Chapter 176: The Price
Saint Petersburg
Russia's Foreign Minister, Karl Vossel, frowned as he said, "Your Majesty, the ambassador stationed in Paris has sent word that Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte restored the monarchy on January 1, 1852, proclaiming himself Napoleon III."
Upon hearing that Napoleon III had restored the monarchy, Nicholas I flew into a rage. In his eyes, the upstart Bonaparte family had no right to sit as Emperor of France.
This was not merely his personal opinion; there were tangible interests involved as well. Napoleon had risen through popular election, shattering the tradition of the "divine right of kings" and shaking the foundations of every monarchy in Europe. That was also the origin of the anti-French wars.
They had finally managed to suppress such crooked heresies, only for Napoleon III to restore the monarchy now. Was this not an insult to every participant in the Congress of Vienna? More importantly, it was an insult to Alexander I.
What angered him even more was that Napoleon III dared to challenge the majesty of the Russian Empire. After the Holy Land Crisis erupted, the French government had intervened, undermining Russian control over the Orthodox Church.
Old grudges and new hatred had piled together. Naturally, Nicholas I could not acknowledge Napoleon III's legitimacy. If the two sides had not been so far apart, he would already have taken practical action to show the French the might of the Russian Empire.
Nicholas I said disdainfully, "Just as expected—a little nobody who knows only how to play petty, low-class tricks.
"Order the ambassador to France to deliver a diplomatic note to the French government, condemning Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte's shameless usurpation and demanding that he abdicate immediately."
Napoleon III's restoration had naturally been carried out with a swift blade to cut through tangled hemp. To prevent interference