Forty-eight years of Qianlong

Chapter 609 Cat-like Robespierre

The reason why Robespierre came out to talk to Zhao Xin was because he felt that this tall officer was more like a commander than the general sitting in the room.Although he had nothing to do with the battlefield during the entire period of the Great Revolution, and he couldn't even shoot a gun well, after all, he has been in the political circle for more than three years, and he has developed some of the political sensitivity he should have.

Yes, although Zhao Xin tried his best to pretend to imitate the words and demeanor of those staff officers in the North Navy's staff department, he is no longer the little bourgeois who did things aimlessly and only focused on gold mines back then!After ten years together, what he sees now is the whole world in his eyes, and what is brewing in his heart is to overthrow the Qing Dynasty, so as to change the way of life of [-] million ordinary people!
So when Zhao Xin's eyes fell on Robespierre, the other party was like a frightened cat, and he had the feeling of hair bursting from before.

It is said that this person has two most important characteristics in his personality, which also affected his actions in the French Revolution-suspicious and brooding about personal grievances.

First of all, you are right to be suspicious.You must know that a political person must be suspicious. They suspect possible dangers every day and guess who is coveting their position.Therefore, the first thing a qualified person in power should do is to establish a stable structure of checks and balances, to control internal struggles, and at the same time to handle external affairs.

But if a politician has no heart and puts personal grievances above politics, not to mention that he can't make a big deal, harming others, himself and society is the most terrible thing.There are countless such people in Chinese history, such as Han Xin and Xiang Yu.

Zhao Xin put his cigarette back into his pocket and replied in English: "Sorry, Mr. Robespierre, I don't speak French."

Robespierre was taken aback for a moment, then smiled again, and said in English: "You speak English really well, and I happen to know a little bit, so shall we use English?"

"Okay." Zhao Xin looked up at Deng Fei, who was surrounded by congressmen, and Jiao Xun, who was chatting enthusiastically with Condorcet, and nodded with a smile.

"You are an officer, may I ask what kind of work you do?"

"I am a staff officer under General Deng."

"Advisor? But why do I feel that you have the temperament of a commander?"

Zhao Xin said without changing his face: "Maybe it's because I often assist the general in formulating battle plans and pointing out mountains and rivers on the map? The Chinese call this 'talking about war on paper'. It has momentum but lacks foundation."

Robespierre couldn't help laughing and said, "Your words are really interesting. I think that in time, you will definitely become an excellent commander!"

Zhao Xin said without shame: "Thank you, I think so too."

During the welcome ceremony and meal, Zhao Xin didn't see Robespierre very clearly due to the distance.After all, when a man stares at another man in a social situation, he either has some intention or some kind of special habit.Zhao Xin didn't want to be misunderstood, so he finally saw this person's appearance clearly until now.

Because of the outdoor light, Robespierre took off his glasses, revealing the huge almond eyes with green pupils and curved eyebrows; his nose is long but not big, nor high, Against the background of the powdered silver-gray wig, it happened to form an arc with his slightly receding forehead.

His stature is not considered short, probably between 1.74 and 1.75. His upper body is wearing a beautifully embroidered blue striped vest, a light yellow bottom green striped top, and a white bottom red striped bow tie around his neck. It was a pair of light-colored knee-length shorts and snow-white stockings, which looked neat and fashionable, meticulously groomed.However, in Zhao Xin's view, this is really not what a politician who talks about the people all day long should wear.

By the way, aren't you the spokesperson for "Sans-culottes"?

Robespierre complimented when he came up: "I really didn't expect that you started to establish a republic ten years ago. It's amazing. I always thought that China was a country where a few people monopolized cultural knowledge. autocratic state."

"I think what you want to say is backwardness?"

Zhao Xin slandered, then asked after a moment of pondering, "How many people does France have now?"

Robespierre said proudly: "Well, 2500 million! In the whole of Europe, our population is second only to Russia."

"The population of China is 500 million! And the few people you mentioned are almost [-] million."

"So many!" Robespierre unconsciously clasped his hands together, his neck and shoulders shaking like spasms.He blushed and said, "Uh, I'm sorry, this number is too huge, beyond my imagination."

