French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 89: The Republican Party Reaches its Peak After Taking Down the Montauban Government

Blanqui, his mind filled with the thought that his political career was saved, led the way into the city hall with an excited expression.

Blanqui didn't realize that things seemed to go exceptionally smoothly after Drema appeared. He had tried to persuade them to surrender, but why did the police force only listen to Drema?

This faint sense of unease did not attract Blanki's attention, after all, Blanki was already blinded by the great joy of becoming the new leader of a country.

They captured the Paris City Hall in the 4th arrondissement, next to the Lobo barracks where the Gendarmerie headquarters was located. The Paris Police Headquarters on Rue Jerusalem in the 1st arrondissement has also withdrawn from the new Paris in the odd-numbered arrondissements.

More than 80% of the inner ring of New Paris is already in Republican hands. Under these circumstances, taking over the iconic City Hall will definitely require a major move.

Blanqui's big move was to stand on the balcony of the city hall and give a speech to the crowd in the square.

The content of the speech wasn't hard to guess: it was about establishing a republic completely different from the empire. Unlike Gan Bida, who knew he lacked sufficient resources, he chose to remain behind the scenes.

Blanqui, however, had no such awareness. He went directly to the second floor of the city hall and announced the "establishment of the Provisional Government of the French Republic" in front of the crowd below.

At this moment, everyone in the square was inclined towards the republic, so they gave Blanqui's announcement a lot of face and erupted in deafening cheers.

Having had their fun, but with the crisis not yet completely over, Blanqui, still mindful of potential dangers, did not linger. He led his team toward the Prime Minister's residence at Mattion Palace.

Compared to the Republicans who were winning battle after battle and riding high on their momentum, the abandoned Prime Minister's Office was now in complete chaos.

Prime Minister Montauban, who enjoys playing "spot the difference" and has been causing trouble for Eugene, is now like an ant on a hot plate.

Montauban was far inferior to his predecessor, Olivier, who merely walked around the office.

Of course, walking around wouldn't solve the problem, and Montauban knew this too. In the meantime, he had been constantly sending telegrams to the two major armed forces in Paris: the police department and the gendarmerie headquarters.

But the telegrams either couldn't be sent, or they were sent but received no reply.

The Prime Minister's Office has its own telegraph line, since it's impossible for the Prime Minister's Office to send telegrams from a place like the telegraph office.

Therefore, Montauban had already sent telegrams to several military districts in the provinces, requesting them to send troops to support Paris, but without exception, these telegrams disappeared without a trace.

"Mr. Prime Minister, Drema has betrayed us and taken control of the Gendarmerie Command."

"Mr. Prime Minister, the Bank of France and all the train stations have been occupied."

"Mr. Prime Minister, this is bad news! News has come from the Fourth District that the City Hall has been occupied by the Republicans."

In the preceding period, bad news came one after another, and the most direct result of this news was that Montauban, who was already seventy years old, became increasingly pale.

Even if Montauban's tactical thinking was rigid and outdated, his mind wasn't broken; he wasn't suffering from dementia. Therefore, Montauban knew that, having been isolated and helpless, the imperial government in New Paris was doomed.

Not knowing where to find outside help, Montauban believed that the situation facing the Queen and the Crown Prince in the Tuileries Palace was no better than his.

However, Montauban no longer needed to think about it, because outside the Prime Minister's office, the sounds of gunfire and shouts could be faintly heard.

"Sir, the Republicans have stormed the Prime Minister's residence."

The chief bodyguard in charge of security at the Prime Minister's Office, unaware of any inside information, rushed in in a panic, pushing open the door.

Montauban, who was proud of his achievements and whose resume commanded respect even to His Majesty, looked down on his poor performance.

"Then why did you come to me? Go and organize the resistance."

Although Eugène looked down on Montauban, there was one good thing about the decadent Montauban: its stagnation was not doubled.

His attitude toward new technologies and tactics was one of stagnation, and his attitude toward republican ideology was the same.

It was precisely this stubbornness that made him firmly opposed to republican ideology; he would not easily raise his hands to a republican government.

Despite their stubbornness, from a practical standpoint, the Prime Minister's Office only had about eighty guards, which was no match for the snowballing Republicans.

Within minutes, the intense gunfire that had been echoing in Montauban's ears ceased, and before Montauban could react, the doors of the Prime Minister's residence were smashed open.

Led by Blanqui, who felt he had completely succeeded, he swaggered in with his armed workers, pistol in hand, and charged in with extreme arrogance.

Montauban looked at the dark muzzle of the gun pointed at him. Knowing he had nowhere to run, Montauban stood up, straightened his suit, and straightened his back.

Looking at the nouveau riche-looking Blanqui, Montauban, who was the Count of Baliqiao and the Prime Minister and Minister of War of the Empire, looked down on Blanqui from the bottom of his heart.

This disdain was openly displayed. He squinted and looked Blanquil up and down, not even glancing at him directly, before expressing his demands in a very arrogant tone.

"I am the Prime Minister of the French Empire, and I demand that you give me the respect I deserve."

"Prime Minister Montauban, the Empire no longer exists. Now, please sign this agreement to dissolve the Imperial government."

Blanqui could sense Montauban's disdain, but the joy of victory made him, at least for the moment, magnanimously forgive their disrespect.

However, Blanqui had no interest in giving Montauban a friendly look; he directly presented Montauban with the agreement announcing the dissolution of the empire.

Montauban may have looked down on Blanqui, and he may have been loyal to the Empire, but his loyalty was clearly not to the point of being willing to perish with the silent behemoth that was the Empire.

Therefore, after a moment of silence, Montauban, having adapted, no longer demanded the respect it deserved, but instead picked up a pen and signed its name on the agreement.

When the Prime Minister of the Empire put down his pen, two lines of tears streamed down his face.

Whether it was tears for one's own power or tears for the empire, no one except Montauban knew the true meaning behind those tears.

However, no one really cares, since at present, Blanqui, Troch, and others are already immersed in fantasies about the future of the new government.