Make France Great Again

November 1, 1850.

After a three-month adjournment, the Legislative Assembly reconvened.

Many unexpected events occurred during these three months, leading to significant changes in the seats of many members after the Legislative Assembly commenced.

The Bonaparte Faction members, once excluded by the Order Party, returned to the seats occupied by the Order Party. Arranged with Prince Monfort, Pierre Bonaparte, and other Bonaparte Faction members at the center spreading outward, the Order Party leaders (Dynastic Left Wing, Audion Barrot, Montalambert, Broi) gathered around the Bonaparte Faction like stars surrounding a main star, propelling the Bonaparte Faction from a marginalized faction to a central member.

This change was not limited to the Order Party; the Social Democratic Faction also experienced significant transformations.

Members of the "Social Democratic Faction," who had been targets of oppression, suddenly found their party seats had increased by more than 80, reaching nearly 240 seats.

Careful observation by the "Social Democratic Faction" senators revealed that many of these senators were from the Order Party.

Many senators, unsure of what had happened, were left with the following scene.

...

Victor Hugo, hurrying to the Bourbon Palace through the morning fog in a double-bridge carriage, did not notice the change in the seating arrangements at the Bourbon Palace. Just as he took his seat in the Mountain Faction and was about to open the notebook he carried with him, a voice came from behind him.

"Senator Hugo, hello!"

No one was more familiar with the owner of this voice than Victor Hugo.

Logically speaking, the owner of the voice should be seated with the Order Party.

When Victor Hugo turned with a smile to look behind him, Remisa's face came into his view.

"Mr. Remisa, what brings you here? Is it that your soul has already called out to you? Or is it that you can no longer hear the sound of the wallet!" Victor Hugo continued the mocking he once directed towards Remisa in a different manner.

Remisa, a follower and secretary of Thiers, responded shamelessly to Victor Hugo, "Mr. Hugo, your words are as sharp as ever! If only your convictions were as strong as your words, that would be even better.

No one said that people with different political views can't be in the same camp. An excellent party must embrace unity in diversity to succeed! Besides, didn't we previously have some similar ideas to yours (Mountain Party)?"

Remisa's words made Victor Hugo feel the shamelessness of a power broker. He was certain that Remisa did not join them because of a shared ideology.

However, to maintain party unity, Victor Hugo still welcomed Remisa to the "Social Democratic Faction" family.

...

Of course, not all members of the "Social Democratic Faction" were willing to embrace the former Order Party as openly as Victor Hugo. A small group of "Idealists" believed that the inclusion of the Order Party would inevitably corrupt the entire faction, and they refused to accept former Order Party members.

But such people were in the minority, and their rejection was destined not to be accepted by the Republican Faction and Mountain Faction leaders.

The upper echelons of the "Social Democratic Faction" saw the inclusion of former Order Party members as an opportunity to divide the Order Party. With proper maneuvering, they could attract more people to their ranks.

At ten o'clock in the morning, as the autumn and winter chill dissipated, and the warm sun once again enveloped Paris,

Speaker Du Ban, holding the heavy bound volume of the Second Republic's constitution, with a solemn expression, walked step by step to the speaker's podium under the gaze of numerous senators. He stood upright beside the podium, then slowly placed the bound volume on the podium, and solemnly struck the podium three times with the speaker's gavel to signal for silence.

The murmuring senators below fell silent, and the entire Bourbon Palace quieted down.

Speaker Du Ban spoke in a loud voice: "Ladies and Gentlemen, after three months, the Legislative Assembly reconvenes, and during this period of three months..."

Speaker Du Ban reported to the Legislative Assembly the events handled by the interim committee during these three months, including the inquiry into Saint Arno, the dismissal of Changarnier, and others.

Some Republican senators from the northwest region showed an astonished expression. Isolated in their provinces, they had not expected so many things to happen in just three months, and their eyes gradually turned towards the Order Party side of the Legislative Assembly.

After Speaker Du Ban finished his report, he made concluding remarks: "In these three months, the temporary parliament has experienced a lot and made many untimely judgments! Many judgments are merely expedient! If any member of the parliament has objections, they can appeal to the Legislative Assembly."

At this point, Speaker Du Ban instinctively glanced at the "Social Democratic Faction" camp, seemingly hoping that they would initiate a charge.

