Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The British mentioned that these areas they already controlled, important maritime hubs and supply stations, could only be controlled by the British themselves.

Solovyov did not need to say anything more when it came to the second stage of the negotiations.

What he had mentioned to Nesselrode before were one or two trading posts and ports in Africa, or some marginal islands.

Especially the place in Equatorial Guinea. Although Bioko Island is not big and was even seized by the Spanish from the Portuguese in 1778, it is located in the heart of the Gulf of Guinea.

What if a few great nobles were captured and exiled there in the future, or if some young man had an idea on a whim?

Solovyov was a little bit depressed. He thought that if Pushkin accidentally went there in the future, it would probably be the closest to Hannibal's hometown.

Although their pedigree book says Abyssinia, which is Ethiopia, but if you really want to calculate, I'm afraid it's somewhere in Africa, maybe even closer to Cameroon.

Moreover, the greater threats in such a place are yellow fever and malaria. However, as long as you have enough quinine in the tropics and pay attention to hygiene, you can just pray for yourself.

The British said nothing about this island.

After all, it was a Spanish island, and the British supported Russia's demands for this place in principle.

But it is not easy to take something away from the British.

Lord Liverpool would not let go of these places. In the process of expanding the British Empire, the Conservative Party often had some advantages over the Whig Party, whether it was the cabinet designated by the king or the results of general election voting. After all, there was some public opinion.

When it's downhill, it's time to step on the accelerator and go downhill very quickly.

"We are unwilling to abandon the mouth of the Gambia River, even though it is now little more than a trading post."

"But this place has no practical value to your country, not to mention that the nearby former French territories are so desolate. For this place, we are willing to support your opinion on the territory that Hanover originally seized by France."

Nesselrode made his attitude very clear, and everyone knew what he was going to do.

Russia obviously needed a trading point in Africa. Although their clippers lacked weapons, they could run very fast on the sea, and this advantage already surpassed the British merchant fleet.

However, the difference in quantity is huge. If the Russians want to export raw materials, they always have these ships to export to Britain. Therefore, the British are actually not loosening up on overseas trade.

But it’s not that we can’t talk. The British are still unwilling to give up this place.

However, they also made concessions on the issues of Cape Colony and Ceylon.

The British valued India more, so they were unwilling to return Ceylon, which they had obtained from the Netherlands, to the Netherlands.

But although the Cape Colony is located in an important position, it is not a necessary outpost for the Royal Navy. Britain has territories on both sides of it. And another very important point is that the environment inland from the Cape Colony is very harsh.

It didn't matter what the Dutch wanted to do there, Lord Castlereagh now mentioned to Niels Henrache that Britain could return the Cape Colony to the Netherlands.

"But Belgium has become independent, and the Netherlands has lost Ceylon, so they have to be compensated."

"Then we can carve out a part of the French colonies. After all, we are not satisfied with some of Mr. Talleyrand's actions."

Solovyov knew that when he arrived in Paris, he learned that Talleyrand wanted to manipulate the French Senate to welcome back the Bourbon royal family. Although the British cabinet expressed support, they had not yet made a final decision.

Afterwards they felt they had to do something, but it was too late.

If the negotiations were between Britain and Russia, perhaps more benefits could be brought back to Britain. After all, Russia insisted on having its people in power, or wanted some benefits, so it would have to make concessions outside of Paris.

Because the British also knew that if Bourbon was sent back, there would be no guarantee that Louis XVIII would not suddenly attack like his brother Louis XVI.

If the Count of Artois and his son became king, it might be even more troublesome. If most of George III's daughters were over childbearing age, and one of the two youngest ones was unwilling to marry and the other was frail and had only recently recovered, using marriage to tie down the Duke of Angoulême and the Duke of Berry was also an idea.

But it ultimately failed, and Bourbon now returned to Paris, not everything he did was in Britain's favor, and Mr. Talleyrand even used his expertise to turn against Britain in diplomacy.

If the victorious Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria and the defeated France were to maintain the post-war European international order, and if France had a diplomatic conspirator like Talleyrand on the stage who unscrupulously implemented his ideas, it would be disadvantageous to Britain in the future.

For Britain, which now has maritime hegemony, it would be disadvantageous to itself if the three autocratic monarchs of Russia, Prussia and Austria stood on the side of France.

These four countries will either play a chess match or a two-on-two match. Russia itself has relations with Prussia and France, which is not good for Britain.

Therefore, Lord Castlereagh also had to weaken the French a little as a warning.

Lord Liverpool also agreed to this, but he wanted to give Dakar to the Netherlands?
When I mentioned this, it happened that one of the two teams outside had scored a goal, which caused cheers from the audience.

Giving both sides some buffer time, Solovyov was not interested in watching the game today and just said it casually.

"nice shot!"

"But what should be done? We need to give some compensation to the Netherlands, but we can't give it to Belgium, because they are also a commercial country."

The Dutch's main business is in the Atlantic and the Dutch East Indies, so losing Ceylon is not a big problem. If they want compensation, the Netherlands does have current colonies on the Gold Coast and some places in Africa.

This was not the time when Berlin later recalled the partition of Africa. There was still a lot of room for maneuver for the Netherlands.

But forget about Guadeloupe. The British did not think the plantations there had much value, so they returned them to the French.

The British still want to dominate the sea, and Russia only has sea control in the inland seas. They cannot get out, and it may not be possible to control the sea in the North Sea.

If a war breaks out between Britain and Russia in the future, these places can be quickly recaptured, and even the Royal Navy will not need to take too much action.

