January 13, 1858.

After several days of non-stop information bombardment, the people of Paris gradually understood the situation in the whole world, they no longer chose to be too harsh on the government, and the reputation of the French Empire in Paris continued to rebound.

Some of the moderate republican newspapers, seeing that the economic crisis had failed to bring down the empire, were equally pessimistic, believing that the imperial government could not resist.

He simply abandoned the seven-year confrontation and published articles in the newspapers extolling the imperial government.

(The disillusionment of the republicans.jpg)

Jérôme sitting on the sofa. After reading this eulogy, Bonaparte immediately decided that this part of the moderate republicans could be co-opted.

After all, in Jérôme. Bonaparte's eyes are republicans, or kings!

As long as they are willing to support his faction, they are all objects that can be united.

Taking a step back, as long as there is no opposition to the faction he rules, he is also a united person.

So, Jérôme. Bonaparte immediately ordered Basilio to invite the republicans behind the newspapers to the Palazzo Douilleri, where he and the Empress would receive them personally.

"Your Majesty, when is the time for the invitation to be written?" Basilio asked Jérôme. Bonaparte said.

"I want to think about it!" Jérôme. Bonaparte pondered for a moment before he spoke again: "Let's write the invitation on the 17th!"

In the next few days, I will be visiting all parts of Paris with the Empress! ”

"Understood!" Basilio nodded to Jérôme. Bonaparte replied.

Immediately afterward, Basilio left his study to prepare the invitation.

Jérôme. Bonaparte also put down the newspaper in his hand and returned to his desk to attend to his official business.

About two hours later, Jérôme. Bonaparte finished all the documents sent by the secretary's office, and then sorted them out again.

Wait until Jérôme. When Bonaparte had finished tidying up again, he frowned and muttered, "Strange! How can there be no documents from the General Staff, it stands to reason that it shouldn't be! Did you forget to bring it to the secretary's office? ”

Right here in Jérôme. Bonaparte frowned in thought as Lucien. Murat's figure appeared at the gate, holding several copies of the need for Jérôme. Documents processed by Bonaparte.

Jérôme. Bonaparte at the sight of Lucien. Murat immediately smiled at Lucien. Murat said, "Lucien, you have come just in time! ”

"Your Majesty!" Lucien. Murat looked at Jérôme with a hint of confusion. Bonaparte, then bowed slightly and asked, "What do you command?" ”

"Why are there no documents from the General Staff in this pile?" Jérôme. Bonaparte opened his hand and held the document down, and asked.

"Your Majesty, the Secretariat's Office has not yet received the documents from the General Staff!" Lucien. Murat vs. Jérôme. Bonaparte replied.

"Haven't received it yet?" Jérôme. Bonaparte's voice was slightly low and he muttered to himself, "It stands to reason that it should not be possible!

It's been almost two days since the war began, and hasn't the General Staff been informed of the front line either? ”

Jérôme. The war in Bonaparte's mouth was none other than the war of aggression of the French Empire and the Kingdom of Spain against the Kingdom of Morocco.

The war began on January 11 and has been going on for three days.

And Jérôme. Bonaparte's Palazzo Douinlery, except for the time of the war, did not know anything else.

This makes Jérôme. Bonaparte sensed some confusion.

If the distance between Algeria and France was too long and there was no telegraph, the absence of war reports would be understandable, but the telegraph between Algeria and France had already been set up for a long time.

The fact that news from Algeria has been slow to arrive cannot but be suspicious.

Could it be that our army was repulsed by the Kingdom of Morocco?

An absurd idea from Jérôme. Bonaparte's heart welled up, and he immediately snuffed it out.

How could the Kingdom of Morocco, a country that even the Kingdom of Spain could not win, be an opponent of France!

Unless there is an archmage Liu Xiu in the Kingdom of Morocco, who can summon a meteorite to wipe out the French army.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible for the Kingdom of Morocco to defeat the French army deployed in Algeria.

"Your Majesty, it may be that our army is advancing too fast, and the Governor of Montauban wants to send a telegram to Paris after completely occupying the Kingdom of Morocco!" Lucien. Murat uttered a speculation.

"This is indeed the only possibility!" Jérôme. The BMW nodded to Lucien. Murat responded, "So be it! I personally went to the General Staff! ”

"Your Majesty, these documents ......" Lucien. Murat pointed to the document in his hand and said to Jérôme. Bonaparte said.

"Just put it on the table and wait for me to come back and deal with it!" Jérôme. Bonaparte said as he patted the documents that had been processed by his subordinates, "You can take these and distribute them to the various departments!" ”

"Yes!" Lucien. Murat placed the papers in his hand on the table and took Jérôme. Bonaparte had already processed the paperwork and left.