However, to his disappointment, the "Social Democratic Faction" did not respond to his hint in any way.

Speaker Du Ban had no choice but to abandon his little plan and move on to the next topic.

Just then, Thiers and Berlier appeared in the right corridor of Bourbon Palace's parliament. Speaker Du Ban immediately announced: "Before the meeting begins, I want to announce something. Senator Thiers and Senator Berlier are going to join the Republican Faction, and their positions will move from the right side to the left side!"

With these words, the Republican Faction went into an uproar. Unaware of Thiers and Berlier's addition, the members began to inquire from Cafenak, Jean-Baptiste, and others about what had happened, and they could only explain to the Republican members one by one what was going on.

Compared to the chaos within the Republican Faction, the Order Party remained unusually composed. There were no mockeries or insults; the members just sat silently in their chairs, staring intently at Thiers and Berlier.

Thiers and Berlier also bowed with smiles to the Order Party camp, as if bidding farewell to their past selves, and then entered the Republican Faction.

With the new structure in place, it was time for the annual report work.

Minister Mornay of the Ministry of Railways was the first government minister to take the podium.

"Senators, as of today, France has built a railway network of 4,000 kilometers, 100 kilometers more than in 1848. We are 80% towards the completion of the main lines as stipulated by the 1842 Railway Law (the plan in 1842 was for 6,520 kilometers of main lines). The main lines Paris-Nancy-Strasbourg, Paris-Brussels, and Lyon-Marseille are all in operation. The commencement of these three lines will greatly solve our travel problems. The remaining lines are expected to be fully laid by 1852... We..."

Mornay's railway plan was steadily advancing under the strong push of Jerome Bonaparte. Some railways, which only started being laid after the Crimean War, are now almost complete.

Railway main lines that once existed only on paper have become reality. Particularly, the operation of the Strasbourg-Paris line is more conducive to troop movements and iron ore transportation.

The rapid railway construction doubled France's steel and railway tie production. Large amounts of steel plates were freshly manufactured and transported by train to railroad construction sites.

The construction of railways also led to the development of other industries, especially the high-precision locomotive industry. To enable the newly opened railway lines to operate more quickly, under Jerome Bonaparte's administrative orders, the Schneider Factory of Le Clerc and other Parisian locomotive manufacturers united to produce, with semi-bureaucratic supervision and guidance stationed in national factories.

During the mutual exchanges, each manufacturer made some progress, and many began to collaborate more smoothly during the production process. They suddenly realized that working together was evidently more beneficial than going it alone.

Under the guidance of Jerome Bonaparte, an alliance similar to a cartel gradually formed, though these manufacturers were unaware that everything they did was merely Jerome Bonaparte's initial experiment in industrial mobilization.

From the result, industrial mobilization indeed became faster than before.

A production circle centered around railway interests was organized by Jerome Bonaparte in the form of an alliance.

Of course, the rapid railway construction indeed contributed to France's employment rate and stability improvement, but the bonus period of railways is not perpetual. Overexpansion is bound to lead to railway fever, and if the revenue from railways becomes higher than the cost, the collapse of the entire railway industry will happen in an instant.

After Mornay finished reporting, the newly-joined Republican, Thiers, immediately stood up and questioned: "Minister Mornay, I would like to ask you a question!"

"Please go ahead!" Mornay responded with a smile.

"The content of your report is indeed beautiful! The railway construction speed is indeed very fast!" Thiers first praised Mornay, then changed his tone: "Minister Mornay, what I want to ask is, how many bonds has your Ministry of Railways issued so far?"

"I'm afraid that cannot be disclosed!" Mornay's expression changed slightly; he had already anticipated this line of questioning from Thiers: "All bonds from the Ministry of Railways are purchased voluntarily by Parisians!"

"In other words, Minister Mornay, you also don't know exactly how many bonds have been issued?" Thiers set a linguistic trap for Mornay.

If Mornay did not know how many bonds were issued, it would indicate that Mornay is unqualified as the Minister of Railways, and they could initiate a vote of no confidence in Mornay.

Although the vote of no confidence is likely to fail, at least it would discomfit Jerome Bonaparte and his administration.

Thiers merely temporarily abandoned the idea of overthrowing the Bonaparte Faction, which does not mean he would surrender to the damned Bonaparte.

"No comment!" Mornay once again refused with a firm attitude.