Make France Great Again

Jerome Bonaparte successfully obtained the "reparations" initially promised to him by Thiers, while also gaining a general understanding of how many supporters and potential supporters he had in the Legislative Assembly, along with the opposition.

In general, the number of people who support Jerome Bonaparte and those who oppose him are about the same.

If Jerome Bonaparte only wants to improve his life within a limited time, the Legislative Assembly will provide him with some help.

However, if he aims for bigger issues, a large part of the Legislative Assembly might not support him.

When these two forces are at a stalemate, the power of the military will become apparent.

Jerome Bonaparte is confident that he will harness this power to utterly shatter the Legislative Assembly.

To this end, he will spare no expense in using the hush money given to him by the Assembly as a reward for those soldiers who make "outstanding contributions."

In order to win over certain corps commanders of the National Guard stationed in Paris, the commander of the Second Brigade and the Third Brigade under the Paris Regular Army, Major General Canrobert and Major General Pello, as well as the officers of the Second and Third Brigades, Jerome Bonaparte once again extended an invitation to the army, inviting them to the Elysee Palace as guests.

Receiving the news, Commander Changarnier of the Seine Province hastily went to Pulvati Street to seek Thiers for discussions.

Due to the grand review in the Satory Region of 1849, Changarnier had clearly seen the true face of Jerome Bonaparte, and decisively abandoned Jerome Bonaparte, turning to align more closely with Thiers.

Changarnier pushed open the heavy mahogany door and entered the mansion, immediately noticing Thiers sitting on the red-cushioned sofa holding a newspaper, with various other newspapers, both domestic and foreign, on his table.

Despite the gradual tightening of France's external contacts by Jerome Bonaparte and the Order Party, especially the strict censorship of foreign newspapers, these so-called rules could at most only hinder the Parisian petite bourgeoisie. For political figures like Thiers, newspaper censorship was just an empty phrase.

Changarnier's arrival startled Thiers, who was immersed in the news. He glanced at Changarnier, put down the newspaper, and walked toward Changarnier, speaking amiably: "Commander Changarnier, welcome!"

Thiers greeted Changarnier with a smile, extending his slightly rough right hand to express welcome.

Changarnier decisively shook Thiers's hand, and then the two embraced each other briefly. A few seconds later, they simultaneously released each other.

Upon Thiers's invitation, Changarnier sat on the sofa, while Thiers sat on the red mahogany chair opposite the sofa.

"Commander Changarnier, is there something you need today?" Thiers asked in a calm tone, a tone matched by Thiers's cunning smile, giving the impression that he was already confident of victory.

"It's like this! Mr. Thiers!" Seemingly influenced by Thiers, Changarnier's slightly nervous heart also calmed, and he likewise reported to Thiers in a calm tone: "Mr. Thiers, I received intelligence! That guy Jerome Bonaparte invited the officers of the Second and Third Brigades and the National Guard under my command to dine at the Elysee Palace tomorrow night!"

Thiers's eyes showed a slight change, and his previously open hand clenched into a fist on his thigh.

Without careful observation, it would be hard to notice Thiers's subtle gesture.

"It's nothing! Commander Changarnier, you're too nervous! It's just the president's routine invitation to the army!" Thiers said in a relaxed tone to Changarnier: "After all, our president, like his uncle, likes to meddle in the army! He imitates his uncle everywhere, but very poorly."

"Mr. Thiers, my soldiers don't think so!" To make Thiers seriously acknowledge the threat, Changarnier hurriedly "corrected" Thiers's view: "They believe Jerome Bonaparte is the former Emperor who will lead them to achieve feats!"

"Victory? Feats? Our Jerome Bonaparte has been advocating peace! Look at this newspaper!" Thiers showed a mocking expression, flicking a newspaper in the air a few times before throwing it away, and it gently drifted to Changarnier's front.

Changarnier glanced at the newspaper content with the corner of his eye, and the first column of the news was "Analyzing President Jerome Bonaparte's Peaceful Ideology."

"Senator Thiers, you don't still believe in these kinds of newspapers, do you?" Changarnier asked Thiers.

"Whether I believe it or not doesn't matter; what matters is whether the Parisians believe it!" Thiers said something cryptic.

"Citizens?" Changarnier, inherently distrustful of the proletariat and petite bourgeoisie, said disdainfully: "Their power isn't worth mentioning, the military is the key to defeating it!"

