Voting (3)

Joseph looked up, glanced at Armand, then at Robespierre, and said, "Armand, Mr. Robespierre, as you know, Lafayette and I are friends..."

"Joseph, we are all friends with Lafayette. But, Joseph, Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas. (Latin Aristotle's famous quote: I love my teacher, but I love truth more)," Armand said.

Robespierre watched with a smile.

"Well, Armand," Joseph said, frowning, "While I cherish my friendship with General Lafayette, I cannot betray my principles. However, I wonder if the club's election could be conducted in a different manner?"

"What do you mean by changing the method?" Robespierre asked.

"The club still votes by show of hands, right?" Joseph said. "Could we change it to secret ballot? You see, Lafayette has been president for so long and he's so influential. If we just have a show of hands, some people might be pressured into voting against their will. We could list the candidates' names on a ballot, and voters would just tick them off, then put the ballot in an empty box. After the voting is over, we could open the box and count the ballots in front of everyone. This way, we can avoid the trouble mentioned above and ensure fairness."

No sooner had Joseph finished speaking than Armand spoke up, clearly dissatisfied. "Joseph, isn't it perfectly acceptable to openly support or oppose something? Why are you doing it so furtively?"

Joseph frowned, about to retort, but Robespierre spoke first.

"Armand, I think Joseph makes a lot of sense. It is indeed a good idea," Robespierre said slowly.

"But shouldn't someone who represents the people be more open and aboveboard? Why hide their opinions? That's not the behavior of a gentleman." Armand seemed unconvinced.

"Armand," Robespierre frowned, "The club is not a parliament, and its members are not representatives of the people. Besides, don't those who are not morally saintly have inherent rights? Moreover, morality is something to be applied to oneself, not to others. For example, I don't think that drinking and having fun with a bunch of women every night is the right way of life, but I also consider you, and the late Monsieur Mirabeau, to be my good friends."

"You're right, Maximilien." Armand lowered his head.

Robespierre's words surprised Joseph. Such reasonable words from the "murderous tyrant" Robespierre? Beyond his astonishment, Joseph also deeply felt that Robespierre was far too dangerous, for he was adept at finding plausible excuses for his own political interests.

Having said that, everyone understood. If Robespierre could secure a secret ballot, Joseph would support him. At least, that's how it seemed to Robespierre and Armand. So they chatted for a while, and then Robespierre and Armand said their goodbyes and left.

With Robespierre's visit, Joseph dared not miss the meeting two days later. That evening, after dinner, Joseph took a light carriage and went alone to the Jacobin Club.

Joseph walked into the club, greeting one familiar face after another, or people he knew but wasn't familiar with, when a familiar figure suddenly appeared in his sight.

"Hey, Bonaparte, long time no see!" the man said to him with a smile.

"Your Highness? You're back?" Joseph was taken aback, for the man was none other than the Duke of Orleans, who had recently been sent to serve as the ambassador to Britain.

"Yes, I'm back," the Duke of Orleans said with a smile, looking somewhat like the cartoon character Grey Wolf.

Although the Duke of Orleans had gone to Britain, he was still quite well-informed. As soon as he discovered that the image of his political rival Lafayette had been damaged, he immediately rushed back.

"Given Lafayette's reputation now, even if he were to expose the Duke of Orleans's schemes, haha, probably no one would believe him. But after being away from the country for so long, I wonder how much influence the Duke still has left," Joseph thought to himself.

After exchanging a few words, the Duke of Orleans went off to talk to someone else—having just returned home, he was eager to restore his influence.

After waiting for a while, when most people had arrived, Lafayette announced the start of the meeting.

Lafayette, as chairman, spoke first. He began by defending himself, saying that everything he did was for France. He then began to condemn "extremist ideologies," saying they wanted to destroy the country and its traditions. After this, he stated that he knew such "extremist ideologies" were also spreading within the club, and he hoped that everyone could understand him, support him, and resist these dangerous ideas that were destined to lead France into an abyss.

