The Vote (4)

Fouché was a prominent figure in France history. From the France Revolution to the First Empire, only three political figures remained unshaken during this period: Talleyrand, Carnot, and Fouché.

Like Talleyrand, Fouché came from a seminary. But unlike Talleyrand, Fouché was of commoner origin, so he naturally couldn't become a dean, bishop, or archbishop. In addition, Fouché was not good at speaking—which was a huge weakness for a priest—so he didn't even get the position of parish priest. Until he left the church, he was just a novice pastor.

However, his time at the seminary left a deep mark on him, a mark almost identical to the one the seminary left on Talleyrand: a lack of faith and ruthlessness. Therefore, in later history, he was almost as infamous as Talleyrand as a chameleon.

He was once a close friend of Robespierre, so close that he almost became Robespierre's brother-in-law, but he followed the more powerful Lafayette. After Lafayette gradually lost power, he became a friend of Condorcet, a leader of the Girondins. At the trial of Louis XVI, the night before he publicly advocated for the king's pardon, but the next day, during the vote, he supported the death penalty and shouted, "To save France, we must cut off the head of the tyrant!" During the Jacobins dictatorship, he was even more radical than Robespierre, and even more radical than Hébert. In Lyon, he beheaded thousands of people and put forward slogans that almost abolished private property and divided all wealth equally.

However, Robespierre never forgot his past betrayal. After suppressing Hébert, he initially planned to deal with Fouché as well. But he felt that Danton was clearly more dangerous. So he temporarily spared Fouché and concentrated his forces on dealing with Danton. This gave Fouché time. After Danton's death, Fouché, using people's fear and his extraordinary personal abilities, wove a web of rebellion, finally eliminating the great villain Robespierre in the Thermidor Reaction. Many people, including Lazar Carnot and Napoleon's benefactor Barras, played significant roles in this conspiracy, but all the clues ultimately came to Fouché's hands; he was the one who wove the web.

Robespierre's downfall did not bring Fouché a meteoric rise; people could not forget what he had done in Lyon. Although Fouché saved his head (in contrast, Carnot almost lost his head), he lost all his positions.

But Fouché did not give up. For several years, he secretly assisted Barras in investigating the secrets of his political enemies. Because of these contributions, he was finally promoted back by Barras and became the head of the police department.

During Brumaire, he assisted Napoleon in overthrowing the Directory and continued to serve as Minister of Police. He then helped Napoleon sideline Barras, thus continuing as Minister of Police after Napoleon became Emperor. Even after the Restoration of Louis XVIII, he was able to continue holding this position until France passed the "Regicide Law," which finally ended his political career.

But to dismiss him as a chameleon or a clown simply because of this would be a gross underestimation of him. In fact, neither Robespierre, Barras, nor Napoleon trusted him, yet all had to rely on his unparalleled abilities. If Carnot was a genius in military logistics, then Fouché was a genius in covert operations and public security control. He created the most sophisticated surveillance network in the world at the time, and even Empress Josephine was one of his informants.

Every ruler, from Robespierre to Napoleon, suspected, Fouché, and even feared Fouché, yet none could bear to be without Fouché. It is even said that Charles X, who hated everyone associated with revolution, lamented, "If only I had a Fouché." Of course, when he said this, he certainly didn't consider that if he actually had Fouché, given his foolishness and arrogance, he would have been sold out long ago, and even helped Fouché count his ill-gotten gains.

Fouché took the lead, and then more people followed. Joseph counted briefly and found that the number of people siding with Lafayette clearly exceeded the number of votes Lafayette had received. After all, at this time, Lafayette's power far surpassed that of Robespierre.

Lafayette's eyes turned to Joseph, who was still standing there, and Joseph knew that he could no longer hesitate.

Joseph came out, but instead of heading towards Lafayette, he went to the podium.

"May I say a few words?" Joseph asked the newly appointed chairman Robespierre, who was standing beside him, his Steadfast.

"Of course, the club is a place where everyone can speak freely," Robespierre said.

Joseph nodded, walked up, placed his hand on the podium, leaned down, scanned the crowd, and then said, "I truly never expected to witness such a shameful scene today! Yes, a shameful scene! I noticed that in the vote just now, His Excellency Lafayette received far fewer votes than those standing beside Lafayette. I want to ask those who voted for Mr. Robespierre in the polls, but now stand beside His Excellency Lafayette, what made you change your attitude in such a short time? Change your beliefs? Look at your weakness, are you still moral people? You should feel ashamed, you should feel ashamed!"

