Dominate the Country

In Paris at the moment, the warm summer wind is wandering in the streets and alleys here. It blows away people's thick spring clothes, telling everyone that the hottest season of the year - summer is coming.

The high temperature has made the city of Paris stink even more. The streets and alleys are strewn with garbage, and the smell of sewage in the rivers is nauseating.

The houses that were burned or destroyed in the wars in the past have had their new owners and they have been renovated.

But poor Napoleon, after spending the beautiful half of this year, ushered in the most miserable period of his adult life.

The victory at the Battle of Toulon brought Napoleon to glory. Late last year, the Convention appointed Napoleon commander of the artillery of the Italian Legion.

Napoleon, who was only 24 years old, wore the rank of artillery major general, and he was so high-spirited.

However, just when Napoleon wanted to rely on the Jacobin revolutionary government's appreciation of him and his outstanding military talents to display his greater ambitions,

At that time, an unexpected and sudden political crisis completely changed everything.

In mid-April of this year, the Jacobin opposition suddenly launched a coup and arrested some Jacobin leaders such as Robespierre and his brother Augustine. The Jacobin leaders were executed without trial the next day. The Thermidorians, who defended the big bourgeoisie, took power. Then, the Thermidorians hunted cronies of the Jacobin government across the country, and Napoleon was arrested. He was released after half a month of imprisonment because no reasons for his imprisonment were found in his file.

Although Napoleon was not sent to the guillotine, his smooth sailing future was interrupted. After being released from prison, those in power still looked at Napoleon with distrust. His ambitions could not be realized and he felt very depressed.

On May 22, Napoleon came to Paris, hoping to obtain a new appointment. However, the National Salvation Committee ordered him to go to the Vendée to suppress the rebellion, but not as an artillery commander, but as an infantry commander.

The young Napoleon angrily refused this order. In his opinion, the Vendée was not enough to display his talents.

Furthermore, his specialty was artillery, and it would be an insult to transfer him from artillery to infantry. He had a big quarrel with the people in charge of military affairs in the National Salvation Committee. In view of his refusal to accept his appointment, the National Salvation Committee ordered his name to be removed from the list of active generals.

This unexpected blow deeply dampened Napoleon's mood. He stayed in a house on Mele Road not far from Victory Square and resumed his previous poor life.

He waited with painful patience for those in power to remove all prejudices against him; he expected that in the changing situation power would eventually fall into the hands of those who favored him. During this period, Napoleon had nothing to do all day long. According to the description of the European Office, Napoleon was impoverished and lived a depressed and unhappy life.

He had only his adjutant, his best friend and loyal subordinate, Captain Jean-Andoche Junod, by his side at all times.

Someone from the European Office had a vivid description of Napoleon at that time: Napoleon was very thin, slovenly, with fluffy hair, no powder, and an annoying appearance. I also saw him entering the courtyard of the Hotel Tranquilita, with a swaying, swaying step, wearing a shabby round hat that almost covered his eyes, and the lapel of his coat. It caught his alert ears. A pair of long, dark hands, ungloved because he said they were superfluous expenses. The boots he wore didn't look good and were not oiled. His whole appearance looked sickly due to his extremely thin body and sallow complexion.

In fact, it is not that the people in the European Office had no contact with Napoleon, although they contacted Napoleon through a Frenchman. The initial contact was quite friendly. Although Napoleon was very wary of unknown forces, he was willing to associate with wealthy people. From the bottom of his heart, Napoleon had a close relationship with the Jacobins who represented the interests of small business owners and sans-culottes in China and Israel. Not a person on the same road. But when the European Office suggested that Napoleon downplay his friendship with the Robespierre brothers, the friendship boat capsized instantly.

Napoleon sternly refused this because the Robespierre brothers at the time looked highly upon him and Robespierre had a firm grip on power.

Of course, the European Office had not anticipated the failure of the Jacobins. They were not present in another coup in Paris.

