The Vote (1)

Although the king's escape was merely a farce, it completely altered the course of the nation. Before it, while some in society, such as Marat, were vehemently attacking the king, the moderate faction clearly held the upper hand in parliament, especially after the king swore an oath to the constitution. In fact, even the radicals Robespierre and Danton were chanting "Long live Louis XVI!" at that time. The difference between radicalism and moderation was merely a matter of technique, such as whether clergy should swear allegiance to the state or whether bishops should be elected democratically. But after Louis XVI's escape, the situation changed dramatically.

Upon discovering the king's escape, Lafayette immediately declared that the king had been kidnapped by "enemies of the state." This claim initially deceived many. However, soon afterward, a letter left by the king was found in the palace. In that letter, the king declared that he had been kidnapped to Paris and that all documents he signed after July 1789 were coerced and therefore invalid.

When the letter was discovered, Lafayette was arranging the "rescue" of the king and other follow-up preparations. (In fact, he hadn't expected they would actually be able to bring the king back.) Therefore, there was no time to suppress the news, and in the blink of an eye, the letter became common knowledge. Although Lafayette later vehemently claimed that the letter was a forgery, written under duress by the king's kidnappers, this explanation immediately lost all credibility after the king's entourage returned to Paris. Because in the king's fleeing party, besides the king himself, only one groom was an adult male—this proved that the king had not been coerced at all!

However, the mystery of politics often lies in blatant lying. Although it is known that the king is fundamentally opposed to revolution and constitutionalism, for many members of parliament, maintaining constitutionalism is still in their interest. So these people pretend not to know that the king opposes revolution and constitutionalism, and continue to support constitutionalism and defend the king.

But the king's prestige among the people was completely destroyed by this event. Angry citizens smashed everything related to the monarchy. Anything in the streets associated with Fleur-de-lis (the symbol of the Bourbon Dynasty) was either smashed or covered up. Because most members of parliament still supported a constitutional monarchy, the common people directed their anger at these individuals, seeing them as colluding with the king to oppress them. It was because of these people that the people's lives had not improved even slightly after the revolution.

This anger had always been there, but it had been dormant like magma for two reasons. The first was their expectation of the National Assembly; at that time, they still believed that the National Assembly represented their interests and was speaking for them, and that good days would surely come if they waited patiently. However, this patience had been steadily eroded over time.

The Constitution of 1791, passed by Parliament, divided France citizens into "Active Citizen" and "Passive Citizen" based on their wealth. (The law stipulated that only those who paid a certain amount of taxes had the right to vote and be elected, thus qualifying them as Active Citizen. In a sense, this was a restriction on citizens' rights based on their wealth.) Just days before the king's escape, Parliament had passed the famous Le Chapelier Law. This law strictly prohibited workers from organizing unions and strikes, with violators facing a fine of 500 Livre and deprivation of citizenship for one year; the ringleader would be fined 1,000 Livre and sentenced to three months in prison.

These laws not only failed to protect the interests of the lowest class, but instead increased their constraints, which naturally and quickly eroded the confidence of the lower classes in them.

The second reason is that these people lack leaders.

However, the king's escape solved both problems. The National Assembly's previous actions, coupled with the impact of the king's escape, had significantly diminished its standing among the common people. It could be said that the National Assembly had now lost the trust of the grassroots.

Following the king's escape, the demonstrations by the lower classes presented a new opportunity for some radical members of parliament. They astutely recognized that by siding with the common people, they could gain significant political resources. Brissot, Bonneville, and Condorcet publicly stated that France should consider adopting a republican system.

As a result, all sorts of things started happening.

However, these chaotic matters did not seem to affect Joseph and Napoleon. On the contrary, their affairs became even more hectic due to the increasing possibility of war. The newly formed army was lined up to conduct combat exercises against them, in which Napoleon repeatedly routed them with various tactics such as surprise attacks and artillery ambushes. As a result, Napoleon, who was only a second lieutenant, became famous in the National Guard of Paris.

But soon, an unexpected event disrupted Joseph's work once again.

On the 16th, Parliament officially declared that the King and Queen were innocent and had been kidnapped. Of course, Parliament also pretended to declare that they would severely punish those who "kidnapped" them.

This decision enraged the Sans-culottes, and on the 17th, led by some republican figures, a group of Sans-culottes went to Champ de Mars near the City Hall to demonstrate. There, they were suppressed by the National Guard led by Lafayette, suffering heavy casualties.

Lafayette explained that the rioters first attacked the National Guard maintaining order. He claimed the National Guard raised a red flag on the City Hall and only opened fire after issuing three warnings to the rioters. (According to a previously passed parliamentary decree, the City Hall must display a red flag and issue three warnings before using lethal force to quell a riot.) However, the Republicans and Sans-culottes accused Lafayette of lying, claiming that Lafayette National Guard merely raised a red flag and then opened fire on the crowd without issuing a single warning.

Since the suppression has already begun, then let the suppression continue.

Lafayette declared in Parliament that the Sans-culottes were thugs, and that there were conspirators behind them. These conspirators were the members of the Cordeliers Club. Parliament then passed arrest warrants for several key members of the Cordeliers Club, including Danton and Desmoulins. Upon receiving the news, Danton immediately fled Paris. In terms of escape skills, he was far superior to Louis XVI, and he easily made his way to Britain. Desmoulins also found a place to hide.

In fact, because the police system has not yet been restored, the effectiveness of pursuit and other such actions is very limited.

On the surface, Lafayette appeared to have the upper hand, but these actions severely damaged his reputation. This was especially true within the National Guard, where there were many sympathizers of the Cordeliers Club. Soon, even within the National Guard, voices against Lafayette began to emerge. These voices significantly undermined Lafayette position. His allies, the Duport, Barnave, and the Lameth brothers, while not politically opposed to Lafayette, were happy to see Lafayette position weakened. Subsequent parliamentary actions were effectively orchestrated by them, but people believed Lafayette was manipulating everything. Therefore, Lafayette's reputation soon transformed from hero to executioner and schemer.

Reputation is a strange thing; sometimes, a spotless reputation is more fragile than a blank sheet of paper. Mark Twain's experience during his gubernatorial campaign is a case in point.

One afternoon after the Champ de Mars incident, Joseph was about to leave work when he ran into Lafayette, who was returning home. Lafayette looked exhausted. Seeing Joseph, he called him over and told him, "There's an important meeting at the club tomorrow night. I hope you can attend."

Joseph knew that the "club" Lafayette referred to was the "Jacobin Club." Now, after moving to Paris, the "Brittany Club" had set up its location behind the Jacobin Monastery and officially changed its name to the "Friends of the Constitution Club."

Joseph always tried to avoid Jacobin Club activities as much as possible, especially during such chaotic times. So he quickly said that he was very busy and had very important matters to attend to, and could not attend the meeting.

"Is it about the military?" Lafayette asked, frowning. This was Joseph's usual excuse for missing club events.

Joseph immediately replied, "No, it's a personal matter." He knew that if it were for official business, Lafayette, his superior's superior, would surely order him to temporarily put aside all official duties.

Then he asked, "General, may I ask what important matter the club has that requires members like me, who rarely attend, to be present?"

"The club needs to hold new elections to elect a new club president. What personal matters do you have that you can't spare some time for?" Lafayette replied.

At this time, the Jacobin Club was not yet a radical organization. However, radical voices within the club were already quite prominent, especially recently. Many of the club's pronouncements were no longer in sync with Lafayette's. But for Lafayette, the club was a crucial tool for gaining political influence and could not be easily relinquished. Perhaps Lafayette hoped to use this election to purge the Jacobin Club.