Holy Roman Empire-Chapter 981 - 244, The Guillotine Revisited

Chapter 981: Chapter 244, The Guillotine Revisited

The most distinctive feature of the French Revolution was its speed. Once an uprising began, it either succeeded immediately or failed just as swiftly; there was never a protracted battle.

This time was no exception. Just as the countries of Europe received the news, the striking Second Revolution came to an end.

Without any surprises, the discredited Paris Revolutionary Government stepped off the stage of history, and the Radical faction seized power.

As the leader of this revolution, Daniel was now full of pride, directing affairs. He indeed had reason to be proud as he had taken control of the might of a country before even reaching the age of thirty.

“Mr. Daniel, we’ve captured the traitor Robert. When do you plan to execute him?”

A tree falls and the monkeys scatter. With the collapse of the Paris Revolutionary Government, politicians who sensed danger had long since vanished. In this regard, the Revolutionaries were professionals, all except for the unfortunate latecomer—Robert.

As the scapegoat put forward by everyone, Robert’s sole accomplishment during his presidency was to sign the armistice treaty in Vienna.

As soon as the treaty came into effect, the political life of this unlucky president was over. Labeled a traitor and having lost his presidency, Robert naturally found himself shunned and out of the loop with information.

As it turns out, all the high-ranking government officials had successfully fled, leaving only him, the last to realize the danger, in the hands of the new government.

“Andrew, there’s no need to rush. He’s in our hands and can’t escape.

Regardless, Robert was once the President of France, a founding revolutionary who overthrew the Bonaparte Dynasty. We must accord him the necessary respect.

First, send someone to guard him strictly and make sure no accidents happen. After the public trial, we can send him on his way.”

While others may not know why Robert, a revolutionary founding father, suddenly became a traitor, Daniel, as one of the participants, knew perfectly well.

But knowing was one thing; the killing still had to be done. Having learned from the failures of past revolutions, Daniel concluded that a revolution must be bloody.

Without bloodshed, it was not possible to quell public anger; without bloodshed, it was not possible to deter the hearts of the people. Robert, a big name whose reputation was tarnished, was just the right person to establish authority.

Killing is the same, but the manner in producing different effects can be very different. Simply killing Robert would certainly satisfy the Radical faction, but it wouldn’t dismay the public.

The situation in Paris was extremely complicated, and as the leader of the Second Revolution, Daniel was well aware of what the Revolutionary Army was made of. If he couldn’t dismay the nobility within the city, the nascent Second Revolutionary government could be overthrown at any moment.

In fact, the former president Robert was still somewhat of a lightweight; the final figures to be made examples of would still have to be a few of the high nobles.

However, Daniel could only dream of such actions. Not to mention whether the Russian Army stationed outside the city would interfere, the private armies of the nobility themselves posed a tough bone to chew.

If a battle truly broke out, he might not succeed in making a statement and instead bury himself first.

…

March 11, 1893, was a day of gentle breezes and beautiful sunshine, with golden light spilling across the earth, touching the newly sprouted grass, and filling the entire world with vitality.

At Versailles Square, the place was already bustling with noise. The French populace, who had rushed in from all directions, were anxiously awaiting the execution of the traitor—former, former… President Robert.

Looking at the scene before him, General Yevgeny, who was there to watch the excitement, shook his head and thought to himself, “The guillotine has been set up already, but I wonder if it’s the same one that executed Louis XVI. Too much time has passed, and there has been a restoration in between; it’s likely not the same one.”

A president is different from a monarch, and during the era of monarchs, such a position was not well-regarded to begin with. No matter how the French kill him, the international community will not have any objections, so General Yevgeny naturally didn’t mind watching the show.

As the creaking sound of cartwheels rose, all eyes converged in that direction. The prepared French Soldiers quickly took action, forcibly clearing a path through the crowd for the prison cart to pass.

There were no rotten vegetables or stinking eggs, of course. The French people were so starved they were almost reduced to eating dirt; how could they afford to waste precious food on a “traitor” about to be sent to the guillotine?

Without rotten vegetables or stinking eggs, Robert still couldn’t dodge the attack of hidden weapons. A group of unruly civilians had prepared their “hidden weapons” to throw.

