Chapter 460: I was conquered by you (third update, please subscribe)

Paris in September is shrouded in an ominous atmosphere.

Throughout the month of August, there seemed to be no good news for France.

On August 2, the French army first launched an attack on the Prussian army in the Saarbrücken area with three divisions, but was then repelled.

Two days later, the Prussian army crossed the border and launched an attack on France.

From that day on, bad news followed like a shadow. First, Marshal Bazaine led more than 100,000 troops to be surrounded in Metz. After the news came that the emperor personally led the Second Army to rescue Bazaine, before the Parisians could breathe a sigh of relief, worse news came - the emperor and the Second Army were surrounded in Sedan.

Just when the French were desperately thinking that failure was inevitable, a savior came from the sky and saved everything.

News of victory!

No, the news that the airship had defeated the Prussian army and successfully rescued the emperor and the 100,000-strong Second Army came to Paris like lightning. The Parisians, who were still angry at the emperor's incompetence and terrified by the possible victory of the Prussians yesterday, all shouted excitedly.

In the early morning, newspaper boys were running around, shouting excitedly and cheering the news of victory.

"Great victory at Sedan, the Allied airships inflicted heavy damage on the Prussian army, and the emperor was rescued!"

"The airships are coming, the Germans are fleeing in panic..."

Almost all newspapers printed extra copies of their newspapers. They all knew that France needed this good news very much at this time.

So what if the airship is not French?

The important thing is that the airship is on the side of France, and now it is the Prussians' turn to cry.

Like everyone else, Joseph Joffre left the barracks excitedly. Even though he was an officer training troops to defend Paris, he and his colleagues and soldiers all rushed to the streets excitedly. Tens of thousands of Parisians poured into the streets, not just to cheer for the victory. People rushed to the South China Embassy in Paris, which was once the office of the American Company. A few years ago, at the emperor's instruction, it was upgraded to an ambassador, not in the name of South China, but in the name of the "Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia". King - this is Zhu Xianhai's highest title in name.

“Nanhua!”

“Nanhua!”

"Queen Charlotte..."

Shouts like these were getting louder and louder, and when the embassy staff came out, he was greeted by a group of excited people. They threw him into the air, shouting words like "friendship" as they threw him.

On this day, all Parisians, and even all French people, knew about the South China Empire and knew that it was France's most solid and reliable ally.

Flowers. When Zhuge Jun's carriage drove out of the embassy, ​​countless flowers were thrown onto his carriage by Parisians. This continued along the way. Many excited Parisians even wanted to rush onto his carriage. Facing these excited people, the guards escorting the ambassador had to whip them with their scabbards to protect the ambassador's safety.

The Queen wants to summon the ambassador.

"Zhuge, my friend, look, now the whole of Paris, no, the whole of France is cheering for you and for our friendship!"

Now the dignified "Count of Baliqiao", General de Montauban, who was awarded the title of Count for his military exploits in defeating the Qing army at Baliqiao in Tongzhou, and the Prime Minister of the Empire, has turned into a loyal bootlicker. God can testify that yesterday morning, he thought failure was inevitable.

The emperor might be captured, or he might commit suicide. Of course, this was impossible. Based on his understanding of the emperor, he would never do that.

Even Emperor Napoleon I... surrendered, didn’t he?

Well, now, he no longer needs to think about this problem. The Emperor and McMahon have broken through, Paris is saved, and the Second Empire is saved.

Of course, he also retained his position as prime minister.

"Yes, in the last few days we have all felt the warmth of the Parisians,"

Many people had already run to the embassy a few days earlier, waving the national flag of Nanhua - they had simply painted the Vermilion Bird with ink on a red cloth.

That was because South China sent an airship. Aid from foreign countries, especially airships, could destroy the world. They came to the embassy. When they cheered for South China's friendship, they were only cheering for the arrival of reinforcements.

And now?

But it's for victory!

"Mr. Prime Minister, I wonder why the Queen summoned me?"

Zhuge Jun asked.

