The Crown Prince's diplomacy

Joseph immediately broke into a bright smile, "Mother, I want to go to Vienna myself. ♝🐜 👌🎈 I haven't been able to properly visit my uncle since he fell ill."

"Oh, I will do my best to help my uncle resolve the Brabant problem and restore the peace he deserves."

"At the same time, my uncle and I have a lot to talk about."

Queen Mary nodded with delight. "That's wonderful! My dear, I've been wanting to visit my brother, but France can't do without me. Now it's perfect that you go see Benny for me. Oh, I must prepare some gifts for him."

Shortly afterward, the Cabinet Meeting ended, Joseph hurried back to his Bedchamber. He first had Eman summon Count Segur, the Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs, and instructed the latter to write a letter to the United States ambassador to Poland in his private capacity.

After Count Segur laid out paper and pen, Joseph said, "The letter mainly warns Prince Poniatowski against sending troops to support Prussia, as that would offend Austria, the only one of Poland's three major neighbors that is relatively sympathetic to Austria. Right now, Poland should take advantage of the fact that Russia is at war with Sweden and that Prussia and Austria are clashing in the Southern Netherlands to resolve the Parliament veto issue as soon as possible and to train as many troops as possible."

Because of France's actions in North Africa, the Ottoman surrendered earlier than historically expected, which freed up Russia's resources to deal with Sweden. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Russo-Swedish War should also end sooner than historically expected, at which point Russia will turn its attention to Poland.

To prevent Prussia and Austria from colluding, we must do everything in our power to prevent the formation of the Russia-Prussia-Austria Partition Alliance. Therefore, Poland itself must first be strong.

To avoid arousing suspicion from Three Powers of Russia, Prussia, and Austria, Joseph sought the help of the United States as France's White Gloves to assist Poland, so the letter had to be delivered to the United States.

Count Segur quickly jotted down His Crown Prince's instructions, and Joseph then said to him, "By the way, once Archbishop Talleyrand returns from the United Kingdom, have him go to Strasbourg immediately to wait for me there before we travel to Vienna. Remember to have him take a few reliable assistants with him."

Strasbourg is the last border city between France and Austria.

"Yes, Your Highness."

That noon, Joseph set off from France, not for Austria —he needed to wait for Minister of Foreign Affairs Talleyrand to go with him, as some things would be easier to do there. More importantly, both Prussia and Austria needed to mobilize large numbers of troops, and the logistics alone would take several months to prepare, so the Brabant Revolution was unlikely to break out in the short term.

His first stop was Spain.

After all, his old friend Carlos IV was being crowned, and he had to represent France to make a gesture. Besides, there were still many things he needed to explain to Spain, his Lousy Teammates.

Spain's interests are currently very aligned with France's, and given its relatively weak national strength, it tends to follow France's lead in international affairs, making it a decent ally.

Despite possessing a vast number of Colony and commanding the third-largest navy in Europe, this country has become one of the least powerful Europe nations.

If Spain could be strengthened further, France could leverage its power even more, especially in dealing with the United Kingdom.

It's important to know that Gibraltar, the gateway to the Mediterranean Sea, is located on the southern coast of Spain. It was originally Spain territory, but was ceded to the United Kingdom more than seventy years ago after the War of the Spanish Succession.

From then on, the Spain never forgot this strategic location, to the point of being obsessed with it.

Taking the Strait of Gibraltar from the United Kingdom would greatly protect France's interests in North Africa —no matter how powerful the English Fleet was, if it couldn't enter the Strait of Gibraltar, it couldn't reach the Mediterranean Sea and therefore couldn't influence the North Africa countries on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.

Joseph left Paris, Carriage headed southwest, reaching the Pyrenees on the French-Spanish border in just over ten days.

However, after passing through the Pyrenees pass, and especially after arriving at the Spain city of Leon, the speed of progress immediately slowed down.

The road conditions in Spain are several levels worse than those in France.

Fortunately, Joseph was riding in the latest model of the "Gem" Carriage, which was extremely comfortable. However, even so, his buttocks felt like they were being tortured.

After another two weeks of bumpy travel, Joseph finally caught a glimpse of the buildings in Madrid in the distance. He was already thinking that he should take a boat back.

Carlos IV accorded the Crown Prince of France the highest honors—the welcoming Guard lined up five miles outside Madrid, and the motorcade was personally guided by the Spain State Minister to the magnificent Royal Palace of Madrid.

Carlos IV led his brother from outside the Royal Palace Square toward the palace. The road was covered with exquisite carpets, and the Honor Guard stood solemnly on both sides. Thousands of Spain Nobility and dignitaries from various countries who came to offer their congratulations stood respectfully in front of the palace, looking at Joseph. The sound of cannons in the distance was almost constant.

Everyone in Spain knows that the King of France is an extremely socially awkward and introverted person, so expecting him to come to Spain is almost impossible. Therefore, the Crown Prince of France represents the King of France here.

Joseph accepted flowers from a group of Spain children and entered the palace with Carlos IV.

He noticed that although the newly crowned Queen Maria Luisa of Spain was by his side the whole time, she appeared very cautious and hardly uttered a sound.

Joseph secretly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the old King had indeed completely stripped this woman of her power, and she should no longer be able to wreak havoc on Spain as she had in history. It was worth all the effort he had put into helping Carlos IV catch his lover in the act.

After a very lavish feast, Joseph savored the Spain meal filled with seafood. To be honest, many Spain dishes were even better than France.

Take, for example, the main course we just discussed— Spain baked seafood stew. It was served in a large tub, with Oyster arranged around the outside, followed by a layer of lobster, then a layer of filleted fish, then a layer of grilled octopus, a layer of sea urchin...

The whole bucket is then baked with cheese and sprinkled with spices; just looking at it makes your mouth water.

Joseph ate only half a bucket, but he was already so full he couldn't bend over.

Meanwhile, Carlos IV dragged his good friend into the palace theater, where the France Writers's "Phaedra" was being performed.

In the VIP room on the second floor, Joseph watched his relatives carelessly commenting on the actors' performances and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Taking advantage of the scene where the prime minister appeared in the play, he said:

"By the way, speaking of prime ministers, Your Majesty, isn't your current State Minister the Count of Floridablanca?"

Carlos IV waved his hand:

"Please call me Antonio. Oh, yes, still Redondo."

Joseph frowned slightly. The Count of Floridablanca was Carlos III's State Minister. It seemed that without Godoy's meddling, Carlos IV had retained the old King's team.

However, the Count of Floridablanca didn't get along well with France.