The brief episode with Mary did not ruin Charles's good mood after she coaxed Charlotte back to her heart. Early the next morning, he came to his place of work with this good mood.

Under his chairmanship, today's important meeting was held as usual.

Because...... Just today, the President will send a notice to the War Department to General Shangargne, who is now Commander of the Paris Garrison and Commander of the National Guard.

"I think you will not fail to understand the meaning of my order today. Starting today, you will impose a closed martial law, keep an eye out for any disturbances, and deal with any problems as soon as they arise. His Excellency gave a brief order to the group of men in his characteristic tone of stern oppression, "The situation has reached a point where it is absolutely impossible to take it lightly, and I will not allow anyone to slacken, nor will I allow any disloyalty to duty, and whoever dares to neglect his duty will be guilty of a crime against the country and the nation, and they will be punished with the most severe punishment!" Do you understand! ”

"Understood!" These important officials were busy answering loudly one after another, not daring to show that there was a slight delay.

His Excellency the Minister had always managed the Department with such a military firmness, and he would not tolerate any procrastination or slackness, so that in a short time the atmosphere in the Ministry was completely renewed, and no one dared to challenge the authority of the Minister - except Charles, who was known to have a higher status in the President's heart.

However, even Charles is quite wise to maintain great respect for him, and rarely dismisses his face, so the two maintain an excellent relationship. It was thanks to the cooperation of the two men that Louis Bonaparte was able to gain almost absolute authority in the army in a short period of time, and no one dared to disobey the will of the leader.

After a period of purges, the War Office was now almost entirely occupied by Bonapartist elements and people willing to obey the President, so that the more Charles and the Minister came to pass, the more outspoken and unscrupulous they did not scruple in the Ministry.

"The president fully understands that this announcement will cause a commotion within the army, especially the garrison in Paris, so he told us that we must suppress the commotion." "In addition, the President's decision is deliberate and must not be challenged and can only be done to the letter. ”

"And you need not be afraid of opposition, even the Son is full of enemies, let alone him? There were so many enemies in his army that it would be too easy to find a few who would stand up against him. Charles calmly continued, "So, the president's decision cannot be changed. ”

Then, he looked at the group of officials, and his tone became more stern.

"Your next job is to strictly prevent ...... after the notice is issued. Prevent any strange movements and overt acts of disobedience, and maintain the authority and order of the War Office. Charles thought for a moment, and then used a rather subtle statement to cover up the word tyranny*, "According to the order, from now on, the movement of more than thirty troops in Paris and around Paris must be signed by the minister and me, otherwise it is an illegal and invalid order." You will sue everybody that if anyone dares to carry out such an illegal order, it is also a crime, and he will be expelled from the army and, if necessary, subjected to hard labor. ”

When Charles said this, he no longer had his usual gentleness, but seemed murderous.

This was not a whim, but a step carefully laid out by Louis Bonaparte and him.

As the final link in the whole plan, he was prepared to remove General Shangargne, the main opponent of the Bonapartist within the army and the main supporter of the Orderists in the army, from the important post he occupied, and ruled out any possibility of him sabotaging the coup.

Although it may seem bold, Charles is cautious and methodical when it comes to acting. He first carried out a major change of garrison troops in Paris, transferred a large number of officers and troops loyal to General Jeangargne, and then, under some pretexts, forcibly transferred General Nomayer, the general's close assistant and deputy commander, to the field, and then summoned the officers of the National Guard to his own territory and intimidated them not to participate in any possible rebellion by General Shangalgne.

After General Nomayer refused to arrange for him, Charles and others, who had been prepared for a long time, quickly used this as an excuse to forcibly remove the general from his post on the grounds of disobedience to military orders, and the general, who had suffered great humiliation, had to choose to retire. Since then, General Shangargne has lost most of his helpers and can only be beaten passively.

