Fox of France

Chapter 68: , Vote (1)

   Although the king’s escape was only a farce, it completely changed the situation of the country. Prior to this, although some people in society, such as Mara, were vigorously attacking the king, in the parliament, the moderate faction clearly had the upper hand. This is especially true after the king has sworn an oath to the constitution. In fact, at that time, even the radical Robespierre and Dandong were chanting long live to Louis XVI. At that time, the difference between radical and moderate was only a technical one, such as whether the priest should be allowed to swear allegiance to the country, whether democratic elections should be used to select bishops or something. But after the escape of Louis XVI, the situation suddenly changed.

   After discovering that the king had fled, Lafayette immediately announced that the king had been kidnapped by "enemies of the country." This statement deceived many people. However, soon after, people found a letter left by the king in the palace. In that letter, the king declared that he had been kidnapped to Paris. After July 1789, all the documents he signed were forced and therefore invalid.

   When this letter was discovered, Lafayette was arranging to "rescue" the king and other preparations for the aftermath. (In fact, he didn't expect that they would still be able to catch the king back.) So it was too late to block the news, and in a blink of an eye, everyone knew about the letter. Although Lafayette later strongly claimed that this letter was forged, it was written by the king under the coercion of the kidnappers. But this explanation immediately lost any convincing power after the king and his party returned to Paris. Because in the team where the king fled, apart from the king, there was only one groom who was an adult man-this shows that the king was not coerced at all!

   But the mystery of politics often lies in open eyes and nonsense. Although he knew that the king was against revolution and constitutionalism from his heart. But for many members of Congress, maintaining the constitutional system is still in their interests. So these people pretended not to know that the king opposed the revolution, and they continued to support the constitutional system and defend the king.

   But the king's prestige among the people was completely destroyed by this incident. The angry people smashed various things related to the royal family. The things on the street related to the iris (the symbol of the Bourbon dynasty) were either smashed or covered with things. Because most of the members of the parliament still support the constitutional monarchy, the people at the bottom turn their anger towards their unsatisfactory lives. In their opinion, these people are fighting with the king and oppressing the people. It is precisely because of these people that the people's lives have not improved even a little after the revolution.

   This kind of anger has always been there, but for two reasons, this anger has hidden like magma. The first of these two reasons is their expectations of the National Assembly. At that time, they believed that the National Assembly could represent their interests and were speaking for them. As long as they wait patiently, good days will come. However, this patience has been continuously consumed during this time.

   In the "1971 Constitution" passed by the Parliament, French citizens are divided into "active citizens" and "passive citizens" based on their property status. (The law stipulates that only those who pay a certain amount of tax have the right to vote and be elected are active citizens. In a sense, this is to restrict the rights of citizens based on property) Just a few days before the king fled , Parliament has just passed the famous "Lesabeth Lie" Act. According to this law, workers are strictly prohibited from organizing trade unions and holding strikes. Violators are fined 500 livres and deprived of their citizenship for one year. The leader is fined 1,000 livres and sentenced to 3 months.

   These laws not only failed to safeguard the interests of the lowest level, but increased their restraints, which naturally quickly consumed the confidence of the people at the bottom.

   As for the second reason, these people lack leaders.

   But the king’s escape solved both problems. The previous actions of the National Assembly, coupled with the impact of the King’s flight, greatly reduced the status of the parliament in the hearts of the bottom people. It can be said that the current National Assembly has lost the trust of the bottom people.

   After the King’s escape, the demonstrations of the people at the bottom also allowed some radical lawmakers to see new opportunities. They are keenly aware that once they stand on the side of the people at the bottom, they can obtain a lot of political resources. Brissot, Bonneville and Condorcet publicly stated that France should consider adopting a republic.

   So, all kinds of things have increased.

   But these messy things didn't seem to affect Joseph and Napoleon. On the contrary, because the possibility of war is increasing, their affairs have become more rushed. The newly-established army was lined up to conduct confrontation exercises with them. In these exercises, Napoleon used various sneak attacks, artillery ambushes and other tactics to defeat them. So much so that Napoleon, who was just a second lieutenant, became famous in the National Guard in Paris.

