But obviously, people who hold this kind of thinking have underestimated the collective wisdom of a country's top leaders.
How could the top French officials led by Louis XVI not know the ultimate goal of the coalition's attack on France? What the coalition needed was a declining France, and Britain coveted France's overseas colonies and the territories in northern France.
.
No one would think that the coalition forces were preparing to destroy France as a whole, or that the coalition forces wanted to capture and then divide the entire France, including the monarchs of the three countries who participated in the coalition forces.
What the British need are French colonies and those territories in northern France, while Prussia needs a France on the western front that no longer poses a threat. As for the Netherlands, who cares about the opinions of a country that is almost a servant.
News had already spread within the coalition forces that as long as Louis XVI handed Paris over to the British unscathed and ceded the northern France area north of Paris, the coalition forces could sign an armistice agreement with France.
It's just that this condition is too harsh for the Bourbon royal family. It can even be said that if Paris is lost, then the southern region of France will definitely abandon the rule of the Bourbon dynasty. After all, no one will accept a monarch who ceded the country's capital.
's rule.
It was under this situation that Louis XVI was thinking of making a comeback. After all, even if he conquered Paris, it was not an easy task to truly control the northern part of France, especially
The French and the British had already become feuding enemies because of the Hundred Years' War.
Everyone knows this.
But now Louis XVI sees hope of holding Paris. The coalition forces Paris currently needs to face only have more than 50,000 troops, and more than 40,000 troops have been mobilized in Paris, plus the troops transferred from the west.
The army can reach a size of more than 60,000 people.
In Paris, the Bourbon dynasty also had a solid foundation of rule. With the support of hundreds of thousands of people and an army of more than 60,000 people, Louis XVI believed that he could hold Paris even if he defended it to the death.
In fact, what is more important is that Lucien's actions in the rear of the coalition bought precious time for Paris. In more than a month, Louis XVI greatly strengthened Paris's city defense facilities. At the same time, it also allowed Louis XVI to evacuate calmly.
A large number of residents in Paris and the more than 40,000 French soldiers who had just been recruited learned some simple combat skills.
The Paris that the coalition forces now need to face is a fortified city with complete defense facilities, sufficient food and grass, and a large number of young men. Although there are currently only 40,000 troops in the city, there are still 20,000 French troops on the way to urgent reinforcements.
Ferdinand the Younger immediately convened a military meeting after being slightly excited.
Ferdinand the Younger was aware of the changes in the city of Paris, but if Lucien was not eliminated, the coalition forces would not be able to attack Paris calmly. And now even though Paris was well prepared, Ferdinand the Younger believed that the coalition forces still had a chance of winning.
of.
After learning of Ferdinand the Younger's order to convene an emergency meeting, in less than half an hour, most of the top leaders of the coalition forces in Buena Vista felt that Ferdinand the Younger was stationed.
"The reason why I have called everyone together so late is because there is one thing I want to tell you. That is that the French army under Lucien, which has been plundering behind our army, was annihilated by the army led by General Arman two days ago!"
After everyone had arrived, little Ferdinand said to the generals of the coalition with a smile on his face. After little Ferdinand finished speaking, the faces of all the generals in the room were filled with joy.
"Marshal Ferdinand, is this true?"
"Of course, His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, I don't think Arman has the guts to deceive me about such a thing!"
Duke Andrew of the United Kingdom was a little unbelievable. You must know that Duke Andrew had already learned how difficult Lucien was from the British generals who followed Arman to attack Lucien. And now that Lucien has finally been wiped out, this makes
Andrew was a little in disbelief at first.
"Great, with this, we can finally march to Paris!"
After Ferdinand Jr. confirmed again and again, the generals in the room all started talking excitedly, and the word that appeared most often in their mouths was Paris.
"Then what are you waiting for! Your Excellency, Marshal, I think we can gather the army to attack Paris tomorrow!"
Duke Andrew said to Ferdinand with a flushed face.
Paris can be said to be the pearl of Western Europe. As the capital of France, the top power in the European continent, if he can lead the army to conquer Paris first, then there is no doubt that this general will leave his name in history, and under such a huge temptation of fame and fortune
, even Duke Andrew became very excited.
