Make France Great Again

The banquet at the Tuileries Palace began around eight in the evening. Under Jerome Bonaparte's orders, candles were lit in every room, making the entire Tuileries Palace appear as if enveloped in light. In this resplendent hall, generals, legislators, merchants, and envoys from various countries gathered together for the ball.

For the foreign envoys, this was the first ball they attended at the Tuileries Palace since the Great Revolution of 1848. The keen envoys seemed to sense an unusual atmosphere.

After all, the combination of the words Tuileries Palace and Bonaparte was enough to agitate the nerves of all the European nations.

As the protagonist of the ball, Jerome Bonaparte wore a tight-fitting suit, with a Legion of Honor medal still pinned to his chest. He weaved through the crowd, receiving the well-wishes of the guests in the hall.

Sometimes he stopped to chat with the guests at the ball.

The entire ball turned into Jerome Bonaparte's personal social venue.

Of course, not everyone revolved around Jerome Bonaparte. Surprisingly, the envoy from the Russian Empire and the envoy from Britain gathered together.

"Mr. Envoy, would you like to have a chat?" the Russian envoy said to the British envoy in a slightly coarse, accent-laden French.

The British envoy glanced at the Russian envoy who appeared before him, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

The Russian and British envoys went to a secluded spot to talk.

"Look at his clown-like performance! Someone who doesn't know better might think he's already become the Emperor!" the Russian envoy remarked to the British envoy.

"That's not for sure!" the British envoy replied with a smile, seemingly offhandedly saying, "Who knows if he might be crowned like the Great Man!"

A trace of astonishment flashed across the Russian envoy's face, but he quickly masked it with a smile: "That shouldn't be possible! His uncle could only compensate for the shortcomings of his lineage with one military feat after another. While his bloodline is indeed nobler than his uncle's, he has yet to achieve anything like his uncle. Not even half!

"Well, that I don't know!" The British envoy shrugged with a meaningful smile at the corner of his mouth: "Perhaps, some unfortunate nation will become his stepping stone!"

The Russian envoy's face grew somber, as if the British envoy was implying the great Russian Empire.

Impossible! The great Russian Empire could never fail!

The Russian envoy recited this silently in his heart, then quickly changed the subject: "I heard that your country's alliance with France seems to be in name only now!"

The Russian envoy was referring to the events of late May when Admiral Parker, the commander of the British Mediterranean Fleet, was invited by Don Pacific to sail to Athens on the return journey via the Dardanelles Strait to support the dubious claims presented by Don Pacific. The Kingdom of Greece, unwilling to accept Don Pacific's demands, had no choice but to seek help from protector France, leading the French Minister of Foreign Affairs, De Luy, to intervene in person.

Unfortunately, Palmerston adamantly rejected France's mediation, and his representative in Athens responded to the mediation with a rude attitude. To restore France's reputation and regain the loyalty of Greece, a 'younger brother,' while learning from the lessons of Louis Philippe's era, where excessive weakness led to public resentment, Jerome Bonaparte decided to withdraw the French envoy from Britain and anonymously condemn Britain.

By the time Britain resolved this sordid affair (July 26, 1850), the "quasi-alliance" between France and Britain had ceased to exist.

Britain had no choice but to confront the diplomatic policy of the Russian Empire alone.

Fortunately, during this period, the Russian Empire showed no signs of overstepping its bounds. They seemed too preoccupied with the struggles between Prussia and Austria to focus on anything else.

"The Kingdom of Britain and the French Republic have merely neighborly relations; the two countries have not formed any alliance!" The British envoy flatly denied the Russian envoy's claim of an "alliance."

Although Palmerston in London repeatedly sought to restore relations between England and France, the British envoy did not believe the British Cabinet should "kowtow" to France, as there were still many candidates within and outside the cabinet opposing the French Republic.

"I thought, how could a kingdom like Britain unite with a heretic like a republic!" The Russian envoy displayed a look of sudden realization, though he could not suppress a smile at the corner of his mouth.

The reason he replaced the previous envoy was to break up the alliance between Britain and France. To his surprise, the alliance between the two countries dissolved on its own accord without his intervention.

However, he still needed to repair relations with France, as the pitfalls left by the previous Russian envoy were indeed quite significant.

Had it not been for Foreign Minister Neselrode's strong appointment, he would not have been willing to be sent to Paris.

Of course, cooperation was one thing, but he still had a deep-seated disdain for the upstart families.

