[The Duke of Wellington was indeed born in Ireland, but he was never an "Irish". His ancestors were colonial masters who came from Britain after the British conquered Ireland, so he is a role similar to the "Manchu Taijun" in Ireland.
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When he grew up, he did not identify with any Irish. In fact, he hated and was wary of the Irish. He warned the government more than once that the Irish had a grudge against England and might rise up in rebellion at any time.
The Iron Duke is right, but why do the Irish hate England so much? It’s not because the British government and these colonial masters exploited them too much...]
As the Duke of Wellington took the initiative to end the secret talks, the French delegation quietly left the Prime Minister's residence at No. 10 Downing Street and set off back to the embassy.
In the carriage, the young Count Alexander Walevsky was still a little dazed, and his attention was still focused on the conversation that had just ended.
In his opinion, the performance of the head of the delegation, Duke Bassano, was close to perfect. He argued hard when faced with questions and at the same time tried to show a friendly gesture to win over the Duke of Wellington. If he did not have rich experience,
It is impossible to combine the two so well. This shows how bright that generation was!
Seeing the performance of his seniors, he once again felt painfully that he still had a lot to learn.
Similarly, there was another thing that worried him, because the attitude shown by the Duke of Wellington was really ambiguous. Although he seemed to be interested in the proposal of Belgian independence, he was aloof and did not give any substantive commitment.
, instead constantly hinted that the Belgian issue should be internationalized.
He finally learned a lesson from the old British cunning man. He didn't expect that the great commander, who had always been straightforward, was so good at playing such double-dealing tactics.
"Alexander, are you worried about something?"
While he was still deep in thought, Duke Bassano, who was sitting next to him, suddenly spoke.
Perhaps because he spent too much energy in the confrontation with the Prime Minister, the old Duke was obviously a little weak in speaking at this time.
Alexander woke up immediately and answered the Duke's questions honestly.
"Yes, Your Excellency, I think the British are playing tricks on us. They are still waiting and watching, and they want us to make more compromises."
"In the diplomatic arena, when you ask for help from others, others will never be merciful, and the same is true when it is our turn to take the initiative." Duke Bassano smiled bitterly, "I am not satisfied with the Prime Minister's response.
Surprisingly, on the contrary, I think he has shown his kindness to us to the greatest extent."
"Release kindness?" Alexander was confused for a moment. He carefully responded to the exchange between you and me just now. Judging from the stern expression on the Iron Duke's face, he really didn't feel the existence of any kindness.
"Where do you start talking about this?" he couldn't help but ask.
"If you think he was too cold and harsh just now, that's because you didn't understand his implication." Duke Bassano shook his head slightly, and then repeated in a low voice what the Prime Minister had just said, "'I want to explain to you,
You don't just need to convince me alone. The British are not that forgetful. They all remember what happened before. If you are really enthusiastic about the friendship between the two countries, then you are still busy...', you listen to him carefully.
The last words, the meaning is very obvious."
As if he was afraid that he still didn't understand, the Duke continued to explain, "The Duke of Wellington wants to tell us that he personally tends to support Belgium's independence, but the British are afraid of the Bonaparte family, so they will instinctively resent it.
The proposal comes from France, so he hopes that we can do a better job in public opinion in the UK and get more people to support this proposal. At that time, the British government can smoothly 'persuade' the Dutch government and get them to agree to make territorial changes.
concession."
"So that's it..." Alexander suddenly realized it, and then blushed a little. After all, he had just witnessed such a crucial meeting, but he had not yet realized the true meaning of the Prime Minister, which really embarrassed him. "Sorry..."
"It's okay, you are still too young. For your age, your current performance is already good enough. I believe His Majesty will be deeply satisfied." The Duke shook his head again, indicating that young Alexander did not need to care, "Prime Minister
I’m afraid there’s a reason why Mr. Sir is so evasive.”
At this time, Alexander quickly figured it all out.
