บท 84: Diplomatic Quagmire
"What is the Prince of the Colombian Empire doing… what has he been doing!?" The Minister of Foreign Affairs asked as he felt like he was getting a fucking aneurysm.
The Marquis of Clermont-Tonnerre is the current Minister of Foreign Affairs, taking control of the position a month ago.
Now, he was dealing with a rouge king and the Heir to an empire who was being imprisoned by the King's King's orders. He knew very well about Felipe and how interconnected he was across all European countries; though he did not fear that other countries might become hostile because they imprisoned an heir, he was more worried because Felipe had a considerable influence in France.
That alone might not be cause for concern, as Felipe ensured he would not antagonize a government in power when his opinions and articles appeared in his very successful newspapers.
The Marquis was more worried because France was on the brink of another Revolution. Even though he was not that wrong, in ordinary history, it would have been at least two years before that happened.
Luis was more worried about the country's interior than his very own position of Foreign Affairs, as even a peasant could see the possible ramifications that putting an heir and a head of state under house arrest while they were visiting the country might have on France in the European Theater.
"The Colombian Prince instructed the chefs and servants to prepare food for his people, who were also under house arrest under the same roof." The Soldier explained. Accounts from a footman explained that he said that he wanted all his people to be like the King of England."
"Haha…" The Marquis could only laugh. "His power is indeed ways to say the words… Still, that is good; he does not want to escalate things and wants to keep this to a minimal situation."
Luis began to praise the young monarch's ability to navigate such a situation. "I must make Sergio meet him… before the news becomes unsolvable."
It took quite a while for letters to arrive from one place to another, which is why if news were to be sent from the Colombian Embassy to outside the country, they would need a week or so for a correction of the letter to be sent to the same destination, or a naval fleet would launch coming for France and there would be no way to relay the message of peace.
But, he was well aware that such news had most likely already left the confines of the French Territorial Lands. He was, after all, scored in the middle of the fucking day with many witnessed watching, and the tone was implied to any observer.
The Golden Globe Editorial and other editors were closed to prevent the news from spreading in the country; however, Luis already knew very well that anyone who had the idea of suppressing news would always make the news even wider.
"Good, good, if he wants all his people to dine and lunch like kings, keep the food going, bring their ladies and whatever he asks for. This might end in a few days if we are lucky enough!" The Marquis quickly retreated to the Soldier, very pleased with the situation as it could be worse.
"Makes them feel like they are the fucking king of England, eh?" Luis added the sentence as he ensured the Soldier would relay the message perfectly.
""Understood."" The Soldier finally left as he ran from another metaphor from the minister.
"I need to meet Sergio." He quickly looked over his desk and organized his papers to leave for him. "His Excellency, the President of the Council, can do something! I don't want to see another reign of Terror!" he said as he massaged his neck, a cold sensation passing across his body.
--
"Your Majesty… please, listen to reason; we are not at war with the Colombians." Elie Ducazes said as he was in front of the King, who was having breakfast in the Palace of Versailles.
"But we will be. Haiti must pay the fair price that was agreed upon." The King said as he repeated the exact words he had not conjured.
The President could not think straight due to the fury of the whole situation, not for the King but because the quagmire he had embroiled himself in had only one way of ending, which would most certainly involve his resignation.
"Your Majesty, the crown prince showed his interest in having a dialogue; his arrival here is not a declaration of war but a way the two countries might solve this inconvenience."
"A 150 Million Francs inconvenience!" The King said, quite angry.
Elie could only smile and feel anger toward the King. He remembered when the situation was mentioned, and the King could not care less; no one expected a former slave nation would ever pay that! And even if they were to pay that, the amount of money they would get from it would be so small every year that they would not see the whole thing pass.
However, the situation with Haiti became now even more horrid as the USA put a letter of support for Colombia backing up the kicking out of the French from American Matters as the predatory and unjust debt was unreasonable.
Unlike in Europe, they had nothing! The French Guyana was there; however, it was more of a plantation than anything else. It was another colony, but it was covered with a very thick forest, which no one would want to live in.
"Your Majesty, with all due respect, there is no way a poor country could ever keep up with the payments at such a level. The Americans have already pledged their support to back the Colombians to prevent the Loan from actually being enforced… if we were to invade the island, it would not only be more costly, but then the Americans would for sure fight us, making it more costly than it is worth… We are not at war with the Colombians and should not try to start a war with the Colombians." The President said once again as he was already calculating what would happen in the matter of the politics of France.
After the Restoration of the monarchy in 1814, France did not restore an absolute monarch but a constitutional monarch. However, unlike in England, the King's power was much more ample as he was responsible for actually appointing ministers and sub sequentially appointing a government!
The only power that the Council has is to implement policies.
"But we will be at war with the Colombians! We now have their Heir and one of the heirs of the state of their empire, or so I am told. Nonetheless, we can make this war go away very easily! We have nothing to fear; we already have the biggest piece of the board." The King referred to chess, but it was not accurate.
The President of the Council of Ministers felt his stomach heavy and became so dizzy that the idea of the King almost made sense.
"Your majesty, please remember that Prince Felipe is considered a genius and a celebrity across the country and abroad! This will create a huge sentiment not only from other countries but also from France." The President of the Ministers began looking for another approach, as he knew the current one was not working.
"…"
"I might remind you that the anti-government sentiments in the country have just been rising, and the newspaper of the Prince is not in favour of them but against them… and even then, the sentiments are not great; every week, we get more concerning reports about protests and violence rising across the entire country… imprisoning a figure as Prince Felipe might not be the ideal position right now."
The door opened right after he finished speaking, so the Archbishop of Paris slowly entered in a quite noble way.
"Your Majesty… your excellency." The Archbishop bowed a bit to each other.
"Ah! Your Holiness, you came at the right time! Please explain to Elie what the church thinks about the Prince of Colombia so he can leave and let me eat in peace," Charles the 10th said as he grew annoyed by the conversation.
Elie suddenly turned his full body to the Archbishop with a face of annoyance.
"With pleasure, the Holy See has branded the Prince of Colombia a heretic; his constant publishing of books that go against the church has been deemed immoral and not acceptable! He has shown very little respect for the church and has mocked it at every turn, yet he relies on us to maintain his family's position in their empire of peasants." The Archbishop slowly said, as with every word, the airs of righteousness entered him.
"You advised the King to start an international crisis over books!? Do you know that they are critically acclaimed across Europe? The biggest case of smuggling in Spain is his fucking books!" The President became angry at the smug face of the Archbishop.
"Yes, and he has made polygamy legal in his country and publicly decapitated priests, Bishops and Archbishops! If he is not a Heretic, I do not know what it is." The Archbishop stopped and breathed in, "Having him as a hostage can not only banish his unholy practices and, at the same time, also prevent France from losing a fair debt, which the country of Haiti has already agreed upon, all that while doing the right holy duty of expelling the influence of the devil upon this country."
"…"
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