#854 - Beyond the Sun King
Chapter 850: Surpassing the Sun King
October 27th.
Paris.
Scarlet carpets lined the Saint-Michel Boulevard, stretching all the way to the Place Saint-Michel.
Swiss Guards, clad in white uniforms with red floral patterns, stood at attention along both sides of the road, spears in hand.
Behind them were countless Parisian citizens—on this day, the entire city had nothing else to do, nearly all of them gathering here to welcome the Crown Prince into the city.
Many had arrived two days prior to secure a foothold.
Even those twenty-odd rows back, barely able to make out the situation on the boulevard, had been waiting here since the early hours of yesterday morning.
At ten in the morning, with the continuous booming of celebratory cannons, the crowd began to excitedly crane their necks and peer into the distance.
In the distance, on the road, over 50 military musicians marched in formation, heads held high and chests puffed out.
Behind them were dozens of children, carrying pottery jars and scattering cornflower petals on the ground. Following them were priests from Notre-Dame Cathedral, sprinkling holy water in all directions.
The crowd suddenly erupted in deafening cheers as they saw the figure of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, surrounded by hundreds of guards.
“Long live the Crown Prince!” “May God bless the Crown Prince!” such shouts rose and fell. Many even imitated the drumbeats of the Guards Regiment, banging on copper basins in their hands.
As Joseph advanced slowly, the people on both sides of the road bowed in salute—this time, unlike in the past, everyone did so not merely out of prescribed etiquette, but out of unparalleled reverence and adoration for the young man before them.
News of the French army's great victory in Luxembourg had already spread throughout the streets and alleys, along with tales of the victories in Southern Netherlands, Italy, and the Mediterranean naval battle.
Even the Sun King could hardly match this record.
How could people not be ecstatic about this?
In the center of Saint-Michel Boulevard, Archbishop Beaumont was respectfully awaiting the Crown Prince. Behind him, eight high-ranking acolytes carried the sacred reliquary containing the remains of Saint Louis—a ceremonial rite only used for extremely important events.
Joseph's head throbbed from the surrounding cheers and drumbeats, but he still had to wave to the crowd with spirited energy.
When he arrived in front of the reliquary, he reined in his horse, and a priest beside him hurriedly reminded him of the ceremonial steps.
Joseph sighed inwardly, silently calculating how much of his budget would be spent on the kilometers of carpet laid on the ground and the flowers scattered along the sides of the road, before dismounting and stepping forward to kiss the fleur-de-lis emblem on the corner of the reliquary.
The hundreds of guards behind him fired their guns into the sky in unison, and the onlookers shouted even louder, unaware that their voices had become hoarse.
Then the Crown Prince's procession continued forward.
Only after entering the Louvre and changing to a carriage did Joseph rub his buzzing ears and let out a long sigh of relief.
However, he didn't have much time to rest, as a grand celebration awaited him at the Palace of Versailles.
In the Palace of Versailles square, Queen Marie, seeing her son's slightly thinner face from afar, immediately rushed forward to greet him, disregarding etiquette.
Joseph hurriedly bowed. Before he could straighten up, the Queen eagerly embraced him tightly, then stepped back half a step, looking him up and down, muttering incessantly:
“I heard that you led tens of thousands of cavalry in Luxembourg to fight the Prussians, shuttling back and forth through the fire of over a hundred cannons, and even that old Duke of Brunswick brought his guard to duel you…”
“Oh, God bless you, thankfully you weren't injured, otherwise I would be forever drowned in sorrow and self-blame…”
Joseph couldn't help but laugh, thinking, 'Who told the Queen these rumors? They're even more exaggerated than a Hollywood blockbuster.'
He quickly smiled and comforted his mother, “Don't listen to their nonsense, it wasn't that dangerous at all. I was at least 1 kilometer away from the enemy at the closest.”
Queen Marie obviously didn't quite believe him, and, holding her son's arm, she walked towards the main entrance of the Palace of Versailles, while seriously instructing him not to be so reckless on the battlefield in the future.
Louis XVI also wanted to come forward and say a few words to his son, but glancing at the sea of nobles around him, he lowered his head and silently followed behind his wife and son.
As Joseph walked through the welcoming nobles, he heard someone discussing, “That day, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince led twenty thousand hussars, charging all the way from Wiltz to Diekirch…”
“Baron Montmorency, you must be mistaken, it was thirty thousand hussars.”
“Definitely thirty thousand, I heard it too, they broke through fourteen Prussian defense lines in one day!”
“That's right, over 70,000 Prussian soldiers were driven into the Our River, their bodies blocking the river…”
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“Do you know what was the most amazing thing? There were over two hundred twelve-pound cannons, oh, maybe they were eighteen-pound cannons, I can't remember clearly, anyway, they were ambushed on the path of His Highness's charge, and then suddenly they opened fire!”
The young noble next to him immediately chimed in, “As a result, all those cannonballs flew past His Highness, not a single one could hurt him. In the end, His Highness commanded the cavalry to capture all those cannons…”
Dozens of nobles around him made the sign of the cross on their chests, “This is truly a divine manifestation.”
“God will forever protect the Son of Divine Favor!”
Joseph suddenly felt embarrassed and wanted to dig a three-bedroom apartment with his toes. The person spreading the rumors wasn't Hollywood style, but a Bollywood screenwriter…
Only after entering the banquet hall did Queen Marie finish her safety instructions.
She pulled Joseph down to sit, and then revealed a mysterious smile: “By the way, dear, I also have the best gift in the world to give you. Hmm, guess what it is first?”
Joseph cooperatively put on a look of serious thought: “Could it be, strawberry honey cake?”
Queen Marie smiled and waved the folding fan in her hand: “Camellia told me in her letter that the dessert I sent last time made you so worried that you couldn't sleep. In the future, let them make cashew crisps for you, she said you love to eat that.
“Oh, let's talk about the gift first.”
“Then, is it a thoroughbred horse…” Joseph shook his head before he could finish speaking, “I really can't guess. Just tell me, what is it?”
Queen Marie leaned closer to him, her face full of smugness:
“It's your favorite, beautiful, dignified, gentle, and lovely princess.
“I helped you propose to Her Majesty Catherine II a few months ago, and she has already agreed to marry her granddaughter to you.”
