Fox of France

At the meeting of the National Assembly on October 10, the Bishop Talleyrand, who had been a representative of the first estate and was now MP for the district of Autun, asked to speak.

In the applause of everyone, whether sincere or fake, the archbishop in a black bishop's robe stepped onto the podium. Unlike another chameleon who also came from a seminary, and even later, was also known for his fickleness, Bishop Talleyrand was very good at giving various speeches. Anyway, it's all Mabian people's skills, and all the skills that can fool believers on the altar are actually suitable for use in speeches that can fool the public.

"Everyone knows that although the new system has been established, His Majesty the King has recognized the "Declaration of Human Rights" and expressed his loyalty to the Constitution. However, France is still facing a huge crisis. Some conservative nobles have fled abroad. are contacting the other despots of Europe, in an attempt to use their power to subvert the revolution. At home, there are rebellions everywhere, and thieves and rebels are rampant, wantonly destroying our France. These crises are so serious, do we Can you still see and hear but not hear?"

"cannot!"

"cannot!"

The MPs shouted. And from the left side of the pulpit, there was even a voice like this: "Hang those bastards! Hang them all from the lampposts!"

Bishop Talleyrand's face was still calm, although he didn't like those guys sitting on the left very much.

"But we still face a huge difficulty, that is, we have no money in our hands." Talleyrand continued, "Because of the extravagance and waste of the royal family, France now owes as much as 4.5 billion livres in debt, Just paying the interest will consume all the money in our hands. If there is no money, then what will we use to arm our soldiers and defend our revolution?"

"Then what do you say?"

"Can you still conjure River?" someone shouted from below.

"Everyone, everyone, please be quiet." Bishop Talleyrand raised his voice, "I do have a feasible solution."

The surroundings suddenly became quiet.

A lot of people are thinking: "Is this guy going to die and plan to take the lead in proposing tax increases?"

"Everyone knows that the church has accumulated huge wealth in France over the years." Talleyrand continued, "As far as I know, the church owns at least three billion livres worth of land and other wealth. If we can take this wealth and put it to the service of the public, then there is a solution to the crisis we are facing."

As soon as this sentence was finished, the entire venue suddenly erupted.

Some people shouted: "Yeah, those bloody vampires should have spit out these things long ago!"

Someone also shouted: "This is sacrilege!"

Of course it was the representatives of the other priests who shouted this. But they didn't have the support of others. In fact, when there is a shortage of money, there is a long tradition in France, the filial son of God, to make calculations with religious organizations.

I think the Knights Templar, one of the three major knight orders, lost their Holy Land and had to withdraw to France. In addition to fighting wars, the Knights Templar are also good at making money. They even invented the banking industry in Europe. King Philip IV of France owed them a huge debt. When they returned to France, they brought back so much wealth that the eyes of King Philip IV of France turned green.

At that time, King Philip IV of France was a shameless figure who wanted money. He never took any religious enthusiasm to heart. In his hands, at least two popes were killed, and the Holy See was forcibly brought to France, making many successor popes "prisoners of Avignon."

So on a Friday, Philip IV suddenly ordered the arrest of all its members in France under the pretext that the Knights Templar was a "heretic" and confiscated all the properties of the Knights Templar. Immediately afterwards, the pope controlled by him also declared that the "Knights Templar" were heretics, and they were all damned homosexuals. One of the reasons was that there were two knights one behind the other on their badges. This was originally used to commemorate the two founders of the Knights, but according to the Inquisition, it became a symbol of the collective foundation of the Knights Templar.

In this way, King Philip IV of France eliminated his creditors and made a fortune along the way. Of course, it is said that the Knights had made some preparations at that time, so they transferred or hid a lot of property. So to this day, there are still many legends about the hidden treasures of the Knights Templar in Europe.

Therefore, as the filial sons of God, the French did not have much resistance to robbing the church. However, another voice made everyone hesitate.

"However, we have just established the principle of 'private property is sacred and inviolable' in the "Declaration of Human Rights". Are we going to trample on our own principles immediately? If we can deprive the church of property in this way today, whose turn will it be tomorrow? property?" someone shouted.

So everyone fell silent, and countless eyes were fixed on Bishop Talleyrand.

