Storms over the European continent

In the center of the ring, Soleil lightly touched her sword to her opponent in salute. ◦•●◉✿ ✿◉●•◦ Then, she took three steps back, turned to the side, and placed her left hand behind her back in the standard starting stance.

The audience members immediately began to whisper among themselves:

"Wow! This lady seems to actually know how to use a sword."

"Don't you know? She's Sister of Viscount Frez, a student of Villefort, and her swordsmanship is exceptional."

"The Marquis of Villefort? That famous Spain swordsman?"

"Yes, it's him."

"Ah ha, looks like there's going to be a good show today!"

The referee's bell rang. Soleil's gaze sharpened instantly. She feinted at her opponent's left chest with her Rapier, her footwork incredibly agile, and almost simultaneously turned to the right, the tip of her sword pressing down, aiming straight for the young man's abdomen.

The tall Nobility was no ordinary man either. Although he had been caught off guard, his defensive stance remained intact, and he swiftly deflected the blade to the side.

Before the two swords could even clash, Soleil had already sheathed her sword, taken a half-step back to the side, looked up and saw the opening in her opponent's upper body, and thrust her sword at his face again.

The young man felt he couldn't dodge it, so he had no choice but to swing his sword horizontally with all his might in an attempt to force Soleil back.

The latter, however, moved as nimbly as a butterfly flitting among flowers, dodging the sword's gleam with a swift backward movement and thrusting once more towards his opponent's thigh.

Next, the young man's two clumsy parries and counterattacks were easily dodged by Soleil, who then countered with a sharp, piercing thrust.

The audience below the stage applauded and cheered.

However, after only five or six exchanges, Soleil felt her left heel hit something.

She immediately realized it was the edge of the ring, and her heart tightened. She had been used to relying on her speed to jump and dodge, then seize the opportunity to counterattack, but she had overlooked the size of the ring.

Taking advantage of her distraction, her opponent swung his sword without hesitation—there were hundreds of Nobility around, and even the Crown Prince was watching the match. He had no intention of yielding to the lady; he wanted to demonstrate his swordsmanship to His King the day after tomorrow.

Soleil was blocked by the wooden fence at the edge of the ring and could not dodge, so she had to raise her sword to block.

She heard a "clang" sound and immediately felt a numbness in her wrist. Strength was definitely not her forte.

Her opponent seized the opportunity and slashed down from another direction, forcing her to block again.

The difference in strength between the two was too great; this time, her sword was even knocked to the side by the impact. The young man opposite her immediately lifted his wrist, and the tip of his sword, encased in a wooden sheath, pressed against her abdomen.

We lost...

I came here aiming to win the championship, but I didn't expect to lose the first match!

Soleil felt her mind go blank, and it wasn't until the referee came over to urge her that she walked off the ring in a daze.

She recalled how she had confidently persuaded the Crown Prince to bet on her to win the championship, promising a prize. She was so ashamed she wanted to dig a hole and bury herself.

The image of the five fingers the Crown Prince had held out when he placed his bet flashed before her eyes again, and she couldn't help but feel a chill run down her spine. Given the grandeur of the Royal House, he must have bet at least 500 Livre!

Even 5000 Livre...

Yes! There must be 5000 Livre!

"It's all over, it's all over! "Soleil almost burst into tears. The Crown Prince helped her get the chance to play, but she caused him to lose so much money. What was she going to do? Would the Crown Prince hate her? Yes! He definitely would hate her!

She could hear the laughter of the audience. Indeed, it wasn't mockery; most people found the little incident quite amusing.

Upon hearing the laughter, Soleil, like a kitten caught stealing food, lowered her head and hunched her shoulders, silently chanting, "Nobody can see me, nobody can see me, nobody can see me!", before running past the audience and disappearing into the crowd.

No! No!

She shook her head repeatedly as she walked; that was 5,000 Livre! She couldn't pretend nothing had happened!

Yes! She made up her mind that although she couldn't come up with that much money now, she would return it all to His Crown Prince sooner or later!

In the Grandstand, Clementine was still carefree, waving candy around, looking rather regretful.

"Cousin, I was planning to give that lady candy after she won, but I didn't expect her to leave so quickly."

"Well, it's alright, you only bought 10 Livre from her."

Joseph chuckled, "This might not be an environment she's comfortable in."

"Where does she excel at sword fighting?" Clementine asked, tilting her head back.

Joseph smiled but didn't say anything, thinking to himself that as long as she was at the Royal Palace, even a hundred soldiers there couldn't stop her.

