Fox of France

The coward took Napoleon and the infantry slowly towards Varenna, and kept getting new news along the way.

It is said that the king's carriage passed through a small town called Saint-Mernould on the evening of the second day after he fled, and was exposed when he was resting at the post station there. It was then stopped in Varenna by the local city council and the National Guard.

"What's going on? How could they not arrive at Saint-Mernould the next evening?" Napoleon still couldn't figure out what was going on. Meddy ran back and forth!"

However, this question was quickly resolved. On the morning of the fourth day, the infantry led by Joseph and Napoleon finally reunited with the king. At this time, there were thousands of people surrounding the king's chariot. Most of these people were the National Guards and citizens of the towns along the road. They all held various weapons and "guarded" beside the king's chariot, while the cavalry led by Robert followed behind the chariot.

"They actually got such a car! Are they fleeing or going on a picnic?" Looking at the king's carriage, Napoleon was dumbfounded.

Indeed, the king's carriage was too unsuitable for a flight.

It was an oversized, luxurious carriage drawn by twelve horses. The carriage is not only large, but also exquisitely decorated, whether it is the gorgeous relief on the door panel or the golden lantern, they are all extremely luxurious. The king's family, plus tutors and nanny, as many as nine people were sitting in this luxury car.

"Who planned this for the king? To use such a car? He almost didn't put golden irises on the door! Is this because people don't notice! God, what kind of idiots are there around the king? Ah!" Napoleon couldn't help but said to Joseph.

"Napoleon, don't get excited. You have to know that human IQ has no lower limit." Joseph shook his head and said, "Some people can always make you dumbfounded because of their stupidity."

The escape of Louis XVI was indeed very clumsily organized. Ever since they made up their minds to flee Paris, the king's family has been preparing for it. The escape was hosted by Queen Mary and arranged by her lover Faison. According to Feisen's original plan, they should take several two-wheeled carriages and escape from different roads.

If such an approach is taken, it will be almost impossible for the parliament to capture the fleeing king again. However, the queen was very resistant to this method, because it meant that she had to be separated from the children on the way to escape. In the midst of this, what if the kids have a fever? What if the children get lost? In case...then the queen said firmly: "The family must stay together neatly and never separate."

Obviously, it is impossible for the two-wheeled carriage to carry the king's family neatly. The queen was very stubborn in this matter, and no one could persuade her. In theory, the king has more say in this matter, and the king also understands that the original plan obviously has a higher success rate, but the king has been silent and has not expressed his opinion. Thus, the plan of escape in a buggy was shot down. The only option was a large four-wheeled carriage.

If you just use a four-wheeled carriage, it's not a big deal. There are many four-wheeled carriages running on the roads near Paris. Find an inconspicuous four-wheeled mail van, and then arrange for a pick-up, the chances of a successful escape are still high.

However, the queen was still dissatisfied with this plan, because the environment of the mail car was too bad, the benches were too hard, and the interior was too crowded... If the princes and princesses would definitely get sick if they bumped around in such a car for a day or two. Moreover, the princes and princesses still need the care of nanny on the road, and they are also reluctant to part with their tutor, Mrs. Tuzel. Together with the king's sister, Mrs. Elizabeth, and the guards, this carriage must be able to accommodate at least nine people!

In fact, it is not impossible to accommodate so many people in a four-wheeled mail van. Even, if necessary, two or three times that number could be packed in the mail car. You know, as long as you are good at using space, you can always squeeze more people into a limited space. You know, in one of the largest democratic countries in later generations, even a motorcycle can hold a whole mountain company or even a mountain camp.

However, it is absolutely impossible for nobles such as kings, queens, princes, and princesses to complete space folding like those low-caste humanoids. So the only way is to build an oversized carriage. So Feisen specially asked someone to customize an oversized carriage, which could ensure that nine people could sit on it and still have a good space.

Such a carriage is naturally very large. In order to ensure its reliability and ensure that the wheels and axles will not be broken halfway, these parts need to be specially reinforced. And all this had a new consequence - the cart was so heavy that the normal number of horses couldn't pull it. So twelve horses had to be prepared for the carriage.

Even so, if the organization is effective, the success rate of escape is still very high. However, there were some problems on the Austrian side, which was responsible for the response, which caused the escape time to be continuously delayed. In the process, the cavalry under the Marquis de Bouille, who was in charge of supporting the king, was mobilized many times, which also aroused the suspicion of the local people. This also laid the groundwork for the subsequent failure of the escape.

Even so, though, the escape had a high chance of success.

