Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Madame Delvaux's funeral was quite simple.

There had never been many friends in the old lady's lifetime. Previously, they had cut off contact with the Delvaux family so as not to provoke Baron Walter; now, only seven or eight people came to bid her farewell.

However, Joseph's presence instantly made the somewhat lackluster Father Koch take things more seriously, and the voice in which he recited the holy words became significantly more solemn.

Dressed in a black skirt, Camellia stood beside, her expression blank as she stared unblinkingly at her only relative in this world, seeming at a loss.

It was not until the priest had finished the prayers and began offering incense in front of the body that she seemed to suddenly understand, and she burst into tears with a loud "waah."

Joseph hurriedly went up to comfort the helpless girl,

"Madame Delvaux will watch over you from heaven, and she has not left you..."

After the elaborate ritual, Madame Delvaux's coffin was carried to the nearest church by the servants, and only then did Camellia finally quiet down from sheer exhaustion.
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As soon as Joseph stepped out of the estate's main gate, he saw Talleyrand approaching him and greeting him,

"Your Highness, it was not easy to find you."

The Foreign Minister then looked towards the black coffin and crossed himself,

"May God have mercy on this poor soul."

"She was the Queen Mother's wet nurse," Joseph crossed himself too, and asked Talleyrand, "Do you have urgent business?"

Talleyrand leaned in a little closer,

"Yes, Your Highness. Baron Tugut invited me to a meeting, likely concerning reinforcements for Silesia. You see, is there anything in particular I should be wary of?"

Joseph nodded slightly. This was the groundwork for him and the Emperor of Sanctum to formally sign an agreement, with major issues usually being hashed out during such times.

"I will have the Guard Corps move to Silesia. You may tell Baron Tugut that we will certainly achieve the necessary breakthrough in military matters. However, France will still maintain a state of non-declaration of war."

It was better to remain non-belligerent so as to withdraw at any time, after all, France did not come to fight to the death for Austria.

Hearing that the Crown Prince intended to use elite troops, Talleyrand felt emboldened to negotiate with the Austrians and quickly made a note in his notebook.

Joseph continued, "In addition, I will ensure that Russia does not interfere with Silesia."

A look of surprise flitted across Talleyrand's eyes as he hurriedly took notes.

It might not seem like much, but it was enough to influence the direction of the Silesian conflict. Recall that Catherine II merely had to assemble 40,000 troops to the west, and the battle for the Bavarian throne came to an abrupt halt even before the troops were fully assembled, prompting Austria and Prussia to immediately return to the negotiating table.

Moreover, the Crown Prince spoke with such certainty, as if the Tsar of Russia would definitely act as he said.

"As for our demands, there is only one," Joseph looked at the Foreign Minister, his voice lowering a bit, "and that is the Walloon Region."

Talleyrand nodded and took note, but then hesitated a bit,

"Your Highness, given the current atmosphere in Vienna, this will probably not be easy to achieve."

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At present, all of Austria is immersed in the fervor of reclaiming territory; although the Walloon Region is not large, even the loss of a single town at this time would arouse strong opposition within the country.

"Your concerns are very valid." Joseph pondered and nodded, but soon revealed a smile, "Then let us try a different approach, such as..."

He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw the funeral procession had moved on, sighed helplessly, instructed Eman to go in his stead, and then detailed his plan to Talleyrand:

"For example, creating a special trade zone..."

Schonbrunn Palace.

In the bedroom of Joseph II, Leopold II's eyes flickered with surprise:

"You mean to say, the French have agreed to send a powerful legion into Silesia and will be responsible for most of the expenses for this corps?"

It was not that Joseph was overly generous, but he knew that given Austria's current financial situation, if they had to bear the cost of the Guard Corps' military expenses, they might not be able to sustain it for long. Though the Guard Corps' numbers might not seem too high, the expenses required were considerable—firstly, the soldiers' salaries were much higher than those of regular troops, then there was the replenishment and upkeep of various new equipment, and even their daily food costs were much more expensive than those of other troops.

Baron Tugut nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty. Archbishop Talleyrand also stated that the Allied Forces would surely achieve a strategic breakthrough."

Leopold II couldn't help but clench his fist: "If France can truly persuade Russia to remain on the sidelines, we will have a great chance of reclaiming Silesia!"

Lying on the bed next to him, Joseph II also let out a "uh" sound, his face showing a rare smile.

Tugut continued: "Your Majesty, however, the French are consistently unwilling to declare war on Prussia, obviously reluctant to get too involved."

"No matter." Leopold II dismissively waved his hand, "As the situation of the war changes, we have many ways to keep them in Silesia."

He instantly thought of more than a dozen ways to tie France to Austria's war chariot and couldn't help but smile. His sister still lacked political experience; once embroiled in war, how easy it would be to extricate oneself?

If Joseph had been present, he would also have smiled.

He was of course familiar with the principle of "difficulty in leaving a gang of thieves once aboard their ship," but he also clearly remembered that in less than three months, Joseph II would be called to heaven by the Lord.

At that time, all of Austria would first be occupied with the old Emperor's funeral, and then the coronation of the new Emperor would follow—and in Austria, coronation was no simple matter. Leopold II would have to go through the process of being elected by the Prince-Electors, crowned as the Emperor of Holy Rome, and thereafter begin his long journey to be separately crowned as the monarch of Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia, Transylvania, Mantua, Galicia, Lodomeria, and the Austrian Netherlands...

What? Think to be lazy and skip one place? Then you would lose the legal basis for your rule over that area, and believe it or not, the following year there will be nobles attempting to fill the void themselves.

(Just look at the insignia of the Emperor of Holy Rome to understand how complicated the "titles" are.)

Therefore, Austria would undoubtedly be too busy to continue waging war, and Joseph would be able to, after participating in the Holy Roman Emperor's coronation ceremony, conveniently bring the now "idle" French Army back to Paris—surely you can't expect us French to be fighting Prussia while your ruling house takes a six-month break, can you?

Having confirmed the glorious prospects of the Silesian war situation, Leopold II turned to Baron Tugut:

"What then are France's demands?"

"Archbishop Talleyrand said that previously many French had invested in the Walloon Region, so they hope it can become a 'special trade zone'."

"A special trade zone?"

"Oh, that's where both France and Austria can invest and trade, and the administration of the Walloon Region would be handled by a council of merchants," said Tugut. "Additionally, to ensure the fairness of the trade, there would be no permanent military presence, with the Valron Police Department responsible for security."

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