Chapter 43: Another coup in France (please read later)

By the time Primo had finished his final work and led his army back to Madrid, it was already mid-March 1870.

This civil war in Spain did not attract much attention from the great powers, because in northern Spain, the war between the Kingdom of Prussia and the French Empire had come to an end.

Carlo was also paying attention to this war between the two major European powers.

French Emperor Napoleon III taught Carlo a truth with his own and France's future fate, that is, it is best not to micromanage the war on the front line, and to trust the generals and soldiers under his command.

Before the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, if you told any European country's top leaders that Prussia would win the war with France, you would probably be met with cold eyes and ridicule.

Why? Because at this time, France was still bathed in the afterglow of the Napoleonic Empire, and the empire created by Napoleon III was still the most powerful land army overlord in the entire European continent.

Judging from the strength on paper, the Prussian army should have no reason to defeat the French army.

But the powerful Second French Empire failed so simply. It was defeated by the large number of line infantry maintained by the afterglow of Napoleon who admired Napoleon too much, the constant micromanagement of the very confident Napoleon III, and the insufficient preparations in the early stage of the war. The high-level commanders did not have too careful plans and responses to the war.

On March 21, 1870, the news that shocked the world was born.

The emperor of the Second French Empire, Napoleon III, the nephew of Napoleon who was feared in Europe, formally announced his surrender to the Prussian army.

The once powerful French Empire was defeated, which was something that all European countries did not expect.

After France's defeat, it was bound to cause a series of changes in the policies of European countries, and the importance of Prussia would be infinitely increased.

But what no one expected was that before their foreign policy had changed, the French created another big news.

On March 23, 1870, the third day after Napoleon III announced his surrender, a coup broke out in Paris, France. While the army and the emperor were on the front line, the imperial government was overthrown and the French Third Republic was established.

Now it was the turn of Prussia and Bismarck to be dumbfounded.

The Prussian army had just captured Napoleon III and planned to ask the French government for a large amount of compensation and land through Napoleon III.

But unexpectedly, the French turned around and launched a coup to establish a republican government. Napoleon III lost his function in just a few days.

That is, Europeans are not very familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty, otherwise Bismarck would exclaim, isn't this a script for the emperor?

Of course, compared with the Eastern idea of ​​the supremacy of imperial power, the power of the king and emperor in Europe is not that great.

What supported Napoleon III to become emperor was the large amount of military power in his hands. This advantage no longer existed after the defeat of the French army.

If Napoleon III was allowed to be the emperor at this time, the French who launched the coup would turn their guns without hesitation.

What is an emperor? Sorry, France is now in the era of the National Defense Government headed by General Louis Jules Trochu.

There is no way, the war with France can only continue. What Bismarck wanted was definitely not the surrender of Napoleon III, who had lost his status. What he wanted was the surrender of the entire French government, as well as a large amount of compensation and land, to declare that the entire German region was free from the control of the French.

Only by defeating France fiercely and making the French sign an agreement on compensation and cession of land can the southern German countries understand that the German region can only be controlled by the Germans, and Prussia is the chosen one of the German region, and is destined to unify the entire Germany.

But the French also have their own pride. The French do not want to see the once powerful France being bullied by Prussia, a country that France did not even look down on decades ago.

The French have asked the new National Defense Government to strengthen the defense of Paris and reorganize the National Defense Army to fight the Prussians to the death in Paris.

But for the current French National Defense Government, the wishes of the French have become a tight ring on their heads, forcing them to reach a peace agreement with Germany more quickly.

As we all know, launching revolutions and coups is a tradition of the French.

Although the current National Defense Government was established by a coup, it does not mean that the officials of the National Defense Government and the big bourgeoisie behind the National Defense Government are willing to hand over the control of the government to others again.

Active preparations for war can indeed conform to public opinion, but the current situation in France must also be taken into account.

The previous wars have consumed a lot of funds, and the French army on the front line has been defeated many times. Napoleon III surrendered with tens of thousands of French troops.

Now if we want to rely on the newly formed army to fight the Prussian army, wouldn’t it be a repeat of Napoleon III’s old mistakes?

Compared with Prussia, the foreign enemy, the National Defense Government is more worried about the intense emotions of the French people in Paris and the increasingly fierce revolutionary heat wave.

In the face of preserving France's territory and dignity and preserving its own power, the French Defense Government chose the latter without hesitation.

While calming the people and strengthening the defense of Paris, they secretly negotiated with Bismarck, the commander of the German army.

The diplomatic representative sent by the French government was named Fabre.

When Fabre secretly found Bismarck to request peace talks, Bismarck was planning an attack on Paris in the army.

As soon as he met Bismarck, Fabre talked endlessly about the French National Defense Government's condemnation and protest against Napoleon III, and thanked Prussia for helping France overthrow Napoleon III's rule.

Bismarck's face was expressionless, waiting for Fabre's next point.

Fabre also knew that Bismarck could not be moved by simple words, and he immediately put forward the sincerity of the French National Defense Government this time.

"Dear Prime Minister Bismarck, I only represent our National Defense Government to convey the opinions of all French people to you.

We admit France's defeat in this war, and are willing to pay compensation to make up for the relationship with Prussia.

But at the same time, our government will never accept the cession of any land, and all French people will never accept it.

If you are willing, we can sign a peace treaty at any time to end this war that should not have happened."

What Fabre said, or the opinion of the current French National Defense Government, is that the compensation should be paid as much as possible, but the cession of land will never be accepted.

The cession of land is a huge humiliation for any country, and it will also arouse domestic indignation and a lot of opposition.

Not to mention France, which was considered the hegemon of Europe a year ago, even some backward and corrupt countries would cause public resentment if they ceded land.

The French National Defense Government must not give in to land if it wants to keep its power.

But this is a bit funny for Bismarck.

The concessions in funds and firmness in territory expressed by the French government may impress others, but they will never impress Bismarck.

For the Iron Chancellor Bismarck, if a country expresses a tough attitude in front of him, the best way is to fight back with a tougher attitude.

Second update, please read!