The King Jijis

When news of Robespierre's execution reached Toulon, Joseph had just completed all the trials of his ship. The ship performed very well in all aspects; the only problem was that it was now useless.

The news was delivered to him personally by Napoleon.

"Napoleon," Joseph said, "Is the carriage ready for the long journey?"

"Everything is ready," Napoleon replied. "A four-wheeled carriage and a troop of cavalry. I've had Leclerc escort you with the cavalry. You may depart now."

"Okay," Joseph said. "Wait a moment, I'll go get something and then I'll be right back."

Joseph went inside, changed into more travel-appropriate clothes, and came out carrying a large leather suitcase.

"What is this?" Napoleon asked.

"Some experimental data," Joseph said. "Keep this safe; it's very useful. Don't lose it, don't break it, and don't let the kids see it."

"I know I won't let Lucien see it," Napoleon said.

"Don't let him know even if you do," Joseph said. "Also, Napoleon, you didn't fully understand what I meant earlier. What I meant was, you shouldn't look at it either..."

Joseph was eager to return to Paris for a reason.

First of all, the guillotine is no longer a threat in Paris, and Joseph feels there's nothing to fear there anymore; it's even safer than Toulon. After Toulon, there are still some rebel groups active there.

Of course, this is the least important reason. The most important thing is that he needs to get back as soon as possible to take over the most valuable asset—the staff of the "Military Technology Research Institute"—which probably few people will notice at the moment.

Joseph knew that after Robespierre, Paris would definitely experience a period of chaos and disorder. The Gigi kings, who had always been suppressed by the powerful Robespierre, would surely turn Paris into a mess. In such a situation, even Carnot might not be able to protect the 'Military Research Institute'. Returning as soon as possible would allow him to seize the most valuable treasures.

Just as Joseph had predicted, the Gigi kings in Paris were indeed running rampant. They first abolished all price controls, and prices immediately skyrocketed. The people of Paris were naturally full of complaints, but a group of men, led by Barras, seized the opportunity to make a fortune. Barras, in particular, as the most prominent figure in the struggle to overthrow Robespierre, saw his status greatly elevated and, using his power, quickly amassed a fortune, soon becoming a millionaire.

Another major contributor Tallien, also obtained a position on the Committee of Public Safety. Although the Committee of Public Safety was no longer as powerful as it was in Robespierre's time, it remained a very important council.

However, among these victors, two people who played key roles ended up suffering terrible misfortune.

The first to suffer was Fouché. In the struggle against Robespierre, almost no one played a more crucial role than Fouché. However, Fouché worked behind the scenes, and his contributions were most easily overlooked. Now that it was time to seize the spoils of victory, everyone was naturally happy to ignore his contributions.

If it were merely that his merits were ignored, that would be one thing, but what's more problematic is that while people have forgotten his contributions in overthrowing Robespierre, they haven't forgotten his "merits" as a special envoy. Moreover, they've recalled Fouché's speech in the National Assembly: "I have served the Jacobin, I have shed blood for the Jacobin, and I still want to be Jacobin dog." Thus, Fouché has somehow become the "surviving Jacobin leader."

Seeing the situation was turning against him, Fouché first sought help from Carnot, but Carnot had always looked down on this chameleon, and given his straightforward personality, the two couldn't get along at all. Fouché, Fouché simply went and tried to organize the remaining Jacobin, becoming a true "Jacobin leader." Frankly, the remaining Jacobin, or at least the Pan- Jacobin forces, were still quite powerful. If Fouché could truly unite them, he could indeed become a pivotal figure in the National Assembly.

However, those people were also in a state of panic. They didn't trust Fouché at all, and even worried that Fouché was doing this to lure out the enemy. Some of them prepared for the uprising without any planning, while others fled from Paris. As for Fouché, they didn't care if he died!

As a result, Fouché was expelled from the National Assembly, losing his parliamentary seat and his salary to support his family. In the original history, Fouché had no choice but to condescend to work as a handyman for Barras, specifically responsible for investigating the private affairs of Barras's political enemies, and only through this means could he barely make ends meet.

