Fox of France

Chapter 47: , Rumors and the National Guard (3)

   Joseph stood in front of his window, looking at the plume of smoke rising over there.

   "It seems to be burning somewhere," said Lucien, who was on the side.

   "It's Les Invalides." Joseph said, "It is said that there are many weapons there-the revolution has already begun."

   "Aren't we doing something?" Lucian said. Joseph turned his head, and he could see the eager desire in Lucien's eyes.

"No, we don't need to do anything now." Joseph shook his head. "Lucien, you have to remember that the first one to play is not necessarily the protagonist. The protagonist will only play at the most suitable time. Now too It’s chaotic, and it’s not when we play."

   It was indeed very messy at this time. Almost all of Paris is burning. Rumors about the new Saint Bartholomew massacre are about to begin, and almost everyone is busy looking for weapons of self-defense. However, Joseph lived in the military academy and was temporarily safe.

   But even the military academy is prepared for chaos. The instructors have been allowed to carry guns with them. And after paying a certain deposit, take these out of the school to protect yourself in your own home. For example, Joseph now puts four rifles and two pistols in his rented house.

   Joseph told his two younger brothers not to go to school for the time being, and followed him every day. Because Paris at this time is too unsafe. The streets are full of fanatical and chaotic masses. Some of them are indeed full of revolutionary enthusiasm, but some are just taking the opportunity to rob. At the same time, in the past two days, the police system in Paris has been completely paralyzed. For their personal safety, the police dare not go out at all. You know, in these two days, many "tyrant agents" have been chandelier.

   These police officers are usually annoying, but without them completely, Paris has entered a state of complete anarchy, and the entire social security is also finished. Now that he is walking on the street, he is suddenly robbed, or even killed.

A barricade has been erected in the neighborhood where Joseph is located. This barricade is said to be used to deal with mercenaries who might come to slaughter the king who plundered the people of Paris, but in fact, the greater role is to protect against such anarchic chaos. Own block.

On the barricade at the corner of the street, a dozen young men in blue clothes were holding rifles and guarding there. A little bit in front of them, there was also a temporary production of Juma, except for the people in the block, no one else was allowed to enter the block.

  Because of the fast movement, this block is still safe for the time being.

   "You stay at home. If anyone knocks on the door, don't open the door." Joseph took out his pocket watch and took a look and said to his two younger brothers.

   "Understand, don't worry, big brother, we are not little white rabbits anymore, and we won't let the big bad wolf in." Lucien said nonchalantly.

"Well, Lucien, you know how firearms are used. Some time ago, I took you to practice. You take the gun and protect your brother. But be careful, don’t go off fire. I’m going to participate in one now. The meeting, you have to go out for an hour or two. You have to protect yourself and protect your brother."

   Joseph took his coat from the coat rack, put it on him, put on a hat with a blue and red badge, and then inserted two pistols into the gun pouch hidden under his ribs.

   "I don't need Lucien's protection, and I will also shoot." Louis opened his mouth, "I can shoot no worse than Lucien."

   "You are still too young, you can just listen to Lucien's words honestly. Don't make trouble." Joseph said seriously.

   "Yes, if something happens, I will protect you. You can just load me bullets behind me." Lucien was obviously excited with Joseph's support.

   "Okay, I'm going out. Just stay at home and don't mess around. If I come back a little bit late, the bread is in the cabinet. Sophie is not here these days, you cut the bread yourself."

   Joseph had already put on his clothes at this time, took up his walking stick, and after a few words to his two brothers, he went out.

   walked along the empty street for a while, and in front was the place of this meeting-the banker's house.

   Joseph stepped forward, showed the invitation card to the janitor, and entered the door. A servant led him through the rococo-style vestibule to a hall.

   Joseph gave the cane to the servant and walked in.

   There are already many people in the hall. Most of these people, Joseph, also knew them, and they were the richest group of people in the neighborhood.

"Quiet everyone!" The banker Charles took out the gold watch with a long gold chain in his arms, looked at the time, and then shouted, "The time is almost there, we are almost there, we Don't waste time, just start!"

   Everyone fell silent.

"Every gentleman knows what happened these days." Charles said. "Mr. Necker was fired. This may mean that some changes have taken place in the king's attitude, which has also brought a lot of finances. It’s not certain. So we temporarily closed the stock exchange. As you know, Mr. Neck’s resignation brought too much uncertainty. At the same time, we sent a representative to Versailles to find out the situation.”

   "How is it?" someone asked anxiously.