"Since you believe the French Republic is heretical, why attend President Jerome Bonaparte's banquet?" the British envoy inquired of the Russian envoy with a smile.

"Our Majesty the Tsar believes that France, as a significant and influential power in Europe, should be accepted by all of Europe. It should become an indispensable member of the European nations!" The envoy of the Russian Empire spoke slowly and deliberately while observing the expression of the British envoy.

They are trying to win over France! Those damn Slavic barbarians!

A glimmer of astonishment flashed in the British envoy's eyes. In his impression, Tsar Nicholas I was supposed to loathe the heresy of republicanism.

Subsequently, the British envoy's expression became somewhat flustered. If France and Russia, these two major European land powers, were indeed to unite, then there would be no place for the Kingdom of Britain in all of Europe.

The British envoy believed that even the most arrogant Englishmen would not think that merely by relying on the Kingdom of Britain could they shake the entire European continent's system. The last person to disrupt the order was Napoleon, and his end was self-evident.

The flustered expression of the British envoy made the Russian envoy somewhat pleased.

The dignified British envoy was actually startled by such news. The Russian envoy continued, "His Majesty the Tsar does not like Jerome Bonaparte, but that does not mean we oppose the French Republic. The French Republic should receive the respect it deserves."

"Of course!" The British envoy forced a smile.

"Well, I should be leaving now!" The Russian envoy, satisfied with achieving his goal, left the British envoy.

The British envoy was left standing alone until a lady extended her hand, inviting him to dance, which finally brought him back to his senses.

...

While the Russian envoy and the British envoy parted ways on poor terms, the Wurttemberg envoy approached Jerome Bonaparte and respectfully said to him, "Mr. President, congratulations on regaining your Tuileries Palace from General Shangarnier!"

In response to the Wurttemberg envoy's compliment, Jerome Bonaparte smiled and corrected the "mistake" of the Wurttemberg envoy, "This is not my private property, but a treasure of all of France."

"Mr. President, could I take a few minutes of your time? I have some matters to discuss with you." Seeing the situation, the Wurttemberg envoy said to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Of course!" From the expression of the Wurttemberg envoy, Jerome Bonaparte could judge that some new development had likely occurred in the German region. He instinctively glanced at De Luyis.

At this moment, De Luyis was dancing with his wife, and it was inconvenient to disturb them. Jerome Bonaparte and the Wurttemberg envoy entered a room within the Tuileries Palace.

Entering the room and closing the door, the Wurttemberg envoy began, "Your Highness... no, I should address you as Your Majesty!"

"Don't flatter me so quickly!" Jerome Bonaparte waved his hand and emphasized to the Wurttemberg envoy, "I am still the President of the French Republic!"

The Wurttemberg envoy understood what Jerome Bonaparte meant. Jerome Bonaparte had resolved to re-establish the empire in the near future.

"Your Majesty!" The Wurttemberg envoy continued to address Jerome Bonaparte in such a manner.

"Speak! What has happened?" Jerome Bonaparte inquired of the Wurttemberg envoy.

"It's like this! The Austrian Empire will soon sign a military alliance with our Majesty!" The Wurttemberg envoy whispered to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Hmm?" Jerome Bonaparte feigned surprise as he looked at the Wurttemberg envoy, "Does the Austrian Empire have some major action planned?"

"Isn't it still about last year's Hesse-Hanau issue?" The Wurttemberg envoy sighed in response, "Now, the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia wish they could muster all their strength to crush each other. The friction between them is growing more intense!"

This is the plight of small nations. A show of strength by great powers leaves small nations facing turmoil.

Even though the Wurttemberg Kingdom is the second-largest state within Southern German territory, it can only go with the flow in the face of Prussia and Austria.

"Are you hoping that France will mediate?" Jerome Bonaparte, inwardly wishing for Prussia and Austria to perish immediately, "honestly" said to Wurttemberg, "To be frank, France does not have the capability to mediate a war between Prussia and Austria! The last mediation nearly plunged France into a diplomatic crisis. (Mediation in the Greek incident, temporary severance of ties between England and France)"

"No, no, no!" The Wurttemberg envoy shook his head and said, "His Majesty does not hope for Prussia and Austria to cease hostilities. We simply wish to inquire about France's stance on this war. Or rather, which side does France support?"

"Whoever benefits us, we will support!" Jerome Bonaparte replied to the Wurttemberg envoy, then added, "Prussia has already rejected our olive branch!"

"I understand!"