Fox of France

Joseph raised his head, looked at Amon, then at Robespierre, and said, "Amon, Mr. Robespierre, you know, Lafayette and I are friends..."

"Joseph, we are all friends with Lafayette. But, Joseph, Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas. (Aristotle's famous saying in Latin: I love my teacher, but I love the truth)" Armand said .

Robespierre smiled and watched.

"Okay, Amon." Joseph frowned and said, "Although I cherish my friendship with General Lafayette, I cannot betray my ideals. However, I wonder if the club's election can change a way?"

"What do you mean by the replacement method?" Robespierre asked.

"The way clubs vote today is by show of hands, right?" Joseph said. "Can we change it to a secret ballot? You think, Lafayette has been president for so long and he's so influential. If you vote directly by show of hands, I am afraid that some people will be forced to vote against their will due to pressure from these aspects. We list the names of the candidates on a ballot, and voters only need to tick it, and then put the ballot Put it in an empty box, wait until the voting is over, open the box and count in public, this way you can avoid the above troubles and at the same time ensure justice.”

As soon as Joseph's words fell, Amon spoke dissatisfiedly: "Joseph, isn't it an upright thing to support and oppose something? Why are you so sneaky?"

Joseph frowned, and was about to refute, but Robespierre spoke first.

"Amon, I think what Joseph said makes sense. This is indeed a good way." Robespierre said slowly.

"But, as a representative of the people, shouldn't he be more open and aboveboard? Why hide his views? This is not what a gentleman does." Amon didn't seem convinced.

"Amon," Robespierre frowned, "the club is not the Congress, and the members of the club are not representatives of the people. Besides, aren't those who are not morally enough to be called saints born with What’s more, morality is always used to ask oneself, not others. For example, I don’t think drinking and having fun with a bunch of women every night is the right way of life, but I I also consider you, and Mr. Mirabeau, who has passed away, to be my good friends."

"You are right, Maximilian." Amon lowered his head.

Robespierre's words surprised Joseph. Such reasonable words, it was actually said by the "King of Murder" Robespierre? In addition to being surprised, Joseph also deeply felt that Robespierre was too dangerous, because he was very good at finding reasonable excuses for his own political interests.

Having said that, everyone has it in their hearts. If Robespierre could secure a secret ballot, Joseph would support him. At least, according to Robespierre and Amon, that is the case. So everyone talked nonsense for a while, and Robespierre and Amon said goodbye and left.

With this visit from Robespierre, Joseph really did not dare to miss the meeting two days later. That night, after dinner, Joseph got into a buggy by himself and came to the Jacobin Club.

Joseph walked into the club and greeted one after another who he knew and was familiar with, or who he knew but was not familiar with, and a familiar figure suddenly appeared in his eyes.

"Hey, Bonaparte, long time no see!" the man smiled at him.

"His Royal Highness? You are back?" Joseph was taken aback, because that person was the Duke of Orleans who was sent to be the ambassador to England some time ago.

"Yes, I'm back." The Duke of Orleans smiled, his posture was a bit like a gray wolf.

Although the Duke of Orleans went to England, he was quite well informed. As soon as he found that the image of his political opponent Lafayette was damaged, he immediately ran back.

"With Lafayette's reputation now, even if he publicizes the conspiracy of the Duke of Orleans, hehe, I'm afraid no one will believe it. However, he has not been in the country for such a long time, and he does not know that the influence of the Duke of Orleans will remain. How much." Joseph thought silently.

After the two chatted for a while, the Duke of Orleans went to talk to others again—he, who had just returned to his country, was eager to restore his influence.

After waiting for a while, almost everyone arrived, and Lafayette announced the start of the meeting.

As the chairman, Lafayette spoke first. He first defended himself, saying that everything he did was for France; then he began to accuse "extremist ideas", saying that they wanted to destroy the country and traditions. After talking like this for a while, he said that he knew that such "extreme thinking" was spreading in the club, and he hoped that everyone could understand him, support him, and resist this dangerous thinking that is destined to lead France into the abyss.

