A Lewd Smear Campaign

Hearing this question, even Metternich almost jumped up in anger. Everyone knew what kind of newspaper "The Sun" was; when had they ever really cared about international affairs? That was the business of "Science Truth Daily" and "Businessman's Daily." When did it become "The Sun's " place to care about this? Shouldn't they be more concerned about the Italy and Eastern European girls in the Moulin Rouge?

Moreover, the Sun got such explosive news? Come on, everyone in Europe knows that nine times out of ten, the news in the Sun is pure fabrication, and the last one isn't factual either, but a baseless fabrication. Everyone in Europe knows they're just a fake news media masquerading as a "news media" outlet!

Metternich wanted to point his finger at the reporter from the Sun and yell, "You're fake news media! Everything you say is fabricated!" But Metternich wasn't a know-it-all; he didn't have a powerful nation behind him that allowed him to spout nonsense without anyone being able to do anything about it. Now, it was that fake news media that had such a nation behind it.

"This rumor is unfounded," Metternich replied immediately. "The fact is that the Austria and France governments maintained excellent communication throughout the investigation of this case. It was precisely because of their close cooperation that this heinous crime was solved ahead of schedule. For this, your Ministry of Police even sent a telegram to our country expressing gratitude and hoping to further strengthen cooperation in the security field. This shows that your government greatly appreciates our government's efforts in this matter."

However, this clearly did not convince the reporter from the Sun, who obviously wanted to seize the opportunity to spread rumors again. Metternich, of course, knew that he couldn't give this fake news reporter another chance to speak, so he glanced around and saw another reporter also raising his hand. He immediately extended his hand to that reporter. "Sir, do you have a question?"

This is a reporter for a newspaper called "Danube Daily." This newspaper is Austria- owned and has a very limited circulation France, but thanks to support within Austria, it stubbornly survives. At this point, one of its values becomes apparent.

"Mr. Ambassador, I would like to know what other steps Austria and France will take to enhance strategic mutual trust?" the reporter immediately asked, posing a question he had prepared beforehand.

This is an excellent question, good precisely because it's broad and open-ended. Such a question gives Metternich plenty of opportunity to ramble, make grand promises, ramble, and repeat himself endlessly. He can then use the time spent answering this question to consume a significant amount of time, and then, after answering, simply say that time is up and end the press conference.

Metternich then launched into a lengthy explanation of the issue, rambling on and on for what seemed like forever. Seeing that the clock was almost up, he ended his answer and announced that, due to time constraints, the press conference was now adjourned.

After the press conference, Metternich had nothing else to do for the time being. After all, he was just a diplomat. However, he still tried his best to find out the attitude of the France upper class. And those figures all spoke highly of Franco-Austrian friendship to him. In addition, considering that France investments in Austria were still proceeding normally, Metternich judged that the risk of war should not be great.

However, besides war, the France certainly have many other means, and Metternich cannot take further action without authorization from home. Therefore, he can only wait for the time being.

Shortly afterward, a reply came from within the country, but this reply only required Metternich to ascertain the France's intentions, without granting him authorization to negotiate with the France. Clearly, His Majesty Franz II still harbored a glimmer of hope that this was merely a misunderstanding and that he could retain his crown.

It is said that the emperor personally asked his generals if there was any chance of victory if war broke out with France. But even the most valiant and skilled Archduke Karl admitted that if war were to break out, it would be an unprecedentedly difficult battle.

Although Archduke Karl did not explicitly state that defeat was inevitable, it was clear that he was not optimistic about the prospects of the war.

Since that was the requirement, Metternich had no choice but to continue his previous work.

The France action didn't begin with the government, but rather with the newspapers.

The first to attack Austria was the infamous fake news newspaper, "The Sun." The Sun, of course, excels at fabricating all sorts of sex scandals, and this time it was no exception. The Sun first reported that the Austria emperor had a fondness for handsome young men. Then it produced the news that Fritz II was gay, followed by news of Fritz II engaging in an uncensored party with a large group of gay men.