Although Britain is known as the Whig Party and the Tory Party, the Tory Party takes turns in power, but in the past 50 or 60 years, because the two generations of kings George III and George IV were very leaning towards the Tory Party, the Tory Party has basically been in power for a long time.
, William Pitt the Younger alone was in power for nearly 20 years.
However, with the death of King George IV in June, things began to change.
First of all, due to its long-term rule, the Tory Party itself began to have internal conflicts. Several major oligarchs were fighting among themselves. For example, two extremely famous foreign ministers, George Canning and Carlesley, even had a duel over personnel issues in 1809.
Shots were fired at each other, and George Canning was wounded.
Later, over the "Catholic Emancipation Act", greater disputes arose within the Tory Party. The right wing and the reformists in the party were almost incompatible. This state of political division within the party made it difficult even for the great hero of Waterloo.
Duke Lingtong couldn't solve it either - for this commander-in-chief, the treacherous politics of Boyun made manpower inadequate, and it was much easier to face the enemy with swords and guns on the battlefield.
In order to bridge the political differences within the party, even though he had no good impressions of the Irish, after becoming Prime Minister, he promulgated the "Catholic Emancipation Act" in 1829, which lifted the restrictions on Catholics holding public office.
Discrimination against Catholics has been abolished at the official level (of course discrimination at the social level will continue for a long time).
However, even so, the political disputes within the Tory Party were still not over. Many people chose to quit the party and join the opposition party amid the internal strife. Faced with such chaos, the Duke of Wellington himself felt a little exhausted. At this time, King George IV
At this time, everyone had a premonition that the long-term Tory rule would be temporarily over, and the Whigs would come to power.
Under this situation, even if he becomes Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington cannot do much, and he may choose to resign before long.
Alexander had heard Prince Talleyrand say these things before setting off, and what the Prime Minister was doing now was tantamount to personally admitting this to the members of the delegation.
So he can't make it too obvious. He can't openly encourage these foreigners to contact members of his own opposition party.
After understanding the Prime Minister's hint, Alexander's spirit suddenly lifted up. Although this was just a hint, it also proved that the British government would not prevent members of the delegation from contacting the opposition parties - as long as they did things beautifully.
That’s it.
"I understand, Your Excellency." He finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Then what do you think we should do next? Contact the famous Whig party privately?"
"I told you that you are very smart, Alexander." Duke Bassano smiled slightly, and then he raised his finger and waved it slightly, "This is the focus of our next work, but we must be careful and don't
It will embarrass the Duke of Wellington, let alone harm the reputations of our potential collaborators..."
Of course Alexander understood what the Duke meant.
The British are stubborn and proud by nature and hate all foreigners indiscriminately. In addition, their long war with the French has just ended, so their hostility towards the French is quite strong.
In this case, if they feel that a politician has a close relationship with the French, it will definitely affect that person's political career, so they must be careful.
However, Alexander is very confident about this. In his opinion, there are no conflicts between Britain and France that can be resolved by extreme means, and Belgium's independence is also beneficial to British interests, except for a little bit that is outdated.
Apart from his hatred, there were not many obstacles before him.
British politicians have always been known for their realism and will never dwell on past hatreds. Although they cannot expect their friendship, at least there is no need to worry that they will give up real interests because of emotions.
At this time, he remembered the advice Prince Talleyrand gave him before leaving.
Palmerston, this Tory member who took advantage of the situation and "defected" to the Whig Party, has become a Whig because the Whig Party, which has been in opposition for decades, is extremely short of practical talents.
If the Whig party is appointed to power by the king, he may become the future British Foreign Secretary.
According to Prince Talleyrand's judgment, this ambitious politician will be very happy to promote Belgium's political capital in order to eliminate other people's ridicule of him taking advantage of the situation and to earn a higher level of political capital for himself.
process, and in this case, this delegation will be able to get the greatest help.
Alexander had no way of knowing whether Prince Talleyrand's judgment was right or wrong, but since it was the prince's judgment, he must resolutely implement it to the end.