After Lafayette spoke, Robespierre stood up and said to everyone: "I have some ideas and I want to talk about them. Would you like to listen?"

"Yes!" someone shouted from below.

So Robespierre walked towards the podium, he and Lafayette passed by, Lafayette had a straight face with contempt on his face; while Robespierre's face was full of humility Smile.

Robespierre stepped onto the podium and began his speech. He first expressed his respect for French traditions. He said that some radicals are now trying to turn France into a republic, which is unpopular and will definitely fail. He even said directly: "Bah! The Republic? What is that!"

But then he said that it was very obvious that King Louis XVI was hostile to the revolution and opposed the constitution. Even if he declares to society now that he supports the constitution, it is not credible. Letting such a person continue to be king will only bring harm to France. Everyone must admit the facts and stop deceiving themselves and others.

"The truth never hurts us, the only thing that can hurt us is our attitude towards the truth. If we turn a blind eye to everything, stick our heads in the sand like an ostrich, and say to ourselves: 'None of this exists.' That will really hurt us. Clearly, the current king is no longer trustworthy! I am against a republic, but I am also against Louis XVI continuing to be king."

After saying this, Robespierre raised his eyes and glanced at the Duke of Orleans, who immediately took the lead in applauding.

If Louis XVI abdicates, the first heir to the throne is his son Louis XVII. Louis XVII is not yet an adult. According to the French tradition, a member of the royal family needs to be the regent to act as the king. Today, there are only three people in the royal family who are eligible to be regents. They are the Count of Provence, the younger brother of Louis XVI (Louis XVIII in history), the Count of Artois, another younger brother of Louis XVI, and the Duke of Orleans.

The two in front are members of the royal party and openly oppose the revolution. Therefore, the only possible regent is the Duke of Orleans. So now that Robespierre said this, the Duke of Orleans naturally agreed very much.

Immediately afterwards, Robespierre said that although he opposed extreme republican thinking, he believed that thinking is free, and a person should not be convicted because of his thinking.

"Against an idea, use another idea, not the sword."

These words obviously mean something. However, Joseph felt that Robespierre's words seemed to have a taste of black humor.

In the end, Robespierre said that in order to allow club members to vote in the upcoming election without interference from power, he proposed to vote by secret ballot.

This proposal exceeded Lafayette's expectations. He knew that this voting plan was very unfavorable to him, but if he directly opposed this voting plan, it would almost confirm the accusation of "using power to interfere with voting". So he just had a livid face, but didn't say a word.

The next step is to vote. Although it was a secret ballot, Joseph still voted for Robespierre. No way, that's what stable people are like.

Then there is the counting of votes. One person counts the votes, and several people supervise. The votes for the two candidates were very close, with Lafayette leading one moment and Robespierre leading the other. In the end, the results of the voting finally came out. Robespierre defeated Lafayette by two votes and became the chairman of the Jacobin Club.

Lafayette's face was ugly, and he might be guessing who betrayed him. But Robespierre's complexion is not particularly good, because although he won, according to his statistics, he should still have one vote.

"We have a traitor among us." Robespierre couldn't help thinking this way.

Lafayette stepped onto the podium. Everyone thought that he was going to deliver some speeches as the previous chairman. But Lafayette said this:

"Unfortunately, I find that in today's 'Friends of Constitution Club', extreme ideas have gained the upper hand. The philosophy of this club is completely different from when we created it."

Having said that, he looked around at everyone, and then continued: "Since the political ideas are completely different, I announce that I will withdraw from the 'Friends of Constitutional Government Club'. Like me, those who oppose this political idea, please stand Come to me. Let's go together."

Joseph was completely stunned. Lafayette's move was completely beyond his expectations. Having made his secret ballot a joke, now which side to take is a new question.

At this time, a person had already taken the lead to go to Lafayette's side. Seeing him walking past, Robespierre's smiling face froze suddenly.

"Fouche, I didn't expect it to be you!" Robespierre gritted his teeth and thought.