Paris in September is enveloped in an ominous atmosphere.
Throughout 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, and was then repulsed.
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 Bazin led hundreds of thousands of troops to be surrounded in Metz. After the news came that the emperor personally led the Second Army to rescue Bazin, the Parisians were still waiting for a sigh of relief.
, worse news came - the emperor and the Second Army were surrounded in Sedan.
Just when the French desperately thought that failure was inevitable, a savior fell from the sky and saved everything.
News of victory!
No, it was the airship that defeated the Prussian army and successfully rescued the emperor and the 100,000-strong army of the Second Army. The news came like lightning in Paris. Those who were angry yesterday because of the emperor's incompetence were dismayed by the possible victory of the Prussians.
The frightened Parisians were all shouting excitedly.
In the early morning, the newsboys selling newspapers kept running, shouting excitedly and cheering for the news about the victory.
"The great victory at Sedan, the Allied airships severely damaged the Prussian army, and the emperor was rescued!"
"The airship attacked, and the Germans fled in panic..."
Almost all newspapers have printed additional newspapers. They all know that at this time, France needs this good news so much.
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 bitterly.
Like everyone else, the excited Joseph Joffre left the military camp, even though he was an officer training troops to defend Paris. Now he, like his colleagues and soldiers, poured into the streets in excitement, counting several
Tens of thousands of Parisians poured into the streets, and they were not just cheering for victory. People rushed to the Nanhua Embassy in Paris, which had been the offices of the American Company and had been hosted by the Emperor a few years before.
Under the instruction, he was promoted to ambassador, not in the name of Nanhua, but in the name of "Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia", king - this is Zhu Xianhai's highest title in name.
"Nan Hua!"
"Nan Hua!"
"Queen Charlotte..."
Shouts like this kept getting louder and louder. When the staff in the embassy came out, he was greeted by a group of excited people. They threw him directly in the air, shouting "
Words like "friendship".
On this day, all Parisians, and even all French people, knew about the Nanhua 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 on his carriage by Parisians. This was the case along the way. There were even many excited Parisians who wanted to rush to his carriage. Faced with these
The excited people were so excited that the cavalry escorting the ambassador had to beat them with their sword 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, for our friendship!"
Now the dignified "Count of Baliqiao", General de Montauban, who was awarded the title of Count for his merits in defeating the Qing army at Baliqiao in Tongzhou, and the prime minister of the empire, has been transformed into a loyal licking dog. God can testify that yesterday
All morning, he thought failure was inevitable.
The emperor might be captured, or he might commit suicide. Of course, this was impossible. From what he knew about the emperor, it was absolutely impossible for him to do that.
Even Emperor Napoleon I... didn't he surrender?
Well, now, he no longer needs to think about this issue. The Emperor and McMahon have broken through, Paris can be saved, and the Second Reich can be saved.
Of course, his position as prime minister was also retained.
"Yes, the passion of Parisians has been felt by all of us in the past few days,"
A few days ago, many people came to the embassy, waving the South China flag - they just drew a red bird with ink on a red cloth.
That's because Nanhua sent airships, aid from foreign countries, especially airships, which can destroy heaven and earth. When they came to the embassy and cheered for Nanhua's friendship, it was just for the arrival of reinforcements.
And cheer.
And now?
But it’s for victory!
"Mr. Prime Minister, I wonder why the Queen summoned me?"
Zhuge Jun asked.
"Well, the purpose of the queen summoning you is very simple. How many airships have you sent? Can your airships help us defeat the Prussians?"
De Montauban asked expectantly.
The airship...that was France's savior.
Of course, he was the savior of the Second Empire, and of course the savior of the queen. For Empress Eugenie, who was afraid of having the same fate as Marie Antoinette, her biggest worry was that the news of the failure would turn into a riot in Paris.
Riots, and then a revolution.
Now that the airship rescued the emperor and defeated the Prussian army of hundreds of thousands, they would definitely be able to play a greater role.
"Mr. Prime Minister, please forgive me. I am not a soldier. I have no way of answering the Queen's question, but..."
Looking at Prime Minister de Montauban, it is true that he is a prime minister, but he is also a general. There are still bullets he fired on the Bali Bridge in Tongzhou, and even in the Royal Museum, there is also the Manchu Imperial Palace they robbed.
treasure.
Zhuge Jun didn't have any good impressions of this guy, but as a diplomat, he shouldered a more important mission.
"But, Your Excellency Prime Minister, you are a soldier, I think you must have the answer in your heart."
Zhuge Jun's rhetorical question made de Montauban say with some shock.
"Hey, I know that airships can only bombard in the air, just like warships alone cannot win the war. Although airships are very powerful, it must be our soldiers who ultimately defeat the Prussians, but we are not prepared at all.
This war!"
France was not prepared for this battlefield. The Prussians had already mobilized 600,000 troops, but what about France? There were only more than 300,000 troops, of which 180,000 were surrounded in Metz with Marshal Bazan, and 100,000 more were just left.
Together with the emperor, he withdraws from his role.
Although the Emperor and the Second Army have now escaped, the Prussians are still extremely powerful. Their military strength does not include the armies of the four German states such as Bavaria...
What about France?
France now has no other troops except the troops it just brought out with the emperor.
Under such circumstances, if France wants to fight, what should it use to fight? As a soldier, de Montauban naturally knows very clearly that it is impossible for France to continue fighting now.
It can even be said that if it had not been for the airship from Nanhua that saved the Emperor and McMahon's army, France might have surrendered by now.
As a soldier, de Montauban was very clear about this. He was clearly aware of the current situation in France.
"But you are different. You have just fought a war with Argentina. Now your army is intact. They can come to Europe at any time to fight for our friendship and the future between us."
Zhuge Jun almost laughed out loud after listening to De Montauban's words.
Is this what a dignified Prime Minister can say? Doesn’t he know that there is absolutely no so-called friendship between countries? The so-called friendship is entirely based on interests. When interests outweigh everything, this kind of meaningfulness can
To be sold and sacrificed.
Now when you French guys talk about friendship, what did you do to Nanhua in the past? You have done nothing, so what qualifications do you have to seek friendship from Nanhua?
"It's difficult."
Zhuge Jun said directly.
"It's not because we are unwilling to help you. In order to help you, our airship force has exhausted all ammunition and fuel. If the Prussians attack Orleans now, our airships will most likely be destroyed by the Germans.
Captured. Now you are making a request here, asking us to send our troops. But what can you do?"
What is this rhetorical question?
In fact, it is nothing more than simple. We have done everything we have done, and now it is your turn, the French, to do what you should do. Before that, we will not sit down.
In other words... now it's up to you French bitches to serve me!
If you don't serve the uncle well, he won't even move!
When the words fell, de Montauban was dumbfounded. If you want to send Buddha to the West, why don't you send it halfway?
Although it was a little less, he also knew very well in his heart that this was for sale!
Before Nanhua showed their value, no one would care about their value, but now for France, Nanhua is the last straw for the Second French Empire.
We have given you a chance, now it's up to you whether you can seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Negotiations have always been like this. Only after fully demonstrating your own value can you strive for better returns at the negotiation table.
So what if we remain silent before that?
Zhuge Jun looked at De Montauban with a smile, but just glanced at it. Then Zhuge Jun cast his gaze out the window, as if talking to himself. He said.
"Paris, Coco is really a beautiful city, the most beautiful city in the world, but that's it. But soon all this will disappear from the eyes of the world. After all, the Prussians are coming."