French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 107 The First Meeting at the Tuileries Palace (Seeking First Subscription)

Drema, who arrived with the military police, saw the white flag made of a white handkerchief from afar, and then heard the lieutenant colonel shouting at the top of his lungs, "Don't shoot!"

Knowing that Troch had defected to Drema, he waved his hand to signal his troops to halt their advance.

This former military police commander, whose future career seemed bright, walked slowly to the center of the square with several military policemen. Looking at the dejected Troch, he showed a disdainful expression.

"President Troch, long time no see. I never thought you'd be in this situation."

Trochet, with the rank of Inspector General of the Army and Imperial Major General, was two ranks higher than Drema, the Commander of the Paris Gendarmerie. Normally, Drema would rarely see this person who was equivalent to his superior.

Now, with the two poles reversed, Drema, looking at the Army Inspector General who had fallen to the bottom, also became somewhat arrogant and emphasized the word "President."

Trosch, sensing the sarcasm in the words, dejectedly raised his head. Upon seeing Drema, he finally realized that one of the key reasons for their failure was Drema's duplicity.

Knowing this, Trosch could not possibly stand up and confront Drema now, so he simply lowered his head and ignored the arrogant Drema.

Without the back-and-forth interaction with others, unlike with Orleans, Drema, who had felt a sense of exhilaration, smacked his lips and became somewhat listless.

"Cuff him, have two men watch him, and confiscate all the weapons of these men and take them to Place Vendôme."

Drema, who no longer cares about showing off, is still very capable, which is why Pierre, who is now "free," did not lead the team, but instead let Drema continue to lead it.

The original gendarmerie headquarters only had a brigade-level force. Drema had experience commanding brigades and divisions. In comparison, Pierre, who was pushed up by Eugène, was somewhat overwhelmed in organizing a large-scale operation in a short period of time.

Under Drema's post-war command, two military police officers stepped forward, dragged Troche, who was no different from a corpse and whose body was limp and powerless, off the ground, and handcuffed his hands directly.

Despite being treated roughly throughout, Troch did not put up any resistance. He simply lowered his head and, like a walking corpse, allowed the gendarmes to escort him away from Place de la Bastille.

With Trochet's surrender, the last remaining resistance force in Paris was effectively wiped out.

Without a dedicated ideology, without a genuine mass line, and with internal traitors, a republic without military power is nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter.

Strictly speaking, the entire rebellion started at 8 p.m. and was quelled by the empire in less than 12 hours, less than half a day.

At 7:30 a.m., with Paris still in chaos, it was impossible for Eugène and Eugène to go to the Paris City Hall or the Prime Minister's Office for a meeting.

Therefore, the first meeting of the empire after the rebellion was held in the meeting hall of the Tuileries Palace.

At this time, the Tuileries Palace had begun to remove some of the reinforced wooden planks and other defensive measures, and all the lights had been turned on.

I was still shaken after a whole night. I never imagined that I had such a serious conflict with the Montauban government, and that I would even ignore the son of the Montauban government. I never expected that he would have so many tricks up his sleeve.

At first, she wanted to run away with her son, but later she stayed in the bedroom, waiting for good news from Eugène.

Now, as the regent appointed before the fall of Napoleon III, and the most legitimate and justified empress, Eugénie has reappeared in the meeting hall.

Eugenie sat in the main seat, while Eugène sat beside her. Eugenie looked at the people sitting upright below and couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Her son had built up a considerable team in such a short time.

Because the first round of meetings was held somewhat hastily, focusing more on post-war arrangements, people like Olivier, who had witnessed everything in Paris, had not yet had time to come to the Tuileries Palace. Therefore, the people sitting on both sides were mostly officers.

Pietry, Drema, Auvergne, Morrel, Pierre, and a host of other mid- to high-ranking officers were seated on either side of the long table.

Everyone present had stayed up all night, including Eugenie and Eugenie. Everyone's face showed the exhaustion of not having slept all night, and their dark circles were frighteningly large.

However, the adrenaline surge from the war had not yet subsided, and the excitement and anticipation for their future sustained the officers, making them sit up straighter than the last.

Everyone placed their hands on their knees, and as Eugenie scanned them, they tried their best to keep their heads from meeting the Queen's gaze.

After this battle, he realized that his abilities were somewhat insufficient to maintain the government, and that almost everyone in Paris was now under Victor's command.

Therefore, Eugénie didn't speak, but instead turned her gaze to her son, whom she was very proud of.

As for whether she should take over after winning three votes and become Queen of France, while this is a tradition in Europe, it would be considered quite unusual in France.

Moreover, in times of peace, Eugénie wouldn't mind serving as the head of the household for a few years, indulging in the thrill of power, and then handing it over to Eugénie when he turns 20.

However, the French Empire is currently facing internal and external troubles. Eugénie, who already feels powerless after taking over, is worried that she might lose even the title of Empress.

Noticing his mother's gaze, Euren looked directly at everyone present and began his first large-scale group meeting since his transmigration.

"My lords, you have done a great job. Overnight, we quelled the rebellion launched by the republicans and saved Paris, the capital of the empire. I think all of this is inseparable from the efforts of everyone here."

"This is all thanks to Your Highness's wise leadership."

The classic business mutual praise segment, which is unavoidable in any country, was followed by Eugene's failure to immediately begin rewarding those who had contributed.

The situation hasn't been completely resolved yet, and distributing the rewards so early will definitely have some impact on everyone's motivation.

With this in mind, Eugène decided to wait until all matters in Paris were settled and the Olivier government, which he had supported, had regained power before rewarding those who had contributed.

"Gentlemen, now is not the time to divide the spoils of war. I think the part you've been waiting for has been postponed. Although the rebellion has been quelled, the situation in Paris remains dire."

The Prussian Third Army has already occupied the Meuse River line and is advancing towards Reims. If we do not stop them, their vanguard will reach the outskirts of Paris in ten days at most.

We have little time to waste. Our most urgent task is to quickly stabilize public morale in Paris, restore social order, and then concentrate all our efforts to prepare for a Prussian invasion.

Noticing the slight disappointment in everyone's eyes, but everyone was smart enough to know that now was not the time, and that if they were to be promoted or ennobled later, they might be able to gain more merits.

Therefore, everyone quickly adjusted back to normal, and Eugene, quite satisfied with this, looked at Drema, who was the last to return.