Joseph then turned to Lafayette, hesitated for a moment, and then said firmly, "Your Excellency Lafayette, you have always been aware of my political stance. But please forgive me for what I am saying now. Today, Mr. Robespierre proposed a secret ballot, his reasoning being that some people would be afraid to express their true thoughts out of fear of your power. Unfortunately, this fear has come true. And your actions after the vote—although I believe you did not intend this—have in effect been using your power to coerce everyone. I believe your actions are ill-considered and inappropriate. For this reason, and because there are some people among those standing around you whom I despise, please forgive me for not being able to stand beside you. I do not wish to stand beside these people. I am sorry!"

After saying this, Joseph bowed to Lafayette, then stepped down from the podium and returned to his previous position.

"Clap, clap, clap." Robespierre led the applause, and then the rest of the people who hadn't gone over joined in. Lafayette glanced at Joseph, then led his men out. At that moment, someone whistled.

"Mr. Bonaparte, you are absolutely right!" a voice said in his ear.

Joseph turned his head and saw Saint-Just Just standing beside him.

After showing off, Joseph didn't linger at the Jacobin Club. He quickly left, citing other commitments, and returned to his lodgings.

"How is the situation?" Napoleon asked.

"Lafayette left with most of the club, Jacobin Club officially split up," Joseph said. "Although there was a secret ballot, he left saying, 'Those who want to follow me, come to my side.' Damn it, I still had to take sides, even though I hate taking sides the most."

"You've sided with Robespierre?" Napoleon asked. "Joseph, I don't understand why you treat Robespierre like that..."

Seemingly unable to find the right words, Napoleon hesitated for a moment before continuing, "You should know that there are many representatives like him who are so afraid of him. In terms of influence, he and Lafayette are not even in the same league. You are actually willing to offend your own superior for him?"

Joseph shook his head and said, "Napoleon, you don't understand. These two men are different. Lafayette certainly has more influence now, but the future lies with Robespierre."

At this point, he lowered his voice and said to Napoleon, "What I'm about to tell you, you must remember, but don't tell anyone."

"What's going on? Why are you acting like this!" Napoleon feigned indifference, but he still leaned closer and lowered his voice.

"I have a strange sense of self, Napoleon, my brother. I don't know if you can understand it, it seems a bit irrational. But Robespierre gives me that feeling. Like a venomous snake hiding in a flowerbed... No, that metaphor isn't accurate. If it were just a venomous snake, we could easily crush it, like Heracles the Younger (in Greece mythology, the hero Heracles, upon his birth, crushed two cobras that tried to attack him with his bare hands by his cradle). But Robespierre isn't a venomous snake; he's not that kind of lowly creature. He is... he is the lurking Nidhogg (in Northern Europe mythology, a venomous dragon that constantly gnaws at the roots of the World Tree, which one day will break the roots and rise into the sky laden with the corpses of the dead, thus announcing the arrival of Ragnarok)."

"You're exaggerating," Napoleon said.

"Just you wait and see. One day, he will rise like Nidhogg, his wings laden with the dead, his mouth spewing forth the venomous flames of centuries of suppressed resentment that has accumulated in France, sweeping across the France and bringing a true France. The vast majority of those great figures, like gods, will lose their heads in this feast. Only when the earth is weary of the excessive bloodshed will he, with a howl, plunge headlong into the abyss, just as Nidhogg did at the birth of the world. Until then, we must all avoid his flames, and under no circumstances should we stand against him, at least not until the earth has saturated, even grown weary, of the blood of the gods."

"If that's the case, Joseph, why are you staying in Asgard? Why didn't you hide in the tree hollow beforehand?" Napoleon asked.

Asgard is the location of Odin's temple in Northern Europe mythology, and it was also the most intense and deadliest battlefield during Ragnarok. Legend has it that after Ragnarok, some people hid in the hollow of the World Tree, escaping death and thus rebuilding a new world.

"My brother. Ragnarok isn't something that lasts for just one twilight. I must prepare enough reserves for the days to come in the tree hollow and for the new era. Where else can you get them besides Asgard? Napoleon, if you just want to be a commoner in the new world, then the necessary reserves are easy to obtain. But if you want to ascend to the Valhalla and sit on the throne left by Odin after Ragnarok, then now is not the time to hide."

"Look at what you're saying, all this mystical stuff, like a charlatan," Napoleon said.

"What, you don't believe me?"

"I don't believe you! You're a wicked charlatan!" Napoleon said. But Joseph knew that Napoleon probably believed some of it. Napoleon had a certain adolescent air about him, reminiscent of the legendary heroes of ancient Greece Rome, and even Northern Europe mythology, and therefore he was easily swayed by such mysterious and adolescent "intuition."