Holy Roman Empire

"Get it and go, don't block the way here and delay the people behind you from collecting the food."

Looking at the somewhat moldy potato in his hand, the young man couldn't believe that this was his ration for the day.

He couldn't help but ask, "Wasn't there a piece of bread yesterday, how come there's only one potato today, how can we live?"

The officer in charge of distributing the food, scowled, "Waste of words! Why don't you think for yourself?

If it weren't for you refugees, there wouldn't be a shortage of food in the city. It's good to have food now that you're dragging everyone along with you to starve, but you still want to pick and choose, so get out of here!"

In the face of starvation, the full ugliness of human nature was exposed. The influx of refugees was detrimental to the interests of the local people, and although the new government was doing its best to suppress the conflict between the two sides, secretly there had been no break in the conflict. As the situation worsened, this conflict grew hotter and hotter.

The new government had changed several times, but the middle and lower level officials were basically the same people.

The new government is about to be finished, and the bureaucrats are going crazy, so long as they can make money, they won't dare to do anything.

The first to suffer were the foreign refugees. These people have no one to depend on and die in vain anyway, so naturally they are the most bullied.

Did the new government higher-ups really not know?

Not necessarily!

The enemy was too cunning, directly adopting siege tactics and not entering the city at all, even though the new government had a thousand plans, there was no room for them to play.

Originally, they had planned to rebel against the soldiers at the bottom of the noble alliance, but now they were separated by rows of mines, and the two sides could not even make contact.

Against this backdrop, if the new government's top brass didn't want to be guillotined, they would have to die and wait for the revolutionary climax to come.

There is limited food stored in the city, and the only way to last longer is to reduce the population. The top brass may or may not be happy with the actions of the bureaucrats down below.

In a darker sense, if the refugees don't clash with the locals, the underfed population will target their hatred at the new government.

People's greed is limitless, and once they've tasted the sweetness of withholding and selling food, they can't stop. It is not surprising that the scene in front of us is happening.

"What? Only one potato, is this starving us!"

"There's only one potato, so it's not like someone's taken our rations for themselves, is it? A potato that's going to push us over the edge."

"No, I have to get the bread today!"

......

"Bang, bang, bang ......"

The gunshots rang out and the scene was instantly quiet. Facing the loaded soldiers, it was really hard for the unorganized refugees to raise the courage to resist.

"Troublemakers, kill!"

"All of this free food given to you is saved by us one bite at a time. If anyone feels unsatisfied, they can leave it alone, no one will force you!

If you want relief food, then follow the rules. If you don't have enough to eat, that's your problem. How many people in all of Paris can eat now, and everyone is starving, so why shouldn't you?"

The middle-aged official's murderous words suppressed the chaotic scene, leaving behind only a pair of angry eyes.

There was no right or wrong in the world of adults, only pros and cons. Looking around it was obvious what was happening behind the scenes, the refugees who came to line up were mostly young and strong, the old and weak were rarely seen anymore.

Everyone was trying to survive, there was nothing to blame, and no one was much cleaner than anyone else. If you want to survive in this chaotic world, you have to be ruthless.

......

In the presidential palace, Danielle, who was the leader of the government, was now peering out the window, and there was still an endless number of sorrows between her brows.

The crisis belonging to Paris had only just begun, it was autumn, the main conflict in Paris was food, and in a little while heating would also become a new one.

"A clever woman can't cook without rice." Even though Danielle racked her brain, she couldn't think of a solution to the shortage of supplies.

If it was before raising the butcher's knife against the nobility, there was still a possibility of compromise between the two sides. For the sake of an intact Paris, the Bourbons would most likely make a deal with them, and it wouldn't be hard to get a preferential treatment.

It was impossible now. The revolutionary government had already accounted for the blood of the aristocratic groups in the previous purges. Surrendering was the only way to die, and the only way to have a chance of survival was to carry on.

Although he didn't want to admit it, the harsh reality told Danielle that this "silver lining" was becoming more and more elusive.

Danielle knew that the revolution had failed again when the expected revolutionary climax failed to materialize. It was not that they did not try hard enough, but the enemy was too powerful.

From the moment the royalists reached a compromise, the strength and weakness of the two sides were set in stone. The Bourbon dynasty had the European Union behind them, and they had nothing behind their height.

Even if the United States of America, which was originally inclined towards them, couldn't possibly offer them support at this time against the pressure of the European Union.

"Knock knock ......"

A knock on the door brought Danielle back to reality and said slowly, "Come in!"

The young man gasped, "Mr. Danielle, our negotiations with the enemy have failed. They refused to open an opening to let the people out of the city, citing fears that we were masquerading as refugees."

"I see!"

Danielle replied indifferently. It was as if it was a trivial matter, completely unworthy of being taken seriously.

This was to be expected. Politics was cruel, and with the success of the Bourbon Dynasty's restoration on the horizon, it was natural that they would not want to cause any complications at this time.

Opening an opening to let the refugees out of the city may not seem like a big problem, but it is actually asking for trouble. It's not enough to say that there are millions more mouths to feed, the key is to increase the risk of failure of the restoration.

There were millions of people in the city of Paris, and keeping these people in the city would have eaten the revolutionary government down in a matter of months. Nothing would have to be done, and the Bourbon dynasty would lie down and win.

If all these people were released, all the material crisis within the city would be solved. Then there'd be no choice but to engage the revolutionaries in street battles.

Not to mention the terrible price to be paid, the question is whether the refugees will be grateful to the Bourbons for this.

The answer is: no.

The human heart is complex, and people may be grateful at first. But this gratitude will not last, and soon people will turn hostile to each other because of the delayed resettlement and insufficient supplies.

This, coupled with the provocations of the revolutionaries, may even lead to an uprising against hunger outside the city. It's not like similar things haven't happened before in human history.

If they really wanted to let the refugees leave, the revolutionary government would have done it as early as the outbreak of the civil war, so there was no need to wait until now.

If the aristocratic allied forces had launched an immediate offensive upon arrival, the refugees would have been the best cannon fodder to deplete the enemy's strength.

As an extreme idealist, in Danielle's eyes everything could be sacrificed, including her own life, as long as she could achieve her ideals, not to mention a group of refugees.

After a moment's pause for effort, Danielle added, "Myron, notify down to activate the backup plan. At this point, it's too late to care."

The young man turned pale and hesitantly said, "Mr. Danielle, do we really have to do this? The enemy may not be fooled, but in case the enemy doesn't come, then ......"

"No just in case!"

"It's live or die. It's a gamble that France is an ideal country free of oppression and exploitation if you win; and ...... if you lose."

Here, Danielle's words came to an abrupt end. Having lost the bet, they were all dead, so naturally they didn't need to know what was going to happen next.

......

"Hand over your food, or I'll kill you!"

"Bang!"

The middle-aged man surrounded by the attacked before anyone else, and at this point food is life, so it's impossible not to fight in order to survive.

Similar scenes are played out every day in the streets of Paris. In the face of hunger, the survival of nature's most instinctive survival of the fittest is presented.

The police, who were supposed to maintain order, gradually withdrew from everyone's sight at some point. They were almost invisible except in the official gathering area and the main street.

In order to survive, more and more people started hugging the group. A black power gang was formed and robbery, rape and murder of all kinds of vicious crimes were committed.

The government's indifference finally sparked popular discontent. The anti-hunger movement sprouted from the refugee camps and soon spread to the workers and citizens of Paris.

On October 21, 1893, a huge anti-hunger march erupted in Paris, and the cries of the people were transmitted directly to Carlos's headquarters outside the city.

Whether or not to launch a siege was once again a point of contention among the nobility.