I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 885: The Duke of Florence (Recommended, please help!)

Crown Prince Lucifer wiped his cold sweat and stammered:
"You know, if our country reaches a trade agreement with France, it will inevitably lead to retaliation from Austria..."

Talleyrand smiled and said: "France will give you the most firm support with cannons."

He obviously had two meanings in this statement - French cannons can help you defend against Austria, but they can also be used against you.

Talleyrand raised his glass to the pale Crown Prince of Württemberg:

"And our country does not want to establish an exclusive market. Members of the trade alliance can continue to trade with Vienna. Even the tariffs you give to Austria and the consistency within the trade alliance do not matter."

This condition seemed to be intended to relieve the pressure from Austria on the small country in southern Germany, but in fact it was a covert move.

With Austria's current industrial capacity and technological level, there is already a serious generation gap with France.

Under the same tariff conditions, Austrian goods cannot compete with French goods at all, so France does not care at all about trade between Austria and the southern German countries.

On the contrary, if a low-tariff agreement can be reached between the southern German countries and Austria, French goods can enter Austria through these countries.

With the technological conditions of this era, product traceability is simply impossible.

Yes, until the 21st century, the United States, which had already achieved informatization, was at a loss as to the problem of tracing the source. Eastern countries bypassed tariff barriers through Mexico and achieved large-scale exports to the United States.

Of course, Austria could raise tariffs on the southern German states after discovering something was wrong, but that would be tantamount to cutting itself off from the southern German market.

Lucifer heaved a sigh of relief when he heard that there was no need to exclude Austria. He nodded and said, "I understand, Mr. Talleyrand. I will work hard to promote the trade alliance."

Talleyrand held out his glass, clinked it with his, and smiled, "I look forward to the day when the agreement is signed."

Noon the next day.

Talleyrand stroked the slender waist of his new love, Countess Notre-Dame, and whispered in her ear: "Oh, my honey, I have some official business to attend to, and I will come to see you next month."

After the two of them had some fun, Talleyrand got on a carriage and headed for Rothenburg.

He will conduct a round of diplomacy among the southern German states to ensure that the trade alliance is implemented.

However, it is foreseeable that at least those countries that have violated the loan agreement will definitely join.

……

A month later.

At the call of Württemberg, seven countries including France, Upper Hesse, Rothenburg and others launched a preparatory meeting for the "Rhine Trade Alliance" in Karlsruhe, the capital of Baden.

Yes, after France took control of the Rhineland region, it was also considered a country along the Rhine River, so the name of the "Seine-Rhine Trade Agreement" was also changed accordingly.

This is also what Joseph specifically reminded me of.

In the past, when people mentioned the Rhine River, they would involuntarily regard it as a symbol of Germany.

From now on, France will continue to emphasize its presence along the Rhine, eventually turning "Rhine" into a simple geographical term.

The trade alliance's negotiation process was smooth.

The text of the agreement was almost a copy of the previous "Seine-Rhine Agreement", and France made the negotiation conditions relatively loose, so only five days later, the main terms of the "Rhine Trade Alliance Agreement", including the tariffs of each country, were roughly finalized. It is worth mentioning that at the suggestion of Upper Hesse, the member states of the trade alliance decided to unanimously condemn Austria's act of tearing up the "Seine-Rhine Trade Agreement".

God is my witness, this was not the instigation of France, but the Holy Roman Empire, which was involved in the war against France and Austria's refusal to compensate them, wanted to express its dissatisfaction in this way.

……

Central Italy.

Colina Pass northeast of Florence.

Adrian looked back at the Medici family emblems flying everywhere on the hillside and felt like he was dreaming.

A few months ago, he was just a small businessman in Venice. Because of investment fraud, he was in danger of having all his property taken away.

At this time, he was already the majestic Duke of Florence, with more than 800 soldiers standing behind him who had sworn allegiance to him to help him regain the ancestral property of the Medici family.

"Your Excellency, the enemy has deployed its troops one mile to the south." A tall hussar came up to him and bowed to report, "There are about a thousand of them."

The Duke of Florence looked to his brother-in-law for help: "Ferrari, what do you think we should do?"

Yes, just a week ago, Caterina Lucrezia de' Gherardini, the widow of the famous Gherardini family of Tuscany, married him at lightning speed.

The new Duchess of Florence brought him a dowry of 28 ducats, 150 family guards, and her cousin Ferrari de Gherardini.

The latter had attended military school in Naples for several years, so it was natural for him to become the commander-in-chief of the Duke's Guard.

General Gradini drew his sword and shouted, "I will lead the soldiers to defeat any enemy who dares to stand in your way!"

The French advisor Blot Bena, who was wearing a priest's robe, stepped forward to stop the rookie general, and then bowed to Adrian and said, "My Lord Duke, I believe that with your prestige as the Lord of Florence, you are enough to drive away those enemies who overestimate their own strength."

"Ah? Oh, okay." Adrian nodded ignorantly.

Bena picked up a flag embroidered with the Medici family emblem, brought four guards, and rode to the front of the Tuscan army.

The Tuscan commander-in-chief rode up to meet them immediately, but Bena ignored him, raised the flag in his hand, and walked in the direction of the army, shouting:
“The great Medici have returned.

"Florence will be restored to its former glory!
“The Duke of Florence promises you that, except for Ferdinand III who will be expelled, everyone’s property and interests will be guaranteed.

"Now, clear the way and welcome Medici back to his territory!"

There was an immediate murmur among the Tuscan army.

There is no doubt that the Medici family is definitely the eternal god in the hearts of Tuscans.

During the Medici family's rule over Florence, its economy was prosperous, it was the center of commerce, culture and art in central Italy, and it led the Renaissance.

Bena waited for a moment and continued, "His Majesty the King of France believes that the Medici family is the only legitimate owner of Florence. If His Excellency the Duke of Florence needs it, General Napoleon will assist him in returning to the palace."

The Tuscan army suddenly fell silent.

While the Tuscany region is highly developed in the fields of commerce and art, it has always had a bad "non-military" tradition.

(End of this chapter)