Flowers, Swords and France

More than a day has passed, and the city is still immersed in artillery fire and a pool of blood. Countless people were armed and divided into two camps with tight barriers, fighting for honor or survival.

The time has arrived on June 24th.

After only one day, the area originally occupied by the insurgents had been reduced by half.

One of the most powerful armed forces of this era is advancing ruthlessly in the capital of their homeland, and no one can resist their footsteps.

After a full day of fierce fighting, a force stopped at Saint-Lachar. Its commander stood at the front of the group, observing the terrain ahead through binoculars. He was General La-Morisier, a key commander in the government's crackdown.

Next to him, in addition to several people in military uniforms, there was also a middle-aged man wearing a hairdo and wearing the uniform of a senior officer of the National Guard. This middle-aged man is the only son and heir of the prestigious Duke of Treville, Philippe de Treville Jr., who is a colonel in the National Guard.

Because of the reputation of the Treville family, the general still had great respect for the young Duke Treville, and there was no common arrogance and bossiness among officers in front of civilian armed forces.

Of course, this kind of moderation is only superficial. In fact, the general is very doubtful about the combat effectiveness of the National Guard, so in many cases he would rather send his own troops to perform tasks. Of course, the young Duke Treville understands this, and he knowingly He didn't discuss military arrangements too much in front of the general, and basically obeyed all the general's orders. And he is also happy to see his people in a relatively safe state.

However, it is no wonder that the regular army looks down on the National Guard. The performance of these militia groups was very poor from the beginning.

From the beginning of chaos. Those National Guardsmen were frightened: on the first day of the uprising, the number of National Guardsmen who came out to fight was already very small, and many people fled; but on the second and third days, under the huge strength of the troops, Due to the gap and complaints from the army, General Cavaignac had to give a special order to dispatch a large number of military police to forcibly pull out the National Guard personnel who were on duty and were not on duty from their homes. After forming them into teams. One private and four ordinary soldiers escorted him to fight. To supplement the manpower needed for repressive forces.

Moreover, even when the Self-Defense Forces arrived at their posts, their combat effectiveness and morale were lackluster. Basically, they would stagnate as long as they encountered a slight setback. Sometimes the mob would launch a slightly more fierce counterattack, and they would even retreat directly, which made the battlefield commander and General Cavaignac furious several times.

Rich people are relatively more afraid of death. This is quite normal.

"General La-Morrisier." In front of the murderous general, the young Duke of Treville was very calm. He faithfully performed his duty as a guide, "In front is the Louis-Philippe Hospital, which is named after the former king. Named, it was still under construction before, because seven Due to the sudden collapse of the Yue Dynasty, construction was temporarily suspended. Since yesterday, a group of mobs have occupied the hospital and some nearby buildings and transformed it into a barricade. Go up there, it’s pretty solid here…”

"Yes, it looks pretty solid." The general suddenly responded, his tone seeming a bit teasing, "But have you ever tried it?"

"Uh... yes." The colonel of the Self-Defense Forces hesitated. "We made a tentative attack last night, but failed. We were quickly repelled by the mob. The enemy's firepower was very fierce, and the facilities were very complicated. It's strong, and we can't deal with it with only light weapons..."

When talking about this, the tone of the young Duke Treville could not help but feel a little embarrassed, "Furthermore, due to the large number of deserters, our manpower is not as sufficient as the establishment, so it is difficult to organize an effective attack here. "

"Hmph, I knew that these rich guys would get weak when they see guns and cannons, you cowards!" Some disdain flashed across the general's face, and he cursed angrily, "These rich guys want the army to help them." The mob cleared out and feared themselves Go to the battlefield and take the risk! They just want us to go through life and death and watch the fun by themselves? Bah, don't even think about it! General Cavaignac has given orders before, we will not let them go! They can't even think of running away!"

Although this sentence seemed to include the noble nobleman, the young Duke Treville only smiled gently after hearing it.

"That's right, everyone should fulfill their obligations."

And at this moment, his cousin Charles, who had violated the obligations of the Treville family and became a deserter, was leisurely isolated from this war, leaving him alone to participate in the war. In the midst of mob repression - everyone has a duty to do.

Of course the general would not know what little Duke Treville meant, so he nodded with relief.

"That's right, Mr. de Treville. Everyone should stand up when the country needs him."

Then, he no longer struggled with the problem with the other party, but turned his head and looked to the side.

"Oh! It's finally here!" He shouted happily.

The young Duke Treville followed his line of sight and found that it was a group of soldiers. They were slowly pushing some cannons over. Looking at the number, it seemed that there were twenty or thirty cannons.

"Is the artillery here? Very good, it looks like we can capture this place soon." He also nodded. "No matter how strong this fortress is, it can't survive the continuous bombardment of the artillery."

"There is still a while before the bombardment begins." The general retracted his sight on the cannon and turned his head to look at the target in the distance.

Then, he gave an order.

……………………

Holding the gun tightly in his hand, Jean-Sville looked through the small window at the army waiting in the distance.

He is the youngest son of a farmer and one of the hundreds of thousands of workers who came to Paris from the provinces to find work and survive in this era. Although he is only in his twenties, he has worked hard in the factory for several years and has already worn thick calluses on his hands. His skin color has also become a little dark and has some fine wrinkles.

The weather in June was a little hot and humid, which made him sweat a lot, but he didn't notice it and still looked ahead.

