After a long period of preparation and coordination, the two empires, France and Russia, finally held peace talks on the Crimean peninsula, which they had been fighting fiercely about. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

As expected, it is not surprising that the two sides have been in conflict with each other since the initial contact, and they have not made concessions to their respective positions and interests, all of which are also normal armistice negotiations between the two countries. The delegation of the Russian Empire had already prepared for such a situation, hoping that a long bargain would eventually make up for the losses of the Empire, so that the Empire could come out of the nightmare as soon as possible.

However, to Ambassador Gorchakov's astonishment, the French delegation led by Charles de Treville suddenly announced the suspension of the negotiations and left the venue after less than half an hour of negotiations.

Their sudden actions have turned many of the rhetoric and negotiation routines carefully prepared by the Russians into empty talk, and the whole negotiation has lost its rhythm. Gorchakov couldn't figure out why, after all the hard work he had done to bring about the peace talks, Trever could have broken them off so easily, and didn't he understand that he was going to pay the price? Could it be that the French Empire would take the peace talks so lightly?

He didn't understand the other party's motives - although this Trever was indeed very young, he didn't believe that Trever was the kind of stunned boy who would be angry for a while, let alone that he would make such a decision suddenly.

At the same time, to Gorchakov's horror, before leaving, the young minister bluntly declared that the truce was coming to an end and that they would use the opportunity to resume the war.

Indeed, after the Crimea and Petersburg exchanges, and after the negotiations for the sake of negotiations in the last few days, the one-month truce agreed upon in the agreement between the two armies has almost expired. For the sake of peace talks, and at the same time to allow the army to have more time to recuperate, the Russian delegation originally hoped to put forward a proposal to extend the truce in the future, but now that the negotiations have been suspended, there is no chance for this proposal to be put forward at all.

This also means that as long as the negotiations expire, the French army has complete freedom to conduct any military action.

And they are also fully willing to conduct such a military operation.

At the thought of this, Gorchakov's heart suddenly gave birth to an irrepressible anger and a sense of humiliation that he had been fooled.

It's crazy! They are already crazy to ask for peace talks in vain, and at the same time they can't wait to break the negotiations and prepare to continue the war! He cursed loudly in his heart.

Of course, he also knew in his heart that the French emperor and his favored ministers might be evil liars, but they would never be idiots or madmen, so since they had done such unreasonable things, there must be other ulterior motives hidden behind their backs, and he couldn't find an answer when he thought about it, and the irritability in his heart became extremely intense.

However, after all, he has also been in the court and diplomatic circles for so many years, and his concentration has long been different from that of mortals, so even if he is in a very intense and anxious mood now, he still retains some reason. In his haste now, he had no way to explore the motives of the French for doing so, and the most important thing was to inform his cousin, General Gorchakov, who was the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, that he should prepare for the new French offensive as soon as possible.

Fortunately, although the agreement was signed before, General Gorchakov still did not completely relax, although the hostile military operations were stopped, but he intended to keep most of his army on alert, ready to return to the battle, although due to the supply situation and lack the ability to launch a large-scale attack, but the defense was still coping, not unable to resist the French who relaunched the attack.

However, in another place, the situation is not so rosy - the fortress of Sevastopol, which is still under siege by the enemy.

This fortress has been besieged by enemy troops for several months, and the situation is very difficult, and because of the many fierce battles with the French army, the manpower and material resources inside have suffered very heavy losses, and the pressure is increasing.

During the temporary truce between the two armies, although the French stopped attacking the fortress, they did not allow the Russian troops outside the encirclement to send reinforcements and supplies into the fortress, but only allowed the defenders in the city to transport some seriously wounded out, although this could relieve the material pressure inside the fortress, but it did nothing to strengthen the defense ability of the defenders.

Through these wounded, who had been transported to the outlying camps of the Russian army, General Gorchakov and the other Russians had already understood how difficult the situation faced by the defenders of the fortress, although their will to fight was still very strong, but the situation was already dangerous.

Yes, Sevastopol...... Sevastopol! In an instant, a flash of inspiration flashed through Ambassador Gorchakov's mind, as if he understood the whole problem.

After the truce has passed, it seems that the French will continue to attack the fortress, increase the pressure on the fortress, and even try again to conquer the fortress, which has already caused them repeated setbacks.

But what do they have to do with this fortress? Is it just for the sake of gas? Ambassador Gorchakov still couldn't figure it out.

Of course, he couldn't imagine that Charles's current approach was just to artificially delay the negotiations, and he had asked for negotiations with the Russians in order to allow the two countries to establish a channel of communication as soon as possible, and when the channel was completed, he would not be in a hurry to talk, after all, he knew in his heart that the internal strife in Russia was already imminent, and he could have delayed the time to wait for Russia to make concessions in the civil strife, instead of fighting hard at the negotiating table, which was also fulfilling his promise to the earl.

If it had not been ascertained in advance that Count Bezukhov was going to make big news in Russia, he certainly would not have been so aggressive. Of course, Marshal Trevil did have the idea of trying to save face on the Sevastopol fortress.

As the French and Russian delegations left their temporary negotiating sites, the positions of the two armies, which had been relatively peaceful, suddenly became tense, and the various troops began to slowly enter a state of imminent battle.

The news of the temporary suspension of the peace talks has spread throughout the two armies, but of course the reason for the breakdown of the negotiations among the Russian population is the arrogance of the French and the unacceptable demands; And in the mouth of the French, the reason is that the Russians are too stubborn to recognize reality.