In the face of the aggressive offensive of the Bonapartists, General Shangargne appeared helpless and difficult to parry. After all, he could not resist His Excellency President Louis Bonaparte, the nominal commander of the Army, nor could he openly disobey the War Department, which had the authority to transfer personnel in the Army, and could only passively accept this series of blows to his prestige and power.

However, the pace of the Bonapartist party did not slow down by half a point because of his indignant tolerance, but even quickened the pace because they saw an opportunity to take advantage of it, and they would never give the general a chance to turn over.

Now that the shells had been peeled away, Charles and the others finally felt that the time was ripe to remove the last major obstacle that stood in their way.

"In addition, I would like to emphasize one more thing." After everyone had digested the information given by Charles, he continued, "When General Shangargne is dismissed, General de Corvé will take his place, a general who is loyal to the president and therefore to the country, and who can be trusted. Therefore, you should listen to him more and assist him in completing the work of controlling the garrison. As for the National Guard, the President has other arrangements, so you have to find a way to reduce the supply of weapons to the Self-Defense Forces, and take care to keep it in a state of powerlessness to change the situation. ”

No one spoke, but Charles could clearly see in their faces, "Why do you do this?" ".

"A general on active duty, commanding both the regular army and the militia, is very anachronistic." Charles sneered and replied, "If this arrangement had any meaning in the first place, in order to prevent a possible ** uprising, then by now I don't see any point in continuing this arrangement, and the president sees it this way - he doesn't want to make the mistake that Louis Philippe once made, and to pay too high a price for buying this big army, it is better not to save zài than to save zài...... Of course, I think you know that you should keep it a secret. ”

Still no one answered, and everyone quickly understood what Charles meant.

Louis Bonaparte did not want the existence of a paramilitary organization around him, not to mention the fact that this organization was often alienated from the government. In 1815, 1830 and 1848, the Self-Defense Forces played a role in the change of government, and he did not want to be the fourth.

He would rather take more risks than rely on the help of such a group of people.

With this assertion he made, everyone was thinking about it, and the atmosphere became more solemn.

"Alright, guys, cheer up, there's nothing to be afraid of!" He suddenly raised his hand and slapped the table hard.

He was indeed so confident because, in his opinion, the plan that had been made, if not perfect, had been executed at least so far. He followed Louis Bonaparte, step by step, to achieve his goal, and he saw that he had come to this point. And soon, as with General Shangargne today, the leaders of the opposition will be purged by him with one blow.

"The President is very considerate of your recent hardships, so he has taken care of me and asked me to ask you if there is anything you need help with." Charles smiled, then made a nonchalant gesture. "I told him that the first reward we need is a good night's sleep for three days."

His words quickly sparked a dull laugh. Such a Trevile-style chic did not make people feel frivolous, but made the whole atmosphere a lot easier.

"Of course, it's just my joke. The president will not be so stingy, and as soon as everything is over, what awaits you will be a generous reward -- a reward that is no less than the danger we face. After everyone had relaxed a little, he looked around and made one final agitation, "So, here I remind you again. It's an absolute fight, it's a gamble where we put all our bets on it, and if we lose, then every qiē is meaningless...... So we have to be cautious. If anyone thinks that we can be paralyzed by the fact that we have a chance of winning, then I can sue him that he is very wrong and that he is not qualified to contribute to our great cause for the future......"

Such an obvious threat immediately triggered the effect that Charles hoped for, and no one would want to know what the punishment was.

"No matter what, the world is always full of opportunities and challenges, and the world is nothing more than one pressing on the other." At this time, His Excellency the Minister also joined in the agitation, "If you want to gain something, you must have the consciousness of what you have lost." For me, empire is the best pay! France is tired of mediocrity and burnout, and she wants to shake off her sleep again and fight again, and we ...... We just win a qiē! Long live the Empire, long live the Emperor! ”

The minister's slogan caused a wave of hesitation among the officials.

This slogan has been away from the French government for almost half a century, and almost no one can blurt it out.

However, they will soon get used to it.

Charles stretched out his hand and was the first to applaud, and then the applause resounded throughout the room. R1152