The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 825 Do you imperialists think that we working people don’t know how to win?

"Otherwise, a Prussian army will cross the Seine River south of Paris while we are not paying attention. Do you remember the Prussian army that came south from Metz? Although we delayed their advance by destroying the railway, they are still advancing. After occupying Nancy, they turned west and headed towards the Seine River."

Garibaldi's next words made the atmosphere in the conference hall of the Paris Workers' Association headquarters suddenly become particularly serious.

The flame of the kerosene lamp danced in the glass cover, illuminating more than two dozen serious faces, making them bright and dim.

Hu Wansheng took over Garibaldi's words and frowned, saying: "According to intelligence, the number of this Prussian army is close to 100,000, which is a legion-level force. If we want to defeat them, I'm afraid it will take..."

He suddenly stopped talking because he really didn't know how many national troops were needed to defeat a 100,000-man Prussian army in a field battle!
Although the National Army fought well and tenaciously at Saint-Denis and Vincennes, and won victories, it was only by holding on to towns and fortresses.

Vincennes Castle was a castle guarding the eastern gate of Paris hundreds of years ago. Although it has long been outdated and the walls made of huge stones cannot withstand the heavy artillery of the Prussians, there are still a lot of basements and secret passages under Vincennes Castle, and it is also connected to the Paris sewer. There are many places to hide! Moreover, before the Prussians approached Paris, the Supreme Revolutionary Committee upgraded the defense system of Vincennes Castle, dug trenches on the periphery, and built several small bastions.

The town of Saint-Denis is a railway hub north of Paris, with a large number of sturdy buildings such as railway marshalling yards, large railway stations, freight warehouses, etc. The tracks can also be dismantled to reinforce the buildings, which is also beneficial to the defenders.

But the troops were sent to fight in the wild far away from Paris. The National Army was hastily formed. Although there were workers' representatives and Red Guards watching, there was an extreme lack of qualified officers and the quality of the soldiers was also very poor. Without the "highest protection measures" of workers' representatives and Red Guards, Vincennes and Saint-Denis could not be defended at all. However, the effect of such harsh protection measures in the field of mobile warfare may not be as good as that in the defense of fortresses and positions.
Moore suddenly knocked on the long oak table, attracting everyone's attention.

"Comrades," he said in a low but firm voice, "after we won the great victory in the Battle of Paris, the goals we and the Prussian reactionary army pursued have changed. Before the victory of the Battle of Paris, our goal was to survive and to defend Paris, our only base! The Prussians wanted to destroy us at a lower cost! But now, our goal is to develop, to develop the power of the French working people! And the Prussians' goal is to show their powerful military force to the world."

Moore stood up and walked to the huge map of France on the wall. He drew a circle around Versailles with a red pencil. "Moltke wants to show the world that Prussia is 'winning big' by occupying Versailles!"

“And we,” Moore continued, “must also let the working people of France know that we are winning!”

There was a burst of warm applause in the conference hall.

Prince Napoleon stroked his chin thoughtfully - how are these revolutionaries just like his cousin Napoleon III? A bit of a winner for the sake of winning?
"But how can we let the working people in the provinces know that we have won?" asked Dombrovsky.

Baudet said excitedly: "We can publicize our victory through newspapers. I have sent news reports about the victory of the Battle of Paris to all newspapers in the provinces!"

"Battle reports alone are not enough." Moore suddenly interrupted, "Because battle reports can be deceiving, but battle lines cannot!"

"Front?" asked Prince Napoleon, frowning. "Comrade Foreign Affairs Commissioner, do you mean..."

Moore gave a sly smile: "Comrade Commander-in-Chief, we must recapture the towns east of the Seine controlled by the Prussians!"

Prince Napoleon almost bit his tongue: "Recapture the towns east of the Seine? How is that possible?"

"It's possible!" said Blanqui, Chairman of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee. "Comrade Commander-in-Chief, during this period we have organized 20 'Victory Battalions' specifically for recovering lost territory!"

Napoleon III frowned: "What is the 'Victory Camp'?"

"These are the guys." Moore stood up and opened the side door of the conference room. Twenty young men in work clothes walked in with their heads held high. The oldest among them was only 25 years old, and the youngest was only 18 years old, but everyone's eyes were burning with something fiery. "But can they defeat the Prussian army?" Prince Napoleon asked again.

