Revision

Hearing Joseph's words, Armand instead became smug. "What is there to fear? Isn't it just a ban? Corneille's The Cid was banned too. To be banned just like The Cid, that is simply... Why change it? No! Even if it is banned, even if I am thrown into the Bastille for it, it would be worth it! You must understand, this is the immortal laurel of Apollo!"

"Then this play will only be able to run for a performance or two before the authorities react," Joseph said.

"No, that won't happen," Napoleon suddenly interjected. "Just like The Cid, although it may be banned for a time, there will come a day when it is performed again. And once it is revived, it will be performed forever."

"I like the sound of that," Armand laughed heartily. "Napoleon, I toast you!"

Having said this, Armand raised his arm and poured a large glass of brandy down his throat. Seeing this, Napoleon wanted to follow suit and down his own in one gulp. But no sooner had he raised his arm than Joseph stopped him.

"Armand has a high tolerance; he drinks liquor like water. Don't try to keep up with him, or you'll be on the floor before you can say two words, and that would be no fun. When we used to drink with him, he would drink as he pleased, and we would just take small sips."

Napoleon glanced at Joseph, then at the thin-looking Armand, seemingly unconvinced, but he still listened to Joseph and took only a small sip.

"That's right, that's fine," Armand said. "I still hope you can stay sober enough to offer me more opinions. Hmm, how does your tolerance compare to Joseph's?"

"Not as good as mine," Joseph said.

"About the same," Napoleon replied almost simultaneously.

"Ah, then that sip was already too much. This fellow Joseph, two glasses of brandy at most and he'll start calculating one plus one as three. Since you're about the same, you'd better drink slowly," Armand laughed.

"Monsieur Lavoisier, I have an idea," Napoleon said.

"Ah, just call me Armand like Joseph does. 'Monsieur Lavoisier' and all that is too formal; it makes one feel uncomfortable. Well, what idea does our Alexander have?"

"I think since this play is already so intense—intense to the point where it will likely, no, certainly be banned—why not make it even more incisive?" Napoleon suggested.

"Napoleon, you really love to watch the world burn. If we do that, the play's fate won't be a simple ban and revival. It will become a cycle of banning, reviving, banning, and reviving again. And Armand will truly be in danger of being thrown into the Bastille to feed the rats," Joseph said, taking a light sip of his brandy.

"Then that would be even better!" Armand exclaimed. "That would surpass Corneille! As for being thrown into the Bastille, compared to such an achievement, what is the Bastille, or even the guillotine? Hmm, Napoleon, tell me, how can we make it more intense?"

Napoleon thought for a moment and said, "Armand, you know that after the Battle of Apulia, Spartacus died in battle, and Pompey had six thousand captured rebel soldiers crucified. What if we put the image of a crucified rebel on stage, styled like Jesus... what do you think?"

"Ah, that's a brilliant idea! It will drive those priests mad!" Armand laughed.

"We could also arrange a dialogue between three crucified rebels, just like the conversation between Jesus and the two thieves crucified alongside him in the Bible," Napoleon said, growing excited.

"Ah, good idea, good idea!" Armand said. "My previous ending was too sad, too somber. A change like this would add a bright, striking color to the finale. Hmm, I will have Spartacus's lieutenant encourage the other crucified warriors: 'We are indeed going to die, but we die as free warriors, not as slaves and puppets to be driven and toyed with by others. The glorious name and cause of Spartacus shall be immortal!' Hmm, perhaps I should make a major adjustment and revive the ancient Greek chorus. At the very end, have the lieutenant shout to the others: 'Let us sing our war song one last time!' Then, a few warriors start singing, followed by the entire chorus joining in for a grand anthem, and the play ends on that note—this is fantastic! Napoleon, you really are a genius! Much better than Joseph, truly!"

Joseph curled his lip slightly at this but said nothing. As for Napoleon, he couldn't help but lift his head proudly to look at Joseph.

"The lyrics for the song aren't the problem; you can write them yourself. But can you find a composer good enough to help you finish the music? Even if you find one, they won't always be able to write the right melody. And you have to worry about whether they'd be willing to risk the Bastille to write it," Joseph said. "If you make this change, the song becomes the soul of the entire play. Without the right music, the play will be incomplete. But finding such a song won't be easy. Your play was almost ready to be performed, but with this change, who knows how long it will be delayed."

There were actually many good composers in this era, such as Father Haydn or Mozart. However, they were not in France, and they might not be willing to write such a "blasphemous" song full of rebellious spirit for a play praising a slave revolt. Perhaps only Beethoven would dare to write such a thing in this era, but at this moment, Beethoven was still a teenager who hadn't yet made a name for himself. His maturity wouldn't come until around 1803. Of course, France had some musicians, even those inclined toward the revolution, such as François-Joseph Gossec. But compared to other countries, especially Austria, France's musical achievements were quite dim. So much so that in 1778, during a trip to Paris, Mozart wrote to a friend: "As far as music is concerned, I feel as if I am among savages... Ask anyone—as long as he is not French—if he knows anything about the matter, and he will say the same... If I can get out of here in one piece, I shall thank the Almighty God..." Therefore, it would not be easy for Armand to find a composer to create a song that met his requirements.

"It's fine," Armand said. "For a perfect play, waiting a little longer is worth it. Come, let us toast to the perfect tragedy... Ah, I'll drink, you two do as you please... Hahaha..."

"The perfect tragedy" was originally Aristotle's praise for Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, and now Armand's words exposed his ambition without any pretense.

However, the "perfect tragedy" seemed to be a tragedy indeed. In the days that followed, Armand often ran to Joseph's place with messy hair to discuss the parts of the play that needed revision. Unlike his smug confidence when he first arrived, Armand began to find fault with everything in the play, always feeling that this or that was wrong and that many parts needed adjustments, even major ones. And after the adjustments, it wouldn't be long before Armand felt they were worse than before and needed further changes...

Of course, the most troublesome thing was the war song. Its role in the script had become increasingly important; it had to appear at least three times: once when Spartacus and his men launched the uprising and broke out of prison; once when they descended the cliffs of Mount Vesuvius at night using grapevines to defeat the surrounding Roman troops; and once at the very end during the crucifixion. Armand even thought about having only the first verse appear the first and second times, and only singing the full song at the very end. However, for this song, not to mention the composition, even the lyrics were missing. Armand had written at least a dozen versions, but he had shot them all down without hesitation.

Joseph's "research," on the other hand, was going quite smoothly. During this time, he had already published several valuable papers. His collaboration with Lavoisier was also going well; although nitroglycerin remained dangerous, the technology for large-scale on-site production was basically mature and had even been used in the mines of the Orleans Family. Relying on this, the productivity of the Orleans Family's mines had increased significantly, which also earned Duke Phillips a small profit. If France's industrial development could be like England's, the Duke would likely have earned even more.

Since the Duke had made money, Lavoisier naturally profited as well, and gained even more fame. Of course, Joseph, who had made a key contribution to this creation, also received a share of the money and gained Lavoisier's gratitude and support. Now, Lavoisier was already proposing that Joseph be given a position as a candidate member of the French Academy of Sciences.

Because this proposal was supported not only by Lavoisier but also by the Duke, even though some people were not entirely in favor of it from the bottom of their hearts, they knew that based on his current performance, Joseph would sooner or later obtain a position at the French Academy of Sciences. Even the fiercest opposition would at most delay the matter by a year or two. Such a delay would not have a decisive effect and would only offend people for no reason, so even those who opposed it did not do so too fiercely. Therefore, if nothing unexpected happened, Joseph should have a position as a candidate member of the French Academy of Sciences in a few months, or by next spring at the latest.