That was purely due to the low opinion of the Jacobins in the European Office.

These people are all madmen, they seem to be addicted to killing, and they are too idealistic. Take faith as an example. They abolished monotheism and converted to "rationalism". Churches became clubs and temples that worshiped reason. The icons were replaced by busts of Marat, Salier and Lebeldi. In Paris In Notre Dame Square, altars and prayer paintings were burned.

This method is really too intense and rough.

The Jacobins adopted a policy of terror to combat dissidents. However, as the situation at home and abroad in France improved, the differences of opinion within the Jacobins became increasingly acute, eventually turning from unity to division.

The Hébert faction, which represents the urban and rural lower classes, advocates continuing to strengthen the policy of terror, suppressing suspects, comprehensive price limits, opposing monotheism, promoting atheism, and continuing war with foreign countries. It also accuses Robespierre of being too lenient to the Girondins and demands that Robespierre and Dantonists expelled the National Convention;

The Dantonists advocated stopping the policy of terror, opposed comprehensive price restrictions, defended freedom of trade and wealth, and demanded the conclusion of a peace treaty with the European monarchies and the United Kingdom.

The Robespierre faction suppressed the Hébert faction and the Danton faction successively. They held great power, but they were alienated from the masses and were disliked by the urban and rural private owners. The mass base of the Jacobins shrank sharply. It can be said that they were courting death.

The European Office saw that Robespierre was not a success and suggested that Napoleon stay away from the Robespierre brothers. But Napoleon, who was in high spirits at that time, rejected this request without hesitation. From this point of view, Napoleon was a person who pursued power.

At that time, the Robespierre brothers held great power and were arrogant. But who would have thought that retribution would come so quickly?

Robespierre, Augustine, Saint-Just, G. Couthon and other 22 main leaders of the Jacobins were sent to the guillotine. At the moment when Robespierre was clicked, the watching crowd expressed their joy and applauded for 15 minutes. After that, more than 100 Jacobins were executed.

Napoleon was lucky enough not to be killed together.

After Robespierre's death, the French humorously engraved this sentence on his tombstone: "Passers-by! I, Robespierre, sleep here. Please don't be sad for me. If I were alive, you would not be alive."

However, it also truly reflects the Jacobin's bloodthirstiness and reign of terror from one side.

The people in the European Office did not immediately contact Napoleon who had just been released from prison. There is an old Chinese saying: Therefore, when God is about to give a great task to a person, he must first make his heart and mind suffer, labor his muscles and bones, starve his body, make him poor, and disturb his actions, so as to move his heart and endure his nature, and increase his ability to do what he cannot do...

The people in the European Office certainly did not know Napoleon's glory in the original time and space, so they would not use this sentence of Master Meng to apply to him, a downtrodden man. But they know how to give favors to get the greatest benefits. In this regard, every Chinese knows: adding flowers to the icing on the cake is not as good as sending charcoal in the snow.

The previous European Office was the icing on the cake, but now they had to help in times of need, so they couldn't do it when the snow just started, but had to do it when Napoleon was at his wit's end, so that they could win Napoleon's greatest gratitude.

Moreover, this time they could show their "true colors" directly.

So, Napoleon was really poor and destitute during this period.

Napoleon waited in Paris for a month, and time passed without achieving anything. He survived the painful May, and in the even more difficult and embarrassing June, he could not see any hope at all. It seemed that everyone had forgotten him, the hero of the former Republic.

This injustice made him worried, and his desire to make a difference tortured him.

In mid-June, he made a new decision. He could no longer mix with the masses, and he decided to leave France and go to Istanbul to serve the Ottoman Sultan.

This is not abrupt. There are endless cases of European generals converting to Islam in history. And as long as they show a certain ability, they can mostly obtain a certain status and will not be disturbed by the miscellaneous things in the Ottoman Empire. He drafted a petition, requesting that he and several other officers of different arms be sent to the Ottoman Empire under the sponsorship of the French government. He believed that they had complete military skills and knowledge together, enough to train the Ottoman Empire's army to be stronger on the basis of the Chinese-style new army. Because in the current situation, the Ottoman Empire is very likely to ally with France.

