I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 175

Became the Genius of the French Royal Family 175 Establishing Discipline (175/355)

< Establishing Discipline >

“The era of aristocratic rule is over! If you still think you can control France as you please, you are sorely mistaken! Get a grip!”

“You’re the one who needs to get a grip! The Lower House changes the laws to suit themselves, and then they talk about fairness and equality? I guess I’m just an evil aristocrat who couldn’t even imagine that! You change the laws to your liking and then tell us to follow them? Are we supposed to just say yes and do as you say?”

“The power to legislate is a sacred right granted to the Lower House! Are you denying that now?”

“Then why is the Lower House denying our Upper House’s right of veto?”

Both sides had been shouting at each other for days, not even listening to what the other was saying.

It had been a long time since they had made any new arguments, and now everyone was just repeating the same things like parrots.

After yelling for hours, it was no wonder their throats were sore.

Robespierre poured himself a glass of water and gulped it down.

While he took a breather, Danton took over and went up to the platform.

“Continuing to fight like this is unproductive and only increases the public’s fatigue. And what will happen when this reaches the ears of the Prime Minister, who is working tirelessly in the New World for the benefit of the nation? What will the Prime Minister say?”

Suddenly, silence descended on the chaotic assembly.

Some of the representatives reflexively turned to look in the direction of the Tuileries Palace.

The Tuileries Palace was less than a 20-minute walk from the Bourbon Palace, where the assembly was located.

To an outsider, it was both amazing and amusing to see the representatives, who had been shouting and fighting so fiercely, become quiet as soon as the Prime Minister’s name was mentioned.

It was clear who the real power in France was, no matter how much they talked about the Upper and Lower Houses.

“Ahem, why is the Prime Minister’s name being brought up here? The American Civil War must be in full swing, and the Prime Minister must be busy coordinating that.”

“Didn’t the Prime Minister’s closest aides get assigned to New France recently? Then, of course, the Prime Minister will be hearing news from the homeland from them.”

“…Well, that’s good for us! It means all the Lower House’s overreach will be brought to the Prime Minister’s attention!”

“Don’t forget how the Upper House has been obstructing the Lower House at every turn!”

Just when it seemed like things were calming down, someone shouted again, kicking off the second round.

In reality, there were over a hundred representatives, so the conflict that had already ignited was not easily extinguished.

Moreover, the structure itself was completely divided between commoners and nobles, making it impossible to remain neutral.

“Count Mirabeau! Say something, Count. You’re always quiet at times like this, but you’re clearly a member of the Upper House. It’s not right for you to always side with the Lower House!”

“…No, when have I ever sided with the Lower House…?”

“We’ve heard a lot of stories about how you’re close to the Lower House. If you keep acting like that, we’ll have to reconsider things.”

“It’s a misunderstanding! Of course, I also think Robespierre is being too extreme!”

In this way, those who tried to remain neutral were thoroughly attacked and constantly subjected to verification, as if they were traitors.

Eventually, even those who had been neutral had to clearly state their allegiance by shouting, “Robespierre is a bastard! The nobles are bastards!” and choosing their side.

Since the assembly was just fighting and cursing at each other, the citizens couldn’t possibly have a favorable view of them.

Neither side was able to gain a dominant advantage, so they couldn’t even dream of seizing public opinion.

Naturally, some newspapers criticized the Lower House, while others disparaged the Upper House, and a significant number of media outlets criticized both sides.

[The assembly is just fighting instead of doing politics. Is this what advanced politics looks like?]

[There’s no fairness in the face of power. The ugly truth of the political arena, where politics is secondary and only the strengthening of one’s own power matters]

Even as it was, many citizens in France were becoming increasingly interested in politics due to the rapidly changing situation.

But if all the news they heard was like this, it would be strange if they weren’t angry.

“Wasn’t it better when His Majesty ruled the country?”

“Hey, that’s not true. Back then, the corrupt nobles were openly exploiting us.”

“The current representatives don’t seem any different. What’s to say they won’t change like that later? Isn’t it possible that the ones who win among those fighting so fiercely now will become like the nobles of the past?”

The citizens who had begun to take an interest in politics were not fools.

They clearly saw the cause of the current conflict and the desires hidden behind it.

“…Is that so? Still, Christian wouldn’t let that happen.”

“Sigh… I wish they would just give up and make Christian the king…”

“Hey! Shut your mouth! You’re saying something that could cause big trouble! Christian took on the role of Prime Minister because he thinks that kind of system is backward.”

“Ah, my bad. But honestly, isn’t what I’m saying not that wrong? It’s clear that just concentrating power in the Prime Minister’s hands and doing as he says would be 100 times better than what we have now.”

“…That’s true. Still, the good thing is that the Prime Minister is still young, right? He’ll lead France for at least another 50 years. At least until my grandchildren grow up, there won’t be any problems.”
The citizens laughed, nonchalantly saying things that would have made Christian clutch the back of his neck if he had heard them.

“Right, right. Even if the representatives are acting like crazy people, the Prime Minister will take care of everything in the end.”

“Long live Prime Minister Christian, for life!”

Christian’s existence was a kind of deterrent that prevented the citizens from splitting into factions and causing bloodshed.

Still, conflicts that are accumulated without being resolved will eventually explode.

Just as the accumulated conflict was about to overflow, a ship from New France finally docked at the port.

※※※

“I’m sorry.”

The first thing Louis XVI said to me when he saw my face back in Versailles was a clean apology.

Yeah. He should be sorry.

I hadn’t even stopped by the Tuileries Palace [the royal residence in Paris], where my family was waiting, and had come to the palace in secret.

