The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 814: First unite, then arm, and then
August 1867, 8, night.

The kerosene chandelier in the conference room of the Baiswen Company cast the shadows of twenty-three people on the long oak table covered with a velvet tablecloth. These twenty-three people included comrades from the French branch of the International Workingmen's Association, international friends such as Moore, Friedrich, Bai Wei, Ma Baocai, Dombrovsky, and Bakunin, as well as representatives of the French bourgeoisie and royalists (supporters of the Bourbon dynasty). It was almost a hodgepodge of various schools and factions.

"According to reliable information, Napoleon III's army suffered a disastrous defeat at Sedan." Varlan stood up suddenly and slammed a telegram from Britain on the table. "Napoleon III himself admitted defeat this afternoon. He surrendered to the Prussians!"

Napoleon III failed after all - his failure can be said to be inevitable, because he met an opponent who was ahead of France in all aspects! And France had to deal with this opponent as a strong man! This was of course Napoleon III's own fault. He was in power for 20 years, and he promoted "Napoleon's victory theory" every day, paralyzing everyone, including the Prussians who were afraid of being ravaged by another Napoleon - as a result, the French were intoxicated by the illusory power he created and were unwilling to work hard, while the Prussians were frightened and stayed at home every day.
"It's so shameless!"

"He doesn't even have the determination to sacrifice himself."

"Sacrifice? Didn't his great uncle also sacrifice himself for France?"

"But he surrendered so easily, what should France do?"

"What else can we do? If we don't want to cede territory and pay compensation, then we can only overthrow the Bonaparte dynasty and establish a new dynasty."

"Establish a Republic!!"

"No, the Bourbon dynasty should be restored and a constitutional monarchy should be established!"

"A republic should be established because no one in France today is willing to fight for an emperor or a king!"

Moore struck a match, lit his pipe, and then looked through the curling smoke at the two factions on both sides of the long table who were arguing and refusing to give in to each other, especially those supporters of the Bourbon dynasty. Although Napoleon III was a reactionary, he was much stronger than these Bourbon supporters!
If there was anything that Napoleon III did not do well during his 20 years in power, apart from the endless foreign wars, it was that he did not arrest all the Bourbon supporters and use them as targets - if they were not eliminated, French small farmers would not be able to get land, and French industry would not be able to get sufficient investment. These old nobles only invested their money in luxury goods and the banking industry, but Napoleon III's army could not use Bordeaux wine bottles, Paris perfumes, and bonds issued by the Lyon banking industry to fight against Krupp's cannons!

But now is not the time to deal with these reactionaries. Moore said to himself: Wait a little longer, until the working people of France are mobilized and armed.
"Intelligence intercepted by the British Foreign Office." Moore took out a folded document from his inner pocket. He deliberately emphasized "British Foreign Office" to highlight his special status. "The Prussian Ministry of Education is already printing German textbooks for Alsace and Lorraine. The content is basically the same as the textbooks used in the seven-year compulsory education in Prussia!"

Gan Bi Da frowned and said, "What does this mean?"

"Explanation. The German children in Alsace and Lorraine will soon have more difficult textbooks and longer years of education!" Frederick spoke in French with a "German" cross. "They will be thoroughly educated to become Prussians and will become good miners and soldiers in the future! France will not only lose a large number of people, but also the best coal mines."

Trochu slammed his fist on the oak table. "So your government asks us to..."

"Not a request, but..." Moore interrupted him, his eyes sweeping over Blanqui's tense face, Varlin's clenched fists, and the sweat on Thiers' forehead. These people are not united at all, he thought, the royalists want to restore the Bourbon dynasty, the republicans want to restore the weak parliament, and the workers want bread and the victory of the motherland! What I want is a red France.

"Gentlemen," he deliberately made his voice sound solemn, "what we are discussing now is not political ideas, but the survival of France." Pointing to the Prussian marching route on the map, "Bonaparte's army is finished, and the Prussian army will soon march towards Paris. If we can't stop them, then France will lose more than just Alsace and Lorraine!"

"Really?" General Louis Jules Trochu, a sympathizer of the Orleans faction, was a little skeptical of Moore's words: "What else does William I want from France?"

"50-100 billion gold francs in compensation!" Moore said, "Bismarck wants to squeeze France dry!"

In the long silence, Moore heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the Rue Saint-Denis outside the window. This was a patrol of the Guards - the Guards were still under the control of Prince Napoleon, and this was also the capital of the Bonapartists!
"I propose to set up a special defense committee," said Jules Favre, the leader of the Republicans, "to include representatives from all factions."

