The news was so good that Napoleon III almost went crazy. A grand cocktail party was held in the Palace of Versailles. The French Emperor raised his wine glass and announced to his ministers that France would win!
"God still bless us France! Our enemy Prussia has become so weak that we must not let them go! Hahaha... My foreign minister has changed the negotiation strategy. Now I not only want Bavaria, I want Hesse too!"
The face of the Foreign Minister Duke Clermont suddenly turned bitter. He held a glass of wine and admonished the French Emperor: "Dear Your Majesty... Your proposal has been sent to Bismarck and William I. Now it has only been a few days. Change the negotiation conditions? This kind of thing is a taboo in diplomacy, and I am afraid it will cause strong protests from Bismarck and others!"
"Protest! Am I afraid of them protesting? That's the poor devil of a country. They haven't even solved the minimum war funding, and they still want to fight with us? It's all blackmail! Bismarck is blackmailing us. France!”
"This is already a big concession. I only want Bavaria, Hesse, and Darmstadt to give up. Isn't this my mercy? Well, my Foreign Minister, continue your work..."
Napoleon III had obviously had a little too much to drink. Queen Eugenie looked at him slightly worriedly, and showed a helpless expression to the important ministers present.
It's not just the Queen who is worried. Even Montauban can't drink this time. It's not that the Duke of Bali Bridge doesn't like this good news. On the contrary, he thinks this good news is really good. The good ones are a bit unexpected.
In the UK, he had seen the cunningness of the British. He always felt that it was abnormal to get such top-secret information so easily.
But Montauban was a jester after all. He would not throw cold water on the emperor when he was happy. He just secretly communicated with Queen Eugenie with his eyes. After the banquet was over, Napoleon III went back to rest with the support of his attendants. Queen Eugenie and Montauban sat in the back garden for a secret meeting.
"My dear Queen, I can't provide any evidence, but I always feel that there must be something wrong here!"
"Prussia issued war bonds. How could such important information be leaked so easily? Those people in the City of London are not fools. How deep of a relationship do they have with their counterparts in the Netherlands that they can release such secret information? "
"I'm afraid there's a ghost in here!"
Queen Eugenie also agreed with Montauban's remarks. She said regretfully, "Yes, I also have such worries, but you have also seen His Majesty's emotions! At this moment, France really cannot withstand a war! Your Majesty In fact, I don’t want to fight this damn war at all!”
"Is it because of the Republicans?" Montauban asked.
The queen nodded, "Prussia is a foreign invader after all! France's real worries are internal, haven't you heard? Gambetta has successfully campaigned in Marseille!"
When the name Gambetta was mentioned, Montauban's face immediately turned bitter. This name was the most hated by the royalists!
Because Gambetta was an out-and-out republican, he took a clear-cut stand against the French monarchy and the ascension of Napoleon III. He always believed that this was illegal, regressive and reversing the course of history.
Especially in the Bodin incident, he once defended the editor-in-chief of the Awakening newspaper in court. An ordinary defense in the court turned into Gambit's accusation against the entire empire. It was this famous defense that made his Reputation grows.
With this reputation, Gambetta began to participate in politics and officially participated in the election of local councilors. In May 1869, she participated in the election campaign for the Boliville district of Paris and successfully obtained the qualifications for councillors.
In June, he participated in the city council election in Marseille and won. At this time, this young politician had become one of the leaders of the opposition forces within France and had an extremely high reputation.
The Emperor wanted his life more than once, but he backed down in the face of the huge supporters behind him.
He knew that behind Gambetta's success were the votes of countless workers and farmers. He could physically eliminate Gambetta, but he could not eliminate the huge support group behind it.
Queen Eugenie said jokingly, "We can only pray to God to bless Gambit in good health and safety. If something happens to him, I'm afraid the angry people will put all the blame on us!"
Montauban looked worried. He lit a cigarette for himself. "Is there no way out? If this continues, the opposition will become stronger and stronger. By then, the power of the government and the opposition will wax and wane. It’s not going to be easy for us.”
"So His Majesty is planning to amend the constitution this year. France may have to change its political system! Change it to a constitutional monarchy..."
With a hiss, Montauban gasped, "Has the situation reached this point?"
The queen nodded, "If there are no big mistakes, a new constitution will be released in April or May. By then, France will choose a constitutional monarchy as its national system!"
"Is this a constitutional monarchy like the UK? Can your Majesty really let go? Let go of the power in your hands?"
Queen Eugenie said coldly, "No! Of course it's not like that. The new constitution must guarantee most of the emperor's powers. We cannot be completely deprived of rights like the United Kingdom! At least our emperor should retain military power and the power to reorganize the cabinet. These must remain Down!"
Now Montauban understood that what Napoleon III wanted was a copy of the Constitutional Amendment Order. In name, he was learning from the British constitutional monarchy, but in fact he still had to retain many of his privileges.
"In this case, of course I support His Majesty the Emperor's decision with both hands, but we must be prepared for both parties. I am afraid those Republicans will not agree to our conditions so easily!"
"So what France needs now is a relatively peaceful environment. It is really not a good time to start a war at this time!" Queen Eugenie said.
"Okay, Your Majesty the Queen, I will let the intelligence agencies work hard to continue to explore the movements of the City of London. We must find more circumstantial evidence for this intelligence. May God bless us, and I hope this damn war will not break out!"
Queen Eugenie nodded, "Yes, we really shouldn't have such a war with Prussia. Our target should be those nasty Chinese."
"As long as the constitutional reform can be passed, even if there are domestic objections, we don't have to worry too much. Once the anti-Chinese alliance is established, our expeditionary force will set off immediately. The East will bring news of victory to the empire, and these victories The news can calm the public dissatisfaction in the country."
"Those Republicans, even if they shout at the top of their lungs, may not be able to compete with the encouragement a victory brings to the people. As long as we win! We just want victory!"
:. :chapter;
