Fox of France

Fouché’s method is actually kidnapping and blackmailing, but unlike ordinary kidnapping, he does not ask the kidnapped people to pay ransom, but only asks them to “expose the person who hides the money of the traitor” . And he told everyone that if he could "provide clues" within the first fifty, then not only could he prove that he was a "loyal supporter of the Republic" and he would leave prison as a matter of course, but he could also find clues from Fouché. Receive a portion of the traitor's money.

This is obviously a blatant sowing of dissension, but at this time, the prisoners who were locked in the prison really fell into the "prisoner's dilemma". Of course they understood what Fouché was planning, but they were worried that if someone sold themselves before them, they would suffer in vain. You know, those who fall behind will not only lose money, maybe even their heads!

In any case, one's own head is always more important than other people's heads. So although everyone knows Fouché's sinister intentions, everyone is still scrambling to "expose" others. So Fouché followed these "reveals" and quickly dispatched personnel to "confiscate" the wealth according to law. With the cooperation of those "noble traitors", he was surprisingly efficient in confiscating assets. In just a few days, Fouche collected a little more wealth than Robespierre imagined. Fouche then beheaded hundreds of "proven traitors" and confiscated their property. At the same time, a commendation order was posted in Marseille, commending those "citizens of the republic" who were loyal to the Republic during this "conspiracy of the nobility" and made great contributions to smashing the conspiracy of the nobility.

Immediately afterwards, these "citizens of the Republic" showed extraordinary revolutionary consciousness. They all expressed that it is a shameful thing to have too much money when the country is in crisis, so they are willing to submit The republic donates their wealth and lives a glorious life of self-reliance.

The falling blade of the guillotine is of course frightening, but Fouche always believes that the hanging blade is far more submissive than the falling blade.

So far, Fouché's mission has achieved a fairly complete success. Now that a new municipal institution has been established, a municipal institution that excludes the nobles and "respectable people", it seems that Fouché should return to Paris. Moreover, Fouché's friends, Hébert and Chaumet, also need him to go back now. Because the situation in Paris seems to be a little bit wrong.

The "National Salvation Committee" passed a resolution to open ports to trade with neutral countries, and a large part of these trades were carried out by means of barter trade. The most important commodity in barter trade is grain. However, the consequences of the continuous export of a large amount of grain soon became apparent. In some places, the rebellion that had subsided has revived again, and although the price of grain in Paris is still strictly limited and the supply is guaranteed, everyone has also found that the flour they are provided now has changed significantly from the previous one.

Europeans in this era generally used authentic "whole wheat flour" to make bread. That is to say, the whole wheat, including the bran, including the germ, is stuffed into a stone mill for grinding, and the flour with bran and germ is obtained.

In later generations, whole-wheat flour is a rare healthy food, and the whole-wheat bread in modern bakeries seems to taste pretty good. But the whole wheat bread of that era definitely didn't have that taste. Of course, in that era, being able to have flour and make bread was already a very happy thing for many sans-culottes.

However, even such happiness is difficult to maintain. The sans-culottes gradually discovered that the flour they bought was getting heavier and smaller, and the bread they made was getting worse and worse, and they were getting less and less hungry.

These breads often have a weird greasy feeling when you bite into them, or some rough things will scratch your teeth-this is normal, stone mills are used in this era, and there will always be some broken bits in the flour. The sand and stuff, the sansculottes are used to it.

But there is something really wrong with flour today. From the taste to the weight, to the degree of filling, there have been obvious changes. The only thing that has not changed is the price.

A rumor was quietly spreading among the bottom. This rumor said that the reason why the flour has changed in this way is because someone mixed many other things into the flour, such as chalk, talcum powder, wood chips and so on.

To be honest, mixing these things into flour is also the norm in this day and age. It can even be said that the vast majority of sans-culottes have never eaten flour without these additions in their lives. But now, even they feel that there is something wrong with these flours. From this, it can be seen that these things are no longer usually mixed with flour, but flour is mixed with these messy things.

