The Cooperation of Two Josephs

The decision had been made, but its implementation would require more time. An organization can't be created overnight. The preparation of personnel and supplies takes time, and there are also many things that need to be arranged at the research institute in Paris. Therefore, it wasn't until mid-July that Joseph was able to prepare to go to Toulon.

If only research-related issues were considered, having Lavoisier in charge of the Paris institute would probably be the best choice. However, considering Lavoisier's status as a "prisoner of war" and Lavoisier minor flaws, this idea would not only be impossible to pass through the "Committee of Public Safety," but it wouldn't even pass through Joseph's own hands.

Furthermore, Laplace also wanted to join the "Military Technology Research Institute," but considering that Laplace was close to certain people, Joseph always kept him out of the institute on the grounds that Mr. Laplace was more suitable for theoretical research than specific technical research, and of course, it was even more impossible for him to be in charge of the institute.

Therefore, Monge became the person who temporarily took over the headship of the institute in Paris from Joseph.

In terms of academic standing alone, Monge was naturally no match for the two mentioned earlier. However, Japan was a member of the military, a loyal and reliable man, and had a good relationship with Joseph. Therefore, Joseph recommended him to Carnot without hesitation.

Carnot was also satisfied with this choice. Monge was his teacher, and he knew he was a very reliable person. Although he seemed to be inferior to Joseph in ability, that also meant that his ability to spend money was certainly not as good as Joseph's. These days, he had been chasing after Robespierre every day asking for money, and then as soon as he returned, Joseph would be chasing after him asking for money. Now, perhaps he could finally breathe a sigh of relief for a while.

Carnot breathed a sigh of relief, but in the south, another person—no, another group of people—gave a collective gasp. This group was, of course, Joseph's unreliable bunch of brothers and sisters.

"Lucien, Lucien ..." Napoleon called out.

"Here I am, what's the matter?" Lucien ran in from outside, covered in sweat.

"What are you doing?" Napoleon asked.

"Nothing, just took Pauline for a walk outside." Lucien hadn't yet realized that something seemed amiss.

"Ah, Lucien," Napoleon suddenly laughed, "I have a surprise for you, do you want to know?"

Just then, Pauline walked in carrying a small umbrella with an ivory handle. She overheard Napoleon's words and quickly asked, "What surprise? Napoleon, tell me, what surprise is it?"

Napoleon, however, stopped there and changed the subject, asking, "Lucien, how many of the exercises Joseph gave you when you came to the south have you done?"

"We've done quite a bit," Lucien said. "Don't worry, it'll definitely be finished before we get back to Paris. Why are you worrying about it..."

Napoleon remained silent, only staring at Lucien and smiling.

Lucien sensed something was amiss from Napoleon's smile, and hesitantly asked, "What's wrong, Napoleon? What do you mean?"

"I have a surprise for you," Napoleon said. "Joseph will be arriving in Toulon soon. Unexpected, isn't he? Surprised? Unexpected, aren't you?"

"What?" Lucien was stunned. "How could that be... Joseph wasn't busy..."

"Surprised? Unexpected, aren't you?" Napoleon chuckled maliciously. "The army is going to build a Naval Technology Research Institute in Toulon, Joseph will be temporarily in charge of the work here. But that's alright, you've already done quite a few exercises, although you haven't finished them all, but it's enough to keep you going, isn't it?"

"Damn it!" Lucien exclaimed, "What the hell do you call a surprise? Napoleon, explain yourself, what the hell do you call a surprise?"

"What, you haven't even picked up a pen yet?" Napoleon laughed. "Lucien, you should thank me for providing you with the information in time. Otherwise... hehe... well, this information is theoretically top secret. In terms of secrecy alone, you shouldn't know at all. Come and thank me!"

"Napoleon, Joseph... when will he arrive?" Lucien forced down his fear and asked quickly.

"On the day of the Rainy Moon and the Hare, you have three days left," Napoleon replied.

"Long live!" Lucien shouted as he turned and ran upstairs.

Napoleon watched Lucien's retreating figure and couldn't help but shake his head. This guy was so unreliable; how could he have ever acted as his guarantor in the first place?

"Napoleon ..." Pauline said.

"Hmm, what's wrong?" Napoleon asked.

"Joseph ... Joseph is really that terrible... Our affair...it won't...it won't..." Pauline said haltingly, clearly nervous as well.

