Fouché's Last-Ditch Counterattack

Fouché visited Carnot that very night. Under Carnot's disdainful gaze, he pointed out without batting an eye that since returning to Paris, he had discovered a significant decline in the freedom and democracy that Paris was so proud of. He believed this situation was extremely abnormal and could not continue.

Carnot didn't like Fouché. While he didn't possess the same extreme moral fastidiousness as Robespierre, he genuinely disliked the fickle nature of Fouché. He also knew that Fouché wasn't wrong. Nevertheless, he told Fouché, "What you say has some merit, but you've only just appeared; it's too late. The army, the police, the Committee of Public Safety, the Committee of General Security, the National Assembly, and the Jacobin Club all obey him. Everyone fears him; many members of parliament are even too afraid to sleep at night... His power is now beyond our control."

"No, General Carnot, I don't see it that way," Fouché said. He had walked to Carnot, carefully analyzing the situation along the way, trying to find a crack in the dark clouds. Now he wanted to point out this crack so that others could see it, and encourage them to work with him to find a way to make it bigger so that the sunlight could get through.

"You're right. Robespierre wielded immense power. He used the guillotine, or more accurately, fear, to control everyone. This fear was a terrible poison that made everyone tremble before his iron fist—whether generals, judges, members of parliament, or other members of the two committees. They were all turned into his puppets by this poison. Everyone was afraid that tomorrow morning, they might be pushed to the guillotine for no reason. So everyone obeyed him without question." At this point, Fouché let out a long sigh.

"But General Carnot, you are a scientist, you know Sir Newton's three laws of motion. Every force exerted on anything can have a reaction. Terror is also a force, and it too has its own reaction!"

"So, where is this reaction force?" Carnot asked.

"You just said that many members of parliament and influential people in Paris are afraid to go home to sleep at night and can only find a place to sleep outside. They are afraid that if they sleep in their own beds, the first thing they will see when they open their eyes at dawn is an arrest warrant stamped with the bright red seal of the 'Committee of Public Safety' or the 'Committee of General Security'! Fear brings obedience, but fear also brings hatred!"

Fouché paused here, looked at Carnot, and after a moment said, "If someone makes you live in endless fear for months, or even longer, keeping you awake at night, weakening your spirit, destroying your will, making you live like a walking corpse, wouldn't you hate such a person? Would you forgive him? Wouldn't those who dare not sleep in their own beds every day be filled with hatred for Robespierre?"

Besides, was Robespierre really that powerful? If his allies were still around, then he certainly was. But he killed Hébert —I know you, General, have reservations about many of Hébert's ideas—but it was Hébert who secured the support of the lowest-ranking Sans-culottes. A few months ago, if someone had wanted to overthrow him, he could have simply raised his voice, and all the Sans-culottes in Paris would have stood up for him. They would have surrounded the National Assembly and forced them to submit with cannons. But now, the Sans-culottes had only suffered and harbored some grievances, and because he was incompetent and unable to solve these problems, he dealt with Hébert and the Sans-culottes by eliminating those who raised the issues. Now, it was already a miracle that the Sans-culottes didn't see him as a traitor; why would they be willing to shed blood for him?

If Danton were still alive and still his friend, he could appease the National Assembly and shift all the blame for the fear and hatred onto Hébert and his group. But... he personally extinguished all hope for others. Now, Robespierre is a giant with feet of clay; as long as we unite against him, he has no real power. As long as we can make everyone know that everyone hates him, his end will be near!

"But how are you going to let everyone know? If you're trying to appeal directly to parliament, it certainly won't end well. You have to give me proof that you can actually do it," Carnot said.

"General," Fouché said slowly, looking into Carnot's eyes, "I have been ordered to return to Paris to report to the Committee of Public Safety. In a few days, the Jacobin Club will hold its new presidential election, which, as is customary, will be by secret ballot. If you can help me postpone my report to the Committee of Public Safety until after the Jacobin Club's election, I can give you a certificate."

"Very good, I look forward to your proof," Carnot said.

Fouché knew he had achieved his goal for the night with Carnot, so Carnot took his leave. As he was leaving, Carnot suddenly said, "Citizen Fouché, you'd better change your sleeping place every day."

Carnot offered some technical reasons to request that Fouché's performance review be postponed.

Robespierre did not object. Perhaps in his view, it was just a trivial matter. Robespierre had always despised chameleons like Fouché, who was morally corrupt, which made him blind to, or at least ignore, Fouché's merits. Thus, in his eyes, Fouché became an insignificant little man. Robespierre believed that such a fellow could not possibly cause any trouble.

Even when the Committee of General Security reported to him that Fouché had been acting suspiciously these past few days, it didn't raise much alarm in him. He simply saw it as Fouché trying to escape and treated it as a farce.

But Fouché wasn't planning an escape; he never even considered escaping! Fouché constantly changed his residence and appearance, disguising himself as a worker, a merchant, an old man, or a woman. He shrugged off the secret agents of the Committee of General Security who were following him, and then visited the members of the Jacobin Club one by one, persuading them to vote for him in the chairmanship election.

"The vote is anonymous; no one knows who cast it. Robespierre's anger and attacks may be directed at me, but you can use it to see how many people share your sentiments. Isn't it worth a try?"

Many people heard Fouché's words, which touched their hearts.

A few days later, the Jacobin Club held its election for a new president, as per its rules. Robespierre attended in person, and to his surprise, Fouché was also present. At this time, Fouché was not yet under arrest and was still a legitimate member of the Jacobin Club, so he was certainly entitled to attend.

Voting began, and members wrote their choices on the ballots before dropping them into the ballot box. This entire system was developed and perfected by Robespierre and Saint-Just.

After everyone had finished voting, a member lifted the ballot box and shook it violently for a while to scramble the ballots. Then the ballot box was opened in front of everyone. The vote counting began.

"Joseph Fouché."

"Joseph Fouché."

"Joseph Fouché."

After reciting "Joseph Fouché" more than ten times, he finally got to say "Maximilien Robespierre".

Everyone looked at each other with a mixture of fear and excitement. Robespierre, however, was ashen-faced. For the first time, he realized he had Fouché, this chameleon, this venomous snake flicking its tongue. He also realized for the first time that his foundation had been hollowed out, and for the first time, he felt Dread and fear.

The final vote results were in: Fouché defeated Robespierre by a landslide, becoming the new president of the Jacobin Club. Less than a tenth of the voters supported Robespierre!

If even a place like the Jacobin Club, considered Robespierre's core territory, harbors so many people secretly dissatisfied with Robespierre, how can Robespierre continue to be so dominant if he cannot even truly control the Jacobin Club?

After tonight's vote, a deep rift will appear between Robespierre and the entire Jacobin Club —a rift of mutual distrust. And this is the proof that Fouché showed to Carnot.

Fouché did not stay at the club for long after his victory. After giving a very brief speech, he left the club and disappeared into the dark streets of Paris in the night.

Fouché's victory that night was truly unexpected. After seeing the evidence he presented, Carnot, who had been silent in the "Committee of Public Safety" recently, suddenly became high-profile again. He publicly led the opposition to some of Robespierre's policies, initially against some military policies, and later against many of his political measures.

With Carnot taking the lead, some committee members who had previously blindly followed Robespierre suddenly began to have their own opinions, and several of Robespierre's proposals were rejected in succession. Now, in the "Committee of Public Safety," only Saint-Just and Couthon remained firmly on Robespierre's side. However, this number was no longer sufficient to pass any resolution they desired in the committee. Robespierre's control over the entire situation seemed to have truly revealed a huge flaw.