Escape (2)

The coward led Napoleon and his infantrymen slowly toward Varennes, receiving new information along the way.

It is said that the king's carriage passed through a small town called Sainte-Menehould on the evening of the second day after his escape, and was discovered while resting at a post station there. It was then intercepted by the local city council and the National Guard in Varennes.

"What's going on? How could they only arrive in Sainte-Menehould by the evening of the second day?" Napoleon still couldn't understand what was happening. "If it were me, that would be enough time for me to travel back and forth between Paris and Montmédy!"

However, this question was soon answered. On the morning of the fourth day, Joseph and Napoleon's infantry finally met up with the King. By this time, several thousand people had gathered around the King's carriage. Most of these people were National Guard and citizens from towns along the way, all carrying various weapons, "guarding" the King's carriage, while Robert's cavalry followed behind.

"They actually got a carriage like this! Are they fleeing or on a picnic?" Napoleon stared in disbelief at the king's carriage.

Indeed, the king's carriage was far too unsuitable for escaping.

This was an enormous, luxurious four-wheeled carriage that required twelve horses to pull. Not only was it large, but it was also exquisitely decorated, from the ornate reliefs on the doors to the gilded lanterns—it was the epitome of luxury. The royal family, along with the tutors and nannies, a total of nine people, sat inside this magnificent carriage.

"Who designed this for the King? To use a car like this? He practically had to embroider golden Fleur-de-lis on the doors! Was he trying to make sure no one would notice? Good heavens, what kind of fools are around the King!" Napoleon couldn't help but say to Joseph.

"Napoleon, don't get agitated. You should know that there's no limit to human intelligence," Joseph shook his head and said. "Some people can always leave you speechless with their stupidity."

Louis XVI's escape was indeed very clumsy. Ever since he decided to flee Paris, the royal family had been preparing for it. The escape was overseen by Queen Marie Antoinette and specifically arranged by her lover, Fésen. According to Fésen's initial plan, they were to escape separately in several two-wheeled carriages via different routes.

If this approach were taken, it would be virtually impossible for Parliament to recapture the fleeing king. However, the queen strongly opposed this method, as it meant she would be separated from her children during the escape. What if the children developed a fever? What if they got lost? What if...? Therefore, the queen firmly stated, "The family must stay together, never separated."

Clearly, a two-wheeled light carriage could not possibly carry the entire royal family neatly. The Queen remained extremely stubborn on this matter, and no one could persuade her otherwise. Theoretically, the King had more say in this matter, and he understood that the original plan had a significantly higher success rate, but he remained silent and did not offer his opinion. Thus, the plan to escape using a light carriage was rejected. The only option left was a large four-wheeled carriage.

If you're only using a horse-drawn carriage, it's not a big deal. There are plenty of horse-drawn carriages running on the roads near Paris. Find an inconspicuous four-wheeled mail van, arrange for a pick-up, and the chances of a successful escape are still quite high.

However, the Queen was still dissatisfied with the plan because the conditions in the mail carriage were simply too poor—the benches were too hard, and the interior was too cramped. If the princes and princesses were to endure a day or two of bumpy travel in such a carriage, they would surely fall ill. Furthermore, the princes and princesses would need a nanny's care on the journey, and they would be reluctant to part with their governess, Madame de Tourzel. Add to that the King's sister, Madame Élisabeth, and the guards, and the carriage would need to accommodate at least nine people!

Actually, a four-wheeled mail truck can hold that many people. In fact, if needed, it can fit two or three times that number. You see, as long as you make good use of space, you can always cram more people into a limited space. You know, in one of the largest democratic countries in the future, even a single motorcycle could carry an entire mountain company or even a mountain battalion.

However, it was impossible for nobles like kings, queens, princes, and princesses to perform spatial folding like lower-caste humanoid beings. Therefore, the only solution was to build an oversized carriage. So, Fesen specially commissioned the creation of an oversized carriage, capable of seating nine people with ample space.

Such a carriage was naturally enormous, and to ensure its reliability and prevent wheels or axles from breaking off halfway, these components needed to be specially reinforced. All of this led to a new consequence—the carriage was so heavy that a normal number of horses couldn't pull it. Therefore, twelve horses were required to pull this carriage.

Even so, if well-organized, the success rate of the escape would still be quite high. However, some problems arose on the Austria side responsible for the rescue, causing the escape to be repeatedly delayed. During this process, the cavalry under the Marquis de Bouillet, who was in charge of the rescue of the king, were repeatedly reassigned, which aroused suspicion among the locals. This foreshadowed the later failure of the escape.

However, even so, there is still a high chance of success in escaping.

