While Napoleon was fighting in Italy, the situation in Paris changed dramatically. The first election of members of parliament under the Thermidorian rule was over, and with the result that the turnout was the lowest in history, although it was not a few years old, in Paris, the royal party won more than half of the seats at once.

The Thermidorian government immediately announced that the election was invalid because of all kinds of fraud that seriously undermined the fairness of the election. The government will hold elections again in 10 years.

In the middle of this, the Thermidorian party desperately propagated to the people at the bottom how they would settle accounts with the people of Paris after the royal party came to power. Counting on such a threat, those ordinary people will come out and vote for them.

After ten years of such delays, Paris held a second election next to the neighborhood. As a result, the people of Paris still did not stand up, the proportion of votes was lower than last time, the royal party won again, and more than half of the seats in Paris fell into their hands.

If such an election is recognized, it will only be a matter of time before the Thermidorian people are liquidated. Therefore, the Thermidorian Party did not hesitate to declare that this election was still invalid!

So what kind of election is effective? Relying on the National Assembly, which they now control, the Thermidorians passed a bill that stipulated: "In the new parliament, the Thermidorians must have a two-thirds majority." ”

As soon as the resolution was announced, Paris was in an uproar. The royal party did not need to, even the remnants of the Brissofaction who had been afflicted with the Thermidorians had also openly turned against the Thermidorians.

Wang Dang even openly threatened: "If you can't come to power by legal means, then use revolutionary means to come to power!" "They began to prepare for a riot semi-openly, and the Thermidorians had little to do about it

In order to purge the Jacobin influence, the Thermidorians reorganized the National Guard in Paris. Those who leaned to the bottom were purged from the National Guard and replaced with "more decent" candidates. The number of the National Guard has also been greatly reduced, the Self-Defense Forces in the slums have simply been disbanded, and the salaries of the Self-Defense Forces are no longer borne by the government, so that only the propertied can become the Self-Defense Army.

This measure naturally eliminated the danger of a Jacobin uprising, but it also brought the main armed force in Paris, the National Guard, into the hands of people who were not so loyal to the revolution. The current situation is that almost as long as the royal party starts a riot, the Thermidorian party will definitely be finished.

Some of the Thermidorians were already preparing to go into exile, and some of the most important positions, such as the commander of the garrison of Paris, were no longer willing to take on them.

It was in this environment that a man quietly visited Barras, an important figure of the Thermidorian Party, in the middle of the night.

By this time, Barras had gone to bed, but at the visitor's insistence, he got up from his bed and went to meet the visitor.

"Mr. Foucher, why did you come to me at this time?" At the sight of this man, Barras frowned. It's not because he hates this person, it's just that this person has always brought him all sorts of very reliable bad news over this time.

"Your Excellency," said Fouché with a smile, "it is admirable that you can still sleep. ”

"What's wrong?"

"One of your servants has betrayed you by taking the money." Fouché said, "He sold your whereabouts and other arrangements to Viscount Lineri, well, you must know very well who Mr. Viscount Thierry is, right?" ”

Baraston's face changed, he had already arranged all kinds of things for exile, could it be ......

"Who is it? What did he tell them? ”

Fouché slowly reached into his bosom, half-touched, pulled out an envelope, and handed him to Baras.

Barras took the envelope, pulled out the paper, and then put on his glasses with a slightly trembling hand, walked over to the candlestick, and looked at the candlelight. Looking at it, the letter in his hand kept shaking......

"It turned out to be him...... This ungrateful viper...... I'm really blind......"

"Mr. Baras, now is not the time for a curse." Fouché, "The rebellion is just around the corner, and it's time to wait...... Moreover, it is not a good idea to arrange a new escape plan...... With all due respect, in today's situation, there are not many reliable people around you, so don't think that because I helped you catch a mole, you think that there is only one mole by your side. The situation is so clear, in order to save their lives, there will be no fewer people who are willing to fall to them. ”

By this time, Ballas had regained his composure, and he nodded, "Thank you, Joseph. Since you came to me at this time, don't you think you came to tell me that I am already dead? What can you do? ”

"There is only one effective way to deal with armed rebellion, and that is to suppress it by force." Fouché, "Isn't the commander of the garrison in Paris now that no one wants to be except the royal party?" If you take this position, you will be able to legally mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion. ”

"But the National Guard is mostly on their side."

"You're wrong, the National Guard is just mostly on the side they feel is stronger." "What's more, in the vicinity of Paris, the National Guard is not the only military force. ”

"You're the army...... But there were not many troops near Paris, and the mobilization of troops would only lead to an early revolt of the royal party. ”

"There is no need for additional transfers, there is already an army in Paris - the Red Army is in Paris." Fouché reminded.

"The Red Army?" It took a moment for Baras, who was not very familiar with military affairs, to remember that in Paris there was such a contingent commonly known as the "Red Army", officially called the "Teaching Force", but ......

"But, it seems that there are not many people in the 'Red Army', right?"

During the Jacobin period, the size of the "Red Army" was once expanded to more than 1,000 men, but with the coming to power of the Thermidorians and the substantial reduction of the military budget, the size of the "Red Army" was reduced again to about 500 people. Again, this is the result of Kano's hard work.

"There were 500 men in the Red Army, and they were all battle-hardened heroes." Fouché.

