novelSusiti Chapter 15 How a Movie King is Made 2.0
Chapter 15 How a Movie King is Made 2.0
If he acts pitiful enough, Eugénie, who is worried about him and the safety of Paris, will most likely agree to his request to expand the gendarmes.
As a core combat force directly controlled by the Governor of Paris, the expansion of the Gendarmerie would allow him to take direct control of it and further expand his military control over Paris.
dong dong dong~
Lost in thought, Eugène Napoleon's ears twitched as he heard hurried footsteps outside the ward, followed by Eugénie's slightly choked call.
"My child, how are you? I've come to see you."
Before she could finish speaking, Eugénie rushed into the ward. Her magnificent queenly dress was slightly dusty, indicating that she had rushed back without even having time to tidy herself up.
As the French regent, Eugénie didn't usually stay in the Tuileries Palace. She went straight to the bedside, and like Olivier, her gaze fell on the bandages on Eugène's back.
Unlike Olivier, Eugénie's eyes welled up with tears in an instant. She reached out to touch Eugène's wound, but was afraid of hurting him, so she stopped her hand in mid-air. Eugène Napoleon noticed his mother; Eugénie's fingertips were trembling slightly.
"Mother, I'm fine. I'm sorry to have worried you."
Taking the initiative, Eugen reached out and gently grasped Eugenie's hand, which was suspended in mid-air. Although he said he was fine, Eugen's voice still trembled slightly, and he even coughed softly twice.
The bandages on his back were pulled, and the dark red at the edges deepened, as if the injury had become more serious.
Although he felt very sorry for Eugénie for deceiving her, Eugénie Napoleon, whose current situation was of utmost importance, had to do everything he could to strengthen his forces.
"You're still saying you're fine even after all this?"
As expected, seeing her son in such a miserable state, Eugénie's tears finally fell from her eyes, and she choked as she held Eugénie's hand.
"Those damn Republican thugs dared to lay a hand on my child. I will make them pay with their blood."
When Eugénie brought up the Republican Party, Eugénie immediately put on a worried expression and shook his head to indicate that he was worried about Eugénie.
"Mother, I'm not worried about myself, I'm worried about you, and about the people of Paris. Although the assassination attempt failed, the influence of the Republican radicals remains. Paris has twenty districts. The inner circle of New Paris is relatively easy to control, but the outer circle of Old Paris is a mixed bag, and it can't be controlled by just the police and the Guards..."
After a pause, Eugene deliberately emphasized his words, exaggerating the reality to take advantage of Eugene's lack of knowledge about the facts.
"Mother, as you know, the Royal Guard's duty is to protect the royal family, and the police force is too scattered. Facing the vast 20th arrondissement of Paris, they've long been overwhelmed. If Pierre hadn't reacted quickly, I'm afraid..."
Halfway through his sentence, having piqued Eugénie's interest, Eugénie deliberately stopped, coughed violently a few more times, and his body trembled more intensely, as if his injuries had worsened and he was struggling to continue.
Seeing him like this, Eugénie became increasingly flustered, so she grabbed Eugénie's hand and asked urgently.
"My child, do you think we can do anything about it?"
Seeing that the time was ripe, Eugène began to reveal his intentions.
"Mother, I have an idea, but I don't know if it's feasible. The gendarmes are loyal and reliable. If we could expand the garrison gendarmes in Paris and have them assist the police and the Imperial Guard in maintaining order in each region..."
Before finishing his sentence, Eugène Napoleon observed Eugénie's expression to make sure his mother didn't object to his suggestion before continuing.
"If we just expand the military police, we will need to use my mother's regency power and allocate corresponding funds and personnel. I know this is a bit troublesome, but for the long term, this may be the best way."
After listening to Eugène's advice, Eugène fell into a brief moment of contemplation.
Although Eugénie, who has been involved in politics many times, has the characteristics of an upper-class person who doesn't care about basic necessities and doesn't have much contact with grassroots society, it would be unrealistic to say that she is unaware of the current situation in France and the chaos in Paris.
Eugénie knew very well that the 20th arrondissement of Paris was a vast area, and the old Paris was already in a state of chaos. Whenever Republicans committed a crime, they would simply flee to the outer districts, making it extremely difficult for the police to apprehend them.
The assassination has left the public in a state of panic, and the 1.2 police officers in Paris are already overwhelmed.
Of the 1.2 police officers, there are secret police, patrol officers, and other special police who do not participate in arrest operations but only maintain order and traffic and conduct covert investigations. The police officers who are truly responsible for the security of the 20 districts are probably only around 8000.
As for the military police, as an embodiment of armed police, their loyalty to the royal family should theoretically be higher than that of ordinary police and regular troops.
After much deliberation, Eugénie made up her mind that the need to improve public order in Paris was urgent, and that the forces used to maintain order in Paris definitely needed to be strengthened.
"My child, I think you're right. We'll do it your way. I'll ask you to personally oversee and command this expanded Paris garrison gendarmerie unit, ensuring that the gendarmerie is deployed for security work as soon as possible. As for the expansion, let's start by adding an infantry gendarmerie battalion."
The Paris garrison currently numbers 2892 gendarmes. A basic infantry gendarme battalion has 400 men, but the maximum can be raised to 6 or 700.
Eugène was delighted to have more money in hand; another 800 armed men were now in his pocket. However, having played the role for so long, the dedicated Eugène Napoleon naturally wanted to stand firm until the very end.
He still looked weak and helpless. After hearing Eugénie's decision, he only showed an excited expression, but he was also too weak to get up.
"Thank you, Mother. I will definitely do my best to manage things and live up to your trust."
Adding infantry battalions was also, to some extent, a way of reassuring Eugène Napoleon and confirming that Eugène was in good spirits and recovering well.
After giving a few instructions on how to recover, Eugénie rambled on for a long time before reluctantly leaving the ward. Watching Eugénie's departing figure, Eugénie, having inwardly given himself a high evaluation of his acting skills, called Pierre back in from outside the door.
"Pierre, you will take up the post of Commander of the Paris Garrison Gendarmerie. Get along well with the Gendarmerie Commissioner Michel, coordinate matters related to the gendarmes, and select reliable personnel. In particular, we must give priority to our party's confidants for key positions."
"Your subordinate understands and will certainly not fail in your mission."
The commander of the Paris garrison gendarmes, now Colonel de Maret, did not order resistance from the gendarmes when the Bonaparte family was overthrown on September 4.
Even with the influence of his superior, the Governor of Paris Trochet's defection, the seeds of doubt had already been sown, and at this moment, Eugène could not trust this colonel.
Company commanders are usually captains, but Pierre, as the company commander of the Guards, was already a major. It was normal for his rank to rise one level when the Guards were converted into the Gendarmerie. With Eugène's order, it was not difficult for a lieutenant colonel to be forced into the position of colonel.
Looking at the current situation, it seems that Paris's military power is entirely in Eugène's hands. If he weren't afraid to make a bold claim, Eugène would have loved to say that the advantage is in his hands.