Such behavior would of course arouse the opposition of the sans-culottes, so they followed their long-standing habit and prepared to hang the boss who bought flour on the street lamp. In the past, they had never been seriously stopped from doing so, but this time, the person who tried to hang up the boss who bought the flour was quickly arrested, and then sent to the "Revolutionary Tribunal", and since then , Never have to worry about getting enough to eat.

This of course aroused the general resentment of the sans-culottes, as well as the secret delight of their spokesmen, Hébert, head of the Paris Commune, and others. In Hébert's view, a chance for those who "can truly represent the real people" to control the fate of France is at hand.

Fouche, who has just made great contributions to the Republic, is now also an influential figure in the Hébert line. If the people sent by Hébert want to do something, the resourceful and capable Fouché will definitely be of great help.

However, Fouché was exhausted from the high-intensity work some time ago, so that he suddenly fell ill, so he had to stay in Marseille temporarily to recuperate.

Fouche, of course, did not fall ill from too much toil. Fouché's physique is rather strange. When he is in power and busy, his body is always very healthy. On the contrary, if you let him rest without doing anything, then he will really get sick. In the original history, Fouché never suffered from any serious illness during those busiest times. But after he was forced to surrender all his powers because of the "Kingslayer Act" in 1816 and went into exile abroad, he was quickly overcome by illness.

Holding and using power is the best health care method for Fouché.

The reason why Fouché "fell ill" was because he felt that the situation in Paris was not as optimistic as Ebert imagined.

It is very different now than it was in 1789, or even a few months ago. When the Brissot factions came to power, there were a large number of people who opposed them in the National Assembly. Reduce the power of the Paris Commune and it will be difficult to get it through the National Assembly. For example, just before the Paris Commune besieged the National Assembly and forced them to pass a resolution handing over twenty Brissotite deputies to the Paris Commune, there were Brissotite deputies who proposed the establishment of an army to protect the Parliament. guard. But this motion was rejected in the parliament without even risking a single bubble.

But today, although it cannot be said that there are no factions in the "National Salvation Committee", the degree of unity among them is far greater than that of the previous National Assembly. Moreover, they directly control the French army, which is much more united and stronger than the previous National Assembly.

In addition, the Paris Commune itself was far less powerful than before. Many people were also weary of the day and night guillotine, and the horror it symbolized. Those who are truly energetic and brave have all served as soldiers in the previous rounds of conscription. Many veterans of the National Self-Defense Forces went to the front as "volunteers". Take away a lot of cannons. Therefore, the real military power in the hands of the Paris Commune has been reduced instead.

Ebert added some people to the National Self-Defense Forces, but most of these people did not have any revolutionary ideas at all, their physical fitness was not good enough, and their training was not good enough. In the past, such people would not have been able to enter the National Self-Defense Forces.

This series of changes made Fouché feel that if he continued to stand on Ebert's side, there might not be any good results. But if he returns to Paris at this time, it will be tantamount to making a choice between Ebert and the "National Salvation Committee", and he will clearly stand on Ebert's side.

But the Paris Commune is not completely without chance, and the "National Salvation Committee" has not issued an order to him not to allow him to return to Paris (such an order, in a sense, is tantamount to letting Fouche publicly express his position. .In a sense, this is also giving Fouche a chance to stand in line. But now, without such an order, naturally there is no such opportunity. This makes Fouche suspect that Robespierre wants to Put him and Ebel in a pot and stew once).

So pretending to be sick became Fouche's choice at this time.

Of course, it is impossible to pretend to be sick for too long, but for Fouché, this period of time is enough for him to see clearly which side he should stand on, and that is enough. If Ebert and the others will win, then he is still an important figure in the Ebert faction. If the National Salvation Committee wins, then Robespierre probably won't let him go, but... Maybe it would be a good choice to connect with Carnot through Napoleon.