Chapter 397: The Busy Marquis Wellesley
Ludwig IX, who was politically inclined towards Prussia, declared in an "initiative" that if the Southern Netherlands insisted on breaking away from Austrian rule, a king must be chosen to govern it; otherwise, the Southern Netherlands assembly should not be recognized by any monarch.
The proposal had already garnered support from ten nations, including Spain, France, Bavaria, and Mainz.
What most surprised Marquis Wellesley was that Austria was also one of the signatory nations of the proposal.
He immediately grasped the underlying logic: the Austrians had signed on the condition that "the Southern Netherlands assembly should not be recognized by any monarch." They were convinced that the Southern Netherlands would never accept electing a king—the Southern Netherlands assembly was currently controlled by Vandernoot's faction of Liberals. Getting them to elect their own king would be harder than sending them to the gallows.
In reality, Austria was the biggest backer behind this "Southern Netherlands Proposal." As for the copyright of the proposal, it naturally belonged to Joseph II's beloved nephew.
Wellesley angrily stabbed his cane into the ground, mentally cursing Ludwig IX once more.
If Britain were to also demand that the Southern Netherlands elect a king now, it would effectively push the Southern Netherlands assembly into opposition against them. But to reject the proposal would be to isolate themselves from the entire European continent.
He immediately ordered his subordinates to set off, rushing to Potsdam overnight.
Days later, after he promised William II an aid package of 500,000 Pound Sterling and agreed to entrust all Southern Netherlands affairs to Prussia, with Britain no longer interfering, he finally dispelled the latter's suspicions.
Meanwhile, London was teeming with diplomatic personnel from various countries.
Besides receiving seven or eight rounds of diplomatic envoys daily to explain Britain's lack of intent to export revolution, Prime Minister Pitt was also frequently summoned by George III for inquiries, leaving him utterly exhausted.
And in the British Parliament, the Whig Party also seized the opportunity to suppress him; interpellations never ceased. That fellow Fox even prepared to launch a vote of no confidence against him, but fortunately, the King ultimately suppressed it, thus saving Pitt's political career.
After more than a month of turmoil, Pitt and George III, following repeated consultations, officially issued a foreign policy statement.
In the announcement, Britain first declared that the previous unrest in France was unrelated to Britain. It then stated its disapproval of the current political situation in the Southern Netherlands but remained non-committal on the matter of electing a king. Finally, it promised that Britain would "recommend" Hanoverian troops gradually withdraw from the Southern Netherlands and would not oppose Austria's restoration of rule over the Southern Netherlands.
After making these significant concessions and with Wellesley appeasing each nation, relinquishing substantial interests, the international condemnation of Britain gradually subsided.
The British Parliament, having resumed normal operations, began to tackle the accumulated affairs of the past period, including a proposal submitted by Lord Tarmos, the Special Envoy to the Maghreb, concerning tariff concessions to Morocco and establishing it as a textile transit hub in North Africa.
Wellesley was still in Italy, extinguishing the "exporting revolution" flames, and was unable to attend parliamentary inquiries, so the matter was temporarily shelved.
Meanwhile, a Wellesley who was truly in a terrible fix finally completed his diplomatic mission and immediately headed to Brussels to check on the implementation of his previous deployments.
According to his plan, Vandernoot was to send agents to Wallonia to incite trouble, ideally spreading the chaos to the Luxembourg region.
He knew France had invested heavily in Luxembourg, so stability there would be a crucial bargaining chip in his discussions with the French about India.
However, just as he reached the Southern Netherlands border, he received orders from Prime Minister Pitt to cease all contact with the Southern Netherlands assembly and return to London as soon as possible.
George III was on the verge of a psychiatric relapse due to the outcry over "exporting revolution"—he suffered from porphyria, and it had been less than six months since his last recovery from an episode.
The entire British Royal Family was anxious, fearing he might be driven mad again, and thus repeatedly demanded that Pitt stay out of the affairs of the Southern Netherlands Liberals.
Once Wellesley returned to London, he discovered that the concessions he had promised Morocco were still bogged down in Parliament.
He had been running himself ragged, facing disdain everywhere, and had almost forgotten about the matter. He then rushed to Parliament to explain the details of the exchange of interests and urged them to vote for its passage.
By the time Morocco actually received the British concessions, nearly three months had passed since Wellesley's last trip to North Africa.
News then reached Britain that Marquis Cornwallis's offensive in Mysore had been thwarted, prompting requests for further reinforcements, and that Mysore had occupied all of Travancore and was now targeting Carnatic.
London immediately erupted...
Paris.
Versailles Palace, Hall of Mars.
"Your Majesty, you've won nine hands in a row; your luck is at its peak right now." Beside a large baccarat table, a compliant seven or eight-year-old Russian girl sat next to Queen Marie, blinking her large sapphire-blue eyes as she looked at the Queen. "I think you should continue to trust your intuition."
"All right, sweetie, I'll follow your lead," Queen Marie chuckled, grabbing a handful of gold ecus and placing them in front of the "Banker" square. "I think this hand will still go to the Banker!"
The little girl, meanwhile, picked up a piece of cake, put it in her mouth, and muttered in a tiny voice:
"If you keep winning like this, Uncle wouldn't constantly drone on about France's financial problems... Oh, this is much too sweet, does the chef have access to duty-free sugar?"
Had it not been for the French Queen's enthusiastic invitation and her uncle's constant urging, she truly wouldn't have wanted to come to such a tedious place.
The dealer in front suddenly announced in a calm voice: "Banker wins."
"Wow, ten wins in a row!" Queen Marie sprang up excitedly from her chair, then turned and hugged Alexandra, giving her a fervent kiss. "You truly are my angel, darling! Ten wins in a row, can you believe it? It's been ages since I've won like this!"
Ever since she realized her son was interested in the little girl, she had periodically sent invitations for her to come to Versailles Palace, to attend various balls, concerts, and gambling games, all to create opportunities for her son.
Unfortunately, Joseph was always incredibly busy and hardly ever attended these social events, though she and the little girl had become increasingly close.
Holding Alexandra, Queen Marie couldn't help but think of her niece, then let out a soft sigh. 'How wonderful it would be if Joseph liked Clémentine; she would be standing by my side right now...'
She suddenly paused, a scene unexpectedly surfacing in her mind: Clémentine accompanying her at gambling last year. It seemed she had hardly ever won then, with her worst losing streak being seventeen hands in a row, which had left her so frustrated she hadn't slept half the night.
She looked at Alexandra again, and suddenly, the trace of regret in her heart considerably lessened.
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