"Your Highness, could you recount the situation once more!" Prime Minister Mandolfe requested respectfully to William I.

"Of course!" William I repeated the conversation he had just had with De Luyis.

After pondering for a long time, Prime Minister Mandolfe raised his head and spoke word by word to William I, "Your Highness, I feel as if the French Empire’s aim is not to pit the Kingdom of Prussia against the Russian Empire. It seems they intend to push us towards the Russian Empire’s side!"

Upon hearing this, the expressions of William I, Old Maoqi, and Ron changed dramatically.

If this were truly the case, then the Kingdom of Prussia’s situation would become perilous.

"What is their purpose in doing this?" William I’s words revealed a hint of anger, unable to comprehend why the French Empire was targeting the Kingdom of Prussia in such a manner. "We’ve never offended them, why do they insist on driving us to destruction? Do they really want to see the Austrian Empire monopolize power?"

Ron and Old Maoqi also showed a lack of understanding on their faces; they, too, did not grasp the French Empire’s strategy regarding Germany.

Even from the German balance perspective, the French Empire should support Germany’s second, the Kingdom of Prussia, to balance the first, the Austrian Empire.

Yet now, the relationship between the French Empire and the Austrian Empire has not become distant due to Napoleon’s ascension, but rather, it has become more intimate.

Sometimes, William I wished he could take a loudspeaker and ask the Emperor of France whether he understood geopolitics and the balance within Germany.

And the relationship between the French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia has become more distant than during the periods of the two Bourbon dynasties. Since Napoleon III came to power, the French Empire has threatened the Kingdom of Prussia countless times.

William I did not understand why the Kingdom of Prussia was so undesired!

Prime Minister Mandolfe also smiled wryly, telling William I that he too did not understand why Jerome Bonaparte preferred to exhaust every effort to align with the Austrian Empire rather than make amends with the Kingdom of Prussia.

William I and the three ministers present did not know that Jerome Bonaparte, who consistently maintained hostility towards the Kingdom of Prussia, was a time-traveler. His antagonism stemmed from the fact that the Kingdom of Prussia was the only country with the potential to unify Germany.

Even though Jerome Bonaparte knew that he should express some goodwill towards the Kingdom of Prussia, and then indulge the Kingdom of Prussia’s ambitions until it swelled with confidence that it toyed with the French Empire, and then give it an unexpected blow—that would be the best outcome.

However, Jerome Bonaparte could never suppress his desire to destroy the Kingdom of Prussia immediately. Each time he acted, he hoped the Kingdom of Prussia would stand on the opposing side.

Because only by standing in opposition could Jerome Bonaparte uproot the Kingdom of Prussia completely.

"What should we do now?" William I inquired in a slightly discouraged tone to Mandolfe, "Do we really need to offend a nation?"

Given the Kingdom of Prussia’s geographical position, being a land of four wars, and not being particularly powerful at present, they dared not recklessly offend any great power.

Whether it was antagonizing the Russian Empire or the French Empire, both actions would steer Prussia’s diplomacy towards

"Your Highness!" Hesitating for a moment, Prime Minister Mandolfe gently said, "Grand Duke Frederick is already 23 years old; he has reached the marriageable age!"

William I looked at Mandolfe in astonishment, not understanding his meaning: "My Prime Minister! We are discussing what to do. Why are you shifting to marriage now!"

"But Crown Prince Frederick is indeed of marriageable age!" Mandolfe emphasized once more.

Standing beside William I, Ron’s eyes lit up immediately. He promptly said to Mandolfe, "Prime Minister, I understand. Are you suggesting we leverage the power of the Kingdom of Britain?"

"Indeed!" The "Riddler" Mandolfe nodded at William I and said, "Your Highness, I personally believe the Grand Duke should choose a British wife!"

"To ally with Britain?" William I hesitated, displaying a look of indecision, "I heard Britain is steeped in liberalism; would allying with them..."

Ron and Old Maoqi also showed slight resistance on their faces, as they had once used bayonets to eliminate those damned liberals and upheld the purity of the Kingdom of Prussia. (Junker governance)

Now, the Kingdom of Prussia was about to welcome back a liberal Grand Duchess, which truly was quite awkward.

