Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The armistice is still in effect and the two sides are meeting in Prague.

The initial representative of the French side was de Narbonne, the Minister of War during the reign of Louis XVI. As a constitutionalist during the French Revolution, the domestic political turmoil obviously prevented him from holding any important position for a long time.

It was not until 1809 that he resumed his active generalship, but still primarily as a diplomat.

Many French diplomats in the late Napoleon period were of military origin or had long-term service experience, and his government seemed to be a military government no matter what.

The interesting thing is that this senior nobleman actually has no decision-making power.

It was not until the Prague Conference had been going on for a while and Mr. Caulaincourt came here to replace him that the French side had someone who could make peace decisions on behalf of the emperor.

During the spring campaign, Napoleon gained a considerable advantage through the two major battles of Lützen and Bautzen, so it seemed that he was just delaying time, and even had some determination to win.

Because Massena was always there on the Spanish side, Wellington could not gain any advantage for a while. This old soldier was experienced and had accurate judgment, which made it difficult for the British army to operate on the peninsula.

Even a cowardly king like Joseph was still in Madrid at this time. Suchet was able to control the area under his charge. The French army was still in a balance at this time, but because troops were constantly being withdrawn from Spain, this place looked rather empty.

However, it was also difficult for the British to replenish their troops. If this continued, the Peninsular War would probably end with the Allied Forces winning and reaching Paris, and it would still be a quagmire for both sides.

However, with the addition of Austria, the strength of the coalition forces was strengthened. Even some concessions made by Russia to Austria at this time always gave Emperor Franz some confidence.

Russia supported Austria's demands in Illyria and northeastern Italy. At this time, various demands were made, and even when the Confederation of the Rhine was dissolved, it still left a lot for Napoleon.

Although Caulaincourt did not say it, he also believed that this was a good opportunity to create peace. France's influence even remained in the Rhine River basin. Whether it was war or peace in the future, France would have a chance to breathe.

On the Allied side, the demands of Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria were divided into three parts, and they even bargained and quarreled among themselves.

If you can make good use of it, there may be opportunities in the future.

But Metternich adopted a common diplomatic method at this time, which was to conclude a written treaty, an open one, rather than the secret talks he had had with Napoleon in Dresden before.

In this way, the demands of all parties will ultimately be reflected in an official document.

If you want to reach any understanding behind the scenes, it is definitely not possible.

In fact, it was Metternich who realized a problem, and it was not a historical factor. At that time, even the Austrian monarch did not believe that peace would be maintained in the future, and he had to use war to solve the problem.

After all, Napoleon was Alexander's brother-in-law, and Caulaincourt had a good relationship with Alexander. Even when Caulaincourt was an ambassador in St. Petersburg, Alexander had reminded him that if the French really attacked, they would face unprecedented resistance from the Russians, in addition to the harsh climate.

But Napoleon didn't listen at all. However, now that they are related by marriage, if Alexander is willing, he will probably sign a treaty with France, and the French can also project their forces from the Rhine.

This would be very bad. Even if Alexander had made up his mind to continue fighting, if France used diplomatic means to create trouble among the monarchs of Russia, Prussia, Austria, and their foreign ministers, it would put great pressure on Austria.

Metternich already knew from the rumors in the court that Nicholas and Charlotte of Prussia were good playmates when they were in St. Petersburg. Even without the matchmaking of their parents, they would probably get together. The marriage between Russia and Prussia would inevitably isolate Austria.

Archduke Joseph went to St. Petersburg before, but because the two sides did not get along well, Alexandra finally went to Württemberg.

With the addition of Napoleon, it is obvious that Austria's diplomatic environment in the future will be even worse than during the War of the Austrian Succession.

He wanted a written agreement, and Alexander saw it.

Now he didn't open champagne at halftime, and he didn't even win the battles against Lützen and Bautzen.

But he also had his own ideas. If Napoleon was defeated, there would probably be only a few possible ways to rule France.

Napoleon must be removed from the throne; as long as he has a little power, he is extremely dangerous.

However, Alexander still had a lot of face to save and would definitely not shoot or hang Napoleon, even if he was not his brother-in-law but just an enemy.

After all, Napoleon was also a monarch, and now he had his own successor. He was transforming from an emperor and commander-in-chief voted by the French people to a hereditary dynastic monarch.

The only basic options for removing him from the throne were a Bourbon Restoration and a young Bonaparte monarch.

However, judging from Louis XVIII's attitude, his going to Britain would always be a great benefit to Britain. Even when this exiled monarch was at his lowest point, it was the Queen who took in his family, and Paul gave him the Palace of Jelgava, so that he had no worries about food and clothing, and he could even maintain his own small court in exile.

But sometimes concessions have to be made. After all, there are political factors involved, and the restoration of the Bourbon Empire seems to be acceptable to the other parties.

If it was a young Bonaparte, that is, Paul Joseph Charles, the eldest son of Catherine, then a regent would be needed. There was even more than one option, whether it was his sister becoming the queen mother, or Eugene, who had always impressed Alexander, returning from Italy.

But no matter which condition is put forward, there is no doubt that France's power will be greatly weakened.

Metternich probably also had a sense of which way the wind was blowing, so he also took action.

As for Caulaincourt's diplomatic efforts, they had little chance of success.

At this point, the next stage of war is inevitable.

It was just a matter of waiting until August 1813, 8, when the truce period ended, to decide whether to continue the truce or to start fighting directly.