Lucien. Shortly after Murat's departure, Jérôme. Bonaparte was likewise escorted by Guards soldiers into a carriage to the General Staff.

At this moment in the General Staff, Niel, then Chief of the Imperial General Staff, was standing next to a map of Morocco and thinking, and next to him stood an adjutant with the rank of major.

After a while, Niel raised his head again and asked the adjutant: "Hasn't there been a telegram from the Algerian side yet?" ”

Seeing this, the adjutant hurriedly responded to Niel, "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, there has been no battle report from Algeria yet!" ”

"Kuzan. What the hell is going on with the Governor of Montauban? Has he forgotten the promise of one report every three days? If this continues, how can I explain it to Your Majesty! Neielle grumbled quietly.

"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, it's not your fault!" The adjutant said to Niel.

"The whole war was personally deployed by the General Staff! If anything goes wrong, I, the chief of the General Staff, will be guilty of a great crime! Niel misunderstood what the adjutant meant, he complained again, and then turned to the adjutant beside him, "You say, where have our troops been fighting now!" ”

"I think I've already captured Ujda and Figil!" The adjutant pointed to the two border cities between Algeria and the Kingdom of Morocco and told Niel.

"You're underestimating our army!" Niel shook his head and responded to the adjutant, "I guess they've captured Taza by this time and are attacking Fez!" ”

The adjutant looked at Taza on the map with an expression of disbelief on his face, "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, the speed of our army should not be so fast!" ”

There are more than 180 kilometers between Ujti and Tali, and it is indeed possible to reach Tali in three days, provided that the Moroccan army does not stop it.

However, no matter how bad the Moroccan army was, it would be difficult to stop them, and it would be difficult to reach Tali in two days.

"Do you want to gamble or not!" Neiel made a bet against the adjutant.

The adjutant was about to agree to Niel's offer when a staff officer armed with a telegram broke into the operations room.

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, the report of the Algerian battle has arrived!" The staff officer said to Niel as he handed the telegram in his hand.

Neel, who received the telegram, had a shocked expression on his face after reading the contents of the telegram.

"Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, what's wrong with you?" The adjutant looked at Neielle with a puzzled expression, then glanced at the telegram with his peripheral vision.

Immediately afterwards, the adjutant's face also showed a look of shock.

"Looks like we both guessed wrong!" Neielle replied to the adjutant with a hint of merry, "Our army is not on its way, but has already taken it!" ”

Niel pointed to Fez, which was almost three hundred kilometers from the border, and said to the adjutant.

The adjutant couldn't have imagined how their army could fly over in three days, and they couldn't rely on the cavalry to directly rampage and occupy it!

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, can you lend me a glance at the battle report!" The adjutant said to Niel.

Just now he only caught a glimpse of the news of the army's occupation of Fez, and he didn't see how to occupy it.

"Here you go!" Neiel happily handed the battle report to the adjutant.

The adjutant who took the battle report continued to look down.

It turned out that their army did rely on cavalry to run to Fez, the Kingdom of Morocco, to occupy them.

Armed with Mauser breech rifles, the cavalry units abandoned the heavy armor and cavalry guns they wore on their bodies, and instead practiced "gun fighting".

When the French reconnaissance cavalry spotted the cavalry of the Kingdom of Morocco from afar, they quickly fired at the cavalry of the Kingdom of Morocco from a distance.

Where had the Moroccan cavalry armed with sabers ever seen something that could shoot on horseback, and in just one face, the scout cavalry of the Kingdom of Morocco was slaughtered by the scout cavalry of the French Empire.

Immediately afterwards, the French scout cavalry told the news to General MacMahon, who was the commander of the Oujda Road.

McMahon, who commanded the army, reacted quickly, and he immediately ordered his troops to pull the newly equipped Shasepo machine guns to the front line first, and the infantry slowly advanced.

Six Shasepo machine guns arrived at the intended location at great speed, waiting for the Moroccan troops who had thrown themselves into the trap.

After a while, the French army also followed.

(McMahon had expected the Moroccan army to arrive at the intended location before France, but he actually overestimated the speed of the Moroccan army's march.) ）

After another moment, a Moroccan army of nearly 7,000 men slowly arrived.

When they found the French army ready, the whole army immediately fell into a panic.

McMahon decisively ordered his six Chasepo machine guns to open fire, and at the same time ordered his 4,000 French troops to outflank the Moroccan army along the left and right flanks of the Chasele machine guns.

The poor Moroccan army, in less than an hour, was completely wiped out by a dense network of fire.