The Fox of France No Chapter 198: Rebellion and Coup

Chapter 198: Rebellion and Coup

Before long, the Duke of Brunswick received the latest intelligence: right across from them, there was a formidable defense, like an impregnable fortress, manned by the nightmare with the sa na, Joseph Bonaparte. In the previous battle, this dread figure, Joseph Bonaparte, had been struck by a bullet, and his fate hung in the balance.

"Have we struck down another French commander?" the Duke of Brunswick couldn't help but find this news rather absurd. However, on the battlefield, absurdity was a common occurrence. After all, wasn't King Theodoric killed in the decisive Battle of Verona after claiming victory?

Furthermore, neither the British nor Prussian high-ranking officers were keen on returning ho with a colossal failure. Achieving glory and returning victorious, even at the cost of many soldiers' lives, was more desirable than failing utterly, and the bones of thousands withering away.

However, blindly charging forward without verifying the information and then getting brutally beaten was sothing no one's pride could tolerate. So, everyone decided to pause and assess the situation while reinforcing their own defenses.

Simultaneously, in Paris, chaos reigned. Joseph understood that he had to keep this from Paris because the city acted like a sieve. Once any piece of information reached the people of Paris, it spread like wildfire. Businessn and bankers knew military secrets faster and more accurately than the generals did.

Most businessn had a foot in various camps. So, if Joseph were to inform the Parisian authorities that he was rely feigning injury, it wouldn't take an afternoon for every person with wealth and status in Paris to learn about his ruse. What would be the point then?

Concealing this information from the governnt created another problem: the governnt officials took it seriously. This highly confidential military secret soon beca public knowledge in Paris, even appearing in so newspapers.

Of course, The Truth of Science, a prominent newspaper, imdiately stepped up to debunk the rumors, stating, "In these trying tis, everyone must remain calm and resist believing or spreading unfounded rumors!"

However, The Truth of Science did not provide any concrete evidence to dispel the circulating rumors. On the contrary, another news article in the sa newspaper seed to corroborate the rumor: General Moro had repelled the British attack on the Cateau, rapidly moving to support General Joseph Bonaparte in Verdun.

For most people, this military maneuver almost confird the veracity of the story that Joseph was injured. Obviously, if Joseph weren't wounded, why would Moro need to rush to Verdun urgently?

Other actions seed to reinforce this belief. Recent reports indicated that Mr. Lavasie, who had just returned to Paris and resud his teaching position at the University of Paris, had abruptly left for Toulon for work-related reasons. Several researchers from the Institute of Military Research, including many "for work-related reasons," were dispatched to Toulon. The Truth of Science made no attempt to refute these claims, rely stating that these were planned and regular transfers.

Moreover, it wasn't just this. The turmoil gave rise to opportunistic cris within the governnt itself. One morning, when the Finance Ministry's employees arrived at work, they discovered that Secretary Garcia had not shown up. It was quickly revealed that Garcia had forged signatures to embezzle a significant amount of governnt funds and had fled with his young wife.

This wasn't an isolated incident, and similar cases were on the rise.

In this chaos, the Royalists rekindled their activities, especially in areas with a concentration of property owners. They once again ford alliances with so of the National Guard. In so places, the Royalists' white flags were boldly displayed.

This situation further escalated the chaos in Paris. On the other hand, the Public Safety Departnt, which had effectively suppressed Royalist activities, was exceptionally sluggish at this ti. There were even rumors that the Minister of Public Safety, Fouch, was in contact with Royalist sympathizers. Paris seed to be on the brink of upheaval.

Napoleon, of course, received the ssage sent by Joseph. anwhile, his army had already entered a forced march, rapidly advancing towards Paris.

On the night of March 16, 1798, Paris erupted in rebellion. By noon the following day, opportunists who had sided with the Royalists quickly took control of most of Paris and prepared to lay siege to the National Convention once more. But just then, news arrived that General Napoleon had entered Paris with his army.