Metternich immediately lodged a protest with the French Foreign Ministry, stating that this was an insult to the Austria head of state and an intolerable offense. However, Talleyrand stated that France enjoys freedom of the press, and therefore the France government could not intervene.

Metternich immediately pointed out that France's attitude was not the same when Austria newspapers insulted Bonaparte's rule. He protested to Talleyrand, saying, "Such double standards are truly distressing to our friendly nations."

Talleyrand naturally objected to the "double standard" claim, arguing that the France government did not exhibit double standards. Firstly, regarding the Austria newspaper's insults against the First Consul, the Austria newspaper did not report the event but directly launched a personal attack. However, the Sun did not do this; it did not use insulting language towards His Majesty Fritz II, but merely reported information obtained from certain sources. This was a matter of fact, not a personal attack. The two are completely different in nature and cannot be compared.

He also pointed out that if His Majesty Fritz II of Austria believes these reports are untrue, he is free to refute them, and he believes that the vast majority of people can distinguish right from wrong.

This is, of course, utter nonsense. Leaving aside the fact that spreading rumors is easy and refuting them is incredibly difficult, just consider Fritz II. As the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, with his supreme authority, arguing with a lowly tabloid? Regardless of the outcome, Emperor Fritz II would have already lost the argument simply by glancing at the Sun. If he were to actually argue with the Sun, its shareholders would probably be laughing all the way to the Sun; they'd certainly be willing to pool their money to create a one-ton "Imperator Medal" for Fritz II.

"My friend." Metternich knew that if they continued rambling, they wouldn't get anything out of it. They were all thousand-year-old vampires; what kind of Count Dracula legend could they possibly come up with? So he decided to just lay things out in the open, hoping that this might actually yield some useful information.

"My friend," Metternich said, "I know that your First Consul probably desires to go further. I also know that your First Consul greatly covets the title of 'Emperor of the Rome.' Is this perhaps the reason for all this happening now?"

Since Metternich had made his point so clear, Talleyrand frankly replied, "I understand your suspicions. We're old friends and should help each other. So, if the conditions are right, I'm willing to offer you any assistance I can."

Indeed, we're all vampires for millennia, why bother pretending to be gentlemen? Talleyrand's meaning was clear: I can tell you some things, but not for free; you have to pay extra...

Metternich was not surprised by Talleyrand's request—if Talleyrand didn't cost money, would it still be Talleyrand?

The two then discussed the matter of "helping each other" for a while and quickly reached an agreement. Then, Talleyrand told Metternich:

"Your guess does have some merit, but the First Consul does not intend to change the republican form of France. However, the First Consul does not want to see the title of 'Emperor of the Rome' fall into someone else's hands. In fact, neither the First Consul nor anyone else intends to antagonize Austria too much over this."

"But the title of 'Emperor of the Rome' is very important to Austria, and there is a real need for it," Metternich said.

"Of course we know that, but my friend, where does the emperor's authority come from? The crown itself has no power; otherwise, the Western Roman Empire would not have fallen. What His Majesty Franz truly needs is power, not a title. A title without power is nothing, while power without a title will eventually acquire that title..."

The two men spoke for a while longer before Metternich took his leave. Back at the embassy, he immediately sent another letter to Austria via carrier pigeon, detailing his observations from his contact with the France and offering his suggestions to His Majesty the Emperor.

The Sun's campaign to smear—no, to smear—His Majesty Fritz II continues, but everyone knows what kind of scum the Sun is, so nobody believes any of it, not even the France themselves, although many people are willing to read it.

But a few months later, news broke that left everyone utterly astonished: someone had reported to His Holiness the Pope that Emperor Fritz II was gay, violating Catholicism precepts. Even more surprisingly, His Holiness the Pope actually sent people to investigate the matter.