Marshal Bazin's headquarters was not set up in the city hall or the largest bastion, but in the Metz train station in the city!
The strategic location here is better, and there are three high-quality trains available to ride on, ensuring that Bazan can quickly reach various major locations on the battlefield.
Maybe he still has an attempt to break out by train, but he will never admit it!
The gloomy sky in the afternoon made people feel extremely irritable. The complicated markings on the military map showed that the Prussian army's reinforcements were still continuing. He dropped his pencil, unbuttoned his collar, and took a few deep breaths.
"Are you still unable to contact the outside world? How is the tunnel repair work in the south of the city?"
"I'm very sorry. The tunnel in the south of the city was built in 1435. It has not been used for hundreds of years and has been submerged by silt and groundwater..."
"Without two months, we can't clean it up at all..."
What Metz lacks most now is actually not food, but the transmission of messages from inside and outside. Bazin is trapped here and all the telegraph lines have been cut off.
The last news he received from the outside world was that a group of brave guerrillas came in at night and forced their way in while the Prussian army's encirclement was not complete.
It was the guerrillas who told Bazin the news from the outside world. The Republic had been established, the French Emperor was imprisoned in the Palace of William, the Republicans and the leftists in Paris were fighting for power, and Orleans in the south was in a stalemate!
Twenty days have passed since the last message was delivered. He doesn't know what happened in France during the past twenty days or whether the war situation has been reversed.
He didn't even have basic information about the war, which made him extremely depressed!
"Marshal...have some bread...the sandwiches have been there for a long time..."
The sandwich on the table is the best food that Metz has to offer, with a paper-thin piece of ham sandwiched between two pieces of wilted bread.
Bazin shook his head, "I have no appetite...send these foods to the wounded barracks! Just give me a cup of coffee..."
"The first task now is to secretly repair the tunnel in the south of the city. We need to lay out the telegraph line from underneath, and try every means to connect it with the telegraph line in the Vosges Mountains farther away..."
"How many kilometers of telegraph lines do we have now? Three hundred kilometers? That's almost enough..."
"Even if the telegraph line cannot be connected, we can still get some information by sending some brave soldiers to contact the outside world..."
"What is happening in Paris now? How many southern troops have been gathered?"
"And our Majesty...how will the Prussians treat him?"
Just when everyone in the headquarters was in a low mood, suddenly there was a burst of chaotic footsteps outside, and a major general under Bazin hurried over.
"Marshal! Marshal! The Prussians outside the city have sent people to negotiate... They have released Major Joseph, and they are here to deliver a message to you!"
"Huh? Let them come in..."
Major Joseph, who had a dusty look on his face, walked into the headquarters and saw the haggard marshal standing at attention with red eyes and saluting, "Report... Report to the commander! Major Joseph requests to return to the team..."
Bazin nodded, and then looked at the two Prussian officers behind Joseph. The two Prussian officers also saluted the marshal respectfully!
"Dear Marshal... I have sent two secret messages, please review them!"
Opening the briefcase he carried, two envelopes sealed with lacquer were handed over. An adjutant took them and used a paper knife to pry open a confidential letter.
"Marshal...it's a personal letter from Prince August outside the city!"
This time the Prussian army was directly commanding the siege of Metz by Prince August. Before the war, his troops were under the command of Steinmetz. At the end of the battle, the prince was assigned to command the siege of Metz.
The prince was not a famous general in battle, but he was quite decent and would not make big mistakes. Sending him to Metz to command the battle actually exposed the cautious attitude of Bismarck and Moltke.
These two knew Mesjian City better than Xiao Letian. They were also afraid of attacking the fortress, so they sent a steady prince to take command. The purpose was not to be too aggressive in tactics, hoping that he could attack safely!
Marshal Bazan still had great respect for the prince from Hanover. He opened the letter and looked at it carefully.
This letter is not long, just a simple daily greeting, and then hopes that Marshal Bazan can go out of the city to have a secret negotiation with him tomorrow.
The Prussian army will definitely protect the safety of the marshal!
Bazin didn't say anything, he just handed the text message to his subordinates behind him for circulation. These generals were confused when they saw it. "How can this be done! Go to the Prussian territory to negotiate? What if they detain the marshal?"
"Don't be fooled! If the prince wants to negotiate, let him come to the city! We French will protect his safety..."
"Yes! That's right. Let the prince come to the city... Doesn't the ruler of the Kingdom of Hanover even have this courage?"
The two Prussian officers were not angry at all. Faced with these people's difficulties, they just said calmly, "Won't Marshal read the second secret letter?"
Bazin frowned and asked the adjutant to open the second envelope. As soon as the words on it appeared, the marshal subconsciously stood at attention and his expression became serious.
The information revealed in just one line was truly astonishing, and the last signature made him unable to believe his eyes!
"François, my old friend, when you read this letter, please believe the sender, believe everything he says, and accept his orders... Your Majesty and old friend... Charles Louis Napoleon. Bonaparte!”
This is actually a letter handwritten by the French Emperor. If Bazin can't recognize the handwriting anymore, his eyes should be pulled out!
His hands were shaking and he didn't come back to his senses for a long time. He looked at the two Prussian officers and asked, "Are you the secret envoy?"
"No... the real emissary is outside the city, waiting to meet you... To show our sincerity, we release a prisoner. I hope he can explain more clearly!"
After finishing speaking, the two Prussian officers exited the headquarters and waited quietly outside the door. The major faced the marshal and generals alone.
Someone had already driven out the low-level officers, and now, except for Major Joseph, all the remaining officers in the room were general-level officials!
"Joseph! Who is the emissary? Who is outside the city, and what is happening outside..."
Joseph's face turned pale, "I'm very sorry, I have been detained in a prisoner of war camp. The Prussians have blocked the news very hard, and I don't know much about the war situation..."
"But one thing I am sure of is that Paris has been completely surrounded. Prussia has mobilized 300,000 troops..."
Bazin's face looked a little better, "It's only three hundred thousand... not much, really not much... Paris can hold it!"
But what Joseph said next shocked the marshal, "Marshal... The one who brought His Majesty's secret message this time is no one else... It's actually... It's actually the head of state of the Chinese nation... Xiao Letian!"
ah! When everyone heard this, they immediately shouted in unison, "How is this possible!"
