The Weather Changes

Robespierre spent the entire night preparing his speech, writing down the names of Fouché and more than a dozen other members of parliament who had secret dealings with Fouché. These were the people who would be stripped of their parliamentary status and sent to the guillotine the next morning.

Having prepared everything, Robespierre went to bed. He hadn't been feeling well these past few days due to anxiety and arguments with his family; he sometimes coughed badly. Robespierre had consulted several reliable doctors, who all said Robespierre ailment was due to lack of rest and that with proper rest and their prescribed medication, he would definitely improve. But how could Robespierre rest at this time? Fortunately, tomorrow was the crucial battle. After tomorrow, perhaps he could get some proper rest.

That same night, Fouché was visiting the members of parliament one by one. He wasn't just dealing with a dozen or so, but almost all of them, except for Robespierre and his few most loyal followers. In the days that followed, he told them that the "Prairial Law" were prepared for them; that in the past month or so, Robespierre had beheaded more people than in the entire previous year, and that at this rate, it wouldn't be long before it was their turn; that Paris's food supply simply couldn't support the current economic policies, and that unless they were beheaded and their property confiscated, Paris would soon go bankrupt.

Every member of parliament listened to Fouché's words with trepidation, utterly terrified. They were all seasoned politicians, and they certainly knew that Fouché's statement, "You're on the next list," was mostly a bluff; but precisely because of their experience, they also knew that it was true that "Paris's food supply could no longer sustain itself"; they also knew that under these circumstances, beheading a group of people and confiscating their assets was practically the only possible means for Robespierre to weather the crisis.

Moreover, they knew how great the divide was between Paris and the provinces, and how severe the food shortage in Paris was—the former meant that the food scarcity was not a short-term phenomenon, and the latter meant that a great many heads would have to be chopped off.

Perhaps he wasn't actually on the "next list" that Fouché mentioned, but as long as he had any sense, he would know how high his chances were of being on a certain list.

"The final battle is about to begin!" Fouché would use this phrase as his farewell to each member of parliament.

The next morning, Robespierre, accompanied by Saint-Just, went to the National Assembly.

Robespierre first requested permission from the chairman to speak, and this request was naturally granted. Robespierre then went up to the podium. He was still wearing a sky-blue shirt with white stockings, and he was holding a large roll of paper in his hand—his speech manuscript.

Robespierre stood on the platform, picked up the large roll of paper, like Rome judge picking up a ceremonial staff (in its literal sense, referring to one of the ceremonial staffs of Rome judge, which was a bundle of clubs with an axe inserted in the middle).

He glanced at the assembled members of parliament, who all avoided his gaze timidly. Robespierre slowly unrolled the scroll in his hand, and all eyes were fixed on it. Everyone knew that anyone whose name appeared on that scroll was tantamount to an invitation to the guillotine.

Robespierre noticed that Fouché was not present. Fouché's eloquence was not particularly good, at least not compared to the members of the National Assembly. His talents were more evident in various clandestine activities, and Fouché always avoided such public events as much as possible. Even if he had to attend, he would always hide in an inconspicuous corner.

Robespierre began his speech, which was so long that anyone unrelated to the topic would likely have fallen asleep. It was similar to how a large number of his audience members slept when he gave his speech on the Festival of the Supreme Being (a so-called "Cult of Reason festival" created during the French Revolution).

But this time, everyone listened intently to what he had to say. Robespierre spoke of the grim situation both at home and abroad, of the conspiracies being carried out by some traitors to the revolution, and finally, he said that he had obtained a list of traitors to the Republic. These traitors to the motherland, following a shameful viper, were plotting against the Republic. He paused deliberately here, so that the members of parliament below could truly feel the weight of fear.

All eyes were on Robespierre, but Robespierre saw something different in those gazes than before. In those eyes, besides fear, there was despair and madness.

"Then who is that venomous snake?" a man suddenly asked in a trembling voice. This man was Bourdon de Novac. A few nights earlier, Fouché had visited him.

"Yes, who is that poisonous snake? Say its name!" more people shouted in response.

The parliamentarians' behavior made Robespierre suddenly realize that he had misjudged something: the people colluding with Fouché were not just ten or twenty, but almost the entire National Assembly. At this moment, if he were to utter the name "Fouché," it would be tantamount to announcing that he would send almost all the members of parliament to the guillotine at the same time.

