Chapter 964 Fantasy
A reporter accompanying the army recorded this.
“When every cotton field turned into a sea of fire, when boulders ruthlessly blocked the canals, and when one bridge after another collapsed in the explosion, this kind of resistance that almost perished together, even the most objective observer could not avoid it. due to emotional fluctuations.
Men took up arms, even hoes and plow sticks became tools of resistance. The tears of the old, weak, women and children evaporated in the ashes and dust, and they staggered towards the Vosges Mountains, looking for the last refuge.
This once peaceful and peaceful land has now been engulfed by smoke and war. However, what I witnessed was not only the cruelty of war and the fragility and insignificance of human beings, but also the fearlessness and strength displayed by ordinary people in the face of catastrophes."
Outside Celesta.
In less than two weeks since the start of the war, the number of mercenary casualties in the city has exceeded 50%, and the losses of the Celesta city defense force and militia have exceeded one-third.
This is a very exaggerated number, because according to the military theory at the time, a large army (more than a thousand people) will lose its most basic functions once it loses more than one-third.
As a master of tactical theory, Bono de Cullen naturally could not believe what was happening in front of him. The defenders in the city should have completely collapsed.
The criss-crossing ditches and temporary defenses made of ruins in the city made him feel incredible. Too many corpses could not be cleaned up in time, and the disease had begun to spread among the armies of both sides.
Although Bono de Cullen also received domestic reinforcements of new soldiers, the new soldiers did not play a big role in this cruel war.
Inside Celesta City.
"Mr. Mayor! Stop fighting! Let's surrender! General Bono de Cullen has already said that as long as we are willing to lay down our arms and surrender, not only will we be pardoned, but we will also retain our official status."
Congressman Rossi said earnestly that he was not a softie, and the bandages on his head and arms were a testament to his courage.
Most of the surrounding councilors and citizen representatives looked at Mayor Blanqui with expectant eyes. Only a few mercenary leaders were sleeping soundly as if the quarrel in the city hall did not exist.
"Listen! I tell you! As long as you put down your weapons, you will be sent to the gallows immediately, and the butcher knife of France will also fall on your relatives and friends.
in Paris! In Lyon! In Tours! I went from Falls to St. Pelage to Fontevrolle, Mont Saint-Michel, Turkana, and I'm sure there isn't a single good thing in Bourbon, Orleans, or the Second French Republic!
We are just chips in their hands that they can throw away at will, livestock in their hands that they can deceive at will, and tools in their hands that they can use at will. "
(Falls, Saint-Pelage, Fontevrolle, Mont-Saint-Michel, and Turkana are the names of French prisons.)
"Listen! Compatriots! If we can't hold on to the weapons in our hands, the tragedies in Paris, Lyon, and Tours will continue to happen!
They will take away your jobs and property, then force your wives and daughters to support your family, send your children to sweatshops or to the battlefield, and then return you a corpse or an unaccounted letter! "
The parliamentarians and citizen representatives fell into silence. Usually at this time, someone would jump out and say that they should believe France.
However, the tragedy in Strasbourg left such a deep impression on the Alsatian people. There were so many witnesses of the tragedy that the impact was so profound that no one could refute Mayor Blanqui's words at this time.
In fact, something happened two months ago. The Second French Republic, the French Provisional Government, promulgated a wartime code, announcing its complete transformation into a bourgeois republic.
The interests of bankers and factory owners have been guaranteed, and even those landowners (agricultural capitalists) have gained a large number of seats and rights, and they can still dominate the heads of farm laborers.
The wartime code stipulates that bankers and factory owners can reduce or not pay wages appropriately, but workers and clerks must work for fourteen hours to receive wages and must pay an additional war tax.
Increase commodity prices appropriately to increase fiscal revenue.
The military police have the right to enter citizens' homes to search and pay taxes
Reduce the age of compulsory military service to 15 years old and encourage the preparation of own weapons
Feeling that they had been cheated, the Parisian people and workers stormed the government buildings, forcibly dissolved the parliament, and recommended Barbes and Albert, two anti-war congressmen who advocated limited solutions to unemployment and people's livelihood issues, to come to power.
The new government intended to adopt Louis Blanc's national factory concept to completely solve the problems of unemployment and material shortages.
This new government lasted only four hours, however, before General Cavaignac led the Paris garrison in a complete small-scale massacre.
Except for a few members of parliament and faction leaders, all were executed for treason.
Although this was only a small commotion for the Second French Republic, it was a major earthquake for France.
Afterwards, the French Provisional Government had to carry out several large-scale massacres in different cities across the country before calming down the incident.
This also made Blanqui unexpectedly become the mayor of Celesta. Although he wanted to strangle Louis Philippe with his own hands, he could not refuse the opportunity to show his ambition.
Blanqui devoted himself wholeheartedly to the development and construction of the Celesta area, and the land responded to his efforts to the greatest extent.
In just two months, the income of people in Celesta has generally doubled, and fiscal revenue has also increased significantly.
Farmers no longer fled famine, and businessmen were willing to invest. Large areas of wasteland were developed into farmland. The famine that had plagued this grain-producing area for hundreds of years seemed to have disappeared overnight.
The national factory that he cherished so much was also built. He believed that it wouldn't be long before Celesta would be able to build its own industrial zone, including steel, textiles, and wineries.
Of course, some open space must be left so that workers and farmers can take their families for picnics or enjoy hunting when they have time on weekends.
But all this comes at a price. In just the first two weeks of taking office, Blanqui received no less than twenty death threats, and indeed suffered several overt or covert attacks.
Fortunately, this time-tested fighter, who has been plotted by others all year round and has been in many prisons in Paris, has long been accustomed to all this.
On the contrary, Blanqui followed the lead and killed a series of scum hidden within the government. As long as he paid taxes in full and on time, Louis Philippe would not bother to care what he did.
Thiers in Metz only knew of an area that had been paying only half of its taxes for many years, but was suddenly able to pay the full amount every month.
Originally, such days would last until one party made a decision, but before that, the army of the Second French Republic launched a surprise attack.