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Chapter 1504: Mediation

Joseph said bluntly, "First, I can get Poland and Russia to agree to a ceasefire before the end of the month.

"Second, our nation will provide a guarantee for the Russian forces entering Austria—the Poles will not take this opportunity to attack Iasi."

He glanced at Metternich. "If you believe you can resolve these matters yourself, you are welcome to go straight to Saint Petersburg."

The young Austrian diplomat, participating in such an important international mediation for the first time, was ruthlessly shut down. He immediately did not dare to reply, lowering his head and stepping back a few paces.

Little Cobenzl quickly went into flattery mode. "Thank you so much, Your Royal Highness the Prince Regent! You are truly the peacemaker of Europe! Countless people will remember your benevolence—"

Joseph raised a hand to interrupt him. "Furthermore, I can mediate your disputes with Bavaria, Württemberg, and other states in Switzerland, allowing the Empire to withdraw in a dignified manner."

The Austrian Minister of State felt his heart tighten.

The matters between them and states like Bavaria were essentially the "household affairs" of the Holy Roman Empire, yet they now had to rely on France to mediate.

On one hand, this put the Holy Roman Empire's internal fractures on full display; on the other, it would further increase France's say in South Germany.

But he then realized that His Majesty the Emperor was prepared to accept even the Stuttgart Declaration, meaning France's influence in South Germany was already unstoppable.

He bowed with his hand over his chest. "Please allow me to express my gratitude to you once more. It must have been God who sent you to save those poor Swiss—"

The Austrians did not attend the routine diplomatic banquet and left in a hurry.

Joseph only sent a palace official to see them off, while he himself headed straight back to the Grand Trianon. It was nearly time for his mother's daily exercise, and Alexandra had to do her prenatal exercises with her. He usually accompanied them.

As he walked out of the Palace of Versailles, it suddenly occurred to Joseph that France's mediation of the Polish-Russian war and the conflict in northern Switzerland presented an excellent propaganda opportunity that shouldn't be wasted.

Thus, he turned and instructed Eman, "Have Baron de Nico come see me at once."

"Yes, Your Highness."

When Joseph arrived at the Grand Trianon, Queen Marie and Alexandra were already warming up in an open space near the royal kitchen garden.

He went forward to greet his mother. Queen Marie immediately said with a smile, "I just had a piece of strawberry pudding, so I need to step up my exercise today."

After more than half a year of exercise, she was much slimmer than when she had first fallen ill, and she looked full of vitality.

Now, she could occasionally enjoy some low-sugar pastries and then burn off the sugar through intensive exercise without it negatively affecting her health.

Alexandra also walked over. "My dear, I thought you would be busy until evening."

"The situation in Austria isn't great, so Mr. Cobenzl was in a rush to head back." Joseph glanced at the servants who were filling the swimming pool nearby, then asked his wife, "I recall today wasn't a swimming day."

Alexandra took his arm. "My back was very sore when I got up this morning, so I wanted to swim to relieve it."

Even though she was heavily pregnant, she did not follow the French tradition of resting indoors. Instead, she maintained a set amount of exercise every day.

This, of course, was Joseph's suggestion. He remembered that light walking and swimming were highly beneficial for women in their late stages of pregnancy.

And Alexandra had indeed found that swimming worked wonders for relieving the back discomfort caused by her pregnancy.

However, nobles of this era typically swam in the Seine River, with a few occasional exceptions swimming in the pools of Versailles.

But Joseph knew that both options carried a massive risk of infection. Although the Seine was much cleaner than it had been a few years ago, it was still generally foul-smelling. As for the pools in Versailles, they drew their water straight from the Seine.

Therefore, he had a small stone swimming pool built next to the royal kitchen garden. It was kept drained normally. When it was needed, the water would first be filtered through a pit filled with sand, gravel, and charcoal, then channeled into the pool, and finally disinfected with alum and a small amount of lime.

Following his lead, the Parisian aristocracy had now begun to follow suit, constructing swimming pools everywhere.

Swimming had also become the most fashionable sport of the day.

Before long, Queen Marie began her five-kilometer run for the day.

On the other side, the servants finished filling the pool.

Joseph watched Alexandra wade into the pool wearing a proper long dress, a wry smile playing on his lips.

He had actually had a tailor make a proper swimsuit, but Alexandra only dared to wear it in the bedroom—

While Joseph was watching his wife playfully doggy-paddle around the pool with great interest, Eman walked over and bowed. "Your Highness, Monsieur Corvisart and Monsieur Baudelocque say they have matters to report to you."

Joseph's eyes lit up.

He had instructed Corvisart to inform him immediately of any technical breakthroughs in obstetrics. It seemed they must have achieved some new results.

Sure enough, after the two medical experts saluted him, Baudelocque said eagerly, "Your Highness, regarding the 'Regent's Obstetric Art,' we successfully performed it seven times last month, and all the mothers survived!

"I believe this technique has matured and can now be promoted."

Hearing this, Joseph rubbed his forehead in slight embarrassment.

He knew that the so-called "Regent's Obstetric Art" was actually episiotomy and suturing, which was highly effective in managing difficult births and preventing extensive tearing in mothers.

But God was his witness, he had not introduced this technology at all—it was impossible for him to understand such a thing.

Yet Baudelocque, who had first proposed the surgery, insisted that it was the new type of suturing needles, anesthesia, and sterilization techniques introduced by the Prince Regent that made the "incision technique" possible.

Consequently, he had taken it upon himself to list Joseph as the lead author of the related paper.

Afterward, the medical community began calling the procedure the "Regent's Obstetric Art." By the time Joseph found out about it, the name had already been in use for several months, and it was too late to change it.

Joseph nodded in praise. "You have made a tremendous contribution to medicine. By the way, have there been any cases of infection?"

Baudelocque puffed out his chest with pride. "None, Your Highness. Just as you said, as long as we use plenty of phenol for disinfection, the mothers heal wonderfully."

Corvisart added, "And childbed fever has almost vanished entirely."

What Joseph did not know was that Baudelocque had specifically chosen physically strong mothers for the trials, relying entirely on their robust immune systems to pull through.

He asked again, "And what about the anesthesia?"

Baudelocque replied, "We have conducted a great deal of testing and achieved a breakthrough, Your Highness.

"We can now control the inhalation of ether to reduce the pain during surgery for the mothers.

"Among those seven cases of the 'Regent's Obstetric Art,' three were successfully anesthetized."

Joseph winced just hearing it. "You mean four of them were cut without any anesthesia?"