Napoleon in 1812
Chapter 106:

19. EuropeanSummit – 3

“All thepatents andtechnologies thatFrance has taken andused at will are thepropertyofthe Kingdomand its good citizens. TheKingdom’s position was clearly conveyed that‘something unpleasant’ would notbeavoided without compensation forthe damage. But to think thatyou wereactuallymaking afool of yourself here after being silent about it.”

“Hahaha! I’m sorry, butI don’t understand whatthe Viscount is saying at all. Whatdoyou meanpatents andtechnologies? Thehonest and just Empire does not steal anything. Italready hasplenty of everything. Rather, didn’t Britainstealthe patentsofthe Empire’s warships and steam-powered wagons?”

“You areasshameless as ever. France, too, hastakenand usedthe Kingdom’s properties as if it wereits own. With thesigning of theTreaty of Madrid between the twocountries, what happened in the past was buriedinthe past. Do you still have no ideawhichside broke down the atmosphere of reconciliation betweenthe two countriesfirst?”

“Well, let’s talk about that. I thinkyour prime minister’s words and actions againstthe Empire andHis Majestyare the reasons for thefrozen relationship between the twocountries… By the way, speaking of the TreatyofMadrid, didn’tyou signthat youwouldn’tbeinvolvedinthe war between Spain, Portugal andtheircolonies? However, according to theEmpire’ssources, your country was busy traveling between the twosidesand providing suspicious support…”

The French andBritish ambassadors were spitting sharp words at eachother. It was FriedrichWilhelm III and his Prime Minister Karl August vonHardenberg[1]whocaused diplomats from other countries to growl insidethe palace of a third country.

PrimeMinisterHardenberg advised Friedrich Wilhelm III, who looked embarrassed when he heard thatambassadorsfrom both countries hadvisited himatthe sametime.

He shouldrather bring the twohere at thesame time and make themdispute in front of Prussia. This would givePrussia a minimumofevasion, nomatter whatchoice was made in the end.

Thanks to this, he could not seethe ambassadors fighting inside theBerlin Palace, but Friedrich Wilhelm III wasproudtohave made the right choicefor the sake of the national interest.

“Don’tdoany moredisrespect in thepresenceofHis Majestythe King, and tell us yourpurpose.”

Atthe words of the head of the court, the two stopped arguingand looked around. There was a brief war of nervesover whowouldreveal his intentions first, butsoon theCountofBoulogne, the Frenchambassador, opened his mouth first.

“Ahem… HisMajesty, the Emperorofthe Empire, said that it is impossiblefor the Prussian Kingdom, which hasa stronginfluence in CentralEurope, to miss the Strasbourg banquet. As afriendlyally of theEmpire, theEmpire expectsPrussia to show friendshipand trust.”

It wasa politeexpression with diplomaticrhetoric. But if itspoliteness wasremoved, itactuallymeant‘If you don’t come to Strasbourg, you’re no longeranally of France.’ It wasa remarkputting Prussia under strong pressure.

Some Prussian figureswho noticedithardenedtheirfacial expressions, andamongthem, Blücher’s face was worth seeing. The British ambassador, the Viscount of Buckingham, quickly intervenedtotake advantageofthe gap.

“With theTreatiesofTilsit[2], Prussia became a major allyofFrance and gave generous supportineverywar. ButFrance is threatening suchanally without any respect or consideration, showinga pitiful realityfor Europe, whereunderstanding andtolerance havedisappeared! It’sreally deceitful to speak of a consultative body for commonEuropeanvalues.”

“It’s notsomething for a third countrytointervene in. Go back to yourown work.”

“I’dlike to make an offer on the Kingdom’sbehalf. Your Majestyshould not go directly to Strasbourg, butsend an agent with areasonable position in your stead. In thepast, Prussia wasa long-standing friend of theKingdom, althoughitwas cut offbyFrench tyrannyand violence. This is an advice from the perspective of an oldfriend. TheKingdom deeplyrespectsPrussia’s spirit anddignity, and is capableofrepayingthem. Ifyou accept theKingdom’s proposal, Prussia willhave no problem withits national finances evenifitdoes notcollect anyrevenue fortwo years.”

“Huh? DidBritain have thatkind of capacity? I heard that military costs are soaring becauseofthe swollenfinancesfrom thewar againstthe United Statesand the violence in South Asia as well. The government bonds thatyou havetopay backgoback andforthbetween £800 million and £900 million, butyou’re verygeneroustoprovide financialsupport forneighboringcountries, aren’tyou?”

