Joseph stood at his window, looking away from the column of smoke rising there.
"It seems to be burning somewhere." Lucien, who was standing off to the side, said.
"It's Les Invalides." Joseph said, "They say there are quite a few weapons there - the revolution has begun."
"Aren't we going to do anything about it?" 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 up is not always the lead. The main character will only come on at the most opportune time. It's too chaotic right now, it's not the right time for us to play."
It was a very chaotic time indeed. 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 lived inside the École Militaire and was safe for the time being.
But even the École Militaire was prepared for chaos. The instructors have been authorized to carry firearms with them. It is also important to take these out of the school after paying a certain deposit to protect themselves in their homes. Joseph, for example, keeps four rifles and two handguns in his rented house today.
Joseph kept both brothers out of school for a while and followed him every day because 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 the opportunity to take advantage of the fire. Meanwhile, in the past two days, the police system in Paris has been completely paralyzed, and police officers are afraid to go out for their own safety. It should be noted that in the past two days, a number of "secret agents of the tyrant" have been strung up.
It is true that these policemen are usually annoying, but without them, Paris enters into a state of complete anarchy, and the whole social order, along with it, goes to hell. 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 truth, the greater purpose was actually to protect his neighborhood in the midst of such anarchic chaos.
The barricade at the end of the block was being guarded by a dozen young blue men armed with rifles. A little in front of them, improvised barricades had been placed so that no one but the people of this neighborhood was allowed to enter the block.
Because of the quick action, the neighborhood was still safe for the time being.
"Stay in your homes and don't open the door if anyone comes knocking." Joseph pulled out his pocket watch, looked at it, and said to his two brothers.
"Understood, don't worry big brother, we're not little 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 walk away from it. I have to go to a meeting now and will be out for an hour or two. You need to protect yourself and 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 handguns into gun pouches hidden under his ribs.
"I don't need Lucien's protection, I can shoot too." Louis spoke up, "I can't shoot a gun any 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." Lucien was visibly excited to have Joseph's support.
"Well, I'm going out. You guys just stay in the house and don't fool around. If I come back a little late, the bread is in the cabinet, and Sophie is away these days, so you cut your own bread and eat it."
Joseph had dressed by this time, picked up his cane again, and after admonishing his two brothers, he went out of the door.
After a short walk along the empty street, ahead lay the home of the banker Charles, the site of this meeting.
Joseph walked up, showed the watchman the invitation, and entered. A servant guided him through the rococo-style vestibule to a hall.
Joseph handed the cane to the servant and walked inside.
There were already quite a few people in the lobby. Most of these people Joseph knew as well. They were the richest group of people in the neighborhood.
"Everyone be quiet!" Banker Charles pulled out the gold watch with a long gold chain attached to it in his pocket, looked at the time, and then shouted, "It's almost time, and our people are almost here, so let's not waste any time and just get started!"
Everyone then went quiet.
"As you gentlemen know, something is happening these days." Charles said, "Mr. Necker has been relieved of his duties, which may mean some change in the King's attitude, and therefore, financially, bring a lot of uncertainty. That's why we've closed the stock exchange for the time being. As you know, the removal of Mr. Necker's personalities from office has brought too much uncertainty. At the same time we are sending a representative to Versailles to find out what is going on."
"How's it going?" Someone asked anxiously.
Some of the people who were here were mostly wealthy, and a number of them were debtors to the French government or, more accurately, the French crown. Over the years, a large part of the French government's various expenses have been supported by borrowing. Today, there is a fear that His Majesty the King might renege on his debt or force a reduction in the rate of interest on the national debt.
"Mr. Necker's dismissal was confirmed. Although the king's side declared that there would be no reneging on the debt or forcing down the interest rate of the national debt, this statement was not made by the king, and it is questionable how credible it is. Also he poked around and found out that there were indeed military movements near Paris."
There was an outcry from below as soon as these words were uttered.
