Flowers, Swords and France

The brief interlude with Mary did not ruin Charles's good mood after he coaxed Charlotte to change his mind again. Early the next morning, he came to his workplace with this good mood.

Under his chairmanship, today's important meeting was held as usual.

Because...just today, the President will issue a notice through the War Department to dismiss General Changarnier, currently commander of the Paris garrison and commander of the National Guard.

"I think you will not fail to understand the meaning of my order today. From today on, you must implement a closed martial law, pay attention to any disturbance at any time, and deal with any problems immediately." Your Excellency the Minister said with his characteristic satisfaction With a stern and oppressive tone, he briefly ordered this group of people, "For me, For us, the current situation has reached a point where it is absolutely impossible to take it lightly anymore. I will not allow anyone to relax, and I will never allow any behavior that is not loyal to duty. Anyone who dares to neglect their duties will be doing a disservice to the country and the country. If they commit national crimes, they will be punished in the most severe way! Do you understand?”

"Understood!" These important officials responded loudly and hurriedly, not daring to show any procrastination.

The Minister has always managed this department with such a firm military style. He will never tolerate any procrastination or slackness. Therefore, in a short period of time, the atmosphere in the department has taken on a new look. No one dares to challenge the authority of the Minister—— Except for Ciel, who is known to have a higher status in the heart of the president.

However, even Ciel wisely maintained great respect for him and rarely criticized his face, so the two of them maintained an excellent relationship. It is precisely because of the cooperation of two people. Louis Bonaparte was able to win almost absolute authority within the army in a short period of time, and no one dared to defy the leader's will.

After a period of cleaning. Now almost all the top and bottom of the War Department have been occupied by Bonapartists and people who are willing to obey the president, so it is later. Charles and the minister became more and more outspoken in the ministry without any scruples.

"The president fully understands that this announcement will cause commotion within the army, especially the Paris garrison, so he told us to suppress the commotion." The minister continued, "In addition, the president's decision was carefully considered and decided. No doubts allowed, just complete to the letter.”

"Besides. You don't need to be afraid of opposition. Even the Holy Son is full of enemies, let alone him? He has many enemies in his army, and it is too easy to find a few people who are willing to stand up against him." Ciel He continued calmly, "Therefore, the president's decision cannot be changed."

Then, he looked at the group of officials and his tone became more severe.

"Your next job is to strictly prevent...prevent any strange movements and open acts of disobedience after the announcement is sent out, and maintain the authority and order of the Army Department." Charles thought for a moment, and then used a quite To cover up the word riot with a veiled statement, "By order. Effective immediately, The transfer of more than 30 troops in Paris and around Paris must be signed by the minister and me. Otherwise, it is an illegal and invalid order. You must tell everyone that it is also a crime if anyone dares to execute such an illegal order. He will be expelled from the military and will be required to perform hard labor if necessary."

When Ciel spoke of these words, he no longer had his usual gentleness, but looked murderous.

This was not a sudden thought, but a carefully planned step by Louis Bonaparte and him.

As the final step in the entire plan, he prepared to expel General Changarnier, the main opponent of the Bonapartists in the army and the main supporter of the Party of Order in the army, from his important position and eliminate him. He sabotaged any possibility of a coup.

Although he seems bold, Ciel is cautious and methodical in his actual actions. He first conducted a major change in the garrison in Paris and transferred a large number of officers and troops loyal to General Changarnier to other places. Then, under some pretexts, he forcibly transferred the general's close assistant and deputy commander General Nomayer to other places. He went to other places and then summoned the officers of the National Guard to his territory to intimidate them not to participate in any possible rebellion by General Changarnier.

After General Nomayer refused his arrangement, Charles and others who were well prepared quickly used this as an excuse to forcibly remove the general from his post for disobeying military orders. The general who suffered great humiliation had to choose Retired. From that moment on, General Changarnier lost most of his helpers and could only be beaten passively.

