General Trochu's words suddenly made many congressmen's hearts skip a beat. They suddenly thought of a very terrible option, that is, military government.
Now that there are foreign enemies, but the parliament is locked in a war of words and unable to make a decision, will the military unite to form a military-managed government?
Although there is no precedent for this, when the enemy's army is pressing down on the border and a military government really emerges, who can resist?
Once a military government appears, the dictatorship will probably be even more terrifying than that of the French Emperor!
Although Napoleon III was a dictator, he was still the emperor recognized by the whole country. He had to consider the common interests of many forces.
If those soldiers were completely in power and could even interfere in internal and civil affairs, would that be a big deal?
If this precedent is set, France may be in trouble in the future!
During the fifteen-minute break, congressional staff brought a large amount of coffee and simple sausage sandwiches, and the hungry members took two or three bites of a large sandwich.
These rough foods would normally be looked down upon by them, but now they have become a necessary ration to maintain physical strength and keep the brain running at high speed.
General Trochu gave these fifteen minutes not only to let them eat and think, but also to allow their various factions to quickly discuss national policies in private and try to unify their voices. They were all talking like a vegetable market just now. Quarrel is an absolute no-no.
Thiers' eyes were darting around, and he turned his attention to the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate in front of him. Since this was a war period and the order in Paris was completely chaotic, neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives had enough seats.
Among them, only 398 members of the National Assembly came. The full number of members of the Senate is no more than 348, but only 210 came today.
Some of the other congressmen may not be in Paris, some may be blocked by the chaos in the city and fail to arrive in time, or some may even suffer accidents.
This is a huge political change, and anything could happen.
But no matter what, the number of people in the Senate and House of Representatives is more than half, so legally speaking, all votes today are legal!
There is also the advantage of having fewer people. With fewer people, it is easier to win over!
Thiers' eyes began to scan the senators he had rescued. All the senators who met his eyes understood Thiers' purpose and nodded or showed support.
It’s not just a life-saving grace! What's more important is that in the chaos of the city, Thiers burst out with the qualities of an excellent politician!
The country needs a strong politician now. In chaos, people are more likely to choose to accept the leadership of a strong man!
And Thiers showed such ability!
Although the House of Representatives and the Senate restrict each other, they are inextricably linked. Behind a member of the Senate there is always a large number of members of the House of Representatives who support him.
As long as he controls one senator, he can influence the votes of at least a dozen members of the House of Representatives!
All Thiers' plans are to completely control the Parliament, and now it's finally time to close the net!
Just as Thiers was signaling with his eyes, Gambetta quietly walked up to him.
"You seem to be confident?"
"Hmm... Are you kidding me? I'm extremely worried right now, and I'm also confused about the future!" Thiers quickly expressed his stance.
Gambetta handed him a cigar, "No time to be polite, I can feel that you have already made arrangements... Don't ask me why, because I can feel it!"
"Tell me about your plan and see if we can work together!"
Thiers smiled lightly and lit his cigar. "It depends on what you want!"
"What I want is very simple. Give me the position of Minister of the Interior. I can leave Paris and I go to the south to help the Legion raise arms and supplies..."
"To tell you the truth, I have trained a hundred thousand new troops in the south, and the scale can be expanded several times at any time... But I need the right to mobilize arms and supplies to arm them!"
Thiers was shocked at that time. He never expected that Gambetta would achieve such great results in such a short time and control 100,000 new troops. This was his confidence!
During a war, the power of politicians with soldiers cannot be underestimated!
He devoted all his energy to the political arena in Paris and controlled the vast majority of the parliamentarians, but Gambetta silently controlled 100,000 new troops!
What a powerful competitor, indeed a powerful rival!
Thiers and Gambetta had a long-standing quarrel. They were rivals when they ran for the Marseille parliament a long time ago. At that time, Gambetta won with a very large advantage.
Therefore, Thiers was very afraid of this opponent. He was relieved when he heard that Gambetta was sent to other provinces by the queen.
Today, Gambit returned to Paris again with the trump card of the New Army Corps of the South. This is not good!
Thiers rolled his eyes and said with a smile, "I have a plan, do you think it's feasible? All you want is the right to mobilize local supplies and the right to train new recruits!"
"I don't think there's any problem with this..." The two were chatting in the corner while talking about the possibility of cooperation.
Fifteen minutes passed quickly, and General Trochu's hoarse voice sounded again: "Gentlemen, return to your seats... Let's continue the discussion... I remind you that time is really too little, you must cherish it!" "
At this time, Thiers, who was well prepared, stood up and strode onto the podium. "Gentlemen, please give me ten minutes. I have a bill to submit to the general meeting for voting..."
"The proposal for a constitutional monarchy just now has been voted down by an overwhelming majority of members... It seems that the republic is the only choice for everyone right now!"
"But how should the republic adjust its government structure? Presidential system or prime ministerial system? Should the number of seats in the parliament be adjusted? Is it necessary to amend the basic constitution?"
"These are very difficult choices, and each proposal requires days or even months of discussion... We simply don't have that much time!"
"I hereby propose to establish a temporary defense government committee!"
"We can first not be sure who is the leader of the country, whether it is the president or the prime minister. We must first set up a committee to get all government work back to normal!"
"We will have plenty of time to choose in the future, but the top priority now is national defense! It is national defense!"
"The basic political framework of the new government must be established, and responsible persons must be found for different tasks!"
"Whether everyone agrees with my suggestion, let's vote by a show of hands now... If it is passed, we will elect each member of the committee!"
Before he finished speaking, Blanqui's palms were covered in cold sweat. He knew that the most critical moment for the struggle for power had finally arrived!
