307 Prelude to the War of the Third Coalition

Napoleon folded the letter Talleyrand had just handed to him and leaned back in his chair, exhaling deeply.

"So it has begun, huh?" Napoleon remarked. 

"Indeed so, Your Majesty. I think it's best that we bring in your generals. We are a nation at war," Talleyrand said with a sense of urgency.

Napoleon nodded before reaching out to the new technology recently installed in the Palace of Versailles: the telephone.

He picked up the receiver and dialed a familiar number.

"Connect me to the Minister of War headquarters," Napoleon said.

He waited for a few moments. Finally, a voice on the other end responded, 

"Minister of War headquarters, this is Minister of War, Berthier. To whom am I speaking?" 

"Berthier, this is Napoleon."

"Oh, Your Majesty." 

"I'm pretty sure that you know why I'm calling you right now," Napoleon said.