In the center of the arena, Soleil touched swords with her opponent as a salute, then she stepped back three paces, turned sideways, her left hand behind her, and assumed the standard starting position.
The audience below immediately began to whisper to each other:
"Look! This lady seems to really know how to use a sword."
"Don't you know? She's the sister of Viscount Frey, trained under the Marquis of Villafuerte, and her swordsmanship is very impressive."
"The Marquis of Villafuerte? That famous Spanish swordsmanship master?"
"Exactly, that's him."
"Ah ha, it looks like we are in for a good show today!"
The bell from the referee rang out. Soleil's gaze instantly sharpened. Her Swift Sword feinted toward her opponent's left chest, her footwork was extremely agile, and almost at the same time, she had pivoted to the right at an angle, pressing down with the tip of her sword, aiming straight for the young man's abdomen.
The tall noble young man was no novice either. Although she had taken the initiative, his defensive stance didn't break at all, fiercely pushing his sword to the side.
Soleil didn't wait for the swords to clash; she retracted her sword and moved back half-step to the side, then, looking up, she saw an opening in her opponent's upper body and stabbed at his face again.
The young man felt he couldn't dodge it and had no choice but to swing his sword horizontally with force in an attempt to push Soleil back.
She, like a butterfly dancing through the flowers, gracefully drew back, dodging beneath the sword light, and once more thrust straight for the opponent's thigh.
What followed were the young man's two clumsy blocks and counterattacks, both easily avoided by Soleil, who then responded with tricky straight thrusts.
The audience erupted in applause and cheers.
However, after only five or six exchanges, Soleil felt her left heel hit against something.
She immediately realized she had reached the edge of the platform, and her heart tightened. She was accustomed to relying on speed to hop and dodge, looking for opportunities to counterattack, but had neglected the size of the platform.
Her opponent took advantage of her momentary distraction and swung his sword down without hesitation — hundreds of nobles were watching, even the Crown Prince, and he was not about to show any leniency towards a lady. He intended to show off his swordsmanship before the King the day after tomorrow.
Soleil, with her back against the wooden rail of the arena, could not dodge, and had no choice but to raise her sword to block.
A "clang" rang out, and she immediately felt a numbness in her wrist. Strength was never her forte.
Her opponent seized the opportunity to chop down from another direction, and she had no choice but to block again.
The gap in strength between them was too great; this time, her sword was even knocked sideways. The young man then lifted his wrist, and the sword's tip, wrapped in a wooden cover, was pressed against her abdomen.
Lost...
She had come for the crown, and yet, she had lost her first match!
Soleil felt a void in her mind until the referee came to urge her, and she walked off the platform in a daze.
She remembered how smugly she had told the Crown Prince to bet on her victory, even assuring him of a cash prize, and now felt so ashamed she wished she could bury herself in a hole.
Before her flashed the image of the Crown Prince extending five fingers when he made the bet, causing a tremor in her heart. With the Royal Family's ways, he must have bet at least 500 livres!
Or even 5,000 livres...
Yes! It must be 5,000 livres!
It was over, all over! Soleil almost burst into tears, the Crown Prince had helped her get a chance to fight, but she had caused him to lose so much money. What was she to do? Would the Crown Prince hate her? Yes! He definitely would hate her!
Laughter from the audience reached her ears. Indeed, they were not mocking; the majority found this incident quite amusing.
To Soleil, however, the laughter rang like that of a little cat caught stealing food; she bowed her head and hugged herself tightly, chanting silently, "They can't see me, they can't see me, they can't see me!" as she ran past the stands, disappearing into the crowd.
No! This won't do!
She shook her head continually as she walked; that was 5,000 livres! She couldn't act as if nothing had happened!
Right! She resolved, although she couldn't pay that much now, she would definitely repay the Crown Prince in full one day!
Up in the stands, Clementine was still carelessly waving candy, looking somewhat disappointed:
"Cousin, I had planned to give that lady candy after she won, but she left so quickly."
"Hmm, but it's alright, you only bet 10 livres on her."
Joseph said with a smile, "Perhaps this isn't her preferred environment."
"Then where is she good at sword fighting?" Clementine asked, tilting her head.
Joseph smiled and didn't say a word, thinking that she would do just fine at the Royal Palace, where hundreds of soldiers couldn't stop her.
