Chapter 281 The Start of a New Year
Two days later, on January 2nd, 1802, the former king of France, Louis Capet, arrived in the Austrian capital of Vienna.
As he stepped into the Schonbrunn Palace, the mansion's manservants, serving under Emperor Francis II, greeted him warmly and escorted him to the Emperor's study.
A minute later, Louis found himself standing in front of Emperor Francis II's office. The manservant discreetly closed the door as Louis entered.
"Louis, I'm relieved to see you've returned safely," Francis II remarked, his focus still fixed on the paper he was scribbling on with a fountain pen. He finally glanced up from his work as Louis approached the desk.
Setting aside his fountain pen and paper, Emperor Francis leaned back and met Louis's gaze. "Louis, there's a newspaper article I read just a few minutes ago," he said, reaching for the folded paper on his desk and unfolding it.
He read the headline on the front page.
"Former King of France, Louis the Sixteenth has renounced his claim to the throne and declared his support of Napoleon's ascendancy to the title of Emperor of France."
After reading the headline, he set it down on his table and looked at Louis in disappointment.
"Louis, why did you do that? It was completely different from your intention of asserting your rights to the throne. It's why I allowed you to visit France in the first place. If you give up your claim to the throne now, then there'd be no reason for me to keep you here in Vienna," Francis pressed.
Louis met Francis II's gaze with a calm determination. He had anticipated this moment during his journey back to Vienna and had carefully crafted his response.
"When I arrived in Paris, I was shocked to see that it was completely different from when I was in Paris a decade ago. Those days were sad, depressing, where the future seemingly had no hope," Louis began and continued. "The France I encountered this time was different, Your Majesty. The people have adapted, and the old divisions have begun to heal under Napoleon's leadership. My return was met with confusion and skepticism, and it became clear that my presence as a claimant to the throne would only stoke further unrest. The monarchy no longer holds the place it once did in the hearts of the French people."
"So that's it? You are going to let some Corsican take over the highest authority in France without even putting up a fight?" Francis II interjected. "You are going to give up that easily?"
"It's not a matter of simply capitulating, Your Majesty. It's a matter of recognizing the realities on the ground. France has found a measure of stability under Napoleon's leadership, and I believe it's in the best interest of both France and myself to support this stability rather than resist it. You can't deny his brilliance in governance, Your Majesty, even in military affairs."
"But there are still people inside France supporting you," Francis pressed.
"There are, but only a small minority," Louis said. "Look, Your Majesty, I already expected that you would find it hard to accept my concession, and I'm prepared to face any consequences of my action you see fit."
Francis sighed deeply, and Louis could read on his face alone that he was extremely disappointed in him.
"What did Napoleon say to you that prompted you to change your mind?" Francis asked, breaking the momentary silence. "You were committed and staunch at first right? What actually happened in Versailles?"
Louis sighed as he put himself deep in thought. The actual reason for him conceding was due to Napoleon saving his family back at the height of the revolution. There was no agreement or anything that forbade him from sharing that information. Perhaps this may help Francis understand his situation.
So Louis began explaining the actual reason, leaving no details.
Francis listened attentively to his story and his initial disappointment and frustration
gradually gave way to understanding as he absorbed the truth of Louis's words.
"So it was Napoleon who played a significant role in ensuring your family's safety," Francis mused, his tone softening. "I can see now why you would feel indebted to him."
Louis nodded solemnly. "Yes, Your Majesty."
"But still, I can't accept you giving up on the throne," Francis reminded. "Well, since you have decided, I have no choice but to improve ourselves. Industrialization and reforming. Anyways, have you asked Napoleon about his intentions on the European continent?"
"There is one, Your Majesty, that is he assured me that France would no longer expand its borders beyond the River Rhine," Louis answered. "It seems to me he is focusing on expanding his influence overseas as he had fulfilled the vision that Sun King envisioned for France, to have all of her natural borders."
"How the balance of power shifted greatly on the side of France," Francis clicked his tongue.
***
A month and a week later, February 9th, 1802.
At the capital of the United States, Washington. President Thomas Jefferson was in his Yellow Oval Office, talking to the two gentlemen that he had sent to France for a diplomatic mission.
"Mr. Monroe, Mr. Livingston. Welcome back to Washington. Now I want to hear the French response about our proposal to buy New Orleans in their Louisiana territory."
Monroe and Livingston exchanged glances, as if voting for who would speak first. Finally, Livingston, the older of the two, cleared his throat and addressed President Jefferson.
"Mr. President, we regret to inform you that our attempt to purchase New Orleans was met with rejection."
"We even tried raising our offer to fifteen million dollars and the Ministers we spoke to, Pléville and Talleyrand, didn't even reconsider. But they assured us we could still navigate through the Mississippi River for trade. However we know that they'll excise control over the port of New Orleans and could restrict access at any time," Livingston continued, his tone filled with frustration.
"This will have a drastic effect on our economy," Monroe said. "Not only that, we have learned that the Republic of France is sending an army to the island of Saint-Domingue, possibly as a staging ground for further actions."
"If they started getting troops in Louisiana territory, the possibility of an armed conflict with the Republic of France is high. We don't even know if they'll stay within their borders. They might push back to the Appalachian mountains."
"That's impossible, the French helped us during the revolution. There is no way they would invade us now, right?" President Jefferson mused, clearly concerned about the developments.
"The Republic of France has a superior army and weapons. If we were in that position, we wouldn't hesitate to use it to expand our borders in the North American continent," Livingston said.
"If we allow France to control Louisiana, then we wouldn't be able to expand westwards. A lot of problems would spark, including Americans living in the Louisiana territory demanding help from the central government," Monroe added.
"There's only two choices we have, acknowledge France as the country who has sovereign right over Louisiana, or go to war," Livingston said. "Judging on how serious our circumstances are, Mr. President, many would opt for a latter."
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