Flowers, Swords and France

Under Charles's gaze, telegrams were transformed into codes by the fingertips of the telegraph operators, and then transmitted to telegraph stations everywhere along the seemingly endless cables. It would not be long before people all over France knew that the Republic was essentially finished.

And his career had just begun.

When the burning passion and boiling blood began to cool down a little, the cold wind in the early morning made him suddenly feel a chill. He took out his pocket watch and looked at the current time.

It was already five o'clock.

The worst-case scenario did not happen. The goddess of luck rewarded his efforts and dedicated success and glory to himself.

The overall situation has been determined, and there will be no more accidents, he told himself in his heart.

At this moment, Louis Bonaparte must be in the Elysee Palace, celebrating his victory with his cronies.

Then, perhaps because he felt that the lobby was too noisy and stuffy, he slowly walked out of the room, and then looked up from the window at the sky that had changed from pure black to a little gray.

When the sun rises, I will become one of the most powerful people in this country, and I will be almost unrestricted by anyone except Louis Bonaparte who is about to ascend the throne.

And because of his favor and reliance on Charles, it is conceivable that he will not hinder Charles' actions too much.

So, what kind of feeling is it to be able to reach the top of a country and do almost whatever you want?

He couldn't find the answer, and even the excitement he expected had slowly faded. Because he found that this fact did not bring him the kind of uncontrollable excitement.

Is it because all this still doesn't satisfy me? He asked himself.

Then he took a deep breath. Then put the pocket watch back into his arms.

Yes, I must keep going. I must not stop.

………………

The passage of time does not change speed for anything in the world, just in the commotion of the whole city. The sky gradually brightened, and the sun made the streets and alleys bright again, but it could not drive away the panic and fear in people's hearts.

Light temporarily ruled the world, but darkness existed forever in the world.

Because of the major incident last night, the number of citizens going out of their homes in the morning was obviously much less than usual. The streets with few pedestrians did not see much of the prosperity of the past, but were full of bleakness. Even the trees on the street looked gray because of the gloomy sky, which made people feel less alive in spring.

However, this kind of depression is conducive to improving traffic conditions.

Starting from the early morning. A large group of army officers and soldiers rode in carriages from all over the city, arrested a group of people on the blacklist from their homes, and then escorted them to a mansion as political prisoners and strictly guarded them.

Out of distrust of the police, Charles simply excluded the police when making the plan, and only allowed them to stand by and watch. Not only were they not allowed to intervene in the arrest, but even the place where they were detained was not selected in the police station. Instead, a mansion was deliberately chosen and guarded by the troops supporting the president.

As time passed, more and more people were arrested here. After these opponents saw their relatives and friends being arrested together. In my heart, I hated Louis Bonaparte and others for their perverse actions even more. There were shouts of anger everywhere, so noisy that it seemed like the National Assembly had been moved here.

Because of Charles's prior instructions, the officers and soldiers in charge of the guards did not take the shouting and cursing of these political prisoners seriously, and let them curse the victors. Only when the situation became outrageous did they resort to violence. They suppressed the anger of these people by force. After repeating this several times, perhaps because the violence worked, perhaps because they were gradually despairing of the situation, or perhaps because they were too sleepy, the shouting and cursing of these people gradually subsided, and they seemed to have no choice but to accept their uncertain fate.

At this moment, a plainly decorated two-horse carriage suddenly stopped at the door of the mansion.

Then, Mr. Charles de Treville, one of the commanders of the coup, slowly walked down from the carriage.

When the guard saw that the newcomer was not a new prisoner but Charles, he saluted him immediately. When the political prisoners in the rooms saw the culprit of the coup through the window, they immediately cursed him.

With their curses, some political prisoners who had fallen asleep again due to sleepiness were awakened and immediately joined in the denunciation of him. For a while, the curses shook the sky, as if they wanted to drag him into hell alive.

However, even in the face of such a scene, Charles still did not change his expression. He just waved calmly to the army officers and soldiers who saluted him, and then walked into the apartment step by step, not taking their curses seriously at all.

He was not afraid of this group of people when he was questioned in the National Assembly. Now that they have become prisoners, what is there to be afraid of?

"I want to see a few prisoners, take me there." He briefly ordered an officer next to him.

"Who do you want to see?" the officer asked respectfully.

"..." Charles frowned and thought for a moment, "Take me to Hugo first."

"Yes, sir!" The officer immediately obeyed his order, and then stretched out his hand to guide him. "Please come with me, sir, he is right here!"

Charles followed him up the stairs without saying a word, walking step by step towards the room where Victor Hugo was being held.

After arriving at the room, the officer opened the door diligently, and Charles walked directly in.

At this time, Victor Hugo was sitting at a desk, seeming to be deep in thought. When he heard Ciel's footsteps walking in, he immediately raised his head and looked at the door, and then happened to meet Ciel's eyes.

Because I didn't sleep all night. He looked a little tired and his eyes were bloodshot. Her hair was even more disheveled, and she was obviously in a very heavy mood.

but. When he saw Ciel, a hint of arrogance suddenly flashed in his eyes. Obviously, he already hates Ciel, so he doesn't want to show any weakness in front of him.

"Good morning, sir." A smile suddenly appeared on Charles' face, and then he bowed slightly and said good morning to him, as if nothing had happened.

