French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 84 The Paris Revolution Breaks Out, Firing the First Shot

At exactly eight o'clock in the evening, three crisp gunshots rang out from Montmartre. Like sparks thrown into a pot of boiling oil, they instantly ignited the entire city of Paris.

The wooden door of the Old Carpenter's Tavern wasn't pushed open, but rather smashed open. A man, his face beaming with excitement, paid no attention to the missing Gan Bida, but instead, a somewhat gleeful expression of Gan Bida's absence, was the first to rush out.

The leader of this Republican revolutionary movement waved a rolled-up republican flag, his face, flushed red by the kerosene lamp, etched with fanaticism.

Senucci, who followed closely behind, tore off the silk bow tie that he usually wore around his neck.

This banker, who usually appears impeccably dressed in a suit, was now pulling down his shirt collar like a revolutionary. Of course, this was mostly to make a good impression; Cernucci certainly has a talent for acting.

After the excited crowd rushed out, Drema was at the very back.

Gunshots could be heard from all around the streets, where more than 5,000 armed workers had gathered.

Many of these people were carrying Châteppé rifles, but because Châteppé rifles are military-controlled items, although corruption in the French military is very serious, it is not to the extent that they can dump tens of thousands of rifles abroad without being detected.

Therefore, half of the men were carrying Minié rifles that had been phased out by the army.

These weapons did not come out of thin air. In the past, Senucci, using his position as the vice president of the Bank of France, smuggled more than 10,000 Châteppé rifles and 500,000 rounds of ammunition through arms dealers in Lyon.

All the weapons that were delivered were hidden in the underground wine cellars of Montmartre. Eugène, whose control over Paris had been strengthened, was not unaware of this, but he deliberately did not confiscate them.

Because Eugène needed to make Republicans feel that they had enough power to launch a rebellion.

"Citizens, the era of Bonaparte is over!"

Seeing over five thousand people gathered in a short time from the vicinity under the call and incitement of the Republican Party, the spirited Blanqui stood on an abandoned carriage and roared with all his might.

"His Majesty the Emperor has surrendered to the Prussians, and all 80,000 French troops have been wiped out. Now, it's time for us to take charge. Go! Occupy the City Hall, occupy the telegraph office, and liberate all of Paris!"

As expected of a radical leader, Blanqui's oratory skills were quite impressive. The inflammatory nature of his words caused the workers who heard him to cheer excitedly.

Cheers swept across the entire Montmartre hill. Blanqui knew his talk of self-determination was nonsense, but the people didn't; they were thrilled to hear it.

"Long live the Republic!"

"We want bread, we want peace."

........

Before, it was "Long live the Empire," but now it's "Long live the Republic." Humans are creatures with an extremely strong ability to adapt, and this is clearly demonstrated at this moment.

Residents living nearby naturally heard the sounds of a large crowd gathering earlier, as well as the three gunshots. These unsuspecting residents opened their windows and couldn't help but curiously peek out.

However, not everyone was like that. For example, the baker who lived on the third floor was so frightened that the old lady Elan quickly closed the window and drew the curtains.

In contrast to her, Old Lady Elan's husband, Old Elan who gets up at three in the morning every day to bake bread, was peeking out through the curtains.

Ironically, he was still holding the black bread he had received that morning from the bread distribution point set up by Eugene.

"Is another war about to break out?"

Unsure whether it was the revolutionary Elan, the old lady asked her husband with some fear.

"Will His Highness the Crown Prince's bread distribution point still be open tomorrow? Will our bakery be affected?"

Ordinary families care more about daily necessities than who is in power.

Grandma Elan clearly didn't have the energy to find out; she only cared about whether she could get free bread tomorrow and whether the bakery could operate normally and make money.

Regarding Mrs. Elan's narrow-minded thinking, her husband, old Elan, just pursed his lips and remained silent, only watching the large crowd heading towards the city center below, lost in thought.

It turned out that old Elain remembered the scene when His Highness Eugène personally came to Montmartre and distributed black bread and potatoes to everyone. That young crown prince seemed to have no airs whatsoever.

The case is solved. Old Elan, who was peeping through the window, was holding a black bread in his hand. His heart was with Eugène, not with the Republicans below who were just shouting slogans.

Things were no longer ironic; the effects of Eugène's insistence on distributing bread were beginning to show in the restless Paris that night.

"I hope His Highness will be safe and sound."

Old Elan, unable to do much more, could only peek out the window and mutter a few words of prayer for His Highness.

However, there are many families like old Elain who are taking a wait-and-see approach in Paris, but the city's large population makes this situation unavoidable.

There were just as many people who were coerced, incited, or who themselves wanted to change the government. As the crowds on Montmartre marched toward the city center, gunshots began to ring out from all corners of Paris.

Republican liaisons, already lurking in various neighborhoods, blew whistles as planned.

Upon receiving the order, the workers, who were the Republican base, put down their tools and took out various weapons that had been distributed to them and hidden for some time from basements, attics, and corners of the factory, and poured into the streets of Paris.

On Serb Street, a group of textile workers walked at the front, holding their homemade tricolor flags.

Unlike the later White Feather Incident, French women today truly hold up half the sky, and the spirit of freedom that guided the people during the July Revolution has not yet faded from the hearts of French women.

The woman who held the French flag high and walked at the front of the procession was the most typical symbol of the French spirit.

Many of these women had husbands or sons fighting on the front lines. Although they received military pay, it was not the same as the Paris Legion, which was under Eugène's supervision. The pay for the nearly 40 troops on the front lines was not a small sum.

The Bazan Legion, especially those trapped in Metz, took advantage of the fact that the enemy couldn't return, and their quartermasters became extremely corrupt.

In this situation, without a significant source of income, women's income alone is insufficient to meet the needs of families with several children in this era, especially since prices in Paris have more than doubled, making it even more unaffordable.

It's fair to say that without Eugen's bread distribution points, many families would face the hardship of running out of food.

Although Eugène's bread distribution points provided support, the women were clearly not going to forgive the entire French government because of a single bread distribution point.

Compared to the visibly corrupt French government, the Republicans' ideals of "liberty, equality, and fraternity" were clearly more appealing, and the women believed that the Republicans could bring them a better life.