"Well, the Queen summoned you for a very simple reason. She wanted to know how many airships you have dispatched. Can your airships help us defeat the Prussians?"

de Montauban asked expectantly.

The airship...it's the savior of France.

Of course, he was the savior of the Second Empire and the savior of the Queen. For Queen Eugenie, who was afraid of having the same fate as Marie Antoinette, her biggest worry was that the news of her failure would turn into a riot in Paris and then set off a revolution.

Since the airships rescued the emperor and defeated hundreds of thousands of Prussian troops, they would surely be able to play a greater role.

"Mr. Prime Minister, please forgive me. I am not a soldier. I have no way to answer the Queen's question, but..."

Looking at Prime Minister de Montauban, he was indeed a prime minister, but he was also a general. There are still bullets he fired on the Bali Bridge in Tongzhou, and even in the Royal Museum, there are treasures from the Qing imperial palace that they looted.

Zhuge Jun had no good feelings towards this guy, but as a diplomat, he had a more important mission.

"But, Mr. Prime Minister, you are a soldier, I think you must have the answer in your heart."

Zhuge Jun's question made de Montauban speak with some regret.

"Well, I know that airships are only capable of aerial bombing, just like warships alone cannot win a war. Although airships are very powerful, it is our soldiers who will ultimately defeat the Prussians. However, we are not prepared for this war at all!"

France was not prepared for this battle. The Prussians had mobilized 600,000 troops, but France had only 300,000 troops, of which 180,000 were surrounded in Metz with Marshal Bazaine, and 100,000 had just evacuated Sedan with the emperor.

Although the Emperor and the Second Army have escaped, the Prussians are still extremely strong, and their forces do not include the armies of Bavaria and other four German states...

What about France?

France now has no other troops except the ones that had just been brought out with the Emperor.

In this situation, France wanted to fight, but what could it use to fight? As a soldier, de Montauban naturally knew very well that it was impossible for France to continue fighting.

It can even be said that if it were not for the airship from Nanhua that saved the emperor and McMahon's army, France might have surrendered by now.

As a soldier, de Montauban is very clear about this, and he knows clearly the current situation in France.

"But you are different. You have just fought a war with Argentina. Now your army is intact and ready to come to Europe at any time to fight for our friendship and for our future."

Zhuge Jun almost laughed out loud when he heard what de Montauban said.

Is this something a prime minister can say? Doesn't he know that there is absolutely no such thing as friendship between countries? The so-called friendship is based entirely on interests. When interests are above all else, this kind of meaningfulness can be sold and sacrificed.

Now that you Frenchmen are talking about friendship, what have you done to Nanhua in the past? You have done nothing, so what qualifications do you have to seek Nanhua's friendship?

“It’s very difficult.”

Zhuge Jun said directly.

"It's not because we don't want to help you. In order to help you, our airship troops have exhausted all the ammunition and fuel. If the Prussians attack Orleans now, our airships will most likely be captured by the Germans. Now you are here to make a request, asking us to send our troops. But what can you do?"

What is this rhetorical question?

In fact, it is as simple as that. We have done everything we can, and now it is your turn to do what you should do. Until then, we will not sit down.

In other words... now it's up to you French bitches to serve me!

If you don't serve me well, I won't even move!

When the words fell, de Montauban was dumbfounded. You should send the Buddha to the west, why did you stop halfway?

Even though it was a little less, he knew it in his heart. This was waiting for a good price!

Before Nanhua showed their value, no one would care about their value, but now for France, Nanhua is the last straw of the Second French Empire.

We have given you the chance, now it depends on whether you can seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Negotiations are always like this. Only after fully demonstrating your value can you strive for better returns at the negotiating table.

What if I remain silent before that?

He looked at de Montauban with a smile, but only for a moment, and then Zhuge Jun looked out the window, as if talking to himself. He said.

"Paris is a beautiful city, the most beautiful city in the world, but it is just like this. But soon it will disappear from the eyes of the world. After all, the Prussians are coming."

After saying this, he spoke again as if with a sigh.

"This is such a pity..."

(End of this chapter)