French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 20: Drema is our beloved leader... therefore, we need to pay more.

Two large leather suitcases were brought in front of everyone and placed down. When the bottom of the suitcases touched the ground, they made a dull "bang" sound. Anyone could tell that they were filled with heavy objects.

Drema, who had thought he was all set, froze with a smile. He instinctively stopped and tried to find out what was in the suitcase.

"Your Highness, what is this?"

This inspection felt like a turn-based game; it was Drema's turn before, and now it was his turn.

With his confidence restored, Eugène straightened his back. Instead of immediately responding to Drema's question, Eugène gestured to the four men in suits to carry the suitcase to the central hall on either side of the corridor.

Then, ignoring the somewhat flustered Drema, Eugène Napoleon addressed the gendarmes along the way.

"All military police on duty, assemble in the hall. I have something important to announce."

The military police hesitated, turning to Drema for his opinion.

Drema's previous task for them was to ignore their new superior, Pierre, in order to demonstrate that the French Garrison Gendarmerie Command could not do without him, Drema.

Faced with the questions from the soldiers, Drema, whose face was somewhat grim, reluctantly nodded.

The French government has not yet received news of the unfavorable situation at the front, and the Bonaparte family's rule remains stable on the surface.

Unless Dremar was insane, he would never have allowed the gendarmes to defy Eugène Napoleon's orders.

With permission from their former superior, the military police put down their work and quickly gathered in the center of the hall. There were too many people to stand in, so the military police stood in the corridors on both sides where they could see the hall.

Seeing that Eugène was ignoring him completely and was just waiting for the military police to assemble, Drema's unease grew stronger, and he could no longer maintain his smile.

After all, Eugène had made it clear that this move was definitely aimed at him, but Drema, who had no idea what move Eugène was going to make, could only pretend to be calm and try to persuade Eugène Napoleon.

"If Your Highness has important matters to announce, why not discuss them in your office? Why trouble all the soldiers?"

"This matter must be discussed in front of all the military police."

Eugène, who finally spoke to Drema, walked straight through the military police who had made way for him on both sides and came to the two large leather suitcases.

Instead of opening it himself, Eugène waved to Pierre behind him.

"Open it."

Upon receiving the order, Pierre stepped forward and forcefully opened the lid of the first suitcase. The gendarmes saw a large number of brand-new, blue 25-franc banknotes lying quietly inside.

The military police, who had never seen anything like it before, held their breath and began to look at the next suitcase.

The first suitcase was full of francs, could it be...?

The next second, Pierre satisfied everyone's curiosity by opening a second suitcase, which was also full of francs.

The combined value of the two suitcases in francs was considerable; each suitcase contained approximately 40 francs worth of 25-franc banknotes.

Two boxes would cost 80 francs. Even if we consider a gendarme on horseback, he would earn at most 1000 francs a year, and that's under the best circumstances. If we really calculate it, it would be around 918 francs a year.

80 francs, at 1000 francs a year, would require a cavalry gendarme to serve for 800 years. In other words, these two chests of money could have formed a gendarme squad of 150 foot soldiers or 100 mounted soldiers.

With such a large sum of money in front of them, the military police immediately erupted in excitement, craning their necks and staring at the francs in the suitcase with extremely eager eyes.

Now I understand, now I understand everything.

Drema's face darkened when he saw the first suitcase, which contained money, because Drema knew what His Highness was about to do.

Eugene's extravagant spending has already made him somewhat famous in Paris, but many people are just watching him make a fool of himself.

In their view, raising the army's salary and distributing bread to the people were completely meaningless actions. The people of Paris had not yet reached the point of being unable to survive, and were still some distance from the threshold of revolution. This was a fact that both the aristocratic and capitalist circles agreed on.

In this situation, Eugene's lavish spending has only spoiled the appetites of the lower classes.

In their view, Eugène Napoleon was betraying his class, but no one made things difficult for him because of it.

The anti-Bonaparte forces were holding onto this matter, preparing to give the French emperor a hard time in the National Assembly when Napoleon III returned.

Those in power knew that Eugène Napoleon had a considerable amount of loan funds, while Drema clearly did not have such access to information.

In Drema's eyes, Eugène should have squandered most of his money recently, so it's surprising that he can still come up with so much money now.

Seeing is believing, and Drema stared intently at Eugène. He couldn't believe that the prince would be willing to give such a large sum of money to his gendarmes.

Eugène, completely unaware of the brainstorming session Drema was having behind the scenes, raised his hand to signal the noisy military police to quiet down. Once the headquarters had returned to calm, Eugène cleared his throat and began to speak.

"Brave soldiers, I know you have stood guard for years, sacrificing so much to protect the security of Paris. Today, I am not here for anything else, but simply to distribute benefits. I think you have all heard some news from your police and soldier colleagues."

Paris is neither small nor large. As one of the three main military forces in Paris, the Gendarmerie had heard rumors that Eugène had spent a lot of money on the other two institutions.

Because they had not received this benefit for a long time, part of the reason why Drema was able to demonstrate his authority so easily was due to the dissatisfaction of some of the military police themselves.

Knowing exactly what the military police wanted, Eugène didn't mince words and directly announced that the military police would enjoy the same treatment as the police and privates.

"From today onwards, all gendarmes stationed in Paris will receive a pay rise of 5 francs per month. In addition, given the current tense situation, I will provide an extra 10 francs per month as a wartime allowance."

I'd go through fire and water for you, Your Highness Eugene.

The military police, who had finally received their share of the benefits, cheered loudly. They didn't know any of the names Drema or Balema, and were completely unfamiliar with them.

Faced with the power of money, the gendarmes had already forgotten their agreement with Drema. After the gendarmes finished cheering, Eugène dropped the second bombshell.

The first pay raise was something that all three systems received, and as a third party, the military police couldn't help but feel that it was a matter of course.