When the February Revolution just broke out, he, like many people he knew, directly participated in the uprising to overthrow the July Monarchy. Witnessed the birth of the republic and was soon incorporated into the state-owned factory; and in June, when the workers' leaders decided to launch another uprising and achieve a thorough revolution, without any hesitation, this worker in the state-owned factory followed his own organization and threw himself into the barricades like others.

[After the February Revolution. In order to solve the problem of unemployed workers. The provisional government established state-owned factories and absorbed these unemployed workers to engage in various physical labor. In order to facilitate management, these workers were organized in a paramilitary structure in the state-owned factories-ordinary workers were private soldiers, and then some workers were regarded as commanders according to the military structure.

This structure also allowed the workers to have some of their own organizational systems. During the June Uprising, this organizational system enabled them to act in coordination quickly and become an uprising force in an organized manner.

At the beginning. Jean-Svie knew that he was in great danger this time, but the actual situation still shocked him-only when facing the empire's military machine directly. People can intuitively feel how terrible its power is.

In just one day, the rebels' fronts were broken at the same time in various places, and the controlled area was constantly shrinking. After only one day of fighting, the government army had advanced directly here, right in front of them.

However, even so, Jean-Svier was still confident in the resistance situation on his side.

They had a strong fortification.

There were many scattered and disorderly buildings in this area, and a large amount of building materials were piled up; the rebels built a solid fortress here, and its center was the Louis-Philippe Hospital, which was still under construction, where Jean-Svier was located. Around the hospital, they also built a group of huge barricades. Behind the barricades were the city walls that were cut off and occupied by the rebels, which gave them a lot of convenience in defense and gave them a solid support.

Their fortifications extended from here to Rochechouart Street or to the city gate area, and these fortifications and barricades were built in just a few days. When these construction workers put all their energy into building barricades, they were able to complete such projects in a short time.

But even if this place can resist the army for one or two more days, what can it do?

Such a question suddenly flashed through Jean-Sville's mind.

However, he soon put this question behind his mind, and he held the gun tightly again, looking straight at the army in the distance.

At this time, there seemed to be a sudden commotion on the side of the army. The soldiers who were ready for battle opened a small gap, and a man in military uniform walked out of the ranks and walked towards this side.

Because he was waving a white flag representing the military envoy in his hand, and he was walking alone, the rebels did not shoot and let him walk over.

After reaching a certain distance, the military envoy stopped moving forward, but stood in front of the fortifications, clasped his hands to his mouth, and shouted loudly.

"Listen, mobs inside! You are now facing the government army. Don't have any illusions. If you continue to resist, you will surely die! General La Moriciel has issued an ultimatum to you! You must immediately stop resisting government decrees, stop disrupting national order, surrender immediately, and hand over your weapons! This is the only way to survive! If you don't surrender within half an hour, the army will attack, the artillery will bombard, and you will never be forgiven! Many of you have chosen to surrender, and you should also recognize the situation as soon as possible! If you still want to live, surrender quickly!"

The original text can be read in Liu # 9 @shu/bar!

"Pah!" After hearing the arrogant ultimatum of the military envoy, Jean-Sville cursed loudly, "Who will surrender to you bastards!"

His curse was not isolated. Curses were heard from the fortifications in every corner, and some people even fired directly.

After hearing the gunshots, the military officer hurriedly lay down, then rolled and crawled back to the army's line, causing laughter from the rebels.

The choice of the mob was obvious.

"What a stubborn mob, they don't know how to live or die!"

This situation made General La-Morricier a little angry. He clenched his right hand tightly, and blue veins appeared on his forehead. "These bastards! I can't spare them!"

Then he turned and yelled at his officers.

"Since the mob is seeking death, let us satisfy them! Use grenades to blast! Use incendiary bombs to burn! Kill them all! Fire, fire! Fire non-stop!"

At the general's urging, the cannons began to roar.

Dozens of cannons fired together, the sound was almost earth-shattering, and the shells rained down on the opposite stronghold.

The artillery shells blasted through the fortifications and destroyed the houses, while the incendiary bombs caused a raging fire in the ruins. With the help of broken wood, cloth and even human bodies, the flames mixed with black smoke shot straight into the sky. Viye was also engulfed by the fire.

In the central area of ​​​​the shelling, incendiary bombs continued to fall. The burning of the fire caused the air to accelerate convection, and whipped up gusts of wind. The strong wind mixed with flames scattered the burning objects in all directions. A bystander said It seems like all this is like purgatory, right?

The fortifications wrapped in strong winds and raging fire made it unbearable for everyone inside. The scorching heat and the permeating poisonous smoke are enough to kill people.

Jean-Sweyer was still crouching in the fortifications. The pungent smell penetrated his nose, and there was even the smell of burnt human bodies. There were flying masonry and shell fragments everywhere, some It hit him and the people next to him, leaving bloody marks on their faces and bodies.

But Jean-Sweyer knew that they could only endure it. If they rushed out now, they would die even faster.

The bombardment continued until the general saw with satisfaction that the fortifications in front of him had been almost flattened.

He gestured lightly.

"Attack!" The commander in front quickly gave the order.

The army line advanced in order and pressed forward.

When the army approached its fortifications, Jean-Svier suddenly jumped up, and then fired a shot forward. A soldier fell down at the sound.

He cheered with joy in his heart.

The commander stood at the front of the line, quietly looking at the ragged insurrectionists with a very indifferent expression.

"Fire!"

"Bang!"

Jean-Sweyer only felt a pain on his body, and then he fell heavily backward to the ground. Then, with relief and unwillingness, he fell into eternal sleep. (To be continued...)

ps: I want to say something, but I don’t know what to say...

Okay, just keep writing. Just keep writing for as long as you can.