Holy Roman Empire
Chapter 172: Napoleon III (BONUS)

In 1851, the world’s focus was on Constantinople and Paris. The five-party talks in the first half of the year attracted attention, then everyone watched Louis Napoleon Bonaparte’s performance in the second half.

After the Paris coup, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte did not stop, but accelerated the pace of restoration of the monarchy.

On August 2, 1851, a national referendum was held in France where Louis Napoleon Bonaparte obtained the right to amend the constitution, legitimizing the coup.

On September 26, 1851, he also ordered changing the national emblem to an eagle symbolizing the Napoleonic Empire, sounding the horn of restoration of the monarchy.

On October 3, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte ordered removing mottos of the French Revolution like Liberty, Equality and Fraternity from all buildings.

On October 15, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte amended the constitution, changing the presidential term to lifetime and unlimitedly expanding presidential power.

This was where Yuan Shikai learned from historically, just lacking a bit in ability and means...

In November, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte toured the country, giving speeches to win over the people, while exploiting his uncle’s name to openly advocate imperialist thought.

This proved very effective. Even after over thirty years, Napoleon’s standing among the French people remained unshaken.

In this era, the mainstream form of government in the world was still monarchy. As a republic, the French people also felt isolated and lonely. When their emotions got the better of them, they started shouting, “Long live the Emperor!”

Soon a hot topic appeared in France—imperialism, as newspapers controlled by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte’s faction also started getting busy.

While shaping public opinion, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte also bought military loyalty everywhere.

He was very tactful in buying loyalty, like inviting some officers to meetings to let them hear the public shout “Long live the Emperor!”, creating the impression of universal support.

After experiencing this personally, these officers subconsciously drew closer to him.

In this aspect, the French military deserved praise for respecting public opinion and avoiding civil war.

While building up his own momentum, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte naturally did not forget to strike down his opponents, like smearing his competitors, abusing power... (10,000 words omitted)

With everything prepared, on December 21, 1851, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte had the French Parliament announce a referendum on the political system.

It had to be said, this operation was very slick. Anyone who knows France knew that even now, let alone after WW1, supporters of imperialism outnumbered supporters of republicanism.

France had a republican government only because the three main royalist factions restrained each other, and were quite unyielding and finally had no choice but to go their separate ways.

Against this backdrop, imperialism won with 7.899 million votes, while supporters of republicanism numbered less than 250,000.

Since it was imperialism, naturally an emperor had to be chosen—the House of Orleans, the House of Bourbon, and the House of Bonaparte, the three major families stood out.

The House of Orleans was eliminated first as they were deposed with a bad reputation and lowest support. The Bourbons had legitimacy and were Louis Napoleon Bonaparte’s biggest competitor.

But it did not matter as after harnessing public opinion, Louis Napoleon Bonaparte directly took the throne without any discussion, not giving the Bourbons any chance to react. On January 1, 1852, Louis Napoleon became emperor in Paris—the era of Napoleon III had arrived.

After going through turmoil, the French people grew tired of infighting with public sentiment now steady. With the fait accompli, the Bourbons could only accept it begrudgingly.

Because some shady means were used to forcibly take power, Napoleon III’s empire was flawed from the start.

Vienna

Watching Napoleon III’s maneuvers during his rise to power, Franz expressed great admiration. Even if he was in his shoes, he did not think it could be done better.

It had to be said, the House of Bonaparte was the weakest of the three nominal French royal families. Unlike the other two with deep foundations, they could only be considered upstarts.

The House of Orleans had the backing of financial groups, the House of Bourbon had the backing of aristocrats and capitalists, while the Bonapartes’ supporters were peasants.

In theory, they had the most supporters and advantage. But in reality it was the opposite—their supporters were mostly the lower classes with almost no political voice.

This could be seen from how Napoleon III still needed British funding during his rise to power. If it were the other two houses, there would be no lack of funding.

There was no choice, as they had risen late! If not for Napoleon’s greatness with the French still remembering him fondly, calling themselves French royalty at this time would be a joke.

Even with the formidable Napoleon as his uncle, Napoleon III still lacked competitiveness.

Even if it were Napoleon II, the situation wouldn’t be much different.

