Chapter 471 The Emperor also loves to hold grudges (first update, please subscribe)

Palace of Versailles!

This former royal palace is now the French Museum of Fine Arts.

Now it is the headquarters of the Kingdom of Prussia. Ever since Louis XVI was dragged out from here and thrown into prison by the mob, it was not until the arrival of the Prussian army that this place gained a bit of the aura of a "royal palace", with military garrisons inside and outside the palace.

Whether it is the Prussian blue military uniform or the Prussian pointed helmet, they all remind people that the current owner of this palace is Prussia, a group of conquerors from a foreign country.

A military meeting was taking place in the most famous palace in the world.

Several large maps were hung on the map racks. A war situation map showing the current distribution of enemy and friendly forces in Paris was hung on the central map rack. The red and blue arrows on the map were densely crisscrossed. As long as you looked at it carefully, you would feel the clouds of war and the breath of war.

But now, no one cares about Paris anymore. Compared to Paris, another army is now their biggest concern.

"According to the intelligence we have, they will set out in the next two days, going upstream along the Seine River all the way to Paris. Currently, all local ships have been requisitioned. It is expected that they will come into contact with our frontline troops in two days."

Walking up to the map, Moltke pointed at it and introduced William I.

William I said a little puzzled.

"That means we will fight them in two days?"

"Yes, based on the intelligence we have at present, our advantage over the South China Army, in addition to the advantage in manpower, mainly lies in being more familiar with the terrain. Moreover, the South China Army speaks Chinese, and there are serious communication problems between them and the French. After all, even their officers cannot speak French, and at most they can barely speak a few words of Spanish. In this case, our advantage is more obvious."

Looking at the map that Moltke was pointing at, William I felt a little depressed.

"That is to say, other than that, we don't have any advantages. Even the advantage in terms of manpower is not obvious, right?"

As a monarch, William I was also a soldier. He knew very well what 35,000 South Chinese troops meant. Perhaps there were 150,000 Prussian troops in Paris, but so what?

"The situation doesn't seem to be very favorable for us. Although we have 150,000 troops in Paris, they need to surround Paris, which means we can only withdraw 50,000 troops at most to stop them! If we can't stop their attack on Paris, then this war is likely to go on indefinitely, and the French will mobilize more troops! Time is on their side!"

William I warned, staring intently at the map in front of him. All sounds in the meeting room were stilled, the atmosphere suddenly became tense, and the smoke from Bismarck's pipe also stagnated in the room, making the atmosphere even more solemn.

"If the war continues indefinitely, the situation may be extremely unfavorable for us. France's industry and economy are far superior to ours. They will mobilize more troops and more weapons, and South China will also send their troops. Once we show a disadvantage on the battlefield, Denmark and even Austria may change their current neutral status..."

As the prime minister, Bismarck now considered issues from more non-military levels.

"But it is well known that if we fail to appreciate the demands of our national pride, which compels us to win this war, we shall lose all the advantages we have gained in 1866 in completing our national development."

Sometimes it is diplomacy, sometimes it is national pride.

"Mobilize more troops!"

Army Secretary Ron said.

"We can mobilize another half a million troops, Your Majesty. Now that we have started this war, all we need is to win it at all costs."

Just as the military meeting was going on, someone suddenly pushed open the door and walked in.

"Your Majesty, our sentry has spotted an airship. Its target is most likely the Palace of Versailles. Please retreat to the basement immediately."

Without much talk, they quickly retreated into the basement, and the soldiers guarding the palace also hid in the forest. Although they only suffered one bombing, they quickly found a way to fight back - hiding in the woods and using the woods to conceal themselves.

As long as the airship couldn't see them, it wouldn't drop the bomb.

While the Prussians were hiding in the woods and basements, an airship was slowly approaching the Palace of Versailles. While the officers and soldiers on the airship were looking down at the palace from the air, Liu Cunyu took up a camera and filmed the Palace of Versailles. As the film turned, the palace soon appeared before the eyes of the world from a special perspective.

For the officers and soldiers on the airship, this was just a routine aerial reconnaissance. The role of the airship was not just bombing, but more importantly reconnaissance. Before the troops attacked, the airship troops would conduct reconnaissance on the deployment of the German troops on the ground from the air, so as to accurately grasp the movements of the German troops.

More than ten hours later, the photos developed after the airship reconnaissance were delivered to Zhu Xianhai. Standing in front of the photos, he stared at them with a smile. Compared with the deployment of the Prussian army in the photos, he looked at the Palace of Versailles in the photos with an appreciative eye.

There was a hint of sneer hidden in those dark eyes, but it was just a sneer.

"The Prussians have their headquarters at Versailles, right?"

There is no need to ask this question. It was in the Palace of Versailles, where William I was crowned emperor in history. It was absolutely humiliating to the French. Prussia chose to be crowned emperor in the Palace of Versailles in France, which also indicated that Germany had regained the emperor's orthodoxy and European hegemony from the French, and it was also for revenge.

In 1806, Napoleon personally sent the Holy Roman Empire to the grave. He issued an ultimatum to the Austrian Emperor Franz II, demanding that he dissolve the Holy Roman Empire and give up the title of "Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Romans". Subsequently, Franz II was forced to give up the title of Holy Roman Emperor and only retain the title of Austrian Emperor, and the First German Empire perished.

Although the tyrannical Napoleon was eventually defeated and died in exile, the Germans remembered this humiliation.

So after coming to power on the corpse of the Second French Empire, the Germans chose to take revenge by being crowned in the Palace of Versailles.

However, it was not only the Germans who would bear grudges. The French also remembered this great humiliation. In 1918, after the end of World War I, the victorious French deliberately chose the Palace of Versailles as the place to deal with the defeated Germany. The meeting started on January 18, the day when William I ascended the throne in 1871.

At the beginning of the meeting, French Prime Minister Clemenceau even said in his speech, "The German Empire was born in injustice and will therefore die in shame." On November 11, representatives of the defeated Germany came to the Compiègne Forest north of Paris and signed an armistice agreement with France in a carriage once used by Napoleon III.

Afterwards, the French inscribed this moment: "Here, on November 11, 1918, the sinful glory of the German Empire finally surrendered."

Well, twenty-two years later, the mustache men of the Third Reich pulled out the carriage once used by Napoleon III from the museum. In that carriage that symbolized shame and honor, the French signed the surrender treaty after another humiliation.

"In fact, we are all petty and vindictive people!"

Staring at the Palace of Versailles on the map, Zhu Xianhai muttered to himself.

"I am also very stingy and I love to hold grudges!"

His Majesty's words immediately caused the staff officers nearby to stop their work. They didn't seem to understand what His Majesty was talking about. They just looked at him standing there, looking at the photos that had just been developed...

(End of this chapter)