Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The "Long Live the Emperor" that Napoleon heard in Mainz was also the last time in Germany.

He has to return to his country now. The coalition forces will not cross the Rhine for the time being, and the diplomatic wrangling will continue for some time.

As for returning to Paris, of course it is to see the children.

Speaking of which, the positions of France and Russia are now very awkward. After all, Catherine is the hostess of the Tuileries Palace.

Her identity is that she hopes her brother will win, but she also doesn't want her husband to fail completely.

Even though he was going to fail, the elder brother would not mistreat his children. Since Paul, the Romanov family had always attached great importance to family affection. Although it was not known whether there would be a time in the future when a family would have to be complete, they had always been very caring towards their own relatives.

This situation also forms a sharp contrast with Dai Ying.

But the defeat of the French army obviously also brought big problems.

The court was already very unstable. Mr. Talleyrand was not loyal to begin with, and he had his own considerations at this time.

It might be more beneficial for him if Louis XVIII was introduced.

Even among the emperor's marshals and generals, many were nobles of the old dynasty. Berthier's mother was his nanny when Louis XVIII was still a prince. Some of them were even great nobles during the Bourbon period.

TM Even Napoleon's most trusted confidant, Caulaincourt, was probably a marquis during the Bourbon period.

As for the few marshals who remained loyal until the end, they all had noble status.

On the contrary, those of humble origins, except for an old soldier who had made a lot of money following Napoleon in Europe, were not so loyal.

Now Catherine was sitting in the palace and could hear some of the rumors.

She also happened to catch up with Pauline's arrival at the palace. Among the brothers and sisters of the Bonaparte family, in the end, only the most dissolute one was the most loyal to his brother, and the kind who was devoted to him.

Of course, it’s not to say that the eldest brother Joseph is a bad person. When there are important matters at home, it is always the eldest brother who can be used. But now he is nothing.

Even Napoleon was ready to deprive him of his throne as King of Spain and return it to that pig prince of Spain.

Catherine had a very bad impression of the Spanish Bourbons, unlike the French Bourbons who had visited the palace when she was a little girl.

At least the little cake princess, Marie Therese, left a good impression on the aunts.

"You are finally back. Are you not hurt?"

In fact, Napoleon was quite satisfied with his wife, but she was too strong-willed.

Fortunately, it was almost winter and Napoleon did not stay in the Palace of Versailles, otherwise his young queen would probably come out to greet him on horseback wearing a Russian cavalry uniform.

"Fortunately, Catherine, I am not injured."

"Now, I think you should also consider negotiations. Your Majesty, you should know that I know my brother's character best. What you see of him is just the surface."

But Catherine was a good sister and she would not tell her husband so clearly, but only reminded him.

"I know that, but the French people will rise up against the foreign invasion, just as they did at Valmy."

"If my grandmother had decided to join the alliance against France, Marshal Suvorov would have led his troops here. There are no Russians in Valmy."

Catherine explained the situation anyway, but Napoleon remained silent at first.

But he still believed that the French people would rise up in resistance. Although they lost a lot of population, the French still gained a lot of benefits from her.

"But when the Russian army came, they were never able to enter France. I also know that the Cossacks are brave, but they are also barbaric. Like the British, they will definitely plunder us. The Spanish resisted us, but the Spanish situation is not just bad for the French, it is the same for the British, or even worse."

"You think too simply, Your Majesty."

After saying this, the young queen began to help Napoleon take off his coat.

Napoleon was very grateful for his wife's attentive care.

A wife with such a strong personality would probably take good care of her two sons if she encountered misfortune.

"You just got back and you're still tired. I was wondering if you want some fried steak?"

"Steak? I remember you like steak very much, and you want it medium rare."

"That's because it's good for your stomach. You always eat in a hurry. We need to spend some time alone, like an ordinary couple. I'm afraid it's only at this time. You're always surrounded by various things and worried about political affairs."

"But there is no way, Catherine. You were born an Archduchess, of noble birth. And I will fight for this crown, as you know, the Emperor."

"If you were not the emperor, you would probably have achieved even greater success."

"That's an interesting idea. Who taught you that?"

"It was Count Soloviev who said this to Field Marshal Suvorov when he was still alive."

"Ah, my 'nephew' is the disciple of that Russian old man, so you won't be surprised to hear this."

Napoleon heard Suvorov's evaluation from Catherine. Although he did not agree with it at first, when he thought about it carefully, he realized that it was obviously taking up a lot of his energy because he always had to pay attention to political affairs.

"Okay, let's make fried steak, but you have to try it out to see which one tastes better and what kind of meat we used."

"As long as it's not a very light-colored chicken, it's always a little difficult to guess."

"Yeah, the ingredients I got weren't chicken either."

Then Napoleon began his performance in the kitchen. Fortunately, he didn't make an omelet, so he didn't show that he knew nothing about the kitchen.

Catherine brought him a steak, one of beef and one of donkey.

But I have never heard of fried donkey steak in Western cuisine.
She also owns two Peterborough Donkey restaurants in Paris, so it's no surprise that she gets her hands on donkey meat.

"what about the taste?"

"Well, the meat tastes good. I've never eaten it before, and the sauce is just right."

"Napoleon, what do you think this is?"

"Well, I remember there was a donkey meat restaurant in Paris, but I've never been there. It seems..."

"My uncle gave it to me. There are two shops, one on Montmartre Street and the other on the banks of the Seine." "Interesting. The donkey meat in sauce you ordered is delicious, but it's a pity that we rarely get to eat it before."

