Make France Great Again-Chapter 201: Lifting the State of Martial Law?

December 29, 1849.

As James Rothschild surrendered and the "sweep and strike" operation in Paris neared its end, a group of Republican faction members, led by their leader Lamartine, headed to the Elysee Palace to meet with President Jerome Bonaparte.

Under Percy’s arrangement, Lamartine and the other Republican faction members entered a reception room in the Elysee Palace.

"Mr. Lamartine, the President is currently inspecting the Ministry of War, you will need to wait for a while!" Percy expressed his apologies to Lamartine.

"Hmph! It seems Mr. President wants the Ministry of War to become his personal residence!"

The former brief Minister of War of France and Governor of the Republic said sarcastically.

Cafenak looked down on Jerome Bonaparte, who had gained the presidency through "underhanded" means, and then extended his reach into the Ministry of War.

In Cafenak’s view, the presence of Jerome Bonaparte only tarnished the reputations of his uncle and cousin.

Bonaparte, who abdicated as a hero, might completely fall from the Vendome Column.

"Mr. Cafenak!" Percy replied without condescension: "As the highest military commander of France, the President inspecting the Ministry of War is a responsibility granted by the Constitution of the French Republic.

If the Republic’s highest military commander does not pay constant attention to the Ministry of War’s movements, isn’t it considered a dereliction of duty?"

Furthermore, we are still under a state of martial law! If the President doesn’t constantly inspect the Ministry of War, who knows what big trouble might arise!"

Unlike some mediocre individuals, Mr. President does not just fight for power and profit in the halls of vanity, thus forgetting that the powers and obligations granted by the Constitution of France are equivalent!"

Percy’s mixture of sharp words successfully got under the skin of the soldier, Cafenak.

After the June Revolution, Cafenak indeed fell into a frenzy of power pursuit, compromising with many members, including Thiers, to this end.

In the end, it was all in vain, and the Republican faction that established the Second Republic was swept out of the government and military.

Even the Legislative Assembly had only a small presence of the Republican faction.

Cafenak wanted to step forward to retort Percy, but was stopped by Bastide.

Bastide shook his head at Cafenak and then said to Percy, "Mr. Percy, could you please go to the Ministry of War to inform the President and tell him that we will wait here for his arrival?"

"Alright!" Percy looked around at the representatives and seriously replied, "I will pass your message to the President! You need to wait patiently!"

With that, Percy left the reception room with a hint of arrogance on his face.

The Republican faction members in the room all showed resentment.

"What is he! A mere lapdog of Bonaparte!"

Cafenak shouted disdainfully.

"He is indeed a lapdog of Bonaparte!" Bastide first affirmed Cafenak’s words and then said solemnly, "I hope you all can recognize a reality: even Bonaparte’s lapdog is not someone we can afford to offend right now! Our power compared to theirs is simply too weak!"

Bastide’s disheartening words made the Republican faction members present quite dejected.

Indeed!

A year ago, the Republican faction was still in control of the Legislative Assembly, drafting laws and limiting the President’s term.

The Order Party in the Assembly didn’t dare confront them head-on.

However, in just one year, the Republican faction had become like this.

Under the attack of the Order Party, the Republican faction was quickly broken and became the third largest party in the Legislative Assembly.

After the June incident in 1849, the Republican faction returned to being the second largest party.

Of course, this wasn’t because the Republican faction gained more seats, but because the Mountain Party’s seats shrank significantly.

Originally the second largest party, the Mountain Party was forcibly wiped out half of its seats by the Order Party due to Lederer Roland’s rebellion, and was replaced by Order Party-tending representatives, only waiting for the elections in March 1850 to possibly regain seats.

The Republican faction naturally became the second largest party in the Assembly.

"Let’s not forget, what is our purpose for coming here?" Lamartine, who had been silent all the while, finally spoke up.

"Do you think Jerome Bonaparte will really agree to lift the state of martial law?" Cafenak frowned and said, "During martial law, the President has more power than usual! For anyone with a desire for power, this is no small temptation. What if he refuses to lift the martial law?"

"Then we will unite with the Order Party to impeach the President!" Lamartine responded decisively, "Before I came, Thiers and they had already reached an agreement with us that the state of martial law must be lifted, and Paris must regain its freedom!"

"Thiers?" Cafenak’s eyes carried a hint of resentment, and his words conveyed disdain and dissatisfaction: "Rely on these deceitful scoundrels? Don’t forget, it was they who put Jerome Bonaparte in this position!"

Even though a year had passed since the event, Cafenak still couldn’t conceal his deep hatred for Thiers.

At that time, they had put him in the position of executioner, promising that they would limit France’s universal suffrage system to ensure his successful election as the first President of France.

