"Open the door! Let the judges come forward! ”

"It's time for those robed nobles to do their duty!"

"Can the people of the Palace of Justice turn a blind eye to the evil deeds committed by Madame du Barry?!"

"Don't challenge our patience anymore!" ... In front of the gates of the Palais de Justice, the people gathered here are still shouting loudly, throwing their heartfelt appeals to this ancient palace, which symbolizes the dignity of justice in all France.

But as time passed, people's demands were like a few stones thrown into the ocean, which did not cause any repercussions in the Palace of Justice, and they were still confronted by the dozens of police soldiers who were waiting for them.

This boring and feeble wait gradually angered the people of the Île de la Cité. The people also knew in their hearts that they did not have much time to spend in front of the Palace of Justice.

Once reinforcements from the police force or the French army intervened, these unarmed citizens had no choice but to obediently bury their anger and grievances in their hearts, scatter and flee back to the cruel reality.

This is absolutely unacceptable to the demonstrators, and this unprecedented grand rally, which has gathered the unity and fighting spirit of thousands of people, must not end in vain.

In the face of the locked gates, a radical argument gradually developed among the fruitless crowd: if the selfish, arrogant, and corrupt nobles of the High Court were unwilling to perform their sacred duties, then the citizens should take their place and drive the dead moths out of the Palais de Justice and let the people of Paris take over the trial of the High Court.

Soon, this idea was widely recognized by the people present. Angry demonstrators began a second assault on the Palace of Justice.

Under the command of Oga Coomas, eight muscular men took a stake with the thick mouth of a bowl, used it as a battering ram, and slammed it again and again against the great arch that stood in their way with all their might.

The surrounding populace acted as military musicians, singing the beating beats to the eight strong men, like the slender men shouting on the banks of the Seine.

Every time the stake smashed a depression in the arch, there would be a loud cheer among the people, which meant that they were one step closer to defending their rights and dignity.

More demonstrators tried to climb directly over the walls of the Palace of Justice. The twenty-foot-high wall could not stop the enthusiastic people, who built a ladder between each other and climbed the towering wall on each other's shoulders, just to get to this palace that they were not qualified to enter before.

Looking at the boundless crowd surging towards the Palace of Justice, the police and soldiers inside the door were already in a cold sweat, clenching the muskets in their hands as if they were facing a great enemy.

The soldiers hurriedly fired two rounds of warning shots, but this time the gunfire was no longer enough to deter the high-spirited demonstrators, and the burst of gunpowder was almost instantly drowned out in the cheers of the crowd, and not even the slightest echo could be heard.

One of the police non-commissioned officers in charge of the command looked at the endless sea of people in a trance. In his more than twenty years of military service, he had never seen such a scene in Paris, and he could not have imagined that those cowardly citizens would have the courage to raise their arms and shout.

And after a short trance, the non-commissioned officer still gritted his teeth and ordered his subordinates to tie the muskets in their hands back to their backs, facing the surging sea of people, the muskets in their hands did not have any effect at all.

"Damn, what are those court-dressed nobles doing, why don't they come forward now!" The non-commissioned officer spat angrily and scolded mercilessly: "And the guards of the Palace of Justice Prison, where have they all gone?!" Aren't you afraid that this mob will tear down the prison! Of course, there was no one on the scene who could answer his question.

All the soldiers could do now was to step back in front of the approaching citizens, not daring to engage in the slightest head-on confrontation with them.

... And just as the angry people gradually surged towards the Palace of Justice, the top floor of the main hall of the Palace of Justice.

"What a big mess..."Next to Justice Mup, an old man in a purple robe frowned at the chaos in the courtyard, and said in a deep voice: "The last time the Palace of Justice was forcibly entered, I am afraid it was when the Frondes rebelled. Lord Mopp looked at the situation below with a blank face, and did not talk to the old man, and there seemed to be a great discord between the two.

After all, this old man was the second owner of the Palais de Justice and the president of the High Court of Paris, Edmond Lavas de Saint-Denis.

Because of Justice Mup's push for judicial reform, his relationship with the High Court of Justice France, the former president of the High Court of Paris, was extremely tense, and his relationship with President Edmond was naturally not much better.

