Negotiations

Upon hearing the news that Archduke Karl had sent a military envoy, Napoleon asked Soult, who was standing beside him, "Soult, what do you think the Austria envoy has come for?"

"Probably to reach a peace agreement," Soult thought for a moment and replied.

"Go on," Napoleon said. His experience dealing with Soult these past few days had left him quite satisfied with his new subordinate. He felt that this new subordinate had a solid foundation in tactics and was also quick-witted, so he was also quite inclined to use this opportunity to test him.

"General, we are certain we can defeat the Austria, and I believe Archduke Karl understands this as well. But he also understands how precious time is for us right now. He certainly wants to use this time to negotiate with us."

"So what do you think we should do?" Napoleon asked.

"General, it depends on what conditions they propose, doesn't it?" Soult replied.

"Very good." Napoleon nodded. "Bring that envoy here. Show him the cannons we've captured on the way."

When the British and Prussian troops fled into the camp at Verdun, they abandoned a large number of cannons, especially the British Army, who abandoned many large and heavy naval guns. Although, according to discipline, the breechblocks of these cannons should have been nailed shut when they were abandoned (so that the cannons would be unusable without major repairs), the sheer number of cannons, the immense workload, and the limited time available meant that about half of the captured cannons still had their breechblocks left unsealed.

Because it hadn't rained for days, and Napoleon now had a significant increase in Germany mercenary labor, plus a considerable number of captured draft horses (almost all of the Britain artillery's draft horses had been captured, leaving a surplus with about half of the cannons unusable), the cannons were barely keeping pace with Napoleon's march. However, given the current ammunition shortage, the presence of these cannons, in a sense, further exacerbated the logistical strain.

However, these cannons were very effective at intimidating people. In any case, the Austria certainly didn't know that Napoleon had limited ammunition. (Of course, before the development of synthetic ammonia, few countries were not short of gunpowder.)

Soult then took Archduke Karl's envoy to see Napoleon.

Although the Austria envoy had been left waiting for a long time, he didn't seem anxious at all. After meeting Soult, he remained both polite and composed, which earned Soult's favor.

Soult told him, "General Bonaparte is not here. However, I am ordered to take you to see him. I'm sorry, we don't have a suitable carriage here; you'll have to ride with us to the general's place."

"That's not a problem. When can we depart?" the young Austria envoy asked.

"Right away, sir, as you know, we don't have any extra time to waste," Soult replied.

The envoy then mounted his horse with Soult and, escorted by a troop of cavalry, left the small village occupied by the French Army and headed along the main road toward another village under the French Army control.

The road was difficult to traverse, as it was swarming with the French Army, their men, horses, and vehicles clogging the roads. At one intersection, they were stopped by an artillery unit that was crossing the road, towing heavy artillery. Due to the immense inertia of the cannons, they were unlikely to stop or even slow down easily, as this could easily lead to various troubles or even accidents.

In particular, this artillery unit was equipped with captured Britain naval-type 24-pounder cannons. The army would normally not equip itself with such heavy artillery; even if it did, it would generally only be used as fortress guns. The cannons used by the army in field battles at that time generally did not exceed 8 pounds, and were all relatively lighter bronze cannons. But these cannons were all heavy iron cannons, each Marat by sixteen horses, their thick, long, dark blue-green barrels pointing diagonally to the sky, and the sheer number of cannon carriages was countless.

Soult reined in his horse and waited with the cavalry for the artillery to pass. The Austria envoy watched the artillery, while Soult observed the envoy's demeanor. Unfortunately, he didn't see much change in the envoy's expression.

Throughout the journey, Soult carefully observed the envoy. Judging from his handling of the horse and his long, fair hands, this man probably didn't have much military experience. Perhaps because of this, he didn't understand what it meant to be able to drag so many heavy cannons here in such a short time.

The two men waited on horseback for quite some time before the artillery slowly crossed the intersection. Soult led the messenger a little further and arrived at another village.

