Chapter 289: Chapter 286: Coup d’état (1)
"I have always believed Mr. President, that you are the great man sent by God to save France!"
Being a member of the Royalist Party, Bifei accepted the olive branch extended by Jerome Bonaparte without any hesitation.
This meant that his allegiance was about to completely shift from the Orthodox Faction to the Bonaparte Faction.
"Welcome aboard, Minister Bifei!" Jerome Bonaparte shook hands with Minister Bifei once more and gave him a welcoming hug.
Then, Bifei inquired about the situation regarding the thirty million francs with Jerome Bonaparte.
"Mr. President, if I may ask presumptuously! Is the thirty million francs intended to be used to incite the Parisians to overthrow the Assembly?" Minister Bifei tactfully asked Jerome Bonaparte, as "overthrow by the people" sounds more appealing than "military coup."
"That’s right!" Since Bifei had become one of his own, Jerome Bonaparte saw no need to hide anything, and he nodded in agreement with Bifei’s words openly.
"What should I report to the Assembly then?" Minister Bifei subtly asked.
The subtext of Minister Bifei’s question was whether he should cook the books in the National Assembly!
"Minister Bifei, you need do nothing! Just quietly wait for the dawn of victory!" Jerome Bonaparte patted Minister Bifei on the shoulder and continued, "Follow me!"
Jerome Bonaparte stood up and left the room, with Bifei also following him out.
The two walked one after the other down the stairs and entered the study on the second floor. Once inside, Bifei found Mornay and others in the study, his face showing signs of confusion and puzzlement.
Mornay and the others also showed some degree of confusion on their faces.
"Minister Bifei is willing to join us!" Jerome Bonaparte informed everyone present.
Then he turned to Bifei and said, "As you can see, we will issue the order to dissolve the Legislative Assembly today at midnight! Once the Legislative Assembly is dissolved, who will care about the movement of that thirty million francs!"
Jerome Bonaparte’s explanation left Bifei a bit stunned; he had never realized how close he was to a coup.
What further surprised him was that the entire coup had not leaked a single word in Paris.
This also meant that the Bonaparte Faction had completely controlled the military.
Victory was assured!
In Bifei’s mind, he simulated the expressions of the Legislative Assembly members as they went from panic to despair during the coup.
Thinking about this, Bifei couldn’t help but feel a sense of joy, and he quickly flattered Jerome Bonaparte, "Mr. President, is there anything I can assist you with?"
"You just need to stay here with me at the Elysee Palace and wait for the news of victory!" Jerome Bonaparte said with a smile to Bifei.
Even though he believed that Bifei wouldn’t rashly run to the "Social Democratic Faction" to tattle, for safety’s sake, it was better for Bifei to stay at the Elysee Palace.
Naturally, Bifei also understood this was a form of house arrest by the President.
Since he had already agreed to join the President’s coup plan, he had to show some sincerity.
Bifei naturally also agreed to Jerome Bonaparte’s de facto house arrest.
As night fell, the coup group, at the invitation of the leader Jerome Bonaparte, enjoyed a victory eve dinner in the Elysee Palace’s dining room and then each went off to their respective departments to start the operation.
Jerome Bonaparte and Bifei stayed in the bunker of the Elysee Palace, under the protection of the President’s Guard, awaiting news of the coup group’s victory.
December 1st, 10:30 PM.
The biting cold wind ruthlessly swept over the city, known as the "old revolutionary district," causing people’s noses and ears to sting painfully as if pricked by needles, and every step felt like a punishment.
Under such severe weather, the formerly bustling city gradually fell silent, with only the stars in the sky still twinkling as if telling the city about the fate it was about to face.
Under such extremely adverse conditions, the lights in the Ministry of War remained brightly lit, and everyone inside was working with a serious demeanor, as if they had long anticipated what was about to happen.
At 10:45 PM, Minister Saint Arno convened a meeting of military bureaucrats at the department level and above.
Apart from Secretary of State Benjamin Clemenceau (who belonged to the Moderate Republicans), all military personnel attended the meeting.
At the start of the meeting, Minister Saint Arno publicly read out a letter from Jerome Bonaparte to all frontline commanders.
"The first priority of the nation is the law, and as the legitimate representative of the national power, any attempt... The Assembly attempts to infringe on the authority vested in me by the entire nation, and I will fight them to the end!"
The military bureaucrats present fully understood the implication of the President’s words, as after many purges in the Ministry of War, they had long become the most loyal representatives of the Bonaparte Faction.
