After reaching an agreement with Prince Talleyrand, Aigron suddenly felt happy.
Prince Talleyrand was worthy of being a seasoned and experienced diplomat. He understood Austria's current weak state of being strong on the outside but weak on the outside, and also understood Metternich's nature of being "awesome but not moral".
His plan was to let France hide behind the scenes, secretly assist various forces that were dissatisfied with Austria, and then use this to blackmail Metternich, so that Metternich, who was beleaguered internally and externally, had to choose the lesser of two powers and turn to the
France asks for help.
This is not a fantasy, but has a basis in real practice.
At the Vienna Peace Conference in 1814, in order to check and balance the increasingly powerful Tsar, Metternich had secretly colluded with the Bourbon French representative Prince Talleyrand and the British representative Viscount Castlereagh to form an anti-Russian alliance, even if necessary.
Use force against the Tsar.
It's a pity that Napoleon suddenly returned to France from Elba Island and played another big game, so his plan was forced to interrupt. The Czar got more benefits, almost monopolized the entire Poland, and suppressed Austria with overwhelming force.
The territory of Eastern Europe really made the old emperor Metternich sit on pins and needles.
The situation in France is different. Although France and the Habsburg family have been fighting life and death for hundreds of years, after the Vienna Peace Conference, France and Austria have been isolated by a series of "buffer states".
They do not have any actual territorial conflicts, and it is even difficult to have a direct conflict - unless the French emperor insists on leading a buffer state to fight Austria, just like Napoleon III in 1859.
Prussia wants to compete for the leadership of Germany, Russia wants to swallow up the Balkans and Constantinople, and even a small Sardinia is coveting its Lombardy and Venice, which can be said to be a thorn in the back.
In this realistic environment, France has become the big country that has the least conflict of interest with Austria among the great powers. Although the British also have no conflict of interest with it, the British have always maintained an isolation policy towards the European continent and have no interest in going there.
Help Austria.
Therefore, as long as it faces increasing pressure from all sides, after going round and round, Austria will finally have no choice but to pick up the strategy that Metternich thought of in 1814 and borrow the power of France to extend its life.
He is the grandson of the Habsburg family and the son-in-law of the Habsburg family, so Austria itself does not have much hostility towards him. As long as both parties show a friendly attitude towards each other, they can easily get close - not to mention
, Theresa and Archduke Karl’s family can also serve as an important lubricant in the relationship between the two countries.
Prince Talleyrand had thought carefully and had already figured out the stakes, and Aiglon also agreed very much with this plan. This was not only because he recognized Talleyrand's diplomatic thinking, but also because he hid a secret "private plan"
.
Before that, he had already made up his mind to use Sophie's twin sister, Princess Maria, to create a "Li Dai Tao Zhan" to temporarily replace Sophie from the Austrian court.
To realize this plan, he must obtain the cooperation of an important person in Austria.
This important person must have sufficient authority and have freedom of movement in the Austrian court.
This person can't be his father-in-law, Archduke Karl. Although the Grand Duke has this condition, if he learns of this plan, he will definitely be furious and even want to kill this shameless son-in-law with his own hands. So after much deliberation, the only option is to find Mette.
Nirvana.
He had grown up next to Metternich since he was a child. He knew this old cunning man as well as Talleyrand. He knew that this man had no moral principles in his heart and only considered all issues based on interests.
For such a person, as long as the price is right, there is nothing he can't do - didn't he take the initiative to propose that the Habsburg princess marry Emperor Napoleon?
As long as he tries his best to "control" Metternich and then make a deal between the two parties, then his plan may be realized.
What's the price? Maybe it's to help Metternich secure his position, or maybe it's to safeguard Austria's territorial integrity and economic interests. Anyway, this is what he wants to do, and it's not a loss anyway.
Of course, this plan was too far-fetched and shocking, so Aiglon buried it deeply in his heart and did not say a word to Prince Talleyrand.
