I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1285 Armistice Agreement
French military headquarters, east of Philsbyburg.

"Brother, the Duke of Brunswick won a great victory in Filshofen this morning!"

Wearing a cavalry uniform with ribbed buttons and sergeant's epaulets, Charles, waving a battle report, excitedly barged into Joseph's office.

However, the boy immediately stood at attention and saluted the moment he saw his brother, before continuing, "It is said that they annihilated two Hungarian infantry regiments and have now taken control of the north bank of Filshofen."

“They’ve done very well.” Joseph smiled and gestured to his brother. “Thank you for bringing me the latest news. Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Oh, no need.” Charles paused for a moment before saying, “Brother, actually everyone is very eager to try. I mean, the soldiers of the First Army.”

He leaned forward: "You can't give all the opportunities to gain military merit to the Prussians and Bavarians... Perhaps you could send General Davout to demonstrate to them how real French warriors fight."

Recently, all attacks on the Passau defenses have been entrusted to the armies of the various German states. News of the Franco-Polish forces' advance into the heart of Austria has reached Passau, which has nearly shattered the morale of the allied forces, causing them to suffer repeated defeats even against the Württemberg army.

Joseph laughed and said, "Even if I agree, you can't go with me."

Currently, Xia Er's organization is attached to the troops commanded by Davu.

Charles, realizing his little scheme had been seen through, felt a bit embarrassed and whispered, "But I can't just go back to Versailles and tell everyone I've never even been to the front lines once..."

Joseph gestured for his brother to sit down: "Actually, the battle in Passau is meaningless now."

"I can guarantee that Wilmser is waiting every day for Vienna's surrender order to arrive."

"Therefore, our soldiers do not need to suffer casualties at this time."

Charles nodded dejectedly, then asked with some doubt, "Then why did you still order the Pu and Ba armies to launch a large-scale offensive?"

Yesterday, the Brunswick Army even deployed 3 soldiers to besiege Filshoff.

“That’s diplomacy,” Joseph patiently instructed his brother. “These Holy Roman Empire states must annihilate the Austrian army as much as possible on the battlefield in order to sever ties with the empire more completely.”

"Moreover, if they win some victories they can be proud of, they will be more willing to respond to our country's call for troops in the future."

As he was speaking, Emmanuel knocked lightly on the door: "Your Highness, Archbishop Talleyrand has arrived."

"Invite him in."

The door opened, and the French Foreign Minister strode forward and bowed to the Crown Prince: "Your Highness, all of Paris is now praising your great victory! Oh, I heard that the Paris Opera has already begun rehearsing a new opera, 'The Conqueror,' which will officially premiere on the day of your triumphant return..."

Joseph smiled and ended his long speech: "You seem to have arrived a little earlier than expected. You see, the war is not completely over yet."

“The outcome is already decided; victory belongs to France!” Talleyrand said, taking a stack of documents from his briefcase. “Furthermore, I would like to discuss the details of the armistice terms with you in person.”

These terms were drafted by Joseph and then sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for further refinement.

Joseph noticed the hesitation in Talleyrand's expression and nodded, saying, "I really need your professional advice. Please go ahead."

Seeing that it was time to get down to business, Charles quickly bowed to his brother and prepared to leave.

Joseph raised his hand to stop him: "It's alright, you can listen in too."

Talleyrand placed the treaty text in front of the Crown Prince, cleared his throat, and said, “Your Highness, well, I may venture to guess that Her Majesty the Queen may have offered you some advice, such as expressing sympathy for Austria… “However, I still believe that we should take advantage of this military victory to minimize Austria’s influence over the German states.”

He glanced at Joseph discreetly and said cautiously, "We might even ask Franz II to renounce the title of Holy Roman Emperor."

The ceasefire terms drafted by the Crown Prince did not include any provisions for the dismantling of the Shinra Empire.

Joseph nodded slightly upon hearing this.

Yes, disbanding Shinra was really satisfying.

He had initially planned to do the same, but after careful consideration, he realized that it was not the most advantageous approach for France.

He looked at Talleyrand and asked, "How do you think the Habsburg family exerted influence over the German regions?"

Without hesitation, the latter replied, "I believe it is the legal basis provided by the Golden Seal Edict, Your Highness."

“This is indeed a link connecting the Holy Roman Empires,” Joseph said, “but it stems more from Austria’s political and economic penetration of the various states over the past century as the most powerful state in the German region.”

"This profound influence will not disappear immediately with the abolition of the emperor's title."

"It is also possible that Vienna could use the narrative of 'the empire collapsing due to the pressure from foreign enemies' or 'Germany being humiliated by foreign powers' to carry out a tragic propaganda campaign, which would instead incite discontent and resistance among the people of various German countries."

Talleyrand nodded thoughtfully: "That is indeed possible, Your Highness."

Charles instinctively interjected, "Then how should we deal with it?"

Joseph said, "Actually, we need to think about it from the perspective of the German states. For example, what are they most worried about regarding Austria?"

Neither the Foreign Minister nor the young prince answered.

"They were worried that Austria would forcibly unite them in the name of the Holy Roman Empire. And Austria had been working on this before."

Joseph picked up his teacup and said unhurriedly, "If the Holy Roman Emperor is abolished, it will actually make them more at ease with Austria."

Talleyrand frowned and said, "So we're just going to let Austria go like this?"

“Of course not,” Joseph gestured to the text in front of him, “look at Articles 5 and 9.”

Talleyrand didn't look at the documents; as the negotiator, he had already memorized the armistice treaty.

He recalled the two points the Crown Prince had mentioned, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "So that's how it is! I failed to understand your intention; this is indeed the best strategy."

Charles was too anxious to retrieve the documents and stood by, itching with worry.

Talleyrand continued, “Your Highness, there is also the matter of demanding that Austria join the German market, which is dominated by our country, namely the Stuttgart Trade Agreement. I think you seem to have overlooked this matter?”

One of the key factors that led Austria to join the First Coalition against France was its belief that the trade agreement was unfavorable to it. France had consistently insisted that Austria abide by the agreement so that French industrial goods could enter the Austrian market, but this was not mentioned in the terms of the armistice.

Joseph shook his head: "No, the situation is completely different now. We need to make sure Austria is excluded from the German Common Market."

(End of this chapter)