"We?" Thiers repeated Changarnier's words, his tone conveying an indescribable sense of oddity.

"Yes! We!" Changarnier's brows furrowed slightly, disliking Thiers's tone.

"Alright then!" Thiers asked directly: "Commander Changarnier, what do you need us to do for you?"

"We are here to help each other!" Changarnier reiterated.

"You're right!" Thiers replied perfunctorily.

"I hope the Order Party can help me stabilize the military, so we can defeat Jerome Bonaparte!" Changarnier stated his conditions.

"Commander Changarnier, aren't you overestimating us? We are just a political party, not a military group!" Thiers shrugged, showing an expression of helplessness; he seemed powerless regarding Changarnier's situation.

"Mr. Thiers, I believe you and your party can definitely help me!" Unconsciously, Changarnier once again separated the Order Party from himself.

"What kind of help do you want?" Thiers collected his smile, and with a serious expression, he inquired of Changarnier.

The seriousness of Thiers' expression also forced Changarnier to become cautious. He reorganized his words and said to Thiers, "Mr. Thiers, I hope that the colleagues of the Order Party can appoint me as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly! This way, I will have the ability to restrain the military and arrest Jerome Bonaparte!"

Changarnier's proposal caused Thiers' expression to change dramatically. In his plan, the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, who possessed partial command of the military, would become their bargaining chip against the President, but he never thought that Changarnier would want to meddle with this power.

This old fellow's ambition is not dead yet!

Thiers couldn't help but curse inwardly; in his mind, he equated Changarnier with Jerome Bonaparte.

Once the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is combined with military power, the entire Paris and even all of France would fall under Changarnier's control.

This outcome might allow them to successfully depose Jerome Bonaparte and then support Vice President Blair as a puppet.

But for Thiers, there is no benefit whatsoever. Once Changarnier gains power, those fellows within the Order Party would surely choose to capitulate to him, greatly reducing Thiers' own influence.

Aiming to become President, he didn't want to transition to a kingdom system so soon; he had already served two terms as Prime Minister and wanted to experience the power of a dictator.

According to Thiers' plan, the Order Party would have to wait at least until he became President to achieve a successful Bourbon restoration.

Changarnier's plan would severely impact Thiers' plan.

"Commander Changarnier!" Thiers changed his tone, addressing him coldly as he would a political enemy: "I'm sorry, but I must refuse. A sitting military officer cannot serve as Speaker!"

Thiers' response left Changarnier somewhat astonished; he knew this was just a pretext from Thiers.

Not understanding Thiers' ulterior motives, Changarnier reluctantly said, "I can help you defeat Jerome Bonaparte and then return the politics to the Bourbons!"

"Commander Changarnier, the power of the Speaker is determined by the sacred Legislative Assembly, not something I can grant privately!" Thiers' attitude hardened again; he understood that doing so would cause Changarnier to become alienated from them, but whoever allowed him to serve as President of France would be his political enemy.

At this moment, Thiers himself had become what he called a "smart man."

In a scenario where everyone was an old fox of the same ilk, unless someone like Jerome Bonaparte could establish himself as the sole authority through the power of the President,

otherwise, they would only face continuous internal strife.

Thiers' firm stance shattered Changarnier's ambition to become Speaker, and unwillingly, he could only take a step back, saying, "Then I hope the Legislative Assembly can inquire into Jerome Bonaparte's unauthorized feasts with military officers!"

"Of course!" Thiers replied with an imperial tone, "The Assembly will initiate an inquiry into this matter shortly! I hope, during this period, that you, Commander Changarnier, can effectively restrain the military and prevent them from colluding with the President again!"

"I'll do my best!" Changarnier wasn't sure if his influence could still restrain them, and for now, he could only pin his hopes on the inquiry.

After Changarnier left, Thiers called over the "loyal" leader of the Royalist Party, and he exaggeratedly explained Changarnier's ambition to them.

Members of the Royalist Party all expressed outrage at Changarnier's "ambition."

"Wow! A Napoleon on stage and another Napoleon off stage!" Belie said in a sarcastic tone.

Although the Orléans Faction and the Orthodox Faction were in the process of merging, the Orthodox Faction's animosity towards the Orléans Faction had not yet subsided.

The two factions were like a couple aligned superficially, but their union was only for the sake of enduring the days.

Under Thiers' guidance, the Order Party grew increasingly wary of Commander Changarnier.

This also laid the groundwork for his subsequent failure.