"Your Highness, there’s no need to worry about this!" Prime Minister Mandolfe confidently addressed William I, "Every royal family member prioritizes royal interests above personal ones. I believe the princess, deeply educated by Prince Albert and Queen Victoria, would not be so shortsighted!"

"But my wife..." William I still had concerns regarding his wife.

One must know, his wife is even more of a hardliner than he is, and he fears that his wife might not agree.

"Your Highness, please explain the difficulties currently faced by the Kingdom of Prussia to the Princess. I believe the Princess will surely understand your choice!" Prime Minister Mandolfe once again reassured William I.

"Alas!" William I sighed, "At this point, this is the only way!"

After Mandolfe and the others left, William I, while chatting with his wife, mentioned the idea of having his son, Duke Frederick, propose marriage to the Kingdom of Britain.

The Princess showed significant resistance, but eventually had to agree to William I’s request.

In the following days, De Luy stopped disturbing William I, as if he had forgotten what he said before.

However, the intelligence coming from the Rhine Region was constantly warning Prussia, De Luy’s words remained unchanged.

In the Alsace-Lorraine Region, nearly 100,000 French Army troops had already gathered for military exercises. Even worse, the center of command for this military drill was chosen in the Metz area, meaning that the French command center was only 60 kilometers away from the nearest city, Saarbrücken, in the Rhine Land. It would take only a few days for the French Empire to invade the Rhine Land, with Prussia’s three armies in the Rhine Land in a state of high tension, fearing a sudden French impulse to enter the Rhine Land and start a conflict.

The European countries that had originally shifted their attention to the Crimea Peninsula were once again refocusing on the Franco-Prussian border.

Meanwhile, William I maintained close contact with the Kingdom of Britain.

However, the Kingdom of Britain, due to the issues at the Crimea Peninsula, still needed France to resolve them, thus lacking excessive enthusiasm towards the Kingdom of Prussia.

Of course, far away in London, Palmerston also knew what the real purpose of the French Empire was; he knew his strategy had failed.

Under the threat of over 100,000 French soldiers, the choices for the Kingdom of Prussia were obvious.

Therefore, he had no choice but to call off the previous strategy of inciting trouble through Clarendon and instead informed William I that the actions of the French Empire in the Strasbourg Region would soon end, and that William I need not be so anxious.

Assured by the Kingdom of Britain, William I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Time quickly moved to mid-October, when King William III of the Kingdom of the Netherlands visited King of Württemberg.

Simultaneously, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Valerovsky also discreetly appeared within the borders of the Württemberg Kingdom.

In the presence of the King of Württemberg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the French Empire formally signed the territorial transfer agreement.

The Bonaparte Clan spent 30 million (Valerovsky haggled to bring the price down to 30 million francs, partly due to King William III of the Netherlands being eager to sell) to purchase the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with Jerome Bonaparte personally assuming the position of Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

Upon completion of the purchase, Valerovsky immediately conveyed the news to Commander Vayan of Strasbourg stationed in Metz. Vayan also swiftly commanded his two divisions to arrive in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg as soon as possible to disarm Luxembourg.

The rapid response troops took the train to the France-Luxembourg border area and decisively "invaded" into the territory of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

At this time, the residents of Luxembourg were unaware that they had long been betrayed by their own King.

The garrison troops of the Kingdom of the Netherlands stationed in Luxembourg had not yet reacted before they were disarmed by the suddenly arriving French Army.

The fortress and each stronghold were completely occupied by the two divisions’ forces, and the Cabinet meeting that was originally in session was likewise dissolved by the military, just like they had done to the National Assembly previously.

Subsequently, the two divisions in Luxembourg proclaimed the order appointing Jerome Bonaparte as the Grand Duke of Luxembourg, meaning the entire city’s defense of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg would be taken over by the French Empire.

The residents of Luxembourg City, upon hearing that their King William III had become an Emperor of the French Empire, did not know what to say for a moment.

However, the second and third decrees that followed caused the entire citizenry of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to cheer with excitement.

Because the newly appointed Grand Duke of Luxembourg would implement a universal suffrage system in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, residents over the age of 18 in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg could participate in elections, and residents over the age of 30 were granted the right to be elected.

Moreover, the French Empire would allocate 50 million francs to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to develop Luxembourg’s unique tourism and financial industries.