Pressed by the existential crisis, Blanqui and others had to take action. All leftist groups and branches in Paris began secret meetings. In just one afternoon, all leftist groups in the 20 districts of Paris began to take action.
On the night of the secret meeting between Blanqui and Xiao Letian, hundreds of activists from leftist groups gathered in the old tavern on Montmartre and held a meeting only for the working class.
At the meeting, Blanqui said impassionedly, "The enemy has been advancing step by step. Look at the committee of the provisional government. We only have one seat, only one!"
"Rochefort has been sidelined by the 26-member committee, and all his proposals have not received support. Can such a committee still guarantee the interests of our working class?"
"No! No!" There was a roar in the restaurant, people slapped the table angrily, and cups of strong liquor were poured down their throats.
"Yes! Of course they will not guarantee our interests. Their butts will always sit on the side of the capitalists... No one will consider our interests, whether we are hungry, whether our children can get education and medical care... "
"Including whether we can buy coal for heating this winter, there is no guarantee. They are all greedy bastards!"
"Including this initial war with the Chinese, they also described it as a conspiracy and used it to throw dirty water. Their ultimate goal in trying to confuse people's hearts is not to remove us from the government!"
"Comrades, we must prepare for the worst in advance. Of course we are patriotic, and of course we are willing to cooperate with anyone who is reasonable in the Republic... But we also have to protect ourselves, and we at least have to live!"
"Obviously we are being suppressed, but secretly we also have our own channels to speak out and win over those who sympathize with us and love us and win them into our camp!"
"Don't think that they can control everything by occupying the parliament. As long as we mobilize the masses, we will definitely be the winner in the next parliamentary election!"
The applause rang out, everyone was in high spirits, and the fire of fighting surged in their hearts!
That night, underground clubs that had been dormant for a long time took action again. There was a leftist club in almost every district, and those educated pro-leftists were quickly gathered together.
France has a very long history of club politics. Starting from the Revolutionary Era, the Jacobins, Girondins, and even later Thermidorians, including the Royalists, all had their own secret clubs.
These clubs are actually secret parties in disguise, where people with similar ideas gather together to discuss and supplement each other's ideas and formulate various action plans.
If anyone thinks that his or her thoughts can control the political arena and become the mainstream, then all kinds of conflicts and fights will naturally arise!
Any powerful government will spare no effort to suppress such private clubs, because they know very well that even though these clubs are intellectuals who have failed to rebel for three years, it is precisely because of their knowledge that these people are able to deceive people. Ability.
Ordinary people and soldiers cannot argue with these people. Being propagated by these people for a long time will naturally lead to the dispersion of power.
The focus of the suppression during the reign of Napoleon III was these private clubs!
Demagoguery is one thing, but more importantly, these clubs will gradually influence voters' votes. Through this model, they can infiltrate parliament.
Blanqui and others ordered all left-wing clubs to return to the ground, with the very clear purpose of competing with the right for votes and winning the next parliamentary election.
All kinds of political groups sprang up overnight. The radical journalist Valles organized the first club in Belleville, and the meeting point was in Favier, the stronghold of pre-war public gatherings.
Andre from the 18th district and a group of active women's activists organized a women's rights rally!
In the 13th arrondissement, the Democratic Socialist Club announced that it would disclose all social issues related to the study of the liberation of the working class, and started a big discussion!
There are also reading clubs and private salons dedicated to preventing the restoration of the monarch!
The number of such groups in Paris is approaching fifty, and the leaders of these groups even proposed asking the leftist forces in the 20 districts of Paris to establish their own central committee!
I don’t know who was the first to mention it, but a word began to be circulated among leftist forces: commune!
After all, in 1792, a 'revolutionary commune' organization briefly came to power. Unexpectedly, this movement actually resurrected the term!
The chaotic Paris has become a battlefield. This is not only a war between France and Prussia, but also a war between the entire Paris working class and the bourgeoisie.
In the chaos of the night, the Prussian vanguard cavalry finally saw the city walls of Paris. The dark city walls in the night were protecting Paris like a comatose dragon.
Inside the city wall, lights lit up the night sky. This was the largest metropolis in the world after London at that time. Just tonight, it appeared in front of the Prussians in a chaotic posture.
"The Pioneer Battalion sent a report to the headquarters... At two o'clock in the morning, our unit has arrived at the Paris City Wall... The enemy has built countless fortifications, and our unit is waiting for orders from the headquarters!"
"Send flares! Let's take a look at the city, and tell the Parisians... our Prussian army is already here!"
* was shot into the sky. This primitive flare was obviously not as bright as the advanced version during World War II, so the Prussian army could only use quantity to increase the brightness.
Countless stars suddenly lit up in the sky, and Parisian citizens who had not yet slept were suddenly horrified to find that the northern sky lit up, with more than a hundred stars flashing in the night sky.
"The enemy is coming! The Prussians are coming! God..."
Panic and chaos suddenly spread in the city like a plague!
In the Bourbon Palace, Thiers, who had not slept all this time, sneered and looked at the brightness in the sky. He had long known that the Prussian army would arrive today, and he had been waiting for this day.
"Haha, the fun is finally about to begin. I can already smell the blood... Those enemies who stand in front of me, it's time for you to take the bullet for me!"
"Come here! Prepare the carriage, I'm going to see General Trochu... He has no time to rest and sleep when the enemy is in front of him!"
The people in Montmartre were closer to the northern city wall, and they could feel the atmosphere of terror more. The red-eyed Blanqui and his comrades climbed up to the roof and looked at the north in the distance, speechless for a while.
It took him a long time before he said, "Get ready for war! Now is really the time to fight! The victory or defeat in Paris will directly affect the morale of the entire French resistance!"
"Even if we fight to the last soldier... we must not let the enemy occupy Paris!"
"Prepare to shed the last drop of blood!"
