At noon on June 4, a two-wheeled carriage was speeding down the gravel road from Paris to Versailles, driving as fast as it was in no one's land.
The carriage and pedestrians who were nearly hit by the collision frowned at first, but fell silent when they clearly saw the logo on the carriage - it was the official vehicle of the Foreign Minister.
And after those well-informed passers-by saw the carriage speeding away, they almost understood what could make a cabinet minister so anxious.
The British-French military conflict that occurred at the Port of Calais two days ago is undoubtedly the most concerning event for politicians inside and outside Paris.
Even the major newspapers in Paris this morning unanimously devoted an entire front page to describing in detail this extremely sudden and rare military conflict.
French local newspapers basically reported the same thing on this incident, adopting the rhetoric of Lieutenant Colonel Cavell, the commander of the garrison:
The British disguised several warships full of soldiers as merchant ships and approached the Port of Calais with the intention of directly seizing this strategic location without declaring a war. Fortunately, all this was seen through by the wise Lieutenant Colonel Cavell, and the armies of both sides carried out a battle in the urban area.
There was a fierce battle and continued exchange of fire with British warships all night, and finally succeeded in crushing the British's dastardly conspiracy.
This story was confirmed by many merchants and citizens of Calais, who indeed witnessed the exchange of fire between the British and the French troops in the city, as well as the exchange of fire between Royal Navy battleships and shore artillery throughout the night.
Therefore, the French people were convinced of this. After reading the report, they were either filled with indignation and angrily denounced the British in the streets for their war attempt to break the peace; or they were worried, worried that the cloud of war would once again envelope France.
However, senior officials in the UK and French political circles received a different story: all attacks were carried out on the initiative of the French military, and based on overnight interrogations of captured British sailors, French senior officials were also convinced that the British were plotting to seize the Port of Calais.
The plan is purely imaginary.
Lieutenant Colonel Cavell, who was the initiator of everything, also took the initiative to secretly confess to the top military officials after interrogating the British sailors, saying that he had misjudged the actions of the British Navy and was willing to bear all responsibility for this.
Since the diplomatic impact of this incident is far from over, and Lieutenant Colonel Cavell now has a high prestige among the people, people think that he is a wise commander who thwarted the British ambitions.
Therefore, the French military has not yet dealt with Lieutenant Colonel Cavell, a famous and so-called war hero.
By June 4, the day when the news had reached Île-de-France, it was not just the French military that was worried about this incident.
It can be said that the entire palace and government were thrown into chaos by this unexpected incident.
...
"Sure enough, things are going to change."
Laurence also rode in a carriage with the Foreign Secretary, Count Vergenin, to the Palace of Versailles to see His Majesty.
He held in his hand a first-hand secret report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Calais Port incident. The Foreign Secretary was naturally qualified to know the entire inside story of this incident. Lawrence also borrowed the intelligence network of Count Vergenin to obtain all the information.
.
Count Vergenin was even more exhausted physically and mentally, with a haggard look on his face. He did not expect that less than a month after he took office as the new foreign minister, such a series of major events would happen one after another.
Of course, Count Vergenin would not complain at all. After he tasted the sweetness of power, all difficulties and obstacles seemed not worth mentioning.
"What do you think?" Count Vergenin asked with a sigh as Lawrence waited for Lawrence to finish reading the report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
"The British Ambassador, Baron Bertula, has arrived at the Palace of Versailles. It will be difficult to appease the British on this matter. Baron Bertula will definitely open his mouth. Alas, if it is not handled well, the war in southern Italy will
There is no conclusion yet, so we will have to fight the British first."
Lawrence did not jump to conclusions. After reading the inside report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he also read the reports of several mainstream newspapers in Paris. He pondered for a moment before speaking:
"Almost all the major newspapers have recognized the British aggression. Although this may be a cover-up specially instructed by the military leaders to cover up their mistakes, after this public opinion campaign, the anti-British sentiment among the people is expected to reach a climax.
Bar."
"Indeed." Count Vergenin agreed.
"In other words, in the eyes of the people..." Lawrence held his forehead and looked solemn:
"We have successfully defeated the British conspiracy. The next step should be a full-scale counterattack. At least, we must make the British pay the price."
