Chapter 263 Napoleon's Legacy

In a sense, the establishment of the July Monarchy was due to the departure of Napoleon Bonaparte and the collapse of the First French Empire, which brought this European hegemon to the bottom.

The lack of the sense of security and pride brought by a political strongman forced the French to pin their hopes for national rejuvenation on the branch of the Bourbon dynasty that once brought France into glory - the Orleans family.

For example, if the Orleans dynasty is a religion supported by the people, then Louis Philippe is the high priest on the altar.

Although the war that lasted for more than ten years in Europe has been over for 25 years, the entire Napoleon family has long left France, and the emperor's body is still stranded on St. Helena Island, but the French people's worship and love for this Corsican are still the same as before.

This made Louis Philippe, who thought he had surpassed his predecessors, feel very unfair. He had obviously accomplished a feat that Napoleon could not do in his lifetime (conquering Spain), but he still lived in his shadow. And escorting Napoleon's ashes back to Paris has even become a daily routine for the Bonapartists.

These people hold public events near the Bourbon Palace or in the streets and alleys of Paris every month to declare their presence.

Even today, when Louis Philippe won the Spanish Civil War and brought French power back to North America, the Bonapartists still compare him with Napoleon.

"Then gentlemen, I want to announce a message to you. I have summoned the British ambassador and asked him to convey my request to his government - to transport Napoleon Bonaparte's body back to Paris. Also, I plan to bury it in the Invalides beside the Seine."

When Louis Philippe announced the news in the Tuileries Palace, everyone present fell silent. They looked at each other, trying to see if they had heard it wrong from each other's faces.

Seeing the surprised expressions of the crowd, Louis Philippe had to repeat his decision once again, but there was still no warm applause in the hall. Instead, it was filled with surprise, fear, uneasiness, and anger.

However, there was another trouble at this time. Louis Bonaparte was later Napoleon III. Louis Bonaparte was at odds with his uncle's brothers, and even looked down on his uncle Joseph, not to mention Napoleon's other two brothers.

Of course, the French government did not forget this young pretender to the throne.

They successfully won over an illegitimate son of Napoleon, the Count of Leon. This man, like his biological mother, was very vain, and was not liked by Napoleon Bonaparte and his relatives, so that they had been living in poverty.

Later, an official employed by the French government told the Count of Leon that as long as he could duel with Louis Bonaparte, he would get a commission of 100,000 francs regardless of the outcome.

Soon, the down-and-out young man set off for London, not only publicly humiliating Louis Napoleon, but also discrediting his identity and challenging him to a duel.

The purpose of the French government doing this is actually very simple, that is, to discredit the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. So whether he accepts the duel or not, the result is not important.

If Louis Bonaparte refuses, then his political influence will disappear. If he accepts, whether he kills the other party or dies on his own, he will not escape the notoriety of fratricide.

But sometimes, history is so wonderful. Louis Napoleon did not want to participate in this duel, but the people around him told him that this duel was more important than his life. He had no choice but to accept it.

On the day of the duel, Louis Napoleon and Leon were filled with deep fear. At this time, the former began to try to persuade the latter not to kill each other and discredit the family, and asked him whether he was coerced or bewitched by outsiders.

After hearing this, the latter immediately exposed the French government and mentioned the 100,000 franc deal. Leon could not enjoy the annuity because he could not get the approval of the Napoleon family. After Napoleon's death, he lost his source of income, so he took the risk.

"Listen, I'll give you 150,000 francs and you give up the duel."

"I think my reputation is worth 200,000."

"Okay, deal!"

So, the farce ended. It was because of the ability to handle this matter that Louis Napoleon got the superficial recognition of his uncle's brothers. They went in and out of the same theater together to show their harmonious relationship.

Soon after, Louis Napoleon decided to launch another uprising in response to the Louis Philippe government's activities. He chose the French coastal city of Boulogne, where the military force was relatively weak and only 250 soldiers were stationed.

Captain Aradnitz was a typical Bonapartist. After meeting Louis Napoleon, he immediately agreed with his plan.

Louis Napoleon's plan was to march directly to Paris after controlling Boulogne and overthrow the July Monarchy. To this end, he recruited some veterans and unemployed workers, and at the same time contacted the Polish Restoration Army.

So far, the number of people who conspired with him has reached 500, but this mixed group of French and Polish people did not know the whole plan, and did not even know the simplest details such as when to set off or where to go.

Louis Napoleon naturally understood the principle that food and grass must be prepared before troops move, so he borrowed 500,000 francs from a British official early on, and issued IOUs to 56 people, raising a total of 1.02 million francs.

As for the weapons needed for the uprising, they were imported from Britain, including the Brown Bess rifle and the Birmingham steel knife. The flags and uniforms were purchased from Paris. In order to expand his influence, he even ordered a hand-cranked printing press to print leaflets.

On August 5, 1840, five carts of food, 20 war horses, two boxes of uniforms, three carts of weapons and thousands of leaflets were transported to Boulogne. Louis Napoleon swaggered into the local military camp, but was ignored by the lazy soldiers until Lieutenant Aradnitz gathered them together.

He gave an impassioned speech to the soldiers, but unfortunately it did not resonate with those "short-sighted people". He had no choice but to promise them huge benefits, money, medals, and official positions.

While the soldiers were cheering and celebrating, someone suddenly shouted "The gendarmes are coming!". The scene suddenly became chaotic. Louis Napoleon and his followers opened fire in panic, injuring many soldiers. Then the soldiers began to fight back, and the uprising failed.

At this time, Louis Napoleon could only choose to flee to the seaside, and then board the ship there to leave France. However, they encountered the French army halfway, and the latter had no sympathy and opened fire directly.

After fifteen minutes of fighting, three conspirators were killed and one drowned in the river, which was five kilometers away from the seaside. Louis Napoleon, who was desperate, had no choice but to surrender.

He imitated his uncle's actions and ended up failing again. The time (3 years), money (about 2 million francs) and energy he had spent on this before seemed extremely absurd at this moment.

Louis Philippe seemed very satisfied with the victory. He thought that the reason why his nephew from Corsica failed was because those soldiers loved him more than Napoleon Bonaparte.

However, the actual situation was that the soldier who shouted "The gendarmes are coming" was only 14 years old at the time. He did it out of curiosity and playfulness.

But unfortunately, he also became the only French soldier killed in this battle. A stray bullet hit his eye and ended his life.

After the incident, Louis Philippe decided to put this restless pretender to the throne in prison to prevent future troubles. At this moment, he thought he had completed the first step to become the Emperor of France.

After that, he would personally crown Napoleon as the Emperor of France and take over his sword and scepter.