"Why aren't you leaving after you got it? Don't block the way and delay the people behind from getting their food."
Looking at the somewhat moldy potato in his hand, the young man couldn't believe that this was his rations for the day.
He couldn't help but ask, "Wasn't there a piece of bread yesterday? Why is there only one potato today? How are we going to survive?"
The official in charge of food distribution scolded disdainfully, "What nonsense! Why don't you think about it yourself?
If it weren't for you refugees, there wouldn't be a shortage of food in the city. Now you've dragged everyone into starvation. It's good enough that you have food to eat, and you still want to be picky? Get out of here! "
In the face of hunger, the ugliness of human nature was completely exposed. The influx of refugees damaged the interests of the local people. Although the new government tried its best to suppress the conflict between the two sides, the conflict between the two sides had never stopped. As the situation continued to deteriorate, this conflict also became increasingly intense.
Although the situation in Paris had changed and the government had changed several times, the middle and lower officials were basically the same group of people.
Seeing that the new government was about to be destroyed again, the bureaucrats also became crazy. As long as they could make money, there was nothing they wouldn't do.
The first unlucky ones were naturally the foreign refugees. Anyway, these people had no one to rely on and died in vain. Naturally, they were the most bullied targets.
Did the senior officials of the new government really not know?
Not necessarily!
The enemy was too cunning. They directly adopted siege tactics and didn't enter the city at all. Even if the new government had thousands of calculations, there was no room to play.
The low-level soldiers of the coalition army, who originally planned to instigate a rebellion, were now blocked by rows of mines, and the two sides couldn't even make contact.
In this context, if the senior officials of the new government didn't want to go to the guillotine, they could only wait for the climax of the revolution to arrive.
The food stored in the city was limited. If they wanted to last longer, the only way was to reduce the number of people. The senior officials of the government might be happy to see the bureaucrats do whatever they wanted.
On the dark side, if the refugees didn't conflict with the local people, then the starving people would target the new government with hatred.
Human greed was infinite. After tasting the sweetness of embezzling food and selling it, they could no longer stop. It was not surprising that this scene appeared in front of them.
"What? Only one potato? Are you trying to starve us to death! "
"There's only one potato. Could it be that someone pocketed our rations? A potato is going to force us into a dead end. "
"No, I must get the bread today!"
…
"Bang, bang, bang …"
Gunshots rang out, and the scene instantly quieted down. Faced with soldiers armed with live ammunition, the unorganized refugees found it hard to muster the courage to resist.
"Troublemakers, kill!"
"The food that we gave you for free was all saved up by us bit by bit. If anyone is not satisfied, you can choose not to accept it. No one will force you!
If they wanted relief rations, they had to follow the rules. If you don't have enough to eat, that's your own problem. How many people in Paris can eat their fill now? Everyone is starving. Why can't you? "
The middle-aged official's murderous words suppressed the chaotic scene, leaving only pairs of angry eyes.
There was no right or wrong in the adult world, only pros and cons. As far as the eye could see, most of the refugees in the queue were young and strong, and there were very few old and weak people. It was obvious what had happened behind the scenes.
Everyone was working hard to survive, so there was nothing to criticize. No one was cleaner than anyone else. If he wanted to survive in this chaotic world, he had to be ruthless.
…
In the presidential palace, Daniel, as the leader of the government, was looking out of the window at the moment, with endless worry between his brows.
The crisis that belonged to Paris had just begun. It was now autumn, and the main problem in Paris was food. After a period of time, heating would become a new problem.
"Even the cleverest housewife can't cook without rice." No matter how hard Daniel racked his brains, he couldn't think of a solution to the lack of supplies.
If it was before they raised the butcher's knife against the nobles, there was still a possibility of compromise. For an intact Paris, the Bourbons would most likely make a deal with them, and it would not be difficult to get preferential treatment.
