Flowers, Swords and France

The shocking **, when it had just started, had already awakened the other half of the city like an electric shock. The proletarians of Paris stood up to fight for their own survival, and its wealthy property-owning class, with similar vigor, planned to arm themselves to defend their wealth and survival.

In France at this time, the possessing classes were not completely unorganized and undisciplined. In fact, they had their own military force-the National Guard.

[The National Guard was a military organization established in 1789 under the orders of the revolutionary government. At this time, it had evolved into a military force with the bourgeoisie as its members. Property owners from all over France (such as businessmen, notaries, lawyers, nobles, etc.) will be incorporated into them, awarded military ranks, and often undergo military training to assist in suppressing "rebellion" when there is a "rebellion".

Precisely because of its class component, the French government at that time paid great attention to winning over and supporting this paramilitary force. King Louis Philippe often wore a National Guard uniform as a formal dress to show his people that he was the protector of the property owners.

At that time, the Paris National Guard usually gathered in Place Saint-Michel, which was very close to the wealthy areas. This square is very close to the French Chamber of Nobility (Luxembourg Palace, now the Senate), Notre Dame de Paris and the Pantheon.

By the way, Louis Bonaparte himself, who was in England at this time, also joined an organization similar to the National Guard, assisting the British government and police to suppress the Chartist movement that was suddenly emerging in Britain. 】

Under the urging of endless roars, people living on the left bank of the Seine and other wealthy areas followed the steps of past drills. They changed into their self-defense uniforms at home, picked up their guns, and then prepared They will gather at the designated place in their own neighborhood. After the initial gathering is complete, they will follow the predetermined steps and, under the leadership of their respective officers, go to St. Michael's Square to complete the final gathering.

The banker Du Taai was wearing the blue uniform of a captain of the National Guard, and behind him were the people assigned to him by Baron Beauvain. They had already completed the assembly and preparation, and quickly headed towards the final destination. Run to the assembly area.

Along the way, he could no longer see the usual leisure and comfort here. The ladies who were used to going to dances and theaters had all hid in their homes, praying uneasily for their fathers and brothers; The wealthy men and playboys who were having fun and feasting all day long had now put on the uniforms that represented their stance, and they also had expressions of panic and confusion. On the streets where luxury carriages usually rush around, now only National Guard officers and soldiers holding weapons were left passing by.

It's like a scene of the end of the world!

Looking at this scene, Du Taai couldn't help but laugh. He knew how advantageous this confusion would be to the Baron's plans—and to his fortune.

Although Du Taai and his men were as hasty as the others, he was confident. He knew better than anyone that the dynasty was doomed—and few thought that was a misfortune.

………………

In the conference room of the National Guard assembly area in the Saint-Germain district, the special envoy from the palace has been urging the commander here to quickly take his people to the palace to help suppress the mob.

"What you mean is that His Majesty the King needs us to protect him..." A handsome middle-aged man with blond hair and a short beard looked at the person opposite him with a calm and unhurried expression, and his face showed an elusive expression. He smiled uncertainly, "But my people are not all ready? If we set off rashly, I'm afraid..."

"Mr. Treville, I have been waiting for a long time. Even if it is because of the rush, the assembly should be completed after such a long time, right?" It seemed that he came in a hurry. The envoy's expression was obviously very anxious, and he was obviously a little frightened, so he spoke very awkwardly. Politely, "I have been waiting for a long time, and His Majesty the King does not have that much patience! If you feel that this work is too difficult for you, I will complete it for you!"

As soon as he saw this courtier's attitude, the middle-aged man finally changed his expression.

"Hey... you are so impatient..."

"How can I not be in a hurry...Your Majesty the King..." The special envoy replied angrily just now, but suddenly he stopped talking.

The man in front of him took out a pistol from nowhere, and the black muzzle was pointed at him.

"You...you..." Only then did he understand what happened, his face suddenly turned pale, and he couldn't even speak.

He wanted to stand up and run away, but fear made his whole body weak, as if his body was no longer under control.

"Bang!"

A huge noise sounded.

"You actually think that we will fight for His Majesty the King. Are you arrogant or stupid?" Looking at the body that fell to the ground, the middle-aged man still smiled calmly, as if nothing had happened. "That's fine, someone has to die for this dynasty..."

The door opened.

His daughter Charlotte walked in quickly without even looking at the body on the ground.

"Father, we are ready."

"Very good." Little Duke Philip Treville nodded towards his daughter and smiled approvingly, "Well done, Charlotte."

