Chapter 290: Chapter 287: Coup d’état (2)
Most of the National Guard corps leaders sensed the conspiratorial atmosphere pervading the National Guard Headquarters, and a ridiculous idea surged wildly from the depths of their hearts as they looked at the smiling General Manion.
Could it be that the President is planning to launch a military coup?
Although these corps leaders had heard from various channels several times that the President was going to launch a military coup, none of them believed that the coup would happen at the end of the year 1850.
The reason for this temporal misconception, besides the repeated "wolf is coming" effect, was also the President’s term. With more than a year left, most politicians believed that even if the President wanted a coup, it wouldn’t be now, as he still had plenty of time to convince the Legislative Assembly to extend his term.
A military coup carries significant risks, and the President would never carry it out unless absolutely necessary.
Who would have thought the President was precisely using this characteristic to carry out a military coup!
At this thought, the corps leaders instinctively glanced at the gate of the National Guard Headquarters residence.
Some corps leaders suspected that a large number of soldiers were already ambushed outside the gate.
Since the President hadn’t informed them of the coup, it indicated that the President didn’t trust them.
For a group holding part of Paris’ military power (the regular army looked down on this National Guard), yet not being trusted,
the best way would be to put them under house arrest.
The National Guard corps leaders present instinctively swallowed, many with reluctant smiles on their faces.
"Gentlemen, now you shall wait for victory with me!" General Manion said leisurely, crossing his legs and sitting comfortably on the red plush upholstered chair belonging to the commander.
The vast majority of the corps leaders abandoned their "struggle" and sat down, while a few "stubbornly persistent" corps leaders expressed their desire to General Manion to head to their corps to prevent a conflict between the National Guard forces and the army.
"As you please!" General Manion offered no obstruction and directly allowed passage, and the two corps leaders smiled, hastily expressing their thanks to General Manion.
Watching their departing backs, a sly smile appeared on Manion’s lips, hidden behind his clasped hands.
After the two corps leaders left the residence, two gunshots were heard outside.
Those staying inside the residence understood the meaning of the gunshots, staring at General Manion in horror.
General Manion gestured with his eyes to Fleury, standing by, who knowingly left the residence.
After a while, Fleury re-entered the residence, sighing regretfully, "Commander, the two generals were caught by stray arrows amidst the riots in Paris and perished!"
"That’s truly regrettable!" Manion, too, wore a mournful expression as he told the present corps leaders, "The two generals didn’t die on the battlefield but fell under stray arrows!"
The present corps leaders were all frightened by Manion’s decisiveness. Although these corps leaders were Manion’s subordinates, on an army level, they held the same rank as General Manion, only Manion’s position was much higher than theirs.
[In the 1850s, Europe didn’t have a complete military rank system, especially with the chaotic system at the general level. With the development of time, European countries’ military rank systems gradually improved. By World War I, no general could leap directly from the rank of major general to marshal.]
General Manion’s decisiveness successfully intimidated these corps leaders who were attempting to play both sides, none daring to act rashly, fearing that General Manion would once again kill to send a message.
Of course, except for the Ninth Corps stationed near Bourbon Palace.
Since General Saint Arno refused to execute the parliament’s establishment of a direct force, realizing the erosion of military power, the parliament urgently redeployed the Ninth Corps of the "most loyal" National Guard to maintain the order of Bourbon Palace.
To firmly grip this corps, the parliament forcibly stipulated that even if summoned by the National Guard Headquarters, the Ninth Corps could refuse.
The actions of the National Guard sparked protests from Changarnier, who was still the commander of the National Guard at the time, and to unite Changarnier, the parliament had to make minor concessions, with the Ninth Corps strictly following commands during Changarnier’s tenure as National Guard commander.
After Changarnier was dismissed by Jerome Bonaparte with a tough stance, the Ninth Corps, caught between the parliament and the President, fell into temporary confusion.
When they came to their senses, the Order Party camp staged another act of internal division, further complicating the Ninth Corps’ allegiance issue.
Neither the victorious parliament nor the regular army, nor Jerome Bonaparte seemed to "forget" about this corps. Until now, they still faithfully guarded Bourbon Palace’s order, leaving no opportunity for others.
At 2 AM on December 2nd, the Ninth Corps was about to face a crisis.
In a dim and gloomy district, the Bourbon Palace, symbolizing the legislative authority of the Second Republic, stood proudly in the shadows, as if draped in a black veil.
