Chapter 466： Baron Raglan's visit to France

"I'll go!"

The guy who said this was none other than Baron Raglan, commander of the British Expeditionary Force.

At this time, Baron Raglan had no time to pay attention to the situation of the second batch of training troops. If the first batch of troops were all damaged in the Near East due to non-combat attrition, then Baron Glenn, the commander of the expeditionary force, would have come to an end!

At that time, he will not only have to face rebukes from the cabinet, royal family, and newspapers, but may also face rebukes from some nobles.

In the first batch of 20,000 troops to the Near East, most of the officers were children of nobles. The reason why nobles "entrusted" their children to Baron Raglan was that they hoped that Baron Raglan would lead them to victory. These noble children are not afraid of face-to-face life and death on the battlefield, but they are afraid of meaningless death.

Waiting for death brought them far more fear than battle and sum.

That's why many armies would rather risk their complete annihilation in battle than die from disease and severe cold weather.

No one loves Baron Raglan more clearly, how the original Emperor Napoleon failed and fled the Russian Empire in a twilight! A full 610,000 troops (including 300,000 in the French Empire) entered the Russian Empire, and in the end, less than 65,000 people escaped from Russia. All the essence of the First Empire was buried in the ice and snow of Russia, even if Napoleon later A new regiment was re-established, and its combat effectiveness was far less than the regiment that died in the Russian winter and became the fertilizer of the vast Russian land.

The British army is now facing the same danger as the French army at the time. If it is not careful, the 20,000 key members will be severely injured. In the future, even if some soldiers are recruited from other troops, in terms of combat, it is far inferior to the current army, so he, the commander, must arrive in the Near East to boost morale.

Prime Minister Palmerston was of course aware of this, and he immediately ordered Baron Raglan to set off as soon as possible, so as to reach the Near East within a week.

Baron Raglan, who took the order, immediately stood up from his seat and said goodbye to Prime Minister Palmerston. Baron Raglan needed to go back first to prepare the necessities for the Near East.

After watching Baron Raglan leave, Palmerston also issued an order to Lord Clarendon, ordering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue an order to Ambassador Canning in the Ottoman Empire to ensure the safety of life and property of British soldiers in Gallipoli Peninsula, When necessary, you can seek help from the French Empire!

Up to now, Palmerston can only pin his hopes on the supplies of the French Empire in Rhodes Island to meet the needs of the British Kingdom.

In the afternoon of the same day, Baron Raglan and his accompanying four adjutants set off from the British peninsula by steam express from the London Docks and arrived at the port of Normandy in the early morning of the next day.

[PS: At the same time, the commanders of the army except France had three or four adjutants around them to help the commander sort out plans, analyze the situation, and formulate plans. They were responsible for the work of the staff. Moreover, the ranks of these adjutants are mostly captains and majors, and it is rare for middle-level officers to serve as adjutants. Not so much an adjutant, but rather the commander's personal staff. Even Prussia, which already has a general staff, is no exception]

Baron Raglan, who disembarked from the port of Normandy, wore a black padded jacket and walked through the streets of the port of Normandy. Looking at the emerging industrial city in front of him, Baron Raglan couldn't help feeling the change of time.

A few decades ago in Normandy, the commercial atmosphere was not as developed as it is now. At that time, the place two kilometers away from the port was a barren land.

Today, under the influence of maritime trade and the industrial revolution, Normandy has become a booming city of textiles.

Although it is far less prosperous than Paris, Normandy, which relies on maritime transportation, has potential not to be underestimated.

With emotion, the arrogance of the Anza people and the hatred of the Napoleonic wars made Baron Raglan still full of prejudice against this French city.

When Baron Raglan was standing on the pier, he was talking about Normandy's inadequacies. The French who lived in Normandy and loved the city couldn't help but refute Baron Raglan.

If it weren't for the fact that Baron Raglan and the others were British, the surrounding French would have already retaliated against this rude old man.

Of course, this group of sincere French patriots did not know that the cynical old man in front of him was actually the adjutant of the Duke of Wellington decades ago.

Besides, Baron Raglan, who is still in his 70s, is not afraid of the provocation of two or three French "little devils" at all!

The lieutenants, unwilling to escalate the situation, had no choice but to drag the cynical old man on the same train to Paris.

After the train arrived in Rouen, it was told that due to a recent snowstorm in Paris, if you want to go to Paris, you must take a carriage. Sitting in the carriage, Baron Raglan complained about France again.

