usatvline Chapter 13 All eyes turned to me; it was someone from our Republican Party who did it.
Chapter 13 All eyes turned to me; it was someone from our Republican Party who did it.
As bankers who support the Republican Party and are the major financial backers of the Republican Party, how could they possibly not attend such a meeting?
Henry Cernucci, Edward Cohen, and Fuld were also present. The group exchanged glances in the dim light; the radicals had never been favored by these bankers.
More than half of the major capital supporting the Republican Party comes from Jewish bankers, who do not have the courage to rebel and lose everything if they fail.
Peaceful evolution is what they want, so they know they must stand up and support Gan Bida to prevent the radicals from gaining further power. Henry Cernucci adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, coughed twice to draw attention before expressing his views.
"Gentlemen, I firmly support Mr. Gambetta's ideas. The reason we support the Republican Party is to promote France towards a democratic republic, not through such barbaric assassination."
The police are already conducting a large-scale manhunt for us. If we openly admit to this, we Republican businessmen and bankers will also be implicated, which will lead to the loss of party funding and make the situation even worse.
As one of the three vice governors of the Bank of France, he was the last person who wanted to see the Republicans pull this stunt when there was no hope in sight.
From his position, thanks to the sheer size of the Bank of France, his status was higher than that of bank directors and partners like Cohen, but his position was also the most vulnerable.
Although the Bank of France is a private company, he was just a vice president, and a single word from the Bonaparte family could cost him his position. Unlike other private company leaders, whose positions were not easily swayed by royal influence, the heads of major national corporations would not readily agree to remove them.
Therefore, Cernucci was the most anxious among the bankers, but the other bankers also made their stance very clear: they were there to invest and leverage for high returns, not to die alongside the Republicans.
"Senucci is right. Mr. Gambit is trying to find out who is behind this so that we won't be framed. But your current actions are undoubtedly walking into a trap. I believe we must uphold the bottom line of the Republic and not let momentary fanaticism cloud our judgment."
The bankers' statements transformed what was initially a one-sided view into a starkly polarized situation. These bankers are wealthy and wield considerable influence within the Republican Party, with many of its older members having been thoroughly corrupted.
Radicals advocated celebrating the assassination and publicly acknowledging it, while moderates and bankers insisted on finding out the truth and downplaying the incident, highlighting the growing divisions within the rapidly expanding Republican Party.
Witnessing all this, Gan Bida, who was relatively idealistic, turned pale with anger. After his chest heaved violently several times, he roared at the crowd.
"Enough! Wake up, all of you! This is not the time to cheer..."
Before Gan Bida could finish speaking, two rebuking voices rang out from the corner of the attic. These voices not only interrupted Gan Bida's words but also dispelled the standoff.
This Republican "underground meeting" was attended not only by Republican members, but also by two royalist factions that cooperate with the Republicans: the Orleans faction and the Bourbon faction.
The royalists in France were actually quite powerful, far more so than the Republicans. Rather than saying that France was an old revolutionary base, it would be more accurate to say that France was one of the strongholds of feudal forces.
The very existence of so many feudal forces spurred numerous revolutions. However, unlike other countries, the royalists in France were so deeply divided, with each faction refusing to cooperate and even antagonizing the others, that this gave the Republicans an opportunity.
Louis-Philippe Albert de Orléans, Count of Paris and leader of the Orléans faction, and Henri Charles Ferdinand Marie Dieudonné, Count of Chambord and leader of the Bourbon faction.
These two men, who were of royal blood, could no longer contain their anger after listening to the Republicans arguing for a long time. It wasn't that they thought the Republicans were a mob without any rules.
What they really care about is the Republican assassination attempt.
It's fine for us to cooperate with you now, but what if we switch to a constitutional monarchy or even an absolute monarchy later? Would you still try to assassinate us?
Believing that this trend should not be allowed to continue, the two did not loudly praise the assassination, which was already tacitly acknowledged as being carried out by extremists within the Republican Party; instead, they even reprimanded the perpetrators.
"You Republicans, how dare you openly assassinate the Crown Prince! This is not only a provocation against the Bonaparte family, but also an insult to all European nobles and a blatant trampling on the noble order."
"The Count of Chambord is right. We have political differences with the Bonaparte family and have been engaged in open and covert struggles for many years, but we have always adhered to the bottom line and dignity of the nobility. But you Republicans have no rules at all."
"You even dared to lay a hand on the crown prince. If you were to seize power in the future, what cruel things wouldn't you do? What order would remain?"
The reason they speak so harshly, directly attacking the Republican Party, is partly because they wield considerable power and the Republican Party must cooperate with them, and partly because they feel a sense of lingering fear after thinking of the frivolous jokes of Louis XVI.
The anger of the two royalist leaders was met with disapproval from some members of the Republican Party's radical wing, who viewed them as feudal remnants who should also be targeted.
However, Blanqui's ability to become a leader was not solely based on passion; he silenced some of the hesitant radical members with his eyes.
Blanqui knew that internal strife within the Republican Party was acceptable, but arguing with the royalists at this moment would only put the party in a more passive position and would not benefit the party at all.
Seeing that the radicals were silent, Gan Bida, who genuinely believed that the radicals had been suppressed and were willing to suffer this in silence, hurriedly patted his chest and assured the bankers and the two royalist leaders.
"My lords, as the leader of the Republican Party, I assure you that this assassination was not orchestrated by our party. I will do everything in my power to find out who is behind it, clear the Republican Party's name, and give everyone an explanation."
After three hours of discussion, the Republican members in attendance finally reached a grudging consensus.
But no one expected that shortly after the meeting ended, Blanqui completely violated the principles they had agreed upon at the meeting, and he secretly summoned his radical followers.
In Blanqui's view, this kind of thing should be publicized. Only when their followers know the fighting spirit of the Republican Party will they be willing to follow them.
Blanqui's stance differed; he was based on the radicals, who were praising the event.
To gain support from his subordinates, Blanki needs to amplify the incident. Expanding its influence will only benefit Blanki, but for the Republican Party as a whole...
"Comrades, we need not hide it. It was we Republicans who assassinated Eugène Napoleon. That gunman was our hero, a pioneer in the resistance against imperial power. Through his actions, he declared our resolve to the Bonaparte family and to the entire feudal aristocracy."
We must let all of Paris and all of France know that we Republicans will not succumb to the oppression of monarchical absolutism, and will never bow to feudal forces.
Blanqui's speeches spread like wildfire among Parisian workers and artisans, while radical Republicans went around spreading the news, each one gleefully declaring the assassination their "great achievement."
In the past, such incidents would likely have had a significant impact on the workers. After all, the Bonaparte family relied on peasants, and the workers didn't have much affection for them.
Unfortunately, this time they were assassinating Eugène Napoleon, the crown prince who had been given a week's worth of rations and already held a certain weight among the lower-class workers.
The workers who have truly benefited and received their share of the pie, and then look at these Republican members who have never given them any benefits, it's obvious which side they're on.
The propaganda promoted by radical Republicans had a much smaller effect than they imagined, and instead generated more negative publicity.
This has nothing to do with Blanqui; he is not the leader of the Republican Party, but merely the leader of the radical faction within the Republican Party. The primary task is for the radical faction to improve.
When Gambida learned of the news, he felt a chill run down his spine. The party was completely out of control, and he could not control it. He could only watch as more and more Republicans were arrested by the police because of the impulsiveness of the radicals.