Royalist Party Nemesis (1)

While Napoleon was fighting in Italy, the situation in Paris was also undergoing a dramatic change. The first parliamentary elections under Thermidorians rule had concluded, and despite record-low voter turnout (though this history was relatively short), the Royalist Party suddenly won more than half the seats in Paris.

The Thermidorian Government immediately declared the election invalid due to numerous acts of fraud that severely undermined its fairness. The government would hold another election in ten days.

During those ten days, the Thermidorians relentlessly campaigned among the common people, claiming that if the Royalist Party came to power, they would settle scores with the people of Paris. They hoped that such threats would incite the populace to vote for them.

After a ten-day delay, Paris held a second election. The result was the same: Paris still didn't turn out, and the voter turnout was even lower than before. The Royalist Party won another landslide victory, taking more than half of the seats in Paris. Statistics for the provinces hadn't been compiled yet, but it was generally estimated that the situation there wouldn't be any better than in Paris.

If such an election were recognized, then the purge of the Thermidorians would only be a matter of time. Therefore, the Thermidorians, of course, did not hesitate to declare the election invalid!

So what kind of election is valid? Relying on the National Assembly they still control, the Thermidorians passed a law stipulating that "in the new parliament, the Thermidorians must hold a two-thirds majority."

The announcement of this resolution caused an uproar in Paris. The Royalist Party were not the only ones affected; even the remnants of the Brissotins, which had previously allied with the Thermidorians, openly turned against Thermidorians.

The Royalist Party even openly declared, "If we cannot come to power through legal means, then we will come to power through revolutionary means!" They began semi-openly preparing for an uprising, while the Thermidorians were actually almost powerless to deal with this situation.

In an effort to eliminate Jacobin influence, the Thermidorians reorganized the National Guard in Paris. Those aligned with the lower classes were purged and replaced with more "respectable" individuals. The size of the National Guard drastically reduced, with the guards in the slums disbanded altogether. The government no longer paid the guards' salaries, leaving only the propertied class as members.

This measure naturally eliminated the danger of a Jacobin uprising, but it also put the main armed force in Paris — the National Guard— in the hands of those less loyal to the revolution. Now, a large portion of the National Guard has clearly sided with the Royalist Party, and the remaining small portion basically supports whoever is on the podium, though this support is not particularly resolute. The current situation is almost certain that if the Royalist Party were to launch an uprising, the Thermidorians would be doomed.

Some Thermidorians have already begun preparing for exile, and some previously crucial positions, such as the commander of the Paris garrison, are now unwanted.

In this environment, that very night, a man secretly visited Barras, an important figure in the Thermidor Reaction.

By this time, Barras had already gone to bed, but because of the visitor's insistence, he got out of bed to meet him.

"Mr. Fouché, what brings you here at this hour?" Barras frowned upon seeing the man. It wasn't because he disliked him, but rather because this man had been bringing him all sorts of reliable bad news lately.

"Your Excellency," Fouché said with a smile, "It is truly admirable that you can still sleep."

"What's wrong?"

"One of your servants took someone else's money and betrayed you," Fouché said. "He sold your daily whereabouts and other arrangements to Viscount Thierry. Well, you must know very well what kind of person Viscount Thierry is, right?"

Barras's expression changed instantly. He had already made arrangements for the exile; could it be...?

"Who was it? What did he tell them?"

Fouché slowly reached into his robes, fumbled around for a while, and pulled out an envelope, which he then handed to Barras.

Barras took the envelope, pulled out the letter, and then, with slightly trembling hands, put on his glasses. He walked to the candlestick and began to read by the candlelight. As he read, the letter in his hand began to tremble...

"So it was him... that ungrateful serpent... I was so blind..."

"Mr. Barras, now is not the time for curses," Fouché said. "The rebellion is imminent, and time is of the essence... Moreover, arranging a new escape plan is not a good idea... Forgive my bluntness, but in the current situation, you don't have many truly reliable people around you. Don't assume you only have one traitor by your side just because I've helped you catch one. The situation is so clear that many will be willing to side with them to save their own lives and fortunes."

By this time, Barras had regained his composure. He nodded and said, "Thank you, Joseph. Since you've come to me at this time, you're not here to tell me I'm doomed, are you? Do you have any ideas?"

"There is only one effective way to deal with armed rebellion, and that is to suppress it by force," Fouché said. "Isn't the position of commander of the Paris garrison now one that no one but Royalist Party would want? If you take that position, you can legally mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion."

"But most of the National Guard are on their side."

"You're mistaken. The National Guard has simply mostly sided with the side they perceive as stronger," Fouché said. "Besides, the National Guard isn't the only military force near Paris."

"You mean the army... but there aren't many troops near Paris, and mobilizing troops would only lead to an earlier Royalist Party uprising."

"No additional troop movements are needed; there's already an army in Paris — the Red Army is in Paris," Fouché reminded them.

"The Red Army?" Barras, not being very familiar with military matters, took a moment to recall that there was indeed a unit in Paris commonly known as the "Red Army," but officially called the "Training Corps," but...

"But, but there don't seem to be many people in the 'Red Army,' do they?"

During the Jacobin period, the Red Army once expanded to more than a thousand men, but with the rise of the Thermidorians and the substantial reduction in the military budget, the size of the Red Army was reduced back to about five hundred men. This was only after Carnot's efforts.

"The Red Army had five hundred men, all of whom were battle-hardened heroes," Fouché said.

