Talleyrand immediately altered his plan to meet Franz II directly, not even appearing in public, but using his network in Vienna to gather information, then reporting the situation back to Paris via the Sharp Signal Tower in Baden.
Six days later, he received the Crown Prince's latest order—he was to instantly summon the "merchant" Schulmeister—the Security Bureau's top agent in Austria.
...
In Franz II's study, the Austrian Foreign Minister Little Kobtsel was speaking at length:
"... In some respects, the British are indeed correct. If we continue to exhaust ourselves in Silesia, the biggest beneficiary will be the French.
"We may not have the strength to reclaim Italy for another decade or more."
