After seeing Thomas off, Napoleon III immediately summoned his think tank for a meeting—no, more accurately, he summoned his ministers.
They were more or less the same anyway. Appointing people based on personal ties had always been Napoleon III's style; his think tank also served as his ministers, and there was no cabinet.
Minister of Finance: Count Monnier, a speculative financier; Minister of War: Arnaud, a former underling and enforcer who also served as an adviser; Minister of Police: Maupas, an adviser; Minister of the Interior: Persigny, his chief strategist; Minister of the Navy: Dike, a supporter and major shipowner; the Minister of Colonies was his nephew...
Though this lot were all connected through personal ties, they were actually rather competent at their jobs—at the very least, far better than the July Monarchy, and a great deal better than the later Third Republic.
Aside from the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, France's economy developed rapidly during Napoleon III's reign, living standards rose markedly, and most of the world's second-largest colonial empire was carved out during this period.
Minister of War Arnaud said warily, "Your Majesty, the British are using us as their gun. Once their plan succeeds, both Russia and Austria will become our enemies, and our room to maneuver in international politics will be severely limited in the future.
"Besides, intervening against Austria will not be so simple. This multinational coalition is really nothing more than a fine-sounding name.
"The countries are scattered across the four corners of the world. Coordinating their relations and organizing a coalition on such a scale would make secrecy utterly impossible.
"The Austrians are not fools. Once they get wind of it, they need only do one thing: seize the Prussians and beat them without mercy before the coalition is fully assembled.
"Without the