The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 922 The Final Battle of France (Part 2)
Chartres, a small town 100 kilometers southwest of Paris.

The war was nearing its end. Napoleon had halted Wellington's advance, but at a great cost.

He had brought 70,000 elite French troops from the Metz-Nancy line, but more than 20% of them had been lost, and the troops were exhausted.

Many officers and soldiers of divisions and brigades were unwilling to continue the offensive, or even to hold their posts in Shattrath, and requested to rest on the spot.

By this point in the war, even Napoleon himself began to doubt his own existence, because this was the first time he had faced the British army and felt powerless.

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, was undoubtedly the most pivotal and also the most extraordinary genius commander in English history.

It could even be said that England during this period could do without Nelson, but not without Wellington.

The English Navy was full of talented people. Without Nelson, they might not have been able to defeat the French Navy so quickly, but the ultimate victor would still have been the English Navy.

But if the army were to lose the Duke of Wellington, it would be hard to say.

This was truly a calamity ordained by the French and Napoleon. In the English army, which had always consisted of small, elite armies of less than ten thousand men, and whose numbers would be disastrous if they exceeded ten thousand, the Duke of Wellington had miraculously emerged as a commander of a large army.

He was as cunning as a fox and as ruthless as a jackal. He was strict in disciplining his troops, possessed extremely high personal charisma, and was very good at turning geographical conditions into his own advantages.

During the Waterloo period in history, the Duke of Wellington served as Field Marshal of seven nations, demonstrating his remarkable ability to unite a coalition of forces with their own ulterior motives.

Seeing that the French army was already considering avoiding battle, Napoleon had no choice but to go to the front line himself to boost morale and order the artillery to carry out a final round of bombardment.

However, the effect was not good, because the Duke of Wellington invented a tactic of avoiding artillery fire by positioning his troops behind the slope on a hillside and then moving into position after the enemy's artillery barrage had passed.

Although this sounds simple, it actually depends a lot on whether the commander can make full and accurate use of the terrain, and it also places high demands on the quality of the troops.

The latter point is particularly important. Commanding thousands or tens of thousands of troops to avoid artillery fire in the midst of intense bombardment is simply impossible without strict military discipline, sufficient training, and the commander's strong prestige.

Otherwise, once the army begins to move, it will be the beginning of a disaster.

Soldiers are often disoriented by the intense explosions and desert, or linger after the shelling ends, leading to the loss of positions.

At that point, it's no longer about avoiding artillery fire on a reverse slope, but about a complete rout.

This tactic was first used by the Duke of Wellington, and its greatest historical implementation was by the Chinese People's Volunteer Army on the Korean battlefield.

During the famous Battle of Shangganling, the Chinese People's Volunteer Army used this tactic to its fullest extent, and no one has been able to surpass it to this day.

The Duke of Wellington's second move was the use of cavalry.

At this time, all cavalry, especially European cavalry, had a major flaw: once they charged, they would quickly lose control.

The commanders couldn't control the cavalry generals, the cavalry generals couldn't control the junior officers, and the junior officers were mostly just as hot-headed as the soldiers.

This often leads to pursuing beyond what is necessary, crashing into the enemy infantry's volley range, or being surrounded by the enemy, quickly turning a victory into a defeat.

Therefore, the Duke of Wellington's biggest requirement for his cavalry was that they control the pursuit range and strictly prohibit it from exceeding one mile, or about 1.6 kilometers.

This distance is actually very suitable for the current battlefield, because modern infantry are in very layered square formations. If you chase for more than a mile, you will easily enter the volley range of the next infantry square.

Napoleon, holding a telescope, watched helplessly as his army was routed by Wellington's cavalry.

After the British infantry opened fire at close range and repelled a French force, the cavalry charged forward in formation. They charged for a mile before stopping and retreating to protect the flanks of the infantry, waiting for the next opportunity to force the French to retreat before pursuing them.

The French army was thrown into disarray by the repeated, short, and fierce attacks of volleys and cavalry, and they were unable to find an effective way to break through. The damage gradually increased in the midst of the chaos.

Seeing all this, Napoleon himself, his generals, and even junior officers all felt a strong sense of impending doom for the empire.

Not only were they unable to repel the allied forces from the east, but now they couldn't even defeat the English army.

Forced into a corner, Napoleon had no choice but to abandon his offensive plan, and his pre-arranged plan to defeat the British army within half a month completely failed.

However, Napoleon quickly devised a series of supplementary operational plans based on the actual situation, utilizing local advantages to cut off the British army's supply lines.

This was very effective. As the French army confronted them head-on, the tactic of harassing their rear was implemented, and the Duke of Wellington's pressure increased dramatically.