   But soon, an unexpected event disrupted Joseph's work again.

   On the 16th, the parliament officially announced that the king and queen were innocent and they were kidnapped. Of course, the Parliament also pretended to declare that they would severely punish those "hijackers."

   Such a decision angered those without trousers. On the 17th, under the leadership of some republican figures, a group of trousers went to the Mars Square near the city hall to demonstrate. There, they were suppressed by the National Guard led by Lafayette and suffered heavy casualties.

   In this regard, Lafayette explained that it was the mob who first attacked the orderly National Guard. The National Self-Defense Forces hung a red flag on the city hall and only fired after warning the thugs three times. (According to the previous decree passed by the parliament, before the riots are put down, the city hall needs to display a red flag and then issue three warnings before using lethal force.) But the republicans and the trousers accused Lafayette of lying. According to them, the National Self-Defense Force under the command of Lafayette only hung the red flag, and then it fired at the crowd without even giving a warning.

  Since the suppression has been shot, continue to suppress it.

   Lafayette announced in the parliament that the trousers were thugs, and there were conspirators behind them. This conspirator is the guys from the Cordelier Club. So the parliament passed the arrest warrants for several important members of the Cordelier Club, including Dandong and Demoulins. After Dandong got the news, he immediately fled from Paris. In terms of escape technique, he was much better than Louis XVI, so he ran to England smoothly. And Demulan also found a place to hide.

   In fact, because the police system has not been restored, the effect of hunting down and other things is actually very limited.

   On the surface, it looks like Lafayette has the upper hand, but these actions have greatly affected his reputation. Especially in the National Guard, there are a large number of sympathizers of the Cordelier Club. Soon, even in the National Guard, there were voices against Lafayette. And such a voice greatly shaken Lafayette's position. His allies, Du Boer, Banaf, and Lamer brothers are not much different from Lafayette in terms of political views, but they are happy to see Lafayette's status damaged. Since then, a series of actions of the parliament were actually completed under their auspices, but people thought that Lafayette was manipulating everything. So before long, Lafayette's fame changed from a hero to an executioner and conspirator.

  Fame is really weird. Sometimes, the reputation of white and flawless is more fragile than white and flawless paper. In this regard, Mr. Twain's experience when running for governor is also an example.

   One afternoon after the Mars Square incident, Joseph was about to leave work when he happened to meet Lafayette who had come back from outside. Lafayette looked tired, and when he saw Joseph ~www.novelmtl.com~ he called him over and told him: "Tomorrow night, there will be an important meeting in the club. I hope you can also participate."

   Joseph knew that the "club" that Lafayette said was the "Jacobin Club." Now, after the "Club Brittany" moved to Paris, after setting up the location of the club in the Jacobin Abbey, it was officially renamed "Club of Friends of Constitutional Government".

   For the activities of the Jacobin Club, Joseph has always been able to hide as far as he can. What's more, in such a mess. Therefore, he hurriedly stated that he was very busy and had very important things and could not participate in this meeting.

   "Is it a matter for the troops?" Lafayette asked with a frown. This is a common reason for Joseph's absence from club activities.

Joseph immediately replied: "No, it's my personal business." Because he knew that if it was due to official business, then Lafayette, who was his immediate superior, would definitely order him to temporarily lay down various official duties. of.

   Then he asked: "General, can I ask, what is the important thing about the club that requires members like me who rarely go to play?"

   "The club has to re-elect in order to elect a new club chairman. Do you have any personal business, can't you spare some time?" Lafayette replied.

   The Jacobin Club at this time is not yet a radical organization. But the radical voice in the club is no longer small. Especially in recent times, this is even more true. Many of the sounds made by the club are no longer in tune with Lafayette. But for Lafayette, this club is an important tool for him to gain political influence and cannot be easily given up. Perhaps Lafayette hopes to clean up the Jacobin Club through this election.

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