Flowers, Swords and France

A day had passed, and the King's anxious wait had not brought him the turn of events he had dreamed of. The army had not marched into the city in large numbers as ordered by him, and the National Guard had not gathered around him to protect him. .

So, he could only sit in the city of worry and continue his endless wait.

However, he was running out of time.

"Isn't anyone coming yet?" In his indescribable anxiety, he couldn't help but question the ministers around him again. This was the umpteenth time in a day.

And he only got the same answer as before.

"Your Majesty... Wait a little longer, they are still gathering..."

"Still gathering...?" He smiled bitterly.

He knew in his heart that the words of his confidants were just comforting him. If no one came yet, it meant that - maybe, no one would ever come to save the dynasty.

The king sighed softly, then he walked to the window sill and looked at the group of National Guardsmen on the other side of the river who were waiting on the bridge. They were so close yet so far away. They didn't even look at the palace.

"Are they still gathering...?" He repeated again, his tone full of self-mockery.

Then, he sat back in his seat dejectedly, thinking for a long time before speaking again.

"Call Mr. Guizot over!"

The prime minister came over soon. He looked decadent now, and didn't say a word, as if he had completely lost his fighting spirit.

The king looked at the old man with messy hair in front of him. His eyes were blurred, as if he hadn't slept all night last night. Compared to not long ago, he suddenly became old.

Then, the king suddenly realized that he must be like this in the eyes of others. He couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart, and then subconsciously raised his hand and gently swept the hair on his forehead.

"You were right yesterday." After the two were silent for a moment, the king finally spoke, "Until now, no army has come to defend their king-"

"This is not surprising, Your Majesty." The Prime Minister replied in a low voice, "The dissatisfaction that permeates the country cannot fail to infiltrate the army."

"So, what should we do now?" The king asked directly without caring about his answer.

"Sorry, Your Majesty..." The Prime Minister bowed and apologized, "At this point, I don't know how to solve it, I have no other way..."

"If you are unable to solve the task I assigned to you, then you should not continue to stay in the position I appointed you, right?"

After hearing this, the Prime Minister suddenly raised his head and looked at the king, but the king still had no expression on his face and made a silent urging with a cold gaze.

At this moment, although he had been mentally prepared for a long time, he still stagnated for a moment. He understood that from this moment on, his political future was over, and the political capital accumulated by decades of hard work and hardship would eventually come to nothing. Decades of struggle, decades of ambition... just like that.

Well, well, it's meaningless anyway.

He closed his eyes slightly, calmed down, and then bowed again, this time he bowed lower than before.

"Your Majesty, as your servant, I have the obligation to obey any of your orders..."

There was another long silence. His Majesty wanted to say some more words of comfort or encouragement, but he finally stopped talking. After all, he still had some feelings for this former favorite.

"The news will be released soon, please prepare first." He tried to pretend that nothing had happened.

"Your Majesty." At this time, the prime minister suddenly raised his head again and looked at his monarch with a sincere look, "Since I am no longer your subject, can you allow me to say a few more words to you as an impolite adviser?"

After hearing this, the corners of His Majesty's mouth twitched. The performance of former Prime Minister Surt that day was obviously still fresh in his memory. But in the end, he nodded, "Okay, please go ahead... but please be quick."

"It will be quick, just a few words..." The prime minister who had been dismissed murmured softly.

Then, he looked at the king again, his eyes more direct than ever before.

"Your Majesty, your dynasty is over. Although you can try to struggle again, there will be no more changes."

Unexpectedly, His Majesty the King did not react much to this sentence, so he continued.

"As a king, you are undoubtedly qualified, even excellent. You are more suitable to be a king than Louis XV and Louis XVI. Those in Habsburg can only carry your shoes. However, as the King of France, you are unqualified. In this era, no matter how pure and noble the bloodline is, a French king must give the people expectations if he wants to maintain his rule. Yes, it is the kind of expectation that is enough to make people move forward courageously. Since you don't want them to strive, then they will abandon you without any nostalgia, just like today.

