French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 4 Parisians Block Roads, Face-to-Face Dialogue

To Eugénie's great surprise, it turned out that Eugénie Napoleon opened the carriage door and stepped down.

The captain of the Imperial Guard, who was originally in the procession blocking the crowd, panicked when he saw the Crown Prince of France get off the carriage and hurriedly stepped forward to block Eugène.

"Your Highness, it's too dangerous. Please return to the carriage immediately, and I will disperse them as soon as possible."

Despite the comrade's attempts to dissuade him, Eugène Napoleon simply brushed aside the arm that was blocking his way.

How to disperse them? It's nothing more than shooting and killing a few civilians, and then the rest of them will disperse on their own.

His own father, Louis Napoleon, had done many such things, which indirectly ruined the good reputation his great-uncle had left among the people.

Eugène Napoleon did not intend to follow in his father's footsteps, even though the people of Paris were in danger, and the royal family in Paris was in even greater danger.

But now the Franco-Prussian War has broken out, leaving him only a month to prepare. France is heavily indebted, and Eugène has no capital to win over those capitalists. The only people who can help him fight against the capitalists and against Prussia are the people.

"Company commander, put down your gun. The Bonaparte royal family is not a supreme ruler. We will always stand with the French people. We should not use the cold muzzle of a gun to sever our connection with the people."

Having surveyed the surroundings and observed the environment beforehand, Eugène Napoleon made this resounding order to his guards only after confirming that there were no suitable places to fire sniper shots.

Unlike Eugène Napoleon, the captain of the guards, seeing the crown prince's resolute gaze, obeyed orders and put down his rifle. The guards behind him also put away their weapons.

Seeing that the guards had put away their weapons, and many of the people in the front rows had heard Eugène Napoleon's words, the crowd temporarily refrained from further provoking the guards.

Having achieved the first step, Eugène Napoleon walked toward the front row of people, his boots getting wet from the muddy road and a pungent stench hitting them.

Suppressing the nausea that inevitably arose in his heart, Eugène Napoleon, knowing that this was a test of his acting skills, mustered all his energy for the fight.

"Does His Highness the Crown Prince think we poor wretches wouldn't dare harm you, and is just putting on a show for us?"

"Don't give us that. Your royal family lives in palaces and eats gourmet food. How would you know that we can't even afford a piece of bread? The emperor is busy going to the front lines and doesn't care about our lives at all."

"Exactly. When we went to petition before, the army chased us away with guns. Now they're pretending to be friendly. What we want isn't empty words, but food to fill our stomachs."

As expected of a revolutionary base area, it's not so easy to gain the trust of those in power. Even if Eugène Napoleon himself stood before them, he wouldn't show any disdain for the surrounding environment.

But the surrounding crowd continued to curse and shout, and some even tried to pick up the mud on the ground to throw at Eugène Napoleon.

The Imperial Guard company commander, who had been watching closely, saw a clump of mud fly out of the other man's hand and reached out to stop it, but Eugene grabbed him and held him down.

Having anticipated this, Eugène Napoleon simply turned to the side, letting the mud land on his clothes, avoiding his face and other parts of his body, thus ensuring he was not at risk of infection.

Seeing that the current crown prince was hit by a puddle of mud and had half his body dirty but was not angry, the Parisian people, who were seeing such a scene for the first time, finally calmed down from their state of indignation.

Seeing that the crowd had quieted down, Eugène Napoleon smiled and approached a woman holding a child. This woman had previously complained that her family didn't have enough bread.

"Madam, I know you're upset. The baby must be starving!"

As he spoke, Eugène Napoleon unhesitatingly took off his silk scarf, embroidered with the Bonaparte family crest, and gently wiped the stains from the child's face in the woman's arms.

His series of actions stunned everyone. He wasn't angry when he was hit with mud, and now he was personally wiping the face of a poor child with his own precious scarf.

The elderly woman, who was involved in the incident, froze. Her grip on the child loosened involuntarily, and her lips moved but she couldn't utter a single word.