There was a fairly nice manor in this village, probably the property of some nobleman. However, it has now been requisitioned by the French Army and used as Napoleon's temporary headquarters.

Napoleon received the young envoy in the small drawing room of the estate. The envoy introduced himself to Napoleon as Clemens Wenzel von Metternich.

Napoleon had no idea that the young man standing before him would, in the original history, become the Prime Minister of Austria, the creator of the Metternich System that influenced Europe for decades, and a cross-dresser.

Napoleon invited Metternich to sit down, then slowly asked, "I've heard you are Archduke Karl's envoy. Our two countries are currently at war, and I'd like to know, what is the purpose of Archduke Karl sending you at this time?"

"Of course, it's for the peace of Europe," Metternich replied.

"Peace in Europe? Isn't peace in Europe precisely in your country?" Napoleon said sarcastically. "We reached an agreement with your country on the issue of peace last time, but not long ago it was your country that led the way in tearing up the peace agreement and starting a war. Now, your country is calling for peace again?"

Faced with Napoleon's accusations, Metternich remained calm. He smiled and said, "General Bonaparte, the question of who was responsible for the breach of the last peace is not the point. Each country, from its own perspective, will have a different view on this. If we needed to discuss this issue, we could discuss it until the end of the world. But such debates are of no real significance to the current situation, wouldn't you agree?"

"Very well then," Napoleon said. "I don't want to waste time on such trivial matters. First, I'd like to know, you seem to be merely an envoy of Archduke Karl. Do you think your position is sufficient to guarantee that we can discuss matters of peace between nations in our negotiations?"

Metternich smiled and nodded, saying, "Our Emperor has always been a peace-loving and benevolent monarch. Therefore, when the war first broke out, he considered that the dispute between us and France should ultimately be resolved peacefully through negotiations..."

"However, your emperor prefers the negotiations to take place in Paris, doesn't he?" Napoleon couldn't help but retort sarcastically.

"That is not important, Your Excellency," Metternich said. "For this reason, at the beginning of the war, His Majesty the Emperor authorized His Highness the Grand Duke to conduct peace negotiations with France. I bring with me His Majesty the Emperor's letter of authorization, which proves my right to negotiate."

As he spoke, Metternich picked up the briefcase beside him. This briefcase had been inspected by Napoleon's guards beforehand to prevent him from carrying any gadgets to act as an assassin. Although such incidents were rare, Joseph was always very worried, so the guards around Napoleon had all undergone special training organized by Joseph.

Metternich opened his briefcase, took out a document, and handed it to Napoleon. Napoleon glanced at it; it was indeed a legally valid authorization. It seemed that the Austria emperor had truly planned to sue for peace immediately should the situation turn against him before launching the war. Unlike the Russia, who had negotiated terms beforehand but still had to wait nearly a month for a formal envoy to sign a peace treaty.

"Very good." Napoleon nodded. "Although I haven't received full authorization, I am now one of the consuls of the French Republic, and I believe I can fully represent France in deciding the issue of war and peace with your country. Now, Mr. Metternich, under what conditions does your country hope to achieve peace?"

"We hope to restore peace to what it was before it was disrupted. And this peace should also include peace between our country and the Northern Italian Republic," Metternich said.

Napoleon laughed, "Your country voluntarily tore up the peace agreement, and now you expect to restore peace without paying any price?"

"We can help you," Metternich said.

"Oh, then what kind of help can your country offer us?" Napoleon asked.

"We can cede Luxembourg, saving you, General, the most precious time for your eastward advance," Metternich said.

"We can take it ourselves," Murat said, standing beside Napoleon.

"But it will take time," Metternich replied. "General, although I have no military experience, His Excellency the Grand Duke told me before I came here that your army is indeed capable of taking Luxembourg, but His Excellency believes he can hold out for at least two months. After your brilliant victory at Verdun, both Hanover and Prussia are now very vulnerable. If you cannot take advantage of this weakness in time, the value of your victory at Verdun will diminish. General, every second is precious now. Our country can help you save such precious time, so why can't you be more lenient and merciful to our country?"