Make France Great Again

July 31, 1850.

The day after the proposal for the "Establishment of Direct Forces by Parliament" was passed, Minister Renio of the Ministry of War convened a rather novel meeting at the Ministry of War.

As the host of the meeting, Minister Renio did not directly express his views on the parliament's direct forces, but instead issued an order to all members of the Ministry of War.

From now on, any orders involving the movement of troops must be signed by both Minister Renio and Secretary of State Saint Arno before they can be executed, otherwise, they will be considered a betrayal of the homeland.

Anyone who moves troops or members without authorization will receive severe punishment.

During the meeting, Minister Renio forcefully patted the long conference table, once again emphasizing with his gruff voice: "From now on, any troop movements exceeding twenty personnel must have the approval of both myself and Secretary Saint Arno, or you can expect to face the military tribunal!"

"Don't try to be clever, don't think I can't catch you! I'll be watching you all the time!" said Saint Arno, taking over Minister Renio's words as the stern figure.

The members of the Ministry of War, tamed by Renio and Saint Arno, dared not make any private actions. Originally anxious, they were quelled by the threats from Minister Renio and Secretary Saint Arno.

After the meeting, an item "Regarding Several Matters on the Movement of Troops" was passed from the Ministry of War to the regular army units in the vicinity of Paris.

Under the control of the Bonaparte faction, the Second and Third Brigades successively announced they would adhere to the Ministry of War's orders, while the corps commanders of the National Guard also chose to follow the Ministry's directives.

Brigadier General Normar of the Paris First Brigade also tightly followed their steps, advancing and retreating together.

As for Changarnier, who previously had a falling out with Jerome Bonaparte, he also maintained a silent attitude after this order was issued.

The actions of the Ministry of War and the military completely disregarded the proposals of the Legislative Assembly, as Minister Renio and Saint Arno decided to firmly grasp military power in the hands of the Bonaparte faction.

On August 1, the Legislative Assembly was officially adjourned.

Although the Legislative Assembly was adjourned, to maintain the normal operation of parliament and to urge the Ministry of War to establish a force directly subordinate to the parliament, Thiers set up the Standing Committee during the recess, selecting a portion of deputies to stay on duty in the assembly.

Of course, this committee prepared for the recess still lacked figures from the Elysée Palace Faction, the Republican Faction, and the Mountain Faction, with the Orthodox Faction and the Orléans Faction members holding sway in the committee.

On August 6, the President of the French Republic, Jerome Bonaparte, went on an inspection tour to Normandy Province.

Members of the Standing Committee took advantage of Jerome Bonaparte's inspection period to go to the Ministry of War, hoping that during the president's absence they could use the authority of the Legislative Assembly to overwhelm the Ministry of War and make it obey the Legislative Assembly.

On August 10, the Standing Committee submitted an inquiry to Minister Renio, with the inquiry scheduled for the afternoon of the 11th.

Upon receiving the parliamentary inquiry, Minister Renio displayed a rather disdainful expression, as in his mind the Legislative Assembly was nothing more than a gathering place for a group of narrow-minded profiteers. To make the Ministry of War obey these people would require Renio's dismissal.

Just as Renio was about to throw the so-called inquiry letter out of the window, General Saint Arno, Secretary of State, came into Minister Renio's office.

"Minister, I heard that the Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly is looking to inquire about you?" Saint Arno asked Minister Renio.

"That's right!" Minister Renio nodded, showing a vexed expression on his face: "These rats in the gutter only do things behind the scenes!"

"Isn't that what it's like to be a deputy?" Saint Arno shrugged, suggesting: "Minister, if you are not willing to accept the inquiry, then I can go in your place."

"You?" Minister Renio eyed Saint Arno, jokingly saying: "You're not planning to beat them up, are you!"

"That just might be!" Saint Arno replied with a smile: "I am really afraid I will not be able to refrain from beating them up at the inquiry? If the French Army operated in their way, it would surely lead to big problems!"

"Absolutely!" Minister Renio nodded in agreement and empathy: "More than 700 people, over 700 minds! The key point is, all these minds are not in accord! If the army were to serve more than 700 minds simultaneously, it would be driven mad by this bunch."

Saint Arno continued: "Rather than serving over 700 minds, it's better to serve just one. The President is the Emperor's nephew, destined to lead us to victory. What are these people? A bunch of useless squabblers!"

After reaching an agreement, Saint Arno went to the Legislative Assembly to accept the inquiry in place of Minister Renio.

3:00 PM on August 11.

This time of day was the hottest, and under the blazing sun, a carriage departed from the Ministry of War and quickly arrived at the Bourbon Palace.

