Before the Spanish Government had made its decision, the French Civil War had already reached its endgame. No matter how hard the new Paris government tried, it could not conjure food out of thin air.
Heaven and earth might be vast, but filling one's belly came first. Ordinary people did not care about the bigger picture of some revolutionary government. If they could not fill their stomachs today, who had the mind to worry about tomorrow?
Only three paths lay before them now: first, obediently accept the new government's rule and then starve to death; second, rush out to find a way to survive, and perhaps, if luck was on their side, perfectly avoid the minefields; third, rebel and seize the food back from the revolutionary government.
Those who chose the first path had nearly all starved to death. Even those who had not yet died had only half a life left. Those who chose the second were either blown to pieces or forced back; the number who escaped alive was not much greater than that of European bison.
(Note: European bison went extinct in 1627.)
In order to survive, more and more Parisians joined the uprising. The new Paris government was already run ragged, while increasing numbers of districts fell into rebel hands. The situation had reached its most critical point.
Daniel had long since lost his former high spirits. This brutal beating from society had come too cruelly, dousing every last one of his fantasies.
The intellectuals, students, and Cannon Party members who had originally supported the new government had all changed their faces. The more fiercely they had supported it before, the more bitterly they now hated it, as though the loss of control over the situation had all been caused by the government's incompetence.
Put that