French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 27 Olivier's Resignation and the Escalation of the Government Crisis

"Mr. Olivier, given the critical wartime situation in the Empire, and the fact that Prime Minister Olivier misjudged the situation before the war and mismanaged the wartime command, resulting in a disastrous defeat for the frontline troops, leaving Lorraine wide open and triggering domestic unrest."

With the approval of Her Highness Empress Eugénie, the Regent, Olivier is relieved of his duties as Prime Minister and all other government posts, effective immediately.

After Morney finished reading, only the sound of breathing remained in the office for a short while.

Olivier, who already knew his fate, still couldn't remain calm after hearing the actual result.

He slowly stood up, bent down to pick up the pen he had dropped while listening to the reading, wiped the ink off the nib, and carefully folded the ink-stained draft page by page before putting it into his briefcase.

Throughout the entire process, Olivier remained silent. Only after completing these steps, as he picked up his briefcase and was about to leave, did he utter a soft murmur.

"I see."

"Mr. Prime Minister, we will go with you."

As a liberal leader and idealist, Olivier must possess a certain amount of personal charisma.

Seeing the French prime minister, who had done nothing wrong, end up in this state, many cabinet ministers are crying out in disbelief.

However, Olivier smiled at the crowd's comments and waved his hand, telling everyone to get back to work.

"No need, you can stay. France needs people to do the work. Tell the new prime minister that the army's logistics system is a complete mess. If it's not fixed, we'll collapse on our own even without the Prussian army invading."

The logistics system was indeed terrible. Even in history, Olivier had left similar warnings, but unfortunately, they were completely ignored by the Montauban government.

After he finished speaking, Olivier's gaze swept across the office where he had worked for half a year, over the portrait of Napoleon III on the wall, and over the crowd outside the window who were tirelessly chanting "Olivier step down."

"I did not misappropriate military funds, nor did I betray France. History will prove that the responsibility for this war should not be borne by me alone."

Olivier was not someone who could easily accept the idea that the victor is king and the loser is villain. If he could have faced it so calmly, he wouldn't have written his autobiography to defend himself and Napoleon III.

After speaking, Olivier tried to maintain his composure and walked out of the Prime Minister's office with his back straight.

However, the protesters erupted in a frenzy upon seeing him appear, raining down stones and rotten vegetable leaves. Police officers responsible for maintaining order nearby quickly surrounded him, protecting the former prime minister.

"Traitor."

"The sinners of France."

"Get out of Paris!"

A barrage of insults rang out, but Olivier simply lowered his head and silently climbed into the carriage.

As the carriage gradually drove away from the Prime Minister's residence, Olivier took one last look at the magnificent building through the carriage window.

He recalled the day he took office, when the people lined the streets to welcome him, chanting his name, thinking he would bring a completely new France.

Now, he has become the scapegoat for the entire country. The carriage turned the corner, and the Prime Minister's office disappeared from sight.

Olivier finally lost control, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders trembling violently. Tears that he had suppressed for so long finally slipped through his fingers as he covered his face.

"Mr. Prime Minister, we need to go to the Tuileries Palace first."

"...Is it the Empress who wants to see me?"

After quickly calming down and wiping his eyes, Olivier looked at the coachman in front of him, but the coachman shook his head, indicating that it was not the Queen who was looking for him.

"His Highness the Crown Prince is looking for you."

........

As Olivier's carriage drove away from the Prime Minister's residence, deafening cheers erupted from an abandoned bakery in Montmartre, the 18th arrondissement of Paris.

The Republican Party, which had been monitoring the Prime Minister's office, received the telegram immediately. Paris's telegraph infrastructure was quite advanced, which benefited communication among Republican members.

A messenger rushed into the attic, panting, waving a copy of a telegram and shouting at the crowd waiting for news.

"It's done, Olivier is out of office. Eugénie has signed the impeachment order, and she's summoning Montauban!"

"Long live."

Blanche, who was already feeling suffocated in the attic, was extremely agitated. Upon hearing the news, he was the first to jump up from his chair, grab a bottle from the table, and smash it to the ground, scattering shards of glass everywhere.

Many bankers and nobles around frowned upon seeing this scene.

"I knew it; the people's anger is invincible. That coward Olivier is finally out of here."

While some disliked it, others liked it. For example, some young radicals cheered along. With these people's support, LeBron, who was encouraged, was so excited that his face turned red, and he kept punching the air in front of him.

"Our next step is to storm the Tuileries Palace, overthrow the Bonaparte family, establish a republic, and long live France!"

Long live France! Long live the Republic!

The atmosphere in the attic reached its peak. The radicals hugged each other without regard for others, sang "La Marseillaise" loudly, and someone took out a blue, white and red tricolor flag that had been prepared long ago and waved it in the small space.

Historically, Blanqui did indeed plan an armed uprising immediately after Olivier stepped down in August 1870, but it failed due to insufficient preparation.

This time, he didn't rebel; he just shouted and yelled in the attic, which was already a very restrained behavior.

Such shouting and yelling were clearly not to the liking of gentlemen. Meanwhile, in Orléans, Louis-Philippe's grandson raised his glass, gesturing to Cernucci, who held the funds.

"Mr. Senucci, congratulations on our first step."

"Congratulations, sir. Now we'll see how long the Earl of Baliqiao can hold out."

Senucci clinked glasses with him, but what he said made Orleans laugh.

"How long can he hold out? A 74-year-old relic, his mind is full of Napoleonic-era tactics. He will only bury the remaining French army on the banks of the Meuse. At that time, we won't even need to lift a finger; the people will drive the Bonaparte family off the throne themselves."

Orléans' words weren't entirely sarcastic; the Count of Palikao, whom they referred to as the future French Prime Minister, did indeed have many problems.

Born in 1796, Montauban, now a prime minister nearing the end of his life, inevitably leaned towards extreme conservatism in his military thought. He had absolutely no concept of the rifled guns and breech-loading cannons of the late 19th century.

The key point is that this prime minister will also serve as the Minister of the Army. A Minister of the Army who has no understanding of modern tactics will inevitably affect the operations of the troops on the front lines.