"Either way, we must take this fortress as soon as possible!"

The marshal's tone was categorical and tinged with an unmistakable majesty, indicating that he had made up his mind to launch the offensive as soon as possible. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The old marshal, who was the commander-in-chief, spoke like this, and if it was an ordinary general, he could only be silenced now, and even Prince Joseph-Bonaparte had to feel a little short of breath.

But he was really unwilling to let his troops be thrown into an offensive with an ambiguous prospect like this, so after thinking about it, he still had the courage to speak. "Your Excellency, you and I also want to capture Sevastopol as soon as possible, but things will not just go according to our will, we should be more cautious, who can guarantee that we will be able to take Sevastopol this offensive? Especially now that the British are not able to fully cooperate with us. ”

"If it doesn't work this time, then we'll launch the next one, the next attack." Perhaps because he didn't like to be questioned, the marshal's expression was a little impatient, "In our continuous offensive, this fortress will definitely be taken, it is only a matter of time." ”

After a pause, he added in a low voice, "Otherwise, if we don't step up now, we won't be able to do anything until next spring." ”

For a moment, the prince didn't know what to say.

He had already understood that although Marshal Trevier was full of confidence on the surface, he did not think that he would win the next offensive in his heart, but only to try his luck for this decisive victory before the terrible winter came.

The Russian winter made such an impression on the French soldiers who had been to Russia in 1812 that Marshal Tréville desperately wanted to achieve a decisive victory as soon as possible before the terrible winter became unbearable.

It's early winter, and the temperatures are starting to get colder, and obviously if they continue, they will only get colder, and if it drags on, the Russian winter will dominate the battlefield, and there may be no way to attack until the beginning of spring, when the coalition forces will remain in Crimea for months of inaction, spending astronomical amounts of money and money, and enduring domestic skepticism.

What's more, Marshal Raglan has fallen ill and may die soon, and Marshal Treville is even older than Marshal Raglan, and he doesn't know how long he can live in such a harsh environment, can he waste a few more months before his eyes?

As soon as he thought of this, the prince understood the true meaning of the marshal.

But even so, he still felt that such a decision was a bit hasty.

"Your Excellency, we ...... Shall we wait? After pondering for a long time, he whispered to the marshal, "Now we are not well prepared anyway, and the previous attacks have proved that it is difficult to penetrate the opposing line without enough heavy artillery, and even if we force an attack, it will only be a loss in vain...... We'll wait for more heavy artillery to come back to the country, and wait for the British to recover from the chaos and join us in the attack. ”

"So can you guarantee that if we wait a little longer, we will be ready for anything? Or can you guarantee that the situation will allow us to attack? The marshal asked rhetorically.

"I can't guarantee that, Your Excellency." The prince lowered his gaze, "But I think if we wait, at least we can suffer fewer casualties." If the situation does not allow it, we will continue to wait for the right time......"

"In that case, why should we wait? If we wait, the future may be even worse. The marshal interrupted him directly, "While we are still able to attack, it is better to try harder than to let the war drag on indefinitely." ”

"What does it mean to simply take Sevastopol? Is the war over on behalf of the war? I don't think so, Your Excellency. If the Russians feel that peace should be sued, then they will make peace with us, whether we take this fortress or not; If they intend to continue to hold out, then they just need to take a big step back, then this war will continue, and I don't understand why we have to force it with blood. The prince was also a little unhappy, "We are already negotiating peace with the Russians, Your Excellency, perhaps in the time we waited, the peace talks will be successful, and then this offensive will be unnecessary in the end." ”

His words caused another commotion, and in any case it was unusual for a prince to speak directly of peace talks at such a military meeting, and to doubt the point of continuing to fight.

And this is also what he said in his heart, he was suspicious of this war in his heart, and had questioned His Majesty the Emperor, so he did not devote himself to the war, although he led the Guards to the battlefield on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor, but his will to fight was not resolute, but he was more satisfied with being a prince far from the front line.

"If we cannot achieve a decisive advantage on the battlefield, then peace talks cannot be in an advantageous position, and it is impossible to end the war as soon as possible. Now only the capture of the Sevastopol fortress will bring us a decisive victory, and will force the tsar and his government to come to their senses early and sue for peace with us! The marshal frowned, his tone became more and more stern, almost becoming like a reprimand, "Your Royal Highness, your full name has the name Napoleon in it, you should understand what this name means to the Empire...... If you are afraid of battle and are not willing to devote yourself wholeheartedly, then what are you doing at the front ?! You should understand that you are not coming to Crimea on your own behalf, you represent Your Majesty and a great name, and you should not show such hesitation and cowardice as to disappoint your subordinates and the whole army. Bring your men with you and prove to the world that the Empire has indeed inherited the legacy of His Majesty the Emperor! ”

This kind of merciless snatching and reprimand made the prince's face a little pale, embarrassed and annoyed, but he moved his mouth, and in the end he couldn't say anything.

This was indeed the door to his life.

The marshal was right, the reason why the Bonaparte family was able to rebuild the empire now was because of the prestige of the Emperor Napoleon, and by the hope he left in the hearts of the French people, even for this reason, the Bonaparte family could not show any hesitation and retreat on the battlefield, let alone avoid war.

Now that he has come to the Crimea, and as a general, he is now destined to be the embodiment of Napoleon, even if he is hard-headed, and any hesitation will disappoint the army.

And if the army is disappointed, it will certainly be the most terrible result for the Bonapartes, because now that the empire has just been created, almost everything is maintained on the support of the soldiers.

At the same time, he also understood that the old man's stubbornness would never be easily shaken, and no matter what he said, he might not be able to change Marshal Tréville's decision. In particular, he didn't have any reliable military experience before, and those old military leaders were just respectful to him on the surface because of their status as royal princes, but in fact, they didn't value him very much in their hearts.

Even he himself did not have the confidence to say that his judgment on military matters was better than that of this old marshal who had survived the Napoleonic era.

Therefore, in such an atmosphere, although Marshal Tréville's words were a little vitriolic and rude, which hurt his self-esteem a little, he could only secretly admit that what the other party said was indeed reasonable.

"Okay...... Your Excellency, I am your subordinate, at the moment I am not a prince, but only a division commander under you, you have full authority to command me, I ...... I'm just giving you my opinion based on my opinion. After a long silence, Prince Joseph-Bonaparte had to bow his proud head.

"I'm glad you figured it out after all." A slight smile appeared on Marshal Tréville's face, and then he sighed earnestly, "Your Highness, I am already at this age, fame and fortune mean nothing to me, I have served the Bonaparte family for half a century...... There are few people in the world who are more loyal to the Empire than I am! Everything I do is to make the empire more stable, without any selfish motives. Believe me, my only wish, is that the great France may be crowned with all the glory and glory of the Bonaparte family and become the most dazzling nation in Europe......"

His words were full of emotion and sincerity, and no one could doubt that they were indeed from the heart.

However, he would not tell anyone else that not long ago, his grandson Charles had asked him in a secret telegram to continue the war, to put more pressure on the tsarist government to continue to devote more resources to the Crimea, and this was the most important reason for his forced offensive.

Perhaps, as the Prince said, the preparation time was rushed, the friendly forces were not well coordinated, and the hope of complete victory was slim, but he had to launch such an offensive in order to keep the fighting in Crimea burning the Tsar's heart and the whole world to remain focused on this small peninsula.

For the sake of France, for the sake of the Tréville family itself, even if more people will be shed and die in the war, he will not hesitate to do so.

And in the deepest part of his heart, there was also a faint joy in his heart.

I finally had the day when I could reprimand a nephew of Napoleon to my face...... Even though this is at the very end of my own life.