Make France Great Again-Chapter 143 The Actions of the Orléans Faction

Tocqueville, holding the newspaper, walked slowly while reading the text-only edition.

The headline boldly read "French Parliamentarian Travels to Emra to Pay Homage to Henry V".

The article elaborately described the entire process of the Orthodox Faction nobles traveling to Emra to meet Henry V. The witty writing style and the detailed depiction of the room’s layout gave a sense of being present.

However, Tocqueville was more curious about who leaked the news of the Orthodox Faction’s trip to Emra to the newspapers; could it be those guys from the Republican Faction?

And judging from the newspaper’s description, Tocqueville could be sure that one of them must have been a participant in the meeting, which made the result even more interesting.

Based on Tocqueville’s understanding of the Orthodox Faction nobles, every Orthodox Parliamentarian who went to Emra was utterly loyal to the Count of Chambord. Some of their loyalties had even turned into fanaticism. The existence of traitors among these Orthodox "fanatics," who prided themselves on "morality, order, and orthodoxy," was indeed amusing.

[PS: During the Orléans Kingdom period, the Orthodox parliamentarians, the targets of the Orléans Faction’s attacks, frequently traveled to Austria to meet Henry V. Each visit would infuriate Louis Philippe, leading to the dismissal of a large number of Orthodox parliamentarians. Hence, Tocqueville called them "fanatics."]

...

While Tocqueville was enjoying this schadenfreude, across the English Channel in London, similar situations were unfolding.

This time, however, the protagonists were no longer the Orthodox Faction but the Orléans Faction. They were also heading to London driven by common interests to find their nominal leader, the former King of Orleans, Louis Philippe.

At this moment, Louis Philippe was residing in a relatively small mansion in Crimont Town on the outskirts of London.

The hurried departure due to the February Revolution left King Louis Philippe and his Queen without sufficient funds when fleeing Paris, with all their wealth turned into immovable property left in Paris.

The continuous increase in family members [Count of Paris, Duchess of Orleans, Prince Ruan, and Duke of Nemur fled from Paris to London] made Louis Philippe’s life even more difficult.

If it were not for the support of some still loyal Orléans Faction members and Lionel Rothschild, Louis Philippe’s entire family would have starved on the streets long ago.

Sitting on the sofa at that moment, Louis Philippe appeared aged. Deprived of the nourishment of power and hit by setbacks, he no longer bore the commanding presence from his days as King. His severe coughing echoed throughout the living room.

As a guest, Audion Barrot quietly sat opposite Louis Philippe, nodding and saying, "Your Majesty!"

The severely coughing Louis Philippe forcibly suppressed his cough and said, "Cough... cough... Mr. Barrow, no, I should address you as Prime Minister Barro now! This is an honor you never received during the Orléans Dynasty; I suppose you must be very grateful to Jerome Bonaparte now!"

"Your Majesty..." Barrow wished to explain to Louis Philippe.

Louis Philippe forcibly interrupted Audion Barrot’s explanation and mocked himself, saying, "Prime Minister Barro! The era belonging to the Orléans Kingdom has faded; it is your era now! Tell me, what brings you to me?"

"Your Majesty, I want you to help me integrate the Orléans Faction!" Audion Barrot proposed to Louis Philippe a near-impossible task.

"Integrate the Orléans Faction? God! Even when I was King, I couldn’t fully integrate the Orléans Faction! Weren’t both you and that fellow Thiers opposing me back then? Now that my kingdom has collapsed, you’re asking me to help you integrate the Orléans Faction?" Louis Philippe questioned Audion Barrot.

"Your Majesty, precisely because your kingdom has collapsed, you now have the ability to integrate!" Audion Barrot immediately responded to Louis Philippe.

"What kind of logic is this? The throne I’ve given up somehow makes it easier to integrate the Orléans Faction?" Louis Philippe questioned once again.

"Because when you became King, the Orléans Faction became the majority party in the parliament and cabinet, making division inevitable. The interests between factions weren’t entirely similar either! When your kingdom collapsed, we formed the Orléans Faction again; we have no choice but to minimize division as much as possible!" Audion Barrot explained to Louis Philippe.

In simpler terms: "They can endure hardship but not share prosperity."

When the Orléans Kingdom was still around, the dominant Orléans Faction could split into the left and right wings of the dynasty, moderates and radicals, or even deeper divisions. A large party was fragmented into small interest groups until the collapse of the Orléans Dynasty. Only then did they realize that the collapse of the Orléans Kingdom did them no good, leading them to unite and choose self-rescue.

Under the grand tide of history, even the gigantic organization like the Orléans Faction had to align with the historical currents.

"Prime Minister Barro! I can help you!" Louis Philippe said calmly to Audion Barrot.

"Thank you!" Audion Barrot responded.

"However, I need to know what you can offer me!" The ordinary Louis Philippe inquired frankly, "Don’t come to me with promises like the restoration dynasty; I’m already 75! I know I don’t have many years left, and the throne to me is nothing but an illusion."

Audion Barrot, who intended to promise that Louis Philippe would definitely help him ascend to the throne, remained silent for a moment before carefully saying, "Your Majesty! If I am fortunate enough to gain the recognition of all my Orléans faction colleagues, I will do my utmost to secure a certain amount of widow war compensation for the Duchess. I will also ensure the unpaid retirement funds for Prince Ruan and the Duke of Nemur are fully disbursed."

Audion Barrot meant that if Louis Philippe supported him, he would secure funds for the cash-strapped Louis Philippe through the cabinet and parliament.

"But, this amount may significantly differ from what you received during your tenure as King!" Audion Barrot reminded Louis Philippe again.

"I know!" Louis Philippe was well aware that it was virtually impossible to regain the annual salary of 16 million francs he once received. He held up three fingers and asked, "How about 300,000 francs a year?"

Louis Philippe’s response relieved Audion Barrot, who nodded and replied, "Of course!"

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