"But, there are more than 10,000 people on their side!"

"More than 10,000 rabble." "Over the past few years, the way of warfare has changed dramatically, and the old-fashioned tactics have become useless. In the face of the most advanced Red Army in the world,

These rabble, no matter how large they are, are vulnerable. What's more, you know, most of the National Guard are on their side because they think the royal party has already won. As long as they are given a head-on blow, most of the people who originally fell to the royal party will hesitate, and those who are still neutral will fall to us. ”

Foucher's words gave Barras a great encouragement: "Of course it would be nice if it could be like this, but ...... The Red Army, will the Red Army listen to us? ”

"You are the commander of the garrison in Paris, you make a request, and then as long as the Ministry of War does not object...... Also, to be honest, the army doesn't have a good impression of you, so you'd better go and find them a commander they think they can trust. Barras's pupils shrank suddenly: "Ah, Monsieur Fouché, it turns out that you have been working for the Bonaparte brothers. ”

"Yes, since you and your friends abandoned me. I had to feed my family, and the Bonaparte brothers needed to keep up to date with the news of Paris. Foucher did not deny this. It's already time for a showdown, and it's too childish to cover it up.

Barras pondered for a moment and said, "Okay, your conditions. ”

"The time of the Great Revolution has passed, and we all know it. So you don't have to worry that we will resurrect the Jacobins. We're just pursuing profits. ”

"You're an ordnance?" Barras reacted immediately.

"Yes. Our arms enterprises must become the most important suppliers to the military. We demand the reinstatement of the military representative system, strict scrutiny of the quality of military products, and accountability for those who produce military goods that cut corners. ”

"You should know how much of a stake is behind this. I'm not the whole government, and even if I agree with that, if others don't, it's ......"

"In today's situation, I believe that you can convince them." Fouché replied with a smile.

"Is that the only condition?" Barras asked again.

"Of course not." "Our people have to occupy a relatively important position in the government to ensure that we have a say after the incident has subsided." We need a position of Speaker and a position of Minister of Public Security. ”

"Speaker and Minister of Public Security?" Barras smiled sarcastically, "You don't have an appetite. ”

"If we want less than that, will you still be able to sleep?" Fuche was still polite.

Barras was silent, he understood exactly what Fouché meant, and knew the threat implied in his words. They wanted so much, and it was clear that they really wanted to cooperate with him. If they have the power to flip the table, but only need a little scraps, then it can only be clear that they don't want any cooperation at all, they just want to get all the hands by flipping the table

"Alright then...... Barras concluded, "Monsieur Fouché, it seems that you are preparing to become Minister of Public Security, and who is the remaining Speaker, is it Joseph Bonaparte?" ”

"Joseph Bonaparte was to be in charge of the production of the military industry, and he could not hold that position. It was his younger brother Lucien. "Fouché.

"Lucien? How is this possible? How old is he? And he didn't have any ...... before."

"He will build merit in counterinsurgency. Besides, you were very young when you entered the political arena. Foucher replied.

"Well, I have a request too." Baras, "You know, I have a lot of cash right now and need an investment opportunity that will make money......"

Neither side was verbose, and an agreement was quickly reached between the two, and then Fouché quickly took his leave and left.

The next morning, Barras went to visit some of his friends. He showed them something similar to what Fouché had offered him and what he had seen the previous night, then threatened and seduced......

Two years later, the government announced new personnel transfers, and Paul Barras became commander of the garrison in Paris.

It was at this time that Joseph, accompanied by his brother Lucien, arrived at the Red Army garrison with an order issued jointly by Cano and Barras. He announced to the commanders and fighters of the Red Army the order to participate in the counterinsurgency and gave them a speech.

Throughout the course of the speech, the commanders and fighters of the Red Army constantly cheered their old chiefs, creators.

That night, the entire Red Army changed into the uniforms of the National Guard, took weapons and went to set up positions near the National Assembly.

The Wang Party did not pay much attention to the actions of the Thermidorian government, after all, they had already mobilized nearly 40,000 people at this time, and the National Guard that might stand on the side of the government was more than 10,000 at most. How can you lose such a battle?

So they continued to prepare step by step, and then towards the end of the year, they launched a rebellion. This is a few months later than the original history, but the momentum is no worse than the original history, and of course, the organization is as chaotic as their rebellion in the Portuguese month in the original history.

In fact, there was no real unified command among the various ministries of the rebellion, because these people were only co-opted by the royal party with future high-ranking officials Houlu, and the royal party itself did not have many commanders who could really be trusted and had military prestige. Their leaders were still in hiding abroad, and the nobles in charge of the rebellion in Paris were not well versed in military affairs.

In addition, the purged National Guard has not been well trained, and their military qualities are not much better than those who attacked the Bastille. So these people can't actually command at all - fortunately, it is also the National Guard that supports the government on the other side, and everyone is the same as the eldest brother.

Tens of thousands of rebels rushed towards the National Assembly in a chaotic and unorganized manner. Along the way, they brandished weapons, fired indiscriminately, and sang all kinds of songs in a mess. For example, "It's going to be okay" and the like, but the "nobles are hung on the street lamp pole" in it is changed to "the republicans are hung on the street lamp pole". Some people even sang the original lyrics without paying attention.

Soon the building of the National Assembly appeared in front of them.