Life is so magical. An opportunity that is not an opportunity can make a dusty pearl shine with a blinding light.

Of course, you can also say that gold will shine sooner or later.

Such was the case with Napoleon.

He had been sent to a coastal defense unit, but he was in Toulon and met his fellow countryman and old friend Salishiti on the way.

It didn't matter whether Napoleon touched the Revolutionary Self-Defense Army attacking the fortress of Toulon, what mattered was this Salisti, who pulled him and recommended the young Napoleon to take over the post of Major Martyn. In the previous battle of the Revolutionary Self-Defense Army's attack on Oriul, although he fought hard and indeed achieved good results, he completely wiped out the originally powerful artillery and rocket artillery units in his hands, and he himself was seriously wounded and disabled.

Artillery is a powerful firepower pillar in land warfare, and it plays a particularly important role in siege operations. For this reason, the officers in the Self-Defense Forces were in a dilemma, worried that they could not find a person who could replace Major Maltian. Without a single artillery commander who was proficient in business, it would be an unimaginable thing to storm the fortress of Toulon.

On the other hand, the anti-French coalition forces, with the support of the British fleet, controlled the entire area from the Farlang Mountains to the Marbosk Battery, and still occupied Cape Kerr and the Sepe Peninsula, which could control the large and small moorings of the port of Toulon. At the same time, follow-up reinforcements from the anti-French coalition forces also arrived in Toulon one after another, and the prospects for the Self-Defense Forces to regain Toulon were very bleak.

But it was this 'recommendation' that was not a chance or a fire pit at all, which allowed Napoleon to find the second turning point in his life.

The first turning point in his life came when he was very young, when his father, Charles Bonaparte, chose to attach himself to France rather than follow the Corsican hero Pauli to England.

At that time, France had just become the new ruler of Corsica, and was actively courting the traditional nobility of Corsica, and the Napoleonic family was one of them, although the Bonaparte family was poor.

However, Napoleon's father believed that the dependence of the family on France could appropriately improve the status of the family and improve the economic conditions of the family.

Corsica is ruled by the French, which will breathe new life into the island's economy and make Corsica more prosperous. In addition, it can also open up a greater future for his children in the French army. The French army at that time was like the British lobster soldiers, and the appointment of officers was limited to the children of the nobility.

At that time, many people in Corsica made the same choice as Charles Bonaparte, but Napoleon was very indignant at his father's betrayal of Corsica.

The young Napoleon was a warm-hearted man, and he was often furious when he heard of low-status civilians being bullied by French soldiers. At the age of eleven, he entered the Brienne Military Academy, and when he saw the statue of Choiseul again, the vizier who advocated the French conquest of Corsica, he was so angry that he scolded the statue.

Even after his father's death, he claimed that he could never forgive his father for choosing France instead of following Pauly into exile in England.

Londoners may not know that they were once so close to Corsican monsters in history. It's a pity that Charles's choice was Paris, not London.

Therefore, an inconspicuous little thing can sometimes affect the pulse of history. Charles Napoleon, who joined Napoleon's father, chose to follow Pauly into exile in England, so the young Napoleon would probably choose to join the army and navy of Great Britain, following his deeply admired Corsican hero Pauli, who was firmly opposed to France and the French Revolution.

Perhaps he will rise to the rank of a greater general than the Duke of Marlborough, as he has done in history, and he will surely crush the army of the revolutionary government in Paris. Or induce the British government to launch a war of conquest over the entire European continent!

In that situation, the monarchies and aristocracy of Europe will not be greatly affected except within the 'territory' of France, and the other European countries except France will not be challenged by shaking their foundations, and then the whole of Europe will also be in the old monarchy and aristocracy, lifeless, in a state of division into countless small states, dragging its own life.

Therefore, Charles Bonaparte's single thought has profoundly changed the course of the entire European history and the course of the world. He made France shine one of the brightest in history, and created one of the most formidable enemies for the rising empire.

