Chapter 964: Fantasy

A military reporter recorded this.

"When every cotton field turned into a sea of ​​fire, when boulders ruthlessly blocked the canal, and when one bridge after another collapsed in the explosion, this kind of resistance that was almost mutually assured, even the most objective observer could not avoid emotional fluctuations.

The men took up arms, and even hoes and plows became tools of resistance. The tears of the old, weak, women and children evaporated in the dust of ashes, and they staggered towards the Vosges Mountains, looking for the last shelter.

This once quiet and peaceful land has now been engulfed by gunpowder and war. However, what I witnessed was not only the cruelty of war and the fragility and insignificance of human beings, but also the fearlessness and strength shown by ordinary people in the face of catastrophes."

Outside Celesta.

In less than two weeks since the start of the war, the number of casualties of mercenaries in the city has exceeded 50%, and the losses of Celesta's defense forces and militia have exceeded one-third.

This is a very exaggerated number, because according to the military theory at the time, a large army (referring to more than a thousand people) would lose its most basic functions once it loses more than one-third.

As a master of tactical theory, Bono de Couron naturally couldn't believe what was happening in front of him. The defenders in the city should have completely collapsed.

The criss-crossing trenches and temporary fortifications made of ruins in the city made him feel incredible. Too many corpses were not cleaned up in time, and the epidemic had begun to spread in both armies.

Although Bono de Couron also received new recruits from the country, the new recruits did not play a big role in such a cruel war.

In Celesta.

"Mr. Mayor! Stop fighting! Let's surrender! General Bono de Couron has said that as long as we are willing to lay down our weapons and surrender, we will not only be pardoned, but also retain our official positions."

Councillor Rossi said earnestly. He was not a soft egg. The bandages on his head and arms could prove his courage.

Most of the surrounding councillors and citizen representatives also looked at Mayor Blanqui with expectant eyes. Only a few mercenary leaders were sleeping soundly as if the quarrel in the city hall did not exist.

"Listen! I tell you! As long as you lay down your weapons, you will be sent to the gallows immediately, and the French butcher knife will also fall on your relatives and friends.

In Paris! In Lyon! In Tours! From Fors to Saint-Pierrage, to Fontevrault, Mont Saint-Michel, Turkana, I am sure that there is nothing good about Bourbon, Orleans, and the Second French Republic!

We are just chips in their hands that can be discarded at will, just livestock that can be deceived at will, and just tools in their hands that can be used at will."

(Fors, Saint-Pierrage Piracic, Fontevrault, Mont Saint-Michel, and Turkana are the names of French prisons. )

"Listen! Fellow countrymen! If we don't hold our weapons tightly, the tragedies in Paris, Lyon, and Tours will continue!

They will take away your jobs and property, and then force your wives and daughters to subsidize the family, send your children to sweatshops or to the battlefield, and then give you a corpse or a letter of missing whereabouts!"

The parliamentarians and citizen representatives fell silent. Usually, someone would jump out and say that they should believe in France.

However, the Strasbourg tragedy left too deep an impression on the Alsatians. There were too many witnesses to the tragedy and the influence was so profound that no one could refute Mayor Blanqui's words at this time.

In fact, something happened two months ago. The Second French Republic, that is, the Provisional French Government, promulgated a wartime code, announcing its complete transformation into a bourgeois republic.

The interests of bankers and factory owners were guaranteed, and even the landlords (agricultural capitalists) were given a large number of seats and rights, and they could still bully the hired farmers.

The wartime code stipulated that bankers and factory owners could reduce or not pay wages appropriately, but workers and staff must work for fourteen hours to get wages and must pay an additional war tax.

Appropriately increase commodity prices to increase fiscal revenue.

The gendarmes have the right to enter citizens' homes to search for taxes

The age of compulsory military service was lowered to 15 years old, and self-prepared weapons were encouraged

The Parisian people and workers who felt they were fooled stormed the government building, forcibly dissolved the parliament, and recommended Barbès and Albert, two anti-war members who advocated limited solutions to unemployment and livelihood issues, to take office.

The new government intended to adopt Louis Blanc's national factory concept to completely solve the problems of unemployment and material shortages.

However, the new government only existed for four hours, and General Cavaignac led the Paris garrison in a thorough small-scale massacre.

Except for a few members and faction leaders, all were executed for treason.

Although this was just a minor disturbance for the Second French Republic, it was a major earthquake for France.

Afterwards, the French Provisional Government had to carry out several large-scale massacres in different cities across the country before the incident was calmed down.

This also made Blanqui unexpectedly become the mayor of Celesta. Although he wanted to strangle Louis Philippe with his own hands, he could not refuse the opportunity to show his ambitions.

Blanqui devoted himself wholeheartedly to the development and construction of the Celesta area, and this land also responded to his efforts to the greatest extent.

In just two months, the income of the people in Celesta generally doubled, and fiscal revenue also increased significantly.

Farmers no longer fled famine, businessmen were willing to invest, large tracts of wasteland were developed into farmland, and the famine that had plagued this grain-producing area for hundreds of years seemed to disappear overnight.

The national factory he had been thinking about was also built. He believed that it would not be long before Celesta would be able to build its own industrial zone with steel, textiles, and wineries.

Of course, some open space must be left so that workers and farmers can take their families for picnics or enjoy hunting when they have time on weekends.

However, all this came at a price. In just the first two weeks of taking office, Blanqui received no less than twenty death threats and was indeed attacked several times, either openly or secretly.

Fortunately, this time-tested fighter who had been plotted against for many years and had been in many prisons in Paris had long been accustomed to all this.

Instead, Blanqui followed the clues and killed a series of scum hidden in the government. As long as he paid taxes in full and on time, Louis Philippe would not bother to care about what he did.

In Metz, Thiers only knew that a region that had only paid half of its taxes for years could suddenly pay the full amount every month.

Originally, such days would continue until one side made up its mind, but before that, the army of the Second French Republic launched a surprise attack.