The British government is all overwhelmed, let alone the French government. I was already at a loss, and I didn't know what to do next.

As a party, Napoleon IV received more bad news. On the surface, the French army regrouped again after the defeat, but the outside world did not know the heavy price paid by the French army.

Retreating in a rout is not an easy task. The enemy is not a fool and will definitely take the opportunity to expand the results of the battle. If you want to evacuate smoothly, it is necessary to survive with a broken tail.

In addition, the person who performs the task of breaking off must also be a loyal elite. If the new troops left with a large number of Italians are broken, perhaps as soon as the Austrian army comes, they will turn against each other.

And then a million French troops were gone. Killed + wounded + routed + captured, the total strength of the French army was reduced by more than a million, including 300,000 elites.

Heavy losses were inflicted on troops, and countless losses of materials and equipment were innumerable. In order to retreat as soon as possible, the French even had to blow up their own artillery positions.

If the materials are gone, you can continue to buy, if the weapons and equipment are gone, you can rebuild, and if the loss of troops is gone, you can also replenish the troops, but time does not allow it.

As soon as the battle ended, the offensive and defensive battles of Turin had already begun, and the Battle of Luxembourg followed, and the French army could only respond passively.

War Minister Luschinia: "Your Majesty, yesterday morning the Spaniards launched an attack on the Roussillon area, and after the bloody battles of the front-line soldiers, they finally defeated the enemy in the evening. ”

A rare success, but Napoleon IV could not be happy. It was clear that the Spaniards, affected by the defeat of the French army, could no longer sit still.

Regardless of the strength of the Spaniards, France added another front, and then the military pressure became even greater.

Seeing that the Minister of War wanted to speak and stopped, Napoleon IV felt a chill in his heart, and said with a wry smile: "Go on, where is the defeat, I can bear it." It's all come to this point, how bad can it be? ”

Despair, this is the truest portrayal of Napoleon IV's heart now. A series of defeats on the battlefield and a complete defeat in diplomacy undermined the confidence of Napoleon IV.

The desperation of watching the anti-French alliance grow stronger and the only ally wavering at this time is beyond the comprehension of others.

Luskinia said slowly: "Austria and Switzerland formed an alliance and launched an attack on us, and the eastern regions of Burgundy and Auvergne became battlefields.

The enemy is menacing, and our forces deployed in the east are seriously insufficient......"

Before Luskinia could finish speaking, Napoleon IV interrupted: "I know, your War Department will take care of it yourself!" ”

Words like difficulty, trouble, Napoleon IV have been hearing too much lately, and he has long been tired of it. It's just that it can be solved, what I'm most afraid of is the kind of problem that can't be solved, but I have to ask him to solve it.

Rather than having a headache when you listen to it, it is better not to listen to it at all. Anyway, the ministers will find a way to solve the problems that can be solved, and what is reported is only the solution; If he can't solve the problem, he can't do anything about it.

In a sense, Napoleon IV was a good boss, who suffered both military and diplomatic defeats, and did not push his subordinates out of the blame.

Of course, there is no real point in pushing it out and going back to the pot. Although it can alleviate political pressure in the short term, it will also cause everyone to die and cause turmoil within the government.

Prime Minister Terence Bulkin whispered: "Your Majesty, prepare for armistice negotiations!" At this point, we can't fight anymore. ”

The "armistice negotiations" also have to divide the time, and when France had the upper hand earlier, it naturally had the capital to negotiate conditions.

Now it is different, France is at a disadvantage in military diplomacy in an all-round way, and if it proposes "armistice negotiations", it will be about the same as "surrender".

Terrance Bullin was absolutely reluctant to surrender to the enemy if it were possible. But there was no way, France really couldn't fight.

The flames of war have reached the French mainland, and every day that the war lasts will bring a lot of losses to France.

If you don't take advantage of the fact that you still have a few chips in your hands to negotiate with the anti-French alliance, and wait for people to come all the way, and then negotiate the conditions, it will not be the current price.

After hesitating for a while, Napoleon IV sighed and said slowly: "How to talk? ”

"Truce", he has no opinion. Napoleon IV did not mind an immediate truce if it could. The problem is that it is easy to provoke a war, but it is difficult to end it.

Other countries may be able to deal with it with a little benefit, but Germany, Belgium, and Austria will certainly not give up. Both sides are already bleeding, and it is impossible to negotiate at this time without paying a big price.

The Foreign Secretary, Karel Kadleec, replied: "The British have agreed to intercede, and the Government of London has made a commitment to guarantee the territorial integrity of France as much as possible."

Judging from the current international situation, Austria will become completely bigger after the end of the European War, which is not in the interests of European countries.

At this point, including the Russians are our potential allies. The failure of States to react was mainly due to the rapid change of the situation and the lack of a reasonable excuse to intervene. ”

Well, Karel Kadlec felt like he was running out of ideas. European countries don't want to see Austria dominate, but it doesn't mean that everyone wants to have a La France, these are two different concepts.

In real life, reason tends to lose to emotion, after all, people are not machines, they are affected by feelings.

At the very least, France's neighbors are emotionally affected, and for Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, and several Italian states, it doesn't matter if Austria will become bigger, or kill France first.

The so-called long-term interests are nonsense, and history has already told everyone that if we do not take the opportunity to kill the great enemy of France, there will be no good life in the future.

No matter how big the interests are, they are not as important as the safety of their own homes. For a small country, survival is the first priority, and whoever is the boss is the younger brother anyway.

In this context, Austria will not be isolated as long as it does not eat alone. With so many enemies here, France should not try to get out without shedding a layer of skin.

