It was already morning, but the sky was gloomy, and the dark clouds were squeezing the sky, as if it was about to fall, so depressed that it seemed that the whole world had stopped.

The indifferent winds of winter whistled aimlessly, whistling between towering buildings and dark clouds, as if they were whimpering from above.

With the reverberating of the wind, the neat and noisy footsteps in the Les Invalides in Paris are even more oppressive. Since the ceremony of conferring the title of marshal on Prince Jérôme more than a year ago, Les Invalides in Paris today has once again become a sea of uniforms.

However, unlike last time, people were wearing military uniforms one by one, their faces were solemn, and the air was full of suffocating meaning. Because today's ceremony is a bit special: today is not to award a medal or an honor, but to give a funeral to a big person.

The last living marshal of Napoleon's empire, Generalissimo Sirte, former Minister of War and Prime Minister of France, had died a week earlier at his estate, Château de Sirte. In order to show his respect and recognition, French President Bonaparte decided to hold a state funeral for him, and his coffin was buried in Les Invalides in Paris, enjoying the reverence of the whole of France along with the emperor's coffin.

According to the opinion of Generalissimo Soirte himself, he wanted to be buried in peace on his estate, but after his death, his last wishes were quickly ignored by the President, who resolved to give him such an honor, in order to show respect for him and to please his old men.

A person, no matter how much he has done in his life, how much reputation he has made. After death, they will inevitably become props in the hands of the living, and they will be placed in various rituals to reflect their respective purposes. How many people can avoid it?

At this moment, President Bonaparte, dressed in a military dress and wearing the dazzling Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honor on his chest, stood quietly in front of the coffin of Generalissimo Sirte.

Although he had never been on a real battlefield until now, this did not prevent him from dressing like his uncle back then, and his face did not show any shame for disobeying the other party, only grief and melancholy. As if he was lamenting the death of the other party.

The wooden coffin rests silently on the marble floor of Les Invalides, and its appearance is unpretentious, and there are no popular pattern carvings. The yellow and black coffin reflected a cold glow, as if it were like the generalissimo's indifferent and resolute face.

In the sea of military uniforms, Charles blended in the crowd in a black civilian suit, although wearing the Legion of Honor on his chest. But it always seems unsociable. But his grandfather, Marshal Treville, stood in the front row, attracting everyone's attention.

The time has come.

Under the shout of the master of ceremonies, all the officers immediately stood upright, and then the salute suddenly roared, and with the roar of dozens of salutes, the whole earth trembled slightly. The atmosphere in the hall was slightly loosened by the roar of the salute.

Under everyone's gaze, the president leaned over and touched the coffin, and then. Marshal Tréville also stepped forward to touch the coffin, expressing his sorrow for the dead giant. Then. One by one, the generals stepped forward to pay their respects to the generalissimo who was sleeping in it, and even Charles mixed up with mixed thoughts.

His perception of Field Marshal Sirte was much more complicated than others. At the very least, though, he did have a lot of respect for one of the last giants left over from the Napoleonic era.

Napoleon is dead, Alexandre is dead, Talleyrand is dead, Blucher is dead, Bernadotte is dead, a great group of stars has fallen, and time is running out, and if history does not change much, the Duke of Wellington will die next year, and in a few years, the Prince of Metternich will no longer be able to escape the snare of time.

He was glad that he was able to ascend into the sky as a nova before the stars fell, and then he was able to get up close and personal with the remaining giants as a good junior.

Your time is over, and our time is coming, and may we do better than you. Looking at the silent coffin, Charles silently prayed in his heart.

After everyone had expressed their grief, the guards next to him lifted the coffin, carried it up the marble steps to the prepared position next to it, and finally placed it gently on the high platform.

There was another roar of salutes, and then to the sound of army drums, the state funeral ceremony came to an end.

At the end of the ceremony, the participants departed in hierarchical order, with His Excellency President Bonaparte going first, followed by Marshal Treville and his grandson, in the presidential carriage.

"I really hope that today's ceremony will put their anger down." As soon as he stepped into the carriage, the sadness and sorrow on President Louis Bonaparte's face disappeared and his characteristic indifference was restored. "It's better to wait for some rain to put out the fire in their hearts."

"I think they can now feel the glory you have brought to them." Charles replied respectfully, "This glory can undoubtedly replace the fire in the breast." ”

"It would be great if it could be like that." Louis Bonaparte sneered, "It's frustrating that we need these people, but we don't know how they intend to defend us." ”

"Rest assured, the army is very supportive of you, Your Majesty." "They feel the respect and courtesy you treat them, and they know that your ambition is worthy of your surname, and that it is not in any way comparable to those hapless kings who came before them."

"That's enough of a headache." Louis Bonaparte shrugged, "We can't really declare war on all of Europe one more time, after all. ”

"I don't think they're going to be so arrogant." Charles smiled.

"How not? You can't underestimate their hubris and ambition. Louis Bonaparte still sneered, "If we don't find a way to hold their reins from time to time, sooner or later we will be forced to fight all of Europe." ”

"We'll take care of that." The old marquis replied calmly, "As long as I am here." No one in the army can coerce you into doing anything, you are the master of France. ”

"I have great confidence in your loyalty and calmness, Marshal." After getting such an answer. Louis Bonaparte was obviously a little happy, "I have nothing but respect for you, and my only regret is that you have no grandson who can give me advice and lead troops to war!" ”

In this joking tone, he expressed his concern.

