Christmas is coming soon, and very fittingly, it suddenly snowed in Potsdam the day before Christmas Eve. The melting white snow in winter always makes some people feel happy, such as children or the couple in Sanssouci Palace.
A little girl.
Every Christmas Eve, a dance is held in the palaces of various countries to celebrate the arrival of this annual festival, and Prussia is no exception. Early in the morning of the 24th, William got busy. No other William was busier.
It was necessary to choose the costumes for tonight's dance. He was not the only one, the entire Sanssouci Palace was busy.
The attendants were busy clearing the snow everywhere in Sanssouci Palace and decorating the palace where the ball would be held tonight, while William and others were busy choosing the clothes to wear at the ball and some jewelry to be worn.
In William's opinion, it would be just fine to wear the Prussian military uniform this year as usual, but this proposal was rejected by Queen Louise. The Queen Mother thought that William had grown up, and this was the first time that William had taken charge of Prussia.
Ten years later, on such a memorable day, how could I just wear that simple military uniform?
Louise's opposition won the support of everyone in the royal family, and it goes without saying that the three daughters of Karina had long been dissatisfied with William only wearing that simple military uniform to attend the ball.
In fact, there was a tradition for William to attend the ball in military uniform. When Frederick was in power, no matter what occasion he attended, the emperor always wore his simple light blue military uniform, which caused trouble
There are also many discussions.
When William first came to the throne, in order to show that he was Frederick's undisputed heir, he also used Frederick's attire to show that he would completely inherit the spirit of the late king.
But now as William's rule in Prussia has become more solid, he no longer needs this form to maintain his image.
Originally on June 4th of this year, Louise hoped to hold a grand ball to celebrate William's tenth year on the throne. This proposal was approved by the government, but was rejected by William. In June, William will
When all his energy was focused on France, he did not want to hold a grand event at this time. Instead of spending the money on such meaningless things, it would be better to add a few lurking spies. This was William's true thought.
As for this year's Christmas Ball, William also planned to hold it in a low-key and simple manner. But Louise did not agree this time. Louise clearly told William that the Hohenzollern family would bear all the expenses for hosting the Christmas Ball this time.
In addition to celebrating Christmas, this ball also has the meaning of celebrating William's tenth year on the throne.
Faced with Louise who refused to give in at all, William had no choice but to give in. After William agreed, starting on December 20th, the entire Sanssouci Palace became lively. In addition to the attendants who decorated the palace, everyone from
William's office was filled with congratulatory gifts from all over Prussia. In addition, the nobles who had just attended the noble meeting and were about to return to their hometown learned that Louise intended to make this Christmas ball a grand ceremony.
The poor people asked to see Louise, and they hoped that Louise would allow them to attend the Christmas ball.
Louise wanted to come. The more lively the dance, the better. Seeing so many nobles asking to participate, she agreed with a smile from ear to ear.
When the number of people attending the ball was finally reported in front of William, His Majesty the King looked very surprised. There were a total of 752 names on the list arranged by Louise. Although he has been accustomed to grand balls in this life,
William still seemed tired of balls attended by too many people.
Dances of this nature often take six or seven hours or even longer, just like this Christmas dance. The start time of the dance is set at six in the afternoon, and the end time is at two in the morning. And those
Impatient nobles would often rush to the Palace of Sanssouci at two or three o'clock in the afternoon. By then, William would have to meet with some nobles, and he would feel tired just thinking about it.
However, William could not refute too much what Louise had decided, so he had to accept it calmly.
Under Lilissa's service, William straightened his tuxedo and turned a few times in the mirror.
"Just this one!"
After saying that, William couldn't wait to take off his dress.
Seeing that William had made his choice, Lilissa hummed, and then asked the attendant to take out the dresses that William had selected and take care of them. As for the clothes that William had not selected, they could only be put in the warehouse.
"Huh? Lilissa, what's wrong with you?"
After a while, William discovered that there were only two people left in the room, Lilissa and himself. Lilissa's face was even redder, but she just stood there coquettishly, not knowing what to say.
Hearing William's inquiry, Lilissa raised her head and whispered:
"Your Majesty, can you...can you help me choose a dress?"
After saying that, Lilissa's face turned as red as an apple, making people want to take a bite. Seeing Lilissa's little daughter posture, William burst into laughter, but he did not intend to refuse this proposal. Among the several girls
, if anyone can be obedient to William, then it is only Lilissa standing in front of him. At least sometimes, Lilissa acquiesces to William's little actions.
Looking at Napoleon in front of him, Creech felt a headache. Napoleon could be said to be the main contributor to this victory, but it was obvious that Napoleon's performance had overshadowed Creech's role as the commander-in-chief of the counter-insurgency. Such
The situation was somewhat unacceptable to Kerridge.
