The Letter

Regardless of how much the special envoys sent to Belgium made the Belgium hate France, they at least accomplished one thing: they helped the France government obtain much-needed funds. Then it became clear that the revolution in many parts of France was incomplete and still held great potential (money), so more special envoys were continuously dispatched to other regions of the country.

Time was of the essence. Domestically, the fallen Royalist Party and constitutionalists were becoming increasingly active in the provinces. Internationally, with the execution of Louis XVI, the hatred of Europe monarchies towards France had deepened. Meanwhile, France's actions in Belgium and the Austrian Netherlands were causing considerable concern in Britain.

The Britain had hoped that Austria and Prussia would engage in a fierce battle with France, allowing them to watch from the sidelines and conveniently acquire the remaining France colonies. If France suffered a crushing defeat, Britain might even have the opportunity to recapture New York and hang the North America rebels. However, to the surprise of Britain Prime Minister Pitt, the Austro-Prussian army performed utterly ineffectively, failing to penetrate France and instead being driven into France, with its advance reaching as far as Belgium Netherlands.

Britain also possessed a territory on the Europe continent: Hanover, one of the Germany states. The House of Hanover, which now Germany Britain, was also the Elector of Hanover. Furthermore, after Britain's victory over the Netherlands in the Anglo-Dutch Wars, the Netherlands became a crucial gateway for Britain industrial goods entering the Europe market. Therefore, the Britain felt their interests were greatly threatened. On the other hand, influenced by heretical ideas from France, groups like the "Equality Society" began to emerge in Britain, causing considerable anxiety among the Britain nobility and respectable people. Thus, Britain, which had initially maintained neutrality, acted swiftly, seizing the opportunity presented by the France beheading Louis XVI to sever diplomatic relations with France.

Now, France's most dangerous enemy has finally appeared.

The Britain army was small and not enough to pose a significant threat to mainland France in the short term. However, Britain was the wealthiest country in Europe at the time and was highly skilled in organizing alliances. Without Britain, the anti-French countries in Europe would often have started fighting amongst themselves before even engaging the France. But with Britain acting as a go-between, a large alliance began to emerge.

On March 1, General Dumouriez led his army into the Netherlands, but shortly after his troops entered the Netherlands, his rear was breached by the enemy. Coburg quickly crossed the Roer River and captured Liege at an astonishing speed, threatening Dumouriez's army from the flank and rear.

In response to the crisis, Danton personally went to Belgium to inspect the situation, Paris he found Belgium to be extremely precarious. He then rushed back to Paris, requesting another emergency mobilization.

However, his comrades Marat and Hébert, who were standing in the same trench with him, pointed out that Paris was able to carry out such a mobilization in 1992 under a precondition: before sending out a large number of the Volunteer Army, Paris had first eliminated the "traitors" within its own borders.

Marat began, "Paris cannot send a large number of the Volunteer Army unless we take decisive action, just like last September, to destroy all potential enemies. Those guys will rebel in Paris as soon as we leave. Therefore, we will not agree to send Volunteer Army unless there is another bloody September."

"Our enemy has reached France's doorstep," Danton said.

"No, our enemies have already entered Paris, and some are even hiding inside the parliament!" Marat replied.

"Do you have any evidence?" Danton asked.

"There's no concrete evidence, but my friend Joseph has noticed a lot of unusual activity," Hébert replied. "Someone's still flirting with that Austria woman!"

The Austria woman, of course, refers to Queen Marie, who is currently imprisoned. And "Joseph" refers to Joseph Fouché.

Since voting in favor of the Mountain in the last vote on how to deal with the king, Fouché had unhesitatingly taken the seat on the left. However, Robespierre hadn't forgotten that this man had betrayed him before. His second betrayal only deepened Robespierre's contempt, given his somewhat morally fastidious nature. Therefore, Robespierre's attitude towards him was quite cold. As for Danton, he knew that Robespierre disliked Fouché, and he himself disliked Fouché very much as well.

In order to gain a foothold within the Mountain, Fouché acted more radical than any of the Mountain. On some issues, he was even more radical than Marat and Hébert. This allowed him to easily establish connections with Marat and Hébert.