It was a pity Napoleon II died young. Europe valued bloodlines. Napoleon III was clearly inadequate, as he wasn’t even French.

(AN: Napoleon III naturalized as Swiss in 1832)

If his political opponents were more cunning, they would have eliminated him during the presidential election. Letting a foreigner become president, the proud French people likely were not that open-minded yet.

That Napoleon III achieved ultimate victory was of course related to his opponents being out of sorts, but his own capabilities could not be ignored either.

All along, he was practically dancing on a tightrope. One wrong move would make him fall down the abyss.

In particular, utilizing contradictions between factions to have everyone acquiesce to him becoming emperor, it was simply peak political maneuvering.

Based on intelligence, Franz concluded that while not the most ideal choice for all parties, Napoleon III was one all could accept.

After being taught a lesson by Napoleon III, Franz couldn’t help but reflect on himself and found his weakness was adhering too much to ethics.

Of course, Franz did not plan to change. As emperor of the House of Habsburg, his throne could not be more legitimate. He completely did not need those crooked means.

As for domestic political opponents? Franz was not boasting, but he could subdue them easily with one hand.

Austria’s opposition compared to France’s was pathetically weak. How could fireflies compete with the bright moon?

Metternich smilingly said, “Your Majesty, Napoleon III has risen to power and now needs international recognition. This is an opportunity.”

If Napoleon III had ascended the throne through normal means, naturally there would be no concerns about recognition.

Unfortunately, his throne was inherently inadequate with many points of criticism, so international recognition was important now.

Let alone other things, the European nobility basically did not attend Napoleon III’s coronation. Though it looked grand, the actual attendance and prestige were much lower.

Even with British backing, the British royals did not send any prominent members to attend either, with the cold attitude of aristocratic circles indicating the issue.

Franz indifferently said, “We can try. The Austro-French treaty is over. It would not be bad to now sign a friendship treaty between our nations.”

If the stakes were not too big, for the sake of gaining Austria’s diplomatic recognition, Napoleon III might make some concessions.

Unfortunately, there currently were no such well-timed mutual interests between Austria and France. Austria also had its own plans, so Franz did not mind doing this small favor.

Felix gleefully said, “Your Majesty, Napoleon III has just taken power. Even for the sake of the Emperor’s prestige, he still won’t back down this time on the Holy Land Crisis. It looks like trouble for the Russians.”

Russia and Austria being allies did not mean Austria hoped to see Russia continue growing stronger.

Only when the disparity of power was not too great could they be allies. Once the gap widens, it becomes a big brother-little brother relationship.

Austria naturally did not plan to become Russia’s little brother. While developing itself, they also hoped Russia’s strategies would suffer setbacks.

If Russia really annexed the Ottoman Empire, then the honeymoon period between the two countries would end. Between nations, strength and interests ultimately prevailed.

Historically, one important factor in the Crimean War breaking out was that Napoleon III had just ascended and needed to divert domestic contradictions and establish prestige.

Now Napoleon III’s rise to power happened earlier, but this did not change anything much, so the ultimate outcome naturally would not change either.

Franz thought for a moment and said, “Then let’s add some fuel, but be careful not to burn ourselves. The show must go on.

If Britain and France realize our true aims, the situation may go out of control. At crucial moments, Russia will definitely reveal the secret treaty.

We must prepare diplomatically and let Britain and France know at key moments that even with a Russo-Austrian alliance, Austria will at most remain neutral and diplomatically support them in the Russo-Turkish War!”

This was no joke. If Austria was set on advancing and retreating together with Russia, perhaps Britain and France would be frightened away. A Russo-Austrian partnership in the Near East would be invincible, fearing no challenge.

Without giving Britain and France reassurance, how could they embark on a distant campaign to strike at Russia? Without Russia tying them down, how could Austria have a chance to make preparations?

Austria was using Russia, and was Russia not using Austria either? As soon as Austria makes a move, a part of Britain and France’s forces will also be diverted, reducing pressure on them on the battlefield.

Besides, for Russia to annex the Ottoman Empire, they needed material support from Austria. Their domestic industry could not sustain a modern war alone.

From the beginning, this was a collaboration where each party took what they needed and harbored their own ulterior motives.