Due to the distance, General Yevgeny couldn’t see clearly what exactly was thrown, but it certainly wasn’t anything good.

Whether it was deliberate or just poor aim, as the main character, Robert wasn’t hit many times. Instead, it was the civilians and soldiers on either side who were more unlucky.

If it weren’t for the escorting officers giving orders to stop it in time, a “civil war” among the onlooking civilians might have erupted.

As the highest commander of the Allied Forces stationed in Paris, General Yevgeny naturally knew what was going on. Paris hadn’t been peaceful recently; after the second revolution succeeded, the new government immediately undertook a large purge of Paris.

Every day countless people were executed, whether for crimes, political reasons, or simply bad luck, creating a very tense atmosphere in Paris.

Sometimes Yevgeny even wondered if the new government was deliberately using political struggles to reduce the population to overcome the food crisis.

This wasn’t a baseless suspicion. Although the war had ended, the flow of food into France was still not abundant. Especially after the Vienna Government cut down on food exports to France, the food crisis in Paris became even more severe.

Preliminary estimates suggested that in 1893, France’s food gap would reach 6 million tons, and through imports and smuggling, about 3.2 million tons could be resolved, with 2.8 million tons still unmet.

In theory, this shortage of food wasn’t insurmountable. If everyone tightened their belts, for instance, reducing livestock and pets and stopping extravagant waste, the crisis could almost be weathered.

However, reality was incredibly harsh. The rich continued to feast in luxury, worsening the food crisis, while the starving were only the lower-class citizens.

Right now, the only way for the French Government to get through the crisis, apart from making nobles, farm owners, and capitalists hand over their surplus food, was to reduce the population.

Yevgeny had to admit he was thinking too darkly. According to the current situation in France, if they really relied on reducing the population to survive the crisis, it wouldn’t be just tens or hundreds of thousands dying, but rather millions.

Had the crisis not been so serious, the French Government probably wouldn’t have resorted to such extreme internal purges. It seemed like a way to eliminate opponents, but in fact, it was more about struggling through the crisis.

At least in Paris, the hoarding grain merchants were “snipped”, and the confiscated food was used to aid refugees.

Compared to the previous Revolutionary Government, the current French Government was evidently doing a much better job. Through a series of measures, they rapidly restored order in Paris.

Throughout the entire execution process, President Robert had not opened his mouth from start to finish, much to the disappointment of General Yevgeny, who had wanted to enjoy the spectacle.

Clearly, it was a performance. As for the poor wretch, Robert, who was sent to the Guillotine, he had been tampered with and didn’t even have the chance to cry injustice.

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Yevgeny lowered his binoculars, “Let’s go, Andrew. There’s no spectacle to see now!”

Major General Andrew shook his head by his side, “Commander, to be precise, there is a spectacle, but we can’t see it anymore.

The New French Government has played such a big game, the nobility of France will probably have trouble sleeping tonight. If this continues unchecked, it’s quite possible the blade will fall on them one day.

You must remember, there is a precedent for this. The French Revolutionary Party has chopped off a king’s head and killed no small number of nobility. Now, they can’t help but make associations with this scene.

Next, it will be interesting to watch their struggle; it’s a pity the Allied Forces prohibit our intervention, otherwise, there wouldn’t be this much mess now, making things difficult for us…”

Yevgeny interrupted, “Enough, Andrew! These issues are for the politicians to worry about. You and I are both military men and shouldn’t get overly involved.

Moreover, Mister Dagnell is not a simple character. Being able to restore order in such a short time and temporarily intimdating the nobles within the city, he’s definitely a tough opponent. Had we actually sent troops to intervene, it wouldn’t have been easy.”

Defeating the Revolutionary Army would be easy, but the question was what to do afterwards.

General Yevgeny was not one to boast—if the Russian Army were to really sweep through the City of Paris, the French would not only worry about their current food problems but also have to consider whether they needed to move their capital.

To maintain Russian Army discipline, General Yevgeny had been working hard since his appointment. For example, he vigorously developed the smuggling side business. The money earned not only increased officers’ incomes but also subsidized the soldiers’ rations.