Ultimately, they betrayed him and colluded with Jerome Bonaparte.

"I believe Thiers and his ilk wouldn’t be so shortsighted!" Bastide, supporting Lamartine, said: "The reason the last state of martial law benefited Thiers was that they controlled the Cabinet’s power, and the government’s power lay within the Cabinet. This time, the state of martial law doesn’t favor them, as the Cabinet is in Jerome Bonaparte’s hands. A prolonged state of martial law will only put them in a passive state. They must stop the martial law!"

"They’re using us as pawns!"

Cafenak understood the reasoning, but he was more annoyed with Thiers’ two-faced attitude.

Since they also resented the martial law, they shouldn’t hide in the background watching the Republican faction charge.

"This is politics. Compared to Thiers and his group, our time is evidently more pressing!" Bastide sighed. He also didn’t want to be a pawn used by Thiers to test Jerome Bonaparte’s stance, but he had no choice but to play that role.

The new round of elections for the Legislative Assembly was about to start, which was their opportunity.

The Order Party was able to hold the upper hand because of the President’s help. Without the President’s help this time, they would likely face the danger of being overthrown.

If the state of martial law continued, the election of the Legislative Assembly would be forcibly delayed because of it, shattering the Republican faction’s hope of turning things around through elections.

The existence of the martial law would become an obstacle for the Republican faction, and the Order Party was similarly unwilling to let the martial law continue and expand.

If the martial law expanded and became the norm, the Legislative Assembly might not even retain its legislative power.

Even though the Republican faction and the Order Party were locked in a life-and-death struggle within the Legislative Assembly, they still reached an agreement on the issue of martial law.

It’s just that the Republican faction’s task was heavier, as they needed to face the President’s wrath.

Of course, Bastide only saw the first layer, while Thiers, who stood on the second layer, had already decided to propose restricting the universal suffrage system soon after the martial law was lifted.

By that time, the Republican faction and the Mountain Party would be powerless to reverse the situation.

Lamartine and other Republican faction members anxiously awaited Jerome Bonaparte, while Percy leisurely walked from the Elysee Palace to the Ministry of War.

At this time, Jerome Bonaparte, accompanied by Minister of War Renio and Secretary of State Saint Arno, was meeting with the directors and heads of various departments affiliated with the Ministry of War one by one.

The military personnel entered the meeting room in pairs to meet Jerome Bonaparte, and this time it was the turn of Nie’er and Lendel.

"Mr. President, this is Brigadier General Nie’er, director of the Logistics Department, and this is Brigadier General Lendel, director of the Personnel Department!" Renio introduced them to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Mr. President, Mr. President!"

Jerome Bonaparte shook hands with these new appointees one by one.

"Brigadier General Nie’er, don’t be so nervous! I’m not some man-eating monster!" Jerome Bonaparte patted Brigadier General Nie’er on the shoulder, attempting to ease his tension with a joking tone.

"Mr. President, I..." Brigadier General Nie’er still felt a bit uneasy.

"I hope you can give me a satisfactory result during your term!" Jerome Bonaparte noticed Nie’er’s nervousness and decided to end the conversation with him for the time being.

"Count Rendel!" Jerome Bonaparte addressed Rendel by his title rather than his military rank.

"Your Majesty!" the eloquent Rendel declared his allegiance to Jerome Bonaparte with his words.

"Count Rendel, I hope you can assist Minister Renio and Secretary Saint Arno in controlling the Ministry of War more efficiently. The Ministry of War is the central hub of the Republic’s army and must not become a haven for corrupt elements. Do you understand?" Jerome Bonaparte said to Rendel with a stern tone, "This is the responsibility you should fulfill as the director of the Personnel Department! I want to see a refreshed Ministry of War and a renewed army!"

Of course, Rendel understood Jerome Bonaparte’s intention; the so-called clearance of pests meant eliminating those not loyal to the Emperor. Since he had pledged allegiance to the Bonaparte faction, he naturally had to present a satisfactory token of his loyalty. The various reassignments in the Ministry of War recently were his first such token.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Rendel responded loudly, "I assure you, I will assist Minister Renio in eliminating the pests within the army!"

"Good! I look forward to your upcoming actions!" Jerome Bonaparte appropriately painted a positive picture, "Your efforts will be rewarded satisfactorily!"

"Yes!" Rendel and Nie’er responded with smiles.

"Go ahead!"

Jerome Bonaparte waved his hand, and Rendel and Nie’er departed.

Just as Jerome Bonaparte was about to meet the next group of members, Percy entered the meeting room to report on the situation at the Elysee Palace to Jerome Bonaparte.

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