Not only did the Ottoman Sultan think of it, but also the Emperor of the French Empire, Napoleon III.

He was preparing to attack Trier, northeast of Luxembourg, on the east bank of the Moselle, where the main Prussian army was stationed. However, before he could lead his army on the expedition, he heard the news that the Chinese Empire had sent troops to attack the Ottoman Turkish Empire. Before he could analyze why this was and what impact it would have on the French Empire, he suddenly heard a report from his general that the Prussian army on the opposite side had crossed the Moselle River in one fell swoop, made a detour of more than 50 kilometers, and besieged his royal guards and the Chalond army in a sudden attack overnight.

When the French army realized that the Prussian siege had been completed and that Luxembourg's retreat to the defensive fortress of Metz had been cut off, Napoleon III ordered all French troops to withdraw to the small city of El to the west of Luxembourg, where the terrain was suitable for defense and there was a medieval fortress. Originally, according to Napoleon III's idea, he wanted to withdraw to Sedan, which was further southwest, where the defenses were much stronger, and if it was even possible, it could be returned to Paris directly through Sedan. But by this time the Prussian army had closed in, blocking the retreat of the French army.

It was only at this time that Napoleon III discovered his inadequacy in command of the battle, and he handed over the military command of the field to the commander of the Charlons, Field Marshal Patrice MacMahon. However, Marshal MacMahon told the Emperor with great sorrow that the situation of the French army was very bad, that the Prussian army was much larger than the number of troops in the first battle, that the scouts on the front line had been deceived by the cunning Prussians, or that the real Prussian troops had not been inquired about, or that the Prussians had unknowingly transferred a large number of troops and suddenly appeared, in short, the current situation was in the area of this small city of El, where the French army had a total of only 170,000 men, and the Prussians had Frederick * The 140,000 men of the Second Army led by Prince Charles had already pursued to Arlon, south of the city of El, and the 100,000 men of the Prussian First Army led by Field Marshal Ron, Minister of War, had also pursued to Luxembourg, and the 50,000 men of the Prussian Third Army led by Marshal Karl Shiwalf von Biedfeld had also rushed to Winssel in the west.

But at this time, there is another point, that is, to forcibly break through, because after all, the Prussian army is not completely encircled, if you are lucky, you can break through, but a lot of military supplies and artillery are bound to be discarded, in this way, even if the army safely retreats to Verdun or even Paris, it will be regarded as a big defeat. Napoleon III, as Emperor of France, could not lose this face.

Originally, he didn't take the Prussians seriously at all, thinking that the powerful French army and the capture of Prussia was just a piece of cake, and he could occupy the entire territory of Prussia in three or four months, and he was just going to Prussia for a visit. But now, as soon as the war began, he suffered defeat, and at this time he realized that Prussia was completely different from what he remembered. Even if he was apprehensive, the dignity of the French emperor made him unable to bear defeat, and he could not abandon his armor and retreat because of timidity.

What's more, if you retreat, you may not be able to escape, and you may be pursued in the field, and then you will be defeated even worse.

Therefore, after careful analysis, Napoleon III decided to reject Marshal MacMahon's proposal to break through to the city of El and chose to hold on to the city of El and wait for reinforcements from Paris and the rescue of Dutch and British troops.

Marshal McMahon had no choice but to follow the emperor's decision. He suggested that several small detachments of cavalry should be sent at the same time, while they were not yet completely besieged, to break out of the encirclement of the Prussian army, and to ask for help from Paris, the Dutch and Belgian sides, and the Matz corps.

However, the Matz corps suffered a crushing defeat after the Battle of Lothar, and after collecting the remnants of the army, there were only 30,000 men left, and the retreat to Brigny, south of Luxembourg, had to pass through the Luxembourg area to rush to the rescue, and there were 100,000 troops of the Prussian First Army, which could not meet with them at all, and at most contained the enemy's First Army.

As for Paris, it made Marshal McMahon even more angry, the battle mobilization order had been issued for so long, and the follow-up reinforcements had not yet been sent, and the troops on the front line were ordered to attack at one time, and the troops at the front were ordered to retreat at the other, which simply regarded the war as a child's play. McMahon felt that the queens and nobles in Paris in the rear could not be counted on, but he still had to do his best, not only to have the emperor Napoleon III write an urgent letter for help, but also to bite his fingertips and write a bloody letter for help, hoping to attract the greatest attention from Paris.

As for Napoleon III's hope that Britain would send troops to the rescue, it can only be said to be a joke, the recent international situation and the turmoil within Britain, although Marshal McMahon was in the barracks, he had heard about it, and the British army was still too busy to take care of its own homeland, how could an army be sent, and if they could send an army, they would not be humiliated by the Chinese empire at home. On the contrary, for the Netherlands and Belgium, they were full of fear of the strength of Prussia because they were afraid of the unification of the German Confederation by the rising Kingdom of Prussia behind them, and they were so close to the battlefield that they were more likely to send troops to help than Paris.

A day later, to the surprise of Napoleon III and Marshal MacMahon, before the Prussian army attacked Eyre, they heard the news of a fierce battle between the Matz Corps and the Prussian First Army that the scouts had heard, and nearly 6,000 French troops, including Marshal Bazin, the commander of the Matz Corps, died heroically, tens of thousands of French troops were routed and scattered, and the remaining 10,000 people were surrounded and could not rush out, and all surrendered to the Prussian army.

When the news came, the morale of the French army was low, and Napoleon III, in addition to being angry with Marshal Bazin, whom he relied on, had a deep sense of powerlessness and panic. At this time, he found that his French Imperial army was not as strong as he imagined, and the Prussian army, the opponent, was unknowingly so strong.

At this time, King Wilhelm I of Prussia sent an envoy to deliver a personal letter, although the tone of the letter was quite polite, but the posture was very high, and the smug tone made Napoleon III disgusted and angry. The Prussians demanded that he, the dignified Emperor of the French Empire, surrender unconditionally to the king of his small kingdom, not only to return all the Alsace and Lorraine, Baden, Rhine, and Luxembourg that had been occupied, but also to cede all the triangular French territory of Strasbourg in the northeastern corner of France to Luxembourg through Rothbrüg to the Kingdom of Prussia, and to compensate 3 billion francs for war losses.

This undoubtedly took Napoleon III by surprise. He directly asked the Prussian envoy to cut off one of his ears and put it back in blood.

The Battle of El officially began.

Because the main artillery equipment of the French army was actually on the side of the Metz Corps, it was captured by the Prussian army, so that the gap between the artillery forces of the two sides suddenly widened.

On a front of more than 100 kilometers 20 kilometers outside the city of El, the 2nd and 3rd Army Corps of the Prussian army, totaling 190,000 people, plus the 2nd and 4th cavalry divisions of the Prussian 3rd Army and the Royal Guards Cavalry Corps of the Prussian king, who hurried from Luxembourg, launched a full-scale attack on the French defense line of the city of El.

King Wilhelm I of Prussia and Field Marshal Ron, Minister of War of War, personally rushed to the front line to cheer up the attacking soldiers.

Under Ron's coordination, nearly 800 artillery pieces and wagons, as well as the push and pull of soldiers and soldiers, approached the enemy's defensive line, and just as the French artillery waited for the Prussian army to get closer, close to the best range of the artillery, they immediately opened fire, and the Prussian artillery unit had stopped and shelled fiercely at the French defense line and barracks.