12, Waiting for Price
Gaudin was inevitably disappointed when he received the palace's firm rejection of the ultimatum.
He had prayed to God very sincerely just now, hoping that the king would recognize the situation and surrender, but there were not so many chances in this world, and he would eventually have to face the coldest reality.
He has realized that at this moment, the best opportunity belonging to his benefactor, the Duke of Orleans, has been lost forever. Next, the best result he can achieve is to become a man who usurps the throne by force and will not get anything. A king beloved by his subjects.
But even this outcome is better than losing. Even if you become a king who is unpopular, you still have the opportunity and resources to win over people's hearts. If the rebellion fails, you may be exiled or imprisoned, or your family may be destroyed.
So, there is no retreat!
Since there are only bad choices left, choose the least bad one.
"Then let's fight!" Gao Dan looked at the increasingly gloomy sky and said fiercely.
Gaudan, who had experienced the Revolutionary Era and was elected as a member of Parliament during the Empire Era, had no respect for the so-called "legitimate monarch". In addition, the king's rebellious behavior over the years had long exhausted his appetite. It seems that Louis XVI, who was beheaded back then, deserves more respect than King Charles X now.
However, although he had no awe, his comrades did not think so.
After all, the king is a king, and he still has some weight in the minds of most people. If you open fire on him rashly, without getting a formal written order, everyone will feel a little uneasy.
"How about going to the Duke to confirm..." someone suggested anxiously.
"No need to ask! It's already this time, are you still wasting time and making the Duke fall into injustice?" Of course Gao Dan would not give them a chance to find the Duke to express his position, so he yelled at the other party, "Just go ahead, I will take all the responsibilities!"
Then, he loudly gave the final mobilization to these temporary officers.
"Now that things have come to an end, don't think about any way out. None of us have any way out! Either have everything, or die, or go to hard labor for life,
Spending the rest of your life in a dark prison... Are you willing to live this kind of life? ”
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After shouting and asking, Gao Dan took out a pistol from his arms and pointed at the palace in the distance, "If you don't want to, come to me and capture that perverse tyrant! As long as you have accomplished such feats, , you will have whatever you want, title, grace, money, everything! If anyone is killed in this incident, his family will be nurtured by the Duke for the rest of his life! So gentlemen, why are you hesitating! The time has come to be loyal, and I will bear all the responsibilities!"
After finishing speaking, he picked up his pistol and fired a shot at the palace in the distance - and this was the first shot that turned the coup into a riot.
Gaudin knew that if he wanted to motivate everyone at this time, he could only use inducements, and then take all the responsibilities himself. This way, on the one hand, they would be tempted by the generous rewards, and on the other hand, they would not have to worry about being "settled" by the Duke of Orleans in the future.
He had already made up his mind to take all the responsibilities afterwards.
Sure enough, after Gaudan fired, everyone around him was infected by his intense emotions.
Yes, there is no way out, so let’s fight!
A fierce force left them no longer hesitant. They rushed out from the barricade with their men and launched an attack on the palace.
Unlike the regular army, there are no particularly neat queues here, nor are there tight drum beats or formations to speak of. Except for the hastily made blue uniforms that make them look a bit like an army, the rest can only be described as "simple." to describe.
While charging forward, some people even let out sharp shouts to embolden themselves. The shouts came one after another, and soon they gathered into a roar that shot straight into the sky. Coupled with the gunshots from everywhere, the palace was shaken for a while. The glass was rattling.
Amidst this roar, the hastily armed militiamen rushed towards the palace like a flood that burst a dam.
And just as they approached the temporary position of the palace guards, under the orders of the palace officers, the guards also opened fire.
It was already dark at this time, but the gunfire one after another still kept the firelight illuminating the open space, and the torches everywhere also illuminated the surrounding area. The darkness could not stop humans from killing each other.
Amidst the intensive gunfire, the blue crowd stopped unconsciously. The corpses of their companions and the dying cries of serious injuries made the "warriors" who had originally mustered up their strength suddenly wake up. The uninjured people lay down one after another, and then Find nearby cover such as flower beds, rocks, etc., and then fumble in the dark night to fire back. Those who still have the courage, or those who are still thinking about the reward, hunker down and crawl forward little by little, Continue to attack the palace guards.
In this way, this "royal war" that had been planned for a long time and suddenly broke out started in a messy way on this cold night.
What’s interesting is that neither the initiators nor the defenders are willing to let things come to this point, but this is the case with many historical events. Catalyzed by emergencies, driven by ambition, anger, greed and fear, Events always take a turn for the worst and end in a bloody way.
The wide Seine River left no room for detours in this offensive battle. Except for the open space in front and behind the palace, there were no other offensive routes to speak of. Therefore, this attack became a competition of will and flesh and blood— —Either one side will run out of fuel and blood, or one side will be heartbroken and surrender directly.
In comparison, the attackers had more people, including militiamen armed by the Duke of Orleans, other militiamen who had been coerced, and some unemployed vagrants who were very enthusiastic about "rebellion". However, they were loosely organized and had no choice. unified command; while the officers and soldiers in the palace were regular troops, more qualified and disciplined, but their numbers were insufficient, and some people had already deserted at the beginning of the riot when they saw that the situation was not good.
Precisely because of the insufficient number of people, they could only support themselves with all their strength. The two sides were suddenly at a stalemate, and they were evenly matched.
In the dark night, the exchange of fire continued, and the intensive gunfire soon spread from the palace to the center of Paris, and finally resounded throughout Paris.
Every aging Parisian remembers those turbulent years and looks forward to the future with anxiety.
How many times will things change soon? How many people will die?
Only when everything disappears can history give us answers.
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In the basement under the tavern, several old people were sitting quietly at the dining table.