In the face of the aggressive offensive of the Bonapartists, General Changarnier seemed helpless and unable to resist. After all, he could not resist the nominal commander of the army, His Excellency President Louis Bonaparte, nor could he openly disobey the Ministry of the Army, which had the authority to transfer personnel in the army. He could only passively accept this series of blows to his prestige and power.

However, the pace of the Bonapartists did not slow down because of his resentful tolerance. Instead, they accelerated their pace because they saw an opportunity. They would never give the general a chance to stand up. of.

With the shells peeled off, Charles and the others finally felt that the time was ripe to remove the last major obstacle standing in front of them.

"In addition, I want to emphasize one thing." After everyone digested the information given by Charles, he continued, "When General Changarnier is dismissed, General de Kervey will replace him. position, this general is loyal to the president, and therefore loyal to the country, and he can be trusted Therefore, you must listen to his opinions and help him complete the control of the National Guard. As for the National Guard, the president has other arrangements, so you must find ways to reduce the supply of weapons to the Self-Defense Force. , and pay attention to keeping it in a state of powerlessness against changes in the current situation.”

Although no one spoke, Ciel clearly saw the question "Why do you do this?" on their faces.

"It is very inappropriate for an active general to command both the regular army and the militia." Charles replied with a sneer, "If at the beginning, in order to prevent possible revolutionary riots, this arrangement still had its meaning, then now , I can no longer see any There is no point in continuing this arrangement, and the President sees it this way - he doesn't want to make the mistake Louis-Philippe made, paying an exorbitant price to buy this wealthy army. It would be better for it not to exist than to exist... Of course , I think you know this should be kept secret.”

Still no one answered, and everyone soon understood what Ciel meant.

Louis Bonaparte did not want a paramilitary organization around him, not to mention that this organization was often at odds with the government. In 1815, 1830 and 1848, during several changes of government, the Self-Defense Forces played a role in fueling the flames. He did not want to become the fourth.

He would rather take more risks than rely on the help of such a group of people.

As he made this assertion, everyone began to think about it, and the atmosphere became more solemn.

"Okay, everyone, cheer up, there's nothing to be afraid of!" He suddenly raised his hand and patted the table heavily.

He is indeed so confident, because in his opinion, the plan that has been made, although not perfect, has at least been executed extremely well so far. He followed Louis Bonaparte and achieved his goal step by step, and now he has reached this point. And before long, just like General Changarnier today, the leaders of the opposition will be eliminated by him in one fell swoop.

"The president is very considerate of your recent hardships, so he paid special attention to me and wanted me to ask you if there is anything you need help with." Charles smiled and then made a nonchalant gesture. "I told him that the first reward we need is three days of good sleep."

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His words quickly aroused dull laughter. Such a Treville-like chicness did not make people think he was frivolous, but made the whole atmosphere a lot more relaxed.

"Of course, this is just a joke on my part. The president will not be so stingy. As long as everything is over, what awaits you will be an extremely generous reward - the reward we face is no less than the danger we face." After everyone relaxed slightly, he looked around and gave the final encouragement, "So, here, I remind you again. This is a It's an absolute fight, it's a gamble that we put all our money on, and if we fail, then everything is meaningless... So we must be cautious if anyone thinks that we can be careless just because we have a guaranteed victory. Then, I can tell him that he is totally wrong and is not qualified to contribute his abilities to our next great cause..."

Such an obvious threat immediately triggered the desired effect in the surrounding area. No one wanted to know what the punishment was.

"No matter what, opportunities and challenges always coexist in this world. The world is nothing more than one pressing against the other." At this time, His Excellency the Minister also joined in the agitation, "If you want to gain something, you must be aware of losing something. To me For me, the empire is the best reward! France is tired of being mediocre and tired, she wants to shake off her sleep and start fighting again, and we...we win everything! Long live the empire, long live the emperor!"

The minister's slogan caused a moment of hesitation among the officials.

This slogan has been absent from the French government for almost half a century, and almost no one can pronounce it.

However, they will soon get used to it.

Ciel stretched out his hand and applauded first, and then the warm applause resounded throughout the conference room. (To be continued...)