French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 48: Persuading his mother to allow the Paris Legion to relocate.

On the 12th, Nasser formally severed command authority, splitting the once massive Rhine Army in two.

The Bazan Legion, which was facing the Prussian army at the front, was directly placed under the command of Bazan himself. However, this time, Nasan accurately gave Bazan the order to hold his ground and wait for reinforcements, and to block the Prussian army.

Meanwhile, the Sharon Corps was commanded alternately by Nathan and McMahon. The two commanders, who were in poor health, did not have any major disagreements due to their physical condition.

Before the Prussian army clashed head-on with the Bazin army, the impact of the defeat on August 6th gradually faded in Paris, especially after the Republicans dared not cause any trouble.

On the night of August 13, candles burned in the silver candlesticks of the Queen's bedroom in the Tuileries Palace, a rare occurrence in the palace where gas lamps were used.

Despite numerous safety incidents, gas lamps remained less popular than candles among the wealthy upper class of Paris.

During her temporary respite, Empress Eugénie, the French regent, sat before her dressing table, gazing at the glass at the cross necklace bearing the silhouette of Napoleon III adorning her neck.

Although Napoleon and Eugénie's relationship wasn't exactly harmonious, bordering on antagonistic, Eugénie was silently praying for Napoleon III in the current situation, as it concerned her own interests.

While Eugénie was praying, a maid gently pushed open the carved wooden door. After the Queen finished her silent prayer and turned her gaze to her, the sensible maid spoke up.

"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience in the reception room, saying he has urgent military matters to discuss with you in person."

She was exhausted during this period, but knowing that Eugène was also working hard for France, Eugène, who was aware of Eugène's actions, forced herself to not refuse to meet with her son at night.

Reaching up to rub her temples, Eugénie saw a woman in the mirror who looked so pale. A thick layer of foundation couldn't cover the dark circles under her eyes, and a deep sense of exhaustion was impossible to conceal.

"Let him in."

A moment later, Eugene walked in wearing a well-fitting dark blue military uniform, his military boots making no sound as they stepped on the wool carpet.

Eugene's collar and sleeves were covered in dust, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Although male nobles of that era also applied thick layers of makeup, they obviously could not compare with female nobles who were enthusiastic about salon culture. Therefore, Eugène's dark circles even looked more severe than Eugène's.

Without turning around, Eugenie looked at her son's appearance in the mirror and knew that Eugen had just rushed back from a recruitment point in an outer district 10.

"Mother, I'm sorry to disturb your rest."

"Has something changed at the front, or has something happened in Paris?"

Eugénie turned around and looked at her son, who had never looked for her in the middle of the night before. She reached out to straighten his crooked collar insignia, but stopped halfway through and finally just sighed softly.

Eugène shook his head. Seeing his mother's exhaustion, Eugène Napoleon decided to drop the pleasantries he had in mind and get straight to the point with his mother.

"This is not news from the front. I have come to request that my mother, in her capacity as regent, sign the order for the Paris Legion to relocate to the suburbs."

Upon hearing this, Eugénie's face immediately darkened. Although Eugénie was strong-willed, she lacked a sense of security, and she could sense the difference between Paris now and Paris before.

Eugénie wasn't stupid; she understood that the source of this change was the expansion of the Bonaparte family's military power.

The Paris Garrison Gendarmerie, consisting of 12 Paris Legion members plus an expanded force of 1.36 police officers and six gendarmerie battalions, was also expanded to 3752 personnel.

This military force of nearly 14 is the fundamental reason why Republicans and other rebels dare not show their teeth, a fact that Eugène knows and Eugène knows as well.

"Eugène, I think you've gone mad. You're moving hundreds of thousands of troops out of Paris? Those Republicans have been waiting for this day for a long time. Without regular troops to guard the city, those lunatics can turn the whole of Paris into a battlefield with a single call to arms."

Eugénie was aware of the Republican Party and also of the people of Paris.

If she didn't have any sense of reason, she wouldn't have stopped Nathan from letting her husband return to Paris to take charge.

Therefore, in Eugénie's view, it was wrong to keep the army in the odd-numbered wards and send them to the even-numbered wards, which were not part of the new Paris and, in her eyes, not even part of the city of Paris.

This in itself represents a weakening of deterrent power, which will inevitably lead the Republican Party to have different thoughts.

Eugène came with this idea in mind, but he couldn't tell his mother that he hoped the Republicans would rebel and overthrow the government.

The French Crown Prince would bet that if he said that to his mother, he would only get a slap in the face, or at worst, his mother would call a psychiatrist to check if he had gone mad.

Before coming, Eugene had already prepared his explanation. He was not intimidated by Eugene's rejection and calmly "analyzed" the situation for his mother.

"Mother, it is precisely to prevent riots that I am moving the troops out. I think you saw the police commissioner's report last week. Just four days ago, there was an incident of soldiers from the 13th Army causing a disturbance while drunk in the Ninth Opera District."

Back then, a soldier accidentally killed a baker's son, which directly triggered an attack by thousands of people. Yesterday, the newly formed 14th Army supply corps also clashed with people from the 6th Luxembourg District, resulting in the destruction of seven shops.

With hundreds of thousands of troops crammed into the narrow streets of Paris, tensions between soldiers and civilians escalated daily. At this rate, the Republicans wouldn't need to incite unrest; just one more incident like this would be enough to ignite the anger of the populace.

This isn't something Eugene is making up; soldiers from major European powers certainly have good manners within their own countries.

However, it's hard to say how good their quality is, especially with the troop strength suddenly quadrupled and a bunch of new recruits joining every day, making the situation even more chaotic.

In this situation, training troops inside the city is indeed less effective than training them in the suburbs.

Eugénie was speechless at her son's words. She knew the situation too, but lacking a sense of security, she chose to pretend not to hear.

She preferred the army to remain in the city to protect her safety, rather than the suffering Parisians. Now, Eugène had shattered her facade of deafness and silence, and Eugène had to confront the issue directly.

Knowing that his mother was struggling with her inner conflict, Eugène wouldn't stop trying to persuade her; he had prepared more than one reason before coming.

"The walls of Paris were built fifty years ago by my grandfather Napoleon I, and even the thickest parts couldn't withstand the bombardment of 12-pound field guns. If we trap our troops in the city, we'll be sitting ducks once the Prussian army attacks."

The main force was deployed to the outer highlands of Versailles, Saint-Denis, and Meuron. My mother believed that this would both create a defensive depth and avoid direct conflict with the civilians.

There's no need to worry too much about the Republicans. In case something really happens in the city, the assembled cavalry division can reach the city center in an hour, and the infantry can complete the encirclement in three hours. This is much more efficient than scattering troops throughout the city.