Chapter five hundred and eighty-one leveraging the crowbar of Luxembourg
"So I told him through my father-in-law to let him relax! All consequences will be borne by the French Empire!"
After understanding the ins and outs of the matter, De Ruys fell into deep thought. He was weighing the pros and cons of annexing the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to France, as well as the situations that France might encounter during the annexation process.
After a while, De Ruys asked: "Your Majesty, in what form do you intend to rule the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg?"
Jérôme Bonaparte was stunned for a few seconds, and then he said with an interesting smile: "Besides direct annexation, is there any other way to rule here?"
"Of course!" De Luys nodded and said with a sly smile: "Your Majesty, please forgive me! In the current diplomatic environment, the impact of rashly annexing the territory of an independent European country is real.
It’s too bad! If things go wrong, the French Empire may once again face the situation that your uncle, Emperor Napoleon, faced!”
De Ruys's words reminded Jerome Bonaparte of the "old things" when the French Empire annexed Savoy during the Italian War.
At that time, his cousin sent 200,000 troops to help the Kingdom of Sardinia resolve the rule of the Austrian Empire in Italy. As a result, when he sought his own spoils of Savoy and Nice, the French Empire immediately suffered from all the enemies, including Alexander II.
Due to the hostility of European countries, the diplomacy of the French Empire fell into a stage of isolation and helplessness.
If it weren't for the fact that various countries had no plans to engage in large-scale wars in 1860, and the Apennine Peninsula itself was a back door to Central Europe, so it did not receive much attention from the great powers, then it would be difficult for the French Empire to successfully annex it.
Nowadays, the French Empire's annexation of Luxembourg is like kicking the main door of Central Europe. It is difficult to prevent the German region from reacting.
Thinking of this, Jérôme Bonaparte suddenly felt that he and his old father-in-law were thinking too simply about annexing the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg!
"Then what do you think we should do?" Jérôme Bonaparte responded to De Ruys sincerely.
"Your Majesty, since we cannot directly rule the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg with the French Empire, then why don't we let the Bonaparte family rule it!" De Ruys responded to Jérôme Bonaparte slowly.
"You mean to choose a Bonaparte and let him rule Luxembourg?" Jérôme Bonaparte showed a trace of resistance on his face. He did not want the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg that he had won after so much work to become someone else's.
wedding dress.
You still want to rule a country with all the nobles of the Bonaparte family? I think it would be difficult for them to rule a small town!
Jérôme Bonaparte can be said to be full of malice towards his aristocratic relatives.
De Luys saw Jerome Bonaparte's reluctance, and he quickly explained to Jerome Bonaparte: "Your Majesty, the Bonaparte tribe I am talking about is not the current Bonaparte tribe.
Princes, but the future Crown Prince!"
After listening to De Ruys's words, Jérôme Bonaparte's face returned to a smile, and he understood what De Ruys meant: "You mean the Union?"
"That's right!" De Ruys nodded and responded to Jérôme Bonaparte: "Your Majesty, after you take over the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, you can declare that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince will become the Grand Duke of Luxembourg! After a hundred years,
When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince inherits the throne, the French Empire can legitimately become the territory of the Empire!"
In fact, De Luyce did not say anything else, that is, if the crown prince cannot maintain his rule in Paris, then the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg will become a private land of the Bonaparte family.
However, it is better not to say these words in front of Jerome Bonaparte.
"This is indeed a way!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded. He also realized that it would be better to unite the country than to annex it directly.
For France, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg embedded in the German Confederation is the perfect excuse for intervention. This is simply like the Russian Federation's repeated applications to join NATO in later generations.
For the Bonaparte family, the existence of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg can indirectly provide security for the Bonaparte family.
If the Bonaparte family is really unable to maintain its rule in France, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg is their best place to go.
The enthusiasm of the Parisian people for revolution frightened every Parisian ruler.
Even Jerome Bonaparte himself was not sure whether the Bonaparte family's rule over the French Empire could be maintained until he could completely sleep.
Historically, Napoleon III's reign in France only lasted twenty-two years.
"But even if we use a unified approach, we still have to consider the ideas of the British Kingdom and Germany!" De Ruys continued.
