We asked the Emperor whether he thought that, with the concurrence of the Legislative Body, he could have saved France? He replied, without hesitation, that he would confidently have undertaken to do so, and that he would have answered for his success.
“In less than a fortnight,” continued he, "that is to say, before any considerable mass of the allied force could have assembled before Paris, I should have completed my fortifications, and have collected before the walls of the city, and out of the wrecks of the army, upwards of eighty thousand good troops, and three hundred pieces of horse artillery. After a few days’ firing, the national guard, the federal troops, and the inhabitants of Paris, would have sufficed to defend the entrenchments. I should have had eighty thousand disposable troops at my command. It is well known how advantageously I was capable of employing this force.—The achievements of 1814 were still fresh in remembrance. Champaubert, Montmirail, Craon, Montereau, were still present in the imagination of our enemies; the same scenes would have revived the recollection of the prodigies of the preceding year. I was then surnamed the _hundred thousand men_.
"The rapidity and decision of our successes gave rise to this name. The conduct of the French troops was most admirable. Never did a handful of brave men accomplish so many miracles. If their high achievements have never been publicly known, owing to the circumstances which attended our disasters, they have at least been duly appreciated by our enemies, who counted the number of our attacks by our victories. We were truly the heroes of fable!
“Paris,” said he, "would in a few days have become impregnable. The appeal to the nation, the magnitude of the danger, the excitement of the public mind, the grandeur of the spectacle, would have drawn multitudes to the capital. I could undoubtedly have assembled upwards of four hundred thousand men, and I imagine the allied force did not exceed five hundred thousand. Thus the affair would have been brought to a single combat, in which the enemy would have had as much to fear as ourselves. He would have hesitated, and thus I should have regained the confidence of the majority.