"Yes, brave men may die, but cowards always die faster."
The marshal's words made Marquis Treville feel as if he had just woken up from a dream.
He has never lacked the spirit of adventure, and he is not afraid to take risks for his own ambitions.
If you lose because of taking risks, you may lose everything, but if you stay at home, you may lose nothing, or it may even be worse.
He quickly and silently calculated in his mind, assessing the current situation and the facts he had seen so far:
Faced with the current precarious situation, the Wang family is at a loss and is increasingly looking towards the end of the road;
The Orleans and Bonaparte families were also forming cliques in private, preparing to take over supreme power after the fall of the royal family;
In this competition, His Majesty, whom he supports, is at a disadvantage because he is outside the country, but he has secretly colluded with Marshal Soult and wants to use the Marshal's help to return to the country, so this has also leveled the disadvantage - premise
If everything goes well.
The reason why Marshal Soult secretly colluded with the Bonaparte family was not out of loyalty, but out of his own ambition. After being idle for many years, he was eager to return to the center of power;
Therefore, while colluding with the Bonaparte family, he also maintained a distance to a certain extent in order to allow himself the greatest freedom of action, that is, to maximize his own interests.
According to the above logic, the purpose of the marshal's action is clearly visible.
He approached Talleyrand and his two brothers. On the one hand, he formed a gang in advance to seek higher bargaining power for himself; on the other hand, he hoped to expand his power so that he could benefit from it in the future.
The benefactor cannot live without himself.
The marshal was not so arrogant as to treat his benefactor as a puppet, but what he did was to try to gain an advantageous position in the coming turmoil, and then take away the cake, at least not to let others take it away from him.
cake.
When he thought of this, Marquis Treville felt a little emotional.
Ever since they met, Marshal Sirte had always been a brave, courageous, ruthless and sharp military commander in his mind; but he did not expect that at such a critical moment, the Marshal would be so handy with political skills.
While privately helping people return home, he deliberately did not publicly express his position and waited for a price. At the same time, he did not forget to form cliques to consolidate his power. It can be imagined how much thought the marshal had put into this moment.
The price of being hostile to such a marshal is definitely something he cannot afford at the moment.
Besides, no matter from any aspect, the marshal's proposal at this moment is also beneficial to him.
In the following chaotic situation, everyone may be in danger. If you have Marshal Soult and Prince Talleyrand as your backers, you will have a greater chance of fishing in troubled waters.
As for what happens in the future... we will talk about it later. Anyway, neither the Marquis himself nor the Marshal Prince and others will have any hesitation in betraying their "friends". All actions will only be based on the judgment of the situation and will never be mixed with personal privacy.
Affection.
After weighing the situation, he turned his head to look at his brother and gave him a wink. Duke Treville nodded firmly - expressing his firm support for his brother's decision.
In this case, the Marquis of Treville no longer hesitated.
"Since you have given us such a warm invitation and given such respect to our brothers, it would be too unwise for us to refuse this kindness." He finally relented and agreed to Marshal Soult's invitation, "Your Excellency, Marshal
, we two brothers will do our best to cooperate with you..."
"You have made a wise choice..." Marshal Soult smiled happily, "I said, this is good for all of us."
"I haven't finished speaking yet - in order to prevent you from criticizing me for breaking my promise, please allow me to make it clear to you in advance." Marquis Treville interrupted the marshal, "I do cooperate with you now, but this kind of cooperation
The premise is that it does not affect my allegiance to the Bonaparte family. I will obey your arrangements until I see my Majesty again. And after that, it would be best if he shook hands with you; but if he
If I am your enemy, then please don’t blame me for being ruthless! I don’t have many years left in this life, and I am tired of jumping around in different places. From now on, the rest of my life will only be for him.
Service——"
The Marquis of Treville spoke impassionedly, while the two people opposite were astonished.
Talleyrand blinked and glanced at Marshal Soult worriedly, while the Marshal's face was as dark as water, and he seemed to be thinking about how to respond.
He really didn't expect that the Marquis of Treville would be so determined to follow the Bonaparte family under the current circumstances.
Is he really so loyal? It's certainly not the case. Others don't know the details of the Treville brothers, but he has already seen through them.
However, as long as a person plays a role for a long enough time, it is no longer acting.
Since he stood unswervingly on the side of the Bonaparte family at such a moment, he was a loyal minister.
At this time, how should I treat this loyal minister?
Falling out directly? That was impossible. Firstly, he had made a promise before and could not break his promise. Secondly, since the two brothers dared to come, they must have back-up preparations, and he could not act rashly.
So, things suddenly got tricky.
The Marquis of Treville's declaration of loyalty actually turned into forcing the two of them to go to the palace.
Obviously, if the two of us did not side with the Bonaparte family in the future, then their behavior today would be at opposite ends, and they would naturally be hated by the young man.
The marshal did not expect that he would be forced into such a dilemma, and it was difficult to deal with it for a while.
Fortunately, Prince Talleyrand was a cunning person after all. After seeing the awkward atmosphere, he promptly smoothed things over.
"What you said is too serious, General Treville, why bother?" He interrupted with a smile, "I understand your feelings towards the Bonaparte family, and I believe that the little guy will be very moved when he finds out.
And, since we have invited you here, of course we will not disrespect your opinion. If you want to continue to stand with him, that’s fine! We don’t refuse to stand with him, but we just don’t want to give in so quickly.
There is no way out - in the final analysis, what we are doing now are just precautionary measures, and no one wants to bear the cost of another failure."
Having said this, he sneered again, "Don't worry, even in the worst case scenario, we won't do anything to you. Maybe one day the two of us will have to rely on you to save our lives."
The Marquis of Treville believed this statement.
Although Talleyrand often betrayed his trust, he was by no means a person who liked to kill people indiscriminately.