However, the Duke of Wellington remained calm, for he knew very well that every day he held out here, the anti-French coalition forces along the Metz-Nancy line would have an easier time.

His army's current rations can last for another month, and if Napoleon had that time, Paris would certainly have fallen.

Time was on the Duke of Wellington's side, so he didn't care about the French army covering his retreat, and Napoleon would definitely flee ahead of time.

“I wronged Joseph, I wronged Massena. The Duke of Wellington is not an opponent that can be easily defeated.”

Napoleon now understood the kind of life Massena had in Spain; no wonder he had lost so many men.

At this moment, the French Emperor was extremely anxious. He summoned Marshal Saint-Cyr and said, "Marshal, I must return to the Lorraine region to stop those damned enemy troops. I am entrusting this place to you."

"Don't launch an attack on the English. Hold them off until we win on the Eastern Front, then I will deal with them naturally."

Saint-Cyr stared at Napoleon in shock, but quickly recovered and lowered his head. Napoleon, at this moment, was like a gambling dog about to jump off a rooftop, completely desperate.

Not only do they blindly believe in their own abilities and luck, but they also grasp at whatever comes their way as a lifeline.

You said you came to the western front to deal with the English army so you could focus on the eastern front.

Now that you can't advance on the western front, you're thinking of returning to the eastern front to quickly defeat the larger anti-French coalition forces. Why are you constantly switching sides and exhausting your troops like fools?
Napoleon probably knew that his arrangement was a bit outrageous, so he didn't say anything more and, with a mindset of wanting to escape as quickly as possible, told Marshal Saint-Cyr to hurry up and make preparations.

The following evening, Napoleon secretly led three grenadier regiments of the Old Guard, two cavalry regiments of the Young Guard, and a portion of the French army, totaling more than 20,000 men, away from the Western Front and rushed towards the Eastern Front without stopping.

But Napoleon had no idea how much the Metz-Nancy defensive line would change after he left the Eastern Front.

At this time, France had experienced a continuous war that lasted for twenty-one years after the execution of Louis XVI. Many of these wars were extremely intense and often involved the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops.

This severely damaged the French economy, with most of the country's wealth going to the war each year, and even middle-class peasant families who had acquired land during the French Revolution began to face a wave of bankruptcies.

Therefore, at this time, the French Empire was not only on the verge of collapse in terms of its army, but also in terms of its national finances and public morale.

In this context, the theory proposed by Count Talleyrand the Cripple and his faction—that they should abandon foreign wars, abandon the continental blockade, and establish good relations with other countries to allow the people to recuperate—became particularly attractive.

When Napoleon was on the Eastern Front, he could suppress these emotions, but once he left, Louis Davout and Marmont were simply unable to stabilize morale, and besides, neither of them were particularly reliable.

Even more seriously, a large number of people within the army were looking for a way out. They colluded with Count Talleyrand and informed the anti-French coalition forces of Napoleon's departure at the first opportunity.

Therefore, as soon as Napoleon left, the fighting along the Metz-Nancy line quickly moved in a direction that was extremely unfavorable to France.

Taking advantage of Napoleon's departure with 70,000 main troops, Field Marshal Blücher of Prussia, Archduke Karl of Austria, and Li Xingtai launched a massive campaign with over 200,000 troops attacking simultaneously.

Within three days, the French army lost more than 20,000 men and more than ten important strongholds. With their morale and fighting spirit unstable, they were directly pushed back.

Before Napoleon left, the two cities of Metz and Nancy served as a rear support base for the French army, but now Metz and Nancy became an isolated fortress.

The Battle of Metz-Nancy, which was originally a good one, suddenly turned into the defense of Metz-Nancy.

Even worse news came from Belgium.

Qin San, also known as Qin Dingyang, finally regained the confidence that Napoleon had shattered. This Zhuang man from Guixian (Guigang), Guangxi, was so poor that he went to Southeast Asia at the age of sixteen.

He fought his way through countless battles, conquering all the envoys in the South Seas and even suppressing rebellions on the Qiangtang Plateau. From the lowest rungs of society, he rose through the ranks at the age of forty, overcoming the crucial hurdle of becoming a colonel to a general, and becoming a junior general in the Great Yu Dynasty.

If Qin Dingyang's ability to lead troops into battle were evaluated within the context of the Three Kingdoms period, it would probably be comparable to that of Liao Hua and Wang Ping. However, he had one very significant advantage.

