Flowers, Swords and France

"Brother, there are so many people here! I'm so nervous!"

Under the candlelight as bright as day, Fran looked at the people standing in the hall and couldn't help shivering. To resist the chill, she gently held her brother's hand.

What made her feel cold was not only the winter wind of 1848, but also the solemn atmosphere.

Yes, solemn.

This Elysee Palace has been abandoned for a long time since the assassination of the Duke of Berry, but now it has been renovated and no longer looks desolate. The walls decorated with gilded wood and the tapestries with velvet tassels set off the light of the crystal lamp on the ceiling incomparably brilliant, as if to make everyone remember this scene forever.

Franc and her brother were the guests invited to participate in this grand event. The two siblings stood on both sides of the hall with other guests, watching the protagonist of this grand event from a distance.

She looked towards the center of the hall. Surrounded by a large group of people, her family's benefactor, Mr. Louis Bonaparte, the new president of the French Republic, was standing solemnly in a black dress. On his chest was the Grand Cross Knight of the Legion of Honor, which represented the head of the French state. In the middle of the medal, in a dark blue enamel ring, was decorated with the head of his uncle, the idol of the old days, Emperor Napoleon. In a trance, people seemed to feel that the Bonaparte dynasty had returned.

He looked at everyone in the hall, but remained silent. The medal and the solemn look gave him a subtle sense of majesty, at least at this moment. He already had the spirit of a national president.

And her grandfather, the former imperial general, the Marquis de Treville, was one of the people surrounding the president. He put on his old military uniform, his snow-white hair was combed neatly, and his chest was full of his past medals - some of which were even awarded to him by Emperor Napoleon himself. He swept away his previous decadence and was extremely energetic, as if he had suddenly become a dozen years younger. His expression was also solemn and dignified, as if he was attending a grand event in the old court.

A large group of old men in military uniforms or dresses surrounded Louis Bonaparte. These people were the remnants of the Napoleonic era, the old remnants of the empire, and one of the most essential sediments. These old people gathered together. It seemed that they wanted to use this method to tell the world that after more than 30 years of chaos, everything in France has returned to the track it should be on.

Although the empire has not returned. But victory is in sight - at least these imperial remnants firmly believe so.

Today is December 15, 1848. After being elected on December 10, Louis Bonaparte held a banquet for the first time in his presidential residence, the Elysee Palace. The political significance of this is self-evident.

The Elysee Palace, which has been abandoned for many years, has now become the presidential residence of France. Although Louis-Bonaparte will be crowned emperor and move his palace to the Tuileries Palace in a few years, if the time sequence remains unchanged, it will become the residence of the President of the French Republic from the Third Republic in 1871 until the 21st century.

For some reason, the Parliament of the Second French Republic designated the Elysee Palace instead of the former royal palace, the Tuileries Palace, as the presidential residence.

However, unexpectedly, it was this location that gave Louis-Bonaparte's coming to power a perfect symbolic meaning - everyone present knew that in the disastrous year of 1815, Emperor Napoleon announced his abdication here, and then walked step by step to the end of the world, St. Helena Island, until the final end of his life.

The Bonaparte family's rule in France ended here, and now it starts here again. Isn't this proof that God has once again favored this family on the island of Corsica? Isn't this a sign of some kind of destiny?

Even Fran, who was not very clear about politics, could understand the meaning of this scene after seeing it - in the turbulent and ever-changing situation, her family followed the descendants of the Bonaparte family and climbed to the highest peak of the country's political stage again, even higher than they did in the past - after all, Napoleon's princes and dukes were gone, and few people were more loyal to the emperor than her grandfather.

As a part of the glory, her mood is very complicated now.

Excited? Nervous? Confused?

She has all these emotions. She is fascinated by the new position of her family. Which girl is not fascinated by the glorious scene?

However, deep in her heart, she is also anxious, even a little scared, and a little at a loss. The girl's heart can not only feel the glory, but also the hidden waves underneath: Is all this really guaranteed? Is this really not a prosperous dream that is destined to be shattered? After being pushed to the top by the times, will my family be pushed down by the times again without knowing it one day?

