A Bountiful Year and Famine

Fouché's methods were essentially kidnapping for ransom, but unlike typical kidnappings, he didn't demand ransom payments. Instead, he required them to "reveal the person hiding the traitor's money." Furthermore, he told everyone that if they could "provide clues" within the first fifty, he would not only prove himself a "loyal supporter of the Republic," thus rightfully leaving prison, but also receive a portion of the traitor's money that Fouché uncovered.

This was clearly a blatant attempt to sow discord, but at this moment, the prisoners locked in the jail were truly caught in a "prisoner's dilemma." They certainly understood what Fouché was planning, but they worried that if someone beat them to it and sold them out, they would suffer a loss for nothing. They knew that those who fell behind would lose more than just money; they might even lose their heads!

Regardless, one's own head is always more important than someone else's. So, although everyone knew Fouché's sinister intentions, they still rushed to "expose" others. Fouché then quickly dispatched men to "lawfully confiscate" these accusations. With the cooperation of these "noble traitors," his efficiency in confiscating assets was astonishing. In just a few days, Fouché had amassed even more wealth than Robespierre had imagined. Next, Fouché beheaded several hundred "conclusive traitors" and confiscated their property. At the same time, he posted a commendation in Marseille, praising the "citizens of the Republic" who had remained loyal to the Republic and made significant contributions to thwarting the nobles' conspiracy.

Immediately afterwards, these "citizens of the Republic" demonstrated extraordinary revolutionary consciousness. They all expressed that it was a shameful thing to have too much money when the country was in danger, so they were willing to donate their wealth to the Republic and embark on a glorious life of self-reliance.

The falling blades of the guillotine are certainly terrifying, but Fouché always believed that a blade hanging high is far more subduing than a blade falling continuously.

At this point, Fouché's mission had been a resounding success. Now that the new municipal government, one that excluded nobles and "respectable people," had been established, it seemed time for Fouché to return to Paris to report. Moreover, Fouché friends, Hébert and Chaumette, needed him back, as the situation in Paris appeared to be somewhat unsettling.

The Committee of Public Safety passed a resolution to open ports and trade with neutral countries, a large part of which was conducted through barter trade. The most important commodity in barter trade was grain. However, the consequences of the large-scale export of grain quickly became apparent. In some places, rebellions that had been quelled reignited, and while Paris maintained strict price controls and guaranteed supplies of grain, everyone noticed a significant change in the flour supplied to them compared to the past.

Europe of this era generally used authentic "whole wheat flour" for making bread. This meant grinding the entire wheat, including the bran and germ, into a stone mill to produce flour containing the bran and germ.

In later generations, whole wheat flour is considered a rare health food, and the whole wheat bread in modern bakeries seems to taste quite good. However, whole wheat bread in that era certainly didn't taste like that. Of course, in that era, having flour and being able to bake bread was already a great blessing for many Sans-culottes.

However, even this happiness was hard to maintain. The Sans-culottes gradually discovered that the flour they were buying was getting heavier and smaller, and the bread they made was getting worse and less filling.

When you bite into these breads, you often have a strange, slippery feeling, or something rough that scrapes your teeth—which is normal, since stone mills were used in this era, and the flour produced always contained some sand or other small particles, which the Sans-culottes were used to.

But the flour these days is really something else. From the taste and weight to how filling it is, everything has changed significantly. The only thing that hasn't changed is the price.

A rumor quietly spread among the lower classes, saying that the flour had changed because someone had mixed in many other things, such as chalk, talcum powder, and sawdust.

Frankly speaking, adding these things to flour is commonplace in this era. In fact, most Sans-culottes have never eaten flour without these additives in their lives. But now, even they feel that something is wrong with this flour. This shows that it's no longer just ordinary flour being mixed with these things, but flour being mixed with all sorts of random stuff.

Such behavior naturally provoked opposition from the Sans-culottes, who, following their long-standing custom, prepared to hang the flour shop owner on a lamppost. Previously, they had never encountered any serious resistance in doing so, but this time, those attempting to hang the flour shop owner were quickly arrested and subsequently sent to a "Revolutionary Tribunal," and from then on, they would never have to worry about having enough to eat again.

This naturally aroused widespread discontent among the Sans-culottes, as well as secret delight among their representatives, such as Hébert, the leader of the Paris Commune. In Hébert's view, an opportunity for them, who "could truly represent the real people," to seize control of France's destiny was at hand.

Fouché, who had just rendered great service to the Republic, was now a highly influential figure in the Hébert faction. If the people Hébertist Faction wanted to do something, the resourceful and capable Fouché would certainly be of great help.

However, Fouché had overworked himself in the previous period and suddenly fell ill, so he had to stay in Marseille to recuperate.

Fouché certainly didn't fall ill from overwork. Fouché constitution was quite peculiar; when he held power and was constantly busy, he was always very healthy. Conversely, if he were allowed to rest and do nothing, he would indeed fall ill. In the original history, Fouché never suffered from any serious illness during his busiest periods. However, after being forced to relinquish all power and go into exile in 1816 due to the Regicide Act, he was quickly overcome by illness.

For Fouché, wielding power and using it was the best way to maintain his health.

Fouché fell ill because he felt that the situation in Paris was not as optimistic as Hébert had imagined.

Things are completely different now compared to 1789, or even just a few months ago. When the Brissotins were in power, the National Assembly had a large number of opponents who hindered them, preventing them from passing any resolutions against the Paris Commune, or even resolutions aimed at protecting themselves. Any resolution that might weaken the Paris Commune's power was unlikely to pass in the National Assembly. For example, just before the Paris Commune besieged the National Assembly and forced them to pass a resolution handing over more than twenty Brissotins members to the Paris Commune, some Brissotins members proposed establishing a guard to protect the Assembly. However, this proposal was rejected without even a peep in the assembly.

However, while the "Committee of Public Safety" is not entirely without factions, its unity far surpasses that of the former National Assembly. Moreover, it directly controls the France army, making it much more united and powerful than the previous National Assembly.

Furthermore, the Paris Commune's own strength was far less than before. The relentless guillotine and the terror it symbolized had become tiresome for many. Those who were truly energetic and courageous had all been drafted in previous rounds of conscription, and many veterans of the National Guard had gone to the front lines as "Volunteer Army," taking not only their own troops but also a large number of artillery pieces with them. Therefore, the Paris Commune's truly usable military force had actually shrunk.

Hébert added some people to the National Guard, but most of these people had no revolutionary ideas, were not physically fit, and were not well trained. In the past, such people would not have been able to join the National Guard.

These changes made Fouché realize that continuing to side with Hébert and his group might not lead to a good outcome. However, if he returned to Paris at this time, it would be tantamount to making a choice between Hébert and the "Committee of Public Safety," clearly siding with Hébert.

However, the Paris Commune wasn't entirely without hope, and the Committee of Public Safety hadn't issued him an order forbidding his return to Paris (such an order, in a sense, would have been tantamount to forcing Fouché to publicly state his position, and in a sense, giving Fouché an opportunity to choose sides. But now, without such an order, there was naturally no such opportunity. This led Fouché to suspect that Robespierre wanted to put him and Hébert in the same pot and stew them all at once).

Therefore, feigning illness became Fouché's choice at this time.

Of course, feigning illness couldn't last long, but for Fouché, this time was enough for him to figure out which side to take, and that was enough. If Hébert and his faction won, he would still be an important figure in Hébertist Faction. If the Committee of Public Safety won, Robespierre would most likely not let him off the hook, but... perhaps through Napoleon, he could get in touch with Carnot, which would also be a good option.