Since the outbreak of the February Revolution and the establishment of the Second Republic on the ruins of the Orléans Dynasty, the Bourbon Palace has become the hall of the National Assembly, an inviolable Holy Land of the entire French Republic.
During the day, hundreds of deputies gather here to argue over state affairs, debate for a single franc of the budget, and question the central finance’s ambiguity. The entire Bourbon Palace resembles a marketplace in the Saint-Denis District, with its sacred and solemn aura diluted by the worldly and monetary atmosphere. Only at nightfall, when the deputies leave the Bourbon Palace, can it regain its due solemnity and elegance.
A soldier of the National Guard on duty stood proudly looking at the Bourbon Palace behind the barricades, then glanced at the deserted street ahead, slowly growing weary. Midnight patrols are undoubtedly the most tiring period, having to endure the deep dark night and the incessant loneliness. After a while, the soldier lost his previous pride and now just wished for the boredom and loneliness to end quickly, so he could return to the camp for rest!
It seemed as though the heavens heard the soldier’s inner cries, yet God had slightly poor hearing, only catching the first half!
Just as the soldier was feeling utterly bored, a measured marching sound came from the other end of the deep black street.
This sound made the soldier alert; he swiftly took the MTL1842 musket from his back and squinted into the darkness.
After half a minute, vague human figures appeared in the darkness; they were in neat formation, moving in an orderly manner, with footsteps rhythmically synchronized.
Who are they?
The soldiers looked suspiciously at the overlapping shadows ahead, their hands involuntarily trembling slightly on the gun.
No one but the military could maintain such synchronized marching.
As the shadows got closer, the soldier’s gun trembled more. He finally saw them clearly.
Oh God! Just as I thought!
"You... what do you want to do!" The soldier questioned with a trembling voice, mouth agape, at the orderly army before him!
"Soldier! What do you want to do? Do you want to fight us?" The leading officer harshly retorted to the soldier.
"I... I..." Faced with this seemingly endless army, the soldier felt even more anxious and scared, involuntarily taking a step back to closely observe the looming officer.
"Move aside! Don’t block the way!" The officer commanded the poor National Guard soldier once more.
"No... no!" Despite the soldier’s fear, he clenched his teeth and asked due to his duty: "Which unit are you from! What do you intend to do! Do you know the consequences of attacking the National Assembly!"
The soldier attempted to use the name of the National Assembly to intimidate the unfriendly troops before him.
However, the mention of the National Assembly did not frighten the soldier; the officer gently waved his hand, and the soldiers lined up in the shadows quickly approached in a skirmish line.
This tidal-like offensive made the soldier even more hesitant to act recklessly!
At this moment, a soldier ready to replace him for guard duty walked out from the camp around the Bourbon Palace. His sharp eyes spotted the standoff outside the Bourbon Palace and quickly woke up the surrounding crowd.
A squad of soldiers rapidly went to the barricade for reinforcement under the officer’s orders.
"You are an excellent soldier! I do not wish for you all to waste your lives at this meaningless site!" The officer calmly said to the soldier before him: "My name is Leboeuf, Brigadier General of the Army, and President’s Aide! Now under the order of the President, I command you to remove the barricade, or you will be dealt with for treason!"
"President? What proof do you have!" The soldier’s heart leaned towards thinking that the army before him was acting under the President’s order, but the President’s sending troops to occupy the Bourbon Palace must be a coup!
The soldier regretted being caught in the struggle between the President and the Legislative Assembly, now finding himself in a dilemma.
Just as the soldier was hesitating, the reinforcement arrived led by the highest-ranking officer in the area, the commander of the Ninth Corps.
"Who are you?" The commander asked Leboeuf again.
Leboeuf immediately handed a Ministry of War order and a presidential document to the commander of the Ninth Corps.
Using the hanging lantern, the commander of the Ninth Corps read the contents of the two letters.
The first letter was an order for the Ninth Corps to immediately mobilize to the outskirts of Saint-Denis, while the second was a letter from the President to the National Assembly.
After reading, the commander showed a bitter smile, knowing that caught between the President and the Legislative Assembly, he would inevitably be forced to make a choice someday.
Little did he expect the time left for himself to be so short.
"General, the Paris First Division has fully entered Paris!" Brigadier General Leboeuf whispered, threateningly: "My Second Brigade has already occupied the critical junctions around the Bourbon Palace; I hope you will consider your soldiers!"