Theamount of governmentbondsissued by the British governmentexplodeddue to the persistent recession andthe war with France. Atthe end of thewar, it began to decrease, but the scale wasstillastronomical.

Britain’s finances were rollinghard just by preparing fora newwar againstFrance. TheCountofBoulognewas sarcastic about theBritish situation.

PrimeMinisterHardenberg roaredwhen theFrench and British ambassadors quarreled again fiercely with eachother.

“Whatkind of horrible words andactions arethose? I definitely said thatyou wereinthe presence of His Majesty. Whyare you arguing so loudly? The two ambassadors must be lookingdown on ourKingdom andHis Majesty!”

Hardenbergimmediatelyturned his head and told Friedrich Wilhelm III.

“I think thetwo ambassadors are especially excitedtodayand can’t tellwhen they needtobepolite. Whydon’twesend them out of thecourtand callthem separately later to talk?”

“Hmm. I thinkweshould do so. Youtwo, pleasestep down for today.”

The Count of Boulogne and theViscountofBuckingham stepped down, leavingwordsofapology forthe king. Although Hardenbergexpelledthem on thepretext of disrespect, thereal purpose was, infact, tobuy timetodiscuss this issue. However, even though theambassadorsand their party wentout, thehall wasstillsilent.

“…”

Even if no onewas saying a word, theyall had thesame opinion. They had to hold the Frenchhand.

There waslittle possibility of amajorproblem happeningifthey rejected theBritish proposal, but if theyrejectedthe French one, it would be areal threat. Nevertheless, the reason whythey could noteasily opentheirmouths was because of Blücher’spresence.

‘If someonehas to participate in the Strasbourg banquet, he’ll do everythinghecan to oppose it.’

‘He’sanold man buthe’s still very healthy. Sigh!…’

“If he incites the main officers, that’sgoingtobea bigtrouble.’

Whilethe ministers were worriedaboutthis, Blücheropened his mouth.

“Please accept theFrench ambassador’s suggestion, Your Majesty!”

The first words that Blücher broughtupwere enoughtosurpriseFriedrich WilhelmIII and thePrussiancourtministers.

“…Butweren’t youinsisting on throwing the Frenchoppression away and fighting them morepassionately thananyone else?”

To Friedrich Wilhelm III, who was askingwith a doubtful look, Blücher quietlyansweredwith courtesy.

“That’s definitelywhat I saidinthe past, and theidea itselfremains unchanged. However, I amthe commander of thePrussianarmy anda servant of YourMajesty. I will not committhe foolishness of making a mistakeinthe state’saffairs with my personal feelings.”

When Blücher insisted on fighting, it waswhen Francewas busywith theRussian expedition and theIberian PeninsulaWar. At this time, he thoughtthat with the support of the UnitedKingdom, ifPrussia puta knife in France’s back withAustria’s help, theycouldoverturnthe situation.

However, Francewas muchstrongerthan it wasthen, and there would be no second front to disperse itspower. If theyhastily setupa confrontation withFrance now, the entire country of Prussiawouldimmediatelybesweptaway under a waveoftricolorflags.

“The islandbastardsalways try to show goodwill as if theyare reliable, butifthe situation breaksout, they act ignorant of their allies. Our Kingdom has also suffered fromsuch tricks. I wouldrather believethat theTurksconverted to Christianity than believethem. Someday I’ll havetoshow theFrench whatI’m madeof, but that should be at a timewhen theBritish can’t back off.”

When Blücher, who was theone to shout againstFrance the strongest, saidthis, therewas no needtodiscuss anymore. It seemedthat FriedrichWilhelm III wouldbegoingtothe Strasbourgbanquet with his attendants.

“Pleaseallowmetogothereaswell with YourMajesty! I’m sureNabotand his marshals will makerude threats, so I willstop them withmywholebody!”

Friedrich WilhelmIII did notwant to go with Blücher, butmost of theministers agreed, sohecouldnot helpit. Thus, the maninPrussia whohatedNapoleonthe mostalso gotona carriage heading to Strasbourg.

===

It was December 30, 1817, two daysbefore the NewYear. Strasbourg’s gate, which had long served as a wallprotecting France, opened wide. Andnow the biggest event since the city’sfoundingwas starting.

Strasbourg, locatedinthe easternmost partofthe Alsace-Lorraine region, was centered aroundthe Rohan Palace andStrasbourg’s Cathedral, with Contades Boulevardtothe north and Lugny Streettothe south.

