Fox of France

"It is also a great honor to meet our young scientists. Because you know that all great achievements are but fleeting clouds, and time will wash them away. Even Alexander the Great and Caesar only left empty space. Only science is truly immortal. Like Greece and Rome, the greatest treasures left to us are not the great conquests, but their scholarship and laws. You have the talent to study what is truly eternal, That is what is truly respectable and enviable." Lafayette also replied with a smile.

"It's like the immortality of Rome, which is the same as their laws. Your Excellency, isn't what you are participating in now also the same immortality, the same great cause that will shine through the ages?" Joseph also replied with a smile.

"You are right. What do you think about the Constitution?" asked the Marquis de Lafayette.

"I don't know much about politics," replied Joseph, "but I think that just as the geometry of ancient Greece was founded on nine intuitive and unquestionable postulates and axioms, so our constitution should be founded on Such self-evident axioms. Your Excellency the Marquis, you once led the War of Independence in North America. Sister, you can see that the logic in the Declaration of Independence of the United States is actually very interesting."

"Go on," said Robespierre.

"The Declaration of Independence says: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. For These rights are guaranteed, and governments are established among men, and the just powers of the government are derived from the consent of the governed.' These two sentences are the axioms of the entire Declaration of Independence, and the entire North American Declaration of Independence. The logical deduction is almost entirely based on these articles. If we want to formulate a truly immortal constitution, then we must also find its axiomatic basis. Personally, I think that the two It can also be used as the axiomatic basis of our constitution. Therefore, when we formulate the constitution, we must first clarify the rights that our constitution is to protect, and then develop around how to protect these rights. Anything that conflicts with this goal , can be deemed unconstitutional, and thus illegal and invalid.”

"Very interesting point of view." The Duke of Orleans interjected, "But Joseph, I heard you say just now that 'the geometry of ancient Greece is based on nine intuitive and unquestionable postulates and axioms', but it should not be Ten axioms and postulates? Why, you also think that the fifth postulate should be expelled from the ranks of postulates?"

"Who wouldn't want that?" Joseph laughed. "Since the time of ancient Greece, there is no one who studies mathematics who does not want to prove the fifth postulate, kick it out of the ranks of postulates, and turn it into a theorem. I If I can really solve such a problem, I will really be famous--even as famous as M. Lavoisier."

The "Mr. Lavoisier" mentioned by Joseph here certainly refers to the great chemist Lavoisier. But because of the surname, someone remembered something more.

"Mr. Lavoisier?" Robespierre said, "Well, Mr. Lavoisier's academic achievements are admirable. It can be said that he is the light of French science. His nephew is also very talented. It's just a talent in art, and recently became famous because of a play, some people think he will have a Corneille."

"The "Spartacus" he wrote is indeed a good tragedy, but it is too radical. Especially the "Slave War Hymn", which completely negates all existing orders." He frowned and continued, "The existing order does have many problems and needs to be changed, but this change should be a gentle reform, not a war like a torrent."

"We don't want to have such a flash flood." Robespierre also said, "It's just that our majesty is really stubborn. Regarding this issue, I actually talked to Mr. Lavoisier Jr., and he also admitted It is better to carry out reforms in the existing order and establish an English-style country than a North American-style country. A non-violent coup d'état of the Restoration. This revolution was bloodless, which is why historians call it the "Glorious Revolution") better than war. But, he added, such changes were not easy to achieve in France. So Sometimes you have to go a little too far in order to make a difference. It's like saying to our King, 'Your house is too dark, you must open an extra window.' He still won't say yes. So You say to him: 'Your house is too dark, and I will take the roof off.' Then perhaps His Majesty the King will be willing to discuss with us how to open the windows."

This made everyone laugh. This metaphor actually originated from Lu Xun's articles that Joseph learned in his previous life. After time travel, he stole this metaphor and used it when he was chatting with Amon. Now it seems that Amon is also using the metaphor he heard from him.

