King's Landing in France

Page 145

An Ning raised her eyebrows, good guy, Mrs. Beauharnay of Malmaison Castle, acquaintance, in the past, she would catch Napoleon who had no money, no power, and no reputation, and become Napoleon and one of the later governors of the Directorate. The bridge between Paul Ballas.

But now this history has changed. Although Napoleon has not yet achieved his own fame, he has become "the confidant of Your Excellency the General" and has gained a pivotal position by virtue of this identity.

The current Napoleon, to put it bluntly, is no longer worthy of a widow like Josephine. When he comes back, there are plenty of good people in Paris who want to marry their daughters to this Corsican boy, "Your Excellency the General The Reds".

Christina was keenly aware of the change in An Ning's expression, and asked suspiciously, "Do you know this Mrs. Beauarney?"

An Ning: "Ah, I heard a little bit."

He just replied casually, and he realized something after he finished the reply. He hurriedly looked at his fiancee's face, and then saw Christina start talking: "When did you hear about her?"

An Ning: "I heard what Napoleon said."

But Christina didn't believe it at all: "Listen to Napoleon who is defending Sedan right now? Who would have thought that he is quite free."

An Ning: "Well, he hadn't gone to guard Sedan at that time. Then he told me that there is a widow in Malmaison Castle who still has a charm, which is pretty good."

Christina: "Oh, that's right. Napoleon still has a habit of liking widows. This is the first time I know."

An Ning smiled awkwardly, and then changed the topic: "Let's eat, I have to go to the city to find Maximilian after eating."

Christina sighed: "Okay, the business is important. Persuade him well."

※※※

After lunch, An Ning went into the city.

In order to avoid being recognized by everyone and cause commotion throughout the whole process, An Ning took a carriage into the city and went straight to the National Assembly venue.

When passing through the Revolution Square, An Ning found that in addition to the original guillotine, two new guillotines had been erected on the square.

The guillotine is already a very efficient execution tool. None of this execution tool can meet the demand. Two new ones have to be erected. From one side, we can see what the current situation in Paris is.

The National Assembly is still in the original building converted from the royal stud farm, and next door is the ruins of the Palais du Inlery.

After these days, the ruins of the palace have been leveled and turned into a large square.

The guard at the entrance of the National Assembly saw the carriage approaching, and stepped forward to stop the carriage with a serious face: "Stop! According to the order of the National Assembly, all carriages must not approach the National Assembly within 100 meters!"

An Ning opened the car door and got out of the car.

The guard gasped: "My God, long live Your Excellency!"

An Ning slightly raised her hand in response, then looked at the stairs in front of her.

According to An Ning's memory, there shouldn't be any space in the National Assembly chamber where he could chat with Robespierre alone.

As long as he entered that hall, what he said would be heard by the people next to him.

So An Ning said to the doorman, "Please tell Mr. Speaker for me. I'm waiting for him in the carriage. I need to have a private chat with him."

Chapter 249

The news that An Ning wanted to meet Robespierre alone in the carriage spread quickly.

With a stinky face, Larévelier Lebel found Paul Barras in the stands: "The speaker of the National Assembly, the theoretical head of state, as soon as Frost asked him to get on the carriage to talk about things , I’m going to be a fool. I think it’s better to make Frost the protector of the country directly, and give him the status of ruling for life!”

Ballas: "Although he does not serve in the National Assembly, he is the leader of the Jacobins and the recognized leader of the Jacobins. I ask Your Excellency the General to tighten the reins of the current situation."

"You've already gone to him." Lebel curled his lips, "I hope it will work, I don't know how many people will suffer if this goes on, maybe other public figures except the Jacobins will be beheaded. "

Ballas: "No. The more wantonly the Jacobins massacre opponents, the more dissatisfaction they will arouse. Robespierre's cleanliness is too serious, and the incorruptible is the only one in this world. He doesn't understand that there must be necessary compromises in this world. The so-called negotiation is actually an art of compromise."

Lebel: "Will Frost compromise?"

"Of course he will, on the surface, he has been promoting the revolution, but in fact he has a very flexible bottom line, he is a pragmatic politician."

Balla paused, and said in an admiring tone: "He is a guy with a smart wrist, unlike the Incorruptible. It should be said that we should be glad that he came to pull the reins of Robespierre, otherwise Otherwise, I’m afraid we can only wait for everyone to get tired of the terror of the Jacobins before trying to find a way to end this madness.”

Lebel: "I don't know how long it will take."

