Flowers, Swords and France

On the Ile de la Cité in the center of Paris, stands a tall Gothic church.

Like other buildings of the same type, it is square and towers below the skyline, with a tall tower in the middle that pierces the sky. The golden autumn glow falls on it, making this originally dim building suddenly add infinite brightness, and the quietly flowing Seine River passes in front of it, playing a gorgeous movement for her in a low voice.

This church, known as Notre Dame, has always been regarded as one of the best Catholic churches in Europe. The breath of history can be felt everywhere. When walking in it, its altars, corridors, doors and windows are full of fine carvings and paintings. These things look so delicate and so ordinary that when people are in it, they will forget how precious they are in a trance.

Usually this is a very quiet place, quietly and loftily watching the prosperous world across the Seine River, with only twos and threes of tourists walking through it to relieve her loneliness.

However, today, this place suddenly became a sea of ​​gorgeous clothes.

From the early morning, teams of Royal Guards in conspicuous uniforms began to gather here, and then blocked the entire Ile de la Cité. They were on high alert, but polite to everyone, showing that what happened today was not bad news, but a great joy for the country.

When the sun rose slowly from the horizon, carriages also headed towards the Ile de la Cité along the streets and bridges leading to the Ile de la Cité. These carriages were luxurious in appearance and newly decorated for today. Outside these streets and Notre Dame, there were blooming flowers everywhere, and countless citizens were mixed on both sides of the streets, curiously looking at everything today.

As the carriages stopped in front of Notre Dame, men and women in gorgeous clothes got off the carriages one by one, and then headed towards Notre Dame under the leadership of the guards. Among these people, there were politicians, wealthy merchants, nobles and foreign ministers. The entire upper class of Paris had almost come together.

Yes, they came here today not to participate in any ordinary religious activities, but to attend the wedding ceremony of Emperor Napoleon III of the French Empire.

After many months of preparation, His Majesty the Emperor and Princess Karona von Holstein-Gottep of Vasa finally entered the marriage hall on August 18, 1852.

His Majesty's wedding is naturally a grand event for the entire empire, and it will also be an excellent opportunity for the Bonaparte family to declare and show off that they have consolidated their ruling position in France. Therefore, from the beginning, Emperor Napoleon III asked his subordinates not to be stingy with the budget and must make this wedding an impressive grand scene.

And his subordinates naturally understood, and a large number of flowers and decorations were ordered without hesitation, and then deployed in place before the wedding celebration, turning the Ile de la Cité and even the entire city of Paris into a garden. At the same time, all members of the upper class who could attend received invitations that could not be refused.

At the same time, in order to increase the atmosphere of joy, the government also issued an administrative order to let the whole country have a holiday on this day in order to achieve the effect of national celebration.

As the sun gathered and became brighter, the atmosphere of joy became more and more intense. At nine o'clock in the morning, a group of people rode out of the Tuileries Palace escorted by fully armed cavalry.

This group of people were all wearing neat new dresses, with colorful medals and ribbons on their chests. Because they were carefully dressed up, they looked pretentious and arrogant. They also deliberately used the way of riding horses to show their current superior status. This group of people is now the ruling center of the entire empire.

The leader among them was naturally His Majesty Emperor Napoleon III. He rode first, enjoying everyone's attention, looking forward, looking firm and pretentious.

When the emperor walked out of the palace, the people around him cheered almost at the same time, and the cheers of "Long live the emperor" were endless, while the emperor himself smiled reservedly and waved to the people from time to time, causing even greater cheers.

The modern royal family must like to show up, cater to the preferences of the people, and perform spectacular operas, so that they can be loved and supported by the entire nation - and Louis Bonaparte himself is very proficient in this. He also hopes to make his marriage the focus of the entire country and let a foreign princess add luster to his royal family.

Just after this group of people came out, several carriages, surrounded by cavalry, suddenly flashed out of the palace gate. These carriages are all pulled by tall and big horses of pure color. Not only are the carriages themselves luxuriously decorated, but even the horses are hung with sapphire pendants, shining in the sun.

When seeing these carriages, the cheers on both sides of the street became louder, because people knew that one of the passengers in these carriages was the future queen of the French Empire. The French have always been very tolerant of women, so even if some people are dissatisfied with the Bonaparte family, they are still happy to cheer for the future queen.

Amidst the sea of ​​cheers and the fragrance of flowers, the most powerful and high-ranking people in the empire walked along the street toward Notre Dame. This would undoubtedly be one of the most glorious moments in the entire empire.

As an imperial minister and one of the confidants of His Majesty Napoleon III, Charles de Treville was of course among the people riding horses towards Notre Dame.

Although his riding skills were not very good, he could handle it well because the horses today were carefully selected and easy to control, and the speed was not fast. Next to him was his grandfather, Marshal Treville.

Although the marshal was old, he seemed more calm than Charles because he was proficient in riding. However, his face was a little tired, as if he was not infected by the fanatical atmosphere of Paris today.

"Grandpa, are you not feeling well? Do you want to take a rest?" Seeing his grandfather's performance, Charles was a little worried about him.

"No, I'm fine, Charles." Marshal Treville still half-opened his eyes, but his voice was full of energy. "I just feel a little tired and can't get excited."

"How can you not get excited about such a scene?" Charles asked half-jokingly, "Look, the whole city is boiling."