Zhao Xin changed his tone, half self-effacing and half flattering: "But you are right. Indeed, 1500 million is really too little for 5.00 million, accounting for only 8%. So from this point of view , Our road to the republic is still very long, and we have only just begun, far less than your country's achievements. I heard in Le Havre that on the day of attacking the Tuileries Palace on August 10, Paris The commune has mobilized [-] people!"

Robespierre immediately showed a solemn expression when he heard this, and said in a deep voice: "It was a great day, the people of Paris set a great example, and the people of all France stood up at the same moment. During this process The solemnity of the French people is as full of glory as their motives and aims."

Well, the late Mirabeau said of Robespierre three years ago: "This man has a bright future, because he really believes in what he says."

While talking, Zhao Xin always felt that something was missing, so he unconsciously took out the cigarette and lit it. He deliberately went around to the downwind of the other side so that the smoke would not reach Robespierre.But he didn't expect that the other party looked at the lit cigarette in his hand curiously, and suddenly said, "Is this a new type of tobacco? Give me one too."

Zhao Xin then introduced the cigarettes, and took out the lighter to help the other party light it.Feeling the soft taste of cigarettes, Robespierre thought it was very good and couldn't help but squinted his eyes.You must know that Europeans smoke pipes these days, which is more choking than cigarettes.Whenever the Jacobin Club was in session, the room was like a chimney.

In another time and space, there is a Chinese saying - tobacco is a bridge of communication between men, and this time and space is no exception.As the two smoked clouds and added red wine, the chatterbox gradually opened up.But most of the time it was Robespierre who was talking, and Zhao Xin was the audience.

"...I am quite convinced that the republican spirit is a virtue, a love of the country, a noble quality of sacrificing self-interest for the public good. In France at present, the enemies of the republic are egoists and ambitious Corruptors. There are many cunning liars and political hooligans among the people who have betrayed the trust of the people. The only way out for revolutionaries is to continue the revolution and intensify the revolution. Only in this way can they defeat the counter-revolutionaries and consolidate and develop the revolution. results."

"Despotism, I think, is worse than anarchy! As a legislator, he needs to have a superhuman intelligence, to understand all human passions, and to keep calm and work tirelessly for the benefit of others."

"Like Rousseau's 'enlightened and fearless philosopher'?"

On the way to France, Zhao Xin flipped through "The Social Contract", but what he said made Robespierre look surprised.

"Have you even read Rousseau's book? I never imagined that we would be merciless to the crimes of those in power, sympathize with those poor and weak, and respect the people."

Zhao Xin has no interest in such platitudes.It's a self-portrait--with all the bragging rights!This guy is convinced that he is closer than anyone else to the ideal legislator described by Rousseau.However, I still pretended to be a qualified listener, and occasionally asked a question, which caused the other party to talk endlessly.

Robespierre spoke very slowly, and the pauses between each sentence were so long that every time he stopped to take a sip of wine or smoke, Zhao Xin thought he was over.But in fact, this guy just looked around, and then added a word or two to the already long sentence just now.

But what makes Zhao Xin feel a little awkward is that although Robespierre talks eloquently, he never looks directly at himself, and is always blinking, which makes him feel that the person in front of him is a person with a heart. Just yourself, no one else's guy.

Just like the "Godfather" of the First French Republic, when Robespierre made revolution the only way to a better society, and only he was the real and thorough revolutionary representative of France, he made it clear to Zhao Xin Afterwards, he was startled suddenly, thinking, why did I tell so much to an oriental man whom I met for the first time?

Just when he was about to ask Zhao Xin about the importance of public interests and personal interests, Mrs. Roland, the core figure of the Girondists, came out of the house and asked Zhao Xin about what he said in the carriage.Zhao Xin felt as if he had received an amnesty, and immediately chatted with him enthusiastically.Robespierre felt very bored, wanted to interrupt but couldn't, so he shook his neck and shoulders, just like a cat shaking its fur, and went back to the house embarrassingly.

Mrs. Roland didn't come to Zhao Xin to talk about literature. Her husband De La Salle is the current Minister of the Interior, and one of his main responsibilities is people's livelihood relief and public order maintenance.She heard from her husband that there might be a large amount of wheat on board the Chinese, so she took the opportunity of discussing literature to get closer to Zhao Xin.