If Prince Talleyrand knew about it, he would not laugh at Aiglon's audacity, but he would definitely laugh at Aiglon for being emotional and consuming the country's resources to do "useless" things. He would never understand that Aiglon would actually do it for
Old love, to take such a risk.
But that's what Aiglon wanted to do.
Although he has now become the emperor, and although he has tried every means to consolidate his power and control the entire country, after all, he is not a machine that completely abandons human emotions and only considers issues in terms of gains and losses.
He missed Sophie and felt even more guilty for the sacrifices Sophie had made for him. So after learning that Sophie was still holding on to their old relationship and wanted to see him, he gave up on weighing the pros and cons and made up his mind.
Determined to accomplish this shocking but absolutely impossible plan.
If he had nothing now, he might ignore Sophie, but now that he clearly has the strength to rescue her, he cannot convince himself to continue to stand by and watch her gradually wither in confinement.
After all, what has Austria lost? Eggron and Maria have been together many times, and he can conclude that Maria can play his twin sister perfectly, and ordinary people will never be able to tell the difference. After the matter is completed, as long as she lives in seclusion, she will never come out.
Showing off everywhere, as long as a few insiders keep silent about it, nothing will happen.
In this era without the Internet, TV, or even photos, replacing someone is not as difficult as you imagine as long as you make the appropriate preparations.
Now, his plan has been implemented quietly, and Prince Talleyrand certainly would not have thought that he was not only fighting for the interests of France, but also for a shady private matter.
Love paves the way.
After meeting with his prime minister and cabinet ministers, Aigron changed out of the emperor's dazzling and cumbersome robes, put on casual clothes and a top hat, dressed like a rich man, and then
, he quietly slipped out of the Tuileries Palace with the help of Andre Davout, the captain of his guard, and then blended into the busy and lively streets of Paris.
Of course, this was not an aimless private visit, he was going to meet another person who was secretly staying in Paris with his identity hidden.
Yes, this person is naturally the key figure in his plan, Princess Maria of Bavaria.
She had previously hidden her identity and came to Paris with her sister, Princess Augusta, under a pseudonym, and then she lingered here as an ordinary person, enjoying all kinds of fashionable entertainment in Paris.
In order to get her to join his gang, Aiglon also tried his best to please her. Every time he came to Paris, he would meet with her in private, and then the two of them would travel around as civilians together.
They went to casinos to play various gambling games together, took horse-drawn carriages for rides and picnics in the Bois de Boulogne, a place frequented by Parisians, took a cruise ship across the Seine, attended celebrations in the square, went to the racecourse to watch horse racing, and
Watching artists' performances in cafes... It can be said that Parisians have secretly experienced the most talked-about entertainment, and they all enjoy this unrestrained entertainment.
After all, regardless of Aigron, Maria also grew up in a serious and rigid Bavarian court, received a strict education from an early age, and did not have enough power to act arbitrarily, so her daily life was boring and uncomfortable, and it was naturally difficult to resist.
Such a fresh experience.
And during this private interaction, the relationship between the two people is also heating up, just like Aigron and Sophie did in the past.
Of course, this is also the result of Aigron's deliberate actions. After all, he has a huge "innate advantage" in this regard. When he and Sophie were so close, he had already understood Sophie's personality and preferences clearly.
Naturally, he is also very handy with Sophie's twin sister.
He hoped to use this emotional offensive to gradually make Maria lose her resistance and finally convince Maria to agree to his plan.
Not long after he slipped out of the palace, Aiglon met Maria in the cafe that had been arranged in advance.
Because it was early spring, Maria was wearing a thick gray woolen skirt and no jewelry. However, even such a low-key dress could not hide her radiant beauty.
After seeing Aigron, her eyes flashed with joy, and then she followed suit and walked to Aigron's side and sat down.
"Good afternoon, Miss Maria." Aigron greeted her proactively. "You are as radiant as ever."