"Napoleon, you did a good job this time. You are the first contributor to the attack on Lyon. I will definitely report your achievements to His Majesty the King truthfully. I believe you will have a better future by then. I want to congratulate you first.
!”
Although he felt a little sour in his heart, Crich still had to choose what he said. Seeing Crich's insincere words, Napoleon felt a little contempt in his heart. As the commander-in-chief of tens of thousands of troops, he was actually jealous of talents. It was precisely
Because the existence of such people will destroy the foundation of the kingdom!
"Everywhere, this battle is a victory caused by the Marshal's command. I am just a pawn of the Marshal. Even if I have a little credit, it is not worth mentioning."
Napoleon behaved very humbly, leaning forward slightly. Seeing Napoleon's attitude, Creech smiled awkwardly.
"Okay, you go out first. I need to send the good news back to Paris as soon as possible. Remember to restrain the army after you go out."
After a few gentle explanations, Creech sent Napoleon away.
After leaving the door, Napoleon looked up at the sky. The dim sky made people feel a little depressed. Napoleon frowned and gritted his teeth secretly.
When Lyon was defeated, an idea grew in his mind. But this idea was suppressed by Napoleon. Although he performed very well in counterinsurgency, his ranking in the Second Army was not high.
But then a thunder flashed through his mind. In the afternoon, it was time for Creech to convene the generals of the Second Army for a post-war meeting. If something suddenly happened in the room where the meeting was held...
......., thinking of this, Napoleon shuddered without warning. And this thought was more like a devil constantly tempting Napoleon.
No poison, no husband! Napoleon clenched his hands, and now there was a huge opportunity in front of him. If everything went well, he would at least be able to save several years of struggle. Once he succeeded, he would become one of the top figures in France!
At noon that day, Napoleon returned to the station of the First Brigade, and then summoned several of his confidants for a secret discussion. Among his confidants, the artillery commander of the First Brigade was among them.
In the afternoon, the senior counter-rebel forces officially held a post-war meeting in a villa in Lyon. The meeting was attended by all brigadier generals and above of the Second Army. After Creech made a few encouraging words, he sat down
Napoleon quickly left the room on the pretext of feeling unwell.
Seeing Napoleon getting up and leaving the table, Creech and the other generals were not impressed. Although everyone had previously regarded Napoleon as the hope of conquering Lyon. But now, Lyon has been conquered. What everyone needs to discuss is the post-war interests.
During the distribution, Napoleon's absence at this time can give everyone time to divide the benefits. Presumably, after the benefits are divided, even if Napoleon has great opinions, he will probably have to hold it in.
After Napoleon left the room, he immediately walked to a street outside the villa. At this moment, more than a dozen carriages appeared on this street.
"I have made arrangements inside. After the carriage enters, immediately move those things to the basement of the house. After moving them, move them out as soon as possible!"
"promise!"
After a man in a hat made a promise, he drove these carriages to the villa just now.
After giving the instructions, Napoleon did not leave far. He walked to an attic diagonally opposite the villa and raised the telescope he carried.
Within an hour, a dozen carriages that had just entered the villa slipped out again. Seeing this, Napoleon felt relieved:
"Send the signal and start taking action!"
After saying that, Napoleon closed his eyes
"Boom!....Boom!!!"
There was a huge explosion, and the villa where Crich held the post-war meeting had been blown into ruins. Hearing the sound, Napoleon quickly opened his eyes. When he saw clearly that the villa had been turned into ruins, his heart
He suddenly jumped up and down, and the real test came.
"Your Excellency, Marshal! Come here! Open up these ruins for me quickly! The generals are all inside!"
Just when the soldiers who came outside the villa were shocked by what they saw, an officer reacted quickly and immediately ordered all the soldiers to search the ruins of the villa.
Just when the officer was about to send someone back to contact more troops, he saw Napoleon rushing here in a hurry.
"What's going on? Why did it make such a loud noise!"
Napoleon first gave the officer a scolding. When he saw the rank on Napoleon's shoulder, the officer seemed to have found his backbone.
"Your Majesty General, the headquarters collapsed for some unknown reason. The generals are all inside. What should we do now?"
Looking at the panicked officer, Napoleon angrily yelled
"Why panic? Send an order to the troops in the city to start martial law immediately. With such a loud noise and such a strong smell of gunpowder smoke, it is obvious that someone deliberately planted explosives. Immediately notify all officers above the major to come see me!"
After saying that, Napoleon frowned and looked at the ruins transformed from the villa, but his heart was filled with joy. In order to prevent accidents, Napoleon ordered again:
"This place is taken over by the First Brigade. In addition, let the officers above the major come here. I will wait here!"