Zhao Xin had only heard of Mrs. Roland before, but never read her biography.After chatting with her, he was surprised to find that this woman is really not simple.She actually has a special office in the Ministry of the Interior, responsible for guiding public opinion and disseminating political ideals, and most of the political articles of the Minister of the Interior are written by her.

Good guy!No wonder this woman wants to lose her head!

Although the famous "beauty" in front of him is 38 years old, Zhao Xin always feels that he owes something because he has embezzled someone's famous quote.So regarding the matter of food, he simply said it directly.

"Yes, ma'am. We have eight thousand pounds of wheat on board, which was used as ballast."

"This is the first time I've heard of wheat being used as ballast. You guys are not afraid of wheat sprouting?"

"Our boats are made of steel, so there is no need to worry about waterproofing. In addition, wheat is also the largest agricultural product in our country."

"A ship made of steel is really a miracle! If I have the opportunity, I will definitely visit it." Mrs. Roland smiled, and then changed the subject: "If our government wants to buy this batch of wheat, do you plan to buy it?" At what price?"

Zhao Xindao: "Actually, according to General Deng, this batch of wheat will be donated to your country for free. How about using this grain as a bridge to promote Sino-French friendship?"

Mrs. Roland's eyes shone with surprise, and she unconsciously grabbed Zhao Xin's hand to express her gratitude.Her hands are not big, but her fingers are slender and feel very soft.Because the two were getting closer, a faint scent of jasmine finally got into Zhao Xin's nostrils.
When they returned to their residence at night, both Zhao Xin and Deng Fei were too tired to speak, and fell asleep after washing up.On the contrary, Jiao Xun and Huang Chengji both seemed to be full of ideas.The two of them chatted very well with Condorcet, and Condorcet invited them to visit his home the day after tomorrow, when several former members of the Royal Academy of Sciences would also come.

When he got up for breakfast at noon the next day, the housekeeper Bu Wei handed over two invitations and a letter to Zhao Xin, saying that someone had delivered them in the morning.Zhao Xin opened it and saw that the invitations were from the British ambassador and the American ambassador, inviting the Chinese delegation to the dinner; the letter was from Mrs. Roland, inviting him to the salon held at home the day after tomorrow.

Zhao Xin asked Bu Wei to send all the invitations to Deng Fei, and let him deal with them. Then he went to the study and wrote two letters.One was in Chinese, and it was written to my own people who stayed on the Thor, telling them that people from the French Ministry of the Interior would come to pick up the grain. After reading the letter, they gave them all the 3 tons of wheat in the cargo hold.

Then, he wrote a reply letter to Mrs. Roland in English.One is to express gratitude and will attend the salon on time; the other is to tell the other party that they can send someone to Le Havre to pick up the food, but they need to take another Chinese letter as proof.

After finishing writing the letter and sealing the envelope with glue, he asked the housekeeper Bu Wei to deliver the letter to Mrs. Roland's house.

The people in the National Convention have basically met, and today he will concentrate on studying how to rescue Louis XVI or his son and take him away safely.

It is not a problem for people from the Special War Battalion to sneak into the Temple Tower, and those National Guards are like dishes in front of the North Navy.The key is how to get people out of Paris, and even onto a ship outside the port of Le Havre.

At first, he thought very simply. If he used a rubber speedboat to go west along the Seine River, the National Guard along the way would definitely not be able to react.But at noon, after Deguigne sent someone to send a map of France, he didn't know it was right after reading it.It is true that the Seine flows westward into the sea, but the river bends and twists and turns so badly that if you have the time, you can take people in a carriage and run back and forth between Le Havre and Paris!

Hide it in a carriage?It doesn't work either. If something happens to the temple tower on the front foot, the Chinese will leave on the back foot. The fool also knows that there are ghosts in it.

Zhao Xin thought about it, and finally decided to play a risky game.He told Erlu that he had something to leave in a while, and he might not come back until tomorrow, so don't make a fuss.In addition, let two people go to guard the door of his bedroom. When that Bu Wei comes back, he must not be allowed in with other servants, just saying that he is writing.

When everything was ready, Zhao Xin changed into casual clothes from another time and space, slipped quietly to the first floor, and disappeared in a blink of an eye while no one was around.

(End of this chapter)