"Germany does not need to worry too much. As long as Prussia and Austria do not unite, we do not need to be afraid at all!" Jerome Bonaparte expressed his thoughts to De Luys: "And
I am also prepared to have more in-depth cooperation with the Austrian Empire. I believe that for the sake of money, those Austrians will not do anything to us!
As for South Germany, my father-in-law will help us mediate!
As for the Kingdom of Britain, the only thing I can think of is to use the ongoing Crimean War to force the Kingdom of Britain to admit the established facts!"
After hearing Jérôme Bonaparte's ideas, De Luys euphemistically expressed that the southern German princes might have to agree with France's opinion because of the force of the French Empire, but it would be difficult for the British Kingdom to comply.
"Then what are we going to do?" Jérôme Bonaparte asked.
After De Ruys pondered for a moment, he said to Jerome Bonaparte: "Your Majesty, just a few days ago, I received a letter from the French Counselor in Egypt. I originally wanted to give it to you some time later.
!”
As De Ruys spoke, he walked to the desk and took out a letter from the French Counselor in Egypt.
"Ruys, we are talking about the Principality of Luxembourg, why did you suddenly go to Egypt!" Jerome Bonaparte said slightly dissatisfied.
"Your Majesty, please be sure to read this!" De Ruys handed the letter into the hands of Jérôme Bonaparte.
Looking at the mysterious foreign minister in front of him, Jérôme Bonaparte opened the envelope and looked at the contents of the letter.
The content of the letter is very simple. It is that a man named Mohammed Said hopes that the French Empire can help them seize the governorship of Abbas, the current governor of Egypt. When he succeeds as governor, he will immediately overthrow Abbas.
policy and became France’s most loyal “partner” (running dog)
By the way, although Egypt is still nominally a territory of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Empire has completely lost its jurisdiction over Egypt and the right to appoint and remove its governor.
Now Egypt's internal affairs, large and small, are managed by Muhammad Ali's grandson, Governor Abbas.
Governor Abbas was a typical pro-Turkish and British faction. During his reign, the French Empire's capital in Egypt could not be said to be going smoothly, but it could also be said to be struggling.
Said is Abbas' uncle and one of the heirs of Egypt. Now Said is being imprisoned by Abbas.
It can be said that he is a useless prince!
…
When Jérôme Bonaparte read the letter through, he put down the envelope, stood up, walked back and forth twice, and then said to De Luys in a serious tone: "Is the news true?"
"Your Majesty, I can guarantee that the news is 100% true!" De Luys assured Jérôme Bonaparte.
"Sayed... Said..." After listening to De Ruys's words, Jérôme Bonaparte muttered in a low voice, and kept searching for the information about Said in the letter in his mind.
I remember that there seemed to be an assassination in the history of Egypt, and then the governor died. Could it be this? Jérôme Bonaparte thought to himself.
At this time, Jerome Bonaparte couldn't help but regret why he had not read it carefully at the beginning. Now he had to make judgments from limited information sources.
"Ruys, what does your Ministry of Foreign Affairs think of this son of Muhammad Ali?" Jérôme Bonaparte asked De Ruys.
De Ruys introduced Said's life and experience to Jerome Bonaparte, including being educated in Germany since childhood and later studying in France.
"According to the news from the counselor, Said has strong liberal ideas and is also a person close to us! If he serves as the governor of Egypt, the empire's interests in Egypt can be protected!"
De Ruys responded to Jérôme Bonaparte.
"So, you agree to take action against Abbas?" Jérôme Bonaparte asked De Ruys in a cold tone.
"That's right!" De Ruys nodded and responded to Jérôme Bonaparte: "As long as the empire can help Said win the governor of Egypt, then Said will definitely retaliate to the empire!
The British Kingdom’s position in Egypt will also be affected!”
"You are trying to leverage the Principality of Luxembourg through Egypt!" Jerome Bonaparte immediately understood De Ruys's plan.
No one knew better than him the impact of the Suez Canal on the British Kingdom.
As long as France influenced Egypt, he could force the British Kingdom to retreat in certain places through the Suez Canal.
After all, the British Kingdom is not willing to offend a country with a strong army and a weak navy to death.
Just like the British Kingdom later took Cyprus, and then turned to support the French Republic's occupation of Morocco.
The current French Empire is stronger than the future Third Republic, and Britain's concessions will inevitably be greater than before.
