Chapter 249 Heat
France.
Jaime Medina, the current head of the Medina family, the old Count Jacob Medina unfortunately passed away in March this year, and Jaime Medina inherited the title.
The Medina family was an ally of the Hechingen royal family in France, but in the early years, the old Count Jacob Medina was banished to the cold palace because he opposed the reforms of Napoleon III.
As an old man who followed Napoleon the Great, Jacob Medina was very dissatisfied with some of Napoleon III's policies, especially when facing other factions in the country besides the Napoleonic faction.
After being rejected by Napoleon III, the Medina family, which had already been hostile to the Orleans and Bourbon dynasties and the Republicans, can be imagined its fate.
The Medina family, which had faded out of politics, had already declined severely before Ernst's rise. This decline was all-round.
Later, Ernst went to France to reunite these old family friends and, through financial assistance, namely the Hechingen Consortium's agent in France, helped them get better financially.
But the price paid is that it is further away from the political center of Paris, because the center of the Hechingen Consortium in France is the southern port city of Marseille.
The Hechingen French allied group represented by the Medina family, with the support of Ernst, has formed a considerable force in southern France.
The death of the old count reminded Napoleon III of this stubborn old guy. Although he disliked him very much, he was an old minister following the Napoleon family after all. So in June, Napoleon summoned Jaime Medina, the successor of the Medina family, to Paris.
"Your Majesty, although the Medina family has long been ignored in France, I still have to say that there is no chance of winning the war unless France is fully prepared for a total war. Any irrational behavior may ruin the reputation of the Napoleon family in France."
These were the first words Jaime Medina said upon meeting Napoleon III.
"Well, Count Medina, I have no plans to start a war recently."
"I am just predicting. There will always be a winner between Prussia and France. We need the land along the Rhine and the divided Germany, while Prussia wants the unity and integrity of the entire Germany. The two sides have irreconcilable contradictions."
"That's a good point, but what do you mean by preparations for total war?"
"Prussia is not a small country, but a military power in Europe. The current French military strength and system cannot quickly defeat Prussia. Once the war is delayed, the whole of Germany will be clenched into a fist by Prussia. Therefore, France's war against Prussia is different from the previous Crimea and Italian battlefields. To deal with the North German Federation, the French army's system should be changed to be similar to Prussia, which is easier to organize large-scale combat..."
Medina was interrupted by Napoleon III before he finished speaking: "Prussia has indeed made some achievements in recent years, but that is because of the help of us, France. Without my acquiescence, not to mention Austria, even Denmark would probably have a hard time. Moreover, we were deceived by that despicable Bismarck last time. He promised us French land, but he never delivered. And recently Bismarck instigated Leopold to compete for the King of Spain. If we don't stop it in time, I'm afraid France will be attacked from all sides."
"Your Majesty! I know all this, but the problem now is that the Prussian army has completed drastic reforms and has been tempered by war. Its military system is becoming more and more perfect, but France is somewhat unmotivated!"
"Enough, Count Medina, it is not your turn to talk nonsense about the Imperial Army. If the old count knew that you have become like this and are afraid of a small Prussia, he would probably be so angry that he would crawl out of his grave." Marshal McMahon, who had just returned from Algeria, shouted at Medina angrily.
At the same time, other French generals also began to bombard Medina. Seeing that the situation in the court was becoming somewhat chaotic, Napoleon III urgently called a halt.
"That's enough. Stop arguing. Medina, go back to Marseille first! The answer will be revealed in a month, and the imperial soldiers will prove everything with their strength."
In a word, the Medina family was exiled again. Count Medina seemed to have expected this. He turned around and prepared to leave. Before leaving, he looked back and said, "Your Majesty, you will regret this!"
After leaving the Compiègne Palace, a group of media reporters swarmed in. They came from various newspapers and publishing houses in France and surrounded Medina as if they had planned it.
The reporter from the magazine "Noise" asked Count Medina: "Count Medina, is it true that you are against the war?"
"Of course, France is not ready for war."
A day later, the magazine "Noise" published a cartoon titled "Surrender without a fight, the old count sheds tears." Medina knelt on the map of Germany, facing the direction of the map of France, and shouted the word "peace". The vilified Bismarck set up artillery behind him, and a shell had already flown towards France. In the upper right corner of the cartoon, the old Count Jacob Medina cursed the "traitor" in heaven.
The reporter from Hawass News Agency then asked: "Then Count Medina, who do you think is stronger, France or Prussia?"
"Of course it's France, but I can't say much about its military."
The next day, the Hawass News Agency headline read, "Count Medina believes France is no match for Prussia."
…
That night, Medina took a train and "escaped" from Paris. If he didn't run away, the angry people of Paris would probably eat him alive the next day.
The French people, who had just experienced the humiliation of the Ems telegram, also known as the "Bismarck secret telegram", were furious with Prussia. War with Prussia was already the trend of public opinion. If they sang a different tune at this time, they would definitely be attacked by the public.
The reporters were not hired by others but were all paid by Medina. As for why he did this, it was naturally for traffic.
Medina knew very well that ever since the old count retired, the Medina family had been completely marginalized in France. Even if they made a comeback now, they would not be trusted because the French Empire had no Medina ships.
Although he deliberately caused a lot of trouble in Paris, after returning to Marseille, Medina planned to use the media under Hechingen to whitewash himself.
But he could not allow himself to be branded as a capitulator. He was also a war advocate, but not a blind one. Rather, he was a rational war advocate who "saw the shortcomings of the French government."
Three days later, the Marseille media began to take action, and Medina, with the help of local newspapers, began to confront the Paris newspapers.
"The news media in Paris distorted the facts and misinterpreted my original words, unlike the media practitioners in Marseille, who have a good and realistic spirit."
The media in Marseille were naturally very happy with the praise and criticism. They used the "Medina incident" to criticize their counterparts in Paris. They were the noble children living in the "big cities". Their public opinion on France always stayed on the capital of Paris and they looked down on any place outside of Paris, not even the great revolutionary city of Marseille.
The Paris media, which was tricked by Medina, naturally did not show any weakness and launched a barrage of attacks on Medina and his colleagues in Marseille.
The matter became more and more serious. The French government stepped in in time to stop the farce, but the Medina family's reputation was completely ruined. It doesn't matter whether Medina is a war faction, a peace faction, or a surrender faction.
(End of this chapter)
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