In the final analysis, fighting is all about morale. Especially in the Franco-Prussian War, the industrial strength and military strength of both sides are actually about the same. Whoever wins depends on command and dispatch, and the morale of the military and civilians!
Gambida risked his life and forced his way out. What was his purpose? Aren't you going to let the Army of the Loire become the white jade pillar on which the building will collapse?
And he also wants to use his heroic demeanor to infect the romantic French people, letting people see that I am the top official of the country's interior minister, and I can risk my life, so why can't you risk it?
In fact, the people admire such kind people. In the Battle of Orleans, so many troops were almost wiped out and they dared not withdraw. It was not because even the army obeyed such a kind person like Gambetta.
Now, Gambetta has fulfilled his promise when he left the city. He will bring the good news of victory to Paris, thereby strengthening the confidence of all France to resist to the end!
Gambetta knew that as long as the Parisians refused to surrender in this war, and as long as the politicians in Paris could fight to the end, the final victory would definitely belong to France.
The streets of Paris, where millions of people live, are now deserted. In the sky are more than a dozen hot-air balloons that have successfully broken through, and handfuls of promotional leaflets are flying all over the sky like snowflakes.
Thiers stood next to the carriage, looked up at the leaflets that looked like snowflakes, and sighed secretly, "Gambit has won a great victory? It must be so, this man is really a ruthless character!"
"It seems that I can't accomplish my goal by myself. There are too many strong people in France. I can't defeat them without foreign aid..."
"Let's go...to Eugene's house!"
Thiers' carriage disappeared around the corner of the road, and at this time the city of Paris was already roaring with joy and became a sea of joy!
The citizens holding the leaflets cried loudly. This was the first good news of victory since the beginning of the war!
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu God bless France...We finally turned defeat into victory!" The devout citizens held leaflets in their hands and knelt down in the direction of Orleans, crying.
"Look... the leaflet also says that the overseas legions are finally back! The North African legions also participated in the battle and together they liberated Orleans!"
"Long live! Long live France!"
The vast colonies are the backbone of the French Empire. At this moment, people seem to have forgotten how they opposed the French emperor's military aggression.
The colonies expanded by the French Emperor have now become the life-saving straw of the Republic. This cannot but be said to be a great irony!
But the Republic obviously does not have the ambition to completely abandon the interests of all colonies. Faced with the resources fed back by the colonies, the Republic will definitely accept them all!
The news of the victory in the Battle of Orleans really inspired the whole city. When the people of Paris knew that even the flag of Joan of Arc had been taken out, the whole of Paris was boiling!
"Long live the City of Saints! In the Hundred Years' War between England and France, it was Orleans that reversed the situation... Now Orleans has saved the motherland once again!"
"The heroic soul of the saint protects France!"
"Orléans is victorious! The next step for the Loire Corps is to march towards Paris! As long as we get supplies from the south, we can counterattack to the north!"
"Blood debt must be repaid with blood! Fight back to Berlin! Restore the glory of the Battle of Jena!"
These supporters of the Republic don't care who created the glory in history. They seem to have forgotten that the empire that created the glory has been overthrown by them!
But these people don't blush at all and still use the glory of the empire to put gold on their faces!
The whole city was in a sensation, and people rushed to the streets singing and dancing. At that moment, they forgot about hunger, the increasingly cold weather, and their own class... Everyone gathered together, singing Marseillaise and dancing happily.
Even the pubs have reopened, and many of the hidden wines are once again on sale, and the last few coins in people's pockets have become stimulants to stimulate their brains.
In stark contrast to the sentiments of these people, senior government officials such as Trochus held an emergency meeting of the Provisional National Defense Government. All 25 members except Gambetta were present.
Trochu said with a heavy face, "Gentlemen! We must first congratulate Minister Gambetta on his brilliant victory...but at the same time we must also pay attention to the boiling public opinion in the city!"
"I think starting from tomorrow, the people will put pressure on us again and ask us to go out of the city for a decisive battle!"
"It seems that this battle is inevitable. We must be prepared...how to stabilize the people of this city without losing strength..."
Before Trochu could finish speaking, Commissioner Rochefort, who was close to the left, jumped out and retorted, "Absurd! What is this? How can you stabilize the hearts of a city without losing strength?"
"In your mind, isn't this war a decisive battle with the Prussians? But a war between you and the people?"
"I understand. From the beginning to the end, you just wanted to preserve your strength... because the 180,000 garrison troops in Paris are your direct descendants. You are afraid that if too many people die, it will affect your future distribution of rights in the Republic... right?"
Hey...this is really a slap in the face! People on the left may have lost their patience with Trochu a long time ago, and today they actually revealed Trochu's dark thoughts at the meeting regardless of their dignity.
Was Rochefort right? Yes and no!
Because Trochu considered the problem from many aspects, of course he had an attempt to protect his own strength, because everything was falling apart after the establishment of the Republic, and whoever held the most power would be able to control more rights in the future.
At present, the Republic has a total of three main corps, Bazin's 170,000 men in Chalons, Gambetta's corps in Orleans, and the last one is Trochu's Paris garrison.
As for other leftist armed forces and guerrillas, they are no longer within the scope of consideration of these senior officials of the Republic. These forces will be eliminated sooner or later.
These three corps are the three important components of the future post-war army of the Republic. Whoever grabs more officers will naturally have the upper hand in the political arena.
Of course Trochu has his own little calculation, but he is not entirely motivated by personal gain. On the other hand, Paris really does not have the confidence to fight outdoors at this moment.
From a purely military perspective, the only correct choice for Paris at the moment is to hold on and waste time like this is the best choice.
Taking these two aspects into consideration, Trochu decided to avoid the war!
But I never expected that the representative of the left would break up his face without regard for dignity, and directly expose Trochu's first selfish little idea!
At this time, the MPs from Trochu's faction were completely angry. A group of people stood up and surrounded Rochefort and denounced him!
"Damn it, do you know what war is? The 300,000 Prussian troops outside the city are concentrated elite field regiments. You keep talking about a decisive battle. Do we have the confidence to win a decisive battle?"
“I don’t know anything except how to coerce public opinion to put pressure on the government. The country is ruined by people like you!”
"Even the Second Reich's blind declaration of war against Prussia was coerced by you mindless mob! If you hadn't been marching on the streets every day to put pressure on the emperor, there would never have been this proactive declaration of war!"
"Unrealistic and angry young people...are harming the country! They are harming the country!"
