Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 947 007 General Bonaparte Arrives at Fontainebleau

France has become like this, which is truly outrageous.

Mrs. Soloveo is in Vienna, and the information she is receiving now is already delayed.

Those who were probably even more uneasy after hearing about this were the members of the anti-French coalition, who now regarded Napoleon as an enemy and wanted him as a fugitive.

"That's how they are, and now I think London is getting very anxious too."

"Lord, what will they do?"

"A new anti-French alliance, but this time we'll have to see what happens in Paris."

Wellington spoke as if it were nothing.

Although Solovyov had previously defeated the British army, and it was the most serious blow since the American Revolutionary War, Wellington didn't care about any of that.

What he's more interested in now is seeing what happens in Paris.

"I think it will be very chaotic. After all, since Louis XVIII returned to Paris, the city has been very unstable. The Bank of France even had to pay for the military expenses and government debts, and there was an over-issuance of currency. All of this will be a disaster."

"You are a soldier, yet you are very interested in politics and economics."

“Duke, this is probably because of my family background. We were a merchant family in the past, and during my grandfather's time, we were granted the title of nobleman, and then baron. However, to be officially recognized and to receive the certificate, it was right after His Majesty ascended the throne. Speaking of which, I have always resented the British because someone was involved in the murder of His Majesty Paul, and this matter has always been hard for me to get over.”

Solovyov had some champagne today, and although he usually has excellent self-control, something inevitably showed through his saliva.

However, Wellington was a proud man, and he didn't panic at all when Solovyov said that to him.

Obviously, he, this, this, and this are all alright.

"This kind of thing should be condemned, but fortunately we are all soldiers, and there are not many times when we need to get involved in politics."

"But there are congressional inquiries, and besides that, it's about us always getting into trouble in the palace."

Actually, the time he spent with Maria is probably a separate matter.

Solovyov is fortunate to have strong self-control and will not mention his past romantic entanglements.

They were merely using the previous topic to discuss the problems of the British, and even to test Wellington's attitude.

"Is there anything else you need to do? Like matters of the court. I know there are always you Englishmen here, advising our Commander-in-Chief and the Emperor on attacks. Now look what's happened. If Bonaparte enters Paris, France will probably change color very quickly. He might even be able to expand his regular army to 150,000 men, and Louis XVIII will be easily defeated and flee in panic, no matter where he goes."

"So what will happen then?"

"In the past, it was always us Russians who dealt with the French, and you profited from it. Now the Russian army is in Poland, or even back home, while Napoleon is just around the corner. In the past, only you were fighting the French in Spain, while the rest of the British were reaping benefits elsewhere. Who can do what Britain does, paying the least cost and gaining the greatest benefit? In the past, it was Prussia that fought France on the European continent, but now, because of Belgium and the Netherlands, it will probably be the British army that first faces the French. They will be the first to quickly come to the Low Countries, defeat you, and then deal with Prussia and Austria, and finally us."

What is it that you want to say?

"What I want to say is that it is unwise to exclude Russia from the discussion in Europe."

“I think so too. It seems we don’t like the cabinet ministers. And I’ve also heard that while you have a good relationship with the Minister of War, you have a bad relationship with the Minister of Police.”

"Your information may be outdated. The current Minister of Police and I have no conflict; that's in the past."

Wellington also knew that things were always changing in Russia.

However, Solovyov, emboldened by the alcohol, also probed the situation, suggesting that Wellington would likely leave Vienna soon, and Viscount Castlere would be the one to come here again.

The British might also have thought that Louis XVIII couldn't stop Napoleon and would quickly flee.

Napoleon is now even closer to Paris, and with Ney joining the army, his forces are even more formidable.

His confidence stemmed from the fact that those captured from the French army between 1812 and 1814 would gradually return to France, thus replenishing the army considerably compared to the army of 1813.

However, there are always exceptions.

General Dupont, who was stripped of his honors by Napoleon for surrendering in Spain, might have had this kind of attitude.

But he had no intention of resisting Napoleon's advance; he simply prepared to leave Paris.

Those royalists who were discussing sending Napoleon across the Atlantic just a month ago are now even more panicked.

After all, they were also worried that Napoleon might retaliate.

However, these worries were probably unnecessary. Throughout his journey, Napoleon constantly publicized what he would do upon his return.

It certainly won't be like in the past, where, as the Emperor of the French people, he would still implement a constitutional monarchy.

It seems somewhat deceptive, after all, as Napoleon aged, he was likely no longer as spirited as when he conquered Europe, and his energy inevitably declined.

Moreover, his son is still very young, and given the many political factors involved, he is likely to be lenient towards the royalists and Jacobins. At least, his appointment of Jacobin members who returned to France with him from Elba as provincial governors was already a positive sign.

They even took in some royalists who were not currently employed.

The more Napoleon did this, the more uneasy the royalists became, and the most panicked were Louis XVIII and the Count brothers of Artois.

The only person they had with them was Duke Berry; Duke Angoulême was missing and likely had been captured.

The three men shared similar views, and surprisingly, the Duke of Angoulême aligned himself with Napoleon's policies.

What should we do now?

"Your Majesty, I think we should leave Paris in time to avoid encountering Bonaparte here."

"If that's the case, that would be terrible. Now that he's back, he's going to enter Paris without firing a shot."

Seeing this, Marmon was also helpless.

“Your Majesty, at least we still have a chance to leave Paris. Just like in the past, the allied forces always defeated Bonaparte and then re-entered Paris.”