But Napoleon's petition was not approved, and Napoleon was still doing nothing.

Fate is unfortunate and life is in a mess, which is the most true portrayal of Napoleon's life in June 1794. In the original time and space, he finally passed this level and did not become a prisoner of the god of fate. He continued to study political and strategic issues in his embarrassing life, preparing for a day when he could make great achievements.

And in this time and space, an "unexpected surprise" also fell on Napoleon's head.

July is the hottest time of the year in Paris.

Napoleon no longer wears his military coat or hat. His thin figure looks like an ordinary Parisian citizen, although the real Parisians can hear his foreign accent as soon as he speaks.

His shirt is soaked with sweat. The white shirt has been washed yellow and stained with a few stains. Napoleon's life now depends entirely on the support of his adjutant and friend Jean-Antoche Junot.

Junot was born in Bussy-le-Grand, France. His father was a wealthy farmer. He was the fourth child in the family and later studied in Chatillon. When the French Revolution broke out, Junot, who was studying law in Paris, was infected by revolutionary ideas and gave up his pen to join the Volunteer Army in the Côte-d'Or area of ​​Burgundy. He was wounded twice during his service and was nicknamed "Storm" for his bravery. He was promoted to sergeant during the Battle of Toulon and met Napoleon. The latter appreciated his bravery and promoted him to captain to serve as his deputy. From then on, Junot followed Napoleon.

But in fact, Junot himself was now in poverty. His father was affected by the Revolution. Although he did not die, the family's wealth was greatly lost. And he was just one of his father's many sons, but he did not leave Napoleon.

A truly talented person can really conquer a person's body and mind.

Napoleon's wonderful performance in the Battle of Toulon made Junot completely convinced.

Before dark, Napoleon crossed a small road, bypassed Victory Square, and finally saw the door of the Tranquilite Hotel. But he did not return to the hotel immediately, but walked into a tavern next to the hotel.

Myler Road is an inconspicuous street, narrow and dirty are synonymous with it, although it is very close to Victory Square.

On both sides of here are scattered residential areas and shops composed of low-profile wooden houses. The only building that can be seen is a small stone church not far from the Tranquilite Hotel. However, the church is now closed, and there are piles of garbage in front of the door. I believe that there has been no worship in it for a long time.

As night fell, Napoleon, whose stomach was rumbling, had to eat first. He came to this tavern once a week, either to order a simple meal, a cup of wine, or simply a glass of rum.

He needed to know the news from the outside world. Although this tavern was only a few steps away from the hotel where he lived, the news was much richer than the hotel. The reason why he only came here once a week was because Napoleon was short of money and it was more economical to eat in the hotel.

As soon as you enter the door, you can feel that it is full of life.

During the Great Revolution, the tavern was the most gossip-filled and lively place in Paris.

Countless sans-culottes were active here. Even though the Jacobins have become a thing of the past, the newly-elected Parisian government obviously does not represent the interests of the lower classes like them, and the activities of the Parisian sans-culottes have been greatly suppressed.

But the atmosphere in this tavern is still very lively.

In the dim candlelight, a large group of sans-culottes were flirting with several women in skirts without crinolines, and several sans-culottes were tasting rum outside the bar counter. In a corner in the distance, guests at two tables were eating food with their heads down and discussing something in a low voice.

No one inside noticed Napoleon coming in. Even if Robespierre was resurrected at this moment, he would not recognize that this thin and sloppy man was the rising star he favored, Napoleon Bonaparte.

Of course, Napoleon didn't know that when he walked into the tavern, two people at a table in the corner who were eating looked up at him and observed him.

"Is it him?"

"It's him. Napoleon Bonaparte, that's him!"