After the afternoon Sword Competition ended, Joseph, the Crown Prince of Spain, and the little girl walked down from the Grandstand, chatting and laughing. Eman immediately strode to Joseph's side and whispered:

"Your Highness, Archbishop Talleyrand has returned and is waiting for you in the Reception Room."

Joseph nodded slightly. He knew that Talleyrand must have a lot to report upon his return from his trip around America and Europe.

So he took his leave of Antonio, handed Clementine over to her maid, and went to his Bedchamber.

On the way, he remembered Antonio's eco-friendly hat again; this needed to be arranged in advance.

He pondered for a moment, then turned and gave some instructions to Eman. The latter immediately obeyed and left.

Joseph returned to his Reception Room. Talleyrand hurried to greet him and gave him a respectful bow.

"May God bless you, Your Highness. I have been thinking of you constantly since I left Paris. That's why I came here as soon as I Carriage."

His words, though seemingly polite, were actually a declaration of loyalty to Joseph: "After returning to the Versailles Palace, I neither went to see the Chief Minister nor reported to the Minister of Foreign Affairs directly under me, but came to see Your Crown Prince first."

"Oh, I've missed you very much, Archbishop Talleyrand. Please have a seat." Joseph smiled and gestured to the sofa. "You've traveled over 7,000 nautical miles since leaving Paris, haven't you?"

Talleyrand nodded and said, "It's over 7,800 nautical miles, Your Highness, crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice."

"You've gone to so much trouble," Joseph said, gesturing to the maid to bring Talleyrand Coffee and snacks. "Actually, you could have easily returned with Paul Crown Prince's motorcade."

Talleyrand nodded his thanks to the maid, then looked at Joseph and smiled:

"Your Highness, I returned by ship, departing several days later than the Russian Crown Prince. As you can see, I arrived first. Moreover, I think it would be best to report some matters to you in advance."

Joseph leaned forward slightly. "Please speak."

"Things in United States are exactly as you predicted. Their Federalist Party are very supportive of buying warships and jointly combating piracy," Talleyrand said. "If it weren't for the lack of funds, Mr. Hamilton would even like to buy a small fleet."

Joseph said, "We just want to sell some old ships, not to make the United States Navy bigger."

Talleyrand nodded immediately. "Yes, Your Highness, I also sense their unusual interest in the Caribbean Sea."

"Your insight is very sharp." Joseph knew that once the United States had some money, they immediately set about building a sizable fleet and engaged in fierce battles with France in the Caribbean Sea.

The end result was that France lost significant interests in the Caribbean Sea. Coupled with the Haiti Incident, this virtually wiped out France's profits from its Americas Colony.

"We must both utilize and, more importantly, limit the United States. In particular, we must guard against their westward expansion. They have a Devil greed for the land of North America," Joseph said earnestly.

Talleyrand said somewhat dismissively, "Your Highness, United States are all stingy and lack courage. I think they are unlikely to dare to challenge Spain interests."

Currently, Spain controls the western territory of the United States.

Joseph didn't bother explaining to him that historically, the United States had only taken a little over a decade to gradually annex Louisiana.

Talleyrand continued, "As for trade, Hamilton privately assured me that we would have priority over the United Kingdom in obtaining their Cotton at the same price."

"Very good." Joseph nodded in satisfaction. North America is now the world's largest Cotton exporter. With the supply of United States Cotton, France has more confidence in competing with the United Kingdom's Textile.

The United States affairs were relatively simple, Talleyrand finished speaking quickly. Next came the diplomatic experience of Russia.

"Your Highness, after I arrived in Saint Petersburg, I soon met with their Tsar. In the following ten days or so, she summoned me twice more, which shows how much she values Russo-French relations."

Joseph was not surprised at all; Russia and France shared many common interests and had broad prospects for cooperation. Catherine II, as one of the most powerful monarchs in Russia history, naturally understood this.

Talleyrand said, "The Russia Tsar expressed his gratitude for the guns and Military Uniform you sent her. Those Military Uniform, in particular, practically became the exclusive domain of officers."

Currently, Russia's manufacturing technology is at a lower level in Europe. Although it can manufacture Flintlock Gun, their quality is still significantly inferior to that of Europe -tier France products.

Even the old guns that Talleyrand brought back from the United States were highly sought after by Russia soldiers. Catherine directly issued those 15,000 Charleville to the troops on the front lines of the Russo-Turkish War.

