Make France Great Again

After all the dishes were served, John Brown reappeared in the restaurant, this time holding a bottle of tan unopened sherry in his hand.

"Would you like a glass of sherry?" Prince Albert asked Palmerston in a brisk tone.

Palmerston pretended to be flattered and agreed to Albert, but he kept telling himself that he must not lose his word after drinking.

Compared with Queen Victoria, who has no "scheming", Palmerston is more "afraid" of Prince Albert.

This talented student from Germany seemed to be born for the British system. In him, Palmerston did not see a trace of the frivolity that aristocrats should have. A knife in your back.

Albert signaled John Brown to open the cork, and with a "plop", John Brown opened the wine that had been dusty for nearly 200 years and came from the small town of Jerez, Spain.

Another servant appeared in the dining room with a tray containing 4 crystal cups. In each crystal cup there were 2 cube-shaped ice cubes. There was a hazy layer of hoarfrost, and John Brown carefully held the sherry wine and poured it into the crystal glass. A burst of "crash", dark yellow hot liquid like beer was poured into the crystal glass, covering the white on the glass wall. The frost disappeared, and the ice cubes floated on top of the crystal glass.

After four glasses of sherry with ice were made in the hands of John Brown, four servants entered the restaurant and placed the sherry in front of Prince Albert, Palmerston and others.

The four servants left, and John Brown saluted everyone present, carefully half-closed the door of the restaurant and stayed outside the restaurant waiting for Albert's summons.

"Cheers to Britain!" Albert raised his glass and turned his gaze to Palmerston, and Queen Victoria also turned to Palmerston's wife.

Palmerston immediately raised his glass with a flattered expression and said, "To the Queen and Prince!"

So did Mrs Palmerston.

The warmth of sherry combined with the coolness of the ice cubes went down Palmerston's throat to his stomach, and Palmerston felt a little tipsy.

After drinking half a glass of wine, Prince Albert didn't say anything else, he gently picked up the aluminum-plated table knife and cut off a piece of sirloin and stuffed it into his mouth.

Seeing that Albert didn't say anything, Palmerston also cut the sirloin and chewed it carefully.

It wasn't until after the second sip of sherry that Prince Albert got to the point: "Palmerston, what do you think of the recent events in Britain?"

Palmerston immediately put down the knife and fork in his hand, wiped his face with a tablecloth, and after thinking for a moment, pushed, "Your Highness, Prime Minister Russell is in charge of Britain's internal affairs. He must be more clear than me!"

Seeing that Palmerston played football, Albert had no other choice but to curse "old fox" in his heart. Albert was unwilling to believe that Palmerston, who was committed to the post of prime minister, really didn't understand the rumors that the outside world The "Chart Movement" that is raging in China is mostly unwilling to get involved in this matter.

Albert, who was angrily scolding Palmerston in his heart, still had a kind smile on his face and said, "As the foreign minister, can you tell me what happened in Europe recently? Understand what happened in Europe, and properly handle the relationship between Britain and the neighboring countries. The relationship between the two countries should be your responsibility!"

"Your Highness, I don't know which part you want to hear!" Palmerston asked?

For some reason, Albert suddenly remembered what Dr. James said to him at noon today, and he immediately said: "Let's talk about our old neighbor France first! After all, the birthplace of this revolution comes from that country."

Palmerston pondered for a moment, and reorganized the language in his mind: "During the February riots, the people of Paris drove their king out of the palace! The whole country has shown the worst side,

Those republicans and Montagnards survived to maintain a republic. "

"So, the riots in France will not affect Britain?" Albert continued to ask.

The fear of the Great Revolution has penetrated into the bones of the European monarchs. In order to make people fear the Revolution, they even went so far as to demonize everything about the Revolution.

Combining the British ambassador to France and the overall changes in Europe, Palmerston replied: "From the current situation, this riot is different from the one decades ago. There is no decisive force in the French political situation." Screw France together! Those ex-Dynasty MPs stay where they were."

"That's right!" Prince Albert nodded, and asked again: "Which force in France do you think can win the final victory! Can the Bourbon Dynasty return again?"

Palmerston shook his head and replied worriedly: "From the interests of Britain, a dynasty is always better than a republic, but judging from the current information, the future of France is likely to be in the hands of the group of republicans. .”

"Didn't you say that those congressmen are still in their original positions?" Albert, who lacked information about France, asked suspiciously.

"Your Highness, it has been 33 years since the Bourbon dynasty began in 1815, and the people of Paris have already hated Bourbon! The Paris mob itself is a nation that loves the new and hates the old!" Palmerston added: "Although in our eyes, the two The modern Bourbons are of the same origin, but in the eyes of the Parisian mob, the power of France has simply passed from one Bourbon to another!"

How could Palmerston in April have never imagined that the June Revolution two months later would push the republicans, who were originally locked in victory, directly to the abyss of defeat.

"If it's...the Bonaparte family..." Prince Albert asked tentatively.

There was a flash of surprise in Palmerston's eyes. He had also heard some rumors about Prince Albert's contact with the Bonaparte family. Now it seems that some rumors are not groundless.

"Your Highness, forgive me!" Palmerston said bluntly: "The Bonaparte family has left the political arena for more than 30 years, and its influence has long since disappeared with the disappearance of the empire. A party without influence is very difficult. It’s hard to make a difference in French politics!”

Afterwards, Palmerston changed the subject: "Of course, I'm just saying that in general, who knows that the French political scene is changing rapidly, and there may be a miracle! Appropriate investment is still very necessary! An empire is far more important than an empire. Good luck to the Republic!"