When the afternoon's swordsmanship competition ended, Joseph, the Spanish Crown Prince, and the little girl left the stands talking and laughing. Eman quickly approached Joseph and whispered:
"Your Highness, Archbishop Talleyrand is back, waiting for you in the reception room."
Joseph nodded slightly. He knew that Talleyrand had returned from his tour around America and the European Continent and surely had quite a bit to report.
Thus, he excused himself from Antonio and handed Clementine over to her maid, then headed toward his private chambers.
On the way, he also remembered Antonio's environmental-friendly hat, which needed early arrangements.
After pondering for a moment, he turned his head and gave Eman some instructions. The latter promptly went on his way.
Joseph returned to his reception room. Archbishop Talleyrand hurried to greet him, bowing solemnly:
"May God bless you, Your Highness. I have missed you ever since I left Paris. See, I came to you immediately after getting off the carriage."
His words seemed to be a mere courtesy, but in fact, they were a declaration of loyalty to Joseph—I didn't visit the Chief Minister or report to the Foreign Minister directly in charge after returning to the Palace of Versailles. Instead, I came to see Your Highness, the Crown Prince, first.
"Oh, I've missed you too, Archbishop Talleyrand. Please have a seat," Joseph replied with a smile, gesturing to the sofa. "Your departure from Paris covered more than 7,000 nautical miles, didn't it?"
Talleyrand nodded, "Indeed, more than 7,800 nautical miles, Your Highness, crossing the Atlantic Ocean twice."
"That must have been quite taxing on you," Joseph said, signaling a maid to bring Talleyrand coffee and pastries. "Actually, you could have come back with the convoy of Crown Prince Paul."
Talleyrand nodded his thanks to the maid and then looked at Joseph with a smile,
"Your Highness, I took a ship back, setting out several days after the Russian Crown Prince. You see, I still managed to arrive first. Moreover, I believe it's better to report some matters to you in advance."
Joseph leaned forward a bit, "Please go on."
"The situation in the United States is exactly as you predicted; their 'Federalist Party' strongly supports the purchase of warships and the joint fight against pirates," Talleyrand began. "If it weren't for their lack of funds, Mr. Hamilton would even like to buy a small fleet."
Joseph remarked, "We just want to sell some old ships, not to strengthen the American navy."
Talleyrand immediately agreed, "Yes, Your Highness, I also sense their unusual interest in the Caribbean Sea."
"Your insight is very keen," Joseph knew, as soon as the Americans had a bit of money, they immediately assembled a sizable fleet and engaged in fierce battles with France in the Caribbean Sea.𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚
In the end, France lost a significant amount of interests in the Caribbean Sea. Combined with the land reforms, France's earnings from its American colonies were almost wiped out.
"As for the Americans, we need to not only make use of them but also try our best to limit them, especially guarding against their westward expansion. They have a devilish greed for North American land," Joseph earnestly said.
Talleyrand replied somewhat nonchalantly, "Your Highness, the Americans are all stingy and lack courage. I believe they would hardly dare to challenge the interests of Spain."
Spain currently held the territories to the west of the United States.
Joseph did not bother explaining that historically, it took the United States just over a decade to nibble away the vast majority of Louisiana.
Talleyrand continued, "As for trade, Mr. Hamilton assured me privately that given the same prices, we would get their cotton before the British."
"Very good," Joseph nodded in satisfaction. North America was currently the world's largest cotton exporter, and with the supply of American cotton, France would have a stronger position in the textile industry competition against England.
The matter regarding the United States was relatively simple, and Talleyrand quickly finished his report, moving on to the diplomatic experience in Russia.
"Your Highness, upon my arrival in Saint Petersburg, I was quickly granted an audience with their Tsar. Over the next ten days or so, she summoned me two more times, which shows how much she values Russian-French relations."
Joseph wasn't surprised at all, as Russia and France had many common interests and a broad prospect for cooperation. As one of the most prominent rulers in Russian history, Catherine II naturally understood this.
Talleyrand spoke, "The Tsar of Russia expressed her gratitude for the guns and uniforms you sent her. Particularly those uniforms, which have almost become the exclusive gear for the officers."
At this time, Russia's manufacturing quality in Europe was subpar. Although they could also produce flintlock guns, they were quite inferior to the top-notch French goods.