Marshal Tréville was simply too old. He feared that after the marshal's death, he would not have a very strong cronies and supporters in the army.

Because this joke is particularly realistic, both grandparents and grandchildren wisely did not choose the interface.

"It is not enough to hold the army in your hands and blindly express respect. Giving a child candy will only make them look forward to the next candy, and none of the current generals are pulled up by me, so I have to honor Sirte, but we can't always do that. "In the silence of the others. Louis Bonaparte whispered to himself. "Even if we can't make the whole army grateful to us now, at least we can do it in the Praetorian Guard, and the Praetorian Guard can't be polluted, Marshal, please choose your people carefully." ”

The French army had been unruly, and with Bonaparte only a few years in power, most of today's generals had no affection for Louis Bonaparte. They were just under his wing. And this situation was certainly not what Louis Bonaparte would have liked. What he wants is to prohibit it, not for others to temporarily attach themselves to him for the sake of profit.

Therefore, in order to defend his dynasty and establish a system of direct control over a part of the army, Louis Bonaparte, since he decided to restore the empire, decided to resurrect the Praetorian Guard, and then to enrich it with the most elite officers and soldiers from all the various units as his descendants, who were much more favourable than ordinary officers and soldiers, and who were genuinely favored by him, believing that in this way he would be able to control a truly direct military force.

As his confidant, Marshal Tréville was entrusted with the personal responsibility for the selection of the Praetorian Guard, and Louis-Bonaparte explicitly asked him not to pick those who were already factional, but to choose those who would be grateful.

The marshal, of course, understood what he meant. "I will only let those who are loyal to you personally share your honor, Your Majesty."

After hearing this "Your Majesty" who had arrived in advance, the sneer on Louis Bonaparte's face finally became a little warmer. "Your loyalty will undoubtedly be rewarded most securely, Marshal. Please prepare for the next expedition as soon as possible, and I am sure that in such a war that you personally command, enough merit will fall to you, as well as to those you favor. ”

It was Louis Bonaparte's personal need and his party's common interests to use a war to promote the emperor's cronies, and then replace them with the generals left over from the previous dynasty, so that the army could truly become the emperor's private army. All three of them knew each other about this.

"In order not to let that day come, we are already in the process of selecting the officers who will be selected when the day comes." The old marshal nodded slightly, "I want people who are both capable and ambitious, fortunately, there are many such people in the French army, and they are depressed for various reasons, so they will be grateful to you for giving them a chance." ”

"Of course I'll give it to them, as long as they're loyal to me and to the Empire." Louis Bonaparte replied as he suddenly turned his gaze to Charles, "Charles, I have to admit that you are even better than I imagined, and your diplomatic success in the past year has been greater than that of Louis-Philippe in ten years. Never before have nations listened to France so quietly, and they have all re-seen our strength and determination. ”

"It's all because France has you, you have injected strength and determination into France to act, otherwise everything I would do would be useless." Charles certainly knew what he should say, "I'm just doing my foreign policy according to your wishes, and I'm glad that all countries are looking at us again because of this." ”

"I'm not giving you any advice, it's you doing diplomacy according to our common will, and it's doing it well." Louis Bonaparte shook his head with a smile, "Your achievements make me reluctant to let you leave the Foreign Office." Are you sure you still want to change places? ”

"I still haven't changed my mind." After a moment of silence, Charles replied rather uneasily, for fear that the other party would change his mind, "My grandfather went to the battlefield, although I did not join the army and could not fight for him on the front line, but I want to do my best to help my grandfather win this war, so that his army has no worries...... Your Majesty, I know that being a minister at my age may be a bit of a criticism, but as a grandson, this is my only wish...... Even if you want to dismiss me after the war, I am willing. Could you please ...... Please satisfy the sincerity of a grandson. ”

His words were so earnest that Louis-Bonaparte felt no need to break the hearts of these two cronies.

"Well, since you are so desperate to help your grandfather, then I shouldn't break the heart of a grandson." Louis Bonaparte nodded again, "You have been able to hold all the positions so far, and I am sure you will be able to do the following." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Charles was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed down to thank the other party.

"Do you want me to inform him directly?" Louis Bonaparte asked again.

"No...... I'll tell him for myself. Charles smiled slightly, "He has contributed so much hard work to the country, and he deserves to be decent." ”

This answer made Louis Bonaparte a little puzzled, and he couldn't help but glance at the young man.

In his impression, this young man was humble on the surface, but he was ruthless in his heart, and he never cared about anyone, but he didn't expect to show such mercy to others this time - it stands to reason that after the death of his father, the earl's family is no longer a very political force, and even if he is offended, it doesn't matter.

Perhaps he still misses the friendship between the two of them, who worked closely together for two years.

It's a young man, after all.

"Well, the late Earl has helped us a lot, and now we should take care of his son." After a moment of silence, Louis Bonaparte agreed, "Then go and make him understand my will." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Charles bowed to the other again. "I will put such a small disturbance to a decent place, and the ministers of the empire should be sincerely united."

"If only everyone thought like you." The future emperor laughed, "Prepare early, the amazing test is still waiting for us." (To be continued.) )