The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 1571 Logging from Peter to Pay Paul (Part 1)

More mobs, more riots. Tens of thousands of people were just a number to Napoleon III; what truly concerned him was the economic loss.

How much did we actually lose?

Napoleon III finally couldn't help but ask.

"Your Majesty, it is not clear yet. But the fire has destroyed at least a third of the city and affected several warehouses."

Most importantly, Mr. Mazos is missing, and the ledgers are in his possession.

Finance Minister Pierre Marne spoke cautiously, afraid of offending His Majesty the Emperor.

Although Napoleon III became emperor, the problem of the Napoleon family's insufficient foundation became even more apparent.

Aside from the lack of legitimacy, the inability to find a suitable marriage partner, and the fact that they could only settle for a minor nobleman, the other issues were...

Napoleon III’s biggest problem was a lack of funds, or at least that’s what he thought.

While the wealth of the Napoleonic family and the annuity provided by the French government allowed him to surpass the wealth of ordinary minor royal families, it still lagged considerably behind that of the British royal family and top families such as the Habsburgs and Romanovs.

Furthermore, Napoleon III's own experiences led to his morbid pursuit of money; acquiring a stake in and monopolizing Lyon's silk industry was just one of his investments.

In addition, Napoleon III was involved in World's Fairs, overseas colonies, and even some less-than-honorable industries within France.

"I want to see him alive! Or I want to see his body!"

Napoleon III said fiercely, he simply did not believe that the cunning Mazos would die in the rebellion. He even suspected that the uprising itself was manipulated, after all, the uprising was quelled too quickly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Pierre Marne was also sweating profusely. Napoleon III wasn't the only investor in Mazos's silk business; many important figures were involved.

The most critical issue was that Pierre Marne was the middleman responsible for the connection; with Mazos's disappearance, he became the target of public criticism. At that time, silk prices were so high that the losses from the fire were truly incalculable.

In addition to the large amount of silk in the warehouse being burned, a considerable number of factory buildings were also destroyed, and some silkworm farmers even burned down their mulberry fields.

Coupled with the losses of silk industry workers, the entire French silk industry suffered a severe blow this time, and it will take at least several years to fully recover.

However, Alexander Colonna Walevsky did not care after Pierre Marne left.

"Corona, how come you're not panicked at all? Do you know something inside?"

Louis Napoleon suspected that someone was envious of the huge profits in the silk business and deliberately set up this trap, otherwise the events were too suspicious.

“Your Majesty, I do not know any inside story, but you need not worry too much. The remaining silk is enough to make up for our losses.”

Alexander Colonna Walevsky's words left Napoleon III in disbelief.

"What nonsense are you talking about? You just heard it yourself, we've lost at least a third of our inventory."

Alexander Colonna Valevsky was somewhat exasperated; his cousin was becoming increasingly impatient.

“Your Majesty, I understand you. The situation France is facing is indeed very serious at this moment, but a commander should never lose his mind. It is unfortunate that we have lost a third of our inventory, but it is possible that a third less of Lyon silk will be available on the market.”

Louis-Napoleon was not a dull man; he immediately guessed what Colonna was thinking.

You mean a price increase?

"Why not? As the saying goes, scarcity increases value. Do you think they can buy genuine Lyon silk anywhere else?"

Louis-Napoleon thought about it and found it very reasonable. Due to the global shortage of silk caused by the Near East wars, as long as France added fuel to the fire, the price of silk would definitely continue to rise.

Moreover, Lyon silk just won a major award at the World's Fair, and with its current popularity, there will definitely be people willing to buy it.

As for the issue of damaged production capacity, Napoleon III was not worried. After all, he did not think the Near East war would last too long. On the contrary, he could take this opportunity to thoroughly integrate Lyon's silk industry, which would be a win-win situation.

Seeing that Louis-Napoleon's expression had softened, Alexander Colonna Walevsky shifted the topic to the issue that was of most concern to him at that moment.

"How can we guarantee your rule? Since your ascension to the throne, the Second French Empire has quelled at least nine plots of rebellion and over 120 uprisings, arresting and eliminating more than one million rioters and rebels in total."

Alexander Colonna Walevsky appears to be talking about the achievements of the Second French Empire, but he is actually talking about the instability of Napoleon III's rule.

Louis Napoleon nodded.

"As you know, we have been working to improve people's livelihoods and unite domestic factions, and we have been trying to regain the lost glory of France and enhance the status and pride of the French nation."

Alexander Colonna Walevsky nodded; he knew of Napoleon III's long-standing efforts, after all, he himself had been a participant.

“You have been doing a great job, but our enemies are ruthless and powerful, and they may not give up so easily, so we need more direct measures.”

"You mean?"

Louis-Napoleon was not quite sure what the other party meant. Did Alexander Colonna Valevsky want to take precautions like Robespierre?
Clearly, most people are not interested in a reign of terror, according to Alexander Corona Valevsky.

"Paris is the heart of France. If we protect Paris, we protect France."

Louis-Napoleon had no objection to this, but the question was how to defend Paris? Should he resort to the Reign of Terror?

Seeing the other person's expression, Alexander Corona Valevsky knew that the other person had misunderstood, so he simply stopped being mysterious.

"The reason why the Lyon rebellion was quelled so quickly was because the rebels failed to build barricades in time, which allowed Randon de Boulogne's army to advance unimpeded and dismantle the rebels' defenses."

In addition, there are many other practices of General Rondon de Broglie that we can learn from, such as the rapid advance of cavalry and the use of Congreve rockets to directly hit barricades.

While Alexander Colonna Valevsky was still discussing the experience of Landon de Broglie, Louis Napoleon finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Napoleon III thought Alexander Colonna Walevsky was going to follow in Robespierre's footsteps. Turns out, he was trying to deal with barricades, which made things easier, and he happened to have a plan.

"I have a way to solve the barricade problem once and for all."

(End of this chapter)