Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Although the end of 1813 was shrouded in the shadow of war, nothing happened.

The Austrians were obviously scared. No matter how they fought, they would be defeated if they faced Napoleon. Therefore, they were a little hesitant.

As for the Prussians, if their king had not been in agreement with the Tsar, he probably would not have chosen to advance.

"Your Majesty, given the current situation, we should choose to cross the Rhine from several directions at the same time, and not just within Germany."

"Where are we going? Volkonsky, the French have many ways to get to Moscow. Now we have more than one way to get to Paris."

"Strasbourg has always been an important supply point for the French army heading east, and it is also a departure base, so there are always some troops stationed there. Our main force will have to make a detour on both wings, but from the Vosges Mountains, there is always a more convenient place to march."

Volkonsky was obviously only willing to give a few options, and after he laid them out on the map, Alexander noticed the direction of Basel.

“Let’s go to Switzerland!”

Volkonsky was mentally prepared. After all, Alexander's most trusted tutor was Swiss. In addition, Jomini, who had defected to the Russian army, was also Swiss and was very familiar with the local situation.

But Jomini has to go to Weimar now because of the traditional drama of the Russian court.

"Your Majesty, to Switzerland"

"We also want to see old friends and cut off the waist of France from here. Petya, have you noticed what places in France need to be conquered first?"

"You mean Paris, sire?"

"Yes, Paris is a Frenchman from the south. From Paris to Lyon, and then to Marseille, this path is here. The terrain in southern France is very diverse."

In fact, the geography courses of successive tsars were pretty good, at least they were able to develop an interest in this area.

"What if they come from the Loire?"

"I think in France, many of us have been to the countryside, as well as Volkonsky and Bordeaux, which are obviously somewhat separated from Paris. As long as we take advantage of this geographical condition and eventually enter Paris quickly, the war will probably be over."

Alexander was full of confidence at this time because the letter sent by Mr. Talleyrand mentioned the current bad situation in France and people's pessimistic attitude towards the upcoming war in France.

But he may have temporarily overlooked the fact that he has always been on the same direction as Schwarzenberg, and that Schwarzenberg is the commander-in-chief of the Bohemian Army, not Barclay who has already solved those problems.

After crossing the Rhine, Blücher's troops would advance along the Meuse River, while the 20 people along Schwarzenberg's route would go in a different direction.

The division of troops is also closely related to the environment in France. By advancing along the river, one can always find relatively sufficient supplies. In addition, transportation is relatively convenient. Within France, one can always advance by land and water. The rivers here are not so turbulent, but it is more troublesome to cross the Rhine at the first stage.

Blücher chose a seemingly impossible crossing, with steep cliffs on both sides. By the time the French discovered that the Prussian army had crossed the river, it was too late.

This kind of drama will probably be played out frequently in France in the future.

On January 1814, 1, Alexander also made up his mind to cross the river near Basel.

Before that, he also met with representatives sent by the Swiss government. Out of respect for his teacher, Alexander also promised to let Switzerland benefit in future diplomacy and conferences in territorial disputes with France and some small countries.

As for crossing the river from Basel, there were not even any French people to block us.

The operation went very smoothly. Even though the direction of Basel was an important transportation route between France, Switzerland, Baden and Württemberg, the French did not react at all.

In addition, it was on this day, in the far east, that Jesus and his brother should have been born.

There will be another Father Ma born in France next month, if his mother can really get pregnant with him.

For Dai Qing, it seems that the things happening with the Tianli Sect are nothing, and the following events will be more exciting, but that is to restore history.

The Russian Guards crossed the Rhine almost unhindered, but the coalition forces' actions were not very quick because the terrain in southern Germany was not suitable for rapid military movement.

Shortly after the Allied Forces crossed the river, the Netherlands also announced its independence from France, and the homeland of Napoleon's empire began to loosen.

He was still in Paris at this time and did not go to the front to take action.

In fact, the reason is very simple. The losses of the French army are too great. Now they have to recruit soldiers for 1814. Because the war started in January, there is no time for training.

The French army had lost a large amount of manpower in the past, and its disadvantages were becoming increasingly obvious. The quality of new recruits in 1814 was worse than that in 1813. Many people were conscripted early, and many veterans who had served seven years of military service were recalled to the army, some as non-commissioned officers or junior officers.

However, there is no time to prepare now, and the coalition forces are still increasing in strength. Among the vassal states of France, Italy is probably the only one that is still loyal and reliable at this stage.

For Napoleon, the difficulty was even greater than before.

However, he still had to prepare for the battle, but because the coalition forces' advance was relatively slow and he needed to stabilize the situation in Paris, he stayed here longer.

But for him, the coalition forces themselves were also moving more slowly, which was always in his favor.

"Your Majesty, Schwarzenberg's and Blücher's armies have each bypassed a series of our defensive strongholds and are advancing deep into the heart of France."

"Berthier, what is the direction of their movement? Which front is moving faster?"

"Blücher's side is advancing along the Meuse, while Schwarzenberg's corps is heading for Champagne."

"It seems that the Austrians don't want to fight anymore. They are really slow in their actions. And Alexander will ask Blücher to act faster without the Austrians."

Although he knew that Blücher was the flank corps and the weaker side of the two armies, Napoleon was still confident.

"We go to deal with Blücher, the idiot Schwarzenberg, which will only slow down the Austrian army's actions. This way, the Russian and Prussian armies along his route will not move too fast. The situation is still in our favor!"

Napoleon was still mysteriously confident. The army he could immediately mobilize was no more than 7 men, and with the new recruits and the veterans he was currently recruiting, the total number barely reached 10.

