The next morning at nine o'clock, the meeting to negotiate the inclusion of England as a new member of the Rhine-Saone Treaty formally began.
As the representative from Salzburg who proposed this motion, Viscount Shaoen cast a complex glance at Bailly and was the first to rise and speak,
"I believe everyone is well aware that England, as a major European power, possesses a vast market..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the sound of military drums emerged from outside the Karlsruhe Palace, followed by the simultaneous shouts of thousands of soldiers,
"Long live His Majesty the King—"
A court official hurried into the hall and bowed apologetically,
"It seems the marching troop of the military exercise is passing by here, please wait a moment."
It took a full half-hour before the military exercise troops finally left the vicinity of the palace.
Shaoen could not help but recall the performance from the previous day, and his speech lacked confidence as he continued.
Next, the Austrian representative spoke, followed by the representative from Bavaria.
After the representatives from other countries had finished their speeches, the French representative, Bailly, finally stood up.
He cleared his throat and was about to speak when he heard cannon fire coming from outside the city.
This time, it was not only from the north but from all directions, as if Karlsruhe had been surrounded by troops.
The sound of the cannons lasted for more than 20 minutes, followed by the heavy sound of horse hooves passing by the west side of the palace, thousands of horses pounding on the ground with a dense "thud thud" sound that made everyone's heart tremble slightly.
After an indefinite amount of time, the cavalry from the exercise finally departed.
Bailly, seemingly tired from standing, waved his hand and said,
"It's too noisy, I won't say much. France does not approve of England joining the treaty."
Having said that, he sat back down in his chair.
The hall fell silent.
The speech by the French representative was the shortest, practically equivalent to saying nothing, yet the earlier sounds of cannons and galloping cavalry had spoken volumes on his behalf.
Austrian representative Kobutsel hurriedly stood up to salvage the situation, repeatedly emphasizing the trading conveniences that England could bring to everyone, but all representatives from Southern Germany were silently calculating in their minds how long it would take for the French Army to reach their national borders from a non-combat ready state...
In the 18th century, the threshold for waging war was very low—France declaring war to protect trade agreements was entirely possible.
At eleven in the morning, the Finance Minister of Baden, seeing that no one seemed willing to speak, announced a break amidst the sound of cannons outside the city.
During the evening reception, the Deputy Finance Minister of England, Willberforce, appeared exceptionally busy, privately negotiating with representatives from various countries and significantly increasing his earlier offers.
The pressure from the French military exercise on these smaller countries was simply too great.
The reception went on until late at night, and Kobutsel talked with Willberforce in the corner for a long time, clearly worried about the prospects of this motion.
Willberforce raised his glass in comfort,
"Don't worry too much. The vote is taking place tomorrow afternoon. It's already too late for the countries to change their decisions."
Kobutsel nodded. In fact, the votes each country's representatives would cast had already been determined before they left. Beforehand, Hesse and Augsburg had already promised the British their favorable votes, and their trade representatives couldn't make decisions on their own, even if they had concerns.
At the luncheon the next day, Kobutsel, Shaoen, and others ate very quickly, seemingly eager to start the voting process as soon as possible.
However, in the middle of the banquet, Lutsk suddenly caught his attendant's eye, and after sipping a mouthful of the milky white pigeon soup, he swished it around gently in his mouth and spat out foam.
Subsequently, he clutched his stomach in agony, slid from his chair to the ground, and frothy pigeon soup dripped from the corners of his mouth.
His attendant immediately rushed over and helped him up anxiously shouting,
"Master! Master, how are you?"
Seeing Lutsk only groaning in pain, he hurriedly looked around:
"My master has had severe dysentery a few days ago, and it must have recurred now. Quickly call a doctor!"
The Imperial Physician from Baden soon arrived, ordered his assistants to carry Lutsk away on a stretcher, and immediately performed bloodletting treatment on him...
Due to Hesse's representative falling critically ill and losing consciousness, the vote that afternoon had to be canceled.
Over the next three days, Lutsk lay weakly in bed, mostly unconscious.
It wasn't until twilight that his attendant brought the reply from Duke Damusta. He immediately made an excuse to rest, dismissed the servants, and then rolled out of bed to open and read the letter.
Yes, after the evening reception had ended, he wrote a letter to Duke Damusta, the ruler of Hesse, vividly describing the mobilization and assembly capabilities of the French Army, the resolve of France to uphold the trade agreement, and suggesting the benefits of rejecting the British and voting against them.
After all, no matter how big the British market was or how many benefits it offered, Hesse was very far away.
Yet, the French Army needed only 25 days to reach Marburg.
Provoking the French over a slight trade benefit truly wasn't necessary.
Moreover, the terms offered by France weren't unacceptable—loan subsidies plus steam engines might greatly enhance Hesse's industry within a few years, potentially reversing the trade deficit.
The next day, after several days' suspension, the Rhine-Saone Treaty negotiation conference finally resumed.
The Finance Minister of Baden solemnly collected the votes of the representatives from various nations and announced loudly,
"Regarding the vote to admit England into the Rhine-Saone Treaty—"
He opened the first ballot:
Kobutsel's face darkened immediately—he had anticipated that Lutsk's sudden "illness" might introduce uncertainties, but still felt unwilling and irritated upon confirmation.
"Wurttemberg, against…"
Bailly stood up smiling, placed his hand over his chest to the gathering,
"Thank you all for making the right decision. I believe that the Rhine-Saone Treaty will bring us a more prosperous market and a glorious future!"
He didn't need to listen to the rest of the votes anymore, because with Hesse and Augsburg opposing, England could not possibly gain enough votes.
France's market in Southern Germany was thus preserved.
More than ten days later, the French United Steam Engine Company received an order worth one million francs from Hesse to purchase 140 model LJ15 steam engines and accompanying parts for automatic looms.
Jamaica's largest port, Royal Port, welcomed a huge fleet.
The first few large troop transport ships to dock carried 4,000 soldiers of the British Expeditionary Force, along with numerous warhorses, cannons, and other military supplies.