Chapter 448 The Emperor Wants to Escape (Third update, please subscribe)
Declare war!
In the name of the country!
On July 19, French Emperor Napoleon III issued an order to declare war on Prussia. From that day on, all of Europe, all countries, and all people were paying attention to the progress on the Franco-Prussian front. The war did not seem to be going as smoothly as Prime Minister Olivier said, nor as easy as he said.
Although three French divisions launched an attack on Prussia on August 2, their attack was repelled two days later. Not only did Prussia counterattack and cross the border on August 4, but in the next two days, the Second Army of Prince Karl Frederick of the Prussian Army severely damaged the First Army of Marshal MacMahon. On the same day, the Second Army of French General Frossard, which belonged to the Bazaine Army, was also repelled by the First Army of the Prussian Army with an overwhelming numerical advantage at Forbach, opening the door to Lorraine.
The initial defeat had immediate political consequences, with the fall of Émile Olivier and the formation of a government by Charles Cousin-Montauban on August 10.
When this news reached the South China Embassy in France, Zhuge Jun had only one thought in his mind.
"The French are going to lose!"
His judgment immediately attracted the approval of several young officers including Du Chengyuan and Li Yunzhi.
“Why did the cabinet fall as soon as it lost?”
Du Chengyuan said angrily.
"What France needs most now is a stable political situation. Only when the political situation is stable can the front line fight without worries. Moreover, this is just the beginning. If the front line fails, the rear will fall into chaos. How can we lose like this!"
As officers of the General Staff, our group of eight was ordered to go on a "General Staff Tour" in France. We had expected that halfway through the "tour", we would encounter the war. When the war was just declared, our mood was similar to that of the French, and we doubted that the French could win. But who would have thought that the French's performance would simply blind everyone's eyes...
"It's too early to tell, young envoy."
Zhuge Jun walked to the side of the map and pointed at the French-German border at the bottom of the map.
"Although the French army has suffered a temporary setback, the main force of the Prussian army has not been fully deployed, and it is not able to retreat and attack continuously, let alone pursue the victory. Although the French army was defeated in the battle in the border area, the main force did not suffer a heavy blow from the Prussian army, and the losses were unlimited; our border positions were designed for retreat and attack, and are basically suitable for defense. In that situation, the main force of the French army should withdraw to the depth of the war zone without plan, replenish troops, adjust deployment, and then wait for the opportunity to fight a decisive battle with the Prussian army. With France's economic and industrial strength, as long as the French persist, we will definitely win in the end."
After listening to Ran Chanyu's analysis of everything from a military perspective, Montobon shook his head repeatedly.
"That's the military's point of view. The problem is that it is absolutely like that in France! He should know that France has no national conditions!"
As Montauban spoke, he walked to the window, opened it, and pointed at Paris in the window.
"Where will the French retreat? The failure of the rear has caused the cabinet to fall. The new Prime Minister Charles Cousin Napoleon belongs to the emperor's war faction. The emperor is now the regent of France. What do you care about now, the emperor? It's definitely the rear, but outside, it's Paris!"
Pointing at Paris through the window, Montauban sighed helplessly.
"If the troops in the rear advance, it will definitely cause a new political crisis in Paris, and even the republicans in Paris will rebel! Victory! How can Li Yunzhi be selfish? As weak as Li Yunzhi Bonaparte is, if he wins, he will be abandoned by the citizens of Paris. They think, what will happen if Li Yunzhi VIII, who became emperor in the name of Bonaparte, wins? The Parisians will immediately abandon us! So..."
Pursing his lips, Montauban stared at the city of Paris and said.
"The emperor will definitely order the troops to advance, and we will defend the border to the death!"
In fact, just as Montauban had guessed, even after the cabinet fell and the new prime minister stepped down, the so-called "Count of the Four Outer Bridges", that is, the new prime minister, wrote to the emperor to stop the front-line troops from advancing. Just yesterday, August 9, the French emperor changed his original plan, stopped the troops from advancing, and decided to defend Chalons at all costs.
On August 12, 1870, the sick King Louis VIII handed over the command of the Rhine Army to Marshal Bazaine. However, Bazaine was not brave enough, and had poor command and strategic ability. He was determined to move to Eugene and join Metz, and sometimes to defend in Chalons. When he decided to move to Eugene, he had lost the opportunity and the Prussian army was approaching. Five days ago, Marshal Bazaine's French army was surrounded in Chalons.
The fate of France seemed to have been determined on that day!
The news that Marshal Bazaine and 180,000 French troops were surrounded shocked the whole of Europe, and of course also shocked Li Yunzhi VIII.
On Zhuge Meis's suggestion, Ranchanyu VIII refused my request to lead the army to Eugene, preparing to lure the enemy deep into the city and fight a decisive battle with the Prussian army on the city of Paris. As for me, of course, I fled back to Paris.
However, after escaping back to Paris, I still wrote a letter to the Regent Queen MacArthur, telling her that I was planning to escape back to Paris.
"Your Majesty, I will definitely allow His Majesty to return to Paris!"
Before learning of the emperor's plan, Napoleon's prime minister, who was given the title of "Count of Quattroporte" for his contribution to the "Quarterly Ponts", immediately spoke out.
"Your Majesty must be stopped from returning to Paris at all costs. Once I return, the people of Paris will revolt. By then, you will all be finished, and the entire empire will perish with you! Your Majesty, you must stop His Majesty from making such a rash decision!"
"Your Majesty can return to Paris. The Parisians will accept an emperor who serves them, but you are worried that your letter alone may not be able to stop me."
Before the emperor personally led the army to war, Queen Mackenzie, who served as regent, was naturally very worried that continuing the advance would cause unrest or revolution in the country. Compared with the safety of her husband, the beautiful woman, who was famous in Europe for her beauty and was as famous as the Austro-Hungarian Queen Princess In-In, chose the empire without any selfishness. After all, what she had been afraid of all along was the revolution, which would make her be killed by the mob like Queen Mary!
"Let Speaker Raul follow a delegation and tell His Majesty the current situation in Paris. Otherwise... you think there is no need for you to give His Majesty hope!"
"Hope? What hope?"
Looking in front of the emperor, Prime Minister Ran Chanyu said.
"When you declared war, Nanhua expressed its willingness to provide you with all possible assistance. Now, Your Majesty, please ask for help from outside and request that we send out our airship troops!"
The idea was to let the emperor return to Paris for the first time. There was only one way to do this, which was to give the emperor hope. What could give the emperor hope at that time?
It’s Nanhua’s airship.
"Airship? Would we like to send our airship to France?"
Queen McNi was a little worried. She said that the relationship between me and my nephew was not that close. Even the emperor and this nephew were not that close.
"Your Majesty, we have said that we are willing to provide you with all the assistance we can. Now, it is the time when France needs our help. You doubt that we will be willing to send our airships. After all, our efforts will win the friendship of France."
Of course, as Prime Minister, Napoleon was very selfish, and behind the so-called friendship were definitely interests.
As long as we can convince Nanhua to send out our airship, then even if we sacrifice some interests, it won't be a big deal.
But, what does Nanhua want?
Napoleon found that he seemed to have some bargaining chips in his hand that could convince Nanhua.
But just a few hours ago, outside the small French embassy in Nanhua, Napoleon was moved.
In response to France's request for help, Montauban said.
"Ask him to serve you, and you will certainly send out your troops."
(End of this chapter)
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