After the First Brigade took over the guard of the villa, Napoleon immediately mobilized his trusted men to excavate the ruins of the villa. During the excavation process, Napoleon received a report from his men that they had discovered two generals who were seriously injured but not dead.
"Idiot, the two generals have been seriously injured. Wouldn't it be terrible if they were hit by some rocks at this time? Rescue the generals immediately!"
Before anyone left, Napoleon said again:
"You must carry out rescue work as soon as possible. Your Excellency the Marshal is buried below. You must be careful at this time. You must rescue Your Excellency the Marshal safely! Report to me in time if you find the Excellency the Marshal, and pay attention to some gravel!"
As he spoke, Napoleon pretended to bend down and picked up a piece of gravel at his feet and made several gestures with his hands.
"These broken stones may not look small, but they can kill people. We must not let the stones touch the heads of the generals!"
Although Napoleon didn't say much, as his confidant, this officer was naturally not very stupid. Napoleon said three sentences, and all three sentences mentioned stones. The scene was filled with broken stones due to the explosion.
, Napoleon’s words did not mean that the soldiers should really pay attention to the stones, but to instruct them to use local materials.
What can stones be used for? Stones can kill people! If you find those generals, don’t hesitate to beat them to death! This is the meaning of Napoleon’s words.
After understanding the meaning of the words, a group of soldiers no longer had any scruples. They saw pitchforks and hoes they had dug out from nowhere, turning over the ruins.
Suddenly another person was dug out of the ruins. The soldiers faithfully carried out Napoleon's order. They seemed to be digging stones, but at an angle that no one else could see, they picked up a stone and threw it at the man's head.
Smash it down hard.
The final result was gratifying. A total of more than thirty corpses were found in the ruins, nearly half of which belonged to the attendants, and the rest undoubtedly belonged to the generals.
After Napoleon ordered the officers to identify the body, he said in front of all the officers:
"Originally, I was going to be with the generals this afternoon, but because my subordinates temporarily reported to me the traces of the remaining rebels in the city, I got the order from the marshal and rushed out. But who knew that I would still be there?
It was a step too late, I didn’t expect those rebellious people to actually target the generals..."
As he spoke, Napoleon's voice turned into a sob, and this sadness seemed to be contagious. In an instant, in front of the ruins, all the French officers were seen crying together.
Napoleon used the cover of his arms to quietly look at the officers. When he saw that the situation was developing as he expected, he felt reassured.
"What should we do if the generals are dead? With so many troops in Lyon now, who should make the final decision on the following matters!"
"That's right, the documents reporting victory haven't been sent out yet, so what should I do with a lot of things to do next!"
.............
When he heard this kind of discussion in the crowd, Napoleon felt happy. He knew that the envoy he had arranged earlier began to cooperate. Just after the atmosphere became noisy, an officer suddenly pointed at Napoleon and shouted:
"Isn't His Excellency Napoleon still here? Now he is the only general here. I think we should listen to him!"
With these words, the confused officers seemed to have found their backbone. They all looked at Napoleon. As the man said, the army is a very hierarchical place. At this moment, no officer dares to challenge a general.
of majesty.
"Uh, well, I'm feeling very flustered right now. It's better for everyone to take care of things."
"No, no, you are the general, and we all obey you. Your Majesty Napoleon, just give the order!"
"Yes...yes, now you have the highest military rank and we all listen to you!"
First one or two, and then most of the officers began to persuade Napoleon. Under such circumstances, Napoleon, who was embarrassed, had to temporarily take over the command of the scene.
"Since everyone has unanimously elected me, Lyon will be temporarily under my care until His Majesty the King sends someone to take over. I order."
As he spoke, Napoleon puffed up his chest, and when he heard that he was about to issue an order, the officers present also stood at attention. Seeing that the officers' attitudes were very upright, Napoleon felt quite happy.
"The ruins here are taken over by the First Brigade. Now the whole city is under martial law. A total of six regiments of infantry, the 6th, 7th, 9th, 13th, 14th and 16th, have closed the four city gates. Entry and exit are strictly prohibited without my warrant.
.All the rest of the army was mobilized immediately, and the whole city was searched. If the remnants of the rebels were found, they were immediately arrested, but those who resisted were immediately executed!"
Napoleon issued the order skillfully. After the order was issued, except for the officers of his first brigade, the officers of other troops followed Napoleon's order and went to perform their tasks.
"Immediately prepare a victory document and report the process of our army's counterinsurgency to Paris in detail. There is no need for any modifications. Do you understand? What I need is reality!"
"Yes, Your Majesty General!" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
PS: Thank you Kangkang for your monthly ticket and reward. I have finished my business trip and am as tired as a dog. My mind has been very confused recently. Please forgive me for my poor writing.