Even the used guns Talleyrand brought back from the United States were highly coveted by Russian soldiers. Catherine had directly issued those 15,000 Charleville muskets to the troops on the front lines of the Russian-Ottoman war.
As for the uniforms, they were specially made in Lyon by Joseph, as he sought to penetrate the Russian clothing market, totaling 1,800 sets.
In that era, military uniforms did not have a standardized design, and Russia's military attire was especially chaotic; as long as the colors were roughly the same, it was acceptable.
Therefore, the style of these military uniforms, designed by French designers, appeared much more "trendy" compared to the existing Russian military attire. They were immediately in high demand among Russian military officers upon arrival.
Though the uniforms were not cheap, costing over 60 livres each, the deal was extremely worthwhile for Joseph—France only expended a few guns and uniforms but gained political support for the Russian-Ottoman war. Knowing that these Russian soldiers fought and won battles with French guns and wearing French uniforms, some of the glory would also be attributed to France.
Indeed, Austria had sent tens of thousands of troops to fight against the Ottomans, and Russia's gratitude towards them was hardly any more than what they felt for France.
Moreover, once those military uniforms given to Russia became popular among Russian officers, there would definitely be a large number of nobles wanting to purchase them.
In fact, two batches of the same model of military uniforms had already been shipped to Russia, each selling for over 100 livres.
Talleyrand said with a smile,
"The Tsar of Russia has expressed support and gratitude for our action in North Africa tying down the Ottoman Navy and even hopes that we can extend our attacks to the region of Alexandria Bay."
Upon hearing this, Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly. Alexandria Bay was near Egypt, implying that Russia recognized that from Algiers all the way to Egypt was within France's sphere of influence!
This meant that among all the great powers in Europe, only England had not yet acknowledged France's stance on North Africa. Of course, Prussia probably did not recognize it either, but considering Prussia's pitiful navy, their attitude towards North Africa did not matter at all.
Talleyrand continued, "At the same time, the Tsar of Russia also hopes we could support some of their demands on Poland.
"Although Russia is currently tied down on the Ottoman front, it seems to be hinting that once they are done with the southern front, they would be ready to expand towards Poland once again."
Joseph couldn't help but sigh. No wonder Catherine II was so generous in supporting France's acquisition of North Africa; there were more conditions behind it.
The coveting of Poland by Russia was a well-known fact, and historically, Catherine II did indeed collude with Prussia and Austria to partition poor Poland completely on three occasions.
However, due to the partition of Poland, Russia had also taken on the heavy burden of being accused of disrupting the European order and naturally hoped for more great powers to back them.
Especially now, as Austria's attitude towards the partition of Poland was still very passive, making France's stance even more necessary.
Talleyrand said, "Your Highness, perhaps we can leverage Poland to obtain more benefits from Russia."
Yet Joseph shook his head, "Although Poland may not have much of our interest, we should try our best to ensure it is not consumed by Russia, at least not too easily."
Talleyrand paused, looking perplexed, "Why is that?"
"Because Prussia and Austria must not become too close."
"I still don't quite understand, Your Highness."
Talleyrand was the key minister of foreign affairs chosen by Joseph, so it was good to clarify some aspects of political strategy with him in advance.
So, Joseph patiently explained,
"On the European continent, France's most direct adversary is Prussia. This is not only because Prussia has always coveted the Rhine River basin, but also because they are England's spokesperson on the European Continent. Draining Prussia is essentially the same as exhausting England."
Talleyrand nodded thoughtfully. England was France's eternal rival and the biggest obstacle to France's ambition to become the hegemon of Europe. After centuries of intermittent warfare, strategically containing England was France's "absolute correctness." Of course, the reverse was also true; England was also trying by all means to contain France.
Still, he was unclear on how this related to Poland.
Joseph continued,
"And to confront the Anglo-Prussian alliance, we should try our best to align with Austria. Fortunately, Prussia and Austria also have many contradictions, such as Silesia."
Silesia was a rich piece of land in the northwestern part of Austria. Over fifty years ago, upon the death of Emperor Charlie VI of Holy Rome, his daughter Maria Theresa — who was Louis XVI's mother-in-law and Joseph's maternal grandmother — succeeded the throne. At that time, Prussia used the pretext that women had no right to succession to start the Silesian Wars.
Austria, defeated by Prussia and pressured by England, eventually ceded the Silesian region to Prussia.
Since then, Silesia had become a thorn in the Austrians' side.