His daughter was now wearing tight gray breeches and deerskin boots on her feet, as if she was participating in a hunting trip. Her blond hair was tied up in a high bun on the back of her head, making her look very heroic.

Because of her grandfather's status in the aristocratic circle, her father Philip Treville Jr. was a colonel in the National Guard and was considered one of the important figures in the National Guard.

When the uprising suddenly started, although Charlotte didn't know what happened, she quickly understood what should be done. She immediately encouraged her grandfather and father to participate in the overthrow of His Majesty the King, and After careful consideration of the situation, Duke Treville finally agreed to her proposal.

However, unlike her, Duke Treville and Charlotte's father had known about this for a long time, but the Duke had always pretended to be ignorant, and even now he pretends to be very similar, and even his grandchildren have not seen it. come out.

After receiving his daughter's report, little Philip tidied his uniform, then took his pistol and walked out of the conference room leisurely.

According to the previous arrangement, he walked to the assembly area not far away, and then looked at his subordinates - these people were middle-aged and young, and they were all nobles. They all looked nervous and said nothing.

This is not surprising. These people are all people with families and businesses. Of course, they cannot learn the fearless spirit of the mob.

"Gentlemen, we all know that everything that happened today was unexpected." Ignoring the shouts of death coming from the sky, the young Duke Treville still maintained his usual demeanor, even with a hint of joking, " But could it be some kind of chance to rid France of some usurper?"

His words were somewhat shocking, so it was no surprise that they sparked excitement. These nobles soon understood what the Treville family meant.

However, there was no shortage of legitimists among the nobles, especially those whom Charlotte had already taken care of.

"You're right! We don't have to worry about the life or death of that usurper!"

"This is God's justice!"

"This is delayed justice!"

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

They clamored loudly and suppressed other voices. Slowly, they seemed to have weighed the current situation. The nobles who were originally strange gradually gave themselves an indifferent face.

"As far as I'm concerned, we don't have to die for the throne of a usurper. He's not worth taking any risk of our lives." After seeing that the heat was almost over, the young Duke Treville made a gesture, "We are gathering today, just To protect your home from being invaded, isn’t it?”

"right!"

"That's right!"

There was another clamor.

To be fair, there are still some among these nobles who want to help the king. But... even the leaders only wanted to protect themselves wisely, and they no longer wanted to risk their lives themselves. Moreover, God knows how many people here are die-hard royalists, and how many people are ready to escape the broken ship of the July Dynasty? They quickly kept their thoughts to themselves, as nobles often did.

"If someone insists on being loyal to His Majesty the King, I personally admire his loyalty very much and will never stop him." Little Duke Treville still said calmly, "Does anyone want to go? You can now. Stand up!"

As he expected, someone moved their knees, but after finding that others didn't move at all, they stopped their legs. In the end, no one stepped forward.

"Okay! Let's go and defend our homeland!" The Duke shouted, "The usurper, let's leave him to God for judgment!"

The Duke understands these people very well. It is certainly easy to ask them to fight to defend their property or to stand by when the dynasty collapses. It is impossible to ask them to go through life and death for a certain slogan or a certain idea. In a word - -These people are very well behaved!

Therefore, this is the only way to arrange it.

On the Du Taai side, the National Guard has already made the decision to stick to its area.

In District 5, District 7... the same is true.

The decisions made by those famous financiers have now been spread. Famous surnames such as Beauvain and Rothschild are well known to the bourgeoisie, and their statements can't help but become the direction for the bourgeoisie to follow.

In the end, no one in the entire National Guard accepted the king's order to defend the king.

…………

By night it became clear to the court that it could not count on the vigilantes.

There is only a river and a bridge across. People in the palace can see these officers and soldiers wearing National Guard uniforms even with the naked eye. They are right in front of them!

However, they are only in front of their eyes. These National Guards were stationed on this side of the Pont de la Concorde, building fortifications with bricks and stones, and occasionally firing shots to warn any "mob" who wanted to cross the bridge. Then, they stayed behind their temporary fortifications and watched coldly as the palace on the other side, a few hundred meters away, was shouting loudly. No one wanted to go over and save their Majesty the King.

In this way, in the face of the raging frenzy, the two pillars of the French property owners - the nobility and the bourgeoisie - abandoned July almost simultaneously because of their own calculations and purposes, with a detached attitude. The dynasty, with a clear conscience, is prepared to sit back and watch this dynasty fall into the final abyss.

They will soon succeed. (To be continued.)