After hearing Duke Andrew's words, Ferdinand waved his hand and said to Duke Andrew with a smile:
"Your Highness the Duke, please don't be excited! Of course. In fact, this excitement is understandable. After I learned that Arman had annihilated Lucien, the first thing I thought of was Paris. This is why I summoned everyone so late.
Reason for getting up for the meeting!”
As he said that, Ferdinand stopped and looked at the expressions of the coalition generals in the room. Sure enough, he saw all these people looking at Ferdinand eagerly, even the British generals on Duke Andrew's side were no exception!
Seemingly satisfied that he was the focus of everyone's attention, Ferdinand pondered for a moment and then said:
"Louis XVI's brutal military campaign in Paris was led by him to raise an army of more than 40,000 people. Moreover, the renovation of Paris by the French during this period also made Paris now a semi-fortress city. In such a
It is irrational to force the situation.
Even if we include Armand's troops and the army that conquered Compiègne, our total strength is only about 57,000 people. Such a strength is not actually an advantage against Paris!
And it is said that Louis XVI saw hope of holding Paris and mobilized 20,000 French troops from the western region to Paris.
What does this mean? It means that Louis XVI is so anxious that he is ready to fight us to the death in Paris. He doesn't even care about the Bourbon dynasty's rule in the south. We all know that the 20,000 people in the west
In addition to being the last elite of the Bourbon dynasty, the French army is also the basis for the Bourbon dynasty to deter the rebellious parties in southern France.
When we do not have the advantage in terms of military strength, we must think carefully about every next step. Otherwise, if we fail under the walls of Paris, let alone conquering France, I think even the areas we have occupied will be lost.
Clean and tidy!"
Ferdinand's words were sobering. At least after Ferdinand's words, the generals in the room all realized the seriousness of the current situation, and no one mentioned anything about sending troops to Paris immediately.
"Marshal, is it possible for us to lure the enemies out of Paris? For example, if we attack Versailles?"
The division commander of the First Division of the Holy Roman Empire, Tugent from Frankfurt said so.
And seemingly inspired by Tugent, a general said:
"Marshal, since the enemy wants to defend Paris, can we poison the Seine River and force the enemies in Paris to leave the city because they have no water to drink?"
"No!"
Before Ferdinand could speak, Duke Andrew vetoed the general's proposal.
Just kidding, the Seine River is not only an important water source in Paris, but also an important river in the north of Paris. The 780-kilometer-long Seine River covers more than 80,000 square kilometers of land in northern France, including Paris.
At the same time, the Seine River is an important drinking water source and irrigation river in northern Paris.
In this case, if the Seine River is poisoned, there is no doubt that hundreds of thousands of people in northern France will be unlucky, and crops will definitely be greatly affected.
Paris is indeed very important to the coalition forces, but Andrew must not watch the coalition forces take such extreme measures. You must know that the British goal is to rule the northern French territory. In this case, Duke Andrew naturally cannot watch such extreme measures.
Means appear.
And this matter must not be hidden from anyone. If the people of northern France are unlucky because of this, the account will definitely be recorded on the British.
"Puke Andrew is right, poisoning is useless. Let's not talk about how harmful poisoning will be for now. Even if we can't get the large quantities of poison needed to implement this strategy!"
Even if we do not talk about poisoning the entire Seine River, poisoning the Paris section of the Seine River alone would require at least several tons of poison. It is obvious that such a large amount of poison cannot be obtained by the coalition forces in a short time.
Ferdinand spoke again:
"General Tugent's opinion just now has some merit. We attack Versailles in a detour. If Dean in Paris sits idly by, then we can just cut off the connection between Paris and southern France, and there must be others in the Palace of Versailles.
The many treasures accumulated by the Bourbon royal family can help us increase the strength of the coalition!
But what we want is not just a Palace of Versailles, we want Paris! The food in Paris is enough for the enemy to be trapped for more than half a year, and everyone must know what half a year means to our countries!"
After Ferdinand finished speaking, the generals in the room became silent again.
Ferdinand turned to Duke Andrew and said:
"His Royal Highness Duke Andrew, you are well aware of the current situation. Therefore, I think it is necessary for the British side to increase the number of troops in the coalition. Of course, I have also asked His Majesty the King of our country to send additional reinforcements. However, obviously these reinforcements cannot arrive in a short time.
So I hope you can cooperate with my actions next!"
"Of course, Marshal Ferdinand, you are the commander of the coalition forces, and I will obey your orders unconditionally!"