian Empire would not go his own way.

Hofburg Palace, Hall of Mirrors.

Ferdinand I was dangling his two little short legs on the throne, and he didn't like the guests in front of him very much.

However, as Emperor Ferdinand I, he also had to meet with two foreign ambassadors in person, and Viscount Stratford and Maladin finally met the rumored mentally handicapped emperor.

Before he came, Viscount Stratford had already decided that he was going to tease and humiliate the mentally handicapped emperor of Austria like the famous envoys in history.

However, when he actually entered the Hall of Mirrors, he unconsciously felt his heart beat faster and his throat tightened.

No matter how funny Ferdinand I looked, Viscount Stratford couldn't laugh or even look at him, he just wanted to finish his mission quickly and leave.

In fact, Viscount Stratford is not a person who has never seen the world, the monarch of various German states, the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and the barbarian chieftain of African tribes.

They were shrewd, cunning, tough, and cruel, but Viscount Stratford had always been able to handle them with stride, as if they were just a bunch of clowns.

However, at this time, he felt the pressure and the fear of death.

Franz Karl stood beside Ferdinand I with a shotgun, looking for a target

Viscount Stratford was tempted to yell and tell the other party not to let the fool play with the gun.

However, he did not have the courage to do so, for fear that he would get a bullet for himself.

Viscount Stratford could only choose to bow his head and think sharply, hoping to end this unpleasant journey sooner.

It's just that people inevitably make mistakes when they are nervous, and once they start making mistakes, they will continue to make mistakes.

"My stupid brother, why did the British send a stammerer to be an ambassador."

"My poor brother, you can be an emperor, why can't you be an ambassador if you stutter?"

"It seems to make sense, but his German is so bad that I might as well see it myself."

"It's easy to do."

Viscount Stratford, who was looking down and chanting, suddenly felt that it was dark in front of him, and a figure happened to shine down from the top of the imperial steps.

As soon as he looked up, he saw a man with thinning hair standing in front of him with a gun, and he was immediately frightened and took two steps back.

Viscount Stratford immediately recognized his gaffe, and he quickly coughed twice to hide his embarrassment.

"Give it to me."

Franz Carr said in his own very broken English.

"Huh?"

Viscount Stratford was a little unsure.

Seeing that the other party did not understand what he meant, Franz Karl had to use his not very bright brain to reorganize the language.

"Throw me the paper in your hand."

"Throw?"

Viscount Stratford looked around, and there were Austrian royal guards everywhere. He wasn't sure if he would be able to leave Vienna alive after he had really made such a disrespectful act of "throwing".

After all, under British propaganda, Austria was a brutal country, and like Russia, eunuchs were still used.

Although it was a rumor, it was unfortunate that even if it was a lie heard a hundred times, it would make people full of doubts, so Viscount Stratford was frightened by his imagination at this time.

Archduke Franz Karl, on the other hand, did not notice the anomaly of Viscount Stratford.

"Throw! Come here! ”

Maladin on the side did not have much prejudice against the somewhat eccentric Grand Duke in front of him, although under the propaganda of the French government, there was also a group of demons and monsters living in Austria, but he personally believed that seeing was believing.

"The Grand Duke does not seem to have malicious intent."

Maladin said with a smile, hoping that the smile would soothe his frightened companions.

However, the reality is that Viscount Stratford has a ghost in his heart, and he can't believe the kindness of the French, he subconsciously thinks that this person has a cute smile and bad intentions

"I'm not going to be fooled."

Viscount Stratford said in his heart, but the other party directly asked for a letter of state, and he couldn't help but give it, but throwing it over was not a way after all.

At this time, Viscount Stratford suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of a good way, a way that could make both parties decent.

He stood on tiptoe and lifted the paperwork above his head, and Archduke Franz Karl crouched down to take it.

At this time, only hearing the sound of "bang", Viscount Stratford only felt a lightning bolt pass in front of him, and he was stunned for a long time before turning back to find that a photographer was taking pictures of him.

The lightning just now was actually the strong light emitted by the burning of the aluminum-magnesium powder in the fire held high by the photographer's assistant.

The aluminum-magnesium mixture can also be used as flares and flashbangs, but due to technical limitations, it can only be equipped with some special units at this time.

Historically, magnesium has not been used on a large scale, and there is no way to produce magnesium in large quantities, so although the price is not high, it has no market.

Franz was well aware of the future direction, and steel, aluminum, and magnesium were known as the three major metals, and their status in later generations can be seen.

As for the method of preparing magnesium, it is actually very simple, that is, the electrolysis method, which is similar to the method of large-scale production of aluminum.

So after the completion of Siemens' new generator, the problem of aluminum and magnesium was completely solved.

But even without a generator, scientists in Austria have worked backwards to deduce the thermal reduction method.

It's just that the technology is not yet mature, but it is enough for military and photographic purposes.

Historically, this "fire flash" was not invented until 1887, so it is unlikely that Viscount Stratford had seen such a thing, and he only subconsciously associated the white light with the sound of an explosion.

Viscount Stratford suddenly felt a pain in his chest, his head sank, and the heavens and the earth were almost turned upside down, and he shouted at the sky.

"I've been shot! Belch. Yes! ”

I saw Viscount Stratford swinging on the spot like a drunk, and then, like a slow-motion replay, spun around in place and fell backwards like a soulless puppet.

After he fell to the ground, his foot twitched. The expression on his face was even richer, his neck was crooked, his mouth was slightly open, and his tongue was poking out.

Maladin on the side was not much better, although he did not fall to the ground like Viscount Stratford, he also stood in place with a face like gold paper.

Maladin, who saw the fire flash for the first time, looked like a puppet with his soul drained, his eyes looking forward without focus.

Looking at the pompous performance in front of them, the guards and royal photographers of the Austrian court were a little confused, after all, cameras were not a particularly rare thing in Vienna.

At this time, the two brothers on the royal stairs laughed.

"Hehehehehehe, two fools."

(End of chapter)