I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 850 Surpassing the Sun King
10 month 27 day.

Paris.

The Boulevard Saint-Michel is covered with a scarlet carpet, stretching all the way to the Place Saint-Michel.

The Swiss Guards, dressed in white uniforms with red patterns and holding spears, stood on both sides of the road.

Behind them were countless Parisian citizens - on this day, people all over Paris had nothing else to do, and almost all of them gathered here to welcome the Crown Prince into the city.

Many people came here two days ago to queue up and finally got a place to stand.

Even the onlookers who were separated by more than twenty rows of people and could hardly see the situation on the avenue had been waiting here since early yesterday morning.

At ten o'clock in the morning, with the continuous roar of salutes, the crowd began to look around excitedly.

On the road in the distance, more than 50 military band members formed a square and walked towards us with their heads held high.

Behind them were dozens of children, holding clay pots and spreading cornflower petals on the ground. Behind them followed the priests of Notre Dame de Paris, sprinkling holy water everywhere.

The crowd suddenly burst into thunderous cheers because they saw the figure of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince surrounded by hundreds of guards.

Shouts of "Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince" and "May God bless His Royal Highness the Crown Prince" were heard one after another. Many people also imitated the drum beats of the Guards Corps and beat the copper basins in their hands.

As Joseph walked slowly forward, people on both sides of the road bowed and saluted him one after another - the difference this time was that everyone did not just do it because of the required etiquette, but out of incomparable respect and admiration for the young man in front of them.

The news of the French army's great victory in Luxembourg had already spread throughout the streets and alleys. Along with it, people also talked about the great victory in the Southern Netherlands, the great victory in Italy and the victory in the Mediterranean naval battle.

It has been a long time since the French people celebrated a victory with such pride.

Their Royal Highness the Crown Prince led his army to conquer almost the entire periphery of France from east to west.

Moreover, they are all victories!
The powerful nations of the time, such as Austria, Prussia, and Britain, and of course small embellishments such as Sardinia, the Netherlands, and Bavaria, were defeated by the sword of the Crown Prince.

Even the Sun King cannot match this record.

How can people not go crazy about this?
In the middle of Saint-Michel Avenue, Archbishop Beaumont was respectfully waiting for the Dauphin. Behind him, eight senior deacons carried the holy box containing the remains of King Saint Louis - this was a ceremonial ritual used only when something extremely big happened.

Joseph's head hurt from the cheers and drums around him, but he still had to wave to the people around him with great energy.

When he came to the front of the holy box and pulled the reins, the priest beside him hurriedly reminded him of the ritual steps in a low voice.

Joseph sighed secretly, silently calculating how much of his budget it would take to lay several kilometers of carpet on the ground and the flowers scattered on both sides of the road. Then he dismounted and kissed the iris emblem on the corner of the box.

Hundreds of guards behind him fired their guns into the air together, and the onlookers shouted even louder, not even noticing their voices were hoarse.

Then the Crown Prince's procession continued to move forward.

It was not until he entered the Louvre and changed carriages that Joseph rubbed his buzzing ears and breathed a long sigh of relief.

But he didn't have to rest for long, because there was a grand celebration at the Palace of Versailles.

In the square of Versailles, Queen Marie saw her son's slightly thin face from afar, and immediately rushed to greet him without paying any attention to etiquette. Joseph bowed hurriedly. Before he could stand up, the queen couldn't wait to hug him tightly, and then stepped back half a body, looking him up and down, and kept muttering:
"I heard that you led tens of thousands of cavalrymen to fight the Prussians in Luxembourg, and you shuttled back and forth through the fire of more than a hundred cannons. Even the old Duke of Brunswick brought his guards to duel with you...

"Oh, God bless you, fortunately you are not hurt, otherwise I will be overwhelmed by sadness and self-blame forever..."

Joseph was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when he heard this, and wondered who had spread this rumor to the queen; it was even more exaggerated than a Hollywood blockbuster.

He smiled and comforted his mother: "Don't listen to their nonsense, it's not that dangerous at all. The closest I was to the enemy was more than 1 kilometer away."

Queen Marie obviously didn't believe it. She held her son's arm and walked towards the main gate of the Palace of Versailles, while seriously admonishing him not to fight so desperately on the battlefield in the future.

Louis XVI also wanted to step forward and say a few words to his son, but after glancing at the crowds of nobles around him, he lowered his head and just followed his wife and children silently.

As Joseph walked through the nobles who lined the avenue to welcome him, he heard people talking about, "That day, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince led 20,000 hussars and rushed from Würz all the way to Diekirch..."

"You are certainly mistaken, Baron Montmorency; it is thirty thousand hussars."

"Definitely 30,000. I heard that they broke through fourteen Prussian lines of defense in one day!"

"Indeed, more than 7 Prussian soldiers were driven into the Our River, and the bodies even blocked the river..."

"Do you know what was the most powerful thing? There were more than 200 twelve-pound cannons, oh, or maybe eighteen-pound cannons, I can't remember clearly, anyway, they ambushed on the way of His Highness' charge, and then suddenly opened fire!"

The young nobleman next to him immediately continued, "In the end, all the shells flew past His Highness, and none of them could hurt him. In the end, His Highness ordered the cavalry to seize all the cannons..."

Dozens of nobles around him crossed themselves, saying, "This is truly a manifestation of God."

"God will always protect the sons of God!"

Joseph was so embarrassed that he wanted to dig out a three-bedroom apartment with his toes. The person who spread the rumor was not Hollywood style at all, but a Bollywood screenwriter...

It was not until they entered the banquet hall that Queen Mary finished giving instructions on security matters.

She pulled Joseph to sit down, and then showed a mysterious smile: "By the way, dear, I have the best gift in the world for you. Well, guess what it is?"

Joseph cooperated and pretended to think seriously: "Could it be, strawberry honey cake?"

Queen Mary smiled and waved the folding fan in her hand: "Camelia told me in the letter that the dessert I sent you last time made you worried and unable to sleep. Let them make cashew nut cakes for you in the future. She said you like it.

"Oh, let's talk about the gifts first."

"So, it's a thoroughbred horse..." Joseph shook his head before he finished speaking. "I really can't guess. Just tell me, what is it?"

Queen Mary came closer to him, with a smug look on her face:
"She is your favorite, beautiful, dignified, gentle and lovely princess.

"I proposed to Her Majesty Catherine II for you a few months ago, and she has agreed to marry her granddaughter to you."

(End of this chapter)