Charles seemed to be satisfied with this reaction from everyone, and he took a moment of quiet admiration before saying, "Everyone be quiet, don't panic. We again sought confirmation from the Marquis de La Fayette, who revealed that the king had indeed transferred a regiment composed of Swiss, but that it was only to strengthen the protection of Versailles. This regiment is limited in numbers and lacks heavy weapons; by them, there is no way to threaten Paris."
"But there are already more than twenty regiments in the neighborhood of Paris." A man shouted.
"The Marquis de La Fayette assures me that the French army will never make a move on Paris." Charles replied.
"So they'll fight off those mercenaries?" Another asked.
"That's definitely not going to happen." A man in the crowd replied, "Just yesterday at dawn, the French Guards had retreated to the Palais de la Guerre. That is, whatever happens in Paris, they are not involved."
"Right." Charles said, "Considering the real dangers, I'm not just referring to the mercenaries, but also the thugs out there who are taking advantage of the situation. You should also know that in just the past two days, a number of legitimate businessmen have been looted and even killed by these thugs. Almost every streetlight pole in the Saint Antoine area has a grain merchant hanging from it. It would be a nightmare if we let these thugs into our neighborhood."
"We've built barricades and organized guards. What about those thugs?" Someone said dismissively.
"The precautions we have now would be quite sufficient if we had only to deal with the scattered mobs." Charles said, "But we also have to consider the possibility of mercenaries. Also, those thugs may be pooling into groups. That's why ... we can't just rely on individual neighborhoods to fight off mobs across Paris. Why is it, gentlemen, that an army, as always, can easily defeat a mob of scoundrels many times its size? That's because the military 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.
"The Marquis de La Fayette said he had some experience organizing militias when he was in North America. He could be of some help to us." Charles said.
Joseph listened and smiled weakly. Lafayette's meaning was quite obvious; he possessed a fair amount of influence in the French army, but there was still a very limited number of French troops he could command. If a militia were to be organized in Paris, it would be possible to raise at least 40,000 to 50,000 militiamen, given the size of the city. If he can keep such a force under control, or at least make it appear that it is under his control, it will inevitably bring him more political benefits.
"That's good, with the Marquis de La Fayette, we can rest easy." Someone said at the bottom.
"The Marquis de La Fayette also believes that we should join with the other gentlemen of the decent neighborhoods to form a unified national self-defense force, so that by concentrating the strength of the decent people of all Paris we can cope with all kinds of dangers and better protect ourselves." Charles continued, "In accordance with the suggestion of the Lord Marquis, the self-defense forces of our neighborhood could be organized into a company. As the largest patron, I would like to assume the responsibility of being the company commander of this company. Which of you is in favor of it, and which of you is against it?"
Everyone was silent.
Charles looked at everyone with satisfaction and was about to continue talking when suddenly one of them spoke up, "Charles, can I ask you a question?"
When Charles looked at it, it was an old man with the name Orlando. Charles knew that although this man was just a tavern keeper, there was the shadow of Orleans' lineage behind him, so although he frowned slightly, he asked amiably: "Mr. Orlando, do you have any questions?"
"Gentlemen, I have a lot of admiration for Charles' character and his heart for serving the neighborhood, and I was just wondering, Charles do you have any experience serving in the military? If it's commanding a team of money, none of us are as good as you, but commanding a battle ..."
"So, Mr. Orlando, do you have a suitable candidate?" Charles asked rhetorically.
"Neither have I." Orlando said matter-of-factly, "And I'm not opposed to you being a company commander, Charles. I was just going to recommend an advisor to you."
With that said, Orlando then turned back to the group and addressed Joseph: "Mr. Bonaparte, please come forward. Mr. Bonaparte, I'm sure all of you recognize him. He's an instructor at École Militaire, active duty. He has more experience than any of us on how to fight. The barricades we built came from his design. It's just that Mr. Bonaparte was on active duty and couldn't have held an official position in the militia. But I think he should also contribute what he can as a member of our neighborhood. Therefore, I would like to invite him to become a military advisor to the company of the National Guards in our neighborhood. What do you think?"