French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 49 Eugene's plan unfolds, a spy within a spy?

After being persuaded by Eugène, who seemed to have a premeditation but not a rhetoric, Eugène fell silent. She didn't understand military matters, but she had witnessed the anger of the Parisian people.

With the European revolutions of 1848 still fresh in her mind, she knew all too well the terrible power that could be unleashed when the people were enraged.

However, Eugenie still hesitated, but this hesitation was more due to other factors than because she herself wanted to keep the legion in the city.

"But Prime Minister Montauban will never agree, Eugène. I must tell you, Montauban already sees you as a thorn in his side. I think he will say that you are undermining the government's rule and take the opportunity to attack you to your father."

"Mother, don't worry about such things. I've already thought of what to say to Montauban. I'll tell him that having the army stationed outside the city will avoid friction with the cabinet and allow them to respond to any government orders to the front lines."

I think he'd love for me to stay away from Paris and wouldn't try to stop me too much. Father has explicitly authorized me to be fully responsible for the defense of Paris; I only need to seek your consent, Mother. Mother, you are the Regent of France; without your signature, this order will not be effective.

There are limits to pampering. Eugénie couldn't completely trust a 14-year-old child to do things recklessly.

In fact, influenced by Montauban and others, Eugénie was always worried that Eugène would take advantage of the emperor's authority to act arbitrarily and ignore her as regent, which was completely intolerable for a person with a desire for control.

At this moment, Eugène lowered his stance towards Eugénie, causing the Queen of France to immediately relax her tense nerves.

After staring at Eugene for a long time, Eugene felt that her son was a stranger to her. A fourteen-year-old boy seemed to have grown up a lot in this period of time.

Eugène was firm in his principles and his logic was very clear. The French Crown Prince was no longer the child who would follow her around and act spoiled.

"Alright, Eugene, perhaps you're right."

After a moment of internal reflection, Eugénie finally relented, picked up a quill pen, and issued her own order: "You must promise me that if there is any disturbance in the city, you must immediately send troops back to reinforce it."

"I understand, my mother. Don't worry, I won't let France be ruined in my hands."

Overjoyed upon receiving the order, Eugene, who was about to make arrangements as soon as possible, saluted Eugene and quickly left.

Watching Eugène turn and leave in a hurry, Eugène picked up the crucifix again, closed her eyes and prayed silently. Eugène didn't know what this decision would bring, but she had no other choice.

To put it bluntly, the Bonaparte family's rule in Paris now rests solely on this fourteen-year-old boy, their own son.

On the morning of the 14th, the relocation order signed by the Empress Regent was officially issued.

As Eugène had predicted, French Prime Minister and Minister of War Montauban, though deeply dissatisfied, merely snorted coldly upon hearing the news and did not publicly oppose it.

In Montbant's view, Eugène's move to withdraw troops from Paris deprived him, as the Governor of Paris, of his greatest asset in controlling the cabinet government, which was tantamount to cutting off his own arm.

To this end, Montbanto secretly instructed the Ministry of War to delay the allocation of military supplies as much as possible, waiting to see Eugène make a fool of himself.

The relocation order stipulated that the 13th Army would be stationed at Versailles fortress to take over its large armory, while the 14th Army would be stationed in Saint-Denis to control the northern railway hub, and the 15th Army would hold the Medon Hill, overlooking the lower Seine.

The garrisons of the three infantry corps were assigned to their posts, and two independent cavalry divisions would be stationed in Châtillon and Montroux to patrol the outskirts of Paris.

According to the timeline, once the relocation plan is completed on the 16th, only more than 3,000 gendarmes and more than 10,000 police officers will remain in the city. This military force of less than 20,000 people will be responsible for maintaining the daily security of Paris, a city of less than 2 million people, after the conscription.

Standing atop a tower, Eugène watched an infantry unit disappear at the end of the street.

As a highly influential figure in Paris today, Pierre, the commander of the Paris garrison gendarmes, stood behind Eugène, reporting the situation to him in a low voice.

"Your Highness, everything is proceeding according to plan. The key strongholds within the city have been handed over to the military police, and our men have already infiltrated all the outposts."

"Very good. Now, let Drema begin his performance. Remember, make him act naturally and don't let anyone see through his act."

After Pierre took over the army, Dreima became virtually invisible to the Gendarmerie Command. Having taken control of the Gendarmerie and wielding significant financial power, Pierre naturally engaged in the usual reforms expected of a new leader.

For example, he appointed three of his trusted confidants as deputy battalion commanders, responsible for daily training and logistics, and had all important documents submitted directly to him for review, without going through Drema, who assisted him in taking over the troops.

Even at Pierre's suggestion, no one notified Drema, who had not yet completely resigned, to attend the headquarters' routine meetings.

Drema's office was moved to the most secluded room at the end of the corridor of the military police headquarters, with the military police stables right outside the window, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of horse manure all day long.

Even though several of Drema's former subordinates wanted to visit the former commander, they were stopped by the guards at the door on the grounds that they were "busy with military affairs."

Those in command understood the shift in the political climate and naturally began to avoid Drema at all costs. In fact, all of this was relayed back to Montmartre in detail by Republican spies planted in the military police.

The Republican Party was able to shake the rule of the empire, so it was impossible for it not to have its own people in every industry. As one of the three major armed forces in Paris, the Gendarmerie Command was naturally not immune to the infiltration of the Republican Party.

Drema has ties to the Republican Party, and Eugène valued this connection to the former military police commander.

As for the issue of loyalty, Drema is not an idealist; he craves promotions and raises, and Eugène can satisfy that need.

Eugène Napoleon never needed Drema's absolute loyalty; he only needed Drema to understand that he could gain more benefits by following him than the Republicans.

Drema, who was already biased towards Eugène, agreed without hesitation after receiving Eugène's order.

On the afternoon of the 14th, Drema, as usual, was alone in his office wiping the old pocket watch left by his father. Suddenly, a young military policeman responsible for cleaning took advantage of his position to enter the room guarded by the guards.

While wiping here and there, the young military policeman suddenly placed a piece of paper folded into the shape of a swallow on the table, and then left without saying a word.

The guards who did not follow in to monitor the military police cleaning were unaware of what was happening.

Drema, who had hidden the note, unfolded it only after making sure no one was around. It contained only a line of hastily written pencil marks.