Chapter 47: Rumors and the National Guard (3)

Joseph stood at his window and looked away from the column of smoke rising over there.

　　"It seems to be burning somewhere." Lucien, who was standing off to the side, said.

　　"It's the House of Honor." Joseph said, "They say there are quite a few weapons there - the revolution has begun."

　　"Aren't we going to do anything?" Lucien said. Joseph looked back, and in Lucien's eyes he could see a leap of eagerness.

　　"No, we don't need to do anything right now." Joseph shook his head, "Lucien, you have to remember that the first one on the scene is not always the main character. The protagonist will only come on at the most opportune time. It's too chaotic right now, it's not the time for us to go on stage."

　　It was indeed a very chaotic time. The whole of Paris was almost in flames. Rumors of a new St. Bartholomew's Massacre about to begin were flying, and almost everyone was busy looking for weapons to defend themselves. But Joseph was safe for the time being, as he lived inside the Officers' School.

　　But even the Officers' School was prepared for chaos. The faculty had been authorized, to carry guns with them. And, after paying a certain deposit, to take these out of the school in order to protect themselves in their own homes. Joseph, for example, now keeps four rifles and two pistols in the house he rents.

　　Joseph kept both of his younger brothers out of school for a while and followed him around every day. For Paris was too unsafe at this time of year. The streets were filled with frenzied and confused crowds, some of whom were indeed filled with revolutionary fervor, but others were merely taking advantage of the situation. Meanwhile, during these two days, the police system in Paris had been completely paralyzed, and the policemen did not dare to go out at all for the sake of their own personal safety. You know, in the past two days, there have been a lot of "tyrant's secret agent" was hanging street lamps.

　　These policemen are usually annoying, but without them, Paris would enter a state of complete anarchy, and the whole social security would be destroyed. Nowadays it is quite possible to walk down the street and suddenly be robbed or even killed.

　　Barricades had been erected in Joseph's neighborhood, barricades that were supposedly intended to deal with the king's mercenaries who might come to massacre and pillage the people of Paris, but in reality served the greater purpose of actually protecting one's own neighborhood in the midst of such anarchic chaos.

　　At the barricade at the end of the street a dozen young men dressed in blue were holding rifles, guarding the place. A little in front of them, improvised barricades had been placed so that no one else was allowed to enter the block except those from this neighborhood.

　　Because of the quick action, for the time being the neighborhood to was still safe.

　　"Stay in your homes and don't open the door if anyone comes knocking." Joseph pulled out his pocket watch and looked at it, saying to his two younger brothers.

　　"Understood, don't worry big brother, we're not little white rabbits anymore, we won't let the big bad wolf in." Lucien said full of concern.

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

　　Joseph took his coat from the coat rack, draped it over his body, put on another hat with a blue and red crest, and then slipped the two pistols, into gun pouches hidden under his ribs.

　　"I don't need Lucien's protection to shoot." Louis spoke up, "I can shoot no worse than Lucien."

　　"You're still too young, just listen to Lucien honestly. Don't make trouble." Joseph said seriously.

　　"Yes, I'll protect you if anything happens. Just stay behind me and help me load the bullets." Lucien was visibly excited to have Joseph's support.

　　"Alright, I'm going out. You guys just keep watch at home and don't fool around. If I come back a little late, the bread is in the cupboard, and Sophie's not here these days, so you guys cut your own bread and eat it."

　　Joseph had by this time dressed and taken up his cane again, and after admonishing his two brothers, he went out of the door.

　　After a short walk along the empty street, there in front of him was the home of the banker, Charles, where this meeting was to take place.

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

　　Joseph handed his cane to that servant and walked in.

　　There were already quite a few people in the hall. Most of these people Joseph knew as well, they were the wealthiest group of people in the neighborhood.

　　"Quiet everyone!" Banker Char pulled out the gold watch with a long gold chain attached to it in his arms and looked at the time, then shouted, "It's almost time, and our people are almost here, so let's not waste time and just get started!"

　　Everyone then fell silent.

　　"As all of you gentlemen know, something has happened these days." Char said, "Mr. Neck has been dismissed, which probably means that the king's attitude has changed in some way, and thus financially, it has brought a lot of uncertainty. That's why we've closed the stock exchange for the time being. As you know, Mr. Necker's native removal from office has brought too much uncertainty. In the meantime we have sent a representative to Versailles to find out what is going on."

　　"Well?" Someone asked anxiously.

　　Some of the people here were mostly rich, and a number of them were debtors to the French government, or more accurately, the French royal family. Over the years, a large portion of the French government's various expenses had been supported by borrowing. Nowadays everyone feared that His Majesty the King might renege on his debts or force down the interest rate on the national debt.