Self-deception or wishful thinking, in short, the French government now needs hope, a hope that it can get out of its entirety.

"Tell the British that we agree to negotiate and are willing to pay for this war. The colony may not be needed, but the homeland must be intact.

The government has done a good job of pacifying the people, and as soon as the news of the negotiations spreads, it will definitely cause an uproar, and France can not afford to toss.

If necessary, I will abdicate at the right time and take responsibility for this war. ”

After saying that, Napoleon IV seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and lay directly on the chair, ignoring the crowd.

According to the rules of the political game on the European continent, it is normal to pay reparations for the defeat and land. Alas, nationalism has risen. France, in particular, as a nationalist stronghold, is less tolerant of defeat.

In the general perception of society, colonies are also property, and if they are lost, they will be lost, but the territory must not be ceded.

The double-edged sword of nationalism created by Napoleon himself finally came back to him, and the Bonaparte dynasty ushered in its greatest challenge.

Only by preserving the integrity of the homeland, Napoleon IV voluntarily abdicating and assuming the responsibility of alleviating the anger of the people, could the Bonaparte dynasty have a glimmer of life.

……

St. Petersburg, affected by the changing situation on the European continent, the position of the tsarist government was also affected.

There is no doubt that the tsarist government would certainly not pull the French at this time. Even if someone saw the strategic significance of keeping France, they would not have made a move at this time.

Nothing else, only interests. If a sentence of strategic necessity is to take the fire for the French, then what is the need for diplomacy?

Marshal Ivanov said with great interest: "Your Majesty, the situation in this war has become clear. The French suffered defeats in the battlefields of Central and Southern Europe, and now they are powerless.

Influenced by this, the Spaniards also launched a tentative offensive on the border. Coupled with the Swiss battlefield that the Allies had just opened, the French were actually already fighting on four fronts.

If nothing else, in the next six months, the French will be defeated, and now it's time for us to strike. ”

The plan did not change quickly, and the tsarist government was originally prepared to declare no war and sit back and watch the fight between France and Austria. It's a pity that the French are not very useful, and they have just begun to show their defeat.

Since the plan to drain Austria's strength could not be accomplished, the tsarist government naturally had to consider how to maximize its benefits.

Picking peaches is a must, even if you can't get the biggest one, you have to get the second largest one.

If no troops are sent at all, by the time the benefits are distributed after the war, the Russian Empire's right to speak will be gone.

Don't look at Austria's promise that the Russian Empire would share 20% of the war reparations, but it is not so simple to fulfill the promise.

Just a paper treaty, and you want the French to pay for it obediently? Don't dream, the tsarist government relies on experience, as long as the fist is big enough not to give.

Without the support of the anti-French alliance, the Russian Empire alone had no ability to collect debts from the French.

This is still an ideal state, in case Austria ignores the appearance of eating, pulls a few younger brothers to directly divide France, and there is no reparation for the last penny, the tsarist government will be tragic.

In a sense, the war was not only to fight France, but also to protect France.

Strength is the right to speak, and only when the Russian army appears on France itself and disposes of France after the war, can the tsarist government have enough right to speak.

Whether it was for strategic reasons or to obtain adequate war reparations, the tsarist government needed to preserve the vitality of France. After all, only the big countries can get the money.

Alexander III hesitated, the situation changed so quickly that it was a little difficult to accept. I only decided to watch the play last month, but I didn't expect to send troops again.

Unsurely, he asked, "Is it true that the French can't hold on?" ”

"Yes, Your Majesty! The reality may be even worse than we expected, after all, two more fronts have been added. Coupled with the fact that the Italian region is now unstable, the French government no longer has enough troops to deal with the ensuing war. ”

Ivanov replied in the affirmative. This is carefully studied by the Russian military, and even the most optimistic people do not think that the French will be able to turn the tables.

Foreign Secretary Oscar Jimenez proposed: "Your Majesty, if we are worried that the losses in the war will be too great, in fact, we can adopt a roundabout strategy.

The British also wanted to keep France, and our position on this issue was unanimous. It is entirely possible to make direct contact with the French through them, and then land in France from the sea.

The next most important thing for Austria was the unification of the German regions and the digestion of the newly occupied French Africa, which they would not be able to do at this time.

As long as we preemptively occupy France, the reich's voice will naturally increase when it comes to post-war negotiations. ”

It is a fact that the strategic plan of the Vienna government has been laid out in the light that Austria will be the world's leading power as long as it unites the German region and digests French Africa.

Compared to this, everything else is trivial, including the weakening of France. After all, France in its heyday was able to lie down, let alone a half-crippled France.

After a long silence, Alexander III slowly asked, "How can you guarantee that the French will be able to trust us?"

Moreover, even if the British were able to persuade the French government to agree, how could they be sure that it was not a trap? ”

Trust is a hard wound, and now France and Russia are enemies, and just by virtue of a promise, they can send their lifeblood to the enemy, and normal people can't do it.

In case after the Russian army entered France, the tsarist government suddenly turned its face, and the French government had no chance to cry.

The same problem existed with the tsarist government. No matter how good the talk is, it is useless, if the British turn their faces halfway, and the Royal Navy directly sends the Russian army into the sea to feed the fish, the tsarist government will become the laughing stock of the century.

In view of the contradictions between Britain and Russia, the London government had every incentive to do so.

No matter what others think, Alexander III couldn't trust the British anyway. Before he could ensure the safety of the Russian army, he did not dare to risk hundreds of thousands of Russian troops.

……

(End of chapter)