I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1118 The Partition of India
“An alliance?” Joseph paused for a moment, then smiled. “My father-in-law is really bold.”

Talleyrand glanced at him discreetly and said thoughtfully, "Your Highness, I think now may not be a good time to form an alliance with Russia."

Joseph grunted in agreement and continued walking toward the Hall of Mirrors.

The best state of affairs between France and Russia is to maintain strategic distance while continuously moving closer in trade.

If the two countries were to be too close, it would only incite fear throughout continental Europe and the Ottoman Empire, severely deteriorating France's geostrategic position.

And this is absolutely the situation that the British want to see most.

Of course, France could maintain a certain degree of "flirting" with Russia, putting strategic pressure on Putin and Austro-Hungary caught in the middle, thus preventing them from harming French interests.

However, this balance must be carefully managed, as Poland will also feel the pressure, and perhaps even more directly than Putin and Austria.

Therefore, even considering only the Polish factor, France could not accept an alliance with Russia.

Talleyrand breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that His Highness the Crown Prince seemed to agree with his point of view. He had been worried that the Crown Prince would choose to ally with Russia because of his affection for his wife.

He took two quick steps and continued, "Your Highness, news from St. Petersburg indicates that the Tsar has decided to withdraw his troops from the Transcaucasus."

Joseph frowned, but quickly accepted the result.

Paul I rejected his mother's strategy entirely, so it's not surprising that he wanted to end the war with Persia.

Historically, Russia was still entangled with the Persian army in the Georgian region at this time, but now it has already reached Zanchan, which means it has occupied nearly 600 kilometers more territory than in history, and it has given up on it just like that.

He truly deserves to be called the most "genius" Tsar of Russia in the last hundred years.

As the two were talking, they saw Alexandra, dressed in her finest attire, waiting for the Crown Prince.

Talleyrand quickly patted his chest and bowed, giving his place to the Crown Princess, while he and a group of diplomatic officials followed at a distance.

Joseph and Alexandra entered the Hall of Mirrors hand in hand, and the court orchestra immediately changed to a more solemn tune. The nobles who had been waiting there bowed their heads and made way for them.

Directly in front of the crowd, Count Osterman, the current Russian Foreign Minister, and Count Stetianov, the ambassador to France, were talking with Queen Marie Antoinette. Turning their heads, they saw Joseph and quickly bowed, saying, "Please allow me to pay you my highest respects, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Then, the group immediately surrounded Joseph, leaving only his female companion to deal with Queen Mary.

After a series of tedious diplomatic formalities and the usual opening dance, Joseph was finally able to discuss business with the French and Russian diplomatic officials on the east side of the hall.

"So, your country is going to completely withdraw from the South Caucasus?" Talleyrand put on an extremely shocked expression. "This is really a bit sudden."

Osterman nodded somewhat helplessly: "Indeed, Your Excellency Archbishop, His Majesty the Tsar has issued a decree that General Zubov will return to Orenburg in April."

Talleyrand glanced at the Crown Prince, then feigned concern and said, "But this could very well affect your country's cotton harvest in Central Asia. This would damage our cotton agreement..."

Osterman quickly said, "You don't need to worry. His Majesty the Tsar has decided to sign a ceasefire agreement with Persia as soon as possible and seek an alliance." Russia and Persia forming an alliance? Talleyrand almost popped his eyes out.

The Russian Foreign Minister continued, "In this way, we can ensure that Persia will not attack Khiva and Bukhara."

"At the same time, our country will also gain access to the route from Persia to India."

He looked at the French crown prince, who was watching the nobles' spectacular dance: "His Majesty the Tsar hopes to join forces with the great France to control India, the strategic center of the world!"
“Our two countries have each sent 3 soldiers. Your army may choose to first cross the Black Sea, land in Georgia, and then join our forces before heading to Afghanistan.”

"Or we could land in Syria and enter Persia along the Euphrates River. Our army will simultaneously depart from Orenburg..."

Even a brilliant diplomat like Talleyrand was stunned and at a loss for words, inwardly marveling at the Tsar's unconventional and imaginative diplomatic strategy.

At this moment, only Joseph remained relatively calm, because what Osterman had just said was completely consistent with Paul I's historical plan to "partition India".

However, it was because Napoleon defeated the Second Coalition against France that Russia realized the strength of the French army, which led to the proposal in 1800 to jointly invade India.

Now, France has demonstrated sufficient strength, and the Franco-Russian marriage has further fueled Paul I's ambitions.

Immediately, Joseph noticed that all the French officials fell silent at the same time and looked at him in unison.

He could only cough lightly, turn around and smile at Osterman, "Yes, this is indeed a great plan."

The latter was startled. How could the Crown Prince say almost exactly the same thing as his own Tsar? Could the allied forces really succeed?!
Joseph pondered, “However, as you know, India is too far away, so we need to ensure we have a reliable logistical route first—whether it goes through Central Asia or Persia. This will require a long period of preparation.”

"Furthermore, the Afghans will likely refuse us entry into Kabul. Well, that needs to be addressed beforehand."

"I suggest we wait until all preparations are complete before signing the alliance agreement. This will minimize the time the British have to set up their defenses."

Yes, he knew better than anyone that it was absolutely impossible to succeed in advancing into India from Central Asia.

Mapping technology was extremely limited at that time, so neither France nor Russia knew how terrifying the logistical support through Persia and Central Asia was.

Historically, 2.2 Russian soldiers set off from Orenburg, enduring deserts, droughts, storms, and temperatures as low as -30 degrees Celsius.

Before they even reached the Afghan border, a third of the horses had already died, and the soldiers suffered severe non-combat casualties.

Meanwhile, Khiva and Bukhara were suffering greatly from supplying logistical materials to the Russian army, and famine began to occur in their countries, so they had to stop supplying Russia.

In the end, Russia spent millions of rubles and only recovered a few thousand soldiers' corpses before hastily withdrawing.

As for Napoleon, he didn't take Paul I's plan seriously at all and never sent a single soldier.

However, Joseph did not intend to reject Paul I, but rather to applaud and cheer him on, hoping to get the Russian army to actually launch an offensive in Afghanistan.

(End of this chapter)