"Yes, so let's hope that the reins are useful. The good news is that Frost does not agree with the current situation of blind expansion.

"There is no better news than this."

After talking about Barras, he let out a long breath. At this moment, Lebel suddenly approached him and whispered, "Does that mean that if something happens to Robespierre, Frost will not blame the citizens?" parliament?"

Barras gave Lebel a hard look: "Don't act rashly! Robespierre is going to expand, and he has to go through the court and the guillotine. Frost will clean up Paris-you know what he will do! That's in the The man who shoots traitors with shotguns in the streets of Paris! Frost can't be messed with!"

Lebel: "Didn't you say that Frost disapproved of what the Incorruptible did?"

"But he still recognizes him as a friend. At best, this is a difference between friends, do you understand? If you do that kind of thing, then you are the enemy, and he will use cannons to deal with the enemy!" Ballas finished. Guilty looked around, and then told again, "Don't think in this direction, never!"

※※※

As soon as Robespierre got into An Ning's carriage, he said excitedly: "I heard that you came back from the front line, and I was thinking about visiting you at the headquarters in Versailles sometime! Let me tell you, I am in Paris. Those hidden enemies will be uncovered one by one!

"Soon the whole of Paris will be wiped out, only the patriots will be left!"

An Ning: "Maximilian, have you ever thought that sending people to the guillotine on such a large scale will push those who did not oppose us to the opposite."

Robespierre stared at An Ning: "What do you mean? [Jean] is already dead, and was assassinated by a hidden traitor with despicable means! At this time, we must take vigorous measures to completely eliminate the traitor!"

Marat's full name was Jean-Paul Marat.

An Ning: "I am also very sad about Jean's death, but this cannot be a reason for us to abuse the guillotine. Everyone who is sent to the guillotine should have conclusive evidence to prevent unjust, false and wrongful convictions!"

Robespierre: "That's what we do! Everyone sent to the guillotine has solid evidence! I know that you are afraid of killing innocent people by mistake. I guarantee that even if there are such things, they are very few!"

Robert Spil paused, and then said: "Also, even if a few people make mistakes, it doesn't matter, the situation is so critical now, we would rather kill dozens or hundreds of people by mistake than let a royalist go, A Girondist!"

An Ning was directly silenced by Robespierre. It seemed that Robespierre felt from the bottom of his heart that he had done the right thing.

Such a person cannot be persuaded.

No wonder in the original history, he later parted ways with his original friend Dandong and others.

On the battlefield, An Ning has never been in despair. No matter how bad the situation is, he still feels that there is a chance.But now facing Robespierre who showed no signs of confusion, An Ning felt helpless for the first time.

Could it be that the key to saving Robespierre lies in protecting Mara?

An Ning still wanted to make a final attempt, so she said to Robespierre: "You were very gentle at first, and you have always played the role of holding Danton and Mara who rushed forward..."

"It was because of my gentleness that Jean was killed by them in the most despicable way! I am ashamed, you have long been aware of the danger and sent him bodyguards, but I did nothing!"

Robespierre showed a remorseful expression: "It can be said that I killed Jean. His death made me understand that kindness to the enemy is cruelty to the comrades!"

An Ning was speechless.

The moderate Robespierre is no longer there, and now here is the "Incorruptible One" like steel, who will send all the enemies he considers to the guillotine.

An Ning gave up, and now adopting this policy of terror is objectively conducive to stabilizing Paris.

Don't look at the crazy beheading in Paris now, but the overall order is actually okay.

Let's wait until all the invading troops in France are driven away.

Robespierre: "How long will you be in Paris?"

"Stay until the day of Jean's burial." An Ning replied.

"Is that so, is there no problem at the front line?"

"In general, there should be no problem. We have defeated the weaker of the three enemy lines, and there are two that are blocked at Sedan and one at Verdun. Strong fortresses will stop them. Then Next, after replenishing the new troops, we will maneuver between the Somme and the Marne to lift the siege of the two fortresses."

Robespierre: "I don't understand military matters, but everything is under your control, right?"

"you can say it this way."

"Very well, then we can hold a grand funeral with peace of mind."

An Ning: "A grand funeral?"

"Yes, let this funeral be the death knell of the hidden royalists and Girondins of Paris!"

An Ning: "Maximilian, the most diehard royalist in Paris, has been sieved by Napoleon with cannons!"

"But the Girondins didn't!" Robespierre responded forcefully.

For a moment, An Ning thought about using coercive means to stop Robespierre, but after thinking about it, the policy of terror has indeed maintained the stability of Paris, and it has indeed struck down potential royalists and traitors.