Having confirmed the effectiveness of his rhetoric, Eugène Napoleon straightened up, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone present, and began to display his advanced rhetoric skills that were ahead of their time.

"I know you hate the royal family and that we didn't take your suffering into consideration. In the past, perhaps my father, or the government, ignored your situation and caused you to suffer injustice."

But today, I'm not standing here to put on a show; I want to hear about your difficulties and genuinely want to do something to help you.

Because I am no longer the child who couldn't do anything for others, but have become the Governor of Paris, and have the right to serve the people.

Just as the crowd was about to speak, Eugène Napoleon raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet, and the Parisians obediently fell silent.

All eyes followed Eugène Napoleon as he took another step forward, the crown prince actively closing the distance between himself and the people.

Even when a ragged little boy tugged at his clothes, the crown prince did not flinch. Instead, he squatted down and gently patted the head of the boy, who looked to be only seven or eight years old.

"Little friend, how old are you? Are you hungry too?"

"...I'm thirteen..."

"Go buy some bread. If it's not enough, come find me tomorrow and I'll have the guards open the door for you."

At 13, he was already half his height, which was obviously due to severe malnutrition. His family, Bonaparte, didn't have a tall gene. At least Eugène felt that he would be grateful if he could grow to 1.8 meters tall in the future.

After a brief silence, Eugène took out a franc and handed it to the little boy, not giving him more, because the little boy couldn't hold onto it if he gave him more.

The boy clearly understood the rules of survival. After getting the money, he immediately took advantage of the fact that the guards were still there and dashed out of the crowd.

Even if someone wanted to chase after them and get a franc without lifting a finger, the hundreds of guards watching were not to be trifled with.

"Your Highness, are you really going to do things for us? Others have said similar things to us before, but what happened in the end? Nothing came of it."

In the vast crowd, someone eventually resisted the temptation, or perhaps that person had already joined some republican, democratic, or even... political party. In any case, a middle-aged man stood up and raised his own questions.

"I swear in the name of Napoleon that every word I say today is true."

The oath was not taken in the name of the Bonaparte family. Compared to Napoleon, whose name was supported by the reputation of Napoleon I, the name Bonaparte had little credibility among the French people.

"Will it really work?"

"Is he lying to us?"

........

As expected, the name Napoleon still carries considerable weight today. A crown prince swearing an oath in front of a crowd to use Napoleon's name has an exceptionally powerful effect.

Even if people have doubts, they no longer express them openly, but instead whisper and discuss them behind the scenes.

The guards around him looked at Eugene with more respect, feeling that this prince was someone who truly wanted to get things done.

Seeing the relaxed expressions on the faces of the people, Eugène Napoleon knew that now was the perfect time to strike while the iron was hot and press his advantage. So he once again lowered his stance and spoke out.

"My friends, I know your concerns and I know you have suffered too much. But please give me some time, give me a chance, and give the Bonaparte royal family a chance to make amends to you."

"I have heard your cries and seen your suffering. Please believe me, I will dedicate myself to ensuring that you are never displaced again and that you never go hungry again."

At least for now, the anger of the Parisians has subsided. If even a crown prince has said so, what more can be asked for?

The time for the Battle of Sedan hasn't come yet. If Eugène Napoleon were to pull this stunt after the Battle of Sedan, the people would only think it was a charade and hypocrisy. But if it happens now, the effect will be different.

No matter how bad Bonaparte's reputation was, they were still the family that held the French throne. Eugène Napoleon was willing to make promises and endure a muddy mess; the people of Paris couldn't ask for more.

"Your Highness, we really have no bread to eat. Prices have skyrocketed since the start of the war, and all the grain has been hidden away. We simply can't afford bread."

When a Parisian citizen stood up and shouted something, Eugène Napoleon frowned upon hearing it.

As soon as the war began, Parisian capitalists started to maliciously inflate food prices.

Having just become governor, he couldn't afford to offend the Parisian capitalists, and with the people just beginning to have hope, he couldn't afford to be perfunctory...