I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 947 Engagement Ceremony and the Best Bride Gift
In the luxurious villa across the street from Schönbrunn Palace, Kaunitz lay in an armchair, listening to his son-in-law's talk about French aid, and a smile gradually appeared on his face:
“You see, Clemens, I was proved right.

"If His Majesty had listened to my advice, the empire would not be facing the current predicament."

He was in particularly good spirits today and said a lot in one breath:
"In the end, we have to rely on France for help."

Metternich nodded: "And it is based on the political wealth you left for the empire."

He was referring to his father-in-law's arrangement for Queen Mary to marry to France.

Kaunitz raised his hand and held his son-in-law—he hadn’t made such a big move in a long time—and said seriously: “But you have to remember that Austria is a country that relies on blood and inheritance, and diplomacy is our strong point.

“What is diplomacy?
"It is that among many countries, regardless of whether they have differences with us or not, we can find common interests and use them to deal with ..."

Metternich waited for a moment, but heard nothing further, so he whispered, "What are you here to deal with? Father-in-law."

No response.

Metternich felt his father-in-law pulling his hand downwards, and was startled. He hurriedly touched his neck and found that he had no pulse.

"Someone come!" He turned and shouted to the door, "Call a doctor!"

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Kaunitz, the political master who facilitated the marriage between France and Austria, passed away.

This also seemed to indicate that the last rays of the empire, which had begun in the era of Queen Theresa 50 years ago, would also come to an end with him.

……

The capital of Russia, Saint Petersburg.

Countless flowers and colorful ribbons filled the entire Winter Palace, and the sound of music and laughter was everywhere.

Thousands of nobles gathered on both sides of the road, craning their necks to look into the distance, while also talking excitedly in French.

"His Majesty's foresight is truly unparalleled. France has truly defeated all its opponents!"

"You forgot England, but they can't land on land either. Now we have the most powerful ally in Europe."

"From now on the Queen of France will be Russian, haha. The two greatest royal marriages in Europe!"

"Even the French, who are so arrogant, have recognized us. I feel like I am dreaming..."

Yes, Russia is a country where “French law” is everywhere.

No, to be precise, almost the entire Russian aristocracy was "French".

In the past, they only admired French culture and fashion, but now there is one more thing they admired - France's powerful military force.

Russia is a country that admires strong powers very much. After France defeated the anti-French alliance, their French proficiency increased significantly again.

Relying on her keen political sense, Catherine II "invested" in France in advance, achieved a Russian-French marriage, and won praise from the whole country.

This also allowed her to escape the political crisis brought about by the failure of the Russo-Polish War.

Now the nobles of St. Petersburg were talking about their French Crown Princess and the bright future of the Franco-Russian marriage. No one mentioned overthrowing her and letting Crown Prince Paul succeed to the throne early.

As the engagement ceremony draws closer, the empire has gradually forgotten the unfavorable shadow of the war and has begun to prepare for the next war with full enthusiasm.

Yes, Russia is such a country - either at war or preparing for war.

Occasionally, when there were breaks in the fighting, they would usually stage a coup to liven up the atmosphere. Finally, a deafening salute sounded.

Then the court band began to perform vigorously.

All the nobles immediately stopped talking and looked at the dozen or so carriages approaching from the end of the road.

Soon, the motorcade stopped in front of the Winter Palace. The door of the front car was opened by a servant, and Louis Antoine, the eldest son of the Count of Artois of France, stepped out of the car as the marriage envoy.

Behind him were French Foreign Minister Talleyrand and others.

There was an immediate burst of warm cheers in the Winter Palace.

Crown Prince Paul welcomed the group to Catherine II. After a complicated formality, they entered the palace surrounded by nobles.

The marriage agreement had already been signed a long time ago, so we could just go straight to the engagement process now.

Antoine, who was walking beside the Tsar, gracefully gestured to the carriage in the square and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, my dear cousin has carefully prepared some betrothal gifts."

Catherine II thought it was just gold, silver, and jewelry, but it seemed like a lot, so she seemed quite happy: "Thank you, dear Joseph, he is so thoughtful. I believe Alexandra will like it."

According to European custom, the betrothal gifts are mostly the bride's dress and jewelry, which are not too much. On the contrary, the dowry is very generous.

More than a dozen truckloads of betrothal gifts is considered a lot.

Antoine smiled meaningfully: "Your Majesty, in fact, most of these gifts are not for Her Royal Highness the Princess. Moreover, there are more than these. Because it is inconvenient to transport and somewhat dangerous, most of them are parked on the outskirts of the city."

"Oh?" Catherine II asked curiously, "What did Joseph send?"

"Charleville flintlocks," said Antoine. "New and shiny like jewels. Thirty-three thousand of them. Each with fifty rounds of ammunition."

Catherine II's eyes lit up immediately, and she smiled so hard that her double chin trembled. "Haha, this is really the best gift. Joseph is really the best husband in Europe. Oh, I am a little jealous of Alexandra."

Joseph has decided to replace all French troops with percussion cap rifles. The direct corps even plans to use expensive rifles as standard equipment. The large number of flintlock rifles that have been replaced must be put to good use.

French flintlock rifles are the best in Europe, and their quality far exceeds that of Russian products. No wonder Catherine was so happy.

The Russian army had taken so many guns from Joseph, so they couldn't refuse his request to go to Livonia for training.

Livonia is right next to East Prussia, only a few dozen kilometers away.

And these guns will have other important uses soon.

After another lengthy engagement ceremony, it entered the final stage.

Alexandra appeared in front of the main entrance of the Winter Palace wearing an ivory satin dress. Her beautiful big eyes looked nervously at the crowd that was seeing her off, and her childish little face was full of longing for a happy future.

The soft hem of her skirt dragged across the parquet floor like spring sunshine sweeping across a colorful field.

The maids followed closely behind, holding a three-meter-long lace veil.

Sixty or seventy Guards officers, hands on the hilts of their swords and heads held high, followed closely on both sides to protect them.

Behind them was a group of page boys carrying a stove wrapped in sable fur, as well as the princess' dressing sets, jewelry boxes and the like.

The melodious music of the organ sounded, and the nobles outside bowed their heads and saluted respectfully to the future French Crown Princess.

(End of this chapter)