Since he joined the army, he has always led and commanded various troops, including soldiers from different ethnic groups in Southeast Asia, Dai and Jingpo troops in Northeast India, Tibetan troops in the Qiangtang Plateau, Indian troops in the Ganges River Basin, and Portuguese volunteers.

He had extensive experience in how to integrate a mob that even struggled to communicate in a language.

On November 17, Qin San led an army of 11 south to attack Mons, which was occupied by the Walloons.

The Dutch laborers who came with the army numbered over 100,000. They helped the army carry the English fleet's cannons ashore and bombarded Mons. In one day, Mons was hit by more than 6,000 bombs and incendiary shells. The Walloon militia could not withstand such a bombardment and tried to abandon Mons and escape, but they were completely blocked.

On November 19, Qin San swiftly defeated more than a dozen Walloon militia groups around Mons, killing and wounding more than 11 people and completely dismantling the Walloon resistance.

He then led his army to advance behind Metz, defeating several French militia groups in succession, and even stormed into Châlons, a major town east of Paris, posing a great threat to the supply lines of the French army in Metz.

Under these circumstances, Louis Davout, who was stationed in Metz, had no choice but to take the initiative and attempt to eliminate Qin San's 60,000 men.

On November 22, Qin San's troops advanced at full speed and seized Verdun, a key town between Chalon and Metz, before Davout could arrive. It was a town famous during World War I.

Knowing that the main French force was looking for him, he deliberately exposed himself at Verdun, putting his army in a situation where it was surrounded by a large number of French troops and French militia.

Li Xingtai quickly realized that Qin San's purpose was to force the French army to launch a large-scale siege, thereby exposing the situation to the anti-French coalition forces in the east.

At this point, Louis Davout's resolve had been shattered, because any choice he made would have serious consequences.

If they choose to continue holding out around Metz, then Verdun will be cut off, and their logistics will be virtually nonexistent.

Choosing to attack Qin San is an open and decisive move. If he can quickly defeat Qin San, the battle can continue. If he cannot defeat Qin San quickly, he will be caught in a pincer attack by the anti-French coalition and will be doomed to defeat.

Ultimately, Louis Davout, utterly despairing of the war's outcome, chose to take a desperate gamble, drawing a large number of troops from Metz and its surrounding areas to launch a counterattack against Qin San.

Qin San had anticipated this. Before Louis Davout set off, he forced his tens of thousands of troops to massacre the city of Verdun and the surrounding area, along with more than 20,000 French laborers they had captured.

Under Qin San's supervision, the Belgians and Dutch, weeping bitterly, massacred 70,000 to 80,000 locals in a single day.

Anyone who could be seen was executed, regardless of age or gender, ensuring that virtually every Dutchman and Belgian had the blood of the French on their hands.

Having finished their killings, the Belgians and Dutch, knowing that they would likely be devoured alive by the French if they were defeated, unleashed an extremely fierce fighting spirit, truly fighting to the death.

This battle completely stunned Louis Davout, who had never seen such a method of bolstering morale as Chen Qingzhi's.

This is the advantage of a long history; predecessors have already tested every method. Back then, thousands of troops avoided the white-robed general, which was so impressive. As long as later generations are willing, they can definitely learn the essence.

The French army launched an uphill attack from the foot of the mountain and fought for four days without making any progress. Finally, when Li Xingtai led 60,000 infantry and cavalry around Metz and appeared behind the French army, the French army, which had been on edge for a long time, completely collapsed.

Most of them were only temporarily recruited, with at most some military background. A small number of them were elite troops who were the backbone of the force, but they were also extremely tired and demoralized on the Spanish battlefield.

On November 28, the French army under Louis Davout collapsed, losing more than 11 men. The rest were captured, and most were forced to retreat south to Nancy.

And this became the final straw that broke the back of the French army in Nancy.

"I risked coming here to leave France with a final guarantee. Defeat in the war was inevitable. Napoleon's ambition and morbid desires have dragged us all into hell."

I think we can all see the day when France is occupied by the Allied forces, but I hope that this occupation will not last long. Therefore, maintaining a fighting force is the best bargaining chip.

And this task, God, Mother France, and the moderates I represent, entrust to you.

"Marshal Marmont, whether or not France can be saved rests in your decision!"

The man speaking so inflammatoryly in Nancy was none other than the French Foreign Minister, Napoleon's opponent, Count Talleyrand the Lame.

The people who heard him say this were Marshal Marmont, who was stationed in Nancy, and his main generals.

“I don’t want to tarnish your sincere hearts for Mother France with anything else, but I must say this now: preserving this army is preserving yourselves. His Majesty always needs some capable generals to serve him.”