These troops were the most comfortable range for Napoleon, and he was able to master them proficiently.

What he had to do was to lead this army, which was much weaker than the previous "Grand Army", to teach Blücher a lesson.

As long as the coalition forces trembled in the roar of his guns and cannons, it was still possible to win on French soil. But there was also an important prerequisite, that is, the French people were still willing to fight.

Berthier also knew that an advance at the beginning of the year would cause great losses to France, and he also mentioned the Polish Campaign in early 1813, when the French and Polish armies were penetrated by the Russian army and Warsaw was quickly occupied when the recruited Polish troops had not yet formed combat effectiveness.

But Napoleon seemed to be indifferent to all this and even quite confident.

Now, apart from Paris, he probably doesn't have to consider the situation in other places, and he is much freer in his actions.

In this way, it was like finding back the boots he wore in Italy.

As for Blücher, after crossing the Rhine, he soon received letters from the rear.

"How is this going?"

"Your Excellency, Marshal, it is Count Solovyov. The troops under his command will join the battle as the rear guard of our corps. This is his letter, delivered by an adjutant."

"I think this young man should be..."

Blücher thought that Solovyov would show some clever tricks like he did against MacDonald, or come up with a method of flank cover, so that the two armies would act in coordination as in the past.

"This young man, he himself has fought the usurper on the battlefield, but he is young and cowardly!"

What Blücher saw also suggested that he should not stretch the marching column too long to avoid being attacked from the flank by the French army and then defeated one by one.

This is what the "Marshal of the Forward" could not accept.

Even though Gneisenau's advice was unsuccessful, even though the two of them usually had very compatible personalities, it was not accepted.

"Sir, I think you should adopt this suggestion. If we disperse our troops, there will definitely be problems!"

"Could it be so? The usurper has already lost so many places. I think this guy is deliberately delaying because of his relationship with her, or because he considers that her Highness is the Queen of France. This is inconsistent with the opinion of His Majesty the Tsar!"

Although Blücher said this, Gneisenau's attitude is still there.

"But you have to know that although this count is a relative of Napoleon, he was strongly opposed to Princess Catherine's marriage to Paris. And as far as I know, because he has been a court attendant and guard officer for a long time, he always has some say in front of the Tsar."

Even Gneisenau didn't know that Solovyov's right to speak used to be influenced by two parties, and Alexander's brothers and sisters were always with him. The outside world probably didn't know about the influence of pillow talk on the right to speak, but having a close relationship with the royal family always has its benefits.

As long as he is not like Wellington, who even dared to mess with the British princess' boyfriend, or he was thrown out to be the scapegoat after he took the bullet for him (although he did not do anything too excessive).

On the Russian side, as long as the ministers did not act too recklessly, they would probably be forgiven by the Tsar in the end.

What's more, Solovyov is really capable. Although he has little experience, his previous actions have already demonstrated his abilities.

Gneisenau was willing to believe him, but Blücher was not.

Perhaps the elderly are more stubborn and will not listen to such advice when the situation is favorable.

Solovyov was still a little bit of a model in this regard. Although he often hung out with the veterans, he was not as stubborn as Blücher.

When Suvorov treated him as a disciple, he was even treated as half a nephew. Although the old man was old, he was abstract and not stubborn, and was willing to listen to the opinions of his subordinates.

When he was with another 69-year-old comrade, Melas, the other party did not do what he wanted, but he did not express any opinions, but just urged him further.

As for Kutuzov, he is an old sly guy. Besides, Solovyov is the son of his old colleague in Crimea. The kid always supports his opinions, and there will be no conflicts between the two of them.

But without this relationship, Solovyov could not reveal his affair with the Queen of Prussia. If the queen was the Queen Mother, there probably wouldn't be so many things going on.

Once old man Blücher makes up his mind about this, it will be difficult to correct him.

He even preferred to leave Solovyov far behind so that he would not cause him any trouble.

But this was probably not the most outrageous thing. When the Prussian army camped at night, Gneisenau received a messenger from Alexander, who brought handwritten letters from Alexander and Barclay.

"But I still have to tell the commander-in-chief, he's not here now."

As for sending adjutants to look for him, Gneisenau also discovered that Blücher's adjutants probably set out with him.

What is Blücher doing now?

After all, France has always been a place that produces fine wines. In addition to wine, there is also champagne and a full range of other alcoholic beverages.

Blücher, along with his adjutants and two horse-drawn carriages, went to a large local winery.

He is even now selecting champagne and asking the winery director about the quality of these wines.

However, the Marshal is different from the soldiers under his command. The soldiers may go looting, but the Marshal still has to pay the bill.

If I don’t pay the bill, I’ll probably have to write a note to His Majesty the King to make up for it later.

It was already late at night when Gneisenau hurriedly found the winery.

When he saw Blücher, who was drunk and still stroking the wine bottle, he was somewhat reminded of Solovyov's frequent complaints about "opening champagne at halftime".

Although I don't know what it means, the Marshal's current behavior does fit the description of this kid.

"Sir, there is a messenger sent by the Russian Tsar, bringing important news. The French army seems to be moving in our direction!"

"So what? Wherever we are now, everyone has surrendered! Hiccup! Except for that usurper, no one in France wants to fight anymore!"

Gneisenau couldn't help but shake his head after seeing this.

But what Blücher said was not wrong. After all, it was a fact. Otherwise, there would not be such a thing as coming here to choose a "celebration wine" before the battle. (End of this chapter)