Flowers, Swords and France

The weather in June is unpredictable. One moment the sun was shining brightly, but not long after, the sky was suddenly shrouded in thick dark clouds. .However, the feeling of suffocation that can make people breathless remains the same.

A conference room in the War Department was filled with smoke at the moment. A group of middle-aged men in military uniforms gathered around the conference table and looked at each other nervously.

The sultry weather made their foreheads and faces covered with sweat, but no one complained about it because their attention was already occupied by more and more important things.

Their commander, General Louis Eugène Cavaignac, now Minister of War, was sitting at the head of the conference table. His expression was solemn and a bit solemn.

His extremely serious expression, coupled with his brown beard and his eyes that were constantly flashing cold light, always made people find a hint of ferocity that was not easy to detect.

He was ready to play his role in history and to lead an army to exterminate all resistance in Paris.

"Gentlemen, since you are all here, I don't think you think you are here for an outing, right? Yes, I transferred you here to wipe out the mob, rescue this country from the mob, and let it Restore divine order and tranquility," the general said slowly, with an expression on his face. Becoming more murderous, "Don't be afraid of anything, just lead your troops and charge forward! This is the order given to us by the Supreme Executive Committee! We are saving this country! Now, there is no such thing as tolerance and fraternity. That’s it! The needs of the Republic are everything!”

This murderous speech soon made the atmosphere in the conference room more solemn, and the sweat on the heads of some officers became even more dense.

[On May 4, 1848, after the election, the Constituent Assembly opened and the original provisional government was dissolved. On May 10, the parliament secretly selected a five-member executive committee as the head of state administration. Four of the five were right-wing bourgeois republicans: Lamartine, Arago, Garnier-Page and Marley, leaving only one petty-bourgeois democrat, Ledru Roland, as an embellishment. All labor representatives in Paris were squeezed out of politics, and even labor leaders such as Blanqui and Cabet were defeated in the parliamentary elections.

In this way, the bourgeoisie achieved dictatorship shortly after the February Revolution, and the original "social republic" in name has been reduced to nothing. 】

Next, he looked around with ferocious eyes, "Does anyone else have a different opinion?"

No one spoke.

"Very good." General Cavaignac nodded with satisfaction, "I'm very happy that you are all loyal guards of France. So, are your troops ready?"

"Ready."

"It's ready."

He heard several echoes.

After hearing the answer he wanted, General Cavaignac suddenly raised his voice.

"Then now, just listen to me!"

All the officers present straightened their bodies at the same time and stood respectfully.

General Cavaignac stood up, picked up a thin white oak stick, and began to mark dots on the map behind his seat.

He first pointed to those core areas of the city.

"First of all, our most important goal is to ensure the safety of the Paris City Hall. We must not let the mob succeed and break into this important area and bring immeasurable harm to us and this country. We will absolutely We cannot bear this price. Therefore, this road will be the top priority. I will personally take charge of the command of this road and lead a force to eliminate the mobs along the city hall... As long as we can ensure the security of the core area, then these The fate of the mob is doomed.”

His deployment did not arouse any objections, and people were listening quietly, waiting for the tasks General Cavaignac had set for himself.

"General Damme?"

"exist!"

"Your troops are responsible for clearing out the hostile forces along the lines of the Luxembourg Palace and the Bourbon Palace. You need to start from the Luxembourg Gardens and advance directly to Sauerbonne, eliminate all resisters along the way, and occupy the Latin Quarter." General Fenyak revealed his plans for the general.

General Damem frowned, seeming to be thinking about his plan to accomplish his goal.

General Cavaignac immediately continued his explanation.

"General, you know that the left bank of the Seine is an area inhabited by the bourgeoisie. They are the most ardent defenders of the country and order. They will give you a lot of conveniences. They will form a National Guard to seize advantageous terrain. And they'll cover the wings for you, and you'll have plenty of help."

After hearing what General Cavaignac said, General Damem's brows relaxed a lot, presumably because he felt that his chances of winning were even greater.

"I will complete my mission resolutely and thoroughly."

"General Perot?"

