Venice.
A long, low steam whistle drifted over St. Mark's Basilica.
The sound went on for a long time. Just as Ludwig von Kobzl felt his ears were about to be numbed by the vibration, the surroundings finally fell quiet.
The newly appointed Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs instinctively turned his head toward the sea.
Unfortunately, they were some distance from the harbor, and the basilica blocked his view. Still, he knew that twenty French Steam Warships were lined up outside the port at this very moment.
Once they sounded their whistles, nearly half of Venice could hear them.
Kobzl sighed inwardly. It was precisely these strange warships that had forced the British out of the Mediterranean Sea; otherwise, the Empire would not have been defeated so swiftly in Northern Italy...
The whistle sounded again.
His assistant reminded him in a low voice:
"My lord, according to procedure, we must arrive at the negotiation venue when the whistle sounds for the third time."
Kobzl nodded. He was about to step forward when he suddenly stopped, moved aside to clear the way, and gestured with an outstretched arm toward Marshal Alvinzi behind him. "Esteemed Marshal, you first, please."
Well, Alvinzi had paid a ransom of 850,000 Florins five days earlier and thus regained his freedom.
The old Marshal sighed, lowered his head, and was the first to enter St. Mark's Square. The first thing he saw was more than a thousand soldiers standing solemnly in neat ranks around the square, holding banners of every color.
Before coming here, he had heard that the member states of the Mediterranean Security Organization would be observing the Ceasefire Agreement signing ceremony. He had not expected them to "observe" it in this fashion.
Then he saw Talleyrand, Napoleon, and several other French representatives standing side