"The Continental War is about to end. The Bonaparte Dynasty is finished!" Upon receiving news that civil unrest had erupted in Paris, Prime Minister Gladstone immediately reached this conclusion.
Even if Napoleon IV crushed the rebellion at once, it would be the same. So long as any fish slipped through the net and escaped, the French Empire was doomed.
The bourgeoisie had suffered a devastating blow. To rise again, they first had to move aside the mountain that was Napoleon IV.
Relying on the revolutionaries not only offered a low chance of success, but also carried enormous risks. The best approach was to let the Anti-French Alliance in and reshuffle the deck.
The financial conglomerates might not be able to control the army, but they could still influence individual officers. After all, the power of money was never to be underestimated anywhere.
The French army had already been at an absolute disadvantage on the battlefield. Add a few traitors into the mix, and the front would collapse in minutes.
Defeat in war always came at a price. Ordinary people would not care about all those underlying causes and consequences. A single exceedingly harsh ceasefire treaty could bury the Bonaparte Dynasty.
Show mercy? That was plainly impossible. No one would give up the benefits already in their hands just to preserve the Bonaparte Dynasty's throne.
In a sense, the current French government was already a vast political pit. Whoever jumped in would be buried by the postwar armistice treaty.
Setting down the intelligence report, Prime Minister Gladstone sighed. "What we feared most has happened. From this moment on, our policy of maintaining the Continental balance has officially gone bankrupt.
"France is about to be defeated, and Austria will have lost all checks against its sole dominance. For the Empire, we are