The carriage stopped in the shade of the Bourbon Palace, and clad in a military uniform, Saint Arno got out of the carriage.

General Saint Arnaud stepped down from the carriage, his face appeared as if it had been washed with water, with sweat continuously dripping from his forehead. He was now engulfed in a sense of stickiness, as his white undershirt was already soaked with sweat.

In such sultry weather, Saint Arnaud felt even more irritable, and he was eager to give those parliamentarians a hard lesson.

Upon entering the Bourbon Palace, Saint Arnaud quickly made his way to the hall of the National Assembly.

Nearly a hundred members of the Standing Committee, who were responsible for staying behind in the Legislative Assembly, were all seated in their seats. Speaker Duban had also not left during the recess; he sat at the podium, presiding over this so-called interrogation.

As soon as Saint Arnaud entered, he became the focus of all the deputies' attention. These deputies sat upright, fixating their gaze on Saint Arnaud without saying a word or making any move.

Saint Arnaud understood that this was the parliamentarians' attempt to intimidate him into submission using this method.

Saint Arnaud held deep contempt in his heart for the deputies' tactics.

Having already been through countless battles in North Africa, he wasn't the least intimidated by these harmless lawmakers. Even when faced with large bands of Berber guerrillas, he could respond with equanimity.

Their fighting capability was nowhere near those in North Africa.

Saint Arnaud, unfazed by the oppressive silence, strolled through the corridors of the Legislative Assembly as if walking in his own courtyard, occasionally looking around.

Observing this, Speaker Duban banged his wooden gavel forcefully and said in a haughty and harsh tone, "General Saint Arnaud, you are already late! Please proceed to your position immediately to receive the parliamentary inquiry!"

"Late?" General Saint Arnaud glanced at Speaker Duban, his lips curling into a slight sneer as if mocking him, "How can I remember the inquiry begins at three-thirty! It's only now..."

Unbothered by anyone, General Saint Arnaud took out his pocket watch and checked the time: "Three twenty-eight, two minutes to start!"

"Get to your position at once! The Legislative Assembly is not a place you can disrespect!" Speaker Duban maintained his rigid attitude, raising his voice this time as if to underscore the Assembly's authority.

"Got it!" General Saint Arnaud showed complete disregard for Speaker Duban's outburst, even "caringly" adding, "Mr. Speaker, I hope you take care of your voice!"

With that, Saint Arnaud reached his position for the hearing.

The seating arrangement for the hearing was the same as the podium, requiring both participants to face the deputies while having their backs to Speaker Duban on the podium.

Sometimes, to psychologically impact the minister in attendance and prompt them to utter some untimely words, the Speaker behind the minister might suddenly interject with a remark.

At three-thirty, the inquiry commenced.

"General Saint Arnaud, why has the Ministry of War not executed the orders of the Assembly? Why hasn't Minister Reniao come?" As soon as the meeting started, Speaker Duban behind Saint Arnaud shouted at him, with a voice as fierce and unrelenting as a storm.

Speaker Duban's roar did not cause the slightest wavering in Saint Arnaud, who looked at the Standing Committee members directly in front of him with a disdainful expression and said, "Minister Reniao fell ill this morning and entrusted me to attend on his behalf."

"General Saint Arnaud, can you assure that you will take responsibility for everything you say? Are you capable of shouldering the responsibilities of the Ministry of War?" Speaker Duban questioned Saint Arnaud again, attempting to break through his defenses.

"I am capable!" Saint Arnaud declared unwaveringly, "The minister has fully delegated this inquiry to me!"

"Good!" Speaker Duban's tone seemed to calm down, but the next moment he resumed his stormy roar, "Then tell me, why hasn't the Ministry of War implemented the Assembly's proposal?"

"We are considering it!" General Saint Arnaud replied calmly.

"I asked you why you haven't executed it!" Speaker Duban seemed slightly annoyed.

"As I said, we are considering which troop to assign the command to, which troops to station! This takes time to research... Our research requires..." Saint Arnaud still spoke calmly.

[Political Strategy Step Two: Perhaps we should act; we are researching.]

"I asked you to execute it, not to study it then execute!" The Speaker interrupted Saint Arnaud's words.

"Mr. Speaker, you know nothing about the army!" General Saint Arnaud's tone also turned assertive, "Do you know what trouble reckless execution could cause the military? By doing so, you are destroying the shield that protects France! Our logistics personnel deployment, equipment mobilization would all turn into chaos because of some foolish immediate execution!

If the army falls into chaos, then who will protect this nation!"