The hard-working adjutant had no choice but to contract a carriage to Paris for Baron Raglan, and a group of five rode the carriage to Paris at night.

The wind lanterns placed at the four corners of the carriage were swaying in the cold wind, and the snow on the road was gradually compacted by the repeated rolling of pedestrians and ruts, leaving only rows of footprints and wheel marks. There was a rustling sound on it.

...

Valley rolling

After a day and a night of driving, the group of Baron Ren finally arrived in Paris.

Baron Raglan, who had just arrived in Paris, had not had time to enjoy the warmth of Paris, and immediately went to work, it appears to have gone to the British Embassy in France, where he met with Ambassador Cowley.

Ambassador Cowley, who was enjoying the Opera House, was informed by the embassy secretary who had come looking for him that the Baron Raglan had arrived in Paris, said goodbye to the other ambassadors in the box, and rushed to the embassy.

Ambassador Cowley, who was with Baron Raglan at the embassy, ​​said respectfully to Baron Raglan: "Commander Raglan, welcome to Paris!"

"Ambassador Cowley, I must hurry to the Near East now to take over my blizzard-hit troops from the Duke of Cambridge. So, I want to complete a meeting with the Emperor of France as soon as possible, and then go to the Near East. Can it be done? ?" Baron Raglan asked resolutely.

After hesitating for a moment, Ambassador Cowley said firmly: "Please wait a moment! I will arrange a meeting between you and the Emperor of France as soon as possible!"

"Thank you very much!" Baron Raglan said to Ambassador Cowley.

For the next two days, Baron Raglan stayed in the embassy for strategic analysis, and the map he used was the travel map he brought from the British Kingdom Library.

That's right! Baron Raglan did not use professional maps, such as Lord De Roth's Diary of a Crimea Travel, and Major General Alexander Mackintosh's Diary of the Crimea.

After researching these two travel diaries, Baron Raglan even wondered if God was favoring the Russian Empire, and summoned a blizzard to trap the kingdom of Britain on the Gallipoli peninsula.

Because according to these two travel notes, winters in the Near East are very warm, and there are no blizzards at all. (It turned out that the authors of these two articles did not stay in the Near East for long at all)

Finally, on the following evening, Ambassador Cowley informed Baron Raglan that the French Emperor Jerome Bonaparte would meet with Baron Raglan on February 1st at the Tuileries, together with the French cabinet. .

"February 1st?" Baron Raglan glanced subconsciously at the calendar hanging on the wall of the embassy. It was now January 30th, which means that the meeting time was the day after tomorrow. He nodded to Ambassador Cowley. Said: "Yes!"

...

Time passed quickly, and soon came to February 1st.

Baron Raglan, who took off his regular clothes and put on a big red breasted military uniform, and his adjutant rode out of the embassy and traveled all the way, and arrived at the Tuileries Palace in less than ten minutes.

Baron Raglan and his adjutant, who dismounted in front of the courtyard of the Tuileries Palace, shook hands with Edgar Ney, the emperor's adjutant who was in charge of welcoming him.

"Your Majesty is inside!" Edgar Ney invited Baron Raglan and others to enter the Tuileries Palace.

After Baron Raglan and others stepped on the first steps of the Tuileries Palace, the "Guardian Army" in light blue military uniforms stood on both sides of the entrance of the Tuileries Palace, and at the same time pulled out the commander at the waist. The officer's saber pointed to the sky.

Immediately, the impassioned French military music sounded in the Tuileries Palace.

The expressions of Baron Raglan and his adjutant who were listening to the military music changed slightly He didn't know whether this was a welcome ceremony or a dismount.

Baron Raglan and his adjutants entered the hall of the Tuileries Palace under the leadership of General Edgar Ney.

Here, Baron Raglan saw the "Emperor Napoleon" in a Lev dress and a Napoleon cap.

In a trance, Baron Raglan felt as if he had returned to the era of golden iron horses decades ago. At that time, as the adjutant of the Duke of Wellington, he accurately conveyed the information of Commander Wellington to the front line, and it was at that time. Then he saw the "great man".

Of course, the great man also successfully took his right arm.

Do not! He is not Napoleon! He's just a mean clown!

Baron Raglan shook his head desperately, reminding himself constantly.

"Mr. Raglan, what's the matter with you?" The voice of "great man" reached Baron Raglan.

When Baron Raglan raised his head again to see Jerome Bonaparte, the shadow of Emperor Napoleon shrouded in Jerome Bonaparte disappeared.