Chapter 229 I am the most proud student of Your Excellency the General
Chapter 229 I am His Majesty the General’s most proud disciple
In the blink of an eye, Napoleon had been guarding Sedan for a week.
After the initial three-day storm, the Prussian-Austrian forces found that the fortress was well prepared and had high morale, and it was unlikely that they could win it in a short time by relying on a rapid offensive, so they began the siege and earthworks.
That morning, as soon as Napoleon woke up, the Chief of Staff came over anxiously and reported: "Acting Commander, today an Austrian officer came to surrender to us because he yearned for the Republic!"
Napoleon was overjoyed: "What? Such a thing actually happens? No, maybe there is a scam. I will deal with him later!"
Then Napoleon rushed to the fortress command room in a hurry.
In order to prevent night attacks by the coalition forces, Napoleon slept directly in the commander's room and made a bunk on the ground. In the past two days, the offensive finally slowed down, and Napoleon returned to his room and slept happily on the camp bed for a few nights.
When they arrived at the command room, the surrendered officer was drinking coffee. When he saw Napoleon coming in, he quickly stood up and said, "Your Excellency, Commander!"
Napoleon: "How do you know I am the commander? Is my name already so famous in the coalition forces?"
"No, it's because everyone says that the commanders commanding on the city wall these days are shorter, so..."
Napoleon: "Chief of Staff, I think this man is pretending to surrender!"
The chief of staff thought for a moment and didn't answer.
The Austrian said: "I have been deeply influenced by the ideas of the Enlightenment, and I have read the works of Voltaire and Rousseau freely. Moreover, I went to the New World as a volunteer soldier to participate in the liberation war of North America. I was deeply inspired by the republic established by the people of the New World.
!”
Napoleon: "You don't have to say so much. I'll know if you really want a republic. I'll know after a test. What is the biggest advantage that the French Republic relies on for its survival now?"
The Austrian thought for a while and replied: "Is it an advanced republican system? A system that conforms to the social contract theory and the doctrine of separation of powers..."
Napoleon: "Shit! It's the people! In the Republic, everyone is equal, so everyone is a master. This is called ownership! This is the magic weapon for our army to win!"
The Austrian looked at Napoleon in confusion: "Whose doctrine is this?"
Napoleon: "The proposer of the doctrine is not famous in the academic world yet. Only those of us who are close to him know about it. But in the future, many people will write books and commentaries on him. Just wait and see!"
"Ah..." the Austrian seemed to understand, "it turns out to be what General Frost said. Well, I am not familiar with the general, and I don't understand the general..."
Napoleon: "Huh, come on, capture him and imprison him until the fortress defense battle is over."
Austrian: "I brought the latest information!"
"Oh, really? Then tell me how many people are besieging the fortress and who is commanding them."
Because of the fierce attack in the previous few days, the coalition forces were unable to climb up the fortress wall after breaking through the trench, so the French army did not capture any prisoners at all, and there was no way to interrogate them.
The Austrians were also cheerful: "You are facing 27,000 men of the Austrian Third Army and 35,000 men of the Prussian Second Army. Judging from the current progress of the soil work, you will be ready in a few days."
It will be attacked in turn by 60,000 coalition troops."
Napoleon: "And who commands this combined force?"
The Austrians replied: "The Austrian army is led by Archduke Karl, and the Prussian army is led by General Franz. The two sides are bounded by the north-south axis of the fortress, with the Prussian army to the west and the Austrian army to the east. There is a joint in the middle. You want to send
When the messenger leaves the city, he should walk in the middle, and he should be able to escape in the dark."
Napoleon raised his eyebrows, looked at the Austrians again, and then asked what he thought was the most important question: "How can I trust a person who has betrayed his motherland?"
The Austrian shrugged: "There are also many French officers in the coalition forces. They also betrayed the motherland. Why are they being reused?"
Napoleon paced back and forth in the command room with his hands behind his back. After a few minutes, he said to the chief of staff: "It's better to lock him up. We can't afford to be a Trojan horse. But arrange a better cell for him."
, meals are provided according to officer standards.”
Chief of Staff: "Is it the standard for officers? But the officers in the city have already followed your orders and have the same standards as soldiers."
"Then just follow the original officer standards." Napoleon waved his hand.
The Austrian was surprised: "What's going on? Your officers and soldiers eat together?"
Napoleon replied quite proudly: "This is the rule set by General Frost. On the front line, officers and soldiers eat the same thing. When a general goes out to fight, he eats hard food all day long. On the day of the battle, his maid will give it to him."
He prepares delicious wines and exquisite snacks, which he will enjoy on the battlefield, accompanied by the wonderful sight of the enemy's destruction."
The Austrian's mouth opened in an O shape: "This..."
Napoleon: "I assure you that everything I say is the truth! There is absolutely no exaggeration!"
The Austrian was stunned: "I have heard about General Frost's deeds a long time ago, but I didn't expect it to be even more legendary than the legend."
Is there a possibility that the legend was spread by a close associate of the group of generals headed by the general in front of you?
The unknown Austrian general did not think about this possibility.
Napoleon: "Lock him up."
"Wait a minute!" the Austrian said again, "don't you want to hear about the current deployment of other coalition forces?"
Napoleon snorted, picked up the pointer next to the map, and clicked on the map while saying: "I speculate that the remaining forces of the coalition are now here, here and here.
"The reason why I made such a conjecture is that it is consistent with general military principles and the spread of troops can fully protect the supply line.
"You will definitely want to bypass the two well-fortified fortresses of Sedan and Verdun and take a circuitous route back to Paris from further south."
Napoleon said again while drawing an arc on the map.
"But you will not succeed," he continued. "The roads over there cannot support the consumption of a 200,000-strong legion. At most, it can maintain a small force of about one corps. Your army will suffer in this position.
To a determined sniper attack."
Napoleon's pointer slaps hard outside the map.
After a few seconds, the staff officer found the corresponding map and put it next to the main map.
Napoleon's pointer was accurately photographed at the bend of the Marne River.
"You will be hit head-on here! I bet you will not be able to cross the Marne River! It is impossible to go straight to Paris along the Marne River waterway."
The Austrian was stunned from ear to ear: "This... you have been surrounded for a week. You should have no information from the outside at all, but you can judge the situation so accurately! You..."
Napoleon: "Huh, what's the matter? I'm Your Excellency the General's most proud disciple. Your Excellency the General must have made an appropriate judgment early and made a plan!"