French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 113 begins with nighttime visits; Eugene is on a relentless journey (Please subscribe, add to your favorites, and continue reading).

As night fell on September 17, the hustle and bustle of Paris began to subside.

The crowds in Place de la Concorde had dispersed, and not only the bloodstains outside the Roquette prison, but also the bloodstains from battlefields throughout Paris had been washed away, leaving little trace of the fierce fighting that had taken place.

After a day of turmoil, Paris finally enjoyed a relatively peaceful night.

However, while the people of Paris could calm down after a day of excitement, Eugène had no time to rest inside the Prime Minister's residence.

After having dinner and resting briefly, Eugene, with a groggy head, forced himself to turn on his computer and continue working, aided by a cup of coffee.

Sitting in the reception room on the second floor of the Prime Minister's Office, Eugène had another cup of black tea that had gone cold in front of him.

A cup of coffee and a cup of black tea, even though Eugene's face showed obvious fatigue and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, gave him a brief mental boost.

Standing beside Eugène were Pietre and Pierre, both of whom were in no better condition.

However, since Eugène was to head to the front lines in Reims in a couple of days, he took the opportunity to give instructions to the two men who remained in Paris.

The details have now been explained. It was nothing more than instructing Pietry to strengthen his control over public opinion and monitor Paris, and to keep an eye on the situation in the city. If necessary, he was to cooperate with Pietry to send troops to suppress the unrest.

Since Eugène was going to meet with Olivier and others next, the two of them just stayed to chat with Eugène and cheer him up.

"Your Highness, today's execution went smoothly, and the public response was very positive. Many people are spreading your name. They say you are the savior of France."

"A savior?"

Hearing Pietri, who had the power of the secret police, say this, he knew there was an element of flattery involved, but at least his reputation had improved again.

Therefore, Eugène, who had even greater difficulties ahead of him, simply shook his head. With so many things to do, Eugène couldn't be happy at all because of this title.

"It's too early to talk about this now. The Prussians are about to reach the Reims-Marne line, and besides... our internal problems are far more serious than we imagine."

After taking over the government, Eugène realized what a mess the Empire was in, and that the Montauban government had completely ignored these problems.

The Earl of Baliqiao, who should have retired obediently when he got old, was a military man who didn't care about these political affairs at all, which made it very difficult for Eugène to see any data.

Unlike Pietry, who was eager to curry favor, Pierre brought some bad news. Even though the information didn't get out, it's difficult to completely block out the news in Paris, and by evening, after a day, some information had still managed to get out.

However, since Eugène knew that the information could not be concealed, when the information was sent out, it was accompanied by the news that the empire had already suppressed the rebellion.

This lightning-fast suppression of the rebellion left no room for local authorities to maneuver. However, a few cities with a strong republican will still stubbornly stirred up some trouble.

"Your Highness is right. I have received news from Lyon and Marseille that the local republicans have announced the formation of a National Salvation Committee," refusing to recognize our Parisian government. Peasants in Brittany and Normandy are also rioting; each region is acting independently."

The problem isn't as serious as it's made out to be; most of it is still in its nascent stage. But if the empire continues to ignore it, these nascent problems could very well become the next forces to overthrow the empire.

Headache, so headache. I have to deal with both external and internal issues, making it impossible to focus on just one aspect at a time.

If these Republicans were truly trying to save the country and its people, that would be one thing, but they're not doing it at all. They're just acting like a capitulationist government, which is making Eugene a bit helpless.

"That's the most troubling problem. France has never been an easy country to govern. Just because Paris is in control doesn't mean the rest of France will be peaceful."

When my father was in power, he was able to barely suppress the local forces thanks to the strong central authority and the military. Now that he's gone, it's normal for those local powers to have their own ideas after hearing the news.

Without government leadership, it's impossible for him to hold onto government power in one hand and also control the army to deal with Prussia in the other.

Everyone has their own area of ​​expertise. Just because you have two royalist leaders on your side doesn't mean you can't achieve anything with them.

Eugène, who was waiting for Olivier, muttered to himself for a moment before turning to look at Pierre.

"Therefore we must form a new government as soon as possible. Has Mr. Olivier arrived?"

"His Highness is already waiting downstairs, along with Mr. Thiers, Mr. Simon, and Mr. Schneider. They are also waiting on the first floor."

Pierre, understanding the situation, got up, went outside to speak with the secretariat, and then returned to the room to report to Eugène.

Seeing that the person he was to meet had arrived, Eugene straightened his collar, gestured for the two men to call the person for him, and then left.

"Let them all come up. Oh, and what about Mr. Rothschild and Mr. Camondo, whom I asked you to contact? What did they say?"

"Mr. Alphonse Rothschild sent word that he would be coming tonight."

Upon reaching the door, Pietri turned around and answered Eugène's question, "But he said he might not be able to offer Your Highness anything, and he wanted to understand Your Highness's policy direction before making a decision. Mr. Camondo was a little better, but he was equally cautious."

"Cautious? Which banker who has survived in Paris to this day isn't cautious? It's alright, it's good that they're here. I'll give them the answers they want."

Although I don't really want to talk about my father's policies, using the three-fold transfer to support the financial elite and embrace bankers was a very wrong choice.

Among the major bankers in Paris, only Cammondo truly supported the Empire; the rest almost all embraced the Republic. Neutrality was rare, with the Rothschilds and Schneider being among the most prominent.

Make as few enemies as possible, and as many friends as possible.

Having few friends to begin with, Eugène still wanted to win over these three major capitalists who were within his reach. In some matters, the power they could mobilize might be greater than that of the bloated and unpopular empire.

However, the meeting with the banker was a matter for later; Eugène put those thoughts aside and focused on the meeting at hand.

Olivier, Thiers, Simon, and Schneider had already been led into the drawing room by servants.