C2937 Tragic world

Blanqui knew that asking for seats in the council now was unrealistic. No one would be able to hold another election for them workers right now!

Since there was no hope of a seat in the council, they had to think of all the practical benefits they could think of. After all, these things were first decided upon by them.

At the end of the nineteenth century, especially before and after the Franco-Prussian War, the life of France's working class was extremely poor. Many literary works recorded the hardships of the people at that time, many of which were unimaginable to the people of the 21st century.

For example, in the novel "The Tragedy World" that Wei Keduoyuguo wrote, the female lead, Fangting, sold her hair for 10 francs, and sold her two front teeth for 40 francs.

When he was a maid, he was beaten, insulted, and treated like an inhuman person. In the end, he was reduced to a prostitute … These stories may seem fictitious, but they were all archetypal in the society of the time.

According to the historical records of the French Police Department compiled by the Historian, many of the records described the chaos and poverty in Paris at that time.

'All the craftsmen on the island of Sidai have moved away, leaving fifteen thousand jobless people behind. The clock tower of Notre Dame looks down on these low and chaotic buildings … '

'Large numbers of marginal men and women, who only survive by robbing, and who muck around in filthy bars and brothels... '

'The fifth district on the left bank is filled with countless vendors selling scrap iron and cloth, while the St. Mark's area on the outskirts of the country has long been infested with pestilences … '

'They live next door to District 14, the scavengers and the leatherworkers, and the remains of the animals are thrown into the Bier Hana.'

A newspaper observer once wrote, "The central and eastern parts of Paris have formed a Gothic city, dark, gloomy, full of piss and fanaticism, a place of darkness and disorder, a terrible hotbed of violence, misery and blood."

"Horrible neighborhoods and mud houses smelt horribly in the Dead Pond. Paris is already an extremely unhealthy city. Every year, more people die than a newborn … "

"However, due to the constant influx of poor people from other provinces, the number of newborns in the city is obviously decreasing. Yet, the size of the city is increasing day by day …"

Only one fifth of the buildings had clean drinking water. The winter chill was a permanent problem. Even though Osman had done the biggest work to beautify the cities, the painted cities still could not cover up the devil's poverty!

Under this kind of background, it was obvious what the lives of ordinary people were like. Those workers that followed Blanqui with their lives, wouldn't be brought out from the bitter waters.

Their bitter life had accumulated countless evil spirits in the hearts of the people, and when the French Emperor was in power, these evil spirits had been aimed directly at Napoleon III.

Now that the French Emperor had fallen, the hostility of the people had to be vented, they had to clearly see the improvement in their lives. If they did not achieve this, the hostility would probably shift its target of hatred, targeting the representatives of the capitalists in the council.

If a soldier of the National Guard could earn two francs or even a half a day, it would be fine. This would be enough to satisfy the needs of a family of three, and they would even have some money to buy coal in the winter to keep themselves warm.

However, it was just to keep himself warm and satiated. It was impossible for him to have any savings!

Previously, Empress Ou Renni had ordered Trochu, Montaubon and the others to pay the National Guard. However, at that time, they would only give each soldier 70 centimeters per day. A franc is equal to one hundred centimes)

Eating was only half full, so at that time National Guard would already be so full that she would want to overthrow French Emperor's rule, even if it meant working for her whole family!

Blanqui knew that he had to settle this most important matter today. If the new government could not agree to it, then, even if they had to carry out their eternal humiliation, they had to start a revolution today!

The world was vast, and food was the largest. Malnourished children starved to death in the poverty-stricken East District every day. This type of burning urgency had to be solved, and there was no room for negotiation in the face of life and death.

The proposal to raise revenues was a headache for these members. If they could pass it, the National Guard would have to spend more than 400,000 francs more each day.

This was only the beginning. If the Prussian troops came before the city gates, the expenditure of money spent on expanding the army would not be small either.

It was painful to hear, but the most painful thing was the proposal that followed. No matter how much money they earned, it would only end up as a national expenditure. However, the proposal after that was to directly chop off the flesh of rich people like them.

What the hell is it that pawns below thirty francs must be returned to the poor? Take money directly from the pawnbroker?

Who dares to provoke the pawnshop?

There was actually a proposal not to allow the eviction of tenants? Not only did he not allow the price to rise, he even wanted to lower the price by 30%? Bandits!

They may not have direct investments in pawnshops or real estate, but their relatives, friends, or business associates are connected to those industries.

More fundamentally, the owners of the votes supporting the councilors were these small and middle-sized capitalists!

The whole council was in an uproar, everyone was denouncing Blanqui!

"Blackmail! You are using the country as a pretext to blackmail us! "

"God is watching us. This kind of unreasonable proposal can never be approved!"

"The pawn shop doesn't owe you, why should I give you money for free …"

"Renting a house without money? It's reasonable for them to not pay anymore? "

Faced with such a censure, Blanqui's heart was as iron as steel, unafraid of anything. "Gentlemen, no matter how much you slander and insult them, this proposal must be passed today!"

"When a nation is in trouble, everyone has to sacrifice their own strength. If the poor people gave their lives, then wouldn't the rich people like you not even be willing to give us money?"

"This is everyone's country! Everyone must take responsibility and be responsible! "

Blanqui licked his chapped lips and sneered, "Gentlemen, please forever remember, now that war has arrived, wouldn't it all the poor people of the world who rushed to the frontlines to die in battle?"

"They don't even want their lives, can't they get a better treatment?"

"It's September now, and the weather is getting colder and colder day by day. If we can't calm the hearts of the citizens, how will we survive this winter?"

"What are the valuables of the poor people? Wasn't it the clothes for the winter at home! The standard I set for thirty francs was just to get people back their winter clothes... "

"And the reform of the rental system! Do you want to freeze these people to death? They're all dead, who's going to fight? "

In the end, Blanqui still spoke in a cold and gloomy voice, "Gentlemen, I must remind you that protecting the poor in the empire isn't just limited to being gathered in the National Guard …"

"You have to know, within the regular army, there are also the newly formed army regiments in the south …" It's also because of the majority of the poor! "