In November 1872, Gane and Alecu Holban almost dueled over the insinuations. Ionescu was also highly critical of the Conservative laws on labor contracts, arguing that hired hands had been stripped of all means to pressure their landowning employers. By then, Maiorescu also took a more protectionist stance than Sturdza, Costaforu, and Factionalists such as Ceaur-Aslan, demanding that foreign investors be barred from buying land in Romania for a period of ten years; his opponents only demanded a two-year term. Ionescu, for his part, supported the establishment of native credit unions with the introduction of unrestricted capitalism, and spoke out against state monopolies for tobacco and alcohol. From early 1871, the "Reds" began talks of fusion with the Factionalists and with all other liberal clubs. The cause was popularized by the two new Factionalist organs: "Uniunea Liberală" and "Gazeta de Bacău" ("Bacău Gazette"). Members of both groups organized the ostentatious funeral of "Domnitor" Cuza in May 1873. Ionescu delivered the funeral oration; the burial at Ruginoasa was overseen by a National Committee, whose members included Anghel, Fătu, Pastia, Poni, Tacu, Șendrea and Suciu. This ceremony allowed the "Reds" to obscure their participation in the 1866 coup and reemerge as legatees of the Cuza regime. In August 1874, political journalist Scipione "Bagyai" Bădescu referred to the Faction as to an "extremity of the red party", though still counting it as one of five distinct parties, separate from other liberals. The negotiations took years: a definitive alliance, also known as the coalition of "Mozhar Pasha", only transformed itself into the National Liberal Party (PNL) in 1875 or after. According to some accounts, the Faction joined the coalition, but not the party. Other sources suggest that the Faction, including its rural chapters, was "folded into the bosom of the Liberal Party". The elections of that year also created an understanding between Epureanu's "independent conservative" faction and Brătianu, allowing them to govern together. In the electoral sweep of 1876, 18 Factionalists, including Ionescu, took seats as PNL deputies.