In this life, Napoleon III never had the chance to display his talents. The unceasing wars had even made him feel that the Republicans had gone mad.
But no matter what, Napoleon III's prestige and France's strength at this point were far below those of the same period in history. If this continued, he feared that even his presidency would become a burial offering for the French Second Republic.
Yet if Napoleon III chose to step forward and stop the Republicans' mad actions, then he would either lose all standing amid the torrent known as public opinion, or be sidelined and reduced to a puppet.
Traitor to the nation, lackey of the Austrian Empire, extreme conservative, hypocrite, coward—any one of these labels could spell the end of his political career.
Would swallowing humiliation and compromising preserve Napoleon III's presidency and political capital?
The answer was: absolutely not.
This was not a cooperative game, but a zero-sum game. The winner took all; the loser got nothing.
The Party of Order's elimination was the finest proof. Albert de Lafer wanted more than to see his opponents disgraced and ruined—he wanted to wipe them out completely, to pull up the weeds by the roots.
Even if Louis Napoleon managed to outlast the Republicans until their downfall, would he then be left to face the domestic and foreign messes, as well as the wrath of the Holy Alliance, all by himself?
Would Louis Napoleon choose to bend the knee and surrender? Or be exiled, imprisoned for life?
The circumstances were stronger than any man, so Napoleon III accepted Franz's seemingly insane deal.
Sacrifice his opponents in exchange for the imperial throne—it seemed like a pie falling from the sky.
The price was one hundred thousand troops from his own country, men who were not