But now it was impossible. In the previous purge, the revolutionary government had been stained with the blood of the nobles. Surrender was a dead end, and only by fighting to the death could there be a chance of survival.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, the cruel reality told Daniel that this "chance of survival" was becoming more and more illusory.
The expected climax of the revolution did not break out, and Daniel knew that the revolution had failed again. It was not that they did not work hard enough, it was that the enemy was too strong.
From the moment the royalists reached a compromise, the strength of the two sides was determined. The Bourbons had the European Union behind them, but they had nothing behind them.
Even the United States, which was originally inclined to them, would not be able to withstand the pressure of the European Union and provide support at this time.
Knock, knock, knock …
The sound of knocking on the door pulled Daniel back to reality. He slowly said, "Come in!"
The young man panted and said, "Mr. Daniel, our negotiation with the enemy has failed. They are worried that we are pretending to be refugees, so they refused to open a passage to let the people out of the city. "
"Got it!"
Daniel replied indifferently. It was as if it was just a trivial matter, not worth taking to heart at all.
This was to be expected. Politics was cruel, and the restoration of the Bourbons was about to succeed. Naturally, they did not want to complicate matters at this time.
Opening a passage to let the refugees out of the city seemed not a big problem, but in fact, it was asking for trouble. Not to mention the millions of mouths, the key point was that it increased the risk of the restoration failing.
There were millions of people in the city of Paris, and if these people were left in the city, it would only take a few months for the revolutionary government to collapse. The Bourbons did not have to do anything, and they could win without doing anything.
If they let all these people out, all the material crisis in the city would be solved. Then, they had no choice but to fight the revolutionaries in the streets.
Not to mention the heavy price they had to pay, the problem was, would the refugees be grateful to the Bourbons because of this?
The answer was: no.
The human heart was complicated. Perhaps everyone would be grateful in the beginning. But this kind of gratitude would not last. Soon, everyone would turn to hatred because of a series of problems such as the lack of material supply and resettlement in time.
Coupled with the provocation of the revolutionaries, there might even be an anti-hunger uprising outside the city. It wasn't like something like this hadn't happened before in human history.
If they really wanted to let the refugees out, the revolutionary government would have done it as early as the beginning of the civil war. There was no need to wait until now.
If the allied forces of the nobles immediately attacked the city after they arrived, then the refugees would be the best cannon fodder that could be used to deplete the enemy's strength.
As an extreme idealist, in Daniel's eyes, anything could be sacrificed as long as it could achieve his ideals, including his own life, let alone a bunch of refugees.
After pausing for a while, Daniel added, "Merlin, inform the others to activate the backup plan. At this point, we can't care so much anymore. "
The young man's expression changed drastically. He hesitated and said, "Mr. Daniel, do we really have to do this? The enemy might not fall for it. If the enemy doesn't come, then … "
"There is no if!"
"Live or die. This is a gamble. If we win, France will be an ideal country without oppression and exploitation. If we lose … "
At this point, Danielle's words came to an abrupt halt. If they lost, they would all be dead. Naturally, they did not need to know what was going to happen next.
…
"Hand over the food, or I'll beat you to death!"
Bam!
The middle-aged man who was surrounded launched the first attack. At this point, food was life. In order to survive, he had to fight.
Similar scenes played out in the streets and alleys of Paris every day. In the face of hunger, the survival of the fittest showed the most instinctive instinct of nature.
The police, who were supposed to maintain order, gradually withdrew from everyone's sight at some point in time. Other than the official gathering areas and the main streets, there was almost no sign of them in other areas.
In order to survive, more and more people began to form groups. One after another, gangs emerged. Robbery, rape, murder, and all kinds of vicious crimes emerged one after another.
The government's indifference finally aroused the dissatisfaction of the people. The anti-hunger movement sprouted from the refugee camps and soon spread to the workers and citizens of Paris.
On October 21, 1893, a massive anti-hunger demonstration broke out in Paris. The cries of the people were directly transmitted to Carlos' headquarters outside the city.
Whether to launch an attack on the city became the focus of controversy among the nobles again.
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