Upon hearing that the news came from Fouché, Danton remained silent for a while. He knew that although Fouché was a shameless scoundrel, his ability to gather information was top-notch. Moreover, while Fouché himself was unreliable, the information Fouché released was always quite reliable. For example, when Fouché was still working for Roland's accusations against Danton, such as embezzlement, bribery, and theft of treasures, were all true. It wasn't that Fouché didn't lie; he simply didn't use false information. He always managed to deceive his enemies completely with true information.

After a moment, Danton finally spoke, "France needs order. We can't repeat what happened last September. While that might strike at our enemies, it would also harm us. Let's set up a Revolutionary Tribunal to handle these kinds of matters. But we cannot allow anarchic violence to run rampant."

"Why should we trust your Revolutionary Tribunal?" Hébert asked.

"This court is accountable to a committee," Danton said. "We've organized a 'Committee of Public Safety,' whose members will all be staunch patriots. You can see that..."

Danton's warnings did not garner much attention in parliament. Some members of the Brissotins even suspected that Danton was using such alarmist rhetoric to gain more power for the Mountain. After all, the situation was much safer than in 1992. Danton's subsequent proposal to establish a "Committee of Public Safety" further solidified this view. As a result, parliament was thrown into chaos once again.

However, the situation developed much faster than almost everyone expected. On March 18, du Maurier's army was defeated by a smaller Austria force at Neerwinden, and on March 21, it was defeated again by the Austria at Louvain. He retreated all the way and almost lost the whole of Belgium.

Such a failure required someone to take responsibility. Thus, during the discussions in the National Assembly, all sorts of incriminating evidence against du Maurier was brought to light: embezzlement of military funds, exploitation of soldiers, and collusion with the king in an attempt to oppose the revolution.

Yes, the letters in the King's safe were unearthed, containing various plots between du Maurier and the King. Although limited in number and vague, these letters weren't unseen months earlier; however, du Maurier was leading his army to victory after victory, and he himself had become a hero in defending the republic, so everyone tacitly ignored them. But these ignored letters were not truly forgotten. Now everyone remembers them.

The Brissotins accused the Mountain, especially Danton, of being responsible for Du Maurier's downfall, arguing that their consistent support for Du Maurier was the root cause of the crisis. The Mountain, in turn, blamed the Brissotins for opposing the establishment of a "Committee of Public Safety" and the subsequent national mobilization.

During the debate, the newly elected the Mountain Carnot provided a detailed analysis of the military situation and concluded that France would inevitably fail in this war if it could not achieve a comprehensive, efficient, and nationwide mobilization.

Although the Brissotins opposed the Mountain's motions, they also knew that Carnot 'Carnot military skills and character were commendable. This made them increasingly passive in opposing these motions.

In an effort to salvage the situation, the National Assembly decided to send five members, led by Beurnonville, to Du Maurier's army to question him on several matters, and if necessary, arrest him and bring him back to Paris for trial.

Philippe Equal, formerly the Duke of Orleans, left the National Assembly and returned home. The situation had completely changed, far exceeding his initial expectations of the revolution. At the beginning, he had hoped to overthrow the Bourbon Dynasty and establish the Orleans dynasty. But now, while the Bourbon Dynasty was gone, the Orleans dynasty was also doomed. Not only was the Orleans dynasty gone, but even the Orleans Family's ducal status was lost, as the revolutionary government had abolished the aristocracy. And to protect himself, he had even had to adopt such a ridiculous name.

But now, the former duke stared at a map for a long time, then went into his study, busied himself for quite some time, and finally came out with a letter. He pulled a rope on the side of the table, ringing a bell outside. A servant entered and asked, "Your Highness, is there something you need?"

"Pierre, there's something I need to trouble you with," His Highness the Duke said.

"It is my honor to serve Your Highness," Pierre replied.

"Go to Louis yourself and deliver this letter to him personally," the Duke said. "Be quick, the faster the better, and as discreetly as possible. Also, this letter must not fall into the wrong hands, do you understand?"

"I understand. Your Highness, please rest assured, I will deliver this letter to Duke of Chartres in a timely manner."