Flowers, Swords and France

Thanks to the efforts of Charles and his colleagues, the entire Satory military parade was a complete success.

The soldiers came with expectations and left with satisfaction. They enjoyed a few days of unlimited supply and showed their fighting spirit in front of the president and a group of nobles.

For the officers, their mood was much more complicated, because they came here not only to participate in a large-scale performance, but they actually wanted to make a political statement and vote for or against Bonaparte with the degree of respect on the parade ground.

Not many people dared to express their opposition in a negative way today when the Bonapartists controlled the personnel power of the army. On the contrary, many people were almost eager to join Louis Bonaparte for their future and war.

Such a grand ceremony, as Charles and others hoped, caused a huge impact throughout the country. There would undoubtedly be many grumbles against such a display of force, but when they saw that most of the army supported Louis Bonaparte—or at least did not oppose it—those with political insight no longer doubted the final outcome of the struggle.

Of course, at least for Paris, in addition to the regular army, there was another force that must be gathered.

So, after returning to Paris, Charles did not take much time to rest, and the next day he called a group of senior officers of the National Guard to the Ministry of War for a lecture. His cousin, the Duke of Treville, and his cousin Philip were among them.

Because the matter had been explained in advance as urgent, not many people dared to waste time, and they quickly gathered in the meeting room of the Ministry of War.

Then. After they gathered, Charles brought Viscount Toulouse to the meeting room.

The officers stood up and greeted them. But these two young men who had obtained high positions at a young age just waved their hands slightly. They walked to the front of the main seat on their own.

The officers of the National Guard are generally property owners, so facing the arrogant attitude of these two people, they are secretly a little indignant... However, they can only silently endure this treatment.

"Gentlemen!"

Beside Charles, Viscount Toulouse looked at the group of officers in front of him with a haughty look. "We have summoned you here today to convey an important order. I ask you to listen carefully and not allow any violation."

His attitude is full of the disdain for irregular troops that is unique to regular soldiers, and he himself is too lazy to hide this.

This unquestionable tone of command. Rather than bringing disgust, it is better to say that it brings a kind of panic. These officers looked at each other, and many of them showed a look of horror.

They must have thought that the Bonapartists were going to take advantage of the opportunity of the troops gathering during the parade to directly launch a mutiny and plan to put them under house arrest.

Of course, Louis Bonaparte is not so reckless now. What he wants to do is too important and cannot afford any mistakes. Today, when the situation is not completely clear, he does not want to take any more risks.

"Don't worry, everyone." In order to avoid scaring the group of people, Charles spoke with a smile. "We are just announcing some ordinary orders. Nothing terrible has happened."

After hearing Charles' words, the officers finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then. Charles made a gesture, indicating Viscount Toulouse-Lautrec to continue.

"I called you all here. I want to inform you..." Viscount Toulouse-Lautrec still looked arrogant, "The Ministry of War has recently decided on a personnel appointment. General Neumayer will be transferred to Nantes to serve as the commander of the 14th Division."

Although his tone was very calm, the news still shocked the entire conference room and made most people fall into panic again.

A personnel transfer within the army was originally not necessary to inform these officers of the National Guard, but... General Neumayer was the deputy commander of the Paris garrison and the deputy of the commander General Changarnier, who happened to be the commander-in-chief of the National Guard at the same time.

This was an attack against General Changarnier, the purpose of which was to transfer his deputy from Paris to the far west, so that the forces supporting the Order Party would be weakened again, and it was even a signal to overthrow General Changarnier himself - everyone soon understood this.

Since they were notified of this news, it undoubtedly showed that the Ministry of War was to prevent General Neumayer and Changarnier from coercing their subordinates and the National Guard to launch a military coup.

Have the two factions reached this point? At this point, even people who have no political sense can smell the terrible breath of danger.

"In order to avoid confusing you, we have informed you in advance." Viscount Toulouse-Lautrec did not give them any chance to breathe and continued, "From now on, although we have not announced this appointment in the bulletin, you can regard any order from General Neumayer as invalid and refuse to execute it."

"...What if it is an order from General Changarnier?" A pot-bellied Self-Defense Force officer asked cautiously, "Should we......"

"Oh, the respected General Changarnier is still your commander," Charles replied slowly with a smile. "Of course you need to obey his orders, as long as such orders do not violate laws and regulations..."

Although his smile was so kind and his words were so cryptic, everyone immediately understood what he meant.

...General Changarnier will not be around for long. If you want to follow him in rebellion, you will have to bear the consequences yourself.

Everyone was speechless, trying hard to digest the information they got from it, while their minds were spinning at high speed, figuring out what choices they should make in the future.