"They don't need to defeat a large number of Prussian troops." Dombrovsky, who had fought against the Russians in Poland, said, "They only need to avoid the larger Prussian invaders and choose the enemy's weak links! Although there are hundreds of thousands of Prussian troops invading France, they are concentrated around Paris and Alsace-Lorraine. In the vast area between Paris and Alsace-Lorraine, there are actually not many Prussian troops. Moreover, the main task of these Prussian troops should be to maintain the transportation lines. As long as our Victory Battalion avoids them, we can plant the red flag in the vast 'occupied area'!"

Moore laughed and said: "In the west, south and northwest of France, people there know that we have defended Paris, and when they see the red flag flying everywhere in northeastern France, they will believe that we have won a great victory in Paris!"

Garibaldi then pointed his finger heavily at the Fontainebleau Palace on the map: "The twenty Victory Battalions and my Redwood Army can quietly leave Paris and take the train to the Fontainebleau Palace. The area is the hunting palace of the French royal family, surrounded by hills and valleys, and the vegetation is dense. It is the best place for troops to hide. Even if the Prussians know that there are some French troops hiding there, they will not spend too much effort to encircle them. After crossing the Seine, they will definitely go straight to Versailles. And my Redwood Army and Victory Battalion will take the opportunity to cross the river to the right bank of the Seine to liberate the town there!"

"But," Prince Napoleon frowned again, "are we going to ignore the Palace of Versailles? If the Prussian army crosses the river south of Paris and then attacks Versailles, how will we respond? Are we really going to give away the treasure of France?"

"Send someone a gift?" Blanqui asked with a smile. "Comrade Commander-in-Chief, do you remember what the Russians did when your great uncle marched towards Moscow?"

"They..." Prince Napoleon's face changed drastically, "They burned down the entire city!"

The meeting at the headquarters of the Paris Workers' Association lasted until the early hours of the next morning, and the battle plan was finally finalized!

The French National Army in Paris will be divided into two routes. Prince Napoleon will lead five divisions to Versailles in a grand manner in the north, and organize a "victory parade" along the way to let the peasants see the "victorious division" with their own eyes. After arriving at the destination, fake artillery positions will be set up on the left bank of the Seine to attract the attention of Prussian scouts. If the Prussian army crosses the Seine south of Paris and then attacks the Palace of Versailles, Prince Napoleon will not have to return to Paris or guard the Palace of Versailles. Instead, he will lead his troops north along the Seine, and then wait for an opportunity to cross the river into the right bank area to open up a "northern base."

On the southern route, Garibaldi will personally lead 3000 elite red shirts, 20 "Victory Battalions" and hundreds of former Guards officers and soldiers who are familiar with the terrain of Fontainebleau, and secretly march south to Fontainebleau. He will first lurk in the Palace of Fontainebleau and its surroundings, and then after the Prussian army crosses the river and heads north to the Palace of Versailles, he will "march behind enemy lines" and plant red flags all over the east of the Seine!

Early the next morning, the National Army Commander-in-Chief, Prince Napoleon, stood in the square in front of the City Hall, looking at the troops that were about to go out to battle. Five divisions of the National Army were lined up in a column, with rifles slung over their shoulders and bayonets gleaming coldly in the morning light. Many of them wore a variety of uniforms, some were made from workers' clothes, some were old French military uniforms, and some were simply civilians' coarse cloth clothes with only a red cloth tied around their arms.

But their eyes were surprisingly consistent - firm, fanatical, and even had a kind of almost religious piety.

"Is this our army?" Prince Napoleon whispered to Rinko beside him.

Rinko smiled slightly, her fingers gently stroking the samurai sword at her waist: "No, Your Highness, this is the flood of the people."

Sakuma Shozan stood at the front of the team, and his "Eastern Crusaders" were ready to go. These wandering Japanese samurai had been in "Red Paris" for several months, and now their clothes and appearance had become exactly the same as those of the French workers and peasants, and their eyes were also full of revolutionary spirit.

"Let's go!" Prince Napoleon raised his whip high.

The military band played the "Marseillaise" and the red flag fluttered in the morning breeze. The troops slowly passed through the streets of Paris like a long red dragon. Citizens along the way poured into the streets, women stuffed bread and flowers into the hands of the soldiers, and children ran after the troops, shouting "Long live France!"

"Look!" An old worker pointed to the flags flying in the ranks, tears welling up in his eyes, "That's our army! They're going to defeat the Prussians!"

Prince Napoleon rode on his horse, looking at the crowds on both sides of the street. He suddenly realized that this army might be poorly trained and poorly equipped, but they had something that his cousin's dynasty had never really possessed...

(End of this chapter)