Two months later

Early December 1870

Today

The Franco-Prussian War is still going on, and more than 100,000 Prussian troops have surrounded Paris and shelled this magnificent European metropolis day and night, and the war still shows no sign of coming to an end.

In the city of Paris, the government of emergency salvation, composed of bourgeois and Orleanists, commanded the "National Guard" composed of more than 70,000 urgently mobilized government troops and more than 300,000 Parisian citizens, ready to defend the French capital with blood and lives.

The Prussian army, with the patriotic fervor of the French, also found it very difficult, so it did not launch a large-scale offensive campaign, lest it suffer heavy casualties, which would have been more than worth the loss.

The battle with the French army on the battlefield was won simply and beautifully, and if you planted a big heel in the city of Paris, it would be impossible to say it anyway!

In the face of Wilhelm I's questioning, General Moltke, chief of staff of the Prussian army, replied cautiously;

"Your Majesty, this is a megacity of more than 2.4 million French people with almost unlimited war potential. Armed citizens of Paris could shoot from the strong barricades and the windows of buildings, while our troops had to expend several times more force to get rid of these cockroaches. The big problem is...... You don't know how many enemies there are? ”

Prime Minister Bismarck also agreed with the military, and the Prussian army eventually adopted General Moltke's advice and did not enter Paris until France surrendered.

However, the Prussian army was not idle, and took advantage of the situation to occupy about 1/3 of the territory in the north and northwest of France, and began to fulfill the duties of the occupying army and operate a large-scale smuggling business, dumping Prussian industrial products into France while earning a large smuggling commission by the way.

On this cold and windy winter day

At the invitation of the French Provisional Government, His Royal Highness Don-Li Kun and his attaché entered the war-torn city of Paris on behalf of the Tang Empire, together with military observers sent by Britain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, and the United States of America.

On the way into the city

On both sides of the street are typical French buildings, mostly 2~3 floors, and the bare trees with their leaves falling make the streets of the Paris metropolis even more bleak.

A large number of "National Guards" carried muskets on their backs, and they all wore a variety of civilian uniforms, some typical gentleman's dresses, some coarse cloth labor shirts, but without exception, everyone had a look of eagerness to fight, and the soldiers were quite high-minded.

From the moment you enter the city, you have to pass through one fortified barricade after another separating the streets, which is characteristic of the French city defenses.

The barricades consisted of brick and stone and various broken door frames and furniture, and each barricade was guarded by hundreds of officers and soldiers of the "National Guard".

On the high ground of the buildings on both sides of the barricade, human figures can be faintly seen in the doors and windows.

It was the soldiers of the "National Guard" who were responsible for watching and watching, assisting in the defense during the battle, and working together against the Prussians who dared to attack.

At each barricade, the official of the French Provisional Government, who was responsible for leading the process of observers from various military delegations, presented a passslip, a piece of paper stamped with the Provisional Government's red seal, and the autograph of General Vidier.

Countless indifferent, vigilant, eager eyes swept by, and some of the rude soldiers would whistle lightly when they saw the British officer, and muttered loudly;

"Oh my God, look what I saw...... It turned out to be an abominable British! ”

"Damn, these Brits are here to see our jokes, right?"

"I hate these stinking Brits, who are like ominous crows that bring disaster wherever they go."

"That's great, Sonny."

Major General Mace of England held his head high with an indifferent expression, as if he could not hear these deliberately provocative words, but Tie Qing's face showed the anger in his heart, and he walked past the barricade beside His Highness Don Li Kun.

Said as he walked;

"Seriously, I appreciate the optimism of the French. Their previous Emperor, Napoleon, was exiled to St. Helena, and this one was already a regular guest of the upper West End society. And they still laughed, what a forgetful people! ”

"Mr. General, your assessment is realistic, but it is a bit mean." His Royal Highness Don Li Kun deftly took a big step forward, crossed a stall of sewage on the side of the street, and then turned back to remind; "Watch your ......"

"......Smack".

General Mace's shiny long leather boots stepped into the sewage, and finally couldn't help but "hair-gram", probably in a terrible mood.

The French colonel's officer, who had walked in front, looked back at this, and the beautiful French beard on his lips couldn't help but curl up, full of schadenfreude, but he forced himself not to laugh out loud out of politeness.

The French mock the British every day, and the British belittle the French every day, these are all daily operations.

"God, we've been walking for almost two hours, how far is it?" General Mace asked with some irrepressible anger.

The French colonel replied politely; "To guard against those damned Prussians and their disgusting allies, the heroic citizens of Paris built a lot of barricades. We've gone through more than 20, huh...... There should be more than a dozen, right? ”

A long straight street is divided into many sections by barricades, and the city of Paris is now full of barricades, where patriotic soldiers of the "National Guard" and government troops stand guard in barricades, fortified buildings and churches, turning the entire bustling metropolis into a huge urban battlefield.

