The United Kingdom's new strategy

Old Grenville sighed and continued to persuade him:

"But now, with this mess... you're likely to become the scapegoat for a worse future. I mean, even the Marquess Wellesley, an exceptionally capable politician, has made a mess of things."

"You're quite right." Lord Grenville nodded earnestly. "I've never been particularly outstanding since childhood, far inferior to the Marquess Wellesley in politics and strategy, and, well, not even to the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Duke of Leeds."

He smiled somewhat awkwardly, "To be honest, even now, I still don't quite understand what tricks the France used to defeat the Marquess Wellesley."

"Then you still..."

Lord Grenville straightened his back and said, "But I grew up among a group of outstanding people, so I learned a skill: to quickly spot the strengths of others."

"Hmm, so what?"

"What do you think has allowed the France to remain undefeated in their rivalry with the United Kingdom over the past two years?"

Old Grenville paused, then shook his head and said:

"I'm too old; I've long since lost touch with these international affairs."

His nephew smiled and said:

"Actually, I don't quite understand either. But I have discovered a huge advantage for the France —their international environment has been incredibly favorable these past two years. This allows them to leverage external forces for almost anything. Meanwhile, we, well, were recently questioned by all of Europe for 'encouraging the Southern Netherlands to Export Revolution.'"

If Joseph heard this, he would surely give Lord Grenville a thumbs up and tell him that this was all thanks to his hard work in creating this international environment—after all, he'd read history books!

Old Grenville's gaze sharpened, and he slowly nodded, saying:

"That's true. So what do you plan to do?"

Versailles Palace.

A burst of excited discussion arose in the spacious palace theater:

"Wow, it's His Crown Prince! He's really here!"

"He's so handsome, my heart is melting..."

"His Highness is looking at me! Did you all see him? He's looking at me!"

"Your Highness, you are truly too perfect. Who could possibly win your heart...?"

Joseph, dressed in a blue and white theatrical costume, stepped onto the stage, first bowing to Queen Mary, the birthday celebrant, before beginning his performance.

After repeated rehearsals, he overcame his initial awkwardness, skillfully picked up the Glass on the wooden table, tilted his head back, took a large gulp, and then looked at the bottle in his hand, praising it:

"I definitely need a bottle of Paris Cola to improve my Alchemy efficiency!"

As he finished reciting his lines, several Servant who had been prepared distributed exquisite Glass to the Nobility in the front row.

The person who received the bottle picked it up curiously and examined it, only to see a label that read "Paris Cola" on it, with the smaller print below stating "Royal Choice Drink".

They realized that this was the beverage His Crown Prince was drinking, and they all uncorked the bottles and began to taste it.

"Uh--" A Duke couldn't help but let out a loud burp, instantly feeling a sense of relief throughout his body. At the same time, a sweet taste accompanied the burp and rushed to the tip of his tongue, which was wonderful.

Ignoring the fact that his burp was rather unseemly, he immediately gulped down several more mouthfuls of Paris Cola, then squinted his eyes in blissful relief.

This constantly bubbling drink is simply amazing! He immediately decided that he would buy several cases and store them in the cellar when he got back.

The Nobility in the back who hadn't received any drinks craned their necks to watch the people in front of them enjoying their drinks, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

It wasn't that Joseph hadn't prepared enough drinks; rather, it was a deliberate attempt at Hunger Marketing —the less likely someone was to get a drink, the more they would believe it must be the most delicious thing.

In the central VIP section on the second floor, Louis XVI also burped and raised Glass to Queen Mary beside him:

"You absolutely must try it. Our son always manages to come up with these amazing things."

Then, Anne, played by Alexandra, appeared and went straight to Hunter cousin Hunter's side, but first she raised her hand to stroke the tall bookshelf:

"The family's precious Alchemy texts must be stored in a bookcase made of Synthetic Board for peace of mind."

Joseph nodded. "You're absolutely right. Synthetic Board Furniture is not only sturdy and durable, lasting several times longer than ordinary wood board furniture, but it's also naturally insect-resistant, reducing the risk of books being damaged by insects."

"Where did you source this novel and excellent furniture from?"

"I heard that a new furniture store called ' Yiju Furniture Store ' has opened in Paris, just southwest of the Louvre Palace District..."

The Nobility in the audience, who had seen this scene performed by other theater companies before, were stunned—how could this be so completely different from what they had seen before?

Shouldn't Anne and Hunter be discussing level five Alchemy? Why are they talking about furniture?

However, what exactly is this "Synthetic Board Furniture" they're talking about? It sounds quite mysterious...

London.

10 Downing Street.

"Have a taste, this is one of my prized possessions." Pitt the Younger handed a glass of Wine to his old friend. "So, in your opinion, how should we break the France's diplomatic advantage?"

Lord Grenville, smelling the aroma of the wine, smiled and said:

"First, we cannot be too greedy. If we try to grasp everything, we will end up with nothing. Take the Southern Netherlands, for example. We spent a great deal of money and diplomatic resources trying to break it away from uncontrollable Austria, only to end up giving Luxembourg to France."

Pitt the Younger for a moment and nodded. "Please continue."

"And this has pushed Austria toward France," Grenville said. "Now it's time to abandon the Southern Netherlands."

"Austria will thank us for this, while making France insignificant."

"Furthermore, Prussia's withdrawal of troops to Silesia will put Austria under greater military pressure, and we can take this opportunity to mediate between the two countries."

"Whether Austria then directs its attention to Serbia or Poland, it can minimize their dependence on France."

"This is the kind of international situation we need. A head-on confrontation with the France will only deplete our strength. Utilizing the power of other countries to deal with them is the right way to win."

"Abandoning the Southern Netherlands strategy..." Pitt the Younger. took a deep breath, "Will only intensify the Whig Party attacks against me."

"I'll try my best to persuade the old guys in the party," Grenville said with a smile, raising his glass. "Once we've curbed the France momentum, they'll all be satisfied."

France.

Versailles Palace.

Louis XVI held up the Glass and handed it to his sweating son:

"Joseph, perhaps you need a bite."

Queen Mary smiled and said from the side:

"Darling, you acted wonderfully! Oh, Alexandra was also excellent, you two looked so well-matched. I mean on stage."