Chapter 496 Buckingham Palace's Worries (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

“The people and writers do not need to bear the burden of history. Once changes occur, they can always give full play to their instincts of betrayal and return to the past under the protection of the victors. However, monarchs and ministers cannot avoid it. In the end, they will lose not only their political lives but also their reputations.”

Standing on the wall of Thiers, Zhu Xianhai looked at the remaining battlefield ruins outside Paris, and this sentence emerged in his mind. He could not remember where he had seen this sentence, but what was certain was that Napoleon was definitely a practitioner of this sentence.

"After Napoleon's defeat, his crown and glory became a thing of the past. Therefore, the choice of Napoleon III was also correct."

What did you choose for No. 3?

Of course, he would do everything possible to maintain his rule.

The Prussian Army is in retreat!

When this news came, Zhu Xianhai was stunned for a long time. This was simply impossible. Maybe in Paris, the French army had more troops and more cannons, but what was the point?

But they absolutely had no ability to launch a counterattack. Even with McMahon's 100,000 more French troops than in history, they still had no ability to counterattack.

Now that the French army has counterattacked and the Prussian army has also "retreated", even the three emperors gave a speech on the day when Paris was relieved - "My army and I will continue to advance. For France, every inch of occupied land will be recovered, and all Prussians will be repelled..."

"A secret treaty... people can sign it! Bismarck... he really is Bismarck!"

Speaking of this name, Zhu Xianhai had to admit that this guy was definitely the most outstanding diplomat in modern times.

Although it is still unclear what agreement Bismarck and Napoleon III reached, one thing is certain: the war is about to end, and more importantly, Germany has not been seriously weakened. Otherwise, the Prussian army would never have "retreat". The so-called "retreat" is probably to induce Napoleon III to give up substantial compensation for the throne and the false reputation of victory.

"Your Majesty, the French seem to have no intention of engaging us in battle."

Standing beside His Majesty, Li Du, who had just rushed over from Orleans, said.

"They seem to want to defeat the Prussians on their own!"

"As French people, we still need to save face!"

Zhu Xianhai smiled and patted Li Du on the shoulder.

"The French want to win this war on their own, so... it's just right. In fact, it's almost time for this war to end!"

It's time to end it!

Compared to how Prussia and France would handle this war in a dignified manner, Zhu Xianhai was more concerned about the future.

Now that France has become the "winner" of this war, what kind of changes will Europe usher in?

Zhu Xianhai was extremely curious. After all, no one could stop France's "rise" now.

However, France's "rise" is still full of unknowns. After all, France still has many problems internally!

"They will almost get everything they need. France will no longer prevent the unification of Germany. Well, Napoleon III will fully respect the wishes of the German people..."

The so-called "respect" is a joke, but it is also true - only strength can win respect.

"And what about Prussia? Even if they were extremely reluctant, they would give up Luxembourg. The Luxembourg Crisis three years ago ended with France signing the Treaty of London and giving up Luxembourg's sovereignty. But the direct consequence of the Luxembourg Crisis was that the French people were dissatisfied with Napoleon III's diplomatic incompetence. In order to divert the domestic crisis, Napoleon III urgently needed a war to divert national sentiment. Well, he needed victory, but he needed the fruits of victory to make the people believe that Napoleon was Napoleon! He still won."

"Your Majesty, what about us?"

Li Du looked at His Majesty and asked.

"us……"

Zhu Xianhai pursed his lips, looked back at the city of Paris and said.

"We have gained time, precious time for development. In the next ten to twenty years, no matter how the situation in Paris changes, it is certain that Paris will restrain Britain from interfering in South American affairs. What we need is to use this precious time to develop ourselves!"

South America...

Now the door to South America is open to Nanhua!

South America...South China!

It's almost time to go back home!

…

Buckingham Palace, London.

"It is incredible that Louis personally led the army to launch a counterattack against the Prussians."

The chubby foreign girl who was speaking was none other than Queen Victoria. She was not only the queen, but also a friend of the French Queen Eugenie. Historically, after Nazianzuma was captured and faced the riots in Paris, Eugenie was protected by Queen Victoria after she escaped from Paris.

At this time, Queen Victoria was sitting in a chair with a cup of black tea in her hand, chatting with Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone in a curious tone.

This little fat girl is Queen Victoria, the monarch of the British Empire!

She was absolutely incompetent. As a queen, she had been concentrating on having children behind closed doors since she married Prince Albert. She had 9 children in 20 years. All her energy was on having children. So she rarely dealt with political affairs. Unlike her, Prince Albert, who took power in her place, was keen on politics and often interfered in various British affairs. Prince Albert took back many of the restricted powers of the British king after the Glorious Revolution, and even the parliament had to listen to him.

The death of Prince Albert in 1861 had a great impact on Queen Victoria. The queen was so sad that she not only stopped caring about politics, but also forbade her eldest son to participate in politics. In this way, the power of Britain was once again controlled by the cabinet.

Although Queen Victoria had hardly been involved in politics for nearly a decade, prime ministers always sought the Queen's advice when faced with important matters.

"Yes, Your Majesty, this is beyond everyone's expectations, and it is not within our expectations either."

"So the cabinet would prefer Louis to fail?"

The Queen asked with a smile.

"Your Majesty, it is Britain that needs France to fail."

The Prime Minister's answer made the Queen nod. Although she and Eugenie were good friends, friendship was not the most important thing in the face of national interests.

"So, does the cabinet have new ideas now?"

"Your Majesty, from now on, France will definitely win this war, and the Prussian ambassador has said that they will withdraw from France for the sake of the situation and to end the war. They are no longer able to protect Luxembourg's independence, and France will inevitably annex Luxembourg as a trophy. Your Majesty, there is no one in Europe now who can stop Napoleon!"

William Ewart Gladstone's tone was full of helplessness. Once upon a time, British diplomats planned everything carefully. They fully supported Prussia. The ultimate goal was to use Prussia to contain and attack France, but what about now?

With the Prussians' defeat on the battlefield, their ideas were shattered.

The Queen asked bluntly.

"And what does the Cabinet intend to do?"

(End of this chapter)