"He? What did he come to me for? ”

This was the first reaction of Mr. Thiers, a member of the National Assembly and leader of the Party of Order, when he heard the servant's report of Louis Bonaparte's visit.

He was indeed curious.

Not only for the surprise visit, but also for Louis Bonaparte himself.

Although the two of them are both members of the National Assembly, they have very little contact with each other because of their positions. Moreover, unlike Monsieur Thiers, who often talked in Parliament, Louis Bonaparte was always calm and silent even when he appeared in the Parliament, and naturally he could not be impressed.

However, since he is here, he will naturally have to be polite.

Without much thought, he immediately ordered the servant to welcome him into his reception room.

When Louis Bonaparte entered the reception room, Monsieur Thiers was already waiting, and he stood up and shook hands with his colleague cordially.

"Monsieur Bonaparte, I didn't expect you to come to me to-day," he smiled rather kindly, and expressed a limited indifference and curiosity, "for what reason?" ”

"Something very important," said Louis Bonaparte, with a smile on his face, and a much warmer look than Monsieur Thiers, "and it is very good for all, for you, for me, for the whole country......

"Oh?" Monsieur Thiers nodded slightly, and the enthusiasm on his face did not diminish by half.

But. At this time, he already roughly understood the other party's intentions in his heart, and although he pretended to be very calm, he had already told him to operate.

And then. He pointed to the couch next to him, "Please be seated." ”

As soon as he sat down, he took a cup of coffee from the coffee table next to him, took a sip unhurriedly, and waited for the other party to say it himself.

He didn't have to wait long for Louis Bonaparte to speak.

"Yes, Monsieur Thiers. As I think you can see, I'm here today to ask you, and your comrades, to help me run for president. ”

What a straightforward guy! I can't wait!

Look at his German accent!

Thiers sneered inwardly. Then he put down the cup unhurriedly.

"Monsieur Bonaparte, if you have come here for this purpose, you have found the wrong person. If you want to be elected president, you need to ask voters across the country for help. And not me. Only they can decide where the president belongs and the future of the country. Of course, because of my respect for you, maybe I will give you my own vote in the general election......"

This unhurried officialdom and subtle mockery did not discourage Louis Bonaparte in any way, on the contrary, his expression became more eager.

"National? Well, that's right, everything is, of course, decided by them. But their decisions are vague and complex. Of course, someone needs to be responsible for it. As members of the National Assembly, shouldn't you and I be among those agents? And. Everyone knows that you have a great reputation, and if you can choose to support me, it will be of great help to me. ”

"Oh!" Under the earnest gaze of the other party, Mr. Thiers remained unmoved, "Xie Lu, thank you for your praise of me, I'm afraid you think highly of me, I'm just an ordinary member of the people." ”

"So, as an ordinary member of the people, would you be happy to see the people taken away from their power?" Louis Bonaparte asked suddenly.

Monsieur Thiers's heart suddenly shuddered.

"What do you mean by that?" He remained silent, but his hand was already back from the cup.

"I don't think you haven't heard, have you?" Louis-Bonaparte looked at Thiers with astonishment, as if he really did not know that Thiers was one of the leaders in the matter, "There is a proposal in the National Assembly to restore the property restrictions on the right to vote and to deprive the greatest number of the people of our country of the right to vote...... And you, you can stop that from happening. ”

What does he mean by that? Didn't he really know that this was my idea? Thiers's heart was even more strange.

No, he's sure he knows. He replied to himself immediately.

"People's power is supposed to be limited, and we can't rush to hand over the power to decide the state to them before they have contributed to the country and society, which is ridiculous...... So, I also think it's a good idea to add a tax limit to voter eligibility. He didn't bother to go around in circles anymore, and directly showdown with the other party, "If you want me to stop this, I'm sorry I can't, but you can go to the council and speak out, if the majority of the council agrees with you, then this will not happen." ”

Still, Louis Bonaparte was smiling.

"Sir, don't worry, I'm not here today to discuss political views with you." He said unhurriedly, "But, I think you can see it very clearly, too. In the current situation, if a national election is held, then I will definitely be elected, and the polls everywhere have shown this; Even if property restrictions are imposed on voters, I am not completely denied a chance to ......."

"So what are you anxious about? Just wait to be president. Monsieur Thiers sneered again.