The donkey is always a useful animal and therefore does not usually appear on the table in France.

But it is not surprising that people eat dog meat, as happened in Germany.

"This is made from a whole piece of donkey meat, and donkey-hide gelatin is also a good tonic. Polina has used it, and doesn't she look very good now?"

Thinking of his disappointing brothers and three troublesome sisters, it seemed that only his eldest brother and second sister still supported him wholeheartedly. The youngest brother Jerome returned to Paris in disgrace, but perhaps his in-laws in Württemberg would be able to take care of him in the future.

"Pauletta, what has she been doing lately? Her old lover is my nephew. Sometimes things are so strange."

Although Solovyov was not related to him by blood, he always talked about him because of his promising future. In addition, he obviously could not forget the relationship with Josephine.

"I know about this, but I've also thought that maybe not everyone in Paris is on the same page with you. Louis is against you because of the Netherlands, but Hortense is very loyal to you, even though her child is no longer your first heir."

"Yeah, it's just unpredictable sometimes."

"You should also note that there are always people and activities in Paris. For example, Mr. Fouché and Mr. Talleyrand. You once told me that Mr. Talleyrand always keeps in touch with my brother and Prince Metternich."

Of course, Catherine always stated what was obvious and reminded Napoleon that it would be better to negotiate.

"What is Talleyrand going to do?"

"I think he has some connection with the English. Louis XVIII is in Paris. Although the gentleman is a good man, he is very old and has no opinion of his own."

Napoleon was somewhat surprised to hear his wife's comments on Louis XVIII.

But Louis XVIII was indeed such a person. He finally came to his senses during his exile, but he had no children, and the Count of Artois was as stupid as ever.

If these two unfortunate brothers returned to Paris, something would definitely happen.

Napoleon did not want his great cause to fall into the hands of fools, especially the stupid and stubborn Bourbon forces.

"Well, that's it. What else do you have to say, Catherine?"

"Those people have made enough money. It's obvious that your bureaucrats are exploiting people. I even received petitions. For a moment, it was like going back to the time when my father was still alive. Petitions were always received in Petersburg at that time."

"Yes, your father is my friend. He is an upright and kind man, but unfortunately he met with misfortune. As a noble monarch who still cares about the common people, he should not have suffered such a misfortune. It seems that your brother should have another enemy, Britain, but he should not be aware of the crisis now."

Although Napoleon was not good at diplomacy, when he applied his military talents to diplomacy, he was always able to detect some problems.

"But that's for the future. Now everyone wants to defeat you and drive you off the throne. Our children will be fine, but you also have to consider the French people, your family, and your mother."

Catherine's way of speaking was somewhat oriental, and she also used this title when she referred to Queen Letizia.

Although Napoleon was fighting outside all day and could not take care of his mother on a daily basis, he always gave his mother a lot of royal expenses. However, the old lady saved them all in case her king sons might need them in the future if anything happened.

"You weird girl, you used to be carefree, why are you thinking about these things now?"

Napoleon stroked her hair, and after eating the steaks, the two of them took a walk on the corridors of the palace.

What about next? We already have enough spare tires. According to the parenting experience of the Russian Luo family, they probably want a daughter next.

But strangely, neither Alexander, Louisa, nor his mistress could have a son.

Napoleon was just the opposite. It seems that it can be confirmed that he, his wife, and his lover were all fat boys.

Whatever is lacking, we should do our best to make up for it.

But Napoleon also realized that if the Queen advised him like this, something bad would happen.

At least Catherine had told him that these French officials had made enough money and were only concerned with protecting their own property.

This is just the upper class in France, there are also complaints from the people below.

As long as the soldiers arrived at the barracks, they were loyal to Napoleon, but that was not always the case.

For example, when it came to conscription, the folks in the Vendée region did not like to join the army and had strong royalist tendencies.

It’s not that they are so loyal to the king, but because of the actions of the special envoys back then, which caused the Vendée folks to be extremely disgusted and eventually turned them into the Vendée people.

As for other places, although many people followed the emperor to fight and gained benefits, even the disabled soldiers who returned home also returned to their hometowns with some of the plundered wealth.

But they also had a problem, that is, France had been at war for years, and the collection of supplies had been overdrawing France's national strength.

Therefore, these people did not want to fight anymore. Even the south of France had not been attacked by the British at this time, and there was even a strange tendency.

That is, the British probably would not levy taxes so harshly, and often even issued IOUs.

But they didn't know that the Duke of Wellington might be a noble lord and very respectable.

But the people under his command may not be like this.

The great virtues of the English-speaking people are known all over the world.

Maybe the British army's discipline has improved since the Boxer Rebellion, but in this era, they are still on par with the French.

Maybe some people judge others by themselves, lower their standards by the French army, and think the British are pretty good.

After all, the French robbed so many places, but they never robbed the British mainland.

But this is just an unrealistic fantasy!
When the coalition forces enter France, they will probably realize how the German princes acted as bandits, while the thieving Cossacks only robbed things but did not take any lives.

Napoleon asked Catherine to change her clothes first, and he sat down outside the Queen's bedroom, looking at the few guards who remained in the palace.

"Long live the Emperor! You'd better send us to the front. There are still National Guards in Paris."

"It's good that you want to go too. But it's only been seventeen years since I went to Italy."

It has been only twenty years since he commanded the artillery in Toulon.

In just twenty years, has this place become the burial place of Napoleon?

He was unwilling to accept the defeat and would fight to the end. (End of this chapter)