"You don't see such scenes often, but I saw a lot of them back then. There were celebrations and military parades from time to time at that time. The Bonaparte family loved to do this." Marshal Treville said lightly, not knowing whether he was reminiscing or mocking, "When the emperor married Louisa, the scene was even bigger than today. I was there... I didn't expect that forty years would have passed in a flash... The emperor laughed so happily at that time, who could have thought of everything that happened later?"

When he said this, he sighed and felt incredible about the passage of time.

"Celebrations are good. At least we make the people happy. The French people love vanity." Charles smiled and changed the subject. "I think as long as this goal is achieved, all this is worth it."

"As long as they come here to cheer, they will have free drinks and gifts to receive. Of course, they are very excited." The marshal squinted his eyes and replied, "But when we are sent to the guillotine, they will still cheer the same."

"On such a day... please don't say such things..." Charles felt a little embarrassed.

"Hahaha, young man, you can't stand bad words." Marshal Treville laughed, as if he was happy to tease his grandson.

Soon, the group came to the door of Notre Dame de Paris. When the soldiers saluted, they dismounted and walked into the church led by the monks. At this time, the church was already crowded with people - leaders of the social world, foreign ministers, government representatives from all over France, and even some carefully selected Paris citizens.

After His Majesty came in, everyone cheered and looked eagerly at His Majesty the Emperor, who was in high spirits, as if they were sharing his joy.

On August 18, 1572, Notre Dame de Paris also held a wedding, and the two parties were also very prominent. The man was Henry, the King of Navarre at the time (the future King Henry IV of France), and the woman was Margaret, a princess of the Valois dynasty and the younger sister of King Charles IX at the time. The two people concluded a marriage, and almost confirmed the ownership of the future French throne - just to commemorate this historic day, so the wedding was specially arranged to this day.

However, it was after this wedding that France suddenly experienced unprecedented chaos.

In the early morning of August 24, 1572, tens of thousands of Catholic militias in Paris, together with police and soldiers, suddenly carried out a bloody massacre of Protestant Huguenots in the city.

They broke into the houses according to the white cross signs drawn on the doors of the Huguenots' houses, killed most of the people who were still asleep, and then threw the bodies into the Seine. This disaster did not only befall civilians, but also killed many nobles and high officials. Even Henry and Prince Condé, who were staying in the palace at the time, were forced to convert to Catholicism under the pressure of the Catholics who rushed into the palace.

After the Paris Massacre, many other French towns also massacred Huguenots. This triggered a protracted religious war, which was not stopped until 1598 when Henry, who had become the King of France, issued the Edict of the South to pardon Protestants everywhere.

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

Of course, this kind of thing would not happen in today's Bonaparte dynasty - after hundreds of years of religious wars and decades of baptism of the Great Revolution, the religious enthusiasm of the French people has long faded, not to mention that the future Queen has converted to Catholicism.

After the emperor and his servants entered the magnificent antechamber of Notre Dame, the atmosphere in the antechamber began to become very tense. Everyone looked at the door, waiting for another protagonist of the day.

They did not disappoint their expectations. Soon, Princess Karona, wearing a white wedding dress, appeared from the door. Her wedding dress was custom-made by a special craftsman, which made the already youthful and beautiful princess more charming and attractive, but also added a bit of the majesty of the queen.

The white skirt hung down from the back, dragging so long that the maid had to carry it from the back to move forward.

"What a beautiful queen!" People exchanged glances with each other, full of admiration and envy, and some people even had a vague regret.

However, no matter what they thought, people cheered in unison. For a moment, the entire front hall was boiling. The most glorious moment of the empire finally arrived.

However, the cheers of others did not touch the princess. She raised her head proudly, looked ahead as if no one was around, and walked forward step by step. Her steps were steady, and her eyes were like a soldier embarking on a destined journey.

What a determined person! She would not easily be satisfied with a vain queen status. Charles thought to himself while thinking about how to deal with it.

Behind Her Majesty the Queen, followed a group of ladies dressed in gorgeous clothes. They also wore gorgeous long skirts, but they followed the Queen with cautious steps, providing a foil for the Queen, but never blocking the glory of Her Majesty the Queen.

At the front of this group of ladies was Charlotte. She walked in front with a smile on her face, as if she was really satisfied with her status and the glory of the Bonaparte family.

Because she had just given birth, she had been carefully nursed and had never been tired of social activities, so her skin was round and white, crystal clear under the lights, making her smile even more charming. Between her fluffy long skirt, a waterfall of golden hair cascaded down. Although she had deliberately concealed it, she looked no less beautiful than the Queen - at least that's what Charles thought.

"You have found a good queen for us." At this moment, Marshal Treville suddenly said beside Charles, "But you have to be careful, she doesn't look like a good person."

"That's why I strongly recommend her." Charles smiled and replied. "France and the royal family need a smart and determined woman to act as a protector. Fortunately, I found a suitable candidate."

"Whether it is suitable or not will have to wait and see." Marshal Treville shrugged, "If you can't give birth to a child, it's useless to have a brain."

"There will always be what you should have. Her Majesty is so young and healthy, I believe she can bring a suitable heir to the empire..." Charles answered casually.

At this moment, as if by accident, the future Queen suddenly shifted her gaze slightly to him, and then frowned imperceptibly.

No one else noticed this glimpse, but Charles did not ignore it. He stopped talking and bowed slightly to the Queen with a smile on his face, and the princess immediately turned her head away.

"She doesn't seem to have a good impression of you." The marshal asked in a low voice. "What's the matter?"

"Ungratefulness is the privilege of kings, grandpa." Charles shrugged. (~^~)