"France warmly welcomes the Austrian Empire to join the ranks of maintaining peace in Europe, to jointly oppose the hegemonic behavior of the Russian Empire."

Jerome Bonaparte praised Richard Metternich and the Austrian Empire behind him with a passionate tone, completely ignoring the awkward expression on Richard Metternich's face.

"Your Majesty, the Austrian Empire is not seeking to confront the Russian Empire alongside England and France; we hope that England, France, and Russia can each take a step back on the Danube River Region issue and jointly maintain the hard-earned peace!" Richard Metternich sincerely said to Jerome Bonaparte.

Although the Vienna Government behind Richard Metternich had already decided to join the England and France camp, their monarch, Franz Joseph, still harbored a slim hope for successful peace talks, maintaining a slight ambiguity on the Russian Empire issue.

Regarding this ambivalent mindset of the Vienna Government, Jerome Bonaparte held extreme disdain, feeling a sense akin to how the German Second Empire viewed Austria-Hungary.

The situation had reached this critical point, and procrastination would only lead to missing opportunities.

If Franz Joseph had encountered his cousin, perhaps the Austrian Empire would have ended up with grass three feet high on its grave.

"We are willing to respect the Austrian Empire's intentions... In the Danube issue, we will adhere to a mutually inclusive and cooperative attitude to negotiate with the Russian Empire!" Jerome Bonaparte once again resorted to standard official rhetoric in his response to Richard Metternich.

Since the Vienna Government was willing to engage in this futile effort, Jerome Bonaparte then agreed to let the Austrian Empire act as a communication bridge as well.

"As for the Sardinian Kingdom..." Richard Metternich cautiously probed.

Jerome Bonaparte informed Richard Metternich that due to Major General Niel, acting as Chief of Staff, catching a cold unexpectedly, the originally planned military exchange had to be postponed.

Upon hearing Jerome Bonaparte's assurance, Richard Metternich breathed a sigh of relief and responded, "It's really a pity!"

Later, after exchanging views on issues in the Near East and the German Region, Richard Metternich got up to bid farewell to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte personally escorted Richard Metternich out of the study and then called for Mokar, instructing him to immediately invite De Luy to come here.

About half an hour later, Mokar and De Luy appeared in the study room.

Jerome Bonaparte relayed what Richard Metternich had said to him to De Luy, then instructed De Luy to set off for Vienna immediately.

"Your Majesty! If the Russian Empire is indeed willing to make concessions, shouldn't we..." De Luy asked Jerome Bonaparte if he would prefer to stop the war.

"No! We must strike the Russian Empire hard for them to settle down for a while, otherwise, the Russian Empire will make a comeback in a short time. At that time, the empire might be plunged into endless wars." Jerome Bonaparte tapped the table lightly and emphasized, "Since we have chosen war, we must fight one battle that brings ten years of peace, making France's awe stand out!"

"Yes!" Minister De Luy nodded in agreement to Jerome Bonaparte's words.

On April 1st, the French Empire's Minister of Foreign Affairs De Luy took a train to arrive at Toulon military port, and then transferred to a warship, reaching Venice on the afternoon of April 2nd.

Upon hearing Minister De Luy's arrival in Venice, Marshal Radetzky took it upon himself to invite De Luy to accompany him in inspecting the Austrian Empire's army.

Fully aware of Marshal Radetzky's ill intentions, Minister De Luy still accepted the invitation.

Accompanied by Marshal Radetzky and Venetian officials, De Luy reviewed the Austrian Empire's troops.

After inspecting the troops stationed by Austria in the Venice region one by one, De Luy had to admit that Radetzky's troops were in no way inferior to any of France's military units.

"Mr. De Luy, it was this very force that I relied on to quell the uprising on the Apennine Peninsula. I can pat my chest and assure you that my soldiers are no worse than your French army!" Radetzky proudly told De Luy.

Subsequently, Marshal Radetzky recounted various odd and interesting events from the Napoleonic Wars era, with his words revealing nostalgia for the previous era and criticism of this one.

After listening to Marshal Radetzky, De Luy immediately realized that this old marshal was merely an "old relic" immersed in the previous era with little time left!

"Old Marshal, you are indeed one of the last surviving generals from the previous era! From you, I see a glimpse of the past era," De Luy complimented with an underlying sarcasm.

