Morning, Notre-Dame Cathedral.

As early as the morning, the frenzied citizens of Paris are already surrounded by a sea of jewels in the history of art.

This is a day destined to be remembered in history, because the last consul of the French Republic, His Excellency Napoleon Bonaparte, will be crowned by the Pope and officially become Emperor of the French Empire.

This move of his caused an uproar in Europe at that time, and we cannot say that his claim to the throne was a mistake. In the context of the predominance of monarchies in Europe at that time, it was not a bad thing for France to have a monarch. At least, from the perspective of the time, Napoleon's proclamation was supported by the majority of the French people, and France longed for honor and a strong leader, like a lion, to lead the flock to defeat all tigers, leopards and jackals who tried to threaten France, and defend the fruits of victory after the Revolution. (See the work for details: The influence and reasons of Napoleon's proclamation of the emperor, it seems to be water in the text, so it is released as a public chapter, it is not boring, it is worth watching~)

In the midst of all the people's attention, and the cheers of the citizens of Paris, the platinum carriage carrying Napoleon slowly drove away. The carriage is a white ox (nǎi) color, with gold on the edges and corners, and on the carriage, a large gilt "N" is written, which glistens in the sun.

Napoleon wore a white Roman robe of similar color to the carriage, with a red lining inside. In this way, he walked slowly into Notre Dame Cathedral on the gilded red carpet amid the cheers of the crowd.

When he was about to enter the door, he did not forget to return (shēn), open his arms, and bow slightly (shēn) in all directions, at this moment, against the backdrop of the dreamy colorful light of the stained glass, he seemed to really transform (shēn) into a majestic, noble, and elegant ancient Roman emperor.

Han Xing and others were fortunate enough to get a standing position in the front row of Notre Dame Cathedral, so they were able to watch the grand coronation ceremony up close.

What, why is there no seat, you ask? This is the coronation of the emperor, not Napoleon's private concert, among the people present, only a handful can sit, except for Napoleon and his wife, it is the Pope who crowned him!

Everything is carried out in a solemn and orderly manner, and people dare not relax for a moment, for fear of missing the wonderful moment. I'm looking forward to the ** part of this coronation ceremony - coronation!

It is well known that in the Catholic coronation ceremony, the crowned person is required to kneel before the Pope and kiss the hand. And this coronation ceremony, as the most (rè) door in Paris nowadays, naturally attracted the attention of all walks of life! And in the most exciting part of this coronation, there have been several speculations, and the biggest controversy is Napoleon's attitude towards the Pope!

Some people believe that in order to be crowned emperor of the French Empire, Napoleon will choose to be a "good baby", follow the example of Charlemagne and Otto the Great, kneel in front of the Pope, and obediently kiss and salute.

But there are also those who believe that, judging by Napoleon's previous "bad record" in Italy, Napoleon would never have chosen to kneel to the Pope. After all, since the rise of Napoleon, a rising star, no one has heard of him ever kneeling to anyone. Moreover, all indications today show that Napoleon was not a man who liked to play by the rules.

In fact, according to Han Xing's understanding, Napoleon made it his mission to break the rules, in his original words: great men make rules! Although he didn't say the second half of the sentence, Han Xing could appreciate it himself: great men make rules and break rules, rather than abide by them.

And the deeds of Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great, whom Napoleon admired the most, bear witness to this all the time. Caesar said, "Caesar's word is the law", and (tào) in the Heavenly Dynasty dialect means "the word follows the law". And Alexander the Great, needless to say, about his "grudge" with Gording, when others were racking their brains to try to unravel Gording, Alexander the Great directly cut it in half with a sword. Obviously, Alexander the Great is not a master who likes to follow the rules of the game~

What's more, all the signs in front of him all show that Napoleon has no intention of being "Charlemagne II", and he does not intend to kneel respectfully at the feet of the Pope, like many Catholic kings, humbly accept the Pope's coronation. For example, he changed the location of his coronation from Reims Cathedral, the traditional coronation site of the French kings, to Notre-Dame Cathedral.