Count Vergen's pupils trembled, and he suddenly realized that he couldn't help but sucked in a breath of cold air:
"However, the palace is discussing how to make compensation and concessions to the British to calm the situation. However, the people think that we are the victors of the battle and will definitely not accept it. In this case, the government and the palace instead acted to humiliate the country.
Decide."
Lawrence tilted his head slightly, closed his eyes and sighed:
"The person who is most happy to see this situation is undoubtedly the Duke of Choiseul. And this time he completed the control of public opinion in such a short period of time. I think it was also his handiwork."
As long as the anti-British sentiment among the people reaches its peak, and coerced by this turbulent public opinion, Duke Choiseul's attempt to provoke a war will undoubtedly be easier to achieve.
"You mean..." Count Vergenin frowned:
“The bombardment of Calais Port was caused by the Duke of Choiseul?”
Lawrence hesitated for a moment, but then shook his head:
"This is not like the Duke's style, it is too radical... but it can indeed make his war plan a big step forward. That's all, it doesn't matter who is behind the scenes. What is important is..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Count Vergenin understood, nodded and added:
"Who does His Majesty the King think?"
...
Afternoon, Palace of Versailles.
French ministers and several distinguished dukes gathered in the Apollo Hall, which is the throne room. Even His Majesty the King got up from his sick bed after a long absence and sat on the silver throne in the Apollo Hall.
Everyone looked solemnly at the only foreign ambassador in the Apollo Hall - the British Ambassador Baron Bertula.
Naturally, the ministers and the British Ambassador gathered here for only one reason: to discuss with the British Ambassador how to resolve the shelling of Calais Port two days ago.
It can be seen that Louis XV took this incident very seriously.
If it were an ordinary diplomatic incident, all it would take was for the foreign minister to negotiate with the other party's ambassador, and Louis XV would only need to stamp his signature on the final negotiation agreement.
But today, Louis XV not only set the venue to meet Baron Bertula in the most gorgeous and solemn Apollo Hall, but the size of the people involved in the negotiations was completely comparable to a small royal meeting, not to mention that he was still ill today.
His Majesty the King of France was present in person, which was enough to show that Louis XV attached great importance to it.
Lawrence, who stood among the ministers as the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Corsica, could also understand the importance Louis XV attached to it. The king did not even want to participate in the potentially risky small civil war in southern Italy, let alone the Anglo-French war with Great Britain.
Louis XV also wanted to use this highest-level interview to show Baron Bertula his sincerity that he had no intention of escalating the situation.
After the participants were almost all present, Louis XV looked at Baron Bertula and tried his best to endure the pain and squeezed out a friendly smile:
"Good afternoon, Mr. Ambassador..."
Louis XV chatted cordially with Baron Bertulat for a while, then made a set of platitudes about the friendship between England and France and the value of peace, before finally turning the topic to the bombardment of Calais Port.
Baron Bertula was also polite to Louis XV without being too humble or condescending, and after several false greetings, he set out his own conditions:
"I am pleased to hear from you, Your Majesty, that this appalling incident was a misunderstanding, but there is great anger within our country, both in Whitehall and His Majesty, that this was a provocation by your country.
We are very concerned about this matter. If your country cannot properly compensate our country for its losses, I am afraid it will be difficult for our country to forgive your country’s offensive behavior.”
Louis XV nodded. Of course he knew that France needed to make concessions in order to stabilize the situation, so he directly motioned to Baron Bertula to continue.
Although the specific final treaty will certainly not be finalized at today's meeting, Louis XV at least wanted to hear the British attitude first.
Baron Bertula smiled proudly. It seemed that he was already prepared for the lion to open his mouth:
“First of all, your country needs to pay a one-time compensation of no less than 60 million livres to the Chinese people who were harmed in this incident; secondly, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again, we ask your country’s
The military withdraws from the Port of Calais and its surrounding areas, and sets the Port of Calais as a demilitarized zone, leaving only police and customs personnel; thirdly, British merchant ships should receive inspection-free and tax-free treatment at the Port of Calais to prevent your country from inspecting it again
In the name of making things difficult for our merchant ships; fourth..."
The English ambassador stated his conditions to Louis XV with great fluency.
However, listening to this series of non-stop requests for concessions, not only Louis XV, but also the faces of the ministers present gradually darkened.