This is not to say that Talleyrand is morally noble, but that he never likes to take the road to death, and does not want to get himself involved in a deadly feud, so as not to be unable to escape when the master he is loyal to collapses.
So far, he has been very successful in doing this. There have been many changes of government and many bloody purges, but no one in power has thought of sending him on his way. Instead, they have tolerated him with their noses pinched.
After Talleyrand reconciled the situation, the atmosphere in the underground room calmed down again.
Talleyrand looked around, then spoke again with great interest.
"Making peace has always been the specialty of our diplomats. The rule I have always enshrined is to seek common ground while reserving differences. Then, let us face reality with a diplomatic negotiation attitude and coordinate each other's positions-"
After a pause, he continued.
"We are united in overthrowing the royal family, and this is inevitable. Duke Treville, you may be a little reluctant to give up, but you must also be able to see that the current situation cannot allow them to continue.
The rule continues."
Duke Treville said nothing, still maintaining his default attitude.
"Therefore, at this stage, I suggest that we all cooperate with the greatest sincerity and help each other, because no matter what, the collapse of the royal family is like a mudslide, which will wash away all those who are unprepared or have no foundation. We
Only by uniting can we survive." Prince Talleyrand continued to talk, "The next step is our differences. After the royal family is overthrown, what kind of new regime will we usher in? At this point we may have differences
We have different opinions, but I believe we still have the basis for cooperation."
Then, he expressed his thoughts, "Marshal Soult, you brought him back, so from a principle point of view, you bear some moral responsibilities towards him - it would be best if he succeeds.
, everyone will serve him as his vassal; but if he fails, you will be responsible for ensuring his safety and letting him leave France safely instead of dying in prison or bullets. Can you guarantee this?"
Marshal Soult frowned and looked like he wanted to say something, but in the end he nodded, "I can guarantee this. If the Orleans family gains power, they will have to use me. I can save his life. Courtesy
Send him out of the country——"
After receiving the guarantee from Marshal Soult, Prince Talleyrand looked at the Marquis of Treville again, "General, you see, the Marshal has given a guarantee, which is enough to show his sincerity. So, can you
Promise me that no matter what happens next, you will not try to confront us with force, and will you dissuade that child from having similar thoughts?"
As if he was afraid that the Marquis of Treville would not understand his meaning, he added an explanation, "We ask for this guarantee not because we are afraid of a military confrontation with you and the Bonaparte family, but because we hope that everyone can have a decent outcome.
Let everyone still have a way to go in the end... We understand your loyalty, but please also understand us and this country."
The Marquis of Treville fell into hesitation.
With his character, since everyone has a showdown, he will fight to the end even if it means fighting to the death. But after all, he is not alone. He also has family and descendants. He cannot make decisions based on passion alone - otherwise
It's impossible for him to still be alive and well until now.
Talleyrand's meaning is very clear. Cooperate first, and then decide whether to continue cooperation based on the situation. If there is a breakup, let's keep some bottom lines so that we can meet each other easily in the future. Although this result cannot satisfy his appetite, it seems to be what he wants at the moment.
The optimal solution that can be obtained under the circumstances.
"Okay, I can promise you." Marquis Treville nodded, and finally reluctantly agreed to the proposal, "But I also want to make it clear that your Majesty and I are not cowards, and we will never give up easily.
When the time comes, we will be the party with the last laugh, and you and the Marshal will finally make the right decision."
"I hope so, we will find someone to be loyal to." Talleyrand smiled noncommittally, and then sighed, "Back then, I tried my best to protect France at the Vienna Peace Conference, and I will do the same today.
We are working hard on this. Everyone, I think no matter what our thoughts are, we are all in common in wanting to preserve the country, right? More blood has been shed, shouldn't we let it flow less?
?I believe that although you all have your own ambitions, you are not the kind of fanatic who only wants to destroy everything."
He asked the question, then looked around, and finally received silent approval.
"Well, very good, it seems that everyone has the same idea." Talleyrand nodded, "We cannot fight a civil war, and we must not fight it. Otherwise, the river of blood will be meaningless to us, and it will only make us all miserable.
They are all irreversible."
After reaching a consensus, the next step will be much easier.
The Duke of Treville acted as an insider in the court, the Marquis of Treville contacted the Bonaparte family, and the prince and marshal used their own resources to promote and influence the situation - this was their short-lived gentleman's agreement.
Welcoming the heirs of the Bonaparte family back to the country is their biggest weight to promote the situation. At this moment, these two smug old men have not yet expected that their ability to control the situation will not be as good as they expected.
Get so much.
Who could have predicted that such a strange and earth-shattering event would happen in 1789? And who could have predicted that ten years later, the descendants of a small Corsican landowner would become the new owners of this big country? At a turning point in history, the situation
It is often unpredictable, and everyone is racking their brains to adapt to changes. Often, under the mutual promotion of caring people, an unpredictable chaotic system is finally formed, which ultimately leads to unexpected results.
In any case, when they shook hands and rejoiced, it was like a throw of heaven and earth. Since then, history has inadvertently taken a new bifurcation, and the ultimate beneficiary is still unclear.
Because he had led another conspiracy, Prince Talleyrand was very ambitious at this moment.
After more than ten years of silence, he has regained the pleasure of planning coup after coup with his comrades in the secret room. This pleasure is more intoxicating than any sensual entertainment.
This is the life he wants to live, and the peace and comfort are just poison that wears down his life span.
Then, he picked up the wine glass and said goodbye to the remaining three people loudly.
"We didn't all get along tonight, but thank God we did have a compromise and a tacit understanding. I believe that as long as we work together, no matter how the times change, our descendants will benefit a lot. Gentlemen,
Our time is running out, wish us good luck in the future!"