On an afternoon with the advent of spring, a train departing from Marseille quietly stopped at a small town train station located 55 kilometers southeast of Paris. After the train stopped, the "passengers" in the last carriage of this train swiftly disembarked from the third carriage and then formed two columns at the door of the third carriage.

Every "passenger" wore sky-blue military coats with buttons and bright red flat-topped hats. They carried Mauser rifles on their backs, which had not yet been widely distributed in the French Army. This is the most elite and loyal Guard Army of the French Empire.

The object of escort by this group of Guard soldiers was naturally the delegation returning from attending a funeral in the Austrian Empire. When Imperial Marshal Monfort and his delegation slowly disembarked from the carriage, all soldiers of the Guard saluted the Marshal before them. Marshal Monfort also solemnly returned the salute to all the soldiers present.

When Prince Monfort stepped out of the small town train station, a lavishly decorated carriage was the first thing to catch his eye. He could also see the Imperial Dragon Cavalry team responsible for guarding the carriage nearby, commanded by Emperor’s Aide, Colonel Bulbaski.

As Prince Monfort took steps down the train station’s stairs, the Emperor’s Aide hurriedly stepped forward to support Prince Monfort, humbly saying, "Your Highness, you have toiled! I am here under His Majesty’s orders to receive you!"

Galvanized by Bulbaski’s support, Prince Monfort gently nodded, and the two slowly descended the steps together.

When Prince Monfort, supported by Bulbaski, reached the side of the carriage, he leaned toward Bulbaski’s ear and inquired softly, "After I left, did something happen in Paris?"

Bulbaski looked surprised, then immediately shook his head and replied cautiously to Prince Monfort, "Your Highness, please forgive me as I cannot answer this immediately!

You may personally inquire with His Majesty at Fontainebleau Palace!"

Observing the cautious Bulbaski, Prince Monfort was convinced that something indeed occurred in Paris during his absence.

Otherwise, Jerome Bonaparte would never have left the Tuileries Palace!

Prince Monfort could not help but recall when Jerome Bonaparte told him why he wanted to make Fontainebleau Palace the third palace.

True, compared to the luxurious Tuileries Palace in the city center, Fontainebleau Palace was inferior in every aspect.

But it had one "advantage" that the Tuileries Palace could never surpass.

Although this "advantage" often appeared as a disadvantage during regular activities, under specific circumstances, the "advantage" of Fontainebleau Palace could save the Empire.

This advantage is — Fontainebleau Palace is far from Paris.

This means that if Paris fell, the monarch residing in Fontainebleau Palace would not immediately lose contact with the external armies.

In reviewing the downfall of the Restoration of Bourbon and the Orleans Dynasty, it was because the monarch immediately lost control of the military, subsequently losing the entire nation.

(Although the Orleans Dynasty still controlled the National Guard before falling, the National Guard mainly consisted of Parisians, relying on them to resist Paris was an impossible task.)

If the monarch were trapped in the Tuileries Palace, Paris would fall entirely into the hands of the rebels, and those crafty generals entrenched in the Outer Provinces would not rush to the rescue, choosing instead to wait and watch the outcome of the new and old regimes.

If the old regime defeated the new one, they would immediately assist the old master in eliminating the rebels.

Conversely, they would seamlessly lean toward the new regime.

So long as the new regime’s policies do not overly violate France’s "tradition."

(The conduct of the Paris Commune violated France’s longstanding political traditions, which is why the generals outside Paris were unwilling to bow to the Commune.)

Therefore, the Second Empire could not afford to expect, like the Second Republic, to spend several months mobilizing the military from the Outer Provinces for rescue; it had to decisively eliminate the crisis before the rebels fully dragged all Paris citizens into turmoil.

Thus, the Second Empire could truly rely solely on the Guard Army completely under their control.

However, the premise of mobilizing the Guard to suppress is that the monarch has not been held hostage by the rebels.

If the monarch were held hostage by rebels, the Guard, no matter how capable, could only stand idly by.

Due to its prominent "advantage" of being far from Paris, Fontainebleau Palace would not be immediately controlled by rebels.

As long as Jerome Bonaparte could swiftly make his way to Fontainebleau Palace at the outbreak of the rebellion (even if it means leaving the Empress and Crown Prince temporarily in the Tuileries Palace to stabilize the situation), he could establish Fontainebleau Palace as a temporary command center, directing the Guard Army into Paris.