Marshal Radetzky heard the sarcasm in De Luy's words and showed a slight displeasure, saying, "Mr. De Luy, I'm a rough man who only knows how to fight! Feel free to speak your mind!"

"Marshal, if I'm not mistaken, you are now over 87 years old! How much longer do you have to continue serving this Empire? Don't you think your recent actions are deliberately provoking tensions between the French Empire and the Austrian Empire?" De Luyis immediately accused Radetzky of "disrespecting foreign allies."

Radetzky kept a somber face and remained silent. After a while, he apologized, "I deeply apologize for my inappropriate remarks just now!"

"It's nothing," De Luyis waved his hand with magnanimity and continued, "I acknowledge that this army under your command is indeed capable of contending with the army of the French Empire. But have you considered how many such armies exist within the Austrian Empire? The French Empire can easily muster large forces like before, using sheer numbers to overwhelm your troops. Our nation's finances can fully support the creation of a huge army! I wonder if the Austrian Empire can sustain such a large army!"

De Luyis' words reminded Radetzky of the citizen army during the First Republic, and his face showed a trace of fear.

"I'm afraid that's very difficult!" Radetzky responded with difficulty.

"So Marshal Radetzky, in my eyes, your army is nothing more than an irreplaceable force! Our army can lose ten times, but your army only needs to lose once to suffer total defeat!"

Saying this, De Luyis turned and left.

"Marshal, he is too arrogant!"

"Indeed! Absolutely too arrogant!"

...

The generals under Radetzky angrily rebuked the departing De Luyis, yet no one dared to chase after him and confront him directly.

On April 4th, De Luyis arrived in Vienna by train.

Count Baur, the Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Prince Metternich, the Austrian Empire's political advisor, personally welcomed De Luyis.

"Minister Luyis, are you alright? Marshal Radetzky didn't give you a hard time, did he?" As soon as De Luyis got off the train, he was greeted with concern by Count Baur.

"It's nothing! The old Marshal was very friendly to me!" De Luyis did not want to pursue the old Marshal's mistakes, and he shook his head at Count Baur.

"That's good! That's good!" Count Baur breathed a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat relieved that De Luyis did not pursue the old Marshal Radetzky's mistakes, otherwise Count Baur wouldn't know how to handle it.

The old Marshal's former students and subordinates were spread throughout the Austrian Empire's military circles, and rashly handling the old Marshal could provoke a backlash from the Austrian military.

"I can understand Marshal Radetzky's feelings!" De Luyis said to Count Baur, "But I hope that in the future, there won't be another person like the old Marshal!"

"Certainly! Certainly!" Count Baur nodded in agreement with De Luyis.

"Gentlemen, now is not the time for idle chatting, His Majesty has been waiting for us at Schönbrunn Palace for some time! We can't keep him waiting too long!" Prince Metternich, standing to the side, reminded Count Baur and De Luyis of the time.

Reminded by Prince Metternich, Count Baur immediately reacted and invited De Luyis to take a carriage to Schönbrunn Palace.

The carriage carrying the three of them quickly arrived at Schönbrunn Palace, each harboring their own thoughts as they disembarked one after another at the coachman's suggestion.

"Gentlemen, please follow me! His Majesty has been waiting for you for a long time!" The Royal Chief Steward briskly descended the steps to address the group including Count Baur.

Under the guidance of the Royal Chief Steward, Count Baur and the others entered the interior of Schönbrunn Palace and then crossed the lavish hallway covered with red Persian carpets, arriving at the reception hall.

The Emperor of the Austrian Empire, Franz Joseph, stood in the center of the reception hall with a stern face. At his side was not Princess Sisi but her sister, Princess Helen.

At this moment, Princess Helen was wearing a black court gown, smiling as she extended her left hand to greet the surrounding guests.

Led by the Royal Chief Steward, De Luyis gradually approached Franz Joseph. When De Luyis was close enough to see Princess Helen's appearance clearly, he began to feel some sympathy for Franz Joseph.

Because Princess Helen's face lacked any semblance of femininity, it was as if God had forcibly placed a man's face on a woman's body.

De Luyis could swear that if he had to face such a face every day, he would rather never marry.

"Your Majesty, this is the French Empire's Minister of Foreign Affairs, De Luyis!"

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