It was under the leadership of Xiao Letian, the devil, that public opinion in France was in chaos, and people's hearts were fluctuating due to various rumors.
Some rumors directly attack the Emperor himself, saying that he is old and has no pioneering spirit. Now he is thinking about how to secure his throne and how to put the prince on the throne.
Some rumors directly use conspiracy theories to explain everything in front of them. The people generally believe that the nobles at the top of the empire have reached an insidious agreement with Prussia and betrayed the country in exchange for their interests.
Not to mention that countless people believe this rumor. After all, the 19th century was the stage when nationalism was just emerging. In addition to French nationalism being relatively high, people in many European countries were also accustomed to feudal rule and theocratic rule.
Under this kind of thinking, the concept of country is very illusory, and people will not have a strong backlash against changes in their country's territory.
Just like in history, Napoleon I defeated Prussia in the Battle of Jena and suddenly ceded half of Prussia's territory. However, the people who had this half of the ceded territory did not rebel or revolt.
Even after the end of the Franco-Prussian Republic, the Alsace and Lorraine regions were ceded to Germany, so the people in these two regions could still live their own lives with peace of mind.
This was the social reality when nationalism did not rise on a large scale, national consciousness was not deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and the so-called crime of treason was far less serious than that of later generations.
In this context, people generally believe that the nobles of the world are one family... This argument is really true! Because European nobility is not divided by country, but is based on family.
Several noble families married each other, formed alliances with each other, and went to war with each other, reaching a balance in the struggle!
If the French nobles betrayed their country to Prussia for their own interests, this kind of thing is really not a joke!
These two kinds of rumors are the most accepted and widely spread among the whole rumors. As for the other messy rumors, they are just gossip in the final analysis.
But gossip news also has its role. As an ancient Chinese saying goes, pearls are mixed with fish’s eyes. How can pearls be shown to be precious? Then there must be countless fish eyes mixed in for comparison.
Producing one or two genuine items alone cannot support a huge antique market. It would take hundreds of fakes mixed with one genuine item to gain popularity.
Xiao Letian created so many sexy news and so many bizarre stories. In the final analysis, he wanted to hype up the popularity of French public opinion and make everyone on the streets of Paris discuss this matter.
Everyone in Paris must be involved in this war of words, so that the true sense of nationalist fanaticism can rise and overwhelm the imperial power.
The flying fists look very enjoyable, but there are only two real killing moves. One is aimed at Napoleon III himself, saying that he is old and fatuous and has become cowardly and incompetent, and attacking him that he no longer has the courage to govern the country.
The second killer move went straight to the entire aristocratic capitalist class in France, attacking them as traitors to the country, and using all kinds of true and false news to force the people to believe that these fat-minded guys were colluding with Prussia to betray the empire. Benefit.
Why is it that France has expanded its territory and grown so many colonies over the years, but its people's lives are still so difficult? In the final analysis, some people are betraying the country, and some people are betraying France's interests to others.
In the final analysis, those nobles are not born to be in the same boat as the people!
Even if the French ship sinks, those nobles can easily abandon the ship!
The end of the 19th century was an era when various ideas were rampant in Europe. People's hearts were very confused during this era. On the one hand, traditional feudal ideas and theocratic ideas refused to withdraw from the stage of history. Look at the arrogant nobles and churchmen on the streets of Paris. In order to maintain They launched the Second Empire and Napoleon III for their own interests.
On the other hand, there is the Enlightenment Movement of nationalist ideas and even socialist and communist ideas. Theocracy has finally faded away, and the national flag has finally been raised.
But before nationalism could completely rule the world, new socialist ideas began to spread in France, a romantic place.
People in this era are in chaos, and it is precisely when old and new ideas are ebbing and flowing that Xiao Letian has the opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
"War! France needs war!"
"What is our Emperor doing? Why is he shrinking from the Prussians!"
"Brave French warriors, sound the trumpets and march to Jena!"
Under Xiao Letian's continuous heating, the pot of water in France finally boiled. After a whole month of chaos in May, in early June, France's mainstream media and newspapers finally couldn't sit still!
They ignored the warnings of the Paris Police Department and directly sided with the nationalists. They began to bombard the top brass of the entire empire!
The proud France finally couldn't bear it anymore, and everyone was questioning the emperor sadly!
"Our France is obviously stronger than Prussia in terms of military strength, industrial strength, financial scale, and economic foundation... so why can't we teach these rude barbarians a lesson?"
"The balance of victory is obviously on our side, France, so why do we still have to endure humiliation in the end?"
"How dare the Prussians interfere with the succession to the Spanish throne? Unacceptable!"
"The Prussians actually broke their promise and refused to cede the land west of the Rhine? Intolerable!"
"The Prussians actually put pressure on the four southern states in an attempt to unify? Absolutely forbidden!"
"The Prussians actually formed an alliance with the Chinese, enemies of France? They must be punished!"
"The Prussians actually framed France for assassinating the Chinese leader? What a big lie!"
…
The newspapers began to take action, which was more effective than Xiao Letian's 10,000 underground messages. Now, it was not just the people of Paris who were in chaos, but the people of France as a whole.
Faced with the joint pressure from almost the entire newspaper industry to force him to be imprisoned, Napoleon III finally couldn't sit still. On June 10, he accepted interviews with 20 newspapers and issued an aggressive statement.
"The Empire is peace-loving, and we do not want to plunge Europe into war again, but some countries regard the Empire's kindness as weakness, and this is never allowed!"
"I warn those careerists! France's sword is still sharp! No one wants to bring shame to the French!"
The tough speech inspired the hearts of the people in Paris. Amid the cheers of the people, on June 12, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly demanded that the Prussians expel the Chinese visiting delegation.
French Foreign Minister Duke Clermont delivered an important speech: "France welcomes His Majesty the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty to visit Europe, and hopes that His Majesty will consider coming to Paris as a guest!"
"But France will never recognize the Chinese as an independent country! That is nothing more than a warlord organization in Asia, an alliance of a group of careerists!"
"The Prussians' choice to unite with the Chinese will only bring disaster to themselves!"
"I hope the Prussians can clearly realize this and pull back from the brink in time!"
"I would like to convey the greetings of Napoleon III to His Majesty William I. I hope that we can reach a consensus on the eve of France's Bastille Day on July 14th!"
France's ultimatum was finally issued, giving Prussia only one month to quell this chaos before the French Bastille Day!
