The most defining trait of the French Revolution was its speed. Once an uprising began, it either succeeded right away or collapsed just as quickly. There was never such a thing as a long, drawn-out struggle. This time was no different. The nations of the continent had barely received the news when the vigorous Second Revolution was already over. As expected, the French revolutionary government, which had long since lost the support of the people, faded from the stage of history. The radicals rose to power in its place. At the center of it all stood Daniel, the leader of this revolution. He was in high spirits, confidently pointing the way forward. And he had every reason to be proud. Barely thirty years old, he now held the reins of an entire nation. “Mr. Daniel, we’ve captured that traitor Robert. When do you want him executed?” When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. The collapse of the French revolutionary government sent its politicians fleeing in all directions, long before real danger reached them. In this, the revolutionaries were veterans. Only Robert, the unlucky fool who realized too late, was caught behind. He had been pushed forward as the scapegoat. His presidency was defined by a single act: traveling to Vienna to sign the armistice treaty. The moment the treaty took effect, his political career was finished. Labeled a traitor and stripped of his position, Robert was abandoned by everyone and cut off from all information. While the rest of the government’s leaders managed to escape, he alone lagged behind and fell into the hands of the new regime. “Andrew, don’t be in such a rush. He’s already in our custody and he has nowhere to go. No matter what, Robert was once President of France, and he was a revolutionary who helped overthrow the Bonaparte dynasty. He still deserves a measure of respect. Keep him under strict guard and make sure nothing happens to him. Once the public trial is over, then we’ll send him on his way.” The public did not understand why Robert, once hailed as a hero of the revolution, had suddenly become branded a traitor. But Daniel, one of the participants himself, knew the truth all too well. Of course, knowing the truth did not change what had to be done. Drawing lessons from past revolutions that had failed, Daniel had come to a single conclusion: a revolution must be written in blood. Without bloodshed, the anger of the people could not be appeased. Without bloodshed, fear could not take root. And a man like Robert, whose reputation was already ruined, was the perfect target to establish authority. Yet killing was not all the same. The method mattered. Simply cutting Robert down would satisfy the radicals for a moment, but it would not leave a lasting mark on the people’s hearts. Paris was a complicated place. As the leader of the Second Revolution, Daniel knew exactly what kind of rabble the revolutionary army was. If the nobles inside the city were not cowed into submission, this newborn regime could be toppled at any moment. In truth, Robert as a former president was not heavy enough a sacrifice. To truly set an example, Daniel would have preferred dragging out a few powerful nobles and sending them to the guillotine. But such ideas could only remain in his thoughts. Setting aside the question of whether the Russian army stationed outside the city would interfere, the nobles’ private forces alone were a formidable challenge. If it came to a fight, the revolutionaries might not secure authority at all. Instead, they might end up burying themselves. … March 11, 1893. It was a bright and gentle day, with golden sunlight spilling across the land. Fresh sprouts broke through the soil, and the world seemed full of life. The square of Versailles Palace, however, was already abuzz with activity. Crowds of French citizens had gathered from every direction, impatiently waiting for the execution of the traitor, the former… president Robert. Watching the scene before him, General Yevgeny shook his head and thought to himself, “The guillotine is back in service. I wonder if it is the same one used to execute Louis XVI. Too much time has passed, and there was even a restoration in between. It probably is not the same one anymore.” A president was not a monarch. In the age of kings, such a position carried little respect to begin with. So no matter how the French chose to kill him, the international community would have no objections. As for General Yevgeny, he had no reason not to enjoy the spectacle. As the creaking of wheels echoed through the square, every pair of eyes turned toward the sound. The French soldiers, already prepared, quickly forced open a path through the crowd so that the prison cart could pass. Rotten vegetables and spoiled eggs were nowhere to be seen. The French people were so hungry they were almost eating dirt. How could they waste such precious food on a so-called traitor about to face the guillotine? Even without rotten vegetables or eggs, Robert did not escape unscathed. A group of unruly spectators had