Blanqui snorted: "Including Bonaparte's generals and priests?"

"Including all those who can mobilize resources." Moore replied calmly, and at the same time he saw vigilance and suspicion in the eyes of Louis Eugene Varlin - this young leader of the French workers' movement was a good hand at organizing strikes, but he had no experience in leading a revolution after all, and he didn't know how dangerous the situation France was currently facing.

"Everyone," Moore continued, "we don't have much time. The news of Napoleon III's disastrous defeat will soon spread in Paris, and the angry people will spontaneously rise up to overthrow the Bonaparte dynasty - Napoleon III certainly deserves it! But if we want to take over this mess, we must unite all the forces that can be united, strive for all the foreign aid that can be won, put aside all the disputes that can be put aside, and at least delay the war for a few months. This is a very, very difficult task!"

His deep eyes swept across everyone's face, and then he emphasized: "If you agree with my opinion, then take action now! Unite all forces to save France!"

Early in the morning of June 8.

When the bells of Sainte-Madeleine struck four o'clock, the streets of Paris were already bustling.

The news spread like wildfire—Napoleon III surrendered! Two hundred thousand troops were wiped out! The Prussians were marching on Paris!

The Second French Empire, which had been so powerful and "winning" for 20 years, was so vulnerable. The working people and petty bourgeoisie in Paris, who felt cheated by Napoleon III, were all furious. Students smashed windows on the streets, women stood on the streets holding their children, and men clenched their fists and shouted, "Down with Bonaparte! Long live the Republic!"

Outside the Tuileries Palace, a crowd surged in. They held torches, waved tricolor flags, and their angry roars almost shattered the windows of the palace. The servants in the palace hurriedly packed up some valuables. Queen Eugenie was pale and hugged the young Crown Prince Louis tightly.

"Your Majesty, we must leave immediately!" a guard officer whispered, "The people are attacking the palace gate!"

Eugenie gritted her teeth, picked up the child, and under the cover of several maids, slipped out of the back door, got on the carriage that had been prepared, and galloped out of Paris.

At the same time, Prince Napoleon, who commanded several thousand guards, stood on the balcony of the Tuileries Palace, overlooking the surging crowd below. His uniform was straight, but his face was gloomy.

"Your Highness!" An adjutant ran over anxiously, "The Guards are asking for your order! Suppress them, or..."

The prince was silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed bitterly: "Suppress? Suppress whom? These people are the people of France, not enemies!"

He jerked his sword out and raised it above his head, the blade gleaming in the morning light.

"Guards, listen!" His voice was loud and firm. "From today on, we are no longer Bonaparte's guards, but soldiers of France! We have only one enemy - Prussia!"

The soldiers of the Guards looked at each other in bewilderment, then burst into cheers. Then they skillfully took off the imperial emblem, replaced it with the tricolor ribbon that had been prepared long ago, opened the palace gate, held up the tricolor flag, shouted the slogan "Long Live the Republic", and smoothly joined the parade.

Noon on August 8th!
On the balcony of the Tuileries Palace, the victors of this "revolution", Varlin, Blanqui, Trochu, Thiers and others stood side by side.

The square outside the palace was packed with people, the French tricolor flag was flying everywhere, and slogans of "Long live the Republic" were heard one after another.

Thiers cleared his throat and raised his hands, signaling the crowd to silence.

"Citizens!" he said, his voice borne far away through a brass trumpet. "The Bonaparte dynasty is over! The Third French Republic is born today!"

France. A republic again!
The crowd erupted in deafening cheers.

Blanqui stepped forward and shouted: "The National Defense Government is established today! We will unite all forces to resist Prussian aggression!"

Varlan raised his fist: "Everyone who fights for the Republic will be awarded land and dignity! France will never cede land! Never pay compensation! Without justice, I would rather die!"

Inside the Tuileries Palace, More and Friedrich stood in front of a stained window, looking through the broken glass at the reveling crowd in the square.

"The first step is complete," Moore whispered, the sparks in his pipe flickering.

Friedrich said: "They thought the revolution was victorious, but in fact it has only just begun."

Moore nodded: "The bourgeoisie and the royalists are only temporary allies. Sooner or later they will betray the workers."

"Then what do we do next?"

"Wait," Moore exhaled a puff of smoke, "wait until the Prussian army approaches Paris, wait until Thiers and Trochu reveal their true colors as traitors, wait until the armed workers take to the streets."

He turned and looked at the torn portrait of Napoleon I on the wall.

“Then, there will be the real revolution.”

(End of this chapter)