Either way, both armies have understood that they will face more sinister battles before they can finally make peace.

By contrast, because of the better supply situation and the more advantageous position, the French army entered the war with much greater speed and intensity, and they took advantage of the short truce that had previously been greatly strengthened.

And now, too, is the time to use that power.

After several days of tumult and distraction, on the afternoon of the last day of the truce, Charles and Marshal Tréville arrived at the foot of Sevastopol.

Compared with the previous season of wind and snow, the weather has been much better recently, although the temperature is still not high, but there is no more wind and snow in the way, enough for the army to carry out the next move.

It was already overcast, and it seemed that it was about to fall into the night, so Charles followed his grandfather and silently walked in the front line of the French army. At their feet, dense cobwebbed paths and trenches built by the soldiers themselves were scattered throughout the position, and the French soldiers resting in the rear camp were already marching towards the forward position.

Tomorrow, when the brief truce will end, they will plunge into the renewed flames of war, using their lives to seek the glory of victory for the Empire.

As he paced through the potholed positions, Charles could feel the murderous aura of the army in the cold air.

The group walked all the way down the position, and finally came to the top of a hill, overlooking the fortress not far away.

The fortress of Sevastopol, now a symbol of the Russian resistance, was now hidden among the slightly bulging hills and cliffs, facing him alone, and at the end of the line of sight was a narrow bay in which some pale sails were swaying slightly.

This is the remaining warships of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Empire, since the outbreak of the war, because of the absolute sea supremacy of the Anglo-French forces, the Black Sea Fleet can only choose to escape from the battle, and some warships have been left in the fortress of Sevastopol.

These remaining warships did not dare to come out to meet the new warships of the British and French forces, so they had to stay in the bay of the fortress, relying on the fortresses on both sides of the bay to protect themselves, and at the same time, these fleets also acted as mobile batteries inside the fortress, and played a role for the defenders in several offensive and defensive battles.

In the hills that surround both sides of the harbor, there are also a large number of fortifications and fortresses built by the Russian army, which have been stained with a black-brown skin by artillery fire and blood after several brutal battles between the French and Russian armies, and look particularly penetrating compared to the gray-brown wasteland next to it.

The rocky cliffs, the hills, the warships in the harbor, and the valiant defenders inside all make this fortress extremely strong.

However, even the most powerful fortress can still be weak until it is attacked with absolute material superiority and the same unwavering determination, especially if it is besieged by groups and cannot receive reinforcements and reinforcements from the outside.

In the previous offensives of the French army, although the defenders defeated the French army again and again with great bravery, but after the crazy impact of the French army again and again, they still achieved a lot of results, at least let the battle line keep moving to the inside of the fortress, and now the Russian army's position has been compressed to a small area, so that Charles can clearly see the whole picture of the fortress from the commanding heights, and even the place where he stands at the moment is the French army captured from the enemy through bloody battles.

Of course, the French army has suffered a lot of casualties in previous attacks, but Charles doesn't care, and neither does his grandfather, they just need to see that victory is closing in on them step by step, and that's enough.

Charles turned his head to look at his grandfather, who was also holding a telescope and looking at the position in the distance, his face expressionless in a military uniform, his tall body standing upright in the cold wind, like a statue, which was awe-inspiring.

And when the two of Trevil's ancestors and grandsons came to the forward position, a large group of officers also followed, and they also held their breath and stood solemnly beside the marshal, waiting for his summons at any time.

Charles glanced at the group of officers, and then walked in front of one of them himself.

"Lucien!" He enthusiastically extended his hand to the other party.

"Charles!" Lucien hurriedly responded, and then shook Charles' hand as well.

"Tomorrow's offensive, please work hard." Charles shook his arm vigorously and admonished, "This is a matter of our honor, the progress of the peace talks, and we must make a good result." ”

"I'll leave no stone unturned, Charles." Lucien straightened up and made a promise to Charles, "And, not just me, but each of us will do our best, and this time we will win!" ”

Not only Lucien, but almost all the French soldiers believed that once the fortress of Sevastopol was taken, the Russians would fall into despair, and then sue for peace with the French, and they could get peace as soon as possible and return to their distant homeland, and this thought alone gave them a lot of will to fight.

Moreover, the situation was now much better than the previous poor conditions of preparation and the weather, and under the supervision of the Charles, the supply of the army had been greatly improved, and a large number of heavy artillery had been reinforced, and even the weather was improving and began to favor the movement of the army—so that even the always cautious Lucien was now beginning to be confident in the next battle.

At the same time, in the new battle plan, the command led by Field Marshal Trevil also learned the previous lesson, and they decided to abandon the costly frontal assault and instead press the enemy's positions from two different directions at the same time, forcing the already small reserves of the Russian army in the fortress to take care of them.

At the same time, the command problems that had previously plagued the French army were improved, and after Prince Joseph-Bonaparte was forcibly dismissed by the marshal and driven back to his homeland, the command of the Guards refell into the hands of the marshal. This time, the most elite officers and men of the Guards will act as the general reserve for this offensive, and will be thrown into the battlefield when the situation reaches a decisive juncture, and will do their best to deal a blow to the Russians.

Under the watchful eyes of these officers, the entire army was also making final preparations, erecting fortifications and placing artillery. In the midst of the great preparations, both the soldiers and the officers were convinced that in the ensuing offensive, the fortress that had blocked them several times would groan and wail in the flames, and eventually die, becoming one of the most glorious trophies of their career.

Yes, they can't wait.