The dense gunfire and roars made the earth tremble slightly, and even the wine glasses on the dining table were shaking slightly, but they were unaware of it and just faced each other calmly.
"Time is really nostalgic." Prince Talleyrand was the first to break the silence. He picked up the trembling wine glass with a relaxed movement, and then drank it down. "It's been 38 years. 38 years have passed." It's been years...two generations, but nothing seems to have changed."
Everyone present had lived through that era, so they understood what Prince Talleyrand was referring to.
On August 10, 1792, radical crowds besieged the Tuileries Palace - since October 1789, King Louis XVI was kidnapped from Versailles to Paris by the Paris citizens and lived in this palace, it has become to the royal palace of France.
Due to the attempted escape of the king and a series of counter-revolutionary conspiracies, the voices of Paris citizens to depose the king and establish a republic grew louder and louder. Finally, on this day, the crowd surrounded the palace and then launched an attack on the palace.
Because he was afraid of personal threats, the king chose to surrender and asked the National Guard to escort him away. However, the excited crowd was already furious. After the king left, they still attacked the palace and took out the Swiss Guards inside. and some royalists were all slaughtered.
That was by no means the first massacre of the Great Revolution (long before that, the revolutionary masses had begun massacring monks who refused to swear allegiance to the Republic and massacring prison prisoners), nor was it the last massacre during the Revolution. However, the armed attack on the palace was Represents the arrival of a new era in France——
From then on, the French monarchy no longer had any "legitimacy" at all. It was all about force. It could either subdue the masses with bayonets or be overthrown by the masses with bayonets. Louis XVI became the first victim, but He wasn't the last either.
Although nearly 40 years have passed, for those who experienced it at the time, everything is still fresh in their memories.
Marshal Soult is not as comfortable as Talleyrand. Although he rose from the Revolutionary era and eventually became a marshal, at this moment, his position is different. As a soldier, as the most prestigious person in France at this time one of the marshals, who had an instinctive aversion to such mobs and rebellions.
"The Duke of Orleans is desperate. In doing so, he is destroying his own foundation. Even if he wins and becomes king, can't others use the same tactics to overthrow him?" he said coldly.
"I do appreciate his determination." Talleyrand said with a sneer. "Only the winner can realize his conscience and repent of his previous mistakes, and the loser will have nothing. Now that he is being attacked from both sides, he has nothing to do except fight. method - in fact, I am impressed by him. At this time, he can actually find a group of die-hard followers who are willing to take risks and attack the palace for him."
"He has been plotting for so many years to seize the throne. Is it any wonder that he gathered a group of die-hard loyalists?" Another old man spoke coldly.
He was the Marquis of Noirtier, one of Aiglon's biggest supporters in politics, and an extremely loyal supporter of Bonaparte. He was one of the key figures who conspired to welcome Napoleon's restoration of the Hundred Days in 1815.< /p>
It was he who inadvertently caused the tragedy of Edmond Dantès, a young sailor, who was unjustly imprisoned for more than ten years. But more than 20 years later, a strange cycle of fate made the two of them become members of the Bonaparte family. Back in France and running up and down.
The Marquis succeeded last time, but only for 100 days, and ultimately fell short due to the failure of Waterloo; this time, he plans to challenge fate and let his achievements be passed down forever.
He was convinced that he would be able to do it this time, because at this moment, the rapid changes in the situation caused the Wang family and the Orleans family to fight to the death. Witnessing all this, the neutral faction watching could not be shaken.
If we can get the help of Marshal Soult and Prince Talleyrand at this time, then it can be said that the situation will be under control here.
Marshal Soult and Prince Talleyrand also had the same intention of selling for a price. They secretly colluded together and prepared to advance and retreat together to maximize their own interests.
Both of them are old, but their ambitions are still as strong as when they were young. They have been forced to stay away from the political stage for more than ten years, which has already made them impatient. They finally waited for this opportunity.
"Marquis Noirtier... I know you are impatient, but I think that at this moment, you should calm down and wait for the evolution of events." Perhaps seeing the mood of the Marquis Noirtier at this moment, Talleyrand The prince smiled and said to him again, "I have known you for decades. I know that you are a smart person, a person who has faith but can also face the facts objectively. So tell me, what do you think about this situation?" How long can the firefight last?"
The Marquis of Noirtier frowned.
Although he had been dating Talleyrand for decades, he still felt uncomfortable every time he saw Talleyrand's deliberate fake smile.
This guy turned everything upside down back then, and now he will betray me mercilessly if necessary... He knows this very well in his heart.
But even so, he still dared to take risks.
"Now, both sides are tempting the soldiers below with huge rewards. Neither side can inspire the passion of others to sacrifice their lives for him...So I judge that they cannot have results within a few days." The Marquis of Noirtier said solemnly Answer, "Your Highness, I have no objection to you continuing to wait and see the situation, but I want to remind you that my benefactor is rushing to Paris. Every inch closer to Paris, your price will shrink by one point. If you delay it, If he hasn’t given the results until the gates of Paris, then I don’t think you have anything worth buying from him.”
The threat of the Marquis of Noirtier did not make Talleyrand angry - in fact, nothing in the world could make him angry.
He just put on that false smile, "My dear friend, I understand your eagerness. But in my opinion, things will not be that simple - let me use an analogy, if there is an army, What will your benefactor do if he is willing to intercept your journey north? His followers are nothing more than a mob, and any regular army can defeat him as long as they are determined."
"You said the same thing when the emperor landed in France, but he still entered Paris!" The Marquis of Noirtier replied proudly, "This time will be no exception - Talleyrand, you can talk and laugh, Within three days, you will receive the good news, I promise you!"
After saying that, the Marquis of Noirtier walked away and left the bright underground shelter.