The Fox of France

Chapter 52: Playing with Fire (1)

Chapter 52: Playing with Fire (1)

After the fall of the Bastille, rumors spread like wildfire throughout the city of Paris. People whispered that the king was furious and would soon mobilize his forces to suppress the Parisian populace. It was said that the enraged king had ordered, "The great tree shall be set on fire, the stones shall be sharpened, and people shall be replaced." Paris was gripped by tension, with crowds building barricades in the streets. Some, in their fear, even began to tear down houses (though most of the time, it was the houses of "minions of the tyrant" that were demolished, and the number of these "minions of the tyrant" depended on the amount of material required for the barricades).

Almost overnight, all the carriage drivers for hire in Paris found themselves jobless, as the streets were blocked with barricades. Some inexperienced individuals, in their haste to construct roadblocks and barricades, didn't even consider leaving openings for passage.

To defend against a potential attack, the Parisian militia members believed they should unite under a single banner for a unified command. Representatives from various neighborhoods gathered to discuss the matter.

Every militia member in each district genuinely hoped for unity, a natural instinct of humans as social beings when facing a crisis. However, unity required a command structure, a leader. The militia members soon realized that finding such a person was no easy task.

Because most militia members didn't know each other, and most of them were aware of their lack of military skills. The circumstances of the siege of the Bastille made them realize the vast gap between themselves and the regular army. Although they verbally belittled the King's forces in the Montmartre area, they were actually trembling inside, and some even had nightmares about the guillotine or the gallows.

In this situation, a "good nobleman" who was not even present at the meeting but was considered "honest, kind, loved the people, and was proficient in military matters" was chosen by the majority of the representatives as the commander of this unified militia force. This "good nobleman" was none other than the Marquis de Lafayette.

It was said that during the meeting, some mentioned the name of another "good nobleman" the Duke of Orleans. However, other representatives unanimously stated that His Highness the Duke of Orleans was indeed a "honest, kind, people-loving" good nobleman, and in comparison to the Marquis de Lafayette, he had the "more generous" advantage (because the Duke of Orleans was much wealthier than Lafayette). But the Duke of Orleans had no understanding of military matters. If they let him take command, it would be detrimental to everyone.

Some representatives even said that during the siege of the Bastille, the well-intentioned actions of the Duke of Orleans had actually hindered the effort and caused more casualties than the tyrant's artillery.

"In any case, the Duke of Orleans is a trustworthy man. But when it comes to military command, it's beyond his capabilities." This statement became the general consensus.

After Lafayette was elected, messengers were sent to invite him to take office. This was somewhat similar to a certain uprising in a large eastern country in later years, where the leader of the rebels, who had not participated in the rebellion, was appointed as commander-in-chief. However, the representatives of the Paris militia did not storm Lafayette's home with guns; they simply went to his doorstep and delivered the invitation letter. Lafayette, in contrast to the leader in the eastern country who hid under his bed and cried, "Don't hurt me, don't hurt me," openly accepted the invitation and became the overall commander of the Paris militia.

Once in office, Lafayette immediately began to reorganize the Parisian militia, with the intention of converting them all into the National Guard.

To do this, he immediately introduced military uniforms designed for the National Guarduniforms that included blue trousers. He also introduced the badges and flags of the National Guard, all of which were composed of the colors red, white, and blue. Red and blue were the colors of the Paris city coat of arms, while white represented the Bourbon dynasty.

These badges and flags clearly displayed Lafayette's political leanings; he was a constitutional monarchist. To be honest, despite the fact that the common people in Paris were constantly calling the king a "tyrant," they actually very much approved of these flags and badges at this moment.

The commoners in Paris had never imagined they could overthrow the king. After capturing the Bastille, they were actually very afraid of the king's potential punishment. They also believed that Lafayette, as their commander, could speak on their behalf to the king.

In their view, Lafayette was the best person for this role. Some even mentioned the name of the Duke of Orleans, another nobleman with similar qualities. However, it was unanimously agreed by the other representatives that His Highness the Duke of Orleans was indeed a "honest, kind, people-loving" good nobleman, but Lafayette was more suitable for military command. When it came to negotiating with the king, nobody would think of the Duke of Orleans.

Lafayette skillfully used this psychological advantage. He assured them that he would defend everyone, as long as they supported his leadership.

The feared massacre did not happen, and the king's army did not launch an attack on Paris. In fact, the king had no faith in his own army, and those around him vehemently convinced him that the army was not reliable.

For constitutionalists like Lafayette, the only way to convince the king to accept constitutional monarchy was to make him believe that the army was loyal to the nation, not to the king personally. To conservative nobles like the Count of Artois, the standing army was not a good thing at all. Why did the nation need a standing army? Shouldn't the king call upon the nobility's private forces when needed? To counter their political rival Lafayette, they also disparaged the French army.

In this particular matter, at least in terms of the unreliability of the army, both conservatives and constitutionalists had found common ground. King Louis XVI was known to be somewhat indecisive, and he naturally believed their words. So the king never even considered using the army to bloodily suppress Paris at this time. In fact, when the "rebels" captured the Bastille, and the Count of Artois' people claimed that the army had actually participated in the rebellion, the king was so frightened that he almost considered fleeing to the provinces. Like the citizens of Paris who were filled with fear of the king, the king was also terrified of the Parisian mob.

However, the common people in the city of Paris were unaware of all this. In their eyes, the legendary massacre had not occurred, thanks to Lafayette. The radicals believed that it was because of the National Revolutionary Army he organized that the king had backed down, while the more moderate ones thought that Lafayette had played the perfect role as a bridge between the citizens and the king.

Lafayette indeed served as that bridge. A few days later, he arrived at Versailles with a detachment of the National Guard to meet King Louis XVI. It was said that the king and his subjects had a pleasant conversation, and Louis XVI even wore the cockade of the National Revolutionary Army that Lafayette had brought with him on his hat.

At this point, it seemed like Lafayette had achieved a resounding victory. An English-style constitutional monarchy for France appeared within reach.

The situation appeared calm, and Lafayette was reportedly busy drafting a historic declaration, inspired by the American Declaration of Independence, while establishing parliamentary and administrative systems influenced by England and North America.

Although the situation had eased, the Paris Military Academy had not returned to normal. So, Joseph continued to stay at home and watch plays.

"If the revolution could stop here, it might be a good thing for France," Joseph looked out the window. Outside, a group of National Guards was busy dismantling the barricades.

"Hasn't the revolution ended yet?" Louis said. "Joseph, I don't like the revolution at all. I can't go out, can't go to school, can't play with my friends, and Aunt Sophie hasn't come, and Lucien makes me do chores... I don't like the revolution at all!"

"At first, when I heard that school was canceled, you didn't know how happy I was! Now that Joseph is at home, you pretend to love studying!" Lucien sat with his chin resting on the high back of a chair, looking at him with disdain.

"That's because you took advantage of Joseph's absence to push all the household chores onto me!"

"It was a fair bet, and I made you both a knight and a bishop. You still lost. What more is there to say!"

So Louis fell silent. However, Lucien spoke up, "Joseph, from what you said earlier, do you think the revolution hasn't ended yet?"

"Ended? How could it possibly have ended?" Joseph sneered. "My brother, this is not the end, nor is it the beginning of the end, or even the end of the beginning. Until those who are dissatisfied with the current reality, yet believe they have the power to change it, or until they exhaust their strength, how could this revolution end? Moreover, on today's stage, there may not necessarily be heroes capable of achieving great things, but there is certainly no shortage of individuals who can't accomplish anything if they do it themselves but are first-rate troublemakers when causing chaos for others. Just wait and see."

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