The name Lazare Carnot was one Joseph had heard of but not in a history class. Joseph had learned history from his physical education teacher in his last life. In fact, Joseph first heard his name from his math and physics teachers.
The math teacher mentioned him when referring to the concept of a "perfect quadrilateral", but didn't say much more about him. The physics teacher, on the other hand, was talking about thermodynamics and mentioned another Carnot, Sadi Carnot, and from there, he pulled in the fact that Sadi Carnot's old man was a mathematician and a military man, and his nephew was president of France. (A reference to Marie-François Sadi Carnot, the third President of the Second Republic).
Later, Joseph had also seen an image of Lazare Carnot in a certain movie depicting the story of the French Revolutionary period. In that movie, Lazare Carnot was an important member of a conspiracy group against Robespierre. And also the only open opposition to Robespierre in this group. And strangely enough, Robespierre the Murderer never sent him to the guillotine or even thought of sending him to the guillotine. In that movie, instead, when Carnot and the others put Robespierre in the guillotine, the newly-established government almost chopped Carnot in the hand. Until one man said, "Cut down Carnot, and who will organize our army?"
That's all Joseph knows about Lazare Carnot. By contrast, it is feared that Joseph knew a little more about Lazare's unborn son, who founded thermodynamics in later times.
But those who really know the history of the French Revolution know that Lazare Carnot was definitely the man of the Revolution. He was also one of the few big names who had managed to stay firmly in the center and wield power from the Kingdom to the Republic to the Empire.
In all that time, only three people could stand like that. Two of them are famous chameleons who stand on the strength of their perceptions and their ability to see what's going on.
But not Lazare, who has always been an unappealing republican. He openly sang against Robespierre when Robespierre was in power and publicly spoke out against the empire when Napoleon claimed the throne. Neither Robespierre nor Napoleon actually liked him, but they had to rely on him. (The military's logistical organization was immediately thrown into disarray when the governor's government expelled him.) For the whole of the French army, which was organized in his hands. It has even been said that without the efforts of Carnot, there would not have been the great army that swept across Europe under Napoleon. In a sense, Lazare Carnot is the father of the modern French army.
Carnot was also quite knowledgeable about geometry, and this was just the right time to have some free time, so the two chatted about some math problems. That conversation made Joseph realize that Carnot had fallen into the same trap he had dug for Mara.
"Mr. Bonaparte, have you had any new thoughts lately about that 'four-color problem'?" Carnot asked.
"Huh? The question?" Joseph was taken aback because he hadn't even thought about it again since he had thrown out that question. For he knew that while the problem could be proved, the process of proving it was excessively complex and tedious, so much so that it was simply not humanly possible. (The proof of this problem was accomplished by a computer. In the course of the proof, the computer completed ten billion judgments.) Now that Carnot had asked the question out of the blue, it had taken him by surprise.
"I had a little bit of a thought process, but I ran into a big problem when I was moving forward, and then I didn't make any progress at all." Joseph replied, "Otherwise, I'd be writing papers to get a bonus. You know, bread was surprisingly expensive some time ago."
"I had a little bit of a thought process, but again, I couldn't carry on just after I started. I was thinking ...," Carnot said as he reached down, dipped his hand in a teacup of water, and drew on the coffee table.
Joseph took a general look at Carnot's thinking, which wasn't really that bad, and concluded that the essence of the problem was that it was impossible to construct regions with five or more two-by-two connections on a flat or spherical surface. But immediately afterward, he ran into an unsolvable problem: there were too many cases of configuration to solve them all.
"That's pretty much what I thought." Joseph said, "But I have another little thought ..."
Joseph then pulled in the notion of "commensurability" and talked about it for half a day, and then said: "But ... is still facing too many configurations to count, let alone prove. I feel that if I were to prove it one configuration at a time, it would almost be like trying to dig up the Alps one hoe at a time."
The two then laughed together. They also both understood that this problem would definitely not be solved within a short time. Then, they stopped talking about it and moved on to other things.
