French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 123 The Situation of the Northern Route Army: Ups and Downs (Seeking first subscription, collection, and continued reading)

The rebellion was suppressed on the 17th, and the government held a meeting on the 18th. On the 18th, the Northern Route Army arrived in Reims after narrowly escaping death. "I know everyone is in a hurry, but please don't rush."

Mayor Reims, who hadn't finished speaking, looked at the French generals arguing in front of him. He waited until they finished before continuing.

To make sure the chaotic army could hear him, Mayor Lance raised his voice before delivering the clarification.

"Gentlemen, please be quiet. His Majesty Napoleon III did indeed surrender at Verdun, but the so-called Provisional Government of the Republic is merely a facade for Republican rebels to seize power."

Just yesterday, Crown Prince Eugène led the Legion of Paris to quell the Paris rebellion. The rebel leader, Trochet, was arrested, a new imperial government has been formed, and order has been fully restored in Paris.

Such dramatic ups and downs, who could possibly endure this convoluted dialogue?

Undoubtedly, everyone present was stunned. The crowd, which had been arguing fiercely just moments before, suddenly fell silent.

Such outrageous information will certainly be disbelieved by some. Who would believe it? Just now it was said that a coup had occurred in Paris, that the Republicans had overthrown the Second Empire, and established the Provisional Government of the Third French Republic.

In the blink of an eye, the Empire suppressed the Republic. If the Empire were really that powerful, how could it have been defeated by Prussia?

Among them, Vinua, who was already more inclined towards the Republican Party, was naturally the least accepting of Lance's explanation, believing that Mayor Lance had fabricated a lie to appease them.

Unable to remain silent any longer, Vinua was the first to jump out and question the mayor of Lance.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible! How could the Republican Party be wiped out so quickly? Go ahead and fabricate news if you want!"

Facing Vinua, who was a corps commander and ranked one rank higher than him, Vinua seemed somewhat puzzled, not very happy, and even a little exasperated.

However, unable to understand why the other party would act this way, Mayor Reims calmly took out the telegram sent to him by the Paris authorities.

The telegraph itself is a symbol of authority, and in France, only major cities and the front lines of battle have the custom of sending telegraphs.

The fact that Mayor Reims could produce a telegram from Paris already told everyone present that the situation in Paris might indeed be as he described, or even if it wasn't that good, it was definitely not at the point of the empire's collapse.

However, under everyone's gaze, Mayor Lance's eyes still fell on the telegram, and with a flick of his wrist, a second telegram emerged from underneath.

There's a second copy? Amidst all the astonished gazes, Mayor Lance read out the contents word by word.

"The first one is a telegram from Paris, which is also the evidence I told you about the Reich's suppression of the Republicans. The second one is a telegram I received half an hour ago from Marshal Conrobel."

Previously, news of your Northern Route Army had already been reported to the government by the people who saw it along the way. Therefore, the Marshal has already taken supplies and is traveling to Reims by military train. It will take him at most two hours to arrive.

Knowing that you had successfully broken through, the Marshal specially allocated some supplies from the Paris Legion's rear guard. He also said that the main force of the Paris Legion was currently deployed along the Marne River, only half a day's journey from Reims, so you wouldn't need to worry too much about the Prussian pursuers.

Hearing what the mayor of Lance said, based on the contents of the telegram.

Immediately, the guards officers, unable to sit still any longer, disregarded Mayor Lance's feelings and snatched the two telegrams from his hands, which he had just finished reading. They then gathered around to examine them.

From time to time, exclamations could be heard from the group of senior officers who were gathered together.

The commotion drew eager gazes from all around, focusing on the French soldiers, who were also itching to know the truth of the information.

Bulbaki, holding the telegram, had read the entire message and was now certain that it was indeed a message from the Imperial Government, from Cornwall.

He looked up at the crowd around him, unable to discern the truth or authenticity of the telegram.

Feeling countless burning gazes focused on him, a somewhat heavy-hearted Bulbaqi looked around and nodded quite solemnly.

With his nod, it was as if the fuse of an explosive had burned out. The next second, a huge cheer erupted in the crowd, and the effect continued to spread until it surrounded the entire Northern Route Army.

"The Empire still stands, His Highness still stands!"

The Northern Route Army, mainly composed of the Imperial Guard, generally still has a strong sense of loyalty to the Empire. The news from Mayor Lance is truly good news for them.

While some were happy, others were sad. While Bulbaqi and the others were having a good time, Vinua stood there speechless, unable to control his facial expressions, his face extremely pale.

However, no one cares about him during such a joyous occasion.

Even Bulbaki, the commander of the northern army standing beside Vinua, suddenly relaxed his brow, which had been furrowed for days.

Although it was confirmed, the joy and disbelief in his heart made Bourbaki read the telegram over and over again, but he refused to show it to anyone else.

The two telegrams, though seemingly light, made Bulbaqi's hands tremble slightly. Such emotional swings were not uncommon for ordinary soldiers; he was no exception. He had been constantly worried that chaos had broken out at the rear, leaving them homeless even if they managed to break through.

Now that things are stable in the rear, they can get support.

After the initial excitement, there were two hours to wait while the main group rested, and then Bulbaqi began to arrange the work.

With his colleagues arriving soon, Bourbaki ordered some men to clean the train station. Although he didn't think the Prussians could catch up quickly, Bourbaki still set up sentries.

Despite the cheers, most soldiers were still unaware of the specifics, so in order to reassure them...

Bourbaki immediately relayed the news of the suppression of the rebellion.

Although not as strong as Vinua's reaction, quite a few soldiers did not believe it at first.

The soldiers later saw the generals inspecting the troops, and after asking them questions, they received nods of approval, in addition to the telegrams posted on the notice board.

The morale of the Northern Route Army, which had been extremely low, suddenly soared.

The soldiers who had previously trampled the imperial insignia under their feet hurriedly returned and searched the ground for the insignia. After picking it up, they immediately wiped it clean with their sleeves and then pinned it back to their chests.