prepared their own projectiles in advance and hurled them at the cart. From his distance, Yevgeny could not make out exactly what was being thrown, but whatever it was, it certainly was not anything pleasant. Whether by poor aim or deliberate intent, Robert himself was not hit often. Instead, the unfortunate victims were mostly the soldiers and bystanders standing nearby. If the escorting officer had not quickly ordered the attacks stopped, there might well have been a full-blown brawl among the crowd, a civil war among the people right there in the square. As the highest commander of the coalition forces stationed in Paris, General Yevgeny understood perfectly well what was going on. Paris has been anything but peaceful lately. After the success of the Second Revolution, the new government immediately launched a massive purge of the city. Every day, countless people were executed. Some for crimes, some for politics, and some simply for bad luck. The atmosphere in Paris was suffocating with fear. At times, Yevgeny even suspected that the new government was deliberately using political purges to reduce the population and cut down food consumption, just to get through the grain crisis. And this was not a baseless suspicion. Although the war had ended, little grain was flowing into France. After the Austrian government reduced its grain exports, Paris’s food crisis grew even worse. Preliminary estimates suggested that in 1893, France would face a grain shortage of six million tons. Imports and smuggling might cover about 3.2 million tons, leaving a gap of 2.8 million tons that could not be filled. In theory, this shortage was not completely unmanageable. If the whole nation tightened its belts, cut back on livestock and pets, and stopped wasting food, the crisis could more or less be endured. Reality, however, was cruel. The rich continued to live in luxury, wasting food while hoarding vast supplies, which only deepened the grain crisis. The ones starving were the ordinary people at the bottom. At this point, if the French government wanted to survive the crisis, the only options were to force nobles, landowners, and capitalists to hand over their surplus grain, or to reduce the population. Yevgeny admitted that his own thoughts were a bit too dark. Given France’s situation, if the crisis were to be solved by reducing the population, it would not mean tens of thousands dead but hundreds of thousands, perhaps even millions. If not for the severity of the crisis, the French government probably would not have resorted to such extreme purges. On the surface it looked like the elimination of political rivals, but in truth it was also an effort to get through the famine. At the very least, the grain merchants in Paris who tried to hoard supplies for profit had already been dealt with. Their confiscated stocks were redistributed to the refugees. Compared to the previous revolutionary government, the current one was clearly more effective. Through a series of measures, it restored order to Paris in the shortest possible time. Throughout the entire execution, former president Robert never said a single word. This left General Yevgeny, who had been hoping for some drama, rather disappointed. It was obvious that the whole thing was a performance. As for Robert, the unfortunate scapegoat on the guillotine, he had already been silenced beforehand and was never given the chance to protest his innocence. Lowering his telescope, Yevgeny said, “Let’s go, Andrew. There’s nothing left worth watching.” Beside him, Lieutenant General Andrew disagreed saying, “On the contrary, Commander, there is still something worth watching. We just will not see it with our own eyes. The French government has made a bold move today. The nobles of France will not be sleeping well tonight. If things continue unchecked, one day the guillotine might fall on their necks instead. They have every reason to fear. History has already set the precedent. The revolutionaries once cut down a king, and countless nobles were killed as well. Seeing this scene now, it is impossible for them not to draw comparisons. What happens next will depend on how both sides play their cards. Unfortunately, the coalition has forbidden us from interfering. Otherwise, we would not be surrounded by so much chaos, dragged into one mess after another…” Yevgeny interrupted, “That’s enough, Andrew! These are matters for politicians to worry about. You and I are soldiers. It is not our place to meddle too much. Besides, Daniel is no simple figure. To restore order so quickly and to cow the nobles of Paris, even if only for the moment, shows he is a man not to be underestimated. If we really did intervene, it would not be easy.” Defeating the revolutionaries would be simple. The real problem was what came after their defeat. Not to boast, but if Yevgeny truly unleashed the Russian army on Paris, the French would have more to worry about than the grain crisis. They might even have to consider moving the capital. Since his appointment, Yevgeny had worked hard