I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 859 Prey
The last point is that this operation to central Italy is the security organization’s debut.

On the one hand, it can enable the armies of member states to become familiar with each other and increase coordination.

On the other hand, after winning the battle, it can also enhance the prestige and cohesion of the security organization.

At this moment, a clear dog barking sound suddenly came from the front.

When Joseph raised his eyes, he saw hundreds of servants, with the help of hunting dogs, driving seven or eight deer towards this side.

He pointed at the herd of deer and smiled at the representatives of various countries beside him:

"Look, our prey is coming, let's go."

Two days later.

At the grand court ball at the Palace of Versailles, French King Louis XVI and his wife publicly announced that the Iberian-Apennine Summit had concluded successfully.

Queen Marie was whispering with her sister-in-law, Elizabeth, Louis XVI's younger sister, about the Crown Prince's marriage.

From time to time, the two of them glanced at Joseph who was surrounded by the crowd, covering their mouths with their folding fans and smiling like aunts.

When the song ended, Louis XVI walked over and extended his right hand to Queen Marie.

The latter placed her hand in his palm, smiled at Elizabeth, and then followed her husband to the open space in the center of the Hall of Mirrors, ready to lead the next dance.

Elizabeth looked at the loving couple and sighed somewhat dejectedly.

Just as the band was about to start the dance, a tall man in his thirties with a thick blond beard and wearing a scarlet double-breasted coat came over and bowed to her:

"Your elegance and beauty make this night shine. I spotted you in the crowd at a glance. Your Highness, may I have the honor of dancing with you to celebrate this important moment?"

Elizabeth quickly searched her mind for information about the person in front of her.

Fortunately, there were not many people who were qualified to greet her, so she quickly found out the identity of this person and hurriedly knelt down to return the greeting: "Oh, I am very happy to do so, Your Highness Pascual."

Yes, this tall man is Carlos IV’s younger brother, Spanish Prince Antonio Pascual.

Carlos IV was worried that his crown prince was too young, so he asked his younger brother to come along as a substitute for the royal representative.

Pascual took Elizabeth's hand and walked to the edge of the dance floor, and the music started.

The dance steps of these two unmarried middle-aged women were very harmonious. After the dance, Pascual and Elizabeth talked and laughed happily again, as if they had known each other for a long time.

Well, after this summit, the Prince of Spain has realized that France will become Spain's reliance in the future.

If he could establish a closer relationship with the French royal family, his status in Spain would also rise.

Then he noticed this old French princess who had never married.

He secretly made up his mind that as long as Elizabeth nodded, he would rather not have any dowry and marry her back to Madrid.

On the other side of the ball, Princess Therese, who was also unengaged and younger and more beautiful, was the center of attention.

She was invited by princes from various countries from the beginning of the ball, and she almost never stopped dancing...

That night, the streets of Paris also celebrated all night long. The lights of gas lamps illuminated the streets, illuminating the people singing and dancing, as well as the vendors selling snacks and wine on the roadside.

In fact, most people don’t understand the significance of this summit, but they just feel that they must celebrate it. At least, the front line is still sending back good news, right?
The next day.

After singing and dancing all night, representatives from various countries set out on their journey home. They looked at the prosperous and fashionable city of Paris in the carriage and wanted to stay for a few more days, but they had to rush back to their countries immediately.

Indeed, the content of this summit is too important to affect the future of their country. They must go back and discuss with their king or parliament as soon as possible on how to meet this trend.

……

Just one day before the opening of the Iberian-Apennine summit, the Duke of Brunswick finally returned to Potsdam.

Sanssouci Palace.

There was no welcoming ceremony. To be more precise, no one knew that he was back except for a few nobles who had a good personal relationship with him.

On the way to the palace gate, the Duke of Brunswick frowned and looked at the middle-aged man beside him: "You mean, His Majesty drinks two or three pounds of beer with every meal?"

"I'm afraid that's the case," said the middle-aged nobleman, "Since the French captured Koblenz, Your Majesty has been drinking more and more..."

William II was originally fond of drinking, and after the war went badly, he began to vent his emotions by drinking heavily.

More than twenty minutes later, the Duke of Brunswick finally met William II in the king's bedroom.

The latter was a lot fatter than when he left Potsdam, had dark circles under his eyes, reeked of alcohol, and looked listless, obviously having just woken up from a hangover.

William II signaled his mistress Wilhelmine to bring a chair to the old marshal, and then said with his head down: "I have read the battle report from the front, you don't need to talk about this.

"Oh, just tell me when you plan to launch a counterattack. Oh, I'm afraid you'll have to take care of the military recruitment as well. Those guys are simply unreliable...

"Don't worry about the military expenditure. I will negotiate with the British. All you have to do is..."

The Duke of Brunswick stood up suddenly and said in a solemn voice without regard for etiquette: "Your Majesty, we can't fight any longer!"

"What did you say?" William II sat up straighter and stared at him intently.

"Your Majesty, this war is meaningless." The Duke of Brunswick took a deep breath and said, "The British Army has lost most of its troops, and the remaining several thousand have retreated to Hanover.

"The Austrians have been completely driven out of the Southern Netherlands and are also in disarray in Italy. Currently, tens of thousands of soldiers are besieged in Mantua...

"The French army controlled almost the entire Rhineland. The only place in the north of the Rhine that had not been occupied was the Cologne crossing, but the garrison there could not hold out for long...

"As for our country... we no longer have the troops to continue fighting..."

"No, no, I still have troops," William II shouted, "I still have 3 guards... and the East Prussian garrison has more than 1 troops. I leave them all to you. We must not lose!"

The Duke of Brunswick shook his head secretly.

He knew very well that the so-called Guards were just local troops recently transferred from various places and had no combat effectiveness at all.

East Prussia is far away from the mainland, and the garrison cannot move at all.

He tried to persuade him a few more times, but seeing that William II still seemed drunk, he had to retreat.

Behind him, Wilhelmin caught up, walked side by side with him, and whispered: "Your Excellency Marshal, is it really impossible to continue the war?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm afraid this is our last chance to make peace with the French."

(End of this chapter)