"What do you mean?"
Louis Napoleon cleared his throat and said.
"Barricades are, put plainly, a tactic of blocking streets with miscellaneous debris to serve as cover. If we make the roads wide enough, they won't be able to throw up barricades so easily. Even if they force one up, it won't be able to block the street very solidly."
With that, Louis Napoleon took out a blueprint and laid it on the table.
On the blueprint, Paris had been reshaped by several star-shaped intersections and a great number of broad, straight avenues. The entire design breathed order and freshness.
In truth, Paris was not alone. Europe's old cities all suffered from this problem to some extent. Had there not been the Great Fire of London, London's alleys would have been the greatest maze in the world at this time.
When all was said and done, the most fundamental reason for narrow roads came down to two words—good enough. Before the advent of automobiles, carriages were the primary means of transport. A road wide enough for a carriage to pass was considered an acceptable road.
Roads that were too wide would only be criticized as wasteful, or even carved up through collusion among various parties.
Vienna's three expansions had all encountered this problem to one degree or another. The public and lower-level officials simply could not understand the point of doing so.
But to Alexander Colonna Walewski, who had always worried about an uprising in Paris, it was a design of genius.
"This truly is a magnificent design!"
Alexander Colonna Walewski praised it from the bottom of his heart, but his brow soon furrowed.
"How much will the entire plan cost? Our funds are hardly abundant."
Louis Napoleon merely smiled mysteriously.
"There is no need for excessive concern. Our gains