The Russian Navy may still be blocked inside. The more troublesome thing is that there is no cover on the Pacific Ocean, so the Russians can act more freely.

Even Lord Liverpool, Lord Castlereagh, Nesselrode and Solovyov, who are sitting here, would not realize that there is an expedition of the Russian American Company to build a fortress in the Hawaiian Islands.

This was a big deal, and even now the RAC's board of directors in Irkutsk and its management in St. Petersburg were unaware of the expedition.

Not to mention reporting to the Tsar. Although the British knew about Russia's activities in North America, they were not clear about many specific facts. There was no telegraph at the time, and it would take a long time for news to spread in such an isolated place as Hawaii.

Russia is still very powerful, and the British are aware of this.

Their concession did not mean handing Dakar over to the Dutch; it still had to be returned to France.

The compensation given by the British was the island that was taken from the Netherlands by France in the past. It is not known whether it is called Saint Louis, Bourbon or Bonaparte, which is the largest hideout of French pirates in the Indian Ocean.

Although this place is important, the British control the Indian Ocean coast, so it is not a big deal.

However, Reunion, where Moreau's wife was born, is still controlled by the French.

The two sides had almost finished their talk in the stadium. Even the surrounding spectators only noticed that there were important people coming here today. Perhaps the public's attention was attracted by the Regent, Princess Charlotte and the Russian Tsar.

Their subsequent negotiations were just some mutual understanding.

It is impossible to settle everything here. In the future, each country will have to find a place to negotiate.

But if the Black Duke were to become King of Belgium, the territory of Brunswick would have to be given to Prussia in exchange for Prussia not annexing the entire Saxony.

Everything seems to be going well.

After coming out of the stadium, the Tsar and his entourage were also arranged to stay.

He lives in Kensington Palace. Although this place is quite famous now, it will probably become even more famous in the future.

After all, the biggest feature of the British royal family is that there is so much gossip about them that it can be used to divert public attention from a series of policy failures of the cabinet.

"This place looks pretty good. The British royal family really came up with a nice place to entertain Your Majesty."

Solovyov was also quite puzzled as to why Alexander did not bring Louisa with him this time but instead asked her to go back to Karlsruhe to visit her relatives.

You know, some time ago, Louisa's brother-in-law, Prince Czartoryski, actually proposed to elope with her.
This little Poland next door always manages to find a track for himself that others would never expect.

In the end, Louisa refused, and Alexander did not do anything to his friend.

It’s just that Czartoryski was somewhat dissatisfied with Alexander. The Tsar had no interest in Poland’s independence now, and he wanted to put it under the control of Russia.

In fact, it was still semi-independent. The Polish army was even able to avoid joining the war with Russia under the intervention of the Polish Governor-General. Russia also made some concessions to Poland in terms of taxation and constitutional reform.

But it would be strange if the Poles didn't seek death.

"Soloviev, how did your talk go?"

"I think the British made some concessions, but in the stadium environment, Karl, as foreign secretary, did not make the final confirmation. Your Majesty always needs to make the final decision. We just signed a memorandum on the spot."

"That's good. We don't have to get two places in Africa. As for Belgium, this crossroads, it really shouldn't be controlled by the French. A monarchy that is acceptable to all parties is a good solution."

"Then your majesty."

"The Earl has gone to Whitehall again. What do you think now?"

"It would be better if there was a war, but now it's always about diplomacy, which is also difficult for soldiers."

"You are different. You are familiar with the British way. And it seems that Princess Charlotte will visit here later. There is always something to be done."

"Royal visits are a good thing, but, Your Majesty, I think it would be better to speak in the garden, where only people will see Your Majesty discussing issues, but they won't know what you are talking about, unless there is an Englishman who can interpret your lips from 20 yards away."

"so be it."

At Kensington Palace, of course, there are still some British servants here.

But they couldn't get any useful information. It was the end of May and the weather was pretty good.

The Tsar did not need to bring any other guards, as Solovyov himself was one, and only two adjutants followed behind him.

"Misha, did you hear anything?"

"No, Your Majesty."

"But I learned from Katya that Princess Charlotte doesn't seem to like the Prince of Orange. Although she didn't say it explicitly, her eyes and hesitation in her words showed it."

"Your Majesty, do you think we can prevent the marriage between Holland and England?"

"Yes, but it always depends on Princess Charlotte's attitude."

"They will probably lose their composure by then. George III wants to control his children just like that. Although the Prince Regent's restrictions will be looser, he is the actual monarch after all. He always has the right to decide who his only daughter should marry."

"Do you know what's going to happen?"

"I think it will be like in the past. Count Vorontsov once said that in the British royal family, the monarch and the crown prince always hold opposite attitudes. But in my opinion, no matter what Princess Charlotte's status is, she will probably support the Whig Party, which is inconsistent with the attitude of the regent. Moreover, in terms of marriage, the relationship between the regent and his wife was originally arranged by force."

Alexander would understand after hearing this.

As for what to do next, we also need to discuss it with the Queen Mother in St. Petersburg.

After all, her younger sister Anna has not yet married, and simply arranging her to marry the Prince of Orange may not necessarily make her happy.

But the position of a queen, and the Dutch royal family always have to rely on a powerful country to build an alliance through marriage, and even in the past they did not hesitate to let their princess marry a literal mentally retarded person.
That was just an ally of the Prussian alliance and long-term marriage. If it was a Russian Grand Duchess, she would even be higher in line of succession than a British princess and could bring more benefits.

At least Russia is very caring towards its own relatives. If it were the British, who knows when the ship would come to block the door. (End of this chapter)