C2617 national fanaticism (1/2)
In the end, Napoleon III still gave in to the nationalist enthusiasm. When he forcefully sent out the threat of war, the entire France fell into a state of fanaticism.
No matter if it was status or wealth, at this moment, they were all people of France. Their glorious victories over and over again in the long history were being repeated in the same fashion.
The newspaper kept reporting the glory of France's history, from Henry IV to the Joan of Arc, from Louis XIV to Napoleon. Bonaparte... A great man creates a great cause, and the glory of the Empire is like a needle of morphine in the blood of men.
In his memoirs, the American ambassador to France, Wash Bon, chronicles the national fanaticism of this period.
”All the bars and cafes are packed, even those notorious for being stingy have become generous under the influence of alcohol. They treat the surrounding poor people one after another to a drink …”
”The workers in extreme poverty seemed to have forgotten their miserable lives. After work, they would gather at a place with many people and listen to countless lecturers tell glorious stories about the history of the Empire. When their blood boiled, they would trade the last few coins in their pockets for cups of cheap alcohol and forget their wives and children waiting for their food …”
”Those who are not in it will not be able to understand this feverish feeling. Those impassioned orators have repeated Napoleon's glorious victory over the Giza Pyramid again and again!”
”Facing the tide of Ottoman soldiers and the Mamluks that rolled towards us like sandstorms, Napoleon the First is fearless. Carrying the greatest treasure of the European Army, he has nailed the French Expeditionary Force at the bottom of the Giza Pyramid!”
”Firecrackers fill the sky, gunshots rain down like rain, the shouts of the cavalry countercharge makes even the slumbering Old Law tremble in fear!”
”It was this war that established Napoleon's terrifying reputation as the War God. Until now, when the Egyptians mentioned Napoleon's name, the two wars were in constant fear!”
”Soldiers!” Forty centuries to watch you from the top of the pyramid! ”
”This was the famous saying that Napoleon encouraged his soldiers back then. He used four thousand years of history to become the Expeditionary forces's whetstone and eventually became the world's number one army!”
”Who would have thought that beneath the yellow sand of the Giza Pyramid, the exhausted and outnumbered French Expeditionary Force would erupt with that pool of blood in their chests? And how did they defeat Indigenous soldiers who is several times stronger than themselves? ”
”If you are not a part of this race, you will never be able to experience the pride within!”
”In the battle of Austerlitz, the three emperors of Europe have gathered together. The France's War God fought two emperors of Europe alone.
”When the news of the Tripartite Emperor's victory reached our country, the enthusiasm of the French nation immediately peaked! The France was actually the Divine Roman Empire that had ended a thousand years ago! An unfathomable and wild victory caused the minds of the entire French Nation to boil! ”
”At that time, the entire France believed that the destiny of Europe was completely in the hands of France!”
”And today, people have once again smelled the scent of victory. Countless people on the streets shouted the name 'Jena', and that was where the Prussian was completely defeated by Napoleon in one lifetime!”
”The French have gone completely mad. They have fallen into a frenzy of nationalism and are unable to extricate themselves. My heart is deeply shocked, but at the same time, there is also a trace of worry!”
The memoirs of the United States Ambassador Walsh Bonn became an important historical basis for people to study this period of time. He carefully recorded the emotional fluctuations of the citizens of Paris from the perspective of a bystander.