Empire Rise: Spain-Chapter 48: More Terrifying Than Prussia

Carlo was in a splendid mood.
This banquet had resolved the issue Carlo most wanted to address: establishing an institution uniting all nobles, ensuring Carlo’s influence over the entire aristocracy.
Although the nobles present were only a portion of Spain’s entire aristocratic class, most dukes of higher status and influence were there, except for some who were farther away or delayed by matters, such as Duke Serrano far away in Cuba.
It was believed that once news of the Royal Council’s establishment was announced, it would attract more nobles to apply to join the Royal Council.
This was also an opportunity for the nobles to declare their positions. Those nobles who eagerly applied to join the Royal Council were naturally those willing to support Carlo.
And those unwilling to declare their position by joining the Royal Council would essentially be refusing to support Carlo, with their loyalty to him in question.
While Carlo was founding the Royal Council to win over a portion of the nobles, in northern Spain, the talks between Prussia and France on peace negotiations were also reaching their conclusion.
In fact, according to the compensation draft signed by Prussia and France, the French Government only needed to pay Prussia an indemnity of two hundred million francs.
This indemnity was not harsh; for France, it could even be paid immediately.
But with the development of the situation inside Paris, the terms of the peace talks soon underwent a change.
Although the French Government of National Defence had suppressed the first uprising of Parisian Citizens, it had not completely dispelled the increasingly fierce opposition attitude of Parisian Citizens toward the Government of National Defence.
Especially after learning that the Government of National Defence might cede French land, Parisian Citizens were furious and completely lost all trust in the Government of National Defence.
The enraged Parisian Citizens gathered once again, erupting in an uprising even larger than the previous one.
Although the Government of National Defence suppressed it very promptly, for the furious Parisian Citizens, at this point, resolute resistance was their only choice.
The demoralized French Government of National Defence army had no advantage against the highly aroused Paris National Guard; in fact, many government troops showed no hostility toward the National Guard, instead treating them like brothers and repeatedly passing them intelligence favorable to the National Guard.
There were two extremely important strategic heights in Paris: Montmartre Heights and Buttes-Chaumont Heights.
Large quantities of cannons and other weapons and equipment were stored here, and the Government of National Defence naturally would not allow these weapons to fall into the hands of Paris insurgents.
But when seizing these two heights, mutiny broke out within the Government of National Defence army.
General Claude Martin Lecomte, responsible for attacking Montmartre Heights, not only failed to complete his mission but was instead shot by his own soldiers in rebellion.
The reason for executing him was that General Lecomte had once ordered his soldiers to fire on the Paris National Guard and ordinary citizens.
As the Paris uprising raged on, the French Government of National Defence fearfully discovered that its army seemed somewhat disobedient.
The Government of National Defence army was originally composed of insurgents, with a very complex makeup. Although capitalism controlled the discourse of the Government of National Defence, the army also contained large numbers of republican faction, democratic faction, and other ideological soldiers.
Compared to the treasonous capitalist Government of National Defence, these soldiers clearly supported the newly risen Paris National Guard more.
Seeing the situation escalating, French Government of National Defence Prime Minister Thiers was so frightened that he dared not remain in Paris and chose to relocate the Government of National Defence to Versailles, more than ten kilometers outside Paris.
Why Versailles? Because German troops were still garrisoned there. For the officials of the French Government of National Defence, their fear of the Paris rebel army outweighed their fear of the German army.
Because the Germans would at most make them cede land and pay compensation. But those Paris insurgents would send them to the guillotine and hang them from streetlights.
Between the loss of national interests and their own personal safety, for these French officials of the Government of National Defence, it was not even worth thinking about.
Bismarck, who was preparing the German Empire coronation ceremony in Versailles, laughed. He hadn’t expected the French to give such an opportunity—this wasn’t just handing benefits to the soon-to-be-established Germany on a silver platter?
Bismarck would not miss this opportunity, and the Junker nobility in Prussia certainly would not miss it either.
Prussia was a very special country, where the Junker nobility held extremely high influence and status.
If France was a country with an army, then Prussia was an army with a country.
This was the reason for the Prussian army’s valor and combat prowess, but it also influenced Prussia’s diplomatic strategy.
What did the nobles fight for? Of course, to elevate their nobility titles and secure more land for themselves.
How to secure more land for themselves? Naturally, by seizing land from France and then partitioning it among the numerous Junker nobles.
After all, the nobles were not charity workers; they didn’t fight hard for Prussian King William I without reward—the reward just needed to be paid by the defeated France.
Could Bismarck ignore the Junker nobility, which had considerable influence in Prussia? Of course not.
As the Junker nobility repeatedly pressured William I and Bismarck, demanding more land from France, Bismarck finally approached Thiers again.
“Because our previous estimate of our losses in the war was mistaken, I hope to renegotiate the indemnity terms with your government and sign a new compensation treaty.
This concerns the interests of tens of millions of Prussian and German people, so please consider it carefully. Of course, I will guarantee your government’s safety and ensure that the Paris uprising does not affect Versailles.”
Bismarck’s meaning was very simple.
Either agree to a larger indemnity and cede more land, and the Prussian army would guarantee the French Government’s safety in Versailles.
Otherwise, Prussia might very well hand the French Government over to the Paris uprising public.
In that case, the fate of the French officials was predictable. During the last Paris public uprising, they had directly executed the king—were these officials’ identities more noble than the king’s?
Under Bismarck’s coercion and intimidation, Thiers had no choice but to nod in agreement, even if he was unwilling to renegotiate the indemnity terms.
After all, those rioting Parisian Citizens would really hang them from telegraph poles, and Parisian Citizens were far more terrifying than the Prussian army.
Perhaps the Parisian Citizens never imagined that their uprising would make the government even more cowardly, even ceding more land to exchange for Prussian protection.
But even if the Parisian Citizens knew, they would probably resist even more fiercely. Because such a cowardly government could not lead France forward; France should establish a fairer democratic republic.
First update, seeking support!