After Lafayette spoke, Robespierre stood up and said to everyone, "I have some thoughts I'd like to share. Would you all like to hear them?"

"Yes!" someone shouted from below.

Robespierre then walked toward the podium, passing by Lafayette face was stern and full of disdain; while Robespierre's face was full of humble smiles.

Robespierre stepped onto the podium and began his speech. He first expressed respect for France tradition, stating that the attempts by some radicals to turn France into a republic were unpopular and doomed to failure. He even bluntly declared, "Bah! A republic? What is that!"

But he then stated that it was very clear that King Louis XVI was hostile to the revolution and opposed the constitution. Even if he were to announce to the public now that he supported the constitution, it would be unbelievable. Allowing such a person to continue as king would only harm France, and everyone must acknowledge the facts and stop deceiving themselves.

"The truth never hurts us; the only thing that can hurt us is our attitude towards the truth. If we turn a blind eye to everything, burying our heads in the sand like ostriches and telling ourselves, 'None of this exists,' then that will truly hurt us. Clearly, the current king is no longer trustworthy! I oppose the republic, but I also oppose Louis XVI continuing to be king."

After saying this, Robespierre raised his eyes and glanced at the Duke of Orleans, who immediately led the applause.

If Louis XVI abdicates, his son Louis XVII will be the first in line to the throne. Louis XVII is not yet of age, and according to France tradition, a member of the royal family must serve as regent to exercise royal power. Currently, only three members of the royal family are qualified to be regent: Louis XVI's brother, the Count of Provence (historically Louis XVIII); another of Louis XVI's brothers, the Count of Artois; and the Duke of Orleans.

The two mentioned earlier were Royalist Party who openly opposed the revolution. Therefore, the only possible regent was the Duke of Orleans. So, when Robespierre said this, the Duke of Orleans naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

Robespierre then stated that although he opposed extreme republicanism, he believed that thought was free and that a person should not be convicted because of their thoughts.

"To oppose an ideology, one can only use another ideology, not swords."

This statement was clearly pointed. However, Joseph felt that, coming from Robespierre, it had a touch of dark humor to it.

Finally, Robespierre proposed that, in order to ensure that club members' voting in the upcoming election would not be interfered with by those in power, the voting should be conducted by secret ballot.

This proposal was beyond Lafayette's expectations. He knew the voting plan was extremely disadvantageous to him, but if he directly opposed it, it would almost certainly confirm the accusation of "using his power to interfere with the vote." So he simply kept a grim face and remained silent.

Next came the voting. Although it was a secret ballot, Joseph still cast his vote for Robespierre. That's just how cautious people are.

Next came the vote counting. One person read out the votes while several others supervised. The two candidates were very close, with Lafayette sometimes leading and Robespierre sometimes leading. Finally, the results were in: Robespierre defeated Lafayette by two votes and became the president of the Jacobin Club.

Lafayette looked grim, probably wondering who had betrayed him. Robespierre's expression wasn't much better, though; although he had won, according to his tally, he should still have one vote left.

"We have a traitor among us," Robespierre couldn't help but think.

Lafayette stepped onto the podium. Everyone assumed he was going to give a speech as the outgoing president. But Lafayette said this instead:

"Unfortunately, I have found that extreme ideologies have gained the upper hand in the 'Friends of the Constitution Club' today. The club's ideals are completely different from when we created it."

At this point, he looked around at everyone and continued, "Since our political ideologies are completely different, I hereby announce my withdrawal from the 'Friends of the Constitution Club.' Those who, like me, oppose this political ideology, please stand with me. Let's leave together."

Joseph was completely stunned. Lafayette's move was entirely unexpected, turning his secret ballot into a joke, and now the question of which side to take was a new one.

At that moment, someone had already led the way to Lafayette's side. As soon as he saw him walk over, Robespierre's smiling face suddenly froze.

"Fouché, I never expected it to be you!" Robespierre thought through gritted teeth.