Flowers, Swords and France

This is a very quiet room.

It is located in the deepest part of the mansion, and even the owner rarely visits it on weekdays.

There is a large square table in the center, covered with red velvet. In the center is a cloisonné shell wall clock, with a silver candlestick on each side of the clock. The elbow-high parapets were made of chestnut wood. A piece of fine leather hangs on the wall, with embossed patterns on the leather, and the ceiling is painted and gilded, with exquisite splicing.

All the furnishings are trying to prove to the world the style of the owner here - quiet, but not that monotonous indifference.

At least that's how it seemed to M. Thiers. \u003cac, 1802-1857), a Frenchman and politician, joined the army in his early years and later became a general. He was appointed governor-general in Algeria at the end of the July Monarchy. After the outbreak of the February Revolution, he resigned from the military and returned to the country. He was elected as a member of the Constituent Assembly in the election.

On May 17, he was officially appointed as the political secretary of war. 】

"As you like, I personally don't care." The face of the host here is still serious and cold, "And, I think you came to visit me specifically not just to discuss the issue of address with me, right? If you want to say something Just say it! You know, I have been in the army for decades and I always like to be straightforward."

Not everyone is entitled to a visit from M. Thiers, especially now that he has become one of the leaders of an important political force. And today Mr. Cavaignac, because of his new position and his fame, has officially become one of them.

Perhaps he should feel honored, but now, suspicion was the first thing on the mind of the general.

"This is a good habit." Although he felt the host's uncooperative mood, Mr. Thiers still showed no trace of wavering or impatience on his face.

After a pause, he continued to look at the general.

"General, I think you have received the news, right? Mr. Arago has decided to appoint you as Minister of War..." \u003co, 1786–1853), French physicist and astronomer, outstanding achievements in magnetism and astronomy . During the July Monarchy, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies and also served as director of the Paris Observatory.

After the fall of the July Monarchy, he continued to run for parliament and was elected in May. Due to his outstanding reputation and basically no conflicts with various political factions, he was elected as the political leader after the establishment of the Constituent Assembly and became the second interim political leader of the Second Republic.

Since he had no attachment to this position and knew that he was only a transitional candidate, he quickly transferred the position and authority of the political leadership to his successor, General Cavaignac, the former Minister of War. He only served as political leader for a month. 】

"I did hear similar rumors, but since it hasn't been announced yet, I can't say for sure." The general replied coldly.

"So, what if all this really happened?" Mr. Thiers looked at the other party with interest.

"I will do my best to serve this country." The general's expression was very serious, "until everything I have is exhausted."

"Of course you know how overwhelming the words 'do whatever you can' can be in the current situation, right?"

The general was silent for a moment, and then glanced at Thiers in surprise, as if trying to figure out what this man was thinking.

"Of course I know, this is never an easy job." Finally, he spoke again, still as calm as before. "However, I will fulfill my obligations when my motherland needs me."

"Do your duty like Napoleon?" Thiers suddenly asked.

This is of course a bit rude. Even if a careerist really wanted to imitate Napoleon, he would never admit it in front of others.

"Like Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac." The host couldn't help but frown. \u003cac, 1763-18)), he was the father of General Cavaignac and a famous statesman. During the Revolution, he served as a member of the National Assembly, a Montagnard, and voted in favor of Louis XVI's death sentence. 】

"Oh, don't be angry! I'm just making a metaphor!" Thiers laughed again, "I also have full respect for your father. It was the efforts of his generation in August that made the world a better place." The aristocrats made such a mess and allowed a commoner like me to get ahead. I am very grateful to that great generation."

[Referring to August 1789, the French National Assembly passed a resolution abolishing a series of feudal rights such as the ability of feudal lords to collect taxes from subsequent land transactions after the original territory was sold. 】

"Thank you." Under his exaggerated and deliberate compliment, the general just nodded slightly.

"But, don't you really want to learn from Napoleon? I mean the good side - he saved this country that was once in chaos and brought stability to it. Don't you hope to achieve such great achievements?" Tiye Mr. Er lowered his voice and said, "Don't you want to be recorded in history?"

"If you are referring to this aspect, then I must answer, I hope." The general's tone slowed down a bit, but he still looked at the other party suspiciously, not knowing what kind of medicine the other party was selling.

Although there was a constant smile on his face, Mr. Thiers was extremely calm in his heart.

He understood that the first step had been successful.

"Then, Mr. Arago's appointment of you will be the first step for you to go down in history."

"Come on! Mr. Thiers, you must know that I, the Minister of War, don't know how long I can serve." The general smiled bitterly, "You must know how unstable the current government is."

"If it can get enough support, it can be very stable." Thiers' voice suddenly added something inexplicable.

The general looked at the man opposite him and seemed to have sensed something.

Is he here to persuade me to join the Order Party?

"I am a republican!" The general answered flatly.

"Oh, of course I know you are. Everyone can be a republican, and one day I may be one." Mr. Thiers raised his eyebrows slightly, not surprised by the other party's answer. "But some republicans want to be president, and some republicans don't want to. Which one are you?"

"President?" The general asked back, very surprised.

He stared at Thiers closely, as if he wanted to pry open his brain.

The presidential election at the end of the year has touched the hearts of every political faction. As a politician with a fundamentally motivated mind, the general would be lying if he said he didn't care.

"You're right, Mr. Cavaignac." Thiers still smiled, "I think you can be president."

"It's not enough if you think so." General Cavaignac's attitude had softened a lot, but he was still dodging and testing.

"I'm here to express this wish to you on behalf of all my colleagues in the Order Party." Thiers suddenly raised his voice, "General Cavaignac, we support you to run for president of the Republic!"

The general stared at Thiers closely.