"You must be on alert and pay close attention to any developments in the situation." Alex waved his hand impatiently at these officers, "Don't be easily fooled by anyone, understand? I remind you again. Any of you It is to help maintain the stability of the capital, and the more important tasks are completed by the regular army. Do you understand? If anyone wants to take on the responsibility of the regular army, then he can try it! "

To scare these people. His tone was full of arrogance and determination. If you are a full-fledged soldier, you may have a rebellious mentality in the face of this kind of arrogance, but for these rich people, cold threats are the most effective weapon to scare them.

He knew that he had gone from being a reluctant collaborator to an active accomplice, a significant departure from past norms. But he knows better that now he has no retreat and he must fight to the end for his glorious future.

Such an explicit threat made this group of people remain silent again. No one spoke anymore.

After all. The soldiers under their command are incomparable to the rigorously trained regular army. If they rashly participate in this kind of struggle, they will definitely end up with a narrow escape. They are all businessmen or rentiers and have little military experience themselves. They may be useful in assisting the regular army in suppressing mob rebellion. However, it is impossible to ask them to resist the regular army - even they themselves fully understand this. of.

In this kind of fight. It is better to choose neutrality and protect yourself wisely... Almost every Self-Defense Army officer has come to this conclusion.

Ciel, who had been observing them, secretly breathed a sigh of relief - this was exactly the effect he wanted.

As long as the Self-Defense Forces do not participate in the possible counterattack of General Changarnier and the Party of Order, then Louis Bonaparte and Charles will not have to face the risk of offending the entire property-owning class. in the current army. They had the advantage, as long as the group remained neutral and watched.

Next, just think about taking some time to find General Changarnier's supporters in the Paris garrison. This is not difficult. As long as more and more troops support Bonaparte around him, these opponents who secretly have evil intentions can be suppressed. So that they dare not move.

Seeing that these officers had fallen silent, Viscount Lautrec also sneered.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Things that need to be explained to you. I have fully explained it. I ask you to remember everything I said... Now, I have an appointment document for General Nomaye. Please sign it here too. , confirm that you have understood that from now on, General Nomaye is no longer your commander."

With a kind of respectful obedience, these people took turns signing the document.

……………………

"It's a good idea to deal with his deputy first, and then deal with him himself..." In Charles's office, Charles's cousin breathed a sigh of relief, "Charle, you guys have taken care of me today. My colleagues were terrified!”

"It's good for them to be frightened. It can at least dispel any unrealistic ambitions they may have." Ciel replied calmly, "I'm glad that at least most people are still clear-headed."

"It's time to wake up by now..." Little Duke Treville nodded, "I usually pay close attention to it. Few people will go crazy. Even if they do, I will note it for you, and we will work together when the time comes. Just arrest him."

"Well, thank you very much, sir." Charles smiled and nodded to his cousin, and then said hello to his cousin Philip behind him.

Although he already knew that he was destined to change his job again, Charles continued to advance his work quietly - because in the final analysis, his interests and future were still closely tied to the rise and fall of the Bonaparte family. together.

Philip is the name given to a long direct lineage. From the Duke of Treville down, all three of his grandparents are named Philip. This makes Charles sometimes feel that it is not easy to address him, so he can only vaguely use "Mr." and "Brother" "To differentiate.

"You should be on alert recently, monitor the surrounding Self-Defense Forces at all times, and report any abnormality to us immediately." Charles continued to give instructions, "Even if they give a guarantee, we should be cautious."

"Don't worry, we will do it." The cousin agreed.

"That's great..." Ciel also breathed a sigh of relief and felt a lot more relaxed.

When the business was finished, Charles looked at his cousin and cousin with some hesitation, wanting to ask something but did not speak.

"Oh, you want to ask Charlotte? Brother, just relax!" Charles' cousin Philip patted Charles' shoulder heavily, "Charlotte is just sulking now, it's no big deal, my father and I are watching here, just wait for the wedding day!"

It can be seen that he is not as anxious about his sister's affairs as his father.

Philip didn't get along well with his sister, and because of the recent distribution of his grandfather's property, he was even more resentful of Charlotte recently, so now seeing Charlotte sad and lost, he felt secretly very happy.

However, even he didn't want this marriage to fall through.

"How can I be at ease, brother?" Charles shook his head and sighed, "I can't really force her to the wedding?"

Even with his father's persuasion, Charlotte has been avoiding him recently. Seeing that the scheduled wedding date is getting closer and closer, this problem has also made Charles at a loss and unable to come up with a solution.

But this time, he could no longer choose to run away.

"In that case, I have an idea..." (To be continued...)