Bishop Talleyrand didn't seem to feel any pressure at all, he smiled slightly, and then asked slowly: "Just now a gentleman mentioned the principle of 'private property is sacred and inviolable'. Of course I very much agree with this In principle. But I want to ask, whose private property is the property of the church?"

This question was beyond everyone's expectations. Indeed, who is the proprietor of church property? Certainly not the Pope, and certainly not the bishops. If you must find an owner for it...

"In terms of doctrine, the owner of the church is Almighty God." Bishop Talleyrand continued, "But God does not need any worldly wealth, and anyone who thinks like this is blasphemy. In addition..."

Bishop Talleyrand paused deliberately, then smiled and said: "The Declaration of Human Rights protects the rights of human beings, but God is really not a human being, so this matter is beyond the scope of the Declaration of Human Rights."

As soon as the words came out, there was a burst of laughter from below. Condorcet thumped the table with his hands while laughing, but Barnave couldn't catch up with the laugh, and coughed violently. Even Robespierre, who has always been stern, laughed.

"This guy is a genius!" said Robespierre.

"This damned heresy!" some priests gritted their teeth and cursed. But their voices were lowered. Obviously, they also discovered that the current situation is very unfavorable to them.

"Damn it, why didn't I think of this and let this traitor take the lead." Some people in black robes also had such thoughts in their hearts.

Others bringing up the idea would surely offend the Church, which had been relatively neutral, and would make an enemy of the revolution. Therefore, ordinary Members dare not mention such matters. But clergymen like Talleyrand are different. What they do will only split the church, and the split church has much less deterrent power. Apparently, Talleyrand sold the church for a good price just in time.

"If the property of the church belongs to God—I personally find this idea to be blasphemy to God, then the only legal owners of the property of the church are all believers. The legal rights of all the property of the church in France The owner can only be the French people. In this case, why can’t the National Assembly, which represents the French people, dispose of the wealth that originally belonged to us? Why can’t it use the wealth that originally belonged to us to serve France?” Tower Bishop Leland continued to ask.

Bishop Talleyrand achieved unprecedented success, and his speech was interrupted again and again by cheers. And his bill was quickly passed in parliament. This resolution, as well as Bishop Talleyrand's speech, became known to the people of Paris through various newspapers that evening.

When Bishop Talleyrand walked out of his residence the next day, the surrounding crowd cheered him, and various newspapers put all kinds of beautiful words on him without hesitation, almost boasting him as a The greatest saint since Jesus. Talleyrand liked this feeling very much. He felt that the great success he longed for was already in front of him.

Now that the money problem has been temporarily resolved, the training of his "New Model Army" can be put on the agenda. There is actually a considerable lack of military talent on the side of the revolutionaries. Before that, Joseph performed well in assisting the training of the National Self-Defense Forces in the neighborhood, so he was invited again to serve as the military instructor of the Paris National Self-Defense Forces. For this reason, the Marquis of Lafayette also wrote a letter, inviting Joseph to his house for a while.

The call of the Marquis de Lafayette naturally had to be answered at this time. And it is much safer to meet this hero of two continents than to meet Robespierre or Marat. So Joseph explained a little about the family affairs, then got dressed and went out.

Sitting in a buggy, Joseph arrived at the residence of the Marquis of Lafayette.

Today, the residence of the Marquis of Lafayette can be said to be full of people. Obviously, after he became the most powerful figure in France today, many people came to flatter him and follow his footsteps.

Joseph handed the invitation letter given to him by Lafayette to the gatekeeper. The gatekeeper looked at the invitation letter and said to Joseph: "Mr. Bonaparte, the Marquis is still receiving guests, please follow me to the side hall first. Wait a minute."

This is also a normal thing. In fact, when Joseph saw so many carriages outside Lafayette's gate, he knew that he might have to wait for a while.

A servant led Joseph into a side hall. Joseph noticed another man in military uniform waiting there, about thirty years old.

The servant brought Joseph in, served him another cup of black tea, and left.

Seeing that the servant retreated, while the middle-aged man in military uniform was standing up, looking at himself with piercing eyes, he greeted him and said, "Hello, I am Joseph Bonaparte, a mathematics teacher. Nice to meet you."

The man also hurriedly replied: "Hello, I am Army Captain Lazar Cano. I have heard your name from my teacher Mr. Monge and my friend Robespierre."