Chapter 1396: An Unquiet Royal Hunting Ground
Joseph endured the strong gamey smell, standing amidst the tall grass with the seven wild boars for over half an hour. Finally, he heard the first artist's voice, like a melody from heaven, "I'm done here, Your Highness."
"Thank you!" Joseph nodded to the artist, then immediately leaped onto his horse and galloped away, feeling as though he were escaping.
The other artists just shook their heads, filled with regret.
As the servants behind them began to collect the game, Charles spurred his horse to catch up with his brother. After much hesitation, he finally mustered his courage and said:
"Brother, you see, I'm not getting any younger."
Joseph pulled back on his reins, turning his head with an expression that clearly said, 'I understand.'
"You've fallen in love with a young lady, haven't you? I can help you talk to Mother about it."
Charles's eyes widened. For a moment, he almost thought his brother already knew about Louise, but then he quickly realized that Joseph had said "young lady," not "madam."
He shook his head frantically:
"Actually, I was hoping to become the Governor of Esens..."
Joseph looked at Charles, a little surprised.
"Esens? Why do you want to go there?"
Esens was a small region located in the northeastern Netherlands, adjacent to Hanover.
Previously, Lefebvre had launched an attack from the Netherlands and occupied Emden. After the war ended, Joseph ceded the western part of Emden to the Netherlands and the southern part to Oldenburg, while France retained less than 180 square kilometers of colonial territory stretching from Dornum to Esens.
The surrounding German states were primarily concerned that Britain might land in Emden to reclaim Hanover, and thus unanimously requested France to station troops there. Esens was essentially a French military camp.
Later, funded by the Netherlands, the French General Staff built two bastions there and stationed a thousand soldiers.
The entire colonial territory had fewer than 4,000 residents, including the garrison. Those appointed Governor there usually accepted the post with the feeling of being exiled.
Yet Charles was actively asking to go to this godforsaken place?
Charles lowered his head a little guiltily and said:
"I... I want to leave this haven of Paris and train myself out there."
"Yes, training! You see, Esens needs to train troops, deploy coastal defenses, and conduct diplomacy with the surrounding Netherlands, Oldenburg, and Denmark."
Of course, only he knew the real reason: from Esens, it would only take a day and a half to see his Louise.
"Training?" Joseph nodded slightly. It was indeed good that Charles was so ambitious, but Esens was truly not a good place.
"Perhaps you could become the Duke of Piedmont. The nobles there are in need of a king."
After the Sardinian royal family was driven back to Sardinia Island by the Mediterranean Security Organization, the four and a half provinces in northwestern Italy, centered around Turin, formed the Duchy of Piedmont.
However, the several major families there had been constantly engaged in open and covert struggles, resulting in no king ever being elected.
Joseph had even considered having Piedmont adopt a parliamentary system at one point, but now he suddenly realized that sending Charles there would be a good option.
The Piedmontese nobles certainly wouldn't dare to put on airs in front of a French prince—Versailles wouldn't even need to speak, as Parma, also a Bourbon, right next door, could easily crush them.
Charles immediately broke into a sweat.
Turin was over a thousand kilometers away from his Louise! And it would require passing through Austrian territory; detouring through Bavaria and Switzerland would add another 200 kilometers.
He said in a hurry:
"This... I can't possibly manage such a large country..."
"It's not even as big as Milan."
"No, no, please let me start by practicing as a governor first."
Joseph saw that he seemed genuinely nervous, thinking he was putting too much pressure on him. He pondered for a moment, then nodded and said:
"Alright, then you can serve as the Governor of Ravenna."
"There are more troops there, and excellent generals who can guide you. As for diplomacy, it goes without saying—it's practically the center of the North Italian states."
After the Battle of Mantua, France had continuously stationed a large army from Mantua to Ravenna. To facilitate administration, the Governorate of Ravenna was established there early last year.
"I..."
Charles was on the verge of tears. He simply couldn't find a reason to refuse—Ravenna was more suitable than Esens in every aspect. He even wanted to say he liked looking at the sea, but north of Ravenna was the Bay of Venice...
Joseph raised his riding crop at his brother as an encouraging gesture:
"Then it's settled. You'll depart next month and spend half a year taking over from Marquis Cedric. There shouldn't be too much to do there right now."
"I'm sure you'll do an outstanding job!"
"But, uh..."
Charles was about to find an excuse to refuse when he saw his father approaching, holding a telescope in his hand.
"By God, you are absolutely the most formidable hunters I've ever seen!"
"Especially that large boar—if it had charged us, it would probably have been worse than being hit by a Twelve-Pounder Cannon."
"But you took it down with a single shot! Oh, and the other wild boars, how many did you hit in total?"
Joseph quickly spurred his horse over, saying with a smile:
"Seven in total, Father. Modern hunting rifles don't make it very difficult to deal with them."
Louis XVI glanced behind him, seeing that Queen Mary hadn't caught up yet, and muttered softly:
"I want to hunt like this too. Next time, I definitely won't bring your mother, and then we can..."
Queen Mary's voice interrupted him:
"Look! Our Apollo has returned. That was truly magnificent..."
In Greek mythology, Apollo and Artemis were both gods of the hunt.
Joseph was about to greet his mother, but he noticed her face was a little pale, and the latter half of her sentence was practically gasped out.
Joseph quickly stepped forward to support her hand, asking with concern:
"Are you alright? Do you feel unwell anywhere?"
Queen Mary wiped away sweat with a handkerchief, waved her hand, and said:
"It's nothing. I've been in the hunting ground the whole time and haven't had much water. I'm just a little tired now."
Alexandra also came over, first bowing to the King and Queen, then pointed to a distant carriage and said excitedly:
"I heard Colonel Clauzel say we'd be having a barbecue later, right?"
Queen Mary smiled weakly and nodded:
"Yes, dear, I asked Monsieur Bonneval to prepare it in the resting area. There'll be roasted wild boar, pigeon soup, along with the desserts I brought."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful!" Alexandra also noticed the Queen's unusual pallor and leaned closer, saying, "You don't seem to be looking very well."
"It's probably been a while since I've been hunting. I just need some rest."
Queen Mary chattered on with her son and daughter-in-law. Just as they reached the resting area, she suddenly swayed and collapsed backward.
Joseph reacted quickly, swiftly catching her.
The people nearby froze for a moment, then immediately gathered around, helping the Queen dismount from her horse.
"Mother, what's wrong?" Joseph called out loudly, but Queen Mary only had her eyes closed and showed no response.
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