The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 818 You are arrested!

Berlin Palace.

William I's fingertips tapped out a dull rhythm on the oak conference table. In the Imperial Conference Hall, Foreign Minister von Bilov had a tense face, and it was clear at a glance that there was some bad news to report. Outside the window, the heavy rain in late summer and early autumn in Berlin was violently hitting the Gothic spires, as if the sky was also warning of the coming storm.

"Your Majesty," the foreign minister said, his voice hoarse and frustrated, "the army of the Inca Kingdom has taken control of the saltpeter mines in the Atacama Desert in Chile."

"A Chilean desert?" The old King of Prussia frowned. "Is it important?"

First Quartermaster General von Blumenthal stood up suddenly. "Your Majesty!" There was a hint of panic in his voice, "The Atacama Desert produces 75% of the world's saltpeter! 100% of Prussia's saltpeter comes from there. Our arms industry has been strangled by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom!"

Prussia's neck is stuck?
The conference hall suddenly fell into silence.

Bismarck crushed the cigar in his hand and stared at the map of Europe on the wall. The red mark of Paris was blinking abnormally, and the black and yellow flags of Vienna and Prague were covered by the Prussian black eagle flag. He asked word by word: "How long can the saltpeter we have on hand maintain the current production speed of the arms industry? In addition, how much ammunition do we have in stock?"

Von Blumenthal's fingers trembled slightly as he unfolded the parchment report: "According to the existing reserves, our saltpeter can maintain three months of high-intensity production. In addition, the army's ammunition is only enough to maintain 3 days of high-intensity combat. Even if the output in the next three months is included, it is only enough to maintain 45 days of high-intensity combat. Deduct the 3 days' supply that has been consumed." His voice was suddenly interrupted by the Chief of General Staff Moltke.

"The gap in Paris's defense must be opened within a month!" Moltke's baton drew a sharp arc on the map, from Verdun to the Porte Saint-Denis in Paris, "Otherwise--"

"What else?" William I turned to the Iron Chancellor. A rare hint of anxiety flashed in his old eyes, but it was quickly suppressed.

Bismarck threw away his crushed cigar. "The Russian army is even more backward than the French, and the British regular army has less than 100,000 soldiers." His voice was as low as thunder, "they combined cannot match the army of Napoleon III!"

After defeating Napoleon III and Joseph Franz in a one-on-two battle, and now taking over Bohemia and Austria, the core of the Austrian Empire, Bismarck has begun to realize the strength of Prussia - now Prussia's army is far ahead in the world!

Not to mention anything else, just those one thousand or so Krupp steel cannons are more than the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, the United States, and the United Kingdom’s combined armies could produce.

Bismarck added, word by word, "And Trochu in Paris is buying our forgiveness with gold francs!"

He pulled out a telegram from the file bag sent by the spy. On the yellowed paper was a record of the transfer of 800 million francs worth of gold from a Swiss bank - this was the ironclad evidence of the collusion between the Trochu faction and Versailles.

He went on to say, "Also, Napoleon III's cousin, Prince Napoleon, is still in Paris. He is the commander of the city's defense. We can try to win him over!"

"Win him over?" asked William I.

"Use the 20 French prisoners in our hands!" Bismarck said, "Most of the officers loyal to the Bonaparte family are among these 20 people! In addition, Napoleon III himself is also in our hands!"

William I finally made up his mind and stopped hesitating: "General Moltke, I will give you 15 days' worth of ammunition and 1 month!"

The outside of the Saint-Antoine Arsenal was brightly lit and covered with barbed wire. The Japanese "Crusaders" led by Sakuma Shozan carried bayoneted rifles and guarded the piles of old-fashioned smoothbore muskets in the warehouse. These outdated weapons were originally issued to the National Guard, but they were eliminated after the Enfield rifles from Britain were delivered. But Prince Napoleon still realized their value and had them collected as much as possible and piled them in the arsenal under his control.

Prince Napoleon, the commander of the Paris defense, has now moved his headquarters to the Saint-Antoine Arsenal. At this moment, he is sitting in his headquarters, holding a handwritten letter from Napoleon III that was sent to him at some unknown time. In the letter, Napoleon III asks him to serve as the patriarch of the Bonaparte family!

Rinko appeared in his presence without knowing when, stretched out her slender hand and gently pressed on the prince's shoulder, whispering: "The retreat has been arranged, we can go to Louisiana and start over."

As she spoke, she took the handwritten letter from Napoleon III and lit it on the kerosene lamp. Prince Napoleon looked at her in surprise. Rinko shook her head and said, "You have no chance. Believe me, I know them better than you do. Revolution is not a dinner party!"

Prince Napoleon was a little confused and looked back at Rinko. Rinko smiled helplessly: "How can people like us not be under their surveillance?"