Of course, the Napoleon of this era has changed a lot compared with the Napoleon of history.

Because he has broadened his horizons and increased his knowledge more than the same period in history.

His eyes were no longer fixed on the acre of Europe, nor were he lamented by the British conquest of India. His goal, his idols, was no longer the heroes of ancient Greece such as Leonidas and Cortius, and the ancient Roman Cincinnatas, but beyond these heroes, and at the same time beyond the idol of his youth, the hero of Corsica, Pauli, and rose to the level of Alexander and Caesar.

Napoleon really admired Paulie when he was a teenager, and he once said to his brother Joseph, "Pauly will come back." Once I have the strength, I will help Paulie. Maybe with him we can smash the hateful shackles around Corsica's neck. ”

But the career of the military academy, the biographies of those great people in the library of the military academy, made Napoleon's vision higher and longer-term, I don't know when, Caesar and Alexander replaced Pauly and replaced Sparta to Lyonidas.

A book that records the deeds of great people can really change a person's ideals in many cases.

When Napoleon read the book "Gallic Wars", his admiration and love for Caesar surpassed that of Pauli.

Perhaps Caesar was Italian, and the Gallic Wars is about Caesar's conquest of Gaul, which made Napoleon, who was of Italian descent and had just enjoyed the pain of being conquered by the French, very emotional. It is said that Napoleon recited excerpts from the book with great enthusiasm.

However, unlike the Napoleon in history, although the Napoleon on the battlefield of Toulon is the same age as the one in the same period in history, the inner core is very different. Because he had an extra three-year Oriental experience in his life.

During his three years in China, Napoleon learned a lot about Chinese history and many people in Chinese history.

For example, Qin Shi Huang, such as Liu Bang, such as Li Shimin, such as Zhu Yuanzhang, and such as today's Chinese Emperor Chen.

China has the most detailed historical records in the world, and countless shining figures have their own biographies.

This is also an arduous task for the Ministry of Culture and Education of Chen Han, in addition to the revision of history, in addition to other miscellaneous things, Chen Ming issued another order to the Ministry of Culture and Education is to let the Ministry of Culture and Education organize the compilation of biographies of historical figures.

During Napoleon's three years in China, he absorbed too much nourishment from history, which greatly broadened his horizons.

In horizontal comparison, Caesar's and Alexander's achievements, Caesar's great achievements, and Qin Shi Huang's competition, who wins and who loses?

And in the history of China, there is also such a freak as the Mongol Empire. Although there is still a lot of controversy about the status of the Chinese as to whether the status of the Mengyuan belongs to the history of China, in the eyes of Napoleon, the Mengyuan is obviously part of Chinese history.

Napoleon only officially landed on the battlefield of Toulon in September of the Western calendar, and first he needed to reorganize his artillery team.

Major Maltian wiped out the artillery team in his hand, and then he was seriously injured and went to the hospital, but the artillery team was rotten there. Napoleon inherited a terrible mess of artillery, with no artillery and no ammunition, and before his arrival the so-called artillery corps was reduced to a few tattered field and mortar guns, guarded by a junior officer.

The soldiers also did not have a minimum of literacy, and the experienced gunners were almost all killed in the previous battles, and these people were all transferred later. But not only did they not undergo serious training before, but they also did not undergo serious training after coming to the artillery unit, they did not know how to use artillery, and they did not know how to repair it. What is even more ridiculous is that Napoleon's superior, General Carto, was very lacking in the minimum common sense of artillery, and did not even know how far the range of his few guns was.

If ordinary people face such a mess, they have lost their souls and have no hope for their work at all.

But Napoleon is not an ordinary person, he is a man of achievements, in the face of such a scene, he thought of Liu Ran in Chinese history, indomitable; He thought of Zhang Xun in Chinese history, loyal to his duties and unswerving to his death. Napoleon was an outstanding man who was able to carry out extraordinary, creative work even in harsh environments.