"But they have tens of thousands of people over there!"

"Tens of thousands of rabble," Fouché said dismissively. "In recent years, the methods of warfare have changed dramatically; old-fashioned tactics are useless. Facing the world's most advanced Red Army..."

These rabble, no matter how many there are, are no match for us. Besides, as you know, most of the National Guard has sided with them because they believe the Royalist Party are already victorious. If we give them a decisive blow, most of those who initially sided with the Royalist Party will hesitate, and those who are currently neutral will turn to us."

Fouché's words greatly encouraged Barras, who said, "If that were possible, it would be wonderful, but... the Red Army, would the Red Army listen to us?"

"You are the garrison commander of Paris. You make the request, and as long as the Ministry of War doesn't object... Besides, to be honest, the army doesn't have a good impression of you. You'd better find them a commander they trust."

Barras's pupils constricted sharply. "Ah, Mr. Fouché, so you've been working for the Bonaparte brothers all along."

"Yes, ever since you and your friends abandoned me. I have to support a large family, and the Bonaparte brothers need to stay informed about what's happening in Paris." Fouché did not deny this. It was time to lay everything on the table; to hide it any longer would seem petty.

Barras pondered for a moment and then said, "Alright, tell me your terms."

Fouché said, "The era of the French Revolution is over, and we all know that. So you don't need to worry about us resurrecting the Jacobin. We are just pursuing our own interests."

"You mean weapons?" Barras immediately realized.

"Yes. Our arms manufacturers must become the military's primary suppliers. We demand the reinstatement of the military representative system, rigorous quality control of military products, and accountability for unscrupulous merchants who produce substandard military equipment."

"You should know how much profit is involved. I don't represent the entire government; even if I agree to these things, if others disagree, this matter..."

"Given the current situation, I believe you can persuade them," Fouché replied with a smile.

"Is that the only condition?" Barras asked again.

"Of course not," Fouché said. "Our people must occupy relatively important positions in the government to ensure our voice is heard after the situation calms down. We need a speaker and a Minister of Police."

"The Speaker and the Minister of Police?" Barras gave a sarcastic smile. "You two certainly have quite the appetite."

"If we asked for less, would you still be able to sleep?" Fouché, still politely.

Barras fell silent. He fully understood Fouché's meaning and the implied threat in his words. The fact that they wanted so much showed that they genuinely wanted to cooperate with him. If they possessed the power to overturn the table but only wanted scraps, it could only mean that they didn't want cooperation at all, but only wanted to gain everything by overturning the table.

"Alright then..." Barras said finally. "Mr. Fouché, it seems you're preparing to become Minister of Police. Who's the remaining speaker? Is it Joseph Bonaparte?"

"Joseph Bonaparte was to oversee military production, but he couldn't take the position. It was his brother Lucien," Fouché said.

"Lucien? How is that possible? How old is he? And he hasn't done anything like this before..."

"He will make a name for himself in suppressing the rebellion. Besides, you were very young when you entered the political arena," Fouché replied.

"Well, I have a request too," Barras said. "You know, I have a lot of cash on hand right now and I need an investment opportunity that can make money..."

Neither of them were talkative, and they quickly reached an agreement. Then, Fouché promptly took his leave.

The next morning, Barras went to visit some of his friends. He showed them something similar to what he had seen the night before, provided by Fouché, and then proceeded with a mixture of threats and temptations...

Two days later, the government announced new personnel changes, with Paul Barras becoming the garrison commander of Paris.

On that very day, Joseph, accompanied by his brother Lucien, arrived at the Red Army's encampment with an order jointly signed by Carnot and Barras. He announced to the Red Army commanders and soldiers the order requiring them to participate in the suppression of the rebellion and delivered a speech to them.

Throughout the speech, the Red Army commanders and soldiers continuously cheered for their old leader and creator.

That evening, the entire Red Army changed into the uniforms of the National Guard, took their weapons, and set up positions near the National Assembly.

The Royalist Party didn't take the Thermidorians government's actions too seriously, given that they had mobilized nearly 40,000 men, while the National Guard, potentially siding with the government, numbered at most 10,000. How could they possibly lose such a battle?

So they continued their preparations methodically, and then, near the end of the year, launched their rebellion. This was a few months later than the original historical account, but its momentum was no less than that of the original historical account. Of course, in terms of organization, it was just as chaotic as their rebellion in Portugal in the original historical account.

The various factions in the rebellion did not actually have a unified command, because these people were only won over by the Royalist Party with promises of future high-ranking positions and generous rewards, while the Royalist Party themselves did not have many truly trustworthy commanders with military prestige. Their leaders were still hiding abroad, and the few nobles in Paris in charge of the rebellion were not well-versed in military affairs.

Furthermore, the National Guard, after being purged, had never received any proper training, and their military skills were not much better than those who stormed the Bastille. Therefore, these people were practically incapable of command—fortunately, the opposing side, which supported the government, was also the National Guard, so they were all the same kind of people.

So tens of thousands of rebels surged toward the National Assembly in a chaotic and disorganized manner. Along the way, they waved their weapons, fired wildly into the air, and sang all sorts of incoherent songs, such as "It Will Be Alright," only changing the line "nobles are hanging from lampposts" to "republicans are hanging from lampposts." Some even inadvertently sang the original lyrics aloud.

Soon, the National Assembly building came into view.

Double updates will resume tomorrow.