The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 827 Britain and Russia have chosen sides!
November 1867, 11, Berlin Palace.

William I was standing in front of the mirror, letting his attendant try on a new Prussian Field Marshal's uniform for him - it was prepared for the coronation ceremony of the German Empire to be held in the Palace of Versailles. He looked at his majestic face in the mirror, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised, as if he had seen the scene of envoys from various European countries bowing to him.

The emperor of Greater Germany. And he was crowned in the Palace of Versailles! Just thinking about it is inspiring. All Germans will cheer for him.

Just then, a burst of hurried footsteps came from the corridor, and then Prime Minister Bismarck pushed the door open, his face as gloomy as if he had just swallowed a whole bottle of berberine.

"Your Majesty," Bismarck's voice was low and rapid, "urgent military report."

William I turned around, frowning slightly: "What's wrong? Is there a problem with Moltke?"

Bismarck shook his head: "No, Marshal Moltke's troops are still advancing steadily outside Paris."

William I breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile reappeared on his face: "That's good! What about Prince Karl Frederick? Has the Palace of Versailles been taken?"

"It's taken," Bismarck's voice lowered, "but"

"But what?" William I waved his hand impatiently. "Don't hesitate!"

Bismarck took a deep breath: "Versailles has burned down."

William I's expression froze for a moment, then relaxed again: "Oh, Karl was reckless again? Did he accidentally ignite the palace during the bombardment? Was the burn serious?"

Bismarck's expression became even uglier: "Your Majesty, it was not Prince Karl Friedrich who set the fire."

William I was stunned for a moment: "If it's not him? Then who is it?"

"According to reports from the front," Bismarck gritted his teeth and said, "it was the French who burned it themselves."

"Ridiculous!" William I slammed the table. "The French burned down the Palace of Versailles? Do you think they were Russians? Those were delicate and weak French people, not die-hard Russians."

Bismarck was silent for a moment before he slowly said, "Prince Karl Frederick's report was very detailed. He said that as soon as his troops arrived outside the Palace of Versailles, they saw a fire inside the palace, and the fire spread very quickly. It was obvious that someone had arranged fire starters in advance."

William I's eyes widened: "Are you sure?"

Bismarck hesitated: "This is what the report from the front says."

William I sneered: "Is Karl Frederick trying to shirk responsibility? He has always been rude. It must be his troops who bombarded the palace with incendiary bombs!"

Bismarck's face turned completely pale - even the king did not believe Karl Frederick, and now the Prussian army really couldn't wash itself clean even if it jumped into the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, he didn't really believe that the French could do something as outrageous as burning down the Palace of Versailles!
At the same time, 10 Downing Street, London.

British Prime Minister Lord Derby was sitting by the fireplace, holding a copy of the Diary of the Fall of Versailles that had just been sent from Paris. He glanced over the shocking descriptions: "The Prussian army bombarded the Palace of Versailles with incendiary bombs, and the golden roof of the Hall of Mirrors collapsed in flames."

"This is a disaster for civilization," muttered Lord Derby. "Have the Prussians gone mad?"

Foreign Secretary Lord Edward Henry Stanley stood by the window, frowning, "Father, now newspapers all over France are reprinting The Fall of Versailles. I heard that all French people are outraged by the atrocities of the Prussians!"

Earl Derby sneered: "Bismarck is in trouble now."

Lord Stanley shrugged: "The Prussians burned down a palace of the French monarch. I wonder what those ordinary Frenchmen are angry about?"

Count Derby sneered again: "Isn't it obvious? If Paris was burned down now, those useless Frenchmen would not dare to be angry. But the Prussians have no way to deal with the radical workers who are defending Paris, so they can only burn down the Palace of Versailles to vent their anger. Do you think the French can not be angry?"

Dad is right after all!
Lord Stanley nodded. "Father, it seems that the Prussians are no better than this."

The Earl of Derby did not comment, and turned the subject back to the Workers' Association: "What else did those worker radicals say?"

Stanley said: "The Paris Workers' Association also claimed that they rescued a large number of precious cultural relics from the fire. Each one is a treasure of French civilization, and even European civilization, and they cannot be destroyed by the Prussians. So they hope that museums in various countries can temporarily help France protect those treasures."

The Earl of Derby narrowed his eyes: "This is forcing us to express our views."

"What should we do?" Stanley asked. Earl Derby pondered for a moment, and suddenly showed a meaningful smile: "Tell The Times that the headline on the front page tomorrow will be "Savage Victory: The Story of the Prussian Army Burning Versailles."

