Chapter 22 Coronation Ceremony (Part 2)

Xiao Jie watched all this coldly. Two years of keeping a low profile made him learn to observe the progress of things from the perspective of an onlooker. He did not participate in the struggle for family power because he knew that he had no strength to compete with his uncles and aunts. Moreover, it was when Napoleon held all the power, and he did not want to end up like Lucien. He would have been honestly a good boy before without the certainty of winning with one blow. Napoleon was naturally very satisfied with Xiao Jie's actions, and even thought he was not keen on power at all.

At 11:05 a.m., the emperor and the queen walked through the Gothic wooden arcade built between the Palace and Notre Dame. The emperor, wearing a crimson velvet robe and a short golden buckle coat, wore high-top leather shoes, a sword inlaid with dazzling gems, and a snow-white glove holding the scepter of Chalemaine and the "hand of justice" that the former Bourbon royal family once used to symbolize power. The total value of this emperor was 99,000 francs.

The court servant in black and green robes walked in front, followed by a commander holding a staff and a violet robes, followed by a male servant in green and gold robes; then the emcee of the coronation ceremony in violet and silver robes, and his assistant; then the emperor's family, and three other marshals, Serulier, held a tray with the crown ring; Moses was holding a golden basket carrying the emperor's skirt, and Mura held the emperor's crown.

When Queen Josephine slowly walked into the silent church under the escort of her first eunuch and attendant, she became the focus of attention. She was proud of her youth, and Lorjuno thought she looked even more charming - her whole body clothing and diamond ring gems totaled 101,000 francs.

If Josephine's friends and praises were happy for her glory today, the princesses behind her—Elisa, Caroline and Polyna—are another state of mind. Josephine's only ally was her daughter Otans. The hostility of the royal women to Josephine had reached the point where Napoleon had to intervene—he gave them an ultimatum: they either accepted the fact that Josephine was the queen, or were exiled with their husbands, thus losing their titles and wealth—this allowed them to join the people today in the coronation of Napoleon. When the long line of the marshal and the imperial general finally arrived, it was already

After waiting for nearly two hours, the Pope, who is now the center of attention, has climbed onto the altar and started the mass. The grand ceremony lasted for a long time. Finally, the emperor and the queen walked to the altar and knelt on the stool. The pope came to perform the ceremony for them. When the pope was about to put the crown on Napoleon's head, Napoleon reached out to take the crown and put it on his head. Then, he picked up a small crown and put it on Josephine's head. After putting on the crown, Josephine raised his head and smiled at Napoleon with tears in his eyes. The pope handed over the emperor's ring to Napoleon, hugged the emperor, turned around and shouted to the crowd: "Long live the emperor! Long live the queen!" Then, Napoleon took the oath to ascend the throne:

I swear to defend the integrity of the Republic's territory; respect and improve the law and freedom of belief; respect equal rights, political and civil freedom, and the sacredness of national property; except for the donations and taxes stipulated by the law, all other harsh and miscellaneous taxes will be reduced... to safeguard the interests of the French people, happiness and glory as the foundation of governing the country.

After taking the oath, the messenger loudly announced that the French Emperor Napoleon had officially ascended the throne. The people shouted: "Long live the emperor!" Along the banks of the Seine River to the Bastille, thousands of cannons fired, and the coronation ceremony ended smoothly under the presidency of the Pope. Napoleon became the emperor with the approval of the Vatican, and he was very satisfied with this.

According to police statistics, more than 2 million people from all walks of life in the French capital attended the coronation ceremony. The bells of churches in all large and small in Paris were ringing, followed by a fireworks show, and the carnival lasted for two weeks. Thousands of cannons from Marseille to Bren were fired every hour until midnight.

At 6 a.m. on December 3, all the troops in Paris gathered on the Plaza de Mals, waiting for Napoleon to distribute the eagle flag to them to replace the flag of the Republic. On the majestic reviewing stand, the emperor sat on the throne in military uniform. With a command, various columns moved closer to the throne. Napoleon stood up and ordered the distribution of eagle flags, and gave the following speech to the legions: "Soldiers, look at your flags! These eagle flags will always be your gathering place. Eagle flags will always be your emperor

If you think that the place necessary to defend his throne and his people, you should sacrifice your life to defend the Eagle Flag! You should muster up the courage to keep the Eagle Flag on the road to victory forever!" After the speech, the army was cheering and the soldiers raised their guns to cheer and jump at the new emperor. In the next 10 days, France was immersed in the atmosphere of festive carnival. According to the estimates of Finance Minister Gordon, the coronation ceremony, including state banquets, pope invitations, public celebrations, clothing, etc., cost more than 8 million francs.

Napoleon believed that it was worth spending the money, especially the presence of the Catholic leader Pope, which made his royal power internationally recognized, legitimacy and respectability. This made him further consider his formerly unattainable new family alliance - the royal alliance and the new international agreement. In order to ensure that the significance of the coronation was not forgotten, Napoleon ordered his court painters to paint four huge oil paintings recording this historical event (only two were later completed, namely "The Coronation" and "The Eagle Flag").

Finally, the songs of the capital celebrations and the smoke of gun salutes finally calmed down.

But then the problem arose, Napoleon's new empire had already become unstable, so he had to leave Paris and go to the Straits to personally supervise the preparations for the war against Britain.

Napoleon had a complete plan of invasion in his mind, but it was obviously a plan that was constantly changing. It took him half a year to set up a base camp for crossing the sea. Then, between April and December 1803, he chose the position of the military port. His plan gradually matured. As the blueprint became a reality, the cannons were transported to the fort at Brun Harbor. He began to realize that in the face of a powerful British navy, without a powerful naval frigate, he could not cross the sea rashly. However, in a short time, this situation could not be changed at all. His empire could not build a fleet that could compete with the world's number one British Empire Navy in a short time. If he could not obtain sea control, it would be a quest for death.
Chapter completed!