"I'm honored to meet our young scientist as well. As you know, all fame and great achievements are but fleeting clouds. Time will wash them away until nothing remains. Even Alexander the Great and Caesar have left behind nothing but empty names. Only scholarship is truly immortal. Just look at Greece and Rome: the most precious treasures they left us weren't their great conquests, but their scholarship and laws. You have a talent for studying things that are truly eternal. That is what's truly worthy of respect and envy," Lafayette replied with a smile.
"Just as Rome's immortality lies in its laws. Your Excellency, aren't you now taking part in something equally immortal, a great achievement that will shine through the ages?" Joseph replied with a smile.
"You make a good point. What are your thoughts on the constitution?" Marquis Lafayette asked.
"I don't know much about politics," Joseph replied. "But I think that, just as ancient Greek geometry was built upon nine intuitive, unquestionable postulates and axioms, our constitution should also rest on self-evident axioms. Your Excellency, you once led the War of Independence in North America. The logic behind the United States of America's Declaration of Independence is actually quite interesting."
"Go on," Robespierre said.
"The Declaration of Independence says: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.—That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.' These two sentences are the axioms of the entire Declaration of Independence. Nearly all the logical deductions that follow in the Declaration of Independence are built upon them. If we want to draft a constitution that will truly endure for all time, we must also find its axiomatic foundation. I personally think these two sentences from the Declaration of Independence can serve as the axiomatic foundation of our constitution as well. So, when drafting the constitution, we should first clearly define the rights it is meant to protect, then build around how to protect those rights. Anything that conflicts with this goal can be considered unconstitutional, and therefore illegal and invalid."
"That's an interesting point," the Duke of Orleans interjected. "But Joseph, I heard you say just now that 'ancient Greek geometry was built upon nine intuitive, unquestionable postulates and axioms.' Shouldn't there be ten axioms and postulates? What, do you also think the fifth postulate should be kicked out of the ranks of the postulates?"
"Who wouldn't?" Joseph said with a laugh. "Ever since ancient Greece, there hasn't been a mathematician who didn't hope to prove the fifth postulate, kick it out of the ranks of the postulates, and turn it into a theorem. If I could really solve such a difficult problem, I'd become famous indeed—even as famous as Monsieur Lavoisier."
The "Monsieur Lavoisier" Joseph referred to here was, of course, the great chemist Lavoisier. But the name brought something else to mind for some of them.
"Monsieur Lavoisier?" Robespierre said. "Yes, Monsieur Lavoisier's academic achievements are admirable. You could say he is the light of French science. His nephew is talented too, though his talent lies in the arts. He's recently become famous for a play, and some people think he could be another Corneille."
"His Spartacus is certainly a fine tragedy, but it's far too radical. Especially that 'Slave War Song'—it rejects the entire existing order," Lafayette said, apparently not very taken with the play. Frowning, he continued, "The existing order certainly has many problems that need to be changed, but change should come through gentle reform, not a war like a mountain flood."
"None of us wants a flood like that," Robespierre said. "It's just that our king is rather stubborn. I've actually discussed this with young Lavoisier, and he agrees that reforming the existing order and establishing a country like Britain would be better than establishing one like North America, and that a Glorious Revolution would be better than war. But he also said that bringing about such a change in France wouldn't be easy. So sometimes you have to go too far in what you say to make an impact. It's like telling His Majesty the King, 'Your house is too dark. You need to open another window.' But he keeps refusing. So you tell him, 'Your house is too dark. I'm going to tear off the roof.' Then His Majesty might be willing to discuss how to open a window."
That made everyone laugh. The metaphor had, in fact, come from an essay by Lu Xun that Joseph had read in his previous life. After crossing over, he'd stolen the metaphor and used it in a casual conversation with Armand. Now it seemed Armand was using the metaphor he'd heard from Joseph.
"That idea isn't without merit," Lafayette said with a brief laugh, then frowned slightly. "But I'm still a little worried. The play has stirred up the townspeople, especially the Sans-culottes at the bottom of society. Once their emotions are roused, they may not be satisfied with opening just one window."
"But if we don't do this, His Majesty the King won't feel any pressure at all, and he won't agree to any change," the Duke of Orleans said.
Marquis Lafayette raised his head and gazed deeply at the Duke of Orleans, but said nothing.
The Duke of Orleans continued, "What's more, Gilbert, you know His Majesty has mobilized the army. That's pressure on us too. Damn it—you're the one who told me about it. How can we not respond at all?"
"The French army won't turn on its own people. Our army is here to protect the homeland, not slaughter its people," Lafayette replied.
"Can you guarantee that?" the Duke of Orleans immediately asked.
"Of course I can!" Lafayette answered without hesitation.
"Can you guarantee that the mercenaries won't slaughter the people either?"
Marquis Lafayette did not answer.
"If those mercenaries fire on the people, what will the French army do? Defy the king's orders and fight those foreign mercenaries, or stand aside and watch?" the Duke of Orleans pressed.
Marquis Lafayette remained silent.
"You know, the army wouldn't know what to do," the Duke of Orleans continued. "If the army fights the king's mercenaries, that means war has begun. That's not what you want to see. And I'm sure you don't want them to stand by while the people are slaughtered either. Besides, military intervention in politics is no good in the long run. Once that habit takes root, it will bring endless trouble."
In his heart, Marquis Lafayette agreed with the Duke of Orleans' argument, so he still couldn't bring himself to speak.
"So the balance of power is now heavily against the people. Without a balance of power, there can be no fair negotiations," the Duke of Orleans continued. "Under these circumstances, His Majesty the King won't sincerely accept our proposals. So we need to find some way to demonstrate the people's strength and bring the king to his senses, lest he do something foolish."
You're probably hoping to make the people think the king is their enemy, so you can sideline him later, or even replace him, Marquis Lafayette thought. But he didn't say it aloud. He didn't want to replace the king—he wasn't of royal blood and had no claim to the throne—but he did want to sideline him and seize the kingdom's power for himself. Though he couldn't become king, becoming a Richelieu—or even going further and becoming a palace mayor like Pepin—wasn't impossible. So ruining the king's reputation and turning the people against him would benefit Lafayette too. He still couldn't argue against the duke; all he could say was, "What kind of strength can a play demonstrate?"
The Duke of Orleans smiled. "A band of slaves determined to rebel can shake mighty Rome. The people of France are stronger than Rome's slaves, and France is far weaker than Rome. At least the Roman legions would do everything they could to suppress the slaves, but our army wouldn't—and the king knows that. The only people he can rely on are those mountaineers and the German mercenaries. If our king were a little cleverer, he'd understand the message this play is sending him. As long as he's willing to compromise, we can use this opportunity to achieve our goal of constitutional government."
"And what if the king still refuses to compromise?" Marquis Lafayette asked.
"Then we arm the National Guard and use it to create a balance of power with the mercenaries," Robespierre said. "The National Guard's combat skills are of course inferior to the mercenaries', but in terms of numbers, it would be easy to make them several times as numerous—or even ten times as numerous—if necessary."
"I hope our king understands the message this play is sending. Does he truly want to follow in Charles I's footsteps?" the Duke of Orleans said.
Marquis Lafayette frowned. The Duke of Orleans had been far too blunt.
"As Shakespeare said: 'The nearer in blood, the nearer bloody.'"
He thought it over, then finally spoke. "His Majesty isn't as stubborn as Charles I. He'll go with the tide of the times and become a king beloved by his people."
Before you continue