After a long time, he finally spoke.

"What are the conditions?"

He couldn't resist such temptation after all.

"Conditions? Oh, no, we don't have any conditions, this is not a deal." Mr. Thiers shook his head and denied it, even though it was clearly a deal.

"Sir, we have no conditions, only a will, a will that you will implement yourself."

"What do you mean?"

"We need you to restore the stability of this country. Isn't this what you must do after becoming the leader of this country?" Seeing the heat, Mr. Thiers began to show his cards, "General, to be honest, you know that Mr. Arago is old and can't take on the responsibility of the country at this time... and you, you are young and strong, and you have great prestige. You are the one who can take on this responsibility. As long as you are willing, Mr. Arago will resign soon, and you will become the leader of the government..."

"Restore the stability of the country?" In addition to the bait thrown by the other party, the general heard the other party's painting After thinking for a moment, he looked at the other party coldly, "You mean, you want me to suppress those rebels?"

"Rebels? No, sir, these are a group of rebels! Now it is the beautiful 19th century, the nobles have given up the stage, people like you and I can become the leaders of this country, the goal of that great generation has been achieved, what is the need for an uprising now? These are a group of rebels, they are not just threatening a certain dynasty or some nobles, they are threatening all of us! They are the root of all disasters today, and even more the cause of greater disasters in the future - if we don't care about them!"

His words did not arouse the other party's excitement, and the general just fell into deep thought.

"In other words, you support me as the temporary head of the government and president as a condition, and ask me to suppress the mob?"

The original text is in the six # 9 @book/bar!

Unexpectedly, he has changed his words.

"Yes, now we have to suppress them if we want to restore the normal order of this country." Mr. Thiers answered flatly, "Don't you think so?"

"But... If I do what you want, then we must cause bloodshed in Paris, a big bloodshed." The general did not take the bait easily, but immediately pointed out the wrong place, "This will greatly damage my reputation, and the election will definitely not succeed, so what's the use of your promise?"

He did not reject the conditions, but pointed out that the conditions were difficult to complete-this means that he was close to agreeing. Mr. Thiers thought.

Very good.

"Your concerns are not unreasonable, General." He still had that humble smile on his face, "So, in order to prevent this situation, we have also made some plans..."

"What plans!"

"We, and our political allies, plan to make laws in the near future..." Mr. Thiers spread his hands. "Deprive the propertyless of their right to vote, and the presidential election will only begin among the property owners. Then, they will not forget your contribution to defending this country..."

The parliament elected by the people wanted to deprive the people of their right to vote. This is the root cause of the failure of the Second Republic. Its parliament and its people are not connected at all, not even on the surface or in form.

The Second French Republic granted universal suffrage to almost all adult male citizens. These citizens used their rights to elect a constitutional assembly and planned to reform the country on the basis of this institution.

All this looks beautiful.

However, a large part of the members of this parliament, which was elected by all the people, actually regard "depriving the majority of voters of the right to vote" as their top priority. Isn't this strange?

Actually, this is not surprising.

Even in the 21st century, it is virtually common for elected institutions to fail to represent public opinion. In France, which was in the mid-19th century, most of these newly enfranchised civilians were illiterate and did not have a certain amount of education. Most of them rarely left their hometowns throughout their lives. Even though there is a new revolution in the country, for them, everything is still the same as before. They still retain their inherent concepts and religious ideas formed in the old era, and they will not have any consciousness of class struggle.

In this case, the vast majority of the people they finally elected were those who were well-known in the local area - that is, rich and powerful nobles or capitalists. , could have been elected in the first place, and some of them were even former members of the parliament.

And how can these people regard themselves as the same people as ordinary people?

They will definitely consider that if they continue to hold universal suffrage, their future elections will be more difficult and the energy and financial resources required will increase. Therefore, it is not surprising that they want to cancel the people's universal suffrage.

I see! This is what these people planned!

The general suddenly understood.

"Sir, you see, I have been honest with you now." Mr. Thiers looked at the general leisurely, "What about you? Can you also be honest with me? Are you willing to comply with our wishes?"

Yes, should I agree to this guy?

The general pondered.

This consideration is not due to moral involvement, but to the calculation of political interests.

Can they really do it?

"Don't worry," Mr. Thiers replied softly, as if he saw what he was thinking, "We do what we say. As long as you do yours, we will definitely do ours, without any compromise." ! General Cavaignac, as long as you nod here, we will make you the first president of the French Republic..."

Then, he suddenly added, "Of course, if you don't want to, there is nothing we can do. We can only find other collaborators... I think there will always be someone who is willing, including the interim political leader and the president." Right?"

"We still need to face many opposing forces, such as..." the general was still pondering, "Louis Bonaparte and his followers are also eyeing us at any time."

"Louis Bonaparte! This guy has a good name, a good name that we should be wary of. It is this surname that allows him to enjoy his wealth, steal the prestige and reputation that does not belong to him, and also earn money for his party lackeys. He has won a lot of seats. However, he is not the one who decides the surname now, and maybe never. Far from it. Maybe he will be our political enemy in the future, but we don't have time to deal with him now - and even this person who likes to seek fame will not be willing to see the mob rebel and turn the entire country into a Is it going to be hell? General, I don’t think he’ll cause any trouble for us.”

"We?" the general asked.

"Of course it's us." A hint of slyness flashed in Thiers' eyes, "Will you still refuse such a generous offer?"

The general kept looking at Thiers, and M. Thiers looked back at him with a humble smile on his face.

"Okay." After a long time, the general nodded, seeming to agree with his suggestion. "You gave me an offer I couldn't refuse...I hope you can actually do it."

"You won't regret it." Thiers still had an unchanging smile on his face. (To be continued.)