to keep the Russian troops in line. For example, he encouraged smuggling operations on the side. The profits not only fattened the officers’ purses but also supplemented the soldiers’ rations. That was the fault of the Russian government. Supplies were just as poor as they were back home. What were the Russian soldiers in Paris supposed to think? How could a victorious army be treated worse than the defeated French troops? They grumbled, yes, but their loyalty was not in doubt. As long as their stomachs were filled, no major problems would arise. They could not get rich on army pay alone, but Russian soldiers were skilled at living off the land. And Paris, even scarred by war, was still wealthy enough that a little effort brought in plenty of spoils. The coalition command prohibited the Russians from interfering not only to put pressure on the French nobles but also because they feared that if the Russian army marched into the city unchecked, Paris would be turned into a living hell. If that happened, forget about war reparations. No one could even say how long it would take to stabilize France again. Yet every coin has two sides. What was a disadvantage could also be an advantage. The Russian army might not be easy to use, but its deterrent power was immense. The message to the French was clear. A massive ticking time bomb sat beside them. At any moment, with just the press of a button, Paris could be reduced to ashes. And the consequences? At worst, war reparations would not be collected, and the coalition forces in France would suffer heavy losses. These concerns frightened most of the anti-French coalition, but not the man who had orchestrated everything behind the scenes—Emperor Franz. As long as the Holy Roman Empire survived the immediate years of economic hardship, war reparations would mean little. As for the losses among the coalition troops, why should Franz care? They were not his soldiers. Leaving the sword hanging above France was far more profitable. It allowed the Holy Roman Empire to restrain French ambitions through the presence of the Coalition, bind the coalition together with France’s interests, secure its leadership of the continental alliance, and at the same time give Russia the confidence to push south toward India. … The Paris presidential residence had once been the prime minister’s mansion, but whether by curse or fate, anyone who moved in was destined to leave behind their peaceful days. For seventeen consecutive presidents of France, not one had managed to stay longer than a month. The unluckiest of them had even ended their days beneath the guillotine. Daniel’s arrival had broken that streak. Today marked his thirty-fourth day in office, though no one could say what his ultimate fate would be. Puffing on a cigar of uncertain origin, President Daniel turned to his close aide and asked, “Buck, how are the nobles reacting?” “The nobles are busy making connections. The Legitimists, the Orléanists, and the Bonapartists have already held secret meetings among their leaders. Our people didn’t have the rank to learn what they discussed, but judging from the current silence, they haven’t reached an agreement yet. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be this quiet.” The second revolution had succeeded, yet it still hadn’t broken the nobles’ control over the army. Once the three royalist factions came to an understanding, Paris could change hands at any moment. Daniel nodded and ordered, “Tell our men not to provoke these nobles for now. As long as they don’t move, we won’t either. What matters most is increasing our influence in the army. As long as we don’t hold the military in our hands, our revolution will never be secure. And don’t forget to recruit the prisoners of war released by the coalition. They may have lost battles and been captured, but that was not their fault. Once re-armed, they’re still the most capable soldiers France has. The regular army left in the country is made up of second and third-line troops, nowhere near as skilled as those veterans.” People learn from history, and Daniel had taken the previous French revolutionary government’s mistakes to heart. He understood early on that the army was the key. “Soldiers should stay out of politics, remaining neutral in domestic struggles”—Daniel had never believed that nonsense. If the royalist factions had not held control over the army and commanded their private forces, would they enjoy such power today? Once the three factions united, the supposedly neutral French military would immediately tear away its mask and throw its weight behind a new king. With Napoleon III’s example before them, the royalists only needed to follow the same script. In fact, they had it even easier. United, the royalists were far stronger than Napoleon III had been. A single coup would be enough to restore the monarchy in one swift move.
*** https://postimg.cc/gallery/PwXsBkC (Maps of the current territories of the countries in this novel made by ScH)
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