The Duke of Berry couldn't help but say, "But you were preventing the Allied forces from entering Paris at that time."

“But this time I will escort His Majesty. In this regard, Your Highness, you can rest assured. We can organize an army, and we also need to go to Belgium, where at least for now, the Duke of Brunswick and the Prince of Orange still have their armies.”

Since Marmont had said so, Duke Berry couldn't really retaliate. Their departure wasn't actually a bad thing for the Duke.

He also had a British lover, and if it weren't for returning to France and the issue of his and his elder brother's status, they would probably still be husband and wife.

The two brothers were quite amusing; the cowardly and incompetent one learned the British constitutional system, while the assertive one adopted the British royal family's habit of marrying commoner women.

Leaving Paris might not be such a bad thing for him.

Many people were rushing away, while Napoleon was getting closer to Paris.

“What will they do? The entire Loire Valley is pledging allegiance to you, Your Majesty. And Monsieur Collangel has written to say that Paris is in complete chaos, like a pot of boiling water.”

"It's like a pot of meat soup, Bertrand, but it's not so easy to scoop out the meat. Most importantly, this is for my son's fourth birthday, and it's the best gift I can give him. It's just a pity that Catherine's health condition probably prevents her from going north."

“Uncle, what I’m more worried about is that if Murat decides to take any action, it might cause some trouble.”

"Why do you think so?"

“My uncle, although he is a warrior, is not very good at mobilizing troops. If the Austrians come along the Adriatic and quickly take control of Ancona, he probably won’t have a chance. Although he has 80,000 troops now, the timing of his action is very inappropriate.”

"why?"

“Eugene has not yet made a statement, and the Austrians can now completely bypass Lombardy. Lombardy is merely a frontal obstacle to the Austrians’ actions. If the Bourbon in Sicily and the British also take action, the Neapolitan army will be surrounded. Meanwhile, we are even marching towards Paris and have not yet taken control of the situation in France.”

"That makes some sense, but there's no way to solve this problem right now."

"Indeed, the distance is too great. If he could wait a while before taking action, or remain inactive, it would be wise in this situation. However, if a person lacks sufficient leadership skills and adopts this approach, he is destined to be attacked from both sides and fail."

Although Demid's words seemed incoherent, Napoleon was still able to understand his nephew's meaning.

"Although you are still young, you are able to analyze problems calmly."

"But you weren't willing for me to join the army back then."

Demid noticed an optical signal ahead and began to have the signalman record and interpret it.

"Any new developments?"

"The good news is that from Fontainebleau to Paris, there's probably no one who can stop us."

"It's just a short phrase. I don't think this kind of communication works well; it can only convey brief messages."

“Uncle, but we can send signals so that troops 20 kilometers away can receive the instructions accurately, just like flag signals between two naval ships. But I had the signalman send the message, which confused the British.”

"You're right, but it needs to be used at the right time. You can't rely solely on this to convey messages."

Although Napoleon also frequently used signal machines, there were always some technical requirements and generational differences.

The weather is fine now, but when it rains tonight, Napoleon will inevitably comment on it again.

However, Octavia made him a roast chicken, and the aroma of the food always cheered him up.

"This roast chicken is wonderful, just like the one I had in Marengo. Demid, you will be very happy with Octavia."

"But you should also be careful not to wolf down your food like that. I've seen how Dad eats."

Octavia wanted to persuade Napoleon that his eating habits were terrible.

“Like Michelle, your father may have been an excellent soldier, but he ate very slowly and was very meticulous about even a small bone.”

“Uncle, you really should change your eating habits. It's for your health. My mother said that after giving birth to my sister, you shouldn't be with those men anymore.”

"It's worse than killing Pauleta to stop her from hooking up with men. I don't believe it, but if she were willing to do it, I would listen to you."

"Uncle, you must not break your promise."

Demid produced a letter written by Polina.

The letter mentioned her and Sylvia's recent situation and stated that she would raise the child well and would not act as recklessly as before.

The reason is actually quite simple: Sylvia, who was in charge of taking care of the children, now also has her own children to take care of.

When Solovyov last visited her home, she and Sylvia had both become pregnant and had children, leaving no one to manage the household affairs. She couldn't simply leave the children with Sylvia and go out to play.

"The reason is absurd, but it's the kind of thing Pauleta would do. It's just that Michelle..."

"Octavia's father probably really likes children, not just his own, but also other people's children."

"It is indeed a bit strange that a general likes children. Pauleta often acts erratically, so it's no wonder he would like a somewhat eccentric general. Your mother is probably still using children to keep Michelle on her toes; what a clever plan."

"Perhaps so, but you should also change your lifestyle habits, and apply hemorrhoid cream tonight."

"Yes, but let's not talk about these things while eating."

Napoleon was in high spirits, and Paris was getting closer and closer.

Demid is really going all out; he's now trying his best to change his second uncle's lifestyle.

That's absolutely right. To the children of Lucien, Louis, and Jérôme, Napoleon was their great-uncle.

On Demid's side, both his eldest uncle and his second uncle were his uncles.

The only reason Napoleon was able to slightly change his habits was because his mother was his favorite, even though Carolina was the one who resembled him the most.

However, the hemorrhoid cream Napoleon used was supplied by Solovyov. Originally, this was simply because many European nobles probably had this problem.

Surprisingly, Napoleon became a loyal fan of hemorrhoid cream because it was indeed effective.

If he wins a battle because of this thing, he'll probably publicize it extensively.

(End of this chapter)