Seeing that Marmont was interested but still hesitant, Count Talleyrand immediately raised the stakes, implying that Marshal Marmont and his generals could be pardoned or even reinstated.

Because the "His Majesty" he referred to was no longer Napoleon, the French Emperor, but Louis XVIII, the King of the Bourbon dynasty.

Marmont was completely shaken, even though Napoleon was his benefactor and everything he had was given to him by Napoleon.

But at this moment, when not only his family and his future, but also the lives of everyone who follows him are tied to his decision, the so-called gratitude and righteousness seem so insignificant.

On December 2, Marmont gathered his 12 elite French troops in Nancy under the guise of rewarding them.

Just as these exhausted soldiers were devouring white bread with stewed beef and fish fillets, praising the rare delicacy, tens of thousands of elite anti-French troops entered Nancy and surrounded them.

Subsequently, a small mutiny broke out among the French troops who had no ammunition with them. Several thousand officers and soldiers loyal to Napoleon attempted to break out of Nancy, but after causing hundreds of casualties, everyone accepted the reality.

The vast majority of the French troops in Nancy laid down their arms and became prisoners of the anti-French coalition.

At this moment, Napoleon, who had just reached the outskirts of Paris, heard news from Metz-Nancy, especially the news of Marmont's betrayal, and the already exhausted emperor collapsed.

"The ungrateful person will suffer far more for the rest of his life than I have!"

Amidst angry curses, the old guard escorted the emperor back to Paris, and the Battle of Paris began.

On December 8, the anti-French coalition forces captured Reims and Chalons, about 12 kilometers east of Paris, and began to concentrate their supplies there.

On December 10, Prince Schwarzenberg's 12-strong Prussian-Austrian mixed army continued its advance toward Paris. Their mission was to establish outposts around Paris and tie down the main French forces in the surrounding area.

However, due to poor communication among the allied forces, Prince Schwarzenberg, a senior German nobleman, was somewhat jealous of Mogölze's prestige, and the 20,000-strong Prussian-Austrian allied army moved too quickly, becoming a little too far from the main force.

Once Napoleon recovered in Paris, he immediately seized the opportunity and ordered over 10,000 men, including the Young Guard, to attack.

This battle was fought brilliantly. The French suffered only a little over a thousand casualties, while the Austro-Prussian coalition suffered a major defeat, losing over ten thousand men, with only a few thousand managing to escape in disarray.

Unfortunately, this did little to change the situation; the fall of the French Empire was only a matter of time.

On December 17, with the assistance of Grand Duke Karl and Gui Han, Mo Gongze personally led 12 anti-French allied troops to approach the city of Mo.

The word "meaux" is pronounced as "mo" in French, just like in Chinese.

This city is located directly east of Paris, about forty kilometers from the city center. The Marne and Ourc rivers converge here, making its geographical location extremely important. It is the last gateway to Paris from the east.

Historically, one of the important battles of the Battle of the Marne was fought here during World War I.

Before the Dunkirk evacuation during World War II, the British and French forces fiercely resisted the German armored divisions here, buying precious time for the retreat.

Historically, to advance into Paris from the east, Mochette must be captured.

“This city is a perfect match for my family name, it’s a connection between us!” Mo Gongze laughed and looked at Louis XVIII beside him.

In fact, he already knew about this city; after all, such coincidences are rare.

In particular, his father, Mo Zirong, was once called Duke M. Their family name in Europe was M, and many Europeans at that time thought that their family's fiefdom was here.

Louis XVIII was also doing well, and the French nobles in exile behind him were all beaming with joy.

After more than twenty years, I can finally return to my hometown and continue to lord it over everyone.

"After we overthrow that Corsican cannibal empire, I request that the taxes from Mo City be offered to His Majesty Emperor Seris as a token of the Bourbon family's gratitude to the Emperor."

Louis XVIII has now figured it out: he still needs to cling to the coattails of the Eastern Emperor. That way, even if the Bourbon family runs into trouble in France again, they can at least flee to the East.

"After His Majesty returns to Paris, will he continue to call himself Emperor?" Mo Gongze said with a hint of joking.

“Of course not. In the West, only the monarchs of the Roman Empire could be called emperors, and France is not part of the Roman Empire.” Louis XVIII shook his head decisively. He knew that France would have to give back all the territory it had taken over the years, especially northern Italy.

Without northern Italy, without mules and horses, what was the point of him calling himself emperor? Did he think he didn't have enough enemies?

"Tell the generals to prepare for a tough battle; the Parisians will not surrender so easily!"

Having received an affirmative answer, Mo Gongze became very wary; he knew all too well how formidable these Parisians were.

(End of this chapter)