At four o'clock in the morning on September 1, 1870, the Sedan Fortress was brightly lit. The corridors, city walls, military camps, stables... all areas were lit with torches and bonfires. Countless soldiers were sleeping soundly wrapped in blankets, and countless people were sleeping at night. Insomnia is making various preparations for war.
Sedan City is not a city in the true sense. It is just a strategic military fortress on the border. On weekdays, more than 10,000 French troops are stationed, but in wartime, this complex fortress can fully accommodate more than 60,000 regular troops.
There are more than 2,000 residents in the small city, but they have all fled without a trace at this moment. The homes of all the residents in the city have been requisitioned by the officers, and the entire city has been completely turned into a military camp.
At this moment, the French Emperor handed over the command of the entire army to Marshal McMahon. The old marshal, who was under tremendous pressure, could not sleep at all. He began patrolling Sedan at one o'clock in the morning to prepare for the upcoming bloody battle.
"We need to add fifteen more cannons to the east bastion of the city, but the firepower is still not enough... How many cannons do we have now?"
"Report to the marshal, 650...but we don't have enough artillery shells. Based on the consumption data of medium-intensity combat, we can only last about four days..."
"Four days! It's good news. It's better than no news at all... Believe me, maybe this damn war will be over in four days!"
"What do you mean..." The surrounding officers immediately gathered around.
McMahon stood on the city wall, looking at the endless Prussian camps in all directions. The enemy's campfires were as dense as the Milky Way on a midsummer night.
"I know you have been tired for a long time, you have been tired for a long time! In fact, I am not like this... The number of enemies now is three or four times that of us. We will definitely not win this battle!"
"But if we can't win, we will fight anyway, and we will fight extremely fiercely! We must let the Prussians know how powerful we are!"
"This is not only about glory, but also about our future well-being!"
"To tell you the truth, someone has already suggested that Your Majesty surrender! But I think surrender is not advisable. What we should do is to use war to promote peace!"
"Promoting peace through war?" Everyone exclaimed as if they had some enlightenment!
"Yes, use war to promote peace! Surrender is absolutely undesirable, because as long as we surrender, our empire will collapse immediately, and those careerists in Paris will immediately declare the establishment of a republic!"
"Gentlemen, don't forget your status. Your noble status is only recognized by the empire. Once we become a republic, we may not only lose our current rights, but we may also be sent to court for trial!"
"I absolutely don't believe those lunatics... By the way, do you know what Prime Minister Olivier is doing now?"
Everyone shook their heads, and McMahon sighed and said, "He is a smart man. Ever since he was dismissed as a scapegoat, he went to Italy to join his relatives and friends without any hesitation..."
"He has long seen through the faces of those careerists in Paris. Once the Revolution breaks out, they will definitely kill all the nobles and capitalists!"
"Do you want this result? Or do you want to escape our homeland, France, and become refugees in other countries?"
The generals present were moved by his words, "Oh God! Has the situation deteriorated to this point? Is there going to be another revolution? God, what is happening to our motherland?"
"So, if we want to protect our own interests, we must protect the empire! Our biggest concession is the constitutional monarchy. If His Majesty abdicates, we can support the crown prince to ascend the throne and become a constitutional monarchy like the United Kingdom!"
"This is the only way to break the situation! And all of this is inseparable from the existence of our army, which means that we must return to Paris in an organized manner to suppress those careerists who are trying to rebel!"
"Before that, we must have a bloody battle with the Prussians to boost our morale and let Bismarck know that if they want to win, they have to spend ten times as many lives!"
"Hit them until their hearts bleed, hit them until they are frightened...Only in this way will they negotiate with us on an equal footing!"
"You must remember that what we want to sign is an armistice agreement, not a surrender document! These two results are very different!"
This is a layer of window paper. It can be seen through when you poke it. All the generals are worried about their future destiny. The Great Revolution 80 years ago seems very far away, but it was personally experienced by their fathers and ancestors. of.
In that bloody killing, how many noble families were wiped out? How many careerists have come to power? The entire social class was overthrown, and ten rivers of Seine could not contain the blood shed.
Thinking back to their villa in Paris, imagining their wife, children, and young and beautiful lover, these were their happy lives, but once the revolution broke out, it would all come to nothing.
McMahon struck while the iron was hot, "Gentlemen, if we fight forward, many of us may die...but if we retreat, most of us will die!"
"Should we be cowardly and wait for the total destruction? Or should we bravely give it a try? Go for that glimmer of possibility? I think this multiple-choice question is not difficult to decide!"
"You all know that Alfred is dead, but what you don't know is that Alfred and others died singing Marseillaise in the end. They did not lose the face of the empire in the end!"
"In that bloody battle at Syny, he fought with honor for our French noble regiment! Xiao Letian personally promised to give those brave nobles a generous burial!"
"He also wants to build monuments and relief walls in Xuni, not only to commemorate his men, but also to commemorate our brave officers and soldiers!"
"Alfred died to gain the respect of his enemies, but what about us? Can't we just fight it out?"
"Marshal! You don't need to say anything... In this bloody battle, we will be on the front line and defend Sedan to the death!"
"There are no shells and bullets, but we still have bayonets and swords. Even if it's a hand-to-hand fight, we have to defend Sedan!"
"Fight to the last soldier! Fight to the death!"
McMahon's nose felt sour and he said with great excitement, "Get ready for war! At this time, it is more important for the soldiers to eat well and share as much food as we can... Today is destined to be a long day!"
The generals immediately dispersed, and soon the huge Sedan Fortress gradually became busy. The logistics officials were ordered to move out the food at the bottom of the box, and soon all units received sufficient rations.
Each company began to set up a large pot to cook oatmeal porridge. The soldiers cut the whole ham into thin slices with bayonets and threw them into the porridge. The last baguettes were all distributed.
Most of the sleeping soldiers were tempted by the aroma of food and woke up. When they saw such a rich breakfast today, they were so hungry that they started grabbing it like vicious dogs.
A steaming bowl of oatmeal and two pieces of toasted baguette made their breakfast feel like they were cultivating in Paris.
But when these soldiers had eaten, they found that the officers of their own team unusually did not rest in independent tents, but sat alone in the corner sharpening their knives.
The saber full of vicissitudes of history was splashed with clean water. Our ancestors once held it to accompany Napoleon the Great on his expedition to Egypt!
The grandfather passed it on to his father, and the father passed it on to himself. Today is the time for him to drink human blood!
Note: Updates have been added, please continue to add updates!
Thanks to the crazy 'Sister Jasmine' for being so powerful and domineering!
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