"You are as handsome as ever, dear Mr. Franz—" Maria replied with a smile.
This is where she and Sophie are slightly different. Sophie has an arrogant personality, so she is confidant to people she likes and is indifferent and rude to people she doesn't like, barely bothering to hide her emotions. Maria, on the other hand, is sinister and sharp, even when she is smiling.
When he got up, his slightly narrowed eyes seemed to be filled with sarcasm and ridicule.
Of course, after getting along for a long time, Aigron gradually became able to grasp her true emotions, so he could conclude that she was indeed in a good mood at the moment.
"It's always a pleasure to sit with you." Aigron waved his hand, and then asked the waiter waiting in the distance to bring steaming coffee. "How are you doing recently?"
"I'm fine, but actually, I have something to ask you for help now~" Maria replied with a smile.
"What help do you need from me? Just tell me -" Aigron agreed immediately.
"It's not a big deal... It's just that I'm short of money and need your generosity -" Maria replied leisurely, without any sense of nervousness. "I don't have much savings to begin with, and I was in a hurry when I came to Paris.
I can’t bring much money with me, and now I’m almost destitute. If you don’t help me with some support, I’m afraid I’ll have to run back to my motherland in despair…”
"So that's it..." Aigron pondered for a moment.
To be honest, he wasn't surprised either.
He had already seen Maria's arrogant and extravagant style. She lost thousands of francs at the casino without blinking an eye. It was obvious that she spent money like water in her daily life.
At that time, he had murmured in his heart that as the half-sister of the King of Bavaria, Maria would definitely not receive much attention from the King's brother, and her private purse might not be able to cope with such expenses for a long time. He did not expect that it would become a reality so quickly.
Perhaps, this is also intentional on her part. She just wants to use this method to fully experience the luxurious life she loves.
Now that the money is gone, she says she wants to leave, but Aigron can't let her leave just like that.
"Why do you have to be so outspoken? With our relationship, if you want money, you just need to tell me casually——"
Aigron thought for a moment and made his decision.
Of course, agreeing to "give money" is one thing, but how to give money is another.
Although you are now the emperor, he has a huge amount of property and countless collections of jewelry and art treasures, but the palace's expenditures have detailed accounts, and Teresa personally manages the palace accounts. If a huge sum of money is unclear,
It was missing from the palace accounts and she would soon discover it and try to figure out where the money had been spent.
He cannot misappropriate government funds at will. After all, he himself has promoted "the accounts between the palace and the government are completely separated and will never spend more people's money" as his political achievements. So if he spends the government's public funds at will, is that right?
Not just a slap in the face?
However, this cannot stop him.
In order to reward his merits and implement his financial policies, he had previously ennobled several bankers as nobles and reciprocated the favor. When he needed to spend money secretly, he could naturally spend it from them at will without any disclosure.
There will be no public opinion information about the accounts, and even those people will be eager to hand over huge sums of money for his use.
He picked up the note from the cafe and scrawled a few lines on it with a pen.
"Mr. Baron de Beauvin, I need your help now. When this lady comes to see you with this note, please open a bank account for her. She needs a cash flow to maintain her expenses.
, please provide convenience, thank you."
After a few words, he signed a simple pseudonym.
He was not worried that Bowang would not recognize him, because he and his secret supporter Bowang had already corresponded several times when they were abroad, and they always used pseudonyms as signatures.
After seeing the handwriting and pseudonym, Bowen would definitely not hesitate to open his treasury, and Maria could spend as much as she wanted.
After signing his name, Aigron handed the note to Maria, then looked at her with a smile, "I hope you can accept my gift."
Maria took this seemingly inconspicuous, but yet valuable note and put it into her sleeve. Then, she looked at Aiglon with a smile.
"Thank you...my dear friend."
"If possible, can you call me my sweetheart?" Aigron hesitated for a moment, and then asked expectantly.