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Chapter 275 Complacency

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    After a long period of preparation and coordination, the two empires of France and Russia finally held peace talks on the Crimean Peninsula, where they had been fighting fiercely.  As expected, the two sides started to engage in verbal quarrels and disputes over their respective positions and interests. This was also a normal truce negotiation routine between the two countries and was not surprising.  The delegation of the Russian Empire has already made sufficient preparations for this situation. They hope to use long bargaining to finally make up for the losses to the empire, so that the empire can get out of the nightmare as soon as possible.  However, what shocked Ambassador Gorchakov was that the French delegation led by Charles de Treville suddenly announced the interruption of negotiations after less than half an hour of negotiation and left the negotiation venue.  Their sudden actions turned many of the Russians¡¯ carefully prepared rhetoric and negotiation routines into empty talk, and the entire negotiation lost its rhythm.  Gorchakov thought about it and couldn't figure out why Treville could interrupt the peace talks so easily after all the hard work and effort to promote them. Didn't he understand that he was going to pay the price for this?  ?  Could it be that the French Empire would view peace talks as such a trivial matter?  He didn't understand the other party's motives. Although Treville was indeed very young, he didn't believe that Treville was the kind of stupid boy who would act out of anger, let alone that he would suddenly make such a decision.  .  At the same time, what frightened Gorchakov even more was that before leaving, the young minister bluntly declared that the truce period was about to end and they would use this opportunity to restart the war.  Indeed, after the exchanges between Crimea and Petersburg, and after the negotiations for the past few days, the one-month truce period agreed in the agreement between the two armies has almost expired.  For the sake of peace talks, and also to give the army more time to rest and recuperate, the Russian delegation originally hoped to make a proposal to extend the truce period in the future, but now that the negotiations have been interrupted, there is no chance to put forward this proposal.  .  This means that as long as the negotiations expire, the French army has complete freedom to conduct any military operations.  ??And they are fully willing to carry out such military operations.  Thinking of this, Gorchakov suddenly felt uncontrollable anger and a sense of humiliation of being fooled.  This is simply crazy!  They are begging for peace talks in vain, and at the same time they are eager to interrupt negotiations and prepare to continue to launch war. These people are crazy!  He cursed loudly in his mind.  Of course, he also knew in his heart that the French Emperor and his favorites may be evil liars, but they are definitely not idiots or lunatics. Therefore, since they have done such unreasonable things, they must be hiding something behind their backs.  He had other ulterior plans, but he couldn't find the answer after thinking about it, and the irritability in his heart became extremely intense.  However, after all, he has been in the court and diplomatic circles for so many years, and his determination has long been different from that of ordinary people, so even if he is in a very intense and anxious mood, he still retains some sense.  Now in a hurry, he has no way to explore the French's motives for doing this. The most important thing is to inform his cousin General Gorchakov, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army, so that he can prepare as soon as possible.  Meet the new French offensive.  Fortunately, despite the previous agreement signed, General Gorchakov still did not completely relax. Although he stopped hostile military operations, he deliberately kept most of his troops on alert and could re-engage at any time.  During the battle, although the supply situation limited the ability to launch a large-scale attack, the defense was still manageable and would not be unable to resist the French who resumed their attack.  However, in another place, the situation is not so optimistic, that is the Sevastopol Fortress, which is still surrounded by enemies.  This fortress has been besieged by the enemy for several months. It is in a very difficult situation. Moreover, due to many fierce battles with the French army, the manpower and material resources inside have suffered heavy losses, and the pressure is increasing.  During the temporary truce between the two armies, although the French stopped attacking the fortress, they did not allow the Russian army outside the encirclement to send reinforcements and supplies into the fortress. They only allowed the defenders in the city to transport some seriously wounded soldiers.  Just coming out. Although this can alleviate the material pressure faced by the fortress, it does not help to strengthen the defense capabilities of the defenders.  Through these wounded soldiers who have been transported to the Russian army's outlying camps, General Gorchakov and other Russians have understood how difficult the situation faced by the fortress defenders is. Although their will to fight is still very firm,  The situation is already critical. ?Yes, Sevastopol Sevastopol!  In an instant, a flash of inspiration flashed in Ambassador Gorchakov's mind, and he seemed to understand the entire problem.  After the truce period has passed, it seems that the French will continue to launch attacks on the fortress, increase the pressure on the fortress, and even try again to capture this fortress that has repeatedly brought them setbacks.  But why do they insist on taking down this fortress?  Just to vent your anger?  Ambassador Gorchakov still couldn't figure it out.  Of course he didn't expect that what Charles was doing now was just to artificially delay the negotiations. His previous request for negotiations with the Russians was to allow the two countries to establish a communication channel as soon as possible, but when the channel was established, he was not in a hurry to talk.  , after all, he knew in his heart that civil strife in Russia was imminent. He could delay the time and wait for Russia in the civil strife to make concessions without having to work hard at the negotiation table. This was also fulfilling his obligation to the count.  promise.  ¡°If it had not been determined in advance that Count Bezukhov was going to make big news in Russia, he certainly would not have been so aggressive.  Of course, Marshal Treville did have the idea of ????recovering face in the Sevastopol Fortress.  As the French and Russian delegations each left the temporary negotiation location, the originally relatively peaceful positions of the two armies suddenly became tense, and the various forces began to slowly enter a state of war.  News that the peace talks have been temporarily suspended has spread to both armies, but of course, according to the Russians, the reason for the breakdown of the negotiations is that the French are arrogant and their demands are unacceptable; while according to the French, the reason is that the Russians are too  Stubborn and unable to recognize reality clearly.  