Not to mention, according to the tradition of the coronation of Catholic emperors in the past, the crowned person should go to Rome to receive the coronation, anointing, and blessing of the Pope, but this time, the situation is obviously different. The emergence of this situation is obviously intriguing.

But in the ** part of this coronation, people's attention is attracted by the (shēn) figure who walks up with his head buried in Napoleon's golden laurel:

It was a middle-aged man wearing a sky-blue tuxedo and a gold-rimmed ribbon of the same color, with a wig on his head and a striking French-style nose.

The man's shadow and face were so familiar that for a moment Napoleon and the papal crown, who was held high above the stars and moons of the cardinals, were eclipsed.

This man is none other than Louis XVI! And the ribbon that extends from his right shoulder to his left waist is the proof that he (shēn) is the king. (******, the current queen of the United Kingdom, who is nicknamed "super long standby", basically wears one of these ribbons every time she attends a formal occasion.) ）

That's right, that's what Napoleon wanted to ask Louis XVI for help! He asked Louis XVI to personally raise the crown and present it to him, just as most Celestial emperors would care about orthodoxy (xìng) when they usurped the throne, and Napoleon cared about that. For example, Cao Pi had to let Emperor Han Xian Chan be placed in him, and repeated it several times before he "reluctantly accepted". Although everyone knew that he was just acting, at least on the surface, he respected the rules of the game of the Celestial Empire!

Here, of course, Napoleon's reason why he asked Louis XVI to personally present the crown to him was not to humiliate the Bourbons. Rather, he was trying to show his tolerance (xìng), and even at this moment, among those in the lobby of Notre-Dame de Paris, there were supporters of the old royal family, or rather, the monarchy had existed for thousands of years, and it was not an overnight effort to eradicate its influence.

Therefore, Napoleon hoped to take over his crown from Louis XVI, symbolizing the peaceful transfer and transition of the supreme power in France, and drawing a perfect end to the chaos since the Revolution. As we all know, when the European countries overthrew Napoleon for the first time and exiled him to the island of Elba, they restored Louis XVIII of the French royal family. After Waterloo, Louis XVIII once again ascended to the throne of the King of France.

And if Napoleon could rightfully take over the crown from Louis XVI at this time, he would be able to stop the crowd, and from then on, Louis XVIII would no longer be a threat to Napoleon's rule in France. Because of his unrighteous name and bad words, even Louis XVI expressed his submission and recognized Napoleon's rule over France, what qualifications did he Louis XVIII have to carry out restoration? Stay where it's cool~

The most important thing is that if even Louis XVI and Napoleon can be tolerated, those nobles who have been persecuted for no reason can also be tolerated! Napoleon's move proved that the First French Empire under his rule was a tolerant and equal regime, home to all French people, and not a country full of prejudices like the old government.

Therefore, it was actually a mistake to make Napoleon the "emperor of the bourgeoisie", and under his rule the nobles were able to end their exile and return to their homeland. Commoners can also become upstarts by virtue of their military exploits, such as his subordinates Murat, Bertier, Davout, Lana, and Masséna.

He is the emperor of all the French people, similar to the military merit system of ancient Rome and Qin, and was once again introduced into the national system, as long as there is courage, brains, ideals and a little luck, in that kind of France, ordinary people can also have a head out (rì)!

Louis XVI came to Napoleon, bowed slightly (shēn), and raised the crown of gold laurel leaves placed on a red cushion with both hands and sent it to Napoleon.

Then it was the turn of the Pope, who came to Napoleon with the golden cross scepter in his right hand, and at this moment of great attention, when people were expecting His Majesty the Pope and Napoleon's next move:

I saw Napoleon turn (shēn), face all the guests attending the ceremony, pick up the crown of golden laurel leaves from the red silk velvet cushion with both hands, solemnly raise it above his head, and after staying for about two seconds, put it on himself.