You have to find a way to let them know, or make them think, that this kingdom is something special and stands proudly in the world. The French people can temporarily endure their own lack of rights and temporary hardship, but they cannot endure mediocrity and national decadence. Since you can't make them rich, you should at least lead them to chase glory. Don’t forget, Napoleon made this proud nation almost fall into the abyss, but now everyone misses him! This is the French...

But... you didn't do any of them, you couldn't do any of them, so you and your dynasty can only end up where you are now. "

The Prime Minister's voice was full of sincerity. This was what he had always wanted to say to the king but had not said it out loud. Now he could take the opportunity to express it.

"If I am dismissed and your throne can last for a while, I will definitely be very happy, because this will be my best reward for the trust and reuse you have given me. However, what I want to tell you is, Even if you do this, it's too late. The people's anger is not focused on me. They are tired of you and your dynasty. Your Majesty... it's time for us to call it quits."

At this point, perhaps because of the mixed feelings, his voice became a little trembling, and his usual composure was almost gone.

"Your Majesty, even so, the era you ruled was still a good era. It cleared away the shadow of the past for France, licked the wounds of the past twenty years, and drove away the Bourbon royal family who were completely out of date. …I believe that even if the momentary anger makes everyone speak ill of us, history will eventually give you and us a fair evaluation. I will wait quietly for that day.”

After finishing speaking, he choked up and closed his mouth, lowering his gaze sadly.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

This extremely literary man, this part-time historian who wrote "The History of the English Revolution from Charles I to Charles II", left his last words on the stage of history, although they are sad, they are not lost. tolerance. He was not a soldier, so he could not utter harsh curses like Sirte before, but he could still touch his king.

"The evaluation of history?" The king smiled bitterly, "In other words, do you think all I can expect now is the evaluation of history?" His voice was very soft, as if he was comforting his predecessor. The Prime Minister also seems to be hypnotizing himself.

Suddenly, he broke out violently, his last courage still prevailing in his mind.

"No... no, I can't give up yet! Do you know how much I paid to get this throne? If I just give up, what will my father think of me and what will my family do?"

The Prime Minister stopped talking, and just bowed respectfully to His Majesty the King again. Then he turned around, ignoring the King who was still shouting next to him, and left the room without looking back.

………………

As time went by, more and more rebels gathered outside the palace. They had formed a semi-surrounding situation around the palace. They were noisy and clamoring outside the palace all night, as if they were exhausted. Like a strong one.

In the midst of this terrifying roar, a courtier from the palace came out. Under the escort of the guards, he walked not far from the mob's line, and then shouted loudly.

"Gentlemen, please calm down! His Majesty has listened to the voice of the people! He has dismissed Mr. Guizot from his post and reappointed Count Molay as Prime Minister. Now the political ax of the kingdom has been changed! Everyone. Please go home... Your goal has been achieved! Your Majesty will never pursue today's matter in the future, absolutely not! In the future, the government will strive to innovate and seek the welfare of all French people!"

His call was initially met with consternation.

Has the king surrendered? Is he unable to hold on any longer?

Then, of course, the consternation slowly turned into laughter.

At this point, he actually thought that just changing the Prime Minister would solve the problem!

The laughter grew louder and louder, and finally completely drowned out the hoarse shouts of the courtiers who kept repeating themselves.

"Sir, please go back and give a reply to Mr. de Orléans inside!" A representative of the uprising shouted back, "His ears may not be working well enough that he can't hear the people's voice clearly! We are not asking for a Prime Minister to step down, nor are we asking a Minister to step down, what we want is..."

He paused deliberately.

"King **," the people nearby cheered and replied, "Long live the French Republic!"

"King **, long live the French Republic!" This slogan came and went, reaching into the sky.

The shouts grew louder and louder, and more and more people cheered. The king's concession allowed them to fully see how weak this man was at this time, and they also understood more clearly that he was finished. (To be continued.)