Stanley was stunned: "Are we going to side with the French Workers' Association?"

"No," Earl Derby shook his head. "We want the French and the Germans to kill each other. The Germans have a great advantage now. We have to encourage those radicals in Paris. If it weren't for the burning of Versailles, we wouldn't have a good excuse, but now we have one!"

The Winter Palace, Tsar Alexander II's private study.

The Tsar slammed a telegram on the table: "These Prussian barbarians! How could they bear to burn down the Palace of Versailles? How could they do this? They didn't even burn down my uncle."

Foreign Minister Prince Gorchakov whispered: "Your Majesty, Paris insists that it was the Prussian army that did it, but Berlin denies it."

"Deny? Of course we have to deny this!" Alexander II sneered, "Bismarck can turn black into white!"

Gorchakov hesitated: "Your Majesty, should we issue a statement condemning it?"

Alexander II glared at Gorchakov and said, "Why condemn? They did a good job! Those ungrateful Frenchmen finally got their comeuppance! I will personally write to Prime Minister Bismarck to express my appreciation for the Prussian army's act of burning down the Palace of Versailles! And I will also express my wish to attend the coronation ceremony of Kaiser William I!"

"Ah," Gorchakov was stunned, "Isn't this a bit..."

Alexander II snorted coldly and said, "My Foreign Minister, don't you understand? We must now clearly stand on the side of the German Empire!"

"But that's Greater Germany!" Gorchakov frowned.

The Tsar snorted coldly: "A Greater German Empire is certainly a threat to us, but the radical workers' regime in Paris is a greater threat to us! Our nobles, especially the young and immature nobles, are all French in spirit! As long as it is French, they think it is good! If the radical regime in Paris really takes over, our troubles will never end. In addition, the Greater German Empire has demolished the annoying Austria after all! I don't think William I and Bismarck should have any interest in ruling the Slavs and helping to maintain the dead Ottoman Empire?"

Gorchakov's eyes lit up: "Your Majesty, you are so wise! The Greater German Empire is definitely not interested in maintaining the Ottoman Empire!"

Alexander II clenched his fists and said, "This time, the British may not be able to find a French country willing to be cannon fodder for them!"

The Place de Ville in Paris was crowded with people.

Moore stood on the balcony, overlooking the people waving red flags below. Baudier had just finished reciting his new work "Rebirth from the Ashes", and the crowd burst into thunderous cheers.

"Comrades!" Moore shouted, "The Prussians thought they could break our will by burning down Versailles, but they were wrong!"

"France will never surrender!" the crowd roared.

Varlan walked up to Moore and whispered, "I just received news that the British Times has published an article condemning Prussia."

Moore smiled slightly: "That's great! The burning of Versailles Palace has given Earl Derby an excuse to discredit the German Empire."

Berlin, Chancellery.

Bismarck stared at the piles of British and Russian newspapers on his desk, thinking deeply - in today's Europe, probably only Britain and Russia could pose a threat to the powerful Prussia. However, the reactions of the newspapers of these two countries to the "burning of Versailles" incident were completely different. The British newspapers condemned Prussia and called Prussia a barbarian who destroyed the treasures of human civilization, while the Russian newspapers did not report the "burning of Versailles" incident at all, as if it had never happened.

Bismarck's foreign secretary, Bülow, walked quickly into the prime minister's office, holding an already opened envelope in his hand. Bismarck looked up and glanced at it, then continued to read the newspaper: "Whose letter is it? Is it congratulating us or condemning us?"

"It's a congratulatory letter, Prime Minister," Bülow's voice trembled slightly, as if he was very excited. "It's a letter from His Majesty the Tsar in person from St. Petersburg."

Bismarck was stunned for a moment, then slowly took the letter. As he read more, an expression of disbelief gradually appeared on the Prime Minister's dark face.

"The Tsar thanked us for burning down the Palace of Versailles?" Bismarck suddenly burst into laughter, with a rare sense of ease in his voice. "He said this was revenge for Russia's destruction in 1812?"

Bilo rubbed his hands excitedly. "There is even better news. His Majesty the Tsar hopes to attend the ceremony of His Majesty the King being crowned as the Emperor of the German Empire. The Russians have clearly sided with us!"

"No one can stop the birth of a Greater German Empire now!" Bismarck let out a long sigh. "I am going to the Berlin Palace to see His Majesty. Also," he sneered, "tell the editor-in-chief of the Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung that the headline on the front page tomorrow will be 'His Majesty the Tsar praises the glorious military achievements of our Prussian Army'."

(End of this chapter)