"exist!"

"Your troops are responsible for this line..." The general's baton pointed to the area marked on the map with the suburbs of Temple. "You need to start your troops from the suburbs of Temple and attack all the way to the suburbs of St. Anthony." "As long as you complete this task, you can cut off the connections between the mobs and isolate them one by one, so that we can defeat them one by one."

"Yes! My troops and I will do our best for France!" General Perot replied immediately.

"Very good." General Cavaignac nodded approvingly, "I hope you can do what you say."

Then he looked away.

"General de la Morehill, your troops are responsible for starting from the Place de la Bastille and advancing eastward until they pass through the suburbs." After finishing speaking, General Cavaignac reminded him, "General, what do you want?" The area we are facing is the most difficult. This is the main area where the mob lives, and there are dense barricades everywhere. It is a tough nut to crack, so you have to be mentally prepared. "

"We are never afraid of danger, General." General De La Morehill nodded slightly, saying that his troops would do their best to complete the mission. "The mob's armed forces will be defeated by us."

"That's right." General Cavaignac tapped the map on the wall with his baton. "We must defeat them all!"

Then, General Cavaignac looked away again and drove another man who was sitting upright.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Colonel de Corvey, are your troops ready? You came from Provence, right? Have you recovered enough?"

"Our morale is high, General." De Corvey, the officer who had met Charles before, replied with a serious expression, "We are always ready to serve the country."

"Then, your troops are responsible for fighting in the 7th and 8th districts and clearing the strongholds of the mob." General Cavaignac nodded and told him the arrangements, "I hope you can prove it with your performance. My own words!”

"Yes!" De Kervi immediately agreed loudly.

"As long as you can stand up when the country needs it, there is no problem in being promoted to general, don't worry." General Cavaignac suddenly smiled and encouraged.

"Yes!" De Kervi replied again. Although his expression was still solemn, the joy in his tone was very obvious. How many soldiers can remain unmoved in the face of promotion?

"We can't just focus on the inside of the city. We must also pay attention to the military forces outside the city. Only by controlling the outside of the city can we cut off any assistance to the mob in the city. At the same time, we can also prevent these mobs from escaping the city and spreading the violence. Go somewhere else!" General Cavaignac continued talking about his deployment, "At the same time, because the streets in the city are very narrow, it is extremely difficult for the cavalry to maneuver. And fighting, and the narrow streets make it easy for the mob to concentrate their firepower, the target of the cavalry is too big. Therefore, this time I only plan to let a small group of cavalry enter the city and use their impact ability to fight in some open squares. The mob, and the other cavalry, I will deploy them outside the city. They will cut off the mob's reinforcements and be ready to capture the mob who escape from the city at any time. Do you understand?"

"clear!"

………………

Then, according to the military plan that had been formulated, General Cavaignac assigned tasks to the officers present one by one, and these officers accepted them without hesitation.

Obviously, in order to suppress the rebels, the military agencies of the Second Republic had been planning for a long time. Their military deployment and plans are very complete, and they are just waiting for the day they start.

After everything was deployed, General Cavaignac put the baton back to its original position, slowly walked back to his original position, and slowly sat down.

His sharp gaze kept glancing in front of the others, making them all feel shocked.

He was silent for a long time and didn't speak. .

The unprecedented tension slowly accumulated in this silence, making people overwhelmed.

It was not until this tension was about to reach the critical point that General Cavaignac finally spoke.

"Gentlemen, the country is already in danger, and it urgently needs our help. So we will win this time, and we must win! Here, I specifically authorize you to use any means to deal with those mobs who refuse to surrender. , remember, it’s any means! As long as you achieve the predetermined goal within the specified time, I don’t care how you accomplish it, I just want to see it. This result! If any of you encounter strong resistance in any neighborhood, I allow you to use cannons, grenades and incendiary bombs! The more powerful the better! To destroy! Remember, we are saving the country! The country will never allow anyone to show mercy!"

After saying this, the general slammed the table.

"Now, go back and prepare! In 24 hours, we will act as planned. Hurry!"

"Yes!" (To be continued.)