However, the response he got was certainly not the same hello.

"It's finally here. Despicable lackey! Insidious conspirator! Shameful traitor!" He shouted loudly to Charles, his eyes widened with anger, "I thought you didn't even dare to appear in our In front of you?"

"What dare I not do? What else can you do to me?" Charles shrugged, "In your situation, I think you should be able to see that we have achieved a complete victory. Nothing can stop us anymore... Yeah, let me tell you, just last night the President told the nation A notice has been issued to temporarily close the National Assembly. Your seat and the entire parliament have been wiped out. Sir, maybe you will disagree because of your righteous indignation, but I have to tell you clearly. There is no turning back. From today on, your Excellency, the President, will absolutely dominate this country!”

"Is that all you have to say to me?" Hugo retorted loudly. "Okay, I admit it. Relying on vicious tricks, you have temporarily succeeded. But... don't think you can laugh too long. The people will soon abandon you and let you roll back into the dark underground!"

"I'm afraid I can't agree with you." Charles shook his head calmly, "In my opinion, the President is wise and wise, and his rule will be very stable, even much longer than that of his great uncle. …”

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

Ciel dared to say this, of course he was confident.

After all, even in original history, Louis Bonaparte's Second Empire existed for 18 years, longer than Emperor Napoleon's 11-year First Empire.

"Your imagination is just nonsense!" Hugo did not accept Charles' statement at all. "God is my witness, you can go ahead and do your best! It won't be long before the anger of the French people will burn you to pieces. net!"

"The people will not do that, because we are implementing the people's wishes and intend to give them what they want." Charles still replied calmly, "The people have no idea who the person standing above them is. You care so much, sir."

"How dare you say such deceptive nonsense to me?" Hugo slammed the table, then stood up, as if he wanted to come over and beat Charles.

Seeing that something was not going well, the officer who was watching on the sidelines quickly came over, then forcibly pulled Hugo's shoulders and made him sit back in his seat.

"You... you villains, take advantage of the people's expectations, use sweet words to captivate the people's eyes, and then forcibly take away the most precious freedom from their hands... In this way, you still dare to shamelessly say what the people want? Bah. !" Hugo struggled while facing Xia You cursed, "That's right...you have already wiped out all conscience in human nature, so how can you feel the slightest guilt for such evil deeds? Shamelessness is your nature. I only regret not discovering this earlier. I also believed in you and Louis Bonaparte, these devils!”

"Even now...don't you still understand?" Charles looked at Hugo, who was full of hatred, and then suddenly sneered, "You claim to be the representative of the people, but you don't know what the people really want!

You say they want freedom? Maybe they want it, but this is definitely not what the people want first! The people are tired of the turbulent life and want stability, even if it is not decent, and we can give it to them; the people want a prosperous life and we can give it to them; in addition to stability and prosperity, the people also want the honor of conquest. To embellish their lives - although they don't want to risk their lives - we can still give them this! After doing this, please tell me, how can the people still rise up and overthrow us? For freedom? "

Charles curled his lips and made a strange smile, "Freedom? An illusory term, something that has never existed in the world. Do any of the people really understand what freedom is? No, they all think that as long as they can yell at us It's freedom! It doesn't matter, they can definitely get this kind of freedom. The emperor only wants power and doesn't care what they say!

Look! This is the people! So greedy and generous! As long as we do all this, the people will willingly dedicate their freedom to us, lest it is not enough..."

"Nonsense!" Hugo struggled to stand up from the chair, but was still held down by the soldiers. He could not move and could only continue to stare at Charles with angry eyes.

"Okay, sir, please don't do that." Charles slowly regained his composure and looked at him with a smile again, "I came here today not to quarrel with you, I just came to make a suggestion calmly..."

Hugo still stared at him without answering.

"In a few hours, the president will go to the Bourbon Palace in person, where he will give a speech to the nation and explain to the parliamentarians everything he has done. There is no doubt that only parliamentarians who support Louis Bonaparte will be present at that time - there can be no opposing votes." Charles didn't care and continued, "If you are willing to change your position, then you can get rid of your current misfortune immediately and re-attend the parliament. The president has said that as long as you repent, he will not mind your past words and deeds..."

After that, Charles looked at Hugo again, as if waiting for him to change his mind.

However, the other party's fiery gaze showed no sign of softening. Obviously, he did not intend to beg Louis Bonaparte for mercy in order to maintain his power.

"What is it? What makes you think that I will bow to you, a group of lawless clowns and villains?" Hugo laughed, "Hahaha, don't even think about it! I will never change my position, even if you threaten me with my life!"

"It seems that I don't need to ask anymore." Charles sighed, "Well, if you don't accept the president's proposal, then you will be exiled, and you will be treated like this soon."

"I am happy to be exiled for my country!" Hugo still laughed, "I will be abroad, watching you, a group of complacent villains, fall back into the mud and watch everything you have turn to ashes!"

"It's up to you." Charles smiled calmly, "Then, sir, I wish you all the best. I will take care of the people who are guarding your son and let them release your son as soon as possible."

Before Hugo could say anything else, he suddenly smiled and waved his hand gently.

"You're welcome. Goodbye. Also, I hope your new book will be published soon. I'm still waiting to read it." (To be continued...)