Joseph stood in front of his window, looking at the rising pillar of smoke from afar.

"It looks like it's burning somewhere." Lucien, who was standing aside, said.

"It's Les Invalides." "It is said that there are quite a few weapons there – the revolution has begun," Joseph said. ”

"Aren't we going to do something?" Lucien Road. Joseph looked back, and in Lucien's eyes he could see a leaping eagerness.

"No, we don't need to do anything now." Joseph shook his head and said, "Lucien, you have to remember that the first person to play is not necessarily the protagonist. The protagonist will only play when it is most appropriate. It's too chaotic now, it's not time for us to play. ”

It was a very chaotic time. Almost all of Paris is burning. Rumors of the imminent start of the new St. Bartholomew massacre are spreading, and almost all of them are busy looking for weapons to defend themselves. However, Joseph lived in the military academy and was safe for the time being.

But even the military academy was prepared for chaos. Instructors have been given permission to carry firearms with them. And after paying a certain amount of deposit, take these out of school in order to protect yourself in your own home. Joseph, for example, now has four rifles and two pistols in his rented house.

Joseph asked his two younger brothers not to go to school for a while and stayed with him every day. Because Paris was too unsafe at this time. The streets were filled with fanatical and chaotic masses, some of whom were indeed full of revolutionary zeal, but others who were merely taking advantage of the fire to loot. At the same time, in the past two days, the police system in Paris has been completely paralyzed, and the police do not dare to go out for their own personal safety. You must know that in the past two days, there have been quite a few "tyrant's spies" who have been hung with street lights.

These policemen are indeed annoying in normal times, but without them completely, Paris will enter a state of complete anarchy, and the entire social order will be ruined with it. Nowadays, it is very possible to walk on the street and suddenly be robbed or even killed.

Barricades had been erected in Joseph's neighborhood, supposedly to deal with the mercenaries of the king who might come to slaughter the people of Paris, but in fact the greater role was to protect his neighborhood in the midst of such anarchic chaos.

On the barricade at the corner of the street, more than a dozen young men in blue clothes were holding rifles, guarding there. A little in front of them, there was also a makeshift rejection of horses, and no one was allowed to enter the block except for the people of the neighborhood.

Because of the fast movement, it is still very safe to arrive in this neighborhood for the time being.

"Stay at home, and if anyone knocks, don't open the door." Joseph took out his pocket watch and looked at it, and said to his two younger brothers.

"Understand, big brother, don't worry, we are not little white rabbits anymore, and we won't let the big bad wolf in." Lucien said nonchalantly.

"Well, Lucien, you know how firearms are used, I took you to practice some time ago. You take the gun and protect your brother. But be careful, don't go off. I'm going to a meeting right now, and I'm going out for an hour or two. You have to protect yourself and your brother. ”

Joseph took his coat from the coat rack, draped it over his body, put on a hat with a blue and red badge, and inserted two pistols into the pouch hidden under his ribs.

"I don't need Lucien's protection, I'm going to shoot too." Louis said, "I'm no worse than Lucien." ”

"You're still too young, just listen to Lucien honestly. Don't mess around. Joseph said very seriously.

"Yes, if there is something, I will protect you. Just load my bullets behind me. With Joseph's support, Lucien was visibly excited.

"Alright, I'm going out. Keep watch over your home, and don't mess around. If I come back a little late, the bread is in the cupboard, Sophie is not there these days, you cut your own bread and eat it. ”

Joseph was now dressed, picked up his cane, and after a few words of advice to his two younger brothers, he went out.

Walking a little down the empty street, in front of you is the place where the meeting took place, the house of the banker Charles.

Joseph stepped forward, showed the invitation to the janitor, and entered. A servant led him through the rococo vestibule to a large hall.

Joseph handed the staff to the servant and went in.

There were already quite a few people in the hall. Most of these people were also known to Joseph, and they were among the richest people in the neighborhood.

"Everyone, be quiet!" Charles the banker took out the gold watch with a long gold chain in his arms, looked at the time, and shouted, "The time is almost up, and our people are almost ready, so let's not waste time and get started!" ”

Everyone fell silent.

"Gentlemen, you know, what's going on these days." "Mr. Necker's dismissal may mean that there has been some change in the king's attitude, and therefore a lot of uncertainty financially," Charles said. So, we closed the stock exchange for the time being. As you know, Mr. Neck's departure has brought too much uncertainty. At the same time, we also sent a representative to Versailles to understand the situation. ”

"How?" Someone asked anxiously.

