‘The artillery will commence the salute!’ a sergeant roared out. The cannon had been loaded with blank charges and as the first linstock was applied there was a brief fizz and then the gun belched flame and smoke as it boomed across the river. At regular intervals the other guns followed, one by one, a hundred of them, giving a formal salute to the Tsar of Russia.

Napoleon stepped forward to greet Alexander. Clasping his arms, he planted a kiss on each cheek.

‘I bid you welcome, your majesty.’

Alexander smiled. ‘I offer you my thanks, imperial majesty. And may I introduce Frederick William, King of Prussia?’

The Prussian ruler smiled awkwardly as he stepped forward. Napoleon took his hand and shook it briskly. ‘And I welcome you too, Frederick William. I trust that you will enter into peace negotiations with France as readily as your ally.’

‘Yes.Yes, I will,’ Frederick William stammered.‘Prussia wants peace as much as anyone.’

‘I am gladdened to hear it,’ Napoleon replied without a smile.‘Now, if you would both do me the honour of accompanying me I will show you to your accommodation in Tilsit.’

The three rulers led the procession up the designated route.The tall figures of the men from the Imperial Guard stood like statues as they stared straight ahead, their gaze hardly flickering as Napoleon and the others passed by. A respectful distance behind them came the marshals and staff officers of the Grand Army, interspersed with Russian and Prussian officers as they disembarked from the boats queuing up to unload their passengers on to the jetty. All the while the guns of the Grand Battery continued their salute, the crash of their shots echoing across the river.

Alexander looked closely from side to side, noting the decorations on the chests of the veterans lining the route. ‘A most impressive body of men.’

‘Indeed.’ Napoleon smiled. ‘I can assure you that they can fight as well as put on a smart display.’

‘So I have been told,’ Alexander replied wryly, and flashed a smile back at the Emperor.‘Those of my officers who faced them at Eylau say they will never forget how hard they fought to dislodge us from the town.’

‘And today they are assembled to greet you, Alexander. To welcome you as a new ally of France.’

The Tsar nodded his head in grateful acknowledgement and at his side the King of Prussia shot his erstwhile friend a quick look of anxiety.

‘I hope you don’t mind,’ Napoleon continued in a conversational tone, ‘but I have given instructions that your accommodation is to be furnished from my personal stores. I have taken the liberty of sending you my best campaign bed.’

‘Thank you,’ Alexander replied. ‘Most kind of you.’