Chapter 17 Napoleon's hegemony is not a dream

In his later years, Napoleon was imprisoned on the island of St. Helena.At that time, an Englishman who had encountered enough difficulties in China passed by here, so he went to the island to visit Napoleon by the way.After he fully described his experience in China to Napoleon, Napoleon warned him not to underestimate China, because China is just a sleeping lion that has not yet awakened.He said: "When China wakes up, the world will be shocked!" This can be seen as Napoleon's prophecy to China. But the magical prophecy that was truly verified was his own destiny.Although Napoleon also said many things that happened in later generations, it was the most famous female prophet in French history, Le Norman, who accurately predicted Napoleon's marriage and fate, which made him closely linked with the ten miraculous prophecies.

On this day, Lenorman welcomed a woman and his maid in his divination room.After a simple divination, Lenorman even made a prophecy that the woman couldn't believe at all. She said that the woman's maid would have the title of princess in the future.This made the woman very unhappy, and she turned around to leave, but at this moment, Lenorman made another even more surprising prophecy.She said to the women, you will be the queen of France, and the fate of France is in your hands. The woman was named Josephine, and her maid was named Teresa.Judging from today's historical point of view, Josephine was a noble person in Napoleon's life. She came from an aristocratic family and was closely related to many important figures in French politics.Moreover, Josephine often went to the salons organized by the upper class in Paris. She was quite a well-known figure in the social circle at that time.

When Lenorman uttered her prophecy, Josephine thought the statement was absurd, but she still had a strong interest in what Lenorman said.Le Norman continued to tell Josephine that her fate was predestined by the heavens, and that soon she would meet a man who made her fall in love with him, and this man would give her the splendor and wealth that she could never enjoy in her life , but the biggest misfortune is that she will be abandoned by this man in the end. Despite feeling unbelievable, Le Norman's unquestionable tone made Josephine choose to submit.Even Lenorman begged Josephine to do her best to protect herself when she became queen.In view of Lenorman's sincerity, although she did not fully believe it, Josephine still agreed.This prophecy made her feel like she was dreaming.

Shortly thereafter, she met Napoleon, and the two soon fell in love. Earlier, on a seemingly ordinary day, Napoleon, somewhat dispirited, went to Lenorman for a fortune-telling.As soon as he entered the door, he heard Le Norman say loudly: "My lord, you are here, you are here at last." This surprised Napoleon. After talking to himself, he really reacted.But before he had time to ask, Le Norman said hastily again: "My lord, your bad luck is coming to an end, and you will soon meet your destiny, and this woman will be yours." You will be married to her soon, you will be emperor, you will be a great conqueror like Alexander and Julius Caesar, all Europe will fall at your feet, and you will live A rich and noble life. But since you abandon your lover after the age of 40, this will be the beginning of your tragic fate. After that, you will die in complete defeat and lonely, and all your relatives and friends will declare never Know you."

But Napoleon at that time was just an artillery colonel, how could he believe the fortune-teller's nonsense. After Napoleon left the divination house of Lenorman, in an armed rebellion, he bombarded the enemy's castle with only a few cannons, thus saving the political situation in France at the time.It is precisely because of this record that he was promoted to the garrison commander of the city of Paris. Shortly thereafter, he and Josephine met and fell in love.With Josephine's social connections, Napoleon quickly gained the recognition and support of the upper class at that time.After that, just as Lenorman predicted, the two finally entered the palace of marriage.

Shortly after his wedding, Napoleon drove to the front lines of the war.Here, he commanded a motley army with poor training and backward weapons to defeat the invincible Austrian army at that time.The sensation caused by this event was unexpected to Napoleon, and when he returned home the Directory was nervous about Napoleon's presence.At the same time, an anti-French alliance was formed in Europe, the collapsed Bourbon dynasty was on the verge of revival, and the domestic royalists were also ready to move. Facing the complicated international situation, the Directory was helpless. At this time, Josephine used her network to push her husband Napoleon to the forefront.Napoleon, who received great support, secretly returned to Paris in October 1799. After exhaustive preparations, he launched a coup d'état, overthrowing the rule of the Directory and establishing the First French Government.After that, Napoleon not only quelled the domestic rebellion, but also successfully repelled the anti-French coalition forces, and the situation became better in an instant.

In 1804, Napoleon proclaimed himself emperor, and Josephine became queen of France as a matter of course.At this point, the two of them remembered Lenorman's prophecy, and they had no choice but to secretly applaud. Napoleon certainly hoped that his dynasty could be passed on from generation to generation, but Josephine was infertile, and they had to recognize Teresa, the original maid, as their daughter.But in the face of power, the love between the two had a huge rift because of this small flaw.In the end, Napoleon abandoned his beloved wife. This year, he happened to be 40 years old.

After that, although Napoleon married the princess of Austria, he also had his own son.But his empire has already shown a doomsday gesture.From the failure of the invasion of Spain, to the deterioration of relations with Tsarist Russia, and to the rise of the sixth anti-French alliance, Napoleon was already unable to parry these waves of attacks one after another. On March 31, 1814, Paris was occupied, Napoleon signed the edict of abdication at Fontainebleau Palace in Paris, and he himself was exiled to the island of Elba in the Mediterranean.The ambitious Napoleon attempted a comeback, but after he slipped back to reorganize his army, a battle at Waterloo ended his reign.After his defeat, he was exiled to the Atlantic island of St. Helena.

Napoleon died alone on St. Helena in 1821 at the age of 53. And all the predictions made by Lenorman to Napoleon at the beginning have evolved into reality one by one.Facing the arrangement of fate, history can only surrender, leaving the answer of right and wrong to future generations to guess.