"Monitor them?" Prince Napoleon suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

At the Perregaux Mansion on the right bank of the Seine, the Minister of Finance was handing a Paris defense map to a man wearing monocular glasses: "This is the deployment details of the National Guard. The positions marked in red are the positions of the workers' armed forces." He ran his finger across the map, "As long as your army focuses on attacking these areas, our 2 regular troops and 1 guards will remain neutral."

"Conditions?" The Prussian spy's voice was as cold as iron. "Two hundred tons of gold," Perego's lips trembled, "plus Alsace and Lorraine."

The agent rolled up the blueprint, stuffed it into a special cane, and then left the Perego Mansion through the back door and disappeared into the night of Paris. But he did not notice that two workers in black overalls quietly followed him in the dark.

Around the Perregaux Mansion, there were at least three black-clad workers hiding in the corners, staring at the lighted window on the second floor of the Perregaux Mansion. They were the Red Guards led by Blanqui, the chief of police of the National Defense Government. This was a special force composed of the most militant fighters selected from the Paris workers according to Ma Baocai's suggestion.

All the leaders of the workers' associations were under the protection of these workers' militants, and the great Republican, Bourbon, Orleanist and Bonapartist figures were under the surveillance of these Red Guards.
The gas lamps in the meeting room on the second floor of the City Hall hissed, and Prince Napoleon felt a chill down his spine: "You, you are actually spying on the Minister of the National Defense Government. Are you going to destroy France?"

"This is what destroyed France!" Varlin threw the seized defense map on the table. The map was still stained with the Prussian spy's nosebleed.

The military commissar of the National Guard, Deleclos, immediately circled several key points with a red pencil: "Montmartre Hill, Belleville District, Faubourg Saint-Antoine - all are the core defense areas of the Workers' Guard."

The commander-in-chief of the National Guard, Kruzel, suddenly slammed the table and said, "If the Prussians get this, they will use Krupp cannons to blow our comrades to pieces. If we are seriously injured, who will be left in Paris?"

Prince Napoleon was speechless for a moment, and the sweat on his forehead became more dense.

Dombrowski silently pinned the Polish Legion Medal on his chest: "Let's vote," his voice was terrifyingly calm, "Should we arrest this traitor?"

The clock on the wall of the conference room pointed to three o'clock in the morning. Paris outside the window was shrouded in an eerie silence. Moore lit his pipe, took a puff, and whispered, "Please raise your hands if you support the arrest."

Twelve hands were raised in unison, and even Prince Napoleon had to slowly raise his arm. Police Chief Blanqui immediately turned and left, and the sound of his military boots stepping on the marble floor echoed like a death knell.

When the bells of Notre Dame rang four times, the gas lamps in the Perego mansion suddenly went out. In the darkness, twelve Red Guards in work clothes suddenly rushed to the door of the mansion, holding Rifoser revolvers, and the red collar badges on their collars glowed bloody in the moonlight.

"Open! Revolutionary Tribunal!"

After three blows of the battering ram, the oak door collapsed. Blanqui strode in, his black leather boots crushing the crystal chandelier in the hall. Perego was burning documents in his bedroom, and the iris pattern embroidered in gold thread on his nightgown was particularly dazzling in the firelight.

"You are arrested." Blanqui's voice was colder than the Siberian wind.

"Arrested." Perego looked at the man in horror, "Why?"

"Treason!" Blanqui answered with only two words.

Two team members immediately tied Perego's arms behind his back and tied his thumbs with wire - this was the latest binding method invented by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's secret hall. The more he struggled, the deeper the wire would sink.

All the documents on the desk were put into a sack, and even the ashes in the fireplace were carefully collected. Blanqui searched the secret cabinet and found a notebook with the following records:

"On August 8, the 15rd Guards Regiment was persuaded to remain neutral."

"On September 9, Thiers agreed to cede Lorraine."

“On September 9, two tons of gold were shipped from Lyon to Switzerland”

As Perego was being escorted out of the mansion, a figure flashed in the shadows on the street corner - it was Thiers' spy, who immediately turned around and disappeared into the darkness before dawn.

At the same time, in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's embassy, ​​Hu Wansheng was dictating a telegram to his wife Feng Xiuying: "The rebellion in Paris has been quelled. The traitor Perego secretly communicated with Prussia, offered the city's defense map, ceded land and paid compensation. The evidence is solid. Now the Workers' Association has carried out the "heavenly punishment" and captured this beast. After that, it will continue to purge the traitors. Now the National Self-Guards are in charge of the city defense, and the remnants of Bonaparte are under surveillance. Now the situation in Paris is determined, and the Workers' Association will soon take full power."

(End of this chapter)