Moreover, judging from the current situation, Prince Talleyrand has a clear understanding of the situation in the island countries around him. He has foreseen so many things in Paris, so his judgment must be somewhat reasonable.
So after thinking about all this, Alexander also made clear the focus of his next work - to help Duke Bassano strive to expand the delegation's influence on public opinion in the British upper class, and at the same time secretly contact the Whigs who may come to power soon.
Party politicians.
In the carriage, he truthfully told Duke Bassano his thinking process and results, just like a student handing in his homework to the teacher. The elderly Duke Bassano also nodded frequently, showing his respect for him.
The performance is also quite satisfactory.
"You have indeed grasped the key point, Alexander. Now that you know what to do, then just go ahead and do it. I am already old and cannot move around. Since His Majesty and Prince Talleyrand have such high expectations for you,
If you have high expectations, then you should work hard to prove that you are indeed as good as they expect."
At this point, he suddenly lowered his voice again, "I have told you everything that should be given to you, but there is one more thing that I want to explain to you - no matter how we discuss His Majesty's opinions with others in private, in public
Prince Talleyrand is responsible for all negotiations and transactions in open external channels. Belgium's independence will be the result of negotiations between the Prince and the British. During this period, His Majesty expressed sympathy for the Belgian independence movement.
Do you understand?"
"I understand." Alexander understood.
Of course he knew the meaning.
His Majesty did not want the radical nationalists among the French to think that he would cede territory as soon as he came to power, so he simply wanted to throw all the responsibility for the Belgian independence issue on the current provisional government. Prince Talleyrand did not care about his reputation.
, he happily took over this difficult task, so the current situation is-even though everyone knows that the French government cannot make such a major decision without the nod of the King of Rome, he did not participate in the government process.
Even as a member of the delegation, I was not appointed by His Majesty. I and my team were just visiting the UK on behalf of the Provisional Government.
During the meeting just now, the Duke of Wellington promised to keep secret, not only the proposal, but also the "King of Rome" they mentioned. At this point, the Duke's credibility is absolutely trustworthy.
"However, if the Duke of Wellington or other British people deliberately internationalize the Belgian issue, then His Majesty will have to come to the stage." Alexander raised doubts.
"If the British need to delay time and hold an international conference, then we can participate in it, and His Majesty can also take responsibility for it. But I believe that as long as we reach a tacit understanding with the British, no one can stop us from achieving our goal." Barcelona.
Duke Nod suddenly concluded with confidence. "Your Majesty is not blindly trying to evade responsibility. If Prince Talleyrand has tried his best, no one can blame him... Your Majesty is waiting for the right time now, and if the whole problem
If it becomes internationalized, then of course His Majesty will have to bear the responsibility, but others must also recognize his legitimacy, right?"
Alexander understood.
If it is a private transaction, then His Majesty does not have to come to the stage, and Prince Talleyrand will bear the infamy; if the issue is internationalized, then of course he has to appear in person, but it also means that he is accepted as a member of the monarchs——
So as long as the problem is exacerbated, it will be beneficial to him no matter how it develops.
Duke Bassano let him go, not only because the Duke was old, but probably more because his special status could enjoy more "rights of exposure" in front of His Majesty. Any progress he made would mean that the Bonaparte family
His position becomes more and more stable, and on the other hand, if he accomplishes nothing, it means that the understanding between Britain and France has become a mirror, and his "brother" has to face a more dangerous diplomatic environment.
Young Alexander opened the closed car window and looked at the rows of houses and the endless flow of people on both sides of the streets in London, and then he couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Whether it is for yourself, for the family that has not accepted you as a member, or for the empire that has not yet been born, you must work hard.
There is no doubt that he is still very young and immature and still has a lot to learn, but he believes he can do it.
Napoleon's son finally came to London. Even though his role at this time was no longer a conqueror but a "reconciliator," he believed that he could still write a new chapter in history.
"Then let's have a good fight!" He muttered in a low voice that only he could hear.