Hidden Dragon in Qing Dynasty

It was far more than a disaster! At this moment, the French soldiers's life was practically on the edge of hell, the entire army's supplies were in complete disarray. Napoleon III and his generals' tactical thinking had not improved at all compared to before.

Maybe Napoleon was still daydreaming about his uncle's glorious days of travelling to Egypt and Russia. At that time, France had indeed formed a huge army of 600,000 and defeated the Russian army many times.

In the eyes of these senior French officials, when Emperor Napoleon was able to organize six hundred thousand Expeditionary forces, the pressure on the logistics side of France was not that big of a threat to Prussia.

In addition, France's national power had grown very quickly over the years. Just by looking at the accounts, the entire France had an extremely rich reserve of military supplies, even if it was to support an army of a million soldiers.

Three hundred thousand soldiers on an expedition to Prussia?

It was precisely this kind of blind arrogance and conceit that had caused them to suffer greatly. No one had considered the original intention of Emperor Napoleon's talent and the excellence of the group of officials he led back then.

Most importantly, Napoleon's Expeditionary forces could eat the enemy easily, so robbing them along the way would of course relieve the pressure on their logistics system … But even so, the Great Emperor Napoleon had no choice but to lose in the Russian winter because of logistics!

But right now, Napoleon III and his government officials were unable to see this point clearly. Maybe, only his son, the crown prince, Ou Ren, could. Bonaparte was somewhat calm.

However, he was too young and could not control his father's decisions, much less control the nation's surging fanaticism!

The imperial guards kept moving westward while his own imperial guard, the cavalry regiment, kept bringing him the latest intelligence. Everything that happened along the way made the crown prince feel worried!

Along the way, the Crown Prince saw with his own eyes countless citizens of small towns and villages excitedly walking the streets to welcome the army. However, these kind-hearted citizens had no choice but to come into contact with the army's quartermaster officers.

These people did not know why the army did not bring food and fodder, but instead bought it from the peasants. Almost all the villages that the army passed through were plundered.

At this time, French nationalism was the world's greatest, and the people's patriotism was extremely high. They sold their food to the army at the lowest price, and some villages even provided coffee, bread, and sausages for the army for free.

No one would ponder over the reason why the emperor's army didn't even stutter. Their mood had long fallen into a frenzy of victory and celebration.

The hundred thousand soldiers of the Central Army of the French Emperor ate all the supplies along the way from Paris to the west like locusts. Whether it was the city or the countryside, almost everything that the army could use had been expropriated. The only thing that made the crown prince relieved was that the army did not loot on a large scale.

"Your Highness …" It was not going to work if this continued! Food and horse material can be collected from the common people, but the most important thing right now is the military supplies. Along the way, I've already checked ten military armory and found an unknown amount of messy accounting materials everywhere! "

"I'll let the logistics officials temporarily arrange the ammunition. The bullets are barely enough to last for ten days of intense combat. However, our cannons are only enough for two days of intense combat …"

"Why are there so few? I clearly remember that there were at least 110,000 rounds of artillery shells along the way? How is it only enough for two days of fighting? "

The military logistics officer said with a pained expression, "Your Highness, let's not look at the accounts anymore. I know that the accounts do have accounts, but where are they? I can't find it! "

"These damned bastards, have they gotten corrupt? Did he steal it and sell it? Even the temporary transfer of the warehouse was not done in time? All of these things are possible... "

"To tell you the truth, Your Highness, artillery shells are definitely there. It's definitely enough to be used by the troops …" "But I can't find them. I don't know where they hid them!"

The Prince Eugen felt dizzy listening to what his subordinate had said. He knew what his subordinate said was correct, the empire had indeed produced a lot of weapons and supplies, but these supplies and supplies caused the corrupt and incompetent bureaucratic class to become unusually chaotic.

"This war is too hasty... I have to see my father! " Crown Prince spurred his horse forward.

At this time, Napoleon III was standing on a hill beside an official road, surrounded by his generals, and in front of him was an endless rolling army formation.

The long lines of soldiers lifted up the dust and formed a black cloud over the earth, a golden iron horse and a murderous spirit, and all men would feel their blood boil over such a scene.

Soldiers marched on the rhythmic drumming of the war drums, mules pulled cannon after cannon in the middle of the road, the cavalry squadrons flanking the flanks, the supply wagons out of sight.

The French Emperor knew that the local citizens were cheering for the emperor and they were welcoming the emperor's army.

"The countryside is still the best!" Simple and unsophisticated... "Now that I think about it, the air in Paris stinks!" The French Emperor said with a wry smile.

Marshal Ba Zan knew what the emperor was thinking. Paris was a place where both the fishes and the dragons mixed together, making it the most intense place in the Workers' Movement. Paris, which had experienced the great revolution, was originally a nightmare for all the emperors.

"Your Majesty! After this war is victorious, we can just directly cut off the land west of the Rhine. When the time comes, you can build the most beautiful palace in the occupied areas and breathe in the fresher air every day! "

"Haha …" This suggestion is not bad, but I heard that the Swan Fortress built by Ludwig II is still pretty good! After this war, maybe I can live in peace! "

"Yes!" "Your majesty, your brave soldiers will place their flags at the top of the castle!" All the generals stood at attention to make a decision against the emperor.

At that moment, the crown prince and his men rushed up the hill and jumped down before the warhorses could stop.

"Father! I implore you to let the army rest between Lance and Salon for three days … Can you give me three days time to transfer the materials? "

"My child, didn't I already say that? Three days is enough for the Prussian to have a force of eighty to ninety thousand soldiers, we cannot afford to delay any longer! " French Emperor shook his head.

"Father! Please listen to the feedback from the front lines! " The Crown Prince was so anxious that his mouth was full of bitterness.

Look, this is a telegram from Verdun in the morning. Where is the Queen's cavalry stationed at?