The second unfortunate fellow was Carnot, who had also made significant contributions in public.

The problem with Carnot wasn't anything else, but that he was incredibly inconsiderate, actually trying to stop everyone from making money.

The war between France and the Anti-French Alliance is still ongoing. In wartime, what business is the most profitable? Of course, it's the business related to military supply production. However, during the reigns of the wicked Robespierre and the wicked Jacobin, various measures were taken, such as having military personnel conduct overly strict quality checks on products, which greatly reduced everyone's profits.

Such a policy, devised by an evil demon king and inherently wicked, should of course be abolished immediately. However, Carnot actually stood up and said that this policy was excellent and worth adhering to.

In addition, there are military research institutes, highly classified, that not only use state funds for research but also independently organize the production of key weapons. Doesn't this contradict basic economic principles? Moreover, this is a disastrous creation of the Jacobin; shouldn't it be abolished?

However, Carnot was even more stubborn on this issue, and he even threatened to withdraw from the "Committee of Public Safety".

During Robespierre's time, Carnot frequently clashed with Robespierre and his associates, but even Robespierre tolerated him because of Carnot's indispensable abilities. On the night before his downfall, when writing his speech, Robespierre included the names of all the people his spies had discovered who had secretly met with Fouché, except for one name: Carnot. Robespierre knew this man was indispensable—even at his most irrational, Robespierre still possessed a degree of statesmanship.

But the Gigi kings weren't like that. Since Carnot was blocking their way, they'd let him go! Threatening everyone with "withdrawing from the Committee of Public Safety"? Let him withdraw then!

So Carnot was kicked out of the Committee of Public Safety.

Carnot was furious and almost resigned to retire to his hometown. But his wife stopped him from acting impulsively.

"Lazar, what are you working for? Aren't you working for France? Think about it, what would happen to France if you left at this time?"

So Carnot reluctantly stayed, but his power and influence were greatly diminished.

With Carnot out of the way, the new "Committee of Public Safety" quickly passed a resolution to abolish everything that blocked their path to wealth—so, before Joseph arrived in Paris, the Military Technology Research Institute was already a ruin. Its contents were divided up by the Gigi kings; as for the researchers, these guys weren't interested in spending a fortune to acquire such a research team—they just wanted to make quick money—so they donated these experienced, highly skilled researchers to society.

Lavoisier was finally freed, while Charles, who was guarding him, went to prison. Life's twists and turns are truly strange and unpredictable. However, I believe Charles will adapt to prison life quickly.

Upon gaining his freedom, Lavoisier discovered that his property had long been confiscated by Robespierre and his associates. His movable property was out of the question, but Lavoisier also had several other properties that had been seized. He ran around trying to find acquaintances, spending a considerable amount of money, but to no avail. Fortunately, given Lavoisier's status, securing a decent job wasn't difficult; he quickly found work at the University of Paris. Now, this teaching position was his only means of supporting his family.

Various military technologies from the research institute were also "shared" free of charge with the arms factories of some newly rich individuals. This even included technologies related to Nitrated Starch. This practice almost guaranteed that this crucial technology would be leaked very quickly.

Since the leakage of these technologies is already inevitable, some factory owners have suggested that since certain neutral countries are very interested in buying "Little Melon," why not simply open up the export of "Little Melon"? They could exchange them for other goods to alleviate their current economic difficulties.

Such a proposal was, of course, vehemently opposed by Carnot, but his current status was vastly different from before. As a result, his opposition was ineffective, and the bill passed smoothly. Of course, the bill still contained this clause. "Sales to non-neutral countries are prohibited."

Thus, a new trade method began to emerge in Europe: a ship carrying goods under the flag of a neutral country would be transported to France, exchanged for "Bonaparte's Little Melon," and then sailed to Britain, Spain, or Italy to sell these goods to the countries of the Anti-French Alliance.

Initially, it was mostly Britain and Italy doing this work. But they were quickly squeezed out of the market by a newer, more competitive group of merchants. And these newcomers were, of course, France merchants.

When Joseph arrived in Paris, this was the situation he faced.