Since the President has decided to overthrow the National Assembly, they naturally have no reason to oppose.
After all, the Legislative Assembly is also an eyesore for the army!
"Long live the Empire!" Minister Saint Arno shouted loudly.
The remaining members of the Ministry of War also loudly shouted the slogan "Long live the Empire."
The entire Ministry of War has become a stronghold of the Bonaparte Faction, and next, Saint Arno issued orders to everyone within the War Department.
December 1, 11:45 a.m.
The military camp in the suburbs of Paris was also brightly lit, with Kuzan Montebon, commander of the Paris First Division, waiting for orders from the Ministry of War at the headquarters of the Paris Second Brigade.
Waiting for orders with him were also Major General Normar of the First Brigade (promoted to Major General by Jerome Bonaparte for his defection), Major General Canrobert of the Second Brigade, and Major General Pello of the Third Brigade.
As soon as the War Department’s orders are issued, they will immediately lead the soldiers into Paris to occupy the Bourbon Palace and dissolve the Bourbon Palace Assembly.
Why hasn’t the order come yet!
Anxiously, Kuzan Montebon paced back and forth in the tent, the spurs on his boots producing a rhythmic sound as they struck the ground.
Canrobert and Pello also occasionally glanced at their pocket watches, then looked outside the tent to see if anyone had arrived.
11:45 a.m., after a "long" wait, the three finally received the messenger from the Ministry of War.
The messenger was none other than Jerome Bonaparte’s newly appointed aide, Brigadier General Leboeuf.
Brigadier General Leboeuf handed the advance orders from the Ministry of War to Meng Banto, who showed a relieved smile.
Now that the Ministry of War had given orders, they could take action.
At this moment, Brigadier General Leboeuf spoke again: "By the way! Mr. President asked me to bring a message!"
All the generals present looked at Brigadier General Leboeuf, who turned his gaze to the Second Brigade’s Canrobert and said: "Major General Canrobert of the Second Brigade, you’ve trained the troops for a thousand days, now it’s time to use them. You will lead the charge; make sure to occupy the Bourbon Palace and its connecting roads!"
"Loyalty! Faithfulness!" Canrobert responded firmly.
Pello, Normar, and even Montebon looked at Canrobert with envy, as occupying the Bourbon Palace and its connecting roads was undoubtedly the most important task, indicating the President’s trust in Canrobert.
Establishing the Empire was already a sure thing, and Canrobert’s future prospects were clear.
Montebon quickly unfolded the map of the city of Paris and made some simple adjustments based on the original battle plan.
December 2, midnight.
The Paris First Division began to move, this nearly 40,000-strong force entered Paris from the Monte Mar District (Paris Second Brigade), Saint-Denis District (Paris Third Brigade), and Saint Martin (Paris First Brigade).
The Second Brigade soldiers entering the Monte Mar District silently traversed the streets under orders from the respective levels of command, and the few "wandering souls" prowling at midnight showed frightened expressions upon encountering this silent army.
Although they had no idea why this army chose this hour to enter Paris, they clearly understood that any noise they made would result in bloody retribution, prompting them to silently watch the army’s departure while holding their breath.
Once the army disappeared into the night, they then began to breathe fresh air again.
Compared to his contemporaneous cousin, Jerome Bonaparte was more decisive, and the deployment of all members of the Paris First Division undoubtedly secured victory in this military coup.
[In the otl timeline, on December 2nd, 1851, Napoleon III launched a military coup with the help of Saint Arno and others. Due to Louis Napoleon’s hesitation, Saint Arno only used one brigade (over ten thousand soldiers). Although he ultimately won, such a victory was extremely risky.]
Meanwhile, the commander of the Paris National Guard Headquarters, General Manion, also received orders from the Ministry of War.
[General Didegai was replaced by veteran Manion of the Bonaparte Faction due to certain stance issues less than a month after serving as Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard.]
Orders from the Ministry of War mandated the National Guard to remain restrained, with no corps allowed to act independently without orders from the Ministry of War or the President.
Although General Manion was somewhat disgruntled about playing a marginal role in this coup, he had no choice but to obey the orders from the Ministry of War.
To this end, he reached out to Colonel Fleury, who served as staff chief in the National Guard Staff, and the two decided to convene all corps leaders in the name of the National Guard Headquarters after discussions.
December 2, 1:20 a.m.
Except for the Ninth Corps stationed in the Bourbon Palace, all National Guard corps leaders were present.
General Manion and Colonel Fleury read the Ministry of War’s orders to the corps leaders present, instructing them to stay put no matter what happened.