On the way away from the Sedan Fortress, Napoleon III was in a very heavy mood. Outside the city wall were farmland and forests, and both sides of the road were full of corpses of the dead.
Since the bloody battle only lasted a night, the enemy and we did not have time to clean up the battlefield carefully. The Prussians simply collected the remains of the victims on their side, while the remains of the French soldiers were not taken care of at all.
French soldiers of all kinds were lying in every corner of the battlefield, with guns, ammunition and military flags scattered all over the place.
Looking at those pairs of eyes that never looked back, this was the first time that the Emperor had great negation of his own life. The arrogance of the past was gone at this moment.
Senator Raul saw the sadness in His Majesty's eyes, and he quickly whispered, "Speed up, let's get out of here..."
The imperial flag fluttered in the hands of the cavalry, and both sides of the road were lined with Prussian soldiers watching the fun. Although these soldiers hated the French emperor, the aristocratic status of the emperor in that era still exerted serious pressure on ordinary people.
The soldiers did not make any noise or ridicule, they just watched the carriage pass by quietly. They were witnessing history!
Xiao Letian kept his promise very much. Since he promised Bismarck yesterday not to stir up trouble, today he did not even let his soldiers leave the camp.
Two thousand Chinese warriors were stationed at their resting place. This was Xiao Letian's last bit of face for the French Emperor, and this bit of face was given to the Vietnamese colony.
On the high Zeppelin airship, Xiao Letian used binoculars to watch the Emperor's cavalry approaching the north. He said lonelyly, "Hey... I am really unwilling to not be able to witness such a historical moment with my own eyes..."
"Zeppelin... move the airship over there, and I'll use the binoculars to watch the excitement. No one will care about me, right?"
The meeting place between the French Emperor and Bismarck was at a mill five kilometers north of the city of Sedan. This is a hilly area outside the city of Sedan. It is a good place to view the scenery from a high place. The hills are full of ancient trees and lush. Many of the trees are over a hundred years old.
When the emperor's carriage arrived here, it saw densely packed Prussian Guards on the hills. These stern soldiers saluted the emperor on both sides of the road. Even the defeated emperor, they paid full respect.
After bypassing a big tree, the French Emperor finally saw Bismarck riding a war horse!
Today, Bismarck is dressed in military uniform, with his knee-high riding boots polished to a shine. On top of his head is a standard wartime Prussian pointed metal helmet with extremely complicated patterns!
The navy blue military uniform is decorated with gold thread embroidery, and an Iron Cross medal hangs shining on the collar!
The carefully trimmed beard trembled slightly with the wind, as if he had something to say. What was even more exaggerated was the sword on his waist. It was a sword given to him by William I. It was one meter and a half long and hung on The scabbard on the horse's side almost wiped the ground.
The Prime Minister, who had not slept all night, was full of energy at the moment. Years of hard work finally came to the moment of reward!
Seeing the Emperor's carriage appear, Bismarck rode up to the Emperor's side. He jumped off his horse and saluted the Emperor with a military salute.
"See Your Majesty! Good day!"
There is still respect for superiors and inferiors. In a hierarchical society, even a defeated emperor is still an emperor. This is not something that a minister like Bismarck can humiliate.
Napoleon III looked at Bismarck for half a minute and said, "Hey...how long has it been since we last met?"
"Back to Your Majesty, in 1862, I visited London and Paris. Since then, we haven't seen each other for eight years!"
"Eight years! How much has changed... You were my guest in the past, but today I have become your prisoner..."
Bismarck stood at attention and saluted, stretched out his hand to open the door of the carriage, "No matter how far the situation develops, you are the emperor of France, and this will forever be recorded in history!"
Napoleon III struggled to get out of the carriage and sighed, "It will be recorded in the annals of history forever? But the annals of history will also turn a new page. My page has ended!"
The two of them walked side by side on the dirt road in the forest, heading towards the mill in front of them. The people around them subconsciously stayed ten steps away.
"When can I see my brother William?" the French Emperor asked, looking into Bimarck's eyes.
Bismarck smiled and said, "His Majesty the King is currently recuperating in Luxembourg. I think you will see him soon..."
"Haha... soon? I'm afraid I'll never see him again. An emperor who steps down is no longer of much use..."
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Please give this sword to the King of Prussia! I lost this war..."
Napoleon III held the family sword in both hands and raised it high. Bismarck did not dare to neglect and quickly took it with both hands. At this time, the adjutant not far away ran all the way, holding a wooden box covered with velvet in his hand.
The Prime Minister put the Emperor's sword respectfully in the wooden box and said, "Hurry and deliver it to His Majesty, go ahead..."
"Yes..." The adjutant turned around and left. Soon a group of Guards cavalry surrounded the adjutant and ran all the way to the northeast!
"Your Majesty, please take a seat..." Walking to the door of the mill, Bismarck and the Emperor sat side by side on two chairs in the warm sunshine. The Emperor squinted slightly and looked at the scene of freedom in front of him.
"Am I a prisoner from now on? Where are you going to imprison me?"
"Your Majesty! We are not imprisoning you, we just hope that you can temporarily rest under our protection for a while... The beautiful scenery of Fort William in Gasser is just right for your cultivation!"
"You can rest assured that you will enjoy certain freedoms here, we will provide you with the best living conditions, and you can even use the telegraph and postal systems..."
"Of course, I believe you won't stay there for too long. When the war is over, you will naturally reunite with the Queen and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"
This is already the best ending. The French Emperor can't say anything because he surrendered unconditionally with a white flag yesterday. He can only let the Prussians arrange it now.
"Where are my legions? How will they be treated?"
Bismarck sat up straight, "Before my adjutant goes to see His Majesty, he will bring your sword into Sedan City... If there are no accidents, the French army in Sedan City should have seen Your Majesty's sword at this moment... …”
"As long as they don't resist and calmly lay down their weapons and accept our reorganization... then we will arrange their food and accommodation and treat the wounded soldiers right away!"
"I can assure you that all prisoners of war will not be mistreated. Of course, their freedom will not be granted until we reach a ceasefire agreement with the French government..."
The French Emperor smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid this will disappoint you. The government that I am captured will definitely fall and the Republic will be restored... I'm afraid those people will not recognize my promise!"
"Hahaha... Bismarck smiled arrogantly, Your Majesty, I don't expect you to promise anything. All you can do now is to make these legions loyal to you surrender!"
"As for what I, Prussia, want, we will get it ourselves!"