  Some of the people here are mostly rich people, many of them are French government, more accurately creditors of the French royal family. Over the years, a large part of the various expenses of the French government have been supported by borrowing. Now everyone is worried that His Majesty the King may fall back on his bills or forcefully lower the interest rate on national debt.

"Mr. Nek's dismissal has been confirmed. Although the king claimed that there would be no recklessness or forcibly lowering the interest rate of the national debt, this statement was not made by the king. The credibility of the statement is also a question. In addition, he also found out that there was indeed a military mobilization near Paris."

   As soon as he said this, there was an uproar below.

Charles seemed to be very satisfied with everyone’s reaction. He admired it for a while, and then said: “Just be quiet, everyone. Don’t panic. We asked the Marquis Lafayette for confirmation. The Marquis Lafayette revealed that the King It is true that a legion of mountain people has been transferred, but this is only used to strengthen the protection of Versailles. This legion is limited in number and lacks heavy weapons. With them, it is impossible to threaten Paris."

   "But near Paris, there are already more than twenty legions." One person shouted.

   "The Marquis de Lafayette promised that the French army would never do anything against Paris." Charles replied.

   "Will they fight those mercenaries?" another person asked.

   "Surely not." One person in the crowd replied, "Just yesterday morning, the French Guards had retreated to the Champ de Mars. In other words, no matter what happened in Paris, they would not participate."

"That's right." Charles said. "Considering the real danger, I mean not only the mercenaries, but also the thugs who took advantage of the fire outside. You should also know that there have been quite a few in the past two days. The legally operating merchants were looted or even killed by these thugs. Almost every street light pole in St. Antoine was hung with a food merchant. If these thugs were allowed to enter our neighborhood, it would be nothing. A nightmare."

   "We have built a barricade and organized a guard. Just rely on those thugs?" Someone said disdainfully.

"If only to deal with the scattered thugs, our current precautions are enough." Charles said, "but we also have to consider the mercenaries that may appear. In addition, those thugs may also gather in groups. So... we can’t just rely on a single block to fight against the mobs in Paris. Gentlemen, why can an army easily defeat mobs that are several times more than its own? That’s because the army is organized. We must take us Our forces are organized to form a real army. Only in this way can we protect our own interests in this changing era."

   "But where do we have military talents?" someone asked.

   "The Marquis of Lafayette said that when he was in North America, he had some experience in organizing militias. He can provide us with some help." Charles said.

   Joseph listened and smiled slightly. Lafayette's meaning is actually very obvious. He does have a lot of influence in the French army, but the French army he can really command is still very limited. If a militia team is organized in Paris, at least forty to fifty thousand militias can be formed on the scale of Paris. If you can control such a team in your hands, or at least let people think that this force is in his hands, it will definitely bring him more political benefits.

   "This will be fine, with the Marquis of Lafayette, we can rest assured." Someone said below.

"The Marquis de Lafayette also believes that we should unite with the gentlemen of other decent neighborhoods to form a unified National Self-Defense Force, so that we can concentrate the power of decent people throughout Paris, so that we can deal with all kinds of dangers and better Protect yourself." Charles continued, "According to the advice of Lord Marquis, the Self-Defense Forces in our neighborhood can be organized into a company. As the biggest funder, I am willing to assume the role of the company commander of this company. Responsibility. Who of you agrees and who opposes?"

   Everyone is silent.

   Shire looked at everyone with satisfaction, and was about to continue talking, when suddenly someone spoke: "Shire, can I ask you a question?"

   Charles looked at it, but he was an old man named Orlando. Charles knew that although this man was only a tavern, there was a shadow of Orleans behind him, so although he frowned slightly, he still asked kindly: "Mr. Orlando , Do you have any questions?"

"Gentlemen, I admire Shire's character and his mind to serve the neighborhood. I just want to know, Shire, do you have any experience in the army? If you are commanding a team of Golden Louis, we are all Not as good as you, but command the battle..."

   "Then, Mr. Orlando, do you have a suitable candidate?" Charles asked rhetorically.

   "Neither did I." Orlando said frankly, "I have no objection to Shire being a company commander. I just intend to recommend a consultant to you."

Having said that, Orlando turned to everyone and said to Joseph: "Mr. Bonaparte, please come over. Mr. Bonaparte, I believe you all recognize him. He is an instructor in the military academy and an active soldier. For. How to fight, he has more experience than any of us. The barricades we built were designed by him. It is just that Mr. Bonaparte is an active soldier and it is impossible to hold a formal position in the militia. But I think, As a member of our neighborhood, he should also contribute as much as he can to our neighborhood. Therefore, I want to invite him to become a military advisor for the National Self-Defense Forces of our neighborhood. What do you think?"

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like