An interesting scene unfolded. While Napoleon's troops hadn't yet arrived, the National Guard units surrounding the National Convention suddenly began to disperse en masse. When General Oudinot's cavalry appeared on the square outside the Convention, the square and its surroundings were as empty as a setting for the movie "I Am Legend."

In short, at the most critical mont, our General Napoleon Bonaparte once again saved the Republic and the Revolution. What was even more remarkable was that during this suppression of the rebellion, General Napoleon and his troops showed astonishing restraint. Not a single rebel was killed, and the rebellion was resolved peacefully, showcasing the might and civility of the Italian Legion.

After successfully quelling yet another Royalist rebellion and retrieving every available parliantarian (so had fled even before the outbreak of chaos, and their whereabouts were unknown), General Napoleon Bonaparte personally addressed the National Convention for the sake of the nation's future.

On his way to deliver the speech, Lucien said to Napoleon, "Napoleon, are you prepared for this speech? I must tell you, in public speaking, you need to"

"Enough, Lucien," Napoleon waved him off, swatting him away like an annoying fly, although he did not intend to strangle Lucien with his intestines, "I've delivered countless speeches in the army. What's public speaking to ? Do you think I need your lessons? Just watch!"

With that, Napoleon entered the parliant hall with his head held high and delivered his speech to the assembly of legislators.

In his speech, Napoleon expressed his disapproval of the current state of the French governnt. He criticized it as weak, corrupt, and inefficient, plagued by fraudsters, incompetents, and traitors. This, he argued, was a gross mismanagent of the efforts of revolutionary soldiers, and if the situation persisted, the French Revolution would inevitably falter. To salvage the revolution and France itself, he proposed an imdiate governnt overhaul, establishing a powerful, clean, and efficient new administration to vanquish all enemies of the revolution.

Napoleon had anticipated that the legislators would cheer him on, much like his soldiers. However, the legislators instead questioned him:

"General Bonaparte, are you proposing a military governnt?"

"General Bonaparte, do you intend to beco a tyrant?"

"We overthrew one despot, and now you want to beco the second tyrant?"

In the end, the cries of "Down with the military despot! Long live democracy!" rang out.

The legislators' response took Napoleon entirely by surprise, and he hadn't prepared for such a contingency. He turned pale, unsure of what to do.

Perhaps inspired by Napoleon's actions, the legislators boldly left their seats and began to converge on him. Napoleon had already begun scouting escape routes.

"Damn it, I walked in without a weapon!" Napoleon thought.

In this dire mont, a squad of soldiers and police, led by Lucien and Fouch, stord in.

Bang! Lucien fired two shots into the air.

The legislators, brimming with zeal, promptly returned to their seats, resembling schoolchildren who had just seen their principal.

Lucien signaled to Napoleon to leave, and Napoleon quickly exited. Then, Lucien took the lectern and cast a malevolent glance around the room before saying, "I know that among you, so have betrayed the revolution, betrayed France, and beco the Bourbons' lapdogs! Now you want to plot against the heroes of the revolution, the saviors of the Republic? Don't be fooled by these individuals; be vigilant!"

There was so murmuring among the legislators, but the presence of heavily ard soldiers kept most of them silent.

"Now I propose we revoke the immunity of those parliantarians conspiring with the Royalists. All in favor, raise your hand," Lucien said, raising his own hand first.

The legislators followed suit, one by one, raising their hands.

"Very well, motion passed!" Lucien declared.

Then Lucien yielded his place to Fouch. Fouch produced a small notebook and began reciting nas. For each na he ntioned, a person was escorted out by the police. Fouch only nad five individuals, but they were the ones who had openly challenged Napoleon earlier.

After these individuals had been taken away, Lucien declared, "Now, can we invite Mr. Napoleon Bonaparte to continue his speech?"

So, Napoleon was brought back, and his speech beca very concise: "You've all heard my proposal earlier. Now, we vote by raising our hands. Who's in favor, and who's against?"

All 500 legislators present voted unanimously in favor, guided by their sense of responsibility to the revolution, France, and history.