First of all, he tried to collect all kinds of artillery from nearby positions. In a short time, nearly 100 large-caliber guns were obtained, including long-range cannons, heavy guns that fired 24-pound shells, and a large amount of ammunition.

Paris was very interested in the 'reconquest of Toulon', and allocated a huge amount of material and manpower. Everything is available, it depends on whether you care about it or not.

Napoleon then sent special personnel to Lyon and Grenoble to collect all the useful ordnance and equipment, and found and established an ordnance factory with 80 workers in Oliou. In order to solve the problem of artillery maneuvering and fortifications, Napoleon requisitioned horses from Nice to Valence and Montpellier, and arranged for the production of tens of thousands of wicker baskets in Marseille for the construction of artillery fortifications.

Napoleon was not only a brilliant organizer, but also a down-to-earth doer. He often went deep into the front line of Shilun, rolled with the soldiers, and influenced the soldiers with his practical actions and exemplary role, and inspired their enthusiasm and revolutionary spirit. Soon after, General Dopp, who had succeeded Carto as commander, arrived, and the incompetent Carto got out. And General Dopp, when he later recalled Napoleon, wrote with great admiration: "I found that he always stuck to his post, and even when he needed to rest, he was wrapped in a big hat and slept on the ground." He never left the artillery group. In this way, Napoleon's astonishing talent and forgetfulness soon spread among the French soldiers. He won the respect and admiration of his superiors, and soon he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of artillery.

……

After the evacuation of France, OEU did not move its core structure back to Paris.

Although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not want to place the location of the European Office in London, England, because there are really many Manchu relics hiding here, but looking around the whole of Europe, except for London, there is really no more suitable place.

Prussia was anti-China, and when the European region was hyping up the 'Yellow Peril Theory,' Prussia was waving its flag and shouting in the middle. So far, the two sides have not established too formal diplomatic relations.

Vienna's attitude towards the Chinese was not very friendly. They were one of the main enemies of the Ottoman Empire, and China was indeed a good friend and loyal ally of the Ottoman Empire.

In this case, neither the Netherlands nor Spain is suitable, Portugal is too remote, and so is Italy. The small German countries of the Rhine are very unsafe, and it really has to be in London to have a European office.

Last winter, the UTO received important instructions from home to keep an eye on France's every move. Among them, Chen Ming also deliberately pointed out Toulon.

The latter is the home port of the French Mediterranean Fleet.

The EEU did not think at the outset, how could Toulon be in danger? The French are not so confused.

But when the fortress of Toulon surrendered to the British and Spaniards, the officials of the Office in Europe were convinced. The emperor's vision is really long-term and very assertive, saying that if there is something wrong with Toulon, there will really be a problem with Toulon. And this 'prophecy' was unleashed more than a year ago.

By the time Chen Zhan, the king of Jieyang, arrived in Europe thousands of miles away, the fourth day of Christmas had passed, and according to the lunar calendar, China's wax moon was coming. Chen Zhan immediately got in touch with the OEU, and at the same time learned about some of the responsibilities of the OEU.

So he saw the account of the Battle of Toulon.

And then Napoleon was discovered.

"Promoted directly from lieutenant colonel to major general?"

While Chen Zhan sighed at the richness of the life experience of the French army's number one hero in the Battle of Toulon, he couldn't help but feel incredible for Napoleon's rise to prominence. From lieutenant colonel to major general, this has crossed three steps.

Lieutenant colonel to colonel, colonel to brigadier general, brigadier general to major general.

And even Napoleon, the rank of lieutenant colonel, was also earned in this Battle of Toulon.

"How does this man feel about us?"

"If he feels good about us, then we can develop this line positively. The rank of major general, this is already a position that can be promoted and lowered. Already eligible for investment!

"I don't know if you've ever received a greeting from home, but I can give you a breath first. The current emperor is salivating over the French in North America. This king is also hungry! ”

The fiefs of the six uncles are there, but the fiefs of their brothers have not yet been settled. And if the French are willing to trade Louisiana to China, it is really a good deal.