　　"The dismissal of Mr. Necker is confirmed. Although the King's side declared that there would be no reneging on the debt or forcibly lowering the interest rate on the national debt, this statement was not made by the King, and it is questionable how credible it is. In addition he also poked around and found out that there were indeed military movements in the vicinity of Paris."

　　When these words came out, there was an outcry from below.

　　Char seemed to be satisfied with this reaction from everyone, and he quietly admired the situation for a while before saying, "Everyone, be quiet and don't panic. We asked the Marquis de Lafayette again for confirmation, and the Marquis de Lafayette revealed that the king had indeed transferred a legion composed of mountain men, but this was only used to strengthen the protection of Versailles. This legion is limited in numbers and lacks heavy weapons; by them, there is no threat to Paris."

　　"But there are already more than twenty legions in the vicinity of Paris." A man shouted.

　　"The Marquis de Lafayette guarantees that the French army will never make a move against Paris." Charles replied.

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

　　"That's a definite no." A man in the crowd replied, "Just yesterday at dawn, the French close guards had already retreated to the Place de la Guerre. That means that whatever is happening in Paris, they are not involved."

　　"Right." Char said, "Considering the real danger, I'm not just referring to the mercenaries, but also the thugs out there who took advantage of the fire. You should also know that just in the past two days, there have been quite a few legitimate businessmen who have been looted or even killed by these thugs. Almost every streetlight pole in the St. Antoine district has a grain merchant hanging from it. It would be a nightmare if we let these thugs into our neighborhoods."

　　"We've built barricades and organized guards. With just those thugs?" Someone said disdainfully.

　　"If we just had to deal with the scattered thugs, the precautions we have now would be more than enough." Char said, "But we also have to consider the mercenaries that might appear. In addition, those thugs may also gather into groups. So ... we can't just rely on individual neighborhoods to fight off mobs throughout Paris. Why is it, gentlemen, that an army, always easily defeats several times its own number of thugs and scoundrels? That's because an army is organized. We must organize our forces into a real army. That's how we can protect ourselves in these stormy times."

　　"But where do we get the military talent?" Someone asked.

　　"Marquis Lafayette said that he has some experience in organizing militias when he was in North America. He can provide us with some help." Char said.

　　Joseph listened and smiled slightly. Lafayette's meaning was actually quite obvious, he did possess a considerable amount of influence in the French army, but the French troops he could actually command were still very limited. If a militia force was organized in Paris, with the size of Paris, at least 40,000 to 50,000 militia could be formed. If he could get such a force under control, or at least make it appear that it was under his control, it would inevitably bring him more political benefits.

　　"That's good, with Marquis Lafayette, we can rest easy." Someone said at the bottom.

　　"The Marquis de Lafayette also believes that we should join forces with the other gentlemen of the decent neighborhoods to form a unified national self-defense force, so that by pooling the strength of the decent people of all of Paris, we will be able to cope with all sorts of dangers and better protect ourselves." Charles continued, "In accordance with the suggestion of the Marquis, the self-defense forces of our neighborhood could be organized into a company. As the largest patron, I am willing to assume the responsibility of being the company commander of this company. Which of you is in favor of this and who is against it?"

　　Everyone was silent.

　　Char looked at everyone with satisfaction and was about to continue speaking when suddenly a person spoke up, "Char, can I ask you a question?"

　　Char took a look, but it was an old man named surnamed Orlando. Char knew that although this man was just a tavern keeper, behind him, there was the shadow of Orleans' lineage, so although he frowned slightly, he asked amiably, "Mr. Orlando, do you have any questions?"

　　"Gentlemen, I admire Char's character and his heart for serving the neighborhood, and I was just wondering, Char have you ever served in the military? None of us are as good as you if we were commanding a squad of Golden Louies, but commanding a battle ..."

　　"So, Mr. Orlando, do you have a suitable candidate?" Char asked rhetorically.

　　"Neither do I." Orlando said matter-of-factly, "I'm not against you being a company commander either Char. I was just going to recommend an advisor to you."

　　With that, Orlando then turned back to the group and said to Joseph, "Mr. Bonaparte, please come forward. Monsieur Bonaparte, I'm sure all of you recognize him. He is an instructor at the officer's school and an active soldier. He has more experience than any of us in how to fight. The barricades we built were his design. It's just that Mr. Bonaparte is an active soldier and can't possibly hold an official position in the militia. But I feel that, as a member of our neighborhood, he should also contribute what he can to our neighborhood. Therefore, I would like to invite him to become a military advisor to our neighborhood's national self-defense company. What do you guys think?"