Look at the situation

If the Prussian army were to attack, every step forward would pay the price of blood.

His Royal Highness Tang Li Kun's tall figure stood down, frowned and looked left and right, and then said with a soft sigh; "One general is incompetent, and the three armies are exhausted! It is a pity that French citizens, with such a heroic and strong desire to fight, could easily lose the war! ”

"You will get used to it, Your Highness, the French are often overwhelmed by their enthusiasm and act stupidly and incredibly, and this is just another time."

The French colonel in front heard General Mace's words, turned his head and glared at him angrily.

According to the estimation of His Royal Highness Don Li Kun; If it weren't for the mission, the French colonel would most likely have asked for a duel, and the British would have lost his mouth.

"This war is a disaster for the whole of Europe, let's hope he passes it as soon as possible!" His Royal Highness Don Li Kun made a round in the center, turned to France and said; "Keep going, I'm hungry to be honest, and I'm looking forward to a delicious French meal that will make us feel better in the heart of this troubled time."

"Thank you, Your Highness, for your grace and demeanor that embodies the cultivation of a true gentleman." The French colonel glared fiercely at Major General Metz, followed His Highness a little further, and said as he went;

"A French meal with a wine accompaniment is the pride of the whole of France, and we have everything ready to welcome you with the warmest welcome...... Your Highness. Please go this way, we have to go through the next barricade. ”

Some of the barricades are narrow doors, and some of them have a hole in the street wall, and you need to go around the house, which is quite troublesome.

But this is wartime, and that can only be the case.

The reason why the French Provisional Government invited military observer missions from various countries was to show the world France's determination to resist to the end, the strong belief that the people of Paris would never surrender, and to vow to fight the Prussian invaders to the end.

The important thing is to show a posture of bloody battle.

In fact, this was only a negotiation tactic, and Paris, besieged by more than 100,000 Prussian troops, still had many access routes to connect the southern provinces, and Paris was only at the forefront of the war.

The Provisional Government hoped that by demonstrating the spirit of national resistance from top to bottom, it hoped that the Prussians would lower the bargaining price, end the passive situation of the siege of Paris as soon as possible, and end the war.

Now that the provisional government is in dire straits, both internally and externally, how to feed the more than 2.4 million Parisians is a big problem.

Factories are shut down, vendors are out of business, farmers and artisans are taking to the streets, so who will produce the products? Who will produce food to feed millions of people?

Today, Paris relies on imports for its food production, and because of the war, winter wheat sowing in a dozen or so provinces that had been affected by the war was almost abandoned.

In the south of France, the turmoil in which large numbers of people were armed was also severely affected by food production, which was more than halved compared to before the war.

The missing part can only be imported from the Tang Empire in North America.

The French provisional government is under enormous financial pressure, and is currently in intense negotiations with the multinational banks of the Tang Empire, seeking to borrow large amounts of money to take a breath.

In fact, France did not lack this money, and the private usurers and bourgeoisie had a lot of wealth, but the key was that the Provisional Government did not have the universality and legitimacy to represent the French people, and could not be recognized by these wealthy French classes, so naturally they could not borrow money.

The same problem also exists in the negotiations with the multinational banks of the Tang Empire.

In the absence of substantial collateral, the Provisional Government could not borrow much money on the basis of its existing credit.

The concerns of multinational banks are also very reasonable, in case the interim government is overthrown again, who will ask for money?

Now that the Provisional Government is facing a great crisis that may be shut down at any time, there is no bread without money, and this will inevitably lead to chaos among the government army and the National Guard, with extremely serious consequences.

Facing a dilemma

The bourgeoisie and the New Orleanists had no choice but to compromise and try to reach an armistice with the Kingdom of Prussia that would be acceptable to both sides.

The invitation to the Military Observer Mission to Paris is part of that effort.

In the eyes of His Royal Highness Don Lee-kun, the French may have mistaken their wishful thinking, and the Prussians were never prepared to let them go easily.

North America

The imperial capital is Chang'an

"Oh...... It's a good thing that President Simmons is coming...... It should be welcomed. When Richard heard the report, he immediately made a statement.

This old man was sprayed lightly, and the pressure on his body was not small, it is estimated that he came to the Tang Empire to find warmth.

The Tang Empire is still very supportive of the little North American brother who follows him closely, instead of staring at other people's slavery and fragments all day long. The rule of the feudal dynasty is not much more advanced than slavery, the eldest brother does not say the second brother!

But if the Tang Empire is the world hegemon, it is different.

Not in his position, not in his politics.

Sometimes international affairs are like associations, one boss has one style, with a good boss leading the way, the community will develop smoothly and united, and there will be fewer chaotic wars, and more disputes will be resolved through international organizations.

If you run into a boss who is aggressive and greedy, and selfish, like the British, it sucks!

(End of chapter)