However, on the night of the scheduled escape, Lafayette and Bayi suddenly came to meet the king. This visit shocked both Louis XVI and the queen, who thought they had exposed their actions. As a result, Lafayette and the others were not aware of the king's actions, but only mediated the conflict between the king and the parliament caused by church affairs not long ago. The king was full of hope that they would leave as soon as possible, but he dared not behave differently from before. And these two people are very good at talking, they stayed in the palace until half past eleven before taking their leave. This made the king's departure more than an hour later than originally scheduled.

As soon as Lafayette left, the king retired to his chambers, and pretended to go to bed, so as to deceive the spies who were arranged in the palace. As soon as the door was closed and the lights were extinguished, he jumped out of bed and ran, barefoot, into his son's room, where the clothes, wig, and a servant's hat for the disguise were already there. And his son had already quietly left. He changed his clothes and walked down the stairs quietly, with Feisen's attendant leading him. Wearing a green coat and a servant's hat, the king easily passed through the guards and walked out of the palace. The guard murmured at the time: "This fat man is really fat. He must be a cook who steals the king's good things every day."

The king got into the carriage, and all the people were there. Feisen released the brakes of the carriage, and the escape journey began.

However, the escape was not smooth from the beginning. Because the carriage is too big, and the roads in Paris are too narrow in comparison, the speed of the carriage needs to be reduced to the point where it almost stops every time it turns—this is completely beyond Feisen’s expectations—after all, who I have never driven such a huge carriage. It turned out that it took a full two hours just to leave Paris. It took more than double the normal time.

Finally, the carriage drove out of Paris. The carriage changed here for a coachman, and Feisen changed into a light carriage and left by another road. If the carriage can run at full speed after this, the king's family can still escape. However, the carriage was so heavy that the coachman feared that driving too fast at night might cause the wheels to hit potholes in the road, causing damage to the wheels and axles. Therefore, the speed of the carriage still cannot be increased.

But no matter what, the carriage kept moving away from Paris, away from the prison of the king's family.

During such a drive, the sky gradually dawned, and the horses began to tire. The carriage changed horses at the predetermined horse-changing place, and the king also got off the carriage to take a breath-no matter how luxurious the carriage is, it is still tiring to sit for a long time.

However, the king seemed to have forgotten his situation a bit. After he got out of the car, he started talking with the farmers on the side of the road. It never occurred to him that his whereabouts would be exposed by doing so. You know, his carriage is already conspicuous enough, and his own image is on the portraits of various town halls and Louis gold coins. In fact, the parliamentary representatives who came out later caught up with the king based on the clues provided by these witnesses.

Then along the way, the carriage stopped several times so that the distinguished passengers on it could have a good rest. As a result, their itinerary was much slower than planned.

At around four o'clock that afternoon, the carriage arrived at Xialong. According to the plan, the cavalry of the Marquis de Bouille with replacement horses were supposed to meet the king a short distance ahead and escort them to Montmedy.

Here, however, the king did not meet the cavalry. Instead, it was their over-the-top carriage that aroused the suspicion of the locals.

At the scheduled rendezvous, the king encountered only one cavalryman. The cavalry told them that the Duke of Choiseul had waited here with the German cavalry (because the French cavalry may be inclined to the parliament and is unreliable, so they can only use these mercenaries) and waited here for several hours. caught the attention of the locals. To avoid further suspicion, the duke left with his cavalry. But he told the king to go on, and about two hours further on, there was another troop of cavalry waiting for them at Saint-Mernould.

By this time it was getting dark, and the horses in the king's carriage were exhausted. They walked for more than two hours and arrived at the next rendezvous point. However, there was still no cavalry waiting for them at this place—the cavalry was still here two hours ago, but because of a wrong order, the cavalry ran to Another way to wait for the king.

Failed to reconcile with the cavalry, the king's family could only continue to move forward in the carriage by themselves. At this time, his luxurious carriage that drove overnight had already aroused the suspicion of the citizens of Saint-Mernould. When Drouet, the postmaster, found that the king looked like the man on the Louis gold coin when he got off the carriage, he hurriedly notified the city council. At this time, the carriage left St. Menuld and continued on.

The city council of Saint-Mernould sent Drouet in pursuit of the king. He rode on horseback and took a detour to reach the small town of Varennes on the only road to Montmedy before the king. After getting the news, the citizens of Varenna sounded the alarm and stopped the king and his party—this was the end of the king's escape route, and he was still two hours away from his destination.

At this time, the Duke of Choiseul, who got the news, rushed over with his cavalry, but his light cavalry was blocked by the National Guard of Varennes, which was not dominant in numbers. Although they could already see the king's luxurious carriage, but at this moment, the world was far away. The Duke of Choiseul's cavalry retreated without attacking the National Guard. Maybe they were afraid of killing the king by mistake in the fight, maybe just let the king be taken back, for some, it was even better... who knows?