Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 393 The Big Picture Matters! (Bonus Chapter 7 for 1000 Votes)

Other young people also gathered around, their eyes filled with anger at being betrayed and desperate questioning.

"My assignment is to go to the mountains of Tunisia! There's fighting going on there!"

"Guyana! That's a place only convicts go to!"

"Senegal, would anyone who goes there come back alive?"

The barrage of accusations lashed at Charles La Rochefoucauld like whips.

He felt a suffocating sensation, and his face burned.

Antoine's words struck a nerve with his inner fears and regrets.

He did indeed use family ties and some vague promises to incite these associates to participate in the operation against Lionel Sorel.

He thought this would be a low-cost political gamble, and even if they were criticized by the newspapers, it would bring them a brighter and safer military future.

In retrospect, they were all fools who were taken advantage of.

When those important figures needed them, they tacitly approved of or even encouraged their "patriotic enthusiasm."
Now that the operation has failed, they've been thrown into the most dangerous overseas colonies as officers—basically cannon fodder!
The members of the "French Republican Youth Guard" were mostly young nobles who lacked strong backgrounds and whose families did not protect them.

Charles La Rochefoucauld began with difficulty, "I...I didn't know it would turn out like this...Besides, that night..."

Antoine abruptly loosened his grip on his collar, as if throwing away something dirty: "You didn't know?! Well, now you do! Think of something! Go find your big shot friends!"
Let's go find Mr. Bonaparte! We can't just be thrown to our deaths at the ends of the earth!

This statement enlightened Charles La Rochefoucauld.

Yes, Victor Bonaparte!

If it weren't for his coercion, I wouldn't have recklessly led my men into Lionel's villa.

Fear, resentment, unwillingness, and a glimmer of hope all surged into my heart.

He could not sit idly by and wait for his death, nor could he disappear silently into the tropical rainforests of the colony like those civilian soldiers.

He shoved aside Antoine, who was still grumbling incessantly, and without even bothering to straighten his disheveled collar, staggered toward the salon door.

The shouts and curses behind me seemed to come from another world.

He had only one thought in his mind, like a drowning person grasping at the last straw:
Go find Bonaparte! He must go! He needs to get to the bottom of things, he needs to reclaim his promise, he cannot be abandoned like this!
Charles de La Rochefoucauld rushed out of the salon and into the streets of Paris as the city lights began to twinkle, fleeing in panic.

His current disheveled state is a stark contrast to his former high spirits in front of the villa in Vernev.

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Half an hour later, in Bonaparte's palatial mansion.

Charles La Rochefoucauld murmured, repeating the same phrase: "For the greater good? A necessary sacrifice?"

A bitter smile appeared on his face.

Victor Bonaparte took a puff of his cigar: "Yes, the bigger picture is important! Accept the appointment, Charles."

Fulfill your duties like a true member of the La Rochefoucauld family; your true value is revealed in adversity!

Charles La Rochefoucauld knew that the conversation was over.

He received none of the promised protection, but was simply dismissed without any resistance, and he was powerless to resist.

He stood up, without bowing, and staggered out of the magnificent living room like a sleepwalker, just as he had arrived.

Behind him, Victor Bonaparte's voice came softly: "Good luck, Lieutenant."

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The additional 20 million francs in budget that Jules Ferry managed to pry from parliament triggered a public outcry that was even more intense than the debates in parliament.

Bad news always travels the fastest.

Despite official attempts to downplay the issue, the wounded soldiers returning home, the letters sent back by frontline officers, and the daring reports from war correspondents...

The setbacks France suffered overseas inevitably spread. In the western mountains of Tunisia, a well-equipped French patrol was ambushed by tribal warriors armed with outdated rifles, suffering heavy losses.

The civilian casualties caused by naval gunfire in Sfax are staggering.
On the Red River in northern Vietnam, transport convoys have been repeatedly attacked, and supply lines are in grave danger.
These messages spread like a plague through Parisian cafes, salons, and streets.

The voices that had been temporarily suppressed by colonial fervor regained the upper hand and became even more acute.

Although Le Figaro leans towards moderate republicanism, it was forced to raise questions in its opinion section at this time:
We were told that this was an expedition of "civilization" against "ignorance," a low-cost "police operation."

However, the reality is that budget demands are constantly increasing, and coffins are constantly being sent back home.

Has the Prime Minister underestimated the cost of "civilizing" savages?

The Uncompromising Daily and People's Voice went even further, launching sharp and direct attacks:
Is this the "order" and "prosperity" that Mr. Ferry promised? Using the blood of French youth to irrigate foreign deserts, using the hard-earned money of the working class to pay the bill for the massacre!
Colonialism, this bourgeois carnival, ultimately leaves ordinary people to pay the price!

Public resentment began to boil over, and people were discussing the matter in taverns and markets.

"I heard it's because the government spent all its money on war?"

"You bet, Tunisia, and that Tokyo thing... God knows where it is!"

"Those old men only know how to argue in parliament, who cares about our lives!"

This dissatisfaction stems not only from opposing political stances, but also from the personal experiences of ordinary people.

Parisians have noticed that even more construction work on streets already under constant excavation due to Haussmann's major renovations seems to have stalled.

It is said that some municipal funds were temporarily diverted.

The price of baguettes in bakeries has quietly increased by 10%, with shop owners complaining about rising food and transportation costs.

A bricklayer queuing to buy groceries in the market street complained to his companion: "Look at this mess! The road is only half-finished, and the houses are only half-built!"
I heard it's all because the government is throwing our money into that bottomless pit in Africa and Asia!

His companion, an old craftsman in a workshop, sighed: "Benefits? I haven't seen a single bit of the cheap sugar and coffee from the colonies."

It seems like taxes are going to increase again. When will we ever see the promises the officials are making?

This widespread complaining and skepticism began to shake the foundations of Jules Ferry's government.

People felt deceived; instead of the wealth and glory they had imagined, colonial expansion brought visible tax burdens, rising prices, and an endless quagmire.

France's predicament naturally did not escape the eyes of the British, and London newspapers would never let this opportunity pass.

In an editorial titled "The Cost of a Civilizational Mission," The Times wrote in a satirical tone:

Parisian politicians are accustomed to criticizing the colonial practices of other countries and claiming that their own methods are more "noble".

However, the ruins and victims of Sfax silently tell a different story.

Using "barbaric" methods to "civilize barbarism" will only result in double the barbarity and hatred.

These comments lashed at the French pride like a whip. Parisian newspapers immediately launched a counterattack.

Le Gaul quickly published an article, dredging up old grievances about the British in South Africa:

Before discussing "civilization" and "barbarism," perhaps British gentlemen should recall their disastrous defeat in Isandlwana?
Did they agree to sign the Treaty of Pretoria with the Boers because they had won the war?

"French Action" went even further, declaring:

The British mockery is nothing more than jealousy of the French Empire's dynamism in its expansion! They would rather see us in trouble than a strong France competing with them globally!

For a time, newspapers on both sides of the English Channel engaged in a fierce war of words, exposing each other's shortcomings and mocking one another.

However, this war of words has further exacerbated the anxiety and dissatisfaction of people in both countries.

Amidst this cacophony of arguments and complaints, a piece of news completely unrelated to politics or colonialism quietly appeared in prominent positions in several newspapers, including Le Figaro, Le Petit Les Les Parisien, and others.

The inaugural "Sorel-Peugeot" Cup Tour of Paris cycling race will be held on October 1, 1881!

(End of this chapter)