Usually, French citizens with aproven identity wereable to go back and forth between these two main roads at ease, but today they had to go back and choosea differentway as theywere strictly controlled by French guardsand police.

“Firstissafety, secondissafety! No unfortunate accidentsshould everoccurtothe city’s distinguished guests! The honor and prestige of theEmpire are at stake, soeveryoneshould be prepared wellsothat there will be no mistakes!”

TheDuke of Rovigoand Police Minister Anne JeanMarieRené Savary[3]called forcaution from the security officers in a stern voice. He preached theimportance of theeventbyorderingagainand again to pay as much attention to safetyand security as possible, andsaying thatitwas acceptabletodelaythe movement betweenthe carriages.

“The first processionofguests is arriving!”

“Great! Proceedaswehave prepared!”

“Policemen, follow me!”

“Securityguards, come thisway!”

Thesecurityofficersled their respectivepolicemen and guardstocontrol thestreets andsecure the carriage paths. Soon after, asthe maingate of thecity of Strasbourg opened, four-wheeled carriages with brilliant familycrests appeared.

The patterns were onesthat peoplewouldhave seen at least onceinnewspapers, public documents, orartworkssuch as paintings. It gaveanidea of howfamous the peopleinthe carriage were.

Personalguards and horsemen escortingthe carriages separately appeared under the control of French guardsand police forces.

ContadesStreet was wide enough to be calleda boulevard, but in consideration of the crowd gatheringatthe event, thecarriageroad wastemporarilyexpanded.

Nevertheless, several carriages moved at once, andtheirguards wereaddedtothe front, rear, left, andright, so the wide boulevard wasvery full.

“Whoah! What a spectacular sight.”

“You’ll never see a scene likethis again in thefuture. Take agood look.”

“Dad! Give me aride on your shoulders!”

Citizenswho lived in nearby villages or citiestiptoed andcapturedthe sights that theywouldrememberall their life.

Althoughitwas not possible to approach closely due to thetightsecurityofthe police protecting the carriage path, it waspossibletoclimbuphigh-rise shops or building scaffolds andwatch. The procession of Europe’s leadingaristocratic families continued endlesslywith thepeople’sinterest.

Onthe southern Lugny Street on theotherside, itwas aseries of veryhistorical scenesofa differentkind. Itwas incomparable to thecolorfulcarriages and processions on Contades Boulevard, but theexistence of eachindividual in these carriageswas morethan enoughtomake up forthe difference.

Therewere music masters, literary geniuses whohad published numerous masterpiece novels, comedies, poems, etc. that had created amilestone in the times, philosophers and scholars whohad leftnumerousfamous quotes andtopics to talkaboutinthe future.

Literally, the talents of the century werebreathing together within a few metersofdistance.

John Constable(Britishpainter), Johan Gottlieb Gahn(Swedishchemist), Friedrich Heinrich Yakovi(Bavarian philosopher), and AntonioCanova (Italian sculptor) were drivingintheirown carriages.[4]

ThomasRobert Malthus(Britishpolitical economist, afterwhom theMalthusian Trap was named), Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz (Polishpoet andplaywright), and Franz Schubert (Australian composer) were chatting with eachother, making a scene thatfuture generations would wanttorecord evenifthey hadtopay amillion dollars.[5]

In addition, John Dalton (British chemist), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe(German writer), EdwardJenner (British physician), and Antonio Salieri(Italiancomposer) led individual carriages oneafteranother, chasing thepreceding procession.[6]

Unfortunately, most of thepeople gathered on Lugny Street to watch them werefarmers whofarmed or raised livestockinthe villages nearby, and theyhad veryfew knowledge to recognizethe European celebrities.

Evenwhen it came to great men whowouldberemembered fora long timeinhistory, they were muttering words such as ‘Whoare they?’ and‘Theymust be theservantsofthe noble families’ that would makefuture generations pound their chest.

As such, the stars shining brightly on Europe were now gatheringinthe Rohan Palace in Strasbourg.

=

The lights in themain hall inside theRohanPalace lit up with asign that the dinnerwas ready. Starting with this, the lightsturned on eachroom, terrace, the cathedral, and the palacewere also lit. Finally, the curtainofthe StrasbourgBanquet hadrisen.

TL notes

[1]Karl August vonHardenberg

[2]Treaties of Tilsit

[3]Anne JeanMarieRené Savary

[4]John Constable,Johan Gottlieb Gahn,Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi,Antonio Canova

[5]ThomasRobert Malthus:Malthusianism,Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz,Franz Schubert

[6]John Dalton,Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,EdwardJenner,Antonio Salieri

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