Baron Bertula's requirements were not only too strict, they were simply unacceptable.
The so-called compensation of 60 million livres alone is enough to make the French government, which has an extremely serious financial deficit, bleed. It is comparable to the war compensation after losing a small war.
Not to mention the so-called demands that the Port of Calais be set up as a demilitarized zone and that British merchant ships be allowed to sail in Calais without inspection or tax, which is almost to the point of humiliating the country. In that case, if the British really want to seize the Port of Calais in the future, they will
It's totally a piece of cake.
Not to mention the generals, marshals and ministers present, even Louis XV, who had no interest in political affairs, knew that Baron Bertula's request was absolutely unacceptable.
Once such a treaty is accepted, not only the British, but the entire European continent will probably re-examine the true national power of France, and the courts of various countries will consider whether the Western European giant in their eyes is actually strong on the outside and weak on the inside.
"Mr. Ambassador..." Louis XV's face was already a little more unhappy:
"I met with you with full sincerity, but you don't seem to reciprocate the corresponding sincerity."
Baron Bertula is still neither humble nor overbearing, and will not retreat:
"To be honest, the Royal Navy of Great Britain has begun to assemble in the Port of Dover. His Majesty also ordered the night before yesterday to start dispatching three American fleets to the mainland and ordered five infantry divisions to mobilize to prepare for war... Your Majesty,
Great Britain is ready."
As the British ambassador, Baron Bertula certainly knew that the political struggle between Louis XV and the Duke of Choiseul had entered a fierce stage.
Therefore, Baron Bertula could use the threat of war unscrupulously to put pressure on the French court.
Although Great Britain is also trying its best to avoid war with France, in many cases, playing hard to get and retreating instead of advancing is the option with the greatest benefits.
And Louis XV's face turned completely dark. Just being threatened by the British ambassador in front of all the ministers, this kind of shame and humiliation had already made His Majesty the King furious. At this moment, he was just trying to hold back the anger in his heart.
Upon seeing this, several ministers on the side quickly stepped forward to negotiate with Baron Bertula, including Count Vergena, who also stepped forward to argue and tried their best to show that Baron Bertula's request was completely nonsense and without sincerity.
Performance.
Even the Duke of Aiguillon pretended to be angry at Baron Bertula, saying frankly that he had no respect for His Majesty the King.
But no matter how much the French ministers tried their best, Baron Bertula remained unmoved and did not make any concessions in the negotiation treaty, not even one of the 60 million livres in compensation was reduced.
Copper.
The entire negotiation lasted for nearly two hours. Baron Bertula and all the ministers were a little thirsty, but the progress of the negotiation made no progress at all.
In the end, when both sides were almost speechless, Louis XV announced the end of the meeting with a gloomy face and sent someone to send Baron Bertula back to the British embassy and consulate.
As the footsteps of Baron Bertula gradually disappeared in the corridor, the Apollo Hall also fell into a period of silence, the silence before the storm.
The ministers all lowered their heads tightly, not even daring to take a breath, silently waiting for His Majesty the King's instructions.
Louis XV glanced around at the ministers in the audience, and asked with uneasiness:
"Everyone, what do you think?"
The king's voice echoed in the throne room, but for a long time no minister came forward to offer advice. After all, no one was sure that they could get a better treaty from Baron Bertula.
Just when Louis XV was disappointed and ready to announce the end of the meeting, the Duke of Aiguillon suddenly stood up:
"I have an idea that may be able to properly resolve this matter, but I don't know if it's appropriate to bring it up."
Louis XV's eyes suddenly brightened. At this critical moment, he didn't care at all about the Duke Aiguillon's offense against His Royal Highness, and immediately allowed him to raise it in public.
The Duke of Aiguillon stood out of the queue, glanced at the expressionless Duke of Choiseul with his peripheral vision, and suggested loudly:
"Ahem, actually, my uncle, the Duke of Richelieu, has a good personal relationship with the British ambassador. My uncle had discussed the Anglo-French non-aggression treaty with Baron Bertula very early on, and the two sides had a very happy discussion about it.
, if the Duke of Richelieu comes forward to negotiate with Baron Bertula, it may not only be able to solve the shelling of Calais Port, but also obtain a non-aggression treaty between the two countries."