During the chat, Joseph learns that Carnot, a civilian by birth, joined the army ten years ago after graduating from military school, attaining the rank of lieutenant, and is now a captain.
Becoming a lieutenant is difficult as soon as one graduates from military school. The average military academy graduate is, at most, a second lieutenant when he joins the army. It's especially evident how much Carnot excelled at military school. Yet more than a decade later, he had only risen one rank, from lieutenant to captain.
This was not for any other reason than that, in the French army at the time, there was a system of glass ceilings, and generally speaking, for a civilian officer, a lieutenant was the ceiling. The fact that Carnot was able to attain the rank of Captain speaks volumes about his excellence.
"Today the National Assembly is quite uneasy about the army, especially about noble officers. This is a time when a competent civilian officer is extraordinarily valuable." Joseph mused.
The two talked for a while longer. At that moment, a servant came in and greeted them, "Mr. Carnot, the Marquis is waiting for you. Monsieur Bonaparte, the Marquis has asked me to apologize, and I am afraid you will have to wait a little longer."
Carnot then stood up and said goodbye to Joseph before following the servant out. Joseph then remained alone in the side room, sipping his tea and continuing to wait.
But this time, he didn't have to wait long. Not long after, a servant came to ask him to see the Marquis de La Fayette.
Joseph stood up and straightened his clothes again before he followed the servant through a corridor and into the formal parlor.
The Marquis de La Fayette's parlor was not so large as the one at the Duke of Orleans's that it was almost large enough for a ball. His parlor and side hall were of a comparable size, not much bigger than the average person's living room. In fact, with nothing too exquisitely decorated, it looked rather plebeian. It just isn't clear if it's always been that way or if it's deliberate.
Lafayette was also talking to Carnot at this time, and when he saw Joseph enter, he stood up and walked up to welcome him. Once Joseph was seated, he smiled at Joseph and said, "Mr. Bonaparte, I have asked you to come here this time because there is something I would like to have your help with."
By Lafayette's account, he noted Joseph's performance when the neighborhood was forming the National Guard. Many of his friends mentioned Joseph to him that he was talented in organizing and training the army. (Joseph: How come I don't know that myself?) And now that the situation facing France is still very unstable, the army has become more and more important as a force for stability in France. So, he wanted Joseph to step up and serve his country by helping him to reorganize his army.
Joseph instinctively tried to get Lafayette to hire someone else, indicating that he wasn't being modest, but just how could he take on such a heavy responsibility when he had no military education despite wearing a uniform and was really just a technician doing math?
However, Lafayette stated that the National Assembly had decided that it was Joseph. And it's not like they're letting Joseph pick the slack all by himself. The person primarily responsible for this is Lazare Carnot, and Joseph is just his deputy. Carnot also said that he had just had a long conversation with Joseph and realized that Joseph is very knowledgeable about the military and that many of his ideas are very sensible and inspiring. When he accepted the mission, he just made a request that Joseph come and help him. Doesn't he want to contribute to France?
With words like that, Joseph had nothing more to say. He feared that in having to refuse, he would only become the enemy of Lafayette, who had the rightful power. He was about to recite a couple of lines of poetry but suddenly realized that they were out of place in terms of level and rhyme when translated into French, so he pressed back the impulse of the magic that was running through his mind and replied, "I would like to serve France."
After leaving Lafayette's mansion, all the way there, Joseph suffered from the thought of whether today's decision was the right one or not. Nowadays, Lafayette is indeed in power, but with his little knowledge of history, he also knows that Lafayette is not the protagonist of this era. He is just a supporting role in this "you are singing, and I am on the stage" drama that comes and goes in a hurry. Is it right or not to hurt his pirate ship just like that nowadays?
Years later, however, when looking back, Joseph lamented that he had made the right move this evening, as he had followed Lazare Carnot on the path to becoming an indispensable "technocrat". After that, whoever came to power needed them and couldn't live without them. This is why death-defying leaps like Lazare Carnot's didn't even die in the original history. And Joseph, who is essentially a goon, doesn't love death as much as Lazare does, and he's naturally in a safer position.