The restructured streets of Paris would no longer easily allow rebels to build barricades as they once did, and the broad main roads would even allow several cannons to pass side by side.

With this shift, the difficulty of suppression would dramatically decrease.

Moreover, the appearance of the Mauser rifle and Chassepot machine gun heightened the combat prowess of the Guard Army significantly above that of the Paris National Guard.

Even if the rebels received aid from the Parisians, their firepower would fall far short of the Guard’s.

With the power of the Mauser rifle, Napoleon Bronze Cannon, and Chassepot machine gun, the Second Empire could swiftly suppress the rebellion.

Moreover, to prevent unnecessary ties between the Guard soldiers and the Paris populace, all Guard soldiers hail from the Outer Provinces, with some even originating from the traditional Royalist Party strongholds of Vendée and Brittany.

These soldiers are inherently filled with class hatred towards Paris; expecting them to empathize with the Parisians is as difficult as reaching the skies.

If given the chance to wash Paris with blood, they would definitely not hesitate.

The officers of the Guard Army have also been completely replaced with right-wing soldiers who detest republican ideology, and they would unwaveringly execute the Emperor’s orders.

Of course, Jerome Bonaparte’s prerequisite for deploying the army to suppress is that the situation in Paris has deteriorated beyond recovery.

Prince Monfort clearly remembers that before he left, Paris was still in a flourishing state.

Although there were some petty squabbles among the various factions within the Imperial Parliament, they could still unite around the Empire.

No matter how quickly the situation deteriorates, it should not destabilize the empire’s foundation in just over a month.

Therefore, Prince Monfort believes there was unrest in Paris, but he does not believe the situation in Paris would collapse in such a short time.

The truth will only be known after he meets Jerome Bonaparte.

After entering the carriage, Bourbas outside quickly closed the door, then mounted a brown Arabian warhorse.

The soldiers around the carriage also mounted their steeds, surrounding the carriage as a barrier against the assassination of evildoers.

Along with the coachman’s action signaling the horse to "advance," the horses began to exert force, the hubs started rotating around the axle, and the carriage swiftly advanced along the cement-paved road, with the cavalry following it faster and faster.

Since the train station was located on the right bank of the Seine River (when building the train, Jerome Bonaparte considered pollution issues and did not build the station near the Fontainebleau Palace on the left bank), to reach the Fontainebleau Palace, one must pass through the entire Fontainebleau Town.

When the convoy reached Fontainebleau Town, the residents walking on the town’s streets chose to make way, standing on either side of the street, they curiously watched the hastily advancing carriage.

As the carriage went further away, some town residents began to discuss enthusiastically.

"I really don’t know what happened in Paris? First, the Emperor and Empress came, and then the army!"

"I heard my grandfather’s nephew’s neighbor say that there seems to have been a riot in Paris!"

"A riot? That’s really terrible! I hope the Empire won’t collapse in this riot!"

"Collapse? What are you thinking! If the Empire really collapses, would His Majesty still be sitting in the Fontainebleau Palace!"

...

Seated in the carriage, Prince Monfort naturally could not hear the discussions of the residents of Fontainebleau Town, and at this moment, he was lying half-reclined in the carriage with his eyes closed, resting.

A journey of nearly over a thousand kilometers had exhausted this elderly man, who was over seventy years old, of all his energy. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

About twenty minutes later, Prince Monfort in his sleep heard a call next to his ear.

"Your Highness, Your Highness!"

In his haze, Prince Monfort was gently shaken awake, and he slowly opened his sleepy eyes to see Bourbas’ figure in front of him.

"Your Highness, we have arrived!"

"Arrived?"

Prince Monfort murmured softly, then slowly pushed himself up from the seat.

Seeing this, Bourbas at the carriage door quickly stepped into the carriage and gently assisted Prince Monfort with his hand.

"Thank you!" Prince Monfort said softly.

With Bourbas’ assistance, Prince Monfort got out of the carriage, and a horseshoe-shaped step appeared in front of him.

Looking at the horseshoe-shaped steps before him, Prince Monfort’s thoughts once again returned to that era decades ago.

"When I returned to France with my first wife, my brother was watching me from these steps!" Prince Monfort said with a sigh, reminiscing about the old days, "I didn’t expect that decades later, my child would be able to stand where my brother once stood!"

"Both His Majesty and the previous Emperor (Napoleon) are heroes of France, and their existence is France’s greatest fortune!"

Bourbas’ tone carried a hint of fervor, clearly showing he was also a staunch loyalist.