Although the two are in charge of the Palais de Justice together, this is the first time in many years that Edmund Court has set foot in the office of Justice Mup.

In front of the floor-to-ceiling window, Dean Edmund glanced at Justice Mup quietly, and did not feel embarrassed, and continued in a calm tone: "But in this case, you have enough reason to start the trial of Madame du Barry, right?" Justice Mup nodded slightly, and the one who could make these two political enemies stand side by side was naturally their common enemy, Madame du Barry.

After all, Madame du Barry was also a staunch judicial reformer, and if there was an opportunity to get rid of this fierce rival at the king's side, Abbot Edmund would not hesitate to seize it.

In addition to this, the High Court had always been a loyal ally of the Duke of Choiseul, so when Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe approached Abbot Edmund, he directly agreed to join the crusade against Madame du Barry.

Of course, Dean Edmund was not aware of the whole plan, and he had only one task from Lieutenant General Philip - to cooperate with Lord Mopp to adjudicate Madame du Barry in the name of the High Court.

"With the help of the people's riots, the trial will be carried out along the river, even if His Majesty the King asks for the guilt, it can be said that he was forced to be coerced by the people, and His Majesty will not know the details of the scene anyway." Dean Edmund looked at the demonstrators who broke through the door and said with emotion: "I have to say, your brain is really good, Lord Mopu... It's just that I don't understand one thing, can the judgment of the High Court alone really allow His Majesty the King to expel Madame du Barry? Justice Mopp shook his head slowly and said succinctly, "No, I don't know. ”

"Are you not sure?" Dean Edmund frowned suddenly, and his relaxed expression disappeared in an instant, and he asked in a loud voice: "If His Majesty's concern is that the High Court forcibly tried Madame Dubarry, you and I will not end well, don't you even know this?!" In the face of this astonishing questioning, Justice Mopp shook his head unchanged and said: "All this is the plan of His Excellency Bonaparte, and I am only an executor." ”

"You mean Lawrence Bonaparte? No wonder I saw him in the temple just now. Dean Edmund was stunned for a moment, frowned and said, "But you and Lieutenant General Jacques Philippe actually let that political amateur handle all this?" It's really big-hearted. Lord Mup, who did not seem to want to talk too much nonsense with Dean Edmund, took one last glance at the people who had broken into the courtyard, and said as he walked out: "A political amateur is not a good person to describe His Excellency Bonaparte, as you will know if you have worked with him... Okay, it's time for the two of us to leave, if we don't show up, these Diao people are estimated to have the entire Judicial Palace demolished. Dean Edmund paused for a moment, then quickened his pace to keep up with Justice Mopp.

...

"Wait, look! The judges are out! Just as the indignant people were about to break into the main hall of the Palace of Justice to take over the courtroom, Lord Mopp and Dean Edmund calmly walked out of the main palace gate, surrounded by judges and guards.

With his hands behind his back, President Edmund unhurriedly swept around the demonstrators gathered around him, and asked aloud: "I am Edmond Lavas de Saint-Denis, President of the High Court of Paris, Second Master of the Palais de Justice, citizens, what are you gathered here for?" This knowingly inquiring remark instantly caused a high wave of noise, and the cries of the mountains and tsunamis rolled in, and the noisy shouts of the people finally united neatly: "Madame du Barry is full of crimes, can the High Court sit idly by?!" ”

"Sanctions must be imposed!"

"That's right! Judge her! ”

"Judgment!"

"Judgment!" ... Dean Edmund nodded heavily, raised his hand to signal the crowd to be quiet, symbolically swept around the silent judges, and then announced aloud: "Citizens, I have heard your plea, although the Court of Cassation of Paris, as the court of appeal, should not directly accept this lawsuit, but I have also heard of the guilt of the Comtesse du Barry; I would like to say that if the existence of the law cannot punish evil and promote good, then I will feel ashamed every day in the palace of justice. Listening to this righteous speech, the people present couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.

They originally thought that these old-fashioned and rotten moths in the Palace of Justice would rely on their monstrous power to reject the demands of their mayfly people without hesitation.

Especially for a big man like Dean Edmund, the citizens didn't expect him to come forward in person and agree to everyone's request.

