A spy delivered to your door? Napoleon III obviously didn't understand, and Montauban didn't dare to continue to talk about it and quickly solved the mystery.
"Your Majesty, the answer to this matter must be found in this assassination. Don't you feel that this assassination is too unusual?"
"Who is behind the scenes? It's definitely not France anyway, so who has the motive to assassinate Emperor Tongzhi? Tsarist Russia?"
"On the surface, it seems that Tsarist Russia has a motive for the assassination, but upon closer analysis, it is not the case. What Tsarist Russia hates is Xiao Letian and the Chinese. They do not hate Emperor Tongzhi... Although Emperor Tongzhi secretly ordered the Eight Banners Army outside the pass to block it. The path of the Tsarist Russian Cossacks' advance..."
"However, there was no direct serious conflict between Tsarist Russia and the Eight Banners Army outside the Pass, and no matter how stupid these northern barbarians are, they cannot create two enemies for themselves at the same time! Therefore, the possibility of Tsarist Russia assassinating Emperor Tongzhi is unlikely, very small... "
The French Emperor nodded, "You are right. This is also a question I have been thinking about. You also missed one point and it is an advance warning from the British!"
"Before the mission came to London, the British diplomatic department had conveyed the attitude of the Queen and Prime Minister to me and Alexander II through secret channels. They would never allow anything to happen to Emperor Tongzhi and Xiao Letian in Europe!"
"Although I am very angry, to put it shamefully, I have to accept the warning from the UK... After all, the situation in Europe is too chaotic now, and we cannot make too many enemies!"
"Yes, Your Majesty, you are absolutely right. Even we have to pay attention to Britain's warning. So does Alexander II dare to challenge it?"
“Poor Tsarist Russia’s current economic reforms are in a mess, and the Far East has been stabbed hard by the Chinese. According to multiple sources, Tsarist Russia can’t even send out an army to expedition to East Asia!”
"Of course the Tsar has plenty of soldiers, whether it is one hundred thousand or two hundred thousand, but what about the supplies? How much supplies are needed for an expedition across Eurasia? How much road construction is needed, and how much support is needed from regions and countries along the way? "
"The amount of money consumed is estimated to be astronomical. How can the Tsar have so much money? The sea route is relatively cheaper, but does Tsarist Russia have so many ocean-going fleets? Even the merchant ships may not be enough!"
"Their only hope is our anti-Chinese alliance. In fact, Alexander II's attitude is very clear. He hopes to organize a coalition with us. He will provide a large amount of manpower and a small amount of materials, while France will provide most of the military supplies and ocean resources. Fleet... Only in this way can he send a revenge army from Moscow!"
"Tsarist Russia's military operations are completely restricted by logistics. To put it bluntly, without our financial support, his warriors can only helplessly howl in Europe. How can they not tolerate this situation?"
"So even if Tsarist Russia wants to do evil, they have to endure it obediently! What's more, they don't have any motive to kill Emperor Tongzhi, so Tsarist Russia must be eliminated as a suspect!"
"Excluding Tsarist Russia and us France, who else is there? With both the motive to kill Emperor Tongzhi and the strength to assassinate him? Could it be that a few fanatical soldiers among the people acted spontaneously?"
"Are you kidding? To be able to break through the heavy protection of the Metropolitan Police Department and the Royal Guards, such an assassination operation must be supported by powerful forces! It is absolutely impossible for a personal act!" The French Emperor also shook his head.
"That's right, so we have to rule out the possibility of lone wolves committing crimes, and focus on those capable countries or big forces..."
At this point, Montauban suddenly smiled strangely, "Your Majesty, I have a very bold guess. Although there is no evidence, how about I tell it for your reference only?"
"Say! Don't show off..." Fa Huang Wen said angrily.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I am just making a random guess... Well, have you ever considered the possibility that the murderer is Xiao Letian?"
Poof... a mouthful of red wine spurted out. "Oh God! Cough cough cough... are you crazy? Xiao Letian? Did he kill his apprentice?"
"Kill your own people? Hahaha... Have you eaten too much British food and become a little confused?"
The French Emperor's attitude was obviously what Montauban expected. The general who gained a knighthood by massacring the Chinese smiled coldly, "One of our own? Is this really like this..."
Napoleon III fell silent immediately after saying one sentence, "Huh? What do you mean...tell me carefully!"
"Your Majesty, we have to admit that Xiao Letian is a ruthless character from the beginning to the end! Do you still remember the first time he came to Europe?"
"Just when he was escaping from our country, a photo was suddenly published in the newspaper. On it, Xiao Letian was stabbed with a bayonet in the chest. His life or death was uncertain because of which photo severely damaged our international image!"
"But in the end, the intelligence department spent half a year investigating, and what was the result? The soldier who assassinated Xiao Letian was never found. Even the soldiers who died in battle were investigated several times, and the results proved that the assassination did not exist at all!"
"The final conclusion of the intelligence department is that Xiao Letian's trick was to get himself stabbed and then blame France on me. However, this kind of trick is completely unsolvable for ordinary people with low IQs!"
"People naturally favor the weak and the injured. Xiao Letian took advantage of this mentality to achieve his insidious purpose of discrediting our France!"
"He played such a trick back then, so wouldn't he do it now? What if he really did something to himself and then put the blame on us?"
"With his character, I think he can handle it!"
"Oh God! Could it be that Xiao Letian is preparing an excuse to declare war on us?" The Emperor suddenly became furious.
Montauban shrugged, "I think it's very possible! How else could Emperor Tongzhi's thirteen-year-old child escape from the hands of the assassin? In the end, he cut off the assassin's head with his own hands? Staged? A shit show about a lone hero?”
When the French Emperor heard this, he paced back and forth in the Hall of Mirrors as if grass had grown in his heart. The sound of leather boots kept echoing, "Don't these damn Chinese people know how to live and die? Do they really want to go to war with France? You dare to let us take the blame?"
"Tell me about your plan! Who is the spy you are talking about? What does it have to do with this matter?"
Montauban did not answer immediately, but boldly poured himself a glass of wine and drank it in one gulp: "Your Majesty...the spy I said can be used..."
"It's Emperor Tongzhi himself!"
