I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1363 Hallucination?

Bern, Switzerland.

The long lines for ATM withdrawals that used to stretch in front of the Arens Bank have disappeared, and some people are even starting to deposit money into the bank—rumors are circulating that Bern might secede from the Swiss Confederation and become a province of France. At that time, all the money in the bank will be exchanged for francs, while the money already in the bank will be withdrawn directly in francs, avoiding the hassle of exchange.

On the streets and alleys, people were excitedly discussing in small groups: "Do you know about Paris's water system? You just flip a valve in your own home and clean water flows out. Maybe we'll be able to use it someday!"

"That's nothing. In France, even medical care is free. And the government assigns doctors to every parish..."

"Really? French doctors are the best in all of Europe!"

“I care more about the school. If I become French, I can study for free for six years. After graduation, there are many factories in Lyon that I can choose from…”

"I heard that three-year-olds can go to kindergarten, where they are supervised by a dedicated person. They only need to pay 3 yuan per month and are provided with two meals of bread."

"There might even be gas streetlights!"

"what is that?"

"You don't even know that? Those lights can make the streets as bright as day at night..."

Of course, there are also some people who are very opposed to Bern being incorporated into France.

It mainly consisted of tax farmers, some urban oligarchs, and Protestants.

The tax farmers, needless to say, would likely have their tax farming system abolished if the country were to be incorporated into France. They had long heard of the "tragic fate" of their French counterparts.

Urban oligarchs are capitalists who monopolize certain industries in a city through shady means, such as controlling the city's wheat or timber trade. Who knows if the French government will allow such behavior?

As for Protestants, they were naturally worried about being suppressed by the Catholic Church.

However, their voices were almost entirely drowned out by the cheers of the citizens who were eager to become French.

Inside the state parliament building, Representative Rüdiger took a letter and jogged to the speaker's office. As soon as he entered, he excitedly said, "Count Haupt, Count Erlach wrote to say that things are progressing very smoothly. The French officials have received the money, and there will be results within a week."

Haupt grabbed the letter, unfolded it, and looked straight to the date at the end.

The letter was sent five days ago, which means that in two or three days, the Palace of Versailles will announce the establishment of the Bern province.

He immediately stood up and gestured to Rüdiger: "Summon all members of parliament immediately. We'd better finish the legislation before Paris does."

Yes, if the French government has already expressed its willingness to accept Bern, but the laws here still stipulate that Bern is a member of the Swiss Confederation, wouldn't that make Bern seem arrogant?

That afternoon, the Bern Cantonal Parliament held its first round of voting, with 86% of members supporting legislation to join France.

An excited Haupt abolished all the cumbersome legislative procedures and, with astonishing efficiency, officially promulgated the decree five days later.

Then, the Bern Parliament sent diplomats to Zurich with a note, ready to announce its secession from the Confederation as soon as news from Paris was confirmed.

And so, news of the impending annexation of the canton of Bern by France spread rapidly throughout Switzerland.

The most excited were naturally the Canton of Geneva.

They are almost entirely French-speaking, have always been very pro-French, and their economy is completely dependent on France.

If Bern can be accepted by France, why can't Geneva?
Moreover, Geneva was not strictly a member of the Swiss Confederation, and it didn't even bother with the step of leaving the Confederation.

Therefore, the Geneva Parliament immediately convened its members to begin planning for the inclusion of the law.

Fribourg, Lucerne, Solothurn, and other western Swiss cantons have also started to consider this idea.

They used to seek a balance between France and Austria, benefiting from acting as a link between the two great powers. But now, with all the German states to the north having joined the Stuttgart Trade Agreement, this balancing act is no longer meaningful.

They originally wanted to join the trade agreement, but now that there seems to be an opportunity to directly join France, they definitely have to try to get it.

Meanwhile, the German-speaking and Protestant cantons of Zurich, Basel, and Schwyz began to panic. They were not concerned about the dissolution of the Confederation—the Swiss Confederation had never had much influence to begin with—but once French influence crossed the Jura Mountains, it would quickly spread to eastern and northern Switzerland.

……

Paris.

Ten days have passed since the Bern parliament transferred 40 francs to senior French officials.

Count Elach began to feel uneasy.

For the first few days, Viscount Norbert would occasionally send people to keep them informed of the progress of the matter, but for the last three days they had completely lost contact with Norbert.

The three Bernese councilors argued fiercely before deciding to disregard Viscount Norbert's request that they "not contact others" and go out to find out what was going on.

At the gates of Versailles, Count Elach handed 50 francs to a court official, who readily told them the location of Viscount Norbert's room.

Seeing the three walk straight into Versailles Palace, the court official caught up with them in a few steps: "Are you going to see Viscount Norbert?"

"Ah, yes, we have some trade-related matters."

The court official waved his hand: "Then you may be disappointed. Viscount Norbert is busy with the World's Fair in Karlsruhe and has not yet returned."

Count Elach immediately laughed and said, "How could that be? We had coffee with him just last week."

The Frenchmen glanced at them as if they were idiots, then turned and left.

Then, the three met Viscount Norbert's wife.

The latter told them that her husband was in Baden.

Count Elach and the others refused to believe it and tried to squeeze into the room, which startled Madame Norbert, who screamed.

Soon, the palace guards drove the Swiss out of Versailles, and Congressman Frey was even kicked hard.

Count Elach and his two companions realized something was wrong. After repeatedly trying to contact Norbert but failing, they had no choice but to spend more money and reveal their identities as diplomats from the Canton of Bern. Finally, a few days later, they met with French Trade Minister Baiy.

After bowing, Count Elach looked around the spacious and luxurious office and said to Baie with a forced smile, "Last time, wasn't this where you met us..."

Bai frowned immediately: "I'm sorry, we don't seem to have met before?"

"Have you forgotten? It was two weeks ago, in that office on the west side of the first floor."

Baie looked him up and down, then chuckled and said, "You're quite humorous. I was in Genoa just two weeks ago, and I only returned to Paris this Monday."

"Impossible! That day, Viscount Norbert brought us to see you! It was on the west side of the first floor..."

Congressman Frey suddenly pulled Elach aside, looked at the French Trade Minister, and whispered, "Don't you feel... Mr. Baiy seems... a little different from that day..."

Count Elach was taken aback and looked closely at Bai. They were facing the sunlight that day, so they couldn't see the latter's appearance clearly, but his outline seemed to have become smaller.

His mind went blank for a moment, and he pointed at Bai and cried out, "No, you, you're the imposter minister!"

Before long, the Bernese councilors were "politely" escorted out of Versailles by the palace guards.

The three of them stood frozen in the marble courtyard, their foreheads covered in cold sweat.

“How is that possible?!” Frey spoke first. “That day, we clearly went into the Trade Minister’s office…”

Count Elach nodded: "I also saw Viscount Norbert and Count Mirabeau working together."

(End of this chapter)