At this moment, the face of the Pope's crown was full of bitterness and helplessness, he was not surprised, as early as yesterday, he had been informed of this decision. Attention, it's a notification! Not even discussed~

Come to think of it, this pope is probably the most aggrieved and failed pope in history~ The past popes dared to fight with the HRE Emperor and the kings of various countries, and relied on the (shēn) of their religious leaders to trample them under their feet, (bī) them kneel to themselves when they were crowned.

But now this holy father is good, and he has become a "tool man" who comes and goes when Napoleon summons him. No, he's not even a tool man, he's just a background board~

What he didn't know was that his helpless and sad expression (qíng) fell right in the eyes of Jacques-Louis David, and you may wonder: Who is Jacques-Louis David?

He was Napoleon's chief court painter and a die-hard Napoleon, seeing him as the hope of France and the end of the chaos of the Revolution. Jacques-Louis David wrote many of his masterpieces during his lifetime, such as the famous painting "The Death of Marat" and the aforementioned "Napoleon over the St. Bernard Pass in the Alps" (the source of Napoleon's classic prancing horse pose). He was also the one who transitioned the art of painting from the Italian era to the French era, and the master master who led the trend!

He will also write the next "Coronation of Napoleon I", which is an epic masterpiece in the history of painting, and chose the second half of the coronation, that is, Napoleon's coronation of Josephine as the theme.

But now, in this world, this famous painting will also be turned upside down by the appearance of Louis XVI, and in the eyes of Jacques-Louis David, the following structure has been outlined:

Louis XVI, with a red velvet cushion under his left arm, bowed to Napoleon (shēn) and stood respectfully at Napoleon's left hand. And Napoleon held the crown of golden laurel leaves in both hands, making a gesture to wear it on his head, at this angle, at this time, the golden laurel crown looked like a halo on the head of an angel and a saint.

In the back stood the helpless and sad face of the Pope - Pius VII, his hands crossed on the lower abdomen, sighing, compared to the saint, angelic Hun (shēn) noble Napoleon, and not humble or arrogant, but sincere and humble Louis XVI, this papal crown is completely reduced to a background board, his clothes coloring, light and shade are a "secondary figure", not at all as good as the two "stars" of this coronation.

The crowd cheered and smiled, not reverting to the solemnity and rigidity in the work, everyone was happy and clapped wildly. Maybe there are flying cherubs and fluttering streamers in the sky?

In this world, the famous painting was given a new historical meaning - the haze (yīn), which symbolized the Revolution, was swept away, and the French people were once again united under the tricolor flag of the French Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Napoleon I.

At the same time, this famous painting also heralded the complete end of the era of clerical power over monarchy, since which the Pope officially withdrew from the stage of history, and was no longer able to interfere in the succession of European countries.

And our Pius VII will be nailed to the pillar of shame in the history of the Holy See, remembered and ridiculed with the title of "the most failed pope". In fact, he should have expected this, when he bought Napoleon with money in Italy, he should have realized that he would have this day!

Come to think of it, at this time, he was probably hating himself for why he didn't die earlier~ To be fair, he is not the worst pope, among the previous popes, there are many people who are worse than him. But unfortunately, he just ran into this unfortunate era. So much so that Louis XVI, like Louis XVI, fell victim to the wheel of history.

Thankfully, there are hundreds of characters in this monumental work, so he can only occupy a small part of the work. It is also impossible to give his watch (qíng) a large close-up, so he has to pray, hoping that future generations will focus on the conspicuous Napoleon and Louis XVI (shēn) when they see this painting, and subconsciously ignore themselves~

At the moment when Napoleon put on the crown of golden laurel leaves. Louis XVI took the lead and knelt on one knee and shouted: "Long live the French Empire!" Long live Napoleon I! And the rolling crowd in Notre-Dame Cathedral immediately knelt down like dominoes to salute the new ruler of the French Empire, and the loud and neat shouts soared into the sky, shaking the whole hall slightly, as if announcing to the world the arrival of Napoleon the Great, the conqueror!