As for the Military Uniform, they were specially commissioned by Joseph in Lyon in order to better penetrate the Russia clothing market; a total of 1,800 sets were made.

Anyway, there was no unified standard for Military Uniform in this era, and Russia was even more chaotic; as long as the colors were roughly the same, it was fine.

Therefore, the style of these Military Uniform designed by France designers looks much more "trendy" than the existing Military Uniform of the Russian Army, and they were immediately snatched up by the Russian Army officers as soon as they arrived.

Although these Military Uniform weren't cheap, costing over 60 Livre per set, Joseph's deal was still very profitable— France only contributed guns and Military Uniform, yet gained the political benefit of supporting the Russo-Turkish War. After all, if Russia soldiers carrying France guns and wearing France Military Uniform won battles, some of their credit would be attributed to France.

Austria actually sent tens of thousands of troops to fight in the Ottoman, and Russia's gratitude towards them was not necessarily much greater than that towards France.

Furthermore, if these Military Uniform sent to Russia are sought after by the Russian Army, a large number of Nobility will surely want to buy them in the future.

In fact, two more batches of the same Military Uniform uniforms were subsequently shipped to Russia, each costing more than 100 Livre.

Talleyrand smiled as he spoke:

"The Russia Tsar expressed her support and gratitude for our actions in North Africa that were containing the Ottoman Navy, and even hoped that we could extend our strike range to the Gulf of Alexandria Bay."

Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly upon hearing this. Alexandria Bay was already near Egypt, Catherine meant that Russia recognized North Africa, from Algiers all the way to Egypt, as part of France's sphere of influence!

This means that among all the major Europe powers, only United Kingdom has not yet recognized France's claims to North Africa. Of course, Prussia probably doesn't recognize them either, but with its pitiful navy, Prussia's attitude towards North Africa is not a concern.

Talleyrand continued, "At the same time, the Russia Tsar also hopes that we can support some of their demands on Poland."

"Although Russia is currently tied up on the Ottoman front, she seems to be hinting that once the fighting on the South Line ends, they will expand again toward Poland."

Joseph breathed a sigh of relief. No wonder Catherine II so generous in supporting France's acquisition of North Africa; there were more conditions behind it.

It is common knowledge that Tsarist Russia coveted Poland. Historically Catherine II did indeed thrice entangle Prussia and Austria, ultimately dividing up the poor Poland completely.

However, Tsarist Russia also bore the heavy burden of disrupting the Europe order because of the partition of Poland, and naturally hoped that more major powers would stand up for them.

Especially now that Austria is not very enthusiastic about partitioning Poland, it is even more necessary for France to make a statement.

Talleyrand said, "Your Highness, perhaps we can extract more benefits from Russia through Poland."

Joseph shook his head. "Although Poland doesn't offer us many interests, we should try our best to ensure it isn't swallowed up by Tsarist Russia, or at least not too easily."

Talleyrand paused, then asked in confusion, "Why is that?"

"Because Prussia and Austria must never get too close."

"This... I still don't quite understand, Your Highness."

Talleyrand was Joseph's chosen key diplomat, so it was good to explain some political arrangements to him in advance.

So Joseph patiently explained:

"France's most direct adversary on the Europe continent was Prussia. This was not only because Prussia had always coveted the Rhine River region, but also because Prussia was United Kingdom's representative on the European Continent. To weaken Prussia was to weaken United Kingdom."

Talleyrand nodded thoughtfully. United Kingdom was France's sworn enemy and the biggest obstacle to France's rise to Europe dominance. The two countries had been at odds for over a century, and strategically containing United Kingdom was "absolutely correct" for France. Of course, the reverse was also true; United Kingdom was currently doing everything it could to contain France.

However, he still didn't quite understand what this had to do with Poland.

Joseph continued:

"To deal with the Anglo-Prussian alliance, we need to try to Upper Austria involved. Fortunately, Prussia and Austria also have many conflicts, such as in Silesia."

Silesia is a fertile land in northwestern Austria. More than 50 years ago, Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI died, and his daughter Maria Theresa—the mother-in-law of Louis XVI and the maternal grandmother of Joseph —inherited the throne. At that time, Prussia, using the pretext that women had no right of succession, provoked the Silesian Wars.

Austria, unable to defeat Prussia and under pressure from the United Kingdom, ultimately ceded Silesia to Prussia.

From then on, Silesia became a thorn in the side of the Austria.

(End of this chapter)