However, on the very night of their planned escape, Lafayette and Bailly suddenly came to see the King. This visit startled Louis XVI and the Queen, who thought their operation had been exposed. It turned out that Lafayette hadn't discovered the King's plans; they were simply mediating a recent conflict between the King and Parliament caused by a church matter. The King was eager for them to leave but dared not act any differently than before. The two men were very talkative, and they stayed in the palace until 11:30 PM before taking their leave. This made the King and his party's departure more than an hour later than originally planned.

As soon as Lafayette left, the king immediately returned to his room, pretending to go to bed to deceive the spies planted in the palace. The door closed, the lights went out, and he jumped out of bed, barefoot, and ran into his son's room, where the clothes, wig, and servant's hat he needed for his disguise were already laid out. His son had already quietly left. He changed his clothes, quietly descended the stairs, and was led by Fiesen's attendant. Wearing a green coat and a servant's hat, the king easily passed the guards' check and left the palace. The guard muttered, "That fat man is really fat; he must be a cook who steals the king's good food every day."

The king boarded the carriage, and everyone was present. Ferson released the brakes, and the escape began.

However, the escape was not smooth from the start. Because the carriage was too large and the roads of Paris were too narrow, every turn required the carriage to slow down to almost a stop—completely unexpected by Ferson—as no one had ever driven such a large carriage before. As a result, it took a full two hours just to leave Paris, more than twice the normal time.

Finally, the carriage left Paris. Here, the coachman was changed, and Fiesen switched to a lighter carriage, departing via another road. If this carriage could then travel at full speed, the royal family could still escape. However, the carriage was too heavy, and the coachman worried that traveling too fast at night might cause the wheels to hit potholes, damaging the wheels and axles. Therefore, the carriage remained slow.

But in any case, the carriage was finally moving further and further away from Paris and the royal family's prison.

As they continued their journey, dawn broke, and the horses grew weary. The carriage stopped at the designated changing point to exchange horses, and the king got off to get some fresh air—no matter how luxurious the carriage, sitting for a long time was still tiring.

However, the king seemed to have forgotten his predicament. After getting out of his carriage, he started chatting with farmers by the roadside, completely oblivious to the fact that doing so might reveal his whereabouts. His carriage was already quite conspicuous, and his image appeared in portraits at various City Hall and on Louis coins. In fact, the parliamentary representatives who later pursued him caught up with the king based on clues provided by these witnesses.

The carriage then stopped several more times along the way, allowing its distinguished passengers to rest. As a result, their journey took much longer than planned.

Around four o'clock that afternoon, the carriage arrived in Châlons. According to the plan, the Marquis de Bouillet's cavalry, with replacement horses, were supposed to meet the King a short distance ahead and then escort them to Montmédy.

However, the king did not encounter the cavalry here. Instead, it was their overly extravagant carriage that aroused the suspicion of the locals.

At the designated meeting point, the king encountered only one cavalryman. This cavalryman told them that the Duke of Choiseul, with his Germany cavalry (because the France cavalry might be inclined towards Parliament and unreliable, these mercenaries were the only option), had been waiting there for several hours. The presence of so many mercenaries naturally attracted the attention of the locals. To avoid further suspicion, the Duke and his cavalry left first. However, he told the king to continue forward; about two more hours later, another troop of cavalry would be waiting for them at Sainte-Menehould.

By this time, it was already dark, and the horses in the king's carriage were exhausted. They traveled for another two hours and arrived at the next rendezvous point. However, the cavalrymen were not waiting for them there—they had been there two hours earlier, but due to a miscommunication, they had gone to another road to wait for the king.

Unable to rendezvous with the cavalry, the royal family continued their journey alone in their carriage. Meanwhile, the sight of his luxurious carriage traveling through the night aroused suspicion among the citizens of Sainte-Menehould. When the king alighted to rest, the stationmaster, Drouet, noticed his striking resemblance to the man depicted on Louis's gold coin and immediately notified the city council. At that moment, the carriage departed Sainte-Menehould and continued on its way.

The Sainte-Menehould city council dispatched Drouet to pursue the king. He rode on horseback, taking a shortcut, and arrived before the king at Varennes, a small town on the main road to Montmédy. Upon receiving this news, the citizens of Varennes sounded the alarm and stopped the king and his entourage—this was the end of the king's escape route, and he was still two hours away from his destination.

At this moment, Duke of Choiseul, having received the news, arrived with his cavalry, but his light cavalry was stopped by the outnumbered National Guard of Varennes. Although they could already see the king's magnificent carriage, at this point, it seemed impossibly close. Duke of Choiseul's cavalry retreated without attacking the National Guard. Perhaps they feared that fighting would accidentally injure the king, or perhaps letting the king be captured and taken back was even better for some... who knows?