In the expectation of many, the high-ranking nobles would only huddle in their lavish palaces and shut up.

Almost no one would have thought that things would go so smoothly, and even Oga Coomas in the crowd couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and then reacted and said to himself in shock: "Could it be that this is also the arrangement of His Excellency Bonaparte...?!" And in the middle of the crowd, President Edmond looked at the slightly sluggish crowd and continued to proclaim: "I accept this class action in the name of the President of the High Court of Paris, and I hereby appoint His Excellency de Mopp, Justice of France, as the presiding judge of this trial, and the public trial against Madame du Barry shall proceed immediately!" Demand immediate action! As soon as the words fell, Justice Mopp on the side also stepped forward and said that he accepted to be the presiding judge of the ruling.

And the people looked at the judge in a crimson robe with a resolute expression, and couldn't help but exclaim: "It's Your Excellency Mopu?!" ”

"He is the leader of the whole judicial community, and I really did not expect him to try Madame du Barry himself."

"Great, that bitch won't escape this trial!" A trial convened by the President of the High Court of Paris, with the Chancellor of France as the presiding judge, is undoubtedly the highest standard in the entire French judicial community.

The sound of cheers like a tsunami suddenly resounded in the courtyard square of the Palace of Justice, and this excitement and joy spread like water waves around the Palace of Justice, and almost every minute or so, you can hear a new burst of cheers from the people who got the news in the distance.

Even Colonel Giovanni, who was on duty at the end of the Pont Saint-Louis, couldn't help but be stunned for a long time when he heard the news, and only came back to his senses after a few minutes, and said to himself in a daze: "The High Court has agreed to try Madame du Barry?!" Is this also the handiwork of His Excellency Bonaparte... But how could His Majesty the King accept the judgment of the High Court..."... After more than 20 minutes of simple arrangement, the courtroom was set up directly in the courtyard square of the Palace of Justice, so that more citizens could directly witness the moment when the damned woman was put on trial.

Fifty-two gray-robed and black-hatted voting judges, all of whom are official judges of the Paris High Court, sit on either side of the table, and their votes will directly determine whether a person has committed a crime or not.

Countless people had gathered around the courtroom, blocking the entire Palais de Justice and even the Île de la Cité, all looking forward to that historic moment.

The scene was silent, and the people subconsciously held their breath. Under the watchful eye, Justice Mopp stood on the presiding podium, and without too many opening remarks, he directly announced the beginning of this trial: "Summons the person on trial, the Countess du Barry enters!" There was no response from the scene.

It was not surprising to the populace that Madame du Barry was still taking a nap in the conservatory of the Tuileries Palace, and no one expected the Palace of Justice to tie the King's mistress from the palace to the scene for trial.

While it was a pity not to see the woman accept the verdict with their own eyes, the main concern for the citizens was how the High Court would ultimately convict Madame du Barry.

As for whether a trial in absentia has legal effect, this is not a matter of concern to the citizens at all. Justice Mopp paused deliberately, his eyes swept over the crowd of people in the audience, and he was not in a hurry to continue the following process.

It was at this moment that the silence in the courtyard was suddenly broken by a loud shout: "Madame du Barry has arrived!" The sound was like a thunderclap rising from the ground, and it instantly attracted the attention of all those present.

People subconsciously turned their heads to look at the gates of the Palace of Justice, thinking to themselves that some incomparable fool was still making grandstanding jokes at this time.

However, they were greeted by an unkempt, mud-covered woman. Like a puppet, she had no movements or expressions, weakly held by two strong men with her arms and feet dangling, and she walked through the crowd and slowly leaned towards the judgment seat.

No citizen knew who this woman was, and no one believed that it was the famous Countess du Barry, the mistress of the king.

Because this woman is so depressed that even a rural housewife would not let their long skirts be covered with mud, let alone let the ends of her muddy hair hang down her face.

Although her emanating countenance was indeed sweet and charming, the townspeople could not associate the woman with Madame du Barry, who looked more like a madwoman who had escaped from a mental hospital.

Lord Mopp, for the other hand, waited silently for the woman to be brought before the bench, and then greeted in a deep voice: "We meet again, Countess du Barry, but at this moment, forgive me for having to call you, Jeanne Bequé, the person on trial. ”