The girl could not give an answer. In this extremely turbulent era, even if she had only lived for 16 years, she had seen and heard a lot of such things.

During these terrible 60 years, glory and darkness always coexisted in France, and the world would be turned upside down almost every ten or twenty years. Even a girl could not help but sigh like the Orientals: "Joys and sorrows are impermanent, and glory and wealth are gone in the blink of an eye."

Isn’t this palace a living testimony? Its old owner, the Duchess of Bourbon, fled during the revolution, leaving behind the palace she bought for 1.3 million livres; Murat bought it, and he was eventually shot by the Austrians; Murat had him It was given to Napoleon, but Napoleon announced his abdication here and never returned to France; after the Restoration, Louis XVIII gave the palace to his nephew, the Duke of Berry, but he was shot dead by republicans in 18 Got it!

Hadn't she even experienced it before? She went to the palace to meet the king, but just a few months later the king of Orleans fled the country in panic!

Will my family also face such a crisis? Although she knew the danger, the girl couldn't help but think so. Because of this, she felt the chill that penetrated into her bones.

This country and this nation are too fickle. Who knows how long Louis Bonaparte can shine in this country? But her family has been firmly tied to this person, and everything is so heart-stopping.

At this moment, a voice sounded in his ear, full of eagerness and care.

"What are you thinking about? Mademoiselle de Treville?"

She turned her head slightly, looked into her brother's eyes, and felt his unreserved favor.

"It's nothing, sir, I'm just a little cold..."

Of course she didn't want to disappoint her brother by speaking out her inappropriate thoughts.

Although she does not expect any dazzling glory and wealth, she only hopes that her family will be safe, but her family members never seem to think so. Both grandfather and grandson are ambitious and want to do something big. Perhaps this is the eternal pursuit of men.

In this case, she could only follow closely behind. Who said she was also part of this family?

"Well, the weather is indeed quite cold today." Charles comforted Fran in a low voice and joked with a smile, "As I said before, although it is important to dress up beautifully, there is no need to go here. Sacrificing warmth? The main function of clothes is to keep warm from the cold, not just for dressing up..."

"Sir, I'm not cold now!" Fran glanced at her brother pretending to be arrogant. She knew that his brother wanted to make her happy.

My brother looks really good in his dress.

She couldn't help but hold on tighter.

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No matter whether I am rich or poor, he is always by my side. Isn't that good?

The girl showed a slight smile.

Just when Charles wanted to joke again, Louis Bonaparte suddenly spoke. He quickly stopped talking and listened quietly to the declaration of the contemporary president.

“My fellow countrymen, I have assumed the office of supreme administrator of the country at the behest of the French people. As my fellow countrymen gather here, I sincerely thank you for the love and help you have always shown me.

At the same time, I am deeply aware of the great responsibility I have. In this position, what I consider is not its glory, but its obligations. Today, we gather here to overcome conflict and differences with unity. We must protect this great country and nation, promote those precious and noble ideals, and pass them on from generation to generation. This is both my mission and the desire of all of us.

I will do my best to protect the people, the country, and the constitution and constitutional government of the Republic! The mottos of freedom, equality, and fraternity will be preserved and passed on very dearly to us. The efforts of our generation will create the best tomorrow for the next generation! Long live the Republic! "

He raised his hands and shouted again.

"Long live the Republic!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a large group of people applauded at the same time and shouted in agreement.

For a time, the entire splendid hall was filled with cheers of "Long live the Republic!".

However, if you listen carefully, you will find that most of these cheers are just for the occasion, rather than reflecting people's inner passion and impulse.

What do they really want to shout about?

Of course it's "Long live the Empire!" "Long live the Emperor!"

But Louis Bonaparte and his supporters present knew that the time was not yet ripe.

Just like equality and fraternity, there are three words on the road to their dream land, namely infantry, cavalry and artillery. They haven't fully mastered these three words yet, so they can only hide all this secretly in their hearts.

However, they have been waiting for thirty years and have no lack of patience to continue waiting.

The empire is finally close at hand. (To be continued...)