"However, if it is the latter case, I admit that I am not sure of victory." Louis Bonaparte, still unmoved by his taunts, suddenly asked, "But do you really think that General Kafenac will be better than me when he comes to power?" Don't you think I'm a better collaborator than he is? ”

This sentence shook Monsieur Thiers even more than anything that had preceded it.

"Yes, I am the nephew of Emperor Napoleon, but I do not intend to emulate him. He was the master of the Empire, and I wanted nothing more than to be a servant of the people, I did not want to restore the Empire, it was just a dream, everything was over in 1815, and now the Bonaparte family wanted nothing more than to serve France and not ask for anything. I've said these things many times. Louis Bonaparte continued to narrate with sincerity. As if there was a real thing," and what about General Kafenyak? Isn't he more like Napoleon than me? He was the head of state and also the military leader. He is capable and determined, what else can't he do? If he could have led people to crush the mob yesterday, wouldn't he have brought them to the National Assembly tomorrow? ”

With Louis Bonaparte's words, Monsieur Thiers was visibly shaken, and he tried to get the cup, but the first time it was empty, and it was easy to get it again.

"If that's what the people need. Then I can't help it. He replied reluctantly.

"Then let the people prove for themselves what they need, shall we?" Louis Bonaparte continued to follow suit, "The people themselves have a choice, and we just have to follow theirs......"

Monsieur Thiers took another sip of his coffee. In this way, the other party's view is blocked. He never thought that the other party's words could be so sharp.

However, the situation is also very obvious, if there is a universal suffrage now. Louis Bonaparte was bound to come to power; If there are restrictions on elections. General Kafenjak had a chance to be elected.

However, for me, the fundamental question is not what the electoral system is, but whether it was Louis Bonaparte who came to power? Or is it more beneficial for Kafenjak to come to power?

From his point of view, the more incompetent the person sitting on the stage, the better, and he had seen the decisiveness of Kafenac's killing, but he had not yet recognized the methods of Louis Bonaparte. Therefore, the words of Louis Bonaparte were indeed very convincing for him.

"So. If, I mean if. Once you are elected president, what are you going to do with your administration? After thinking about it for a long time, he finally asked.

As soon as this question was asked, Louis Bonaparte knew that he had succeeded for the most part.

For the other half, he replied immediately.

"If I am lucky enough to get into this position, I will definitely repay the people for their trust in me and your help to me. I will appoint a man of great repute, a steady and wise orderist, as my prime minister, and they will be in charge of all the affairs of the government. Sir, I want to serve France only and do not value power or fame. ”

Under his earnest gaze, Monsieur Thiers fell into deep thought.

"What do you think of Mr. Barrow?" After a long moment, he suddenly asked.

Louis Bonaparte didn't understand what he meant at first, but he quickly realized that this man was a fellow of Thiers' party.

"We all know that Mr. Barrow is very famous, and he has accumulated so many years of experience in politics, I think he is one of the best candidates for Prime Minister in the Cabinet, of course, I don't know what General Kafenak thinks of Lu Dao."

"Yes......" After receiving this answer, Monsieur Thiers fell silent again.

"I have one more thought, though......" said Louis Bonaparte suddenly.

"Please."

"After all, the presidency represents the country, and its seniority should reflect the wealth and strength of France, and we cannot let a person represent the country while deliberately making him suffer from poverty. I don't think there are two or three million years of income, and it would be too aggrieved for a person to work so hard for the country. ”

Ha, want money! When Thiers heard what he said, he was not angry but happy. He knew that because of the many years of displacement, the Bonaparte family's property was very much in deficit.

It doesn't matter if you ask for more money, you can also give him a few more women, he sneered slightly in his heart.

"Good." He didn't have any expression on his face, "What you say, I'll think about it." ”

Louis Bonaparte stood up and nodded to him, "I am confident that you will be able to make the best decision for the country." ”

………………

Long after Louis Bonaparte had gone, Monsieur Thiers remained in his drawing-room, contemplating the conversation he had just had.

Was Louis Bonaparte good? Or is it better to have a Kafenyak?

Treated with contempt for Louis Bonaparte, he made a decision that he would regret for the next twenty years.

He decided to put Louis Bonaparte on stage as a puppet. (To be continued......)