Chapter 1048: Brink of Collapse
Tens of thousands of defeated soldiers mutinied, killed military police, robbed arsenals, and occupied many cities in the Champagne region. There was even news that someone wanted to negotiate unilaterally with the German Allied Forces. 【6】【9】【s】【h】【u】【x】【.】【c】【o】【m】
The news spread back to Paris, shocking the whole country.
Bilford had just become the so-called interim president, and his hair was already nearly half gray.
Bilford never imagined that he would face such great difficulties. Before he had time to enjoy the benefits of power, he was overwhelmed by pressure from all sides.
The British, Austrians, and even their own people do not regard themselves as human beings, and they all desperately want to kill themselves. This is not a president, he is clearly a punching bag.
No matter what action Bilford takes now, it is wrong, but what's more important is that he can't help but do it. This is the most annoying thing.
Faced with the verdict, the only thing he could do at this time seemed to be to tear down the eastern wall to repair the western wall, and use the newly recruited troops to quell the civil strife.
Then he placed his hope on this exhausted new army to block the advance of the German Allied Forces. Thinking of this, Bilford himself began to wonder if there was something wrong with his mind.
Let’s not talk about whether the so-called new army can defeat the mutinous army. Even if it can win, there is no guarantee that the rebels will not surrender to the Germans again, or even break the pot and directly let the German allied forces enter.
As a result, the so-called new army has no chance of winning even 10%, so peace talks seem to be the best option.
But will the rebels demand exorbitant prices? He didn't dare to think that it seemed like it would be better not to forcibly recruit these cowards in the first place.
But Billford never imagined that even in the 19th century, there would still be people who would abide by any declaration of honor. So why didn't anyone abide by it in the shopping mall?
Bilford didn't want to think about it anymore because he still needed to convince Congress. He just felt a splitting headache.
But that's not all that gave Bilford a headache. Historically, the Poles did something particularly awesome in Paris in 1848.
At first, everything was relatively normal. The Poles were just printing leaflets and writing articles, focusing on the emotional card.
One of the most famous leaflets contained this passage.
"France, you are Poland's beloved sister! You are the star that leads Europe to freedom! Don't leave Poland behind!"
But soon the Polish restorers were no longer satisfied with just shouting slogans and cursing the great powers.
The Polish Restorationists frantically entered and exited major salons and clubs and reached agreements with multiple organizations. They began to cry out in public about the suffering of Poland and complained that the French government was standing aside.
He denounced the weak foreign policy of the Orleans Dynasty, which made France succumb to the Holy Alliance, and refused to aid Poland, which further damaged the honor of the French nation.
The Poles soon received support from the French, who had nowhere to vent their national feelings, wrote Barbes, a famous social activist.
"If you (the interim government) continue the old social system, then we will not forgive you when we take action. What we demand is justice!"
On May 10, 1848, French-Polish member of Parliament Wolowski proposed in parliament that France should support Poland, but Lamartine chose to ignore it.
Things quickly escalated, and finally the parliament decided to discuss the Polish issue on May 15.
On May 15, 1848, incited by the Polish Restorationists and some organizations, the people stormed into the Congress and finally briefly passed a resolution to restore aid by force.
In this resolution, France would declare war on all European powers, comparable to Cixi's Gengzi Edict. Poland will regain its pre-1772 territorial boundaries and establish the Polish Democratic Republic.
Of course, this resolution was invalidated only five hours after it was passed. After all, the French political group would not really fight for the Poles and the great powers at this time.
In this generation, the Polish restorers in the Austrian Empire were severely punished by Franz, so the Polish power in France became even stronger.
France and Austria have already gone to war, and it seems that the Polish restorers should have no desires and no demands.
However! After all, the Poles are Poles. In such a lively year as 1848, it would be strange if they didn't do something.
Bilford, who had been desperate before, turned to the Polish exiles in France for help, hoping that they would form an army to defend France.
Bilford originally just had the mentality of fighting three poles if there were dates but no dates, but he didn't expect that the Polish restorers really formed a team.
But before Bilford had time to be happy, Representative Wolowski proposed to "exchange Polish blood for Polish land."
Bilford was stunned when he heard it, but Wolowski came up with a more complete plan.
The Polish Restoration Army could help the French put down the rebellion and even resist the invasion of the German Allied Forces.
However, the Polish Nationalist Army requested that the Franche-Comté region be used as a temporary settlement for Poles, allowing them to learn Polish, inherit Polish history, and use Polish customs locally.
Of course, the Poles do not want to stay and leave. As long as France successfully helps Poland recover, they will immediately get up and return to Poland.
After hearing this, Bilford's vision went dark, and he almost fell to the ground. In his mind, he had already begun to think about how to deal with the Poles. After all, such an outrageous proposal would definitely cause a stir if it was proposed in parliament.
Suddenly Bill was enlightened and had a brilliant idea, which was not uncommon in the 19th century: to make a secret agreement.
After all, Bilford was a factory owner and was quite experienced in prostitution labor.
Bilford's idea was to let the Poles quell the rebellion and resist the Germans, and then find a suitable opportunity to tear up the agreement and deal with the Poles. Then he would be a hero of France.
The reason why the Poles were so confident that they could stop the attack of the German coalition was naturally the information provided by Franz.
The organizational structure of the Polish Restoration Army can be said to be quite lax. Franz could capture their leaders as attendants, and he could also send his attendants as leaders.
Franz wanted the Polish Restoration Army to know whatever they wanted. It would be very interesting if the Poles could really be granted territories in France. If the French began to oppose, suppress, or even massacre the Poles, it would not be a loss for Austria.
As for the direction in which things would develop, Franz could only say let the bullets fly for a while.
However, sometimes if a person is unlucky enough, even drinking cold water may get stuck in his teeth. When the situation in France had become a mess, the citizens and workers' organizations in Paris started to make trouble again.
Workers and civilians formed a huge parade, holding the tricolor flag and gathering at the Pantheon, the Place de l'Arc and the original site of the Bastille.
These people had no other purpose but to survive. As mentioned above, meager income and exaggerated prices made survival a luxury.
In fact, it was not just Paris, but also Lyon, Marseille and other places where many demonstrations broke out. The whole of France was on the verge of going crazy.