"Don't worry!" Napoleon couldn't help but reach out and ruffle Pauline's hair. "Joseph won't know anything about our affair."

This successfully frightened Lucien, which pleased Napoleon so much that he ate an extra piece of bread at lunch. As for Lucien, he didn't even come downstairs for lunch, forcing Letizia to personally bring him bread and milk to his study.

Lucien didn't come down for lunch at noon, nor for dinner in the evening. Around ten o'clock at night, Napoleon was sleeping soundly (in this era there were no games like Honor of Kings, Dota, or PUBG, and not even electric lights. So people in this era generally had the good habit of going to bed early and getting up early). Suddenly he felt someone gently shaking his arm.

"Who is it?" Napoleon opened his eyes.

"Ah, it's me, Lucien."

"Damn it, what time is it? What are you doing?" Napoleon was very displeased.

"Napoleon, there are several questions I can't answer... You absolutely must help me..."

"What the hell? Can't we ask again tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, as soon as it's light tomorrow, you might be nowhere to be found," Lucien said. "You're not like your mother, who can always be found."

"Get out of here! I want to sleep! We'll talk about it at dinner tomorrow night!" Napoleon said.

"Napoleon, please help me out..." Lucien said, "These questions are very difficult. You'll only look at them tomorrow night after dinner. What if you still can't solve them then? Take a look first, get a general idea, and think about them when you have time..."

"How could there be a problem I can't solve?" Napoleon said, but in his heart he thought, "Joseph is the most despicable one when he's setting problems. You can't use normal thinking to judge him. Who knows, he might actually leave Lucien one or two really difficult problems."

"Let me see it," Napoleon said.

"Okay, wait a minute, let me light the candles for you first."

"Isn't this simple? Lucien, you really are... I really don't know, you're my brother and Joseph's brother, how could you be so stupid... Look, draw an auxiliary line here... and then... and then... Hmm, let me think about it... It doesn't make sense, logically, the problem Joseph gave you shouldn't require this kind of knowledge... Never mind, hmm, Lucien, let's try a different approach, hmm, let's establish a coordinate system here first... Okay, did you understand?"

"No, I didn't understand a thing..." Lucien's eyes were full of mosquito coil-like circles.

Three days later, Joseph arrived in Marseille. He first went home to visit his mother and other siblings. His mother was in good condition; although she had aged a bit, she was still in excellent health. His siblings were also doing well, especially his sisters, who had grown increasingly beautiful. However, perhaps because they had grown up, and because he had been away from home for a while, his sisters seemed to have become somewhat distant from him, not as affectionate as before. Even Pauline, who used to always cling to him or Napoleon, seemed a bit shy and seemed to be avoiding him.

"Girls all grow up like this," Joseph told himself. Then he told Napoleon, "I can't stay in Marseille for long. I'm leaving for Toulon first thing tomorrow morning. I also have an order for Monsieur Fouché; have someone take me to visit him later."

Joseph didn't stay at home for long before going out to find Fouché. Many things at the Toulon Naval Research Institute, especially matters of security and secrecy, required his help. Joseph knew that Fouché had recently fallen ill, but for the sake of the revolution, he had no choice but to let him persevere.

As soon as Joseph stepped outside, several people breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Lucien, what are you so nervous about? Haven't you finished all your homework?" Pauline asked.

"It's finished, but some of the questions were done by Napoleon, and he didn't explain them well, so I didn't quite understand them. If Joseph asks me about them, I'm afraid I'll make a fool of myself..."

Fouché had prepared for Joseph's visit, having been notified several days prior. Fouché was quite pleased with the assignment, as it meant he wouldn't have to worry about being summoned back to Paris in the most dangerous situation. Although he had been in the provinces, Fouché had been closely monitoring the situation in Paris, and in his view, the Paris would be in grave danger in the next month or two.

Joseph was also very satisfied with the performance of his host, Joseph. Although Fouché only knew about the matter a few days in advance, he came up with several plans to discuss with him within a few days. These plans were all very good, which showed that Fouché was a very capable and meticulous person.

Joseph and the other Joseph studied the plan carefully, and before they knew it, it was already dark.

"Ah, it's so late already?" Joseph looked at the sky as Fouché's place, thinking, "I was planning to go back and check Lucien's homework, but he's probably already asleep. I have to leave early tomorrow morning... Oh well, I'll check it later. Toulon isn't that far from Marseille, I'm sure I'll have a chance..."