In the first place, no one in the mainland knows that I’ve arrived.

“How serious is it?”

“I heard there was a physical fight in the assembly just recently… That’s why Count Mirabeau came to me and asked me to mediate. He begged me so earnestly that I said I would.”

“Oh, are you going in person?”

He had been whining for me to do that, so why was he suddenly offering to step in himself?

If that was the case, I wouldn’t have had to come back to France.

As if reading my mind, Louis XVI shrugged with a look that said, “What are you talking about?”

“Me? Why?”

“You said you accepted Count Mirabeau’s request.”

“Well, I sent a letter saying that if he waited, you would come, right? So I said I would go.”

Ah, so he omitted the subject and just said he would go.

This guy’s increasingly brazen attitude is quite something.

“……”

“You’re not angry, are you? Still, I’m your brother and the king.”

“You should offer daily prayers of gratitude to your parents and God for letting you be born that way.”

“I’m already offering daily prayers of gratitude to God for sending you to me as my brother. I prayed yesterday, and seeing you arrive today, it seems God has answered my prayers. Haha.”

Is he deliberately teasing me?

If he had any sense, he wouldn’t do that, so he must be saying it sincerely, which is making my head spin.

I felt like my headache would get worse if I kept listening, so I got Louis XVI up from his seat and called for a carriage.

“Since we’re going to the assembly soon anyway, let’s just go right now.”

“What? Do I have to go too?”

“You don’t have to do anything, just set the mood from behind. You’re good at that, so you don’t need to prepare anything separately.”

“…I guess a surprise visit would be more effective. I understand.”

So we left Versailles Palace right away, and I got to see the chaotic scene at the Bourbon Palace [the meeting place of the National Assembly] in person.

“Robespierre! Are you crazy? You’re going to pass a bill to impeach a senator in the Lower House? Who do you think you are, the king of this country?”

“That’s because you’re all hopelessly incompetent!”

“You’re the incompetent one!”

Wow, our representatives’ voices are really loud.

Even without a microphone, their shouts were so loud that they could be heard outside the palace.

As I tried to go inside, the guards standing watch reflexively blocked the entrance.

“We can’t let you in right now because we’re in the middle of a meeting… Oh? Prime Minister? And the person behind you is…”

The soldier, who had his mouth wide open and was frozen in place, was forcibly moved aside by his colleague, who quickly bowed his head.

“I-I’m sorry! Please, come in!”

The flustered soldier hurriedly opened the door, forgetting to announce who was entering.

Naturally, the representatives, who were already agitated, shouted nervously when the door suddenly opened during the meeting.

“What? Who’s coming in during the meeting!”

“Without permission, what is this…!”

A Lower House representative who was in the middle of a speech pointed directly at me.

Then, realizing who he was pointing at, he trembled and pointed his extended index finger at the ceiling.

“The first person in the French Assembly, the first aristocrat, Duke of Orléans, Prime Minister Christian, and our great lord, His Majesty King Louis XVI, have entered!”

Having averted the crisis with surprising resourcefulness, he hurriedly came over and bowed repeatedly.

“Oh, if you had told us you were coming, we would have gone to the port to meet you, but we never expected you to come so suddenly!”

“I’m sorry for coming in without permission during the meeting. But it seemed like the situation was urgent, so I came. I hope you understand.”

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

I was already in a bad mood, and he gave me an excuse, so I was grateful.

Louis XVI, unconcerned about the coldly frozen atmosphere of the assembly, casually walked forward and took a seat.

As I stood next to him and looked around, the representatives who had been standing up and shouting naturally lowered their eyes and sat down.

Robespierre and Danton seemed at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Of course, the expressions of the high-ranking nobles who had been arguing with them were no different.

I deliberately looked at them with a face that said I didn’t know anything.

“The debate was so heated that I could hear it all the way outside. Keep going. I just arrived and don’t understand, so I need to listen to your stories to get a sense of what’s going on.”

“No… Prime Minister. It’s not that…”

“What’s not that? I thought I heard Robespierre trying to pass some new bill. Did I hear wrong?”

“No… that…”

If you’re going to fight, do it all the way.

As soon as they knew I was here, they shut their mouths as if nothing had happened, which made me even angrier.

“You guys fought because you had convictions, didn’t you? So I came all the way from the New World to mediate, so don’t feel pressured and keep going. I don’t mind at all.”

“……”

“……”

No answer came from either the Upper or Lower House representatives.

“Hey, don’t worry about the rudeness you just showed me and His Majesty. You know better than anyone that neither His Majesty nor I are petty enough to get angry about that. Did you think I was such a bad person that I would confuse public and private matters?”

“N-No! Of course not, Prime Minister…”

“I had to give up coordinating a war that would bring enormous benefits to France and come here in a hurry, so there must have been something big going on. Right? Even though I didn’t even get to see my third child being born, and I came straight here without even seeing my wife’s face, I thought it couldn’t be helped. Politics isn’t always a problem because you guys did something wrong, is it?”

“I-I’m sorry…!”

“Oh, what’s there to be sorry about? Did the Lower House completely disregard the authority of the Upper House and push things forward on its own, or did the Upper House interfere with all the Lower House’s activities using its veto power, or did the Lower House occupy the parliament to neutralize such an Upper House, or did the government become paralyzed and fail to pass necessary bills in time? If none of that happened, there’s no reason for me to be angry, is there?”

Gritting teeth.

I didn’t mean to do this, but my teeth keep grinding on their own?

No matter how I think about it, there’s no answer.

You guys are going to get a beating first.

< Establishing Discipline > End