In theory, the National Assembly is the supreme authority. All his power derives from National Assembly authorization. Of course, if the Paris Commune were still as strong and resolute as it was when Hébert and he were allies, the National Assembly would be nothing. But now, does he really have the power to send the entire National Assembly to the guillotine?

Robespierre immediately realized that he absolutely could not reveal Fouché's name at this moment; otherwise, almost all the members of the National Assembly would immediately turn against him.

"The investigation is not over yet, and I cannot reveal his name at this time," Robespierre replied.

"Say his name!" people kept shouting.

"Why investigate? Isn't suspicion and deduction enough?" Tallien shouted. "Stop dodging the question, Robespierre, who exactly are you talking about?"

"Is it Fouché?" Barras suddenly asked coldly.

The sound was like a cold wind blowing from hell, freezing everyone's hearts.

"Is it Fouché?" Barras pressed. "Robespierre, tell us, is it Fouché?"

"I said, I can't yet..." Robespierre tried his best to maintain his composure, but at that moment, he suddenly couldn't catch his breath and began to cough violently.

"Tyrant, it's the blood of Danton that's choking you!" someone suddenly shouted from the crowd.

By this time, everyone in the parliament understood that their break with Robespierre and their final battle were inevitable.

Saint-Just cried out, "Listen to me, everyone..."

But now no one would give him a chance to speak. Barras shouted, "Down with the tyrant!"

Almost all the members of parliament then joined in shouting, "Down with the tyrant!"

Saint-Just Just tried to take Robespierre away, but they were stopped.

"I accuse Robespierre and Saint-Just of the crimes of betraying the Republic and plotting to restore feudalism!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"Let's vote!" Barras rushed to the podium. "Everyone, raise your hands! Raise your hands! Robespierre and Saint-Just have betrayed the revolution and are trying to restore feudalism!"

As he shouted, Barras took the lead and raised his hand.

More hands followed suit, and eventually, almost everyone raised their hands.

Facing the forest of arms, Barras shouted, "Passed! Passed!"

"Lock them up, put them in jail!" more people shouted.

One moment people were terrified by Robespierre, and the next, the very man who had filled them with such fear was now a prisoner, making everyone feel as if they were dreaming.

Fouché only learned of what had happened in parliament about an hour later. The nightmare that had been hanging over him was now behind bars; he was to be tried by the Revolutionary Tribunal the next morning and then sent to the guillotine.

"Which prison?" Fouché asked.

"It's the Angdome Prison, the closest to the parliament," the person who told Fouché replied.

"Oh no! The prison is poorly guarded. Robespierre's cronies will..." Fouché said hastily.

"That's perfect, we can wipe them all out in one fell swoop!" another voice rang out. Fouché turned around and saw Barras and Carnot walking over triumphantly.

Just as they had anticipated, Robespierre's cronies attacked the prison, rescuing Robespierre and Saint-Just. They fled to the City Hall where the Paris Commune was located and issued orders to the National Guard to come and defend the revolution.

However, in all of Paris, only the National Guard in two districts responded to the call and came to the vicinity of the City Hall. Instead, more forces were concentrated at the National Assembly. Robespierre could only hope that the National Guard in a few more distant districts would respond to his call and come to his aid.

But by around 10 p. m., no other troops had arrived—clearly, they wouldn't be receiving any reinforcements. Even the National Guard who had been concentrated near the City Hall began to disperse on their own.

Around 11 a. m., the National Assembly's troops began their siege of the City Hall. The National Guard still stationed near the City Hall scattered without firing a single shot, even abandoning their cannons, which were already loaded with shells. Meanwhile, the troops loyal to the National Assembly simply used these cannons to blast open the City Hall's gates.

Robespierre attempted suicide, but a soldier shot him in the arm first. This caused the bullet he fired at his own head to miss and hit his face instead. His face was mangled, but he did not die.

The next morning, without any trial, Robespierre, Saint-Just, Couthon, and more than twenty others were escorted down the same road that Louis XVI, Brissot, Queen Marie Antoinette, Hébert, Danton, and Desmoulins had walked, and onto the guillotine.