That was the Tsarist Government’s fault; logistics support was the same as for domestic Russian troops, so what would the “Paris Russian military officers and soldiers,” accustomed to grand scenes, think?

Surely, as the military of the victor nations, they couldn’t be treated worse than the defeated French Soldiers, could they?

Despite the dissatisfaction, the loyalty of the grey beasts was beyond doubt. As long as their bellies were filled, there would unlikely be major problems.

It didn’t matter if they couldn’t get rich off their military pay; Russian military personnel were best at making their own living. Paris was still wealthy even after the turmoil, and it was easy to collect benefits…

The Allied Command forbade Russian intervention, not only to pressure the French nobility but also out of fear that once the Russians entered the city, they would lose control and turn Paris into a hell on earth.

If it ever reached that point, talk of war reparations would be the least concern; nobody knew when the situation in France could be stabilized.

Every coin has two sides, though. Despite being unwieldy to use, the Russian Army had a great deterrent power.

It was a clear message to the French: you have a huge time bomb placed beside you, and with a simple press of a remote control, Paris could become rubble.

As for the consequences?

At worst, the war reparations wouldn’t be collected, and the Allied Forces stationed in France would suffer heavy losses. This could scare most of the countries in the Anti-French Alliance, but not the mastermind behind it all—Emperor Franz.

Just get through these few years of economic difficulties, and the war reparations would be neither here nor there for the Holy Roman Empire; as for the losses of the Allied Forces, they were not his troops, so he had no reason to feel the pinch.

The guillotine hadn’t fallen because having this “Sword of Damocles” overhead was more beneficial than detrimental to the Holy Roman Empire.

Not only could it use the Allied Forces to limit French development, but it could also use the interests of France to unite the countries of the Anti-French Alliance, solidifying Shinra’s position in the Continental Alliance, while simultaneously bolstering Russia’s confidence to advance into India.

…

The Paris Presidential Mansion was transformed from the Prime Minister’s Residence of France, and it’s unknown if it’s cursed, but anyone who moved in seemed to say goodbye to peaceful days.

Of the seventeen consecutive French presidents, not a single one managed to stay for a month, with the most unfortunate one going straight to the Guillotine.

The arrival of Dagnell broke this record; it was now his 34th day of residence. However, what the final outcome would be remained an unknown.

Puffing on a cigar of unknown origin, President Dagnell looked at his trusted aides and asked, “Buck, what is the reaction of those noble lords now?”

“The nobles are intensifying their communication, and the high echelons of the Orthodox, Orleans, and Bonaparte factions have secretly held meetings. Our people’s status was not enough, so they couldn’t learn the contents of their discussions.

From the current situation, it appears they have not yet come to an agreement, otherwise it wouldn’t be this quiet.”

The success of the Second Revolution had still not changed the control of the military by the nobility. Once the Three Monarchical Parties reached a consensus, Paris could change hands at any moment.

Dagnell nodded, “Notify our people not to provoke these noble lords for now. As long as they don’t make a move, we also shouldn’t rush.

The most important thing now is to intensify our infiltration of the military. Without control over the military, our revolutionary cause will not be secure for a day.

Also, don’t forget to gather the prisoners of war released by the Allied Forces. Don’t judge these people for being defeated and captured; it was not their fault.

Once they are armed again, they will still be the most capable militaries of France. The current regular forces in the country were all second or third-tier units, and simply can’t match these elites.”

People are good at learning. Having the example of the previous Paris Revolutionary Government, Dagnell was aware of the importance of the military early on.

“Military personnel do not interfere in politics and should remain neutral in domestic political struggles.” Such nonsense, Dagnell never believed in it.

Without control over the national military and a private army, would the Three Monarchical Parties be in their current position?

Once the Royalist Party reached a consensus internally, the supposedly neutral French Military would immediately tear off its disguise and support the enthronement of a new King for restoration.

With the example of Napoleon III, the Royalist Party only needed to replicate the process. Even now, they wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble; the united Royalist Parties were far stronger than Napoleon III back then; a simple coup could achieve their goals in one step.