So An Ning finally made a choice.

Compared with a chaotic rear, it is better to have a stable rear, even if the price is to pay a lot of innocent blood.

As for Robespierre's transformation into a big devil, think about it better, now the leader of the Jacobin Big Four is still Frost, and Robespierre is just the second in command, theoretically speaking, he can stop at any time .

Chapter 250 The Upstarts in Paris

A five or six-year-old child was playing next to the carriage. When Robespierre got off the car and entered the National Assembly, the child quickly ran to a gentleman across the street.

"Sir, I heard it. There was a heated argument inside, and the carriage shook." The child said.

The gentleman took out a few copper coins and stuffed them into the child's hand, but he didn't let go immediately, but asked, "Did you hear what they were arguing about?"

"No. They were talking too fast for me to hear," answered the child.

Although French is a very accurate language, it is really hard to hear when you speak it too fast.

The gentleman let go, and the kid who took the coin ran away happily.Copper plates are different from the banknotes printed by the National Assembly. Copper plates are hard currency wherever they are, and can be exchanged for all the good things a child wants.

Then the gentleman quietly left the National Assembly, turned into the adjoining street, and entered the Paris branch of Tellson's Bank.

This is a bank that has operations in the UK and France, and often handles some cross-border remittance business.

Of course, under the current situation, Tellson Bank is not only a bank, but also undertakes the task of collecting intelligence on Paris.

Yes, there were no spies in this day and age, the word wasn't even born.But the gathering of intelligence still has to be done.

In this day and age, such things are generally done by merchants, sailors, postmen, and bank clerks on the run.

The gentleman asked for a page of letter paper at the counter of the bank, quickly wrote down the words "Frost and Robespierre may have a rift", and handed it to the old butler guarding the counter.

The butler nodded, without saying anything, took out the envelope, put the letter in, and sealed it with a drop of wax.

"The letter will take the next post to Calais."

"No mail, send someone to deliver it," whispered the gentleman. "It's very important. London needs to know about it."

The butler nodded: "Understood, someone will go to Calais to send the letter across the strait."

The gentleman nodded, then turned up his collar and left the empty branch office.

※※※

Anning stayed in Paris for a few more days, waiting for Marat's funeral.

In the past few days, the front line reported that everything was normal. Apart from some routine transfers, Lasalle did not find any signs of the enemy changing the current strategic focus.

In other words, the enemy's main energy was still besieging the two fortresses of Sedan and Verdun.

So An Ning lived in peace at the headquarters of the Palace of Versailles, waiting for the day of the funeral.

Yet he was like a magnet, drawing people from all walks of life to visit Versailles.Christina also suddenly became a favorite in the social scene in Paris, receiving invitations to various tea parties and salons all day long.

Seeing those invitations, An Ning couldn't help complaining: "It seems that not many people died in Paris, and the upper class still enjoy singing and dancing."

Christina immediately responded: "It's different. In the past, these dances and salons were held by the wives and daughters of nobles and big businessmen, but now they are held by the wives and daughters of the representatives of the National Assembly, various commissioners, and officials of the Paris Commune." manage."

Yes, there was also a Paris Commune during the French Revolution, which was actually the Paris City Hall, which was renamed after the revolution.

The famous Paris Commune in later generations is actually the 2.0 version of the Paris Commune.

An Ning frowned: "That's it."

Christina: "What, are you unhappy?"

"No, I'm just sighing." An Ning changed the subject, "So is there any news worth noting about these tea parties, dance parties and salons?"

Christina: "They were rumoring that you and Robespierre had a disagreement, so many people came to me to find out the truth. But I fought back and told them that you and Maximilian are close friends."

An Ning nodded: "Yes, we are close friends. We share common ideals. Although Maximilian is a bit extreme now, he is still the noble and incorruptible person before."

Robespierre, the incorruptible who remained noble until the end.

Although he went to extremes, it was more like he got into a dead end under heavy mental pressure. Until the end, what he thought of was still the revolution and the republic.

There is even a point of view that regards Robespierre's death as the end of the Great Revolution, and what remains after Robespierre's death is the fruits of various careerists, which can no longer be called the "Great Revolution".

It was precisely because An Ning understood these things that he never hated Robespierre.

Christina put her arms around An Ning's shoulders and whispered in his ear: "In this case, you need to take more definite actions to show that you are on Robespierre's side."

An Ning: "Is this a suggestion from a good wife?"