"This kind of thinking is not unreasonable." Lafayette also smiled, and then frowned slightly, "It's just that I'm still a little worried. This drama will affect the emotions of the citizens, especially those at the bottom. The sansculottes are emotionally aroused. And once they are emotionally aroused, they don’t necessarily want to be content with just opening a window.”

"But if this is not the case, His Majesty the King will not feel the pressure at all, and will not agree to any changes at all." The Duke of Orleans said so.

The Marquis of Lafayette raised his head, looked deeply at the Duke of Orleans, but remained silent.

The Duke of Orleans continued: "What's more, Gilbert, you also know that His Majesty the King has mobilized the army, which is also putting pressure on us. Damn--you told me this news.--How can we not have a little What about the response?"

"The French army will not do anything to its own people. Our army is used to protect the motherland, not to slaughter people." Lafayette replied.

"Can you guarantee it?" The Duke of Orleans asked immediately.

"Of course!" Lafayette replied without hesitation.

"Then can you guarantee that those mercenaries will not slaughter people?"

The Marquis de Lafayette did not answer.

"If those mercenaries shoot at the people, what will the French army do? Will they disregard the king's order and start a war with those foreign mercenaries; or will they stay on the sidelines and watch the fun?" the Duke of Orleans asked again.

The Marquis of Lafayette remained silent.

"You know, the army doesn't know what to do." The Duke of Orleans continued, "If the army fights with the king's mercenaries, it means that the war has begun. This is not what you want to see. If they are allowed to slaughter the people, I believe this is not what you want to see. Besides, military interference in politics is not a good thing in the long run. Once this habit is formed, there will be endless troubles."

The Marquis of Lafayette actually agreed with the Duke of Orleans' statement in his heart, so he still couldn't speak.

"Therefore, the current power balance is very unfavorable to the people. Without a balance in the power balance, there will be no fair negotiations." The Duke of Orleans continued, "Under such circumstances, His Majesty the King will not accept our opinion. Sincerely. Therefore, it is necessary for us to let the power of the people be displayed in a certain way, so that the king can wake up and prevent him from doing anything irrational."

"I'm afraid what you want is to make the people feel that the king is their enemy, so that you can lift him up in the future, or even replace him." The Marquis of Lafayette thought this way, but he didn't say it out loud. Because although he has no idea of ​​replacing the king, (the Marquis of Lafayette is not from a royal family and has no right of inheritance), he also has the idea of ​​holding the power of the kingdom firmly in his own hands. Although there is no way to become a king, it is not impossible to become Richelieu, or even go a step further, to become a palace like Pepin. So it is also good for him to discredit the king and set the people against the king. So he still couldn't refute it, he could only say: "What kind of power can a play show?"

The Duke of Orleans smiled and said: "A group of slaves, if they are determined to resist, can also shake the mighty Rome. Today's French people are stronger than Roman slaves; France is much weaker than Rome. At least Rome Our army will do everything possible to suppress the slaves, but our army will not - the king knows this, and the only ones he can rely on are the mountain people and German mercenaries. If our king is smarter, he should be able to He understands the message of this drama. As long as the king is willing to compromise, we can achieve the goal of constitutional government by this."

"What if the king still refuses to compromise?" the Marquis of Lafayette asked again.

"Then arm the National Self-Defense Forces and use this force to form a balance with the mercenaries." Robespierre said, "Of course the combat skills of the National Self-Defense Forces are not as good as the mercenaries, but in terms of numbers, as long as they are needed, they can easily It is easy to make them several times or even ten times that of mercenaries."

"I hope our king can understand the message conveyed by this play. Does he really want to follow the old path of Charles I?" the Duke of Orleans said again.

The Marquis of Lafayette frowned. The words of the Duke of Orleans were a bit too explicit.

"It's really like what Shakespeare said: 'The closer people are to our blood, the more they want to drink our blood.' (from "Macbeth")"

He thought for a while, and finally said: "Our Majesty is not a stubborn person like Charles I. He will follow the trend of the times and become a king who is supported by the people."