The massive deployment of government troops naturally couldn’t be kept a secret. In fact, every move of the French government was being closely watched by the financial groups, but no one had expected Napoleon IV to actually flip the table. The human heart is complex. “To be lenient with oneself and strict with others” is the societal norm. Even though they were plotting a coup themselves, everyone was still furious at the emperor for flipping the table. There was nothing else to say, the arrow was on the bowstring and had to be loosed. With the government’s move, the capitalists who had been pulling the strings from behind were now forced to step into the limelight. “Fellow countrymen, take up your weapons, overthrow the corrupt Bonaparte dynasty, end this mistaken war, and establish a…” Maxim Sidoluev, who had luckily survived, was now forcing himself to lecture the workers on revolutionary theory, inciting them to rebellion. It was clear that he was a fake revolutionary, merely promoting the overthrow of the Bonaparte dynasty, but lacking the theory of toppling the bourgeoisie. There was no way around it. You couldn’t expect the capitalists to rise up and revolt against themselves, could you? Even if he just spoke nonsense without thinking, it would be easy to be exposed! Maxim Sidoluev was keenly experiencing what it meant to have an intellectual trying to reason with a soldier, where logic cannot convince the latter. No matter how eloquently he spoke on stage, the mood of the crowd below just wasn’t high. The idea of “revolution” was deeply ingrained in people’s hearts, but that was limited to intellectuals. Ordinary citizens were busy trying to earn their daily bread, and simply didn’t have time to think about these issues. The key was that the Bonaparte dynasty had not yet reached a point of universal outrage. Although bad news kept coming from the front, the war was mostly fought abroad, so the people of Paris were not deeply affected. Domestic prices soaring did indeed trigger public discontent. But to stabilize public morale, the French government had also distributed relief food on several occasions. Although they still weren’t full, at least they wouldn’t starve. Many people were nostalgic for the good life under Napoleon III. “Revolution” had left a bad impression on the people of Paris, the most typical example being how everyone’s standard of living had clearly declined after the last revolution. Seeing that moral encouragement had little effect on this coerced rebel army, Maxim Sidoluev reluctantly announced, “For conquering the police station opposite, everyone will be rewarded with five thousand francs. The first person to rush in will receive fifty thousand francs…” Big principles would never be as useful as real money. Even though the franc had depreciated significantly, five thousand francs was still an astronomical sum for an ordinary person. Watching the rebels come back to life, Maxim Sidoluev no longer had any confidence in the revolution’s prospects. Essentially, he had never wanted a revolution. He just wanted to install a more compliant government through a coup. Alas, plans couldn’t keep up with changes. Napoleon IV’s sudden move had completely disrupted their plans. The operatives they had planted in the government were now all prisoners, and even they were forced to flee in a hurry. If there had been any other way, Maxim Sidoluev would never have personally stepped onto the stage to lead a ragtag mob in a revolution. It was chaos and all of Paris was in disarray. Facing the government’s raised butcher knife, the capitalists and revolutionaries rose up in a counterattack, drawing the curtain on the revolution. The sounds of gunshots, shouts, and cries intertwined, echoing throughout the city of Paris. The sky gradually darkened, and as night fell, the battle continued. By midnight, perhaps everyone was tired from fighting, or perhaps it was too dark to see, but the battle slowly subsided. “Mr. Maxim, the car is ready. We can leave whenever you are ready.” Maxim Sidoluev nodded and said, “Alright! Two hours after I leave, notify the revolutionaries to come and take over the troops. After completing the mission, you are free to decide whether to continue participating in the subsequent battles.” Leading a revolution was out of the question. Maxim Sidoluev was not that noble or great. His sudden uprising today was something he was forced to do. The government had already made its move. If he didn’t throw Paris into chaos, he wouldn’t be able to escape at all. Once he fell into the government’s hands, he didn’t know the fate of others, but Maxim Sidoluev was certainly a dead man. As for the great cause of overthrowing the Bonaparte dynasty, that naturally had to be left to the revolutionaries. It was good that his identity hadn’t been exposed yet. If everyone knew he was the head of the vampiric capitalists, he’d be torn to shreds. It’s important to know that ever since the birth of the bourgeoisie, they have been linked to the word “unscrupulous.” Those in finance, in particular, were the best of the best among them. The world wouldn’t revolve around one person. Even without Maxim Sidoluev, the French civil war would still continue. It wasn’t that the revolutionary army was so powerful, it was that the government army was filled with misgivings. Many times, it looked like they were fighting, but in reality, they were just firing their guns into the air. It couldn’t be helped as French soldiers had always been sympathetic to revolution. Asking them to arrest unscrupulous capitalists was one thing. However, asking them to shoot ordinary citizens was simply too difficult. Although most soldiers were “showing up but not working hard,” a portion of the soldiers loyal to the royal family were still fighting to the death, so overall, the government army was still suppressing the rebels. … At the Palace of Versailles, watching the government troops win victory after victory, Napoleon IV couldn’t bring himself to be happy. Late at night, Napoleon IV sat alone in the garden. Gazing at the starry sky, he felt as if amidst the soaring flames of war, he could hear the ancient city of Paris letting out a soul-rending cry. Plans couldn’t keep up with changes. From the current situation, it was clear that Napoleon IV’s purge had failed. Although he had arrested many key figures from the financial groups, confiscated vast amounts of wealth and assets, and dealt a heavy blow to the bourgeoisie, a civil war had made these gains utterly meaningless. The French civil war was just the beginning. It was easy to imagine that in the days to come, the remaining forces of the financial groups would certainly launch a counterattack. In normal times, Napoleon IV wouldn’t have cared about a little backlash. He would have had enough confidence to handle these problems. But now it is different. France was facing an attack from the Anti-French Coalition. With both internal strife and external threats erupting at the same time, France, already at a disadvantage on the battlefield, would find it even more difficult to carry on. “Not ruthless enough!” “If only I’d done this sooner!” Napoleon IV muttered to himself. He knew he was deceiving himself as violence wouldn’t solve the problem. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the power of the financial groups has been suppressed for now. In reality, they would soon rise from the ashes. In essence, a financial group is a combination of interests. As long as there’s profit to be made, this group will exist unless the government is strong enough to cut off their collusion at the source. This was what Napoleon IV most envied about Franz. The Austrian bourgeoisie started late, and before they could grow and develop, they encountered a strong emperor who directly extinguished the possibility of large financial groups being born. Energy and transportation were either in the hands of the government or the royal family. Any capitalist who dared to make trouble was taught a lesson. The financial sector and the real economy were two parallel lines from the start. Any attempt to cross over or form a powerful coalition would immediately be met with a devastating, asymmetric strike. The strictest inspections were a given and that went without saying. Frequent water and power outages were just standard practice. When it came to transporting goods, there was never a train car available. When it came to purchasing… In fact, not just Austria, but almost all European countries were restricting the power of financial groups. It was just that Austria did it with the most force, and France did it with the most failure.
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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