Most of the people here are wealthy people, and many of them are creditors of the French government or more accurately, the French royal family. Over the years, a large part of the French government's various expenditures have been supported by debt. Now there is a fear that His Majesty may default on his debts or force a reduction in the interest rate on the national debt.

"Mr. Neck's dismissal was confirmed. Although the king declared that there would be no defaults or forced reductions in the interest rate on government bonds, this statement was not made by the king, and how credible it is is also a question. In addition, he found out that there were indeed military movements in the vicinity of Paris. ”

As soon as these words came out, there was an uproar below.

Charles seemed to be pleased with everyone's reaction, and he quietly admired it for a moment before saying, "Everyone, be quiet, don't panic." We also asked the Marquis de Lafayette, who revealed that the king had indeed brought in a legion of hillmen, but only to strengthen the protection of Versailles. This legion, limited in numbers and lacking in heavy weapons, could not threaten Paris at all. ”

"But near Paris, there are already more than twenty regiments." One man shouted.

"The Marquis de Lafayette assured that the French army would never make a move on Paris." Charles replied.

"And will they fight those mercenaries?" Another asked.

"Surely not." One of the people in the crowd replied, "Just yesterday morning, the French Guards had retreated to the Champ de Mars. That is, no matter what happened in Paris, they did not participate. ”

"That's right." "Given the real danger, I'm not just talking about mercenaries, but also the thugs out there who take advantage of the fire." As you should know, in the past two days, many legitimate businessmen have been looted and even killed by these mobs. On every lamp pole in the Saint-Antoine district, almost a grain merchant hangs. It would be a nightmare to let these thugs into our neighborhood. ”

"We have built barricades and organized guards. Just those thugs? Someone said disdainfully.

"If we just had to deal with the scattered rioters, we would have enough precautions right now." "But we also have to take into account the possibility of mercenaries." In addition, the thugs may also gather in groups. So...... We can't rely on a single neighborhood to fight the whole of Paris against the mobs. Gentlemen, why is it that an army can easily defeat thugs several times its size? That's because the army is organized. We must organize our forces into a real army. In this way, we can protect our own interests in this great era of change. ”

"But where do we have military talent?" Someone asked.

The Marquis de Lafayette said that when he was in North America, he had some experience in organizing militias. He can help us a little. Charles said.

Joseph listened and smiled slightly. Lafayette's meaning is actually obvious, he does have a lot of influence in the French army, but the French army he can really command is still very limited. If a militia is organized in Paris, at least forty or fifty thousand militias can be formed on the scale of Paris. If such a force can be controlled in his hands, or at least people think that this force is in his hands, it will inevitably bring him more political benefits.

"It's fine now, with the Marquis de Lafayette, we can rest assured." Someone said at the bottom.

"The Marquis de Lafayette also thinks that we should unite with the gentlemen of other decent neighborhoods to form a unified National Guard, so that we can concentrate the forces of decent people throughout Paris, so that we can deal with all kinds of dangers and better protect ourselves." Charles continued, "At the suggestion of the Marquis, the self-defense forces in our neighborhood could be organized into a company. As the largest funder, I am willing to take on the responsibility of being the company commander of this company. Which of you is for it and who is against? ”

Everyone was silent.

Charles looked at everyone with satisfaction, and was about to continue talking, when suddenly someone spoke, "Charles, can I ask you a question?" ”

Charles saw that it was an old man named Orlando. Charles knew that although this person was just a tavern owner, there was a shadow of the Orleans family behind him, so although he frowned slightly, he still asked very kindly, "Mr. Orlando, do you have any questions?" ”

"Gentlemen, I admire Charles' character and his dedication to serving the neighborhood, I just want to know, Shire, do you have any experience serving in the military? If it is to command a team of Kim Louis, none of us is inferior to you, but it is ...... to command the battle"

"So, Mr. Orlando, do you have the right person?" Charles asked rhetorically.

"Neither do I." Orlando said very frankly, "I have no objection to Charles being the company commander. I'm just going to recommend you to a consultant. ”

At this point, Orlando turned to Joseph and said, "Monsieur Bonaparte, please come along." Mr. Bonaparte, I believe you all know him. He is an instructor at the military academy, an active military man. He has more experience in how to fight than any of us. The barricades we built were designed by him. It's just that Mr. Bonaparte was an active military man and could not have held an official position in the militia. But I think that as a member of our neighborhood, he should also contribute to our neighborhood in the best way he can. Therefore, I would like to invite him to become a military adviser to the National Guard company in our neighborhood. What do you guys think? ”