No matter what, both armies have understood that before they can achieve final peace, they will have to face more dangerous fights.  In contrast, because the supply situation was better and its position was more advantageous, the French army entered the war much faster and more vigorously. They took advantage of the short truce period to greatly enrich their strength.  .  And now, it¡¯s time to unleash this power.  After several days of hustle and bustle, on the afternoon of the last day of the truce, Charles and Marshal Treville arrived at the gates of Sevastopol.  "Compared with the previous windy and snowy seasons, the recent weather has been much better. Although the temperature is still not high, there is no obstructive wind and snow, which is enough for the army to carry out the next step.  The sky had become very dark, and it seemed that night would soon fall. Charles followed his grandfather and walked silently on the French army's forward position.  Under their feet, dense cobweb-like paths and trenches built by the soldiers themselves were scattered throughout the positions, and the French soldiers resting in the rear camps were already moving towards the forward positions in an endless stream.  Tomorrow, the short truce period will end, and they will plunge into the renewed war, using their lives to seek the glory of victory for the empire.  While walking among the pitted positions, Charles could feel the unique chilling atmosphere of the army in the cold air.  They walked all the way along the position, and finally came to a hill, overlooking the fortress not far away from a high place.  The Sevastopol Fortress, which has now become a symbol of Russian resistance spirit, is now hidden among the slightly raised hills and cliffs, facing him alone, and at the end of the line of sight is a narrow road  Bay, there are some pale sails swaying slightly in the bay.  This is the remaining warship of the Russian Empire¡¯s Black Sea Fleet. Since the war broke out, due to the absolute control of the sea by the British and French forces, the Black Sea Fleet had no choice but to flee to avoid the war. Some warships were left in the Sevastopol Fortress.  These remaining warships did not dare to come out to fight against the new warships of the British and French allied forces. They had to stay in the bay of the fortress, relying on the fortresses on both sides of the bay to protect themselves. At the same time, these fleets also served as mobile forts inside the fortress.  It played a role for the defenders in several offensive and defensive battles.  Among the hills surrounding the harbor, there are also a large number of fortifications and fortresses built by the Russian army. After several brutal battles between the French and Russian armies, these have been stained with artillery fire and blood.  The dark brown skin looks particularly eye-catching when compared with the gray-brown wasteland next to it.  The rocky cliffs, the hilly roads, the warships in the harbor, and the heroic defenders inside all make this fortress's defense capabilities extremely powerful.  However, no matter how powerful the fortress is, it will still appear weak in front of an attacker with absolute material advantages and the same firm determination.?Especially when it is besieged and unable to receive reinforcements and supplements from the outside world.  In the previous offensives of the French army, although the defenders defeated the French army time and time again with great heroism, they still achieved a lot of results after the French army's crazy attacks, at least they kept the front line moving towards the fortress.  Moving internally, the Russian army's position has now been compressed into a small area, so that Charles can clearly see the entire fortress from the commanding heights. Even where he is standing at the moment, the French army has fought bloody battles to defeat the enemy.  stolen.  Of course, the French army suffered a large number of casualties in previous attacks, but Charles didn't care, and neither did his grandfather. As long as they saw victory approaching them step by step, that was enough.  Charles turned to look at his grandfather. At this time, Marshal Treville was also looking at the distant position with a telescope. He was wearing a military uniform with an expressionless face, and his tall body stood upright in the cold wind, like a statue.  , awe-inspiring.  And when Treville and his grandson arrived at the forward position, a large group of officers also followed. They also held their breath and stood solemnly beside the marshal, waiting for his call at any time.  Charles glanced at the officers, and then walked up to one of them.  "Lucien!" He reached out his hand to the other party enthusiastically.  "Charle!" Lucien responded quickly, and then also held Charles's hand.  "Please work hard for tomorrow's offensive." Charles shook his arm vigorously and told the other party, "This is related to our honor and the progress of the peace talks. We must achieve beautiful results." "  I will spare no effort, Charles." Lucien straightened his back and made a promise to Charles, "And it's not just me, every one of us will try our best. This time we will definitely win!"  Not only Lucien, but almost all French soldiers believed that as long as the Sevastopol Fortress was captured, the Russians would fall into despair and then sue for peace with France, and they would be able to gain peace as soon as possible and return to their distant country.  Hometown, and this thought alone gave them a lot of will to fight.  What's more, compared with the previous harsh preparation conditions and weather conditions, the situation has improved a lot now. Under Charles's supervision, the army's supply situation has been greatly improved, and a large number of heavy artillery have also been reinforced.  , even the weather is improving and starting to become conducive to the army's actions. Therefore, now even Lucien, who has always been cautious, is beginning to be full of confidence in the next war.  At the same time, in the new combat plan, the command headed by Marshal Treville also learned from the previous lessons. They decided to abandon the costly frontal assault and instead pressed the enemy positions from two different directions at the same time, forcing the inside of the fortress  The Russian army has very few reserves left and cannot take care of both.  At the same time, the command problems that had previously plagued the French army were also improved. After Prince Joseph Bonaparte was forcibly dismissed by the marshal and rushed back to the homeland, the command of the Guards fell back into the hands of the marshal.  And this time, the most elite Guards officers and soldiers will serve as the general reserve team for this offensive. They will be put on the battlefield when the situation reaches a decisive moment, and will do their best to strike a blow to the Russians.  Under the watchful eyes of these officers, the entire army was also undergoing final preparations, erecting fortifications and placing artillery.  During the vast preparations, both soldiers and officers were convinced that in the next offensive, the fortress that had thwarted them several times would moan and groan in the fire, and eventually die, becoming their military career.  One of the most glorious trophies of all.  Yes, they can't wait.
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