At this stage, there was also a lot of discussion in France.

After Ney's chief of staff was killed, Jomini came to his army and began to serve as chief of staff, and he could be regarded as Ney's "external brain" at that time.

However, he had always had difficulty in getting promoted in the French army. Although being the army chief of staff seemed to be a very high position, when the War of 1812 began, he was already in the staff of the Grand Army. Even Napoleon admired him and thought he was an outstanding staff officer.

But he was a Swiss, and Berthier seemed to have some objections to him.

In this situation, he was also considering personal issues. In the Battle of Bautzen, Ney ignored Napoleon's orders, and it was Jomini who reminded him that he finally reacted, but at this time there was no good opportunity to defeat the main force of the coalition forces.

However, as always, the French army lacked cavalry, so although the operation at Bautzen was a great victory, it had little effect.

This cannot be analyzed from a God's perspective or with the attitude of hindsight.

Even when Paul was still there, he would divide the Russian army into two teams on the large training ground, and have each team simulate the battlefield situation before expressing an attitude.

Although it's a bit funny, at least it's a review.

Now Ney felt a little guilty. He wanted to find some compensation for Jomini, but Berthier caught him.

So Jomini was not as active as before. Before the war broke out, he always had to consider his own position.

At this time, Alexander didn't know who would come from the French army on the opposite side.

Jomini knew that Ney was quite nice to him and that the emperor had always appreciated him.

But the current situation is that Berthier has never liked him.

There are not many people in the French army who can accurately understand Napoleon's intentions. Berthier is one of them, and the current staff team was also built by him.

Napoleon's personal secretary probably counts as well, because Napoleon's spelling sometimes seems like hieroglyphics.

In addition, his personal intentions were always abstract, and even the orders he issued were often vague, which even some senior staff officers had to think carefully about.

In this way, Jomini is actually a scarce resource, after all, he can accurately judge the emperor's intentions.

Apart from this, there is probably someone like Bernadotte, but he is just slacking off every day and is now in the reorganized legion in the rear, not on the front battlefield.

Considering his command ability, if Solovyov were to evaluate himself, it would probably not be a problem for him to defeat Bernadotte with his current ability. After all, he had served as chief of staff once under Langeron and Bagration.

Jomini felt that his future in the French army was limited. His Swiss identity meant that even though he always spoke French, he did not have much sense of belonging in the officer circle.

This also made him determined to leave the French army and go to the opposite camp before the war broke out again.

After entering August, Alexander felt more and more that war was coming. While he was stepping up preparations for war, he was also inquiring about the movements of the other side.

The Polish girl gave birth to a son, Emmanuel, not long ago
Alexander, who was frustrated that he could only have a daughter, also had doubts about some things, but the most important thing was the current war.

He can put the children's problems aside for now.

Barclays' latest plan was also because although Radetzky's plan was good, Schwarzenberg
In short, in the current situation, the Allied forces have the upper hand in terms of strength. Combined with the soldiers recruited from the British territory of Hanover, the Allied forces can deploy up to 50 troops on the battlefield in central Europe.

In this battle, I clearly have the advantage in terms of military strength.

At this time, the outpost of the Bohemian Legion reported that a French general had come to their camp on his own initiative.

Alexander was even more delighted when the person who came was Jomini.

In fact, it was not the first time that Jomini had the idea of ​​"serving Russia". After the Fourth Anti-French Alliance, there were always some people around Ney who wanted to exclude him, which made him want to leave.

It was not until Napoleon found out about his thoughts and promoted him again that he temporarily gave up the idea.

Deep down in his heart, Jomini was still very grateful to Napoleon and Ney.

After reading his works, Napoleon directly gave him the rank of colonel, the title of baron of the French Empire, and many medals and bonuses.

Ney also took good care of him and wanted to promote him to be a divisional general this time. In the past, when he was in Ney's army, those people slandered him, but Ney always protected him. Although there were some unpleasant experiences, they were still superiors who had some kindness to him.

Leaving them and coming to Alexander was an option, and Alexander personally welcomed him.

He made a decision based on personal feelings or other considerations.

He will not directly reveal France's current action plan, which is considered to be the most benevolent thing he has done for the monarchs and superiors he served in the past.

".For personal reasons, Your Majesty, I will not reveal the French plan. However, the Russian army should also appropriately avoid encountering the main force of the French army during the operation and adopt a more cautious attitude."

Although Alexander nodded in agreement, he even directly offered the treatment of Army Lieutenant General and Aide-de-Camp General, as well as the status of Russian nobility to someone who was not absolutely loyal to him.

Apart from the title, Solovyov was so envious that he cried. Jomini was not like him who had gone through life and death and saved the emperor several times. In the north, he defeated all the Swedish generals he could deal with and defeated the British army in the process. In the south, he defeated the Turks and it was unknown how much military merit he had earned.

Then, the two people are treated equally.

It was Clausewitz. He had served in the Russian army for such a long time, and combined with his previous experience in the Prussian army, he was given the rank of major general at this time.

It seems that those whose abilities have been verified by the French are treated better.

Alexander, not only his wife is better than others, but even his generals are better than others.

He even agreed with Jomini's attitude. Even Balashov, who was standing by, couldn't help but want to use the same energy to deal with Speransky.

It's just that Jomini is the kind of person who masters core technology. At least he knows how the French act, so he also gave Alexander some advice. (End of this chapter)