The name Lazar Cano was one Joseph had heard of, but not in history class - after all, Joseph had learned history from his gym teacher in his last life. In fact, Joseph first heard his name from his math and physics teachers.
The math teacher mentioned him in the context of the concept of the "perfect quadrilateral", but didn't say much more about him. The physics teacher mentioned the other Carnot, Sadi Carnot, in a lecture on thermodynamics, and related that Sadi Carnot's father was a mathematician and a military man, and that his nephew had been president of France. (A reference to Marie-François Sadi Carnot, the third president of the Second Republic.)
Later, Joseph also saw 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 cabal that was against Robespierre. And was the only one in that group who openly opposed Robespierre. And strangely enough, the murderous Robespierre never sent him to the guillotine, or even thought of sending him to the guillotine. In that movie, instead, when Kano and the others sent Robespierre to the guillotine, the newly-established government almost cut Kano down in passing. That is, until one man says, "Who's going to organize an army for us if we cut down Carnot?"
That's all Joseph knew about Lazar Cano. By contrast, I'm afraid 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 rare big names who managed to stay firmly in the center and hold power from the Kingdom to the Republic to the Empire.
There were only three people who were able to stand like this during that time. Two of them were famous chameleons, who stood on the strength of their perceptions and their ability to see the wind in their sails.
But not Lazare, who had always been an unpleasant 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. (When the Doge expelled him at one point, the logistical organization of the army was immediately in disarray as a result.) Because the entire French army, 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 at this point in time, he happened to have some free time, so the two men chatted about some math problems. With this chat, Joseph realized that Carnot had actually fallen into the same trap he had dug for Mara.
"Mr. Bonaparte, do you have any new thoughts lately about that 'four-color problem'?" Kano asked.
"Huh? That problem?" Joseph was taken aback because after he threw out that question, he hadn't even thought about it again. It was because he knew that although this question could be proved, the process of proving it was excessively complicated and cumbersome to the point that it was simply not something that could be accomplished by a human being. (The proof of this problem is accomplished by a computer. In the process of proving it, the computer completed ten billion judgments.) Now that Kano suddenly asked this question, it took him by surprise.
"I had a bit of a thought, but when I was advancing, I ran into a big trouble, and then I didn't make any progress at all." Joseph replied, "Otherwise, I would have written a paper to get a bonus. Mind you, bread was surprisingly expensive a while back."
"I had a bit of a thought about it, but again, I couldn't carry on just after I started. Here's what I was thinking ...," Cano said as he reached down and dipped his hand in a teacup of water and drew on the coffee table.
Joseph took a general look at it, and Kano's thinking wasn't really that bad; the essence of the problem, he thought, was that it was impossible to construct regions with five or more two-by-two connections in the plane or sphere. But immediately after that he ran into the 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 idea ..."
Joseph then pulled in the concept of "contractibility" and talked about it for half a day, then said, "But there are still too many configurations to count, let alone prove, in .... I feel that if I were to prove it one configuration at a time, it would be almost like trying to dig up the Alps one hoe at a time."
The two men then laughed together. They also both understood that this problem was definitely not going to be solved within a short period of time. So they stopped talking about this problem and turned to chatting about other things.
During the chat, Joseph learned that Kano was from a civilian background and joined the army ten years ago after graduating from the military academy and attained the rank of lieutenant, and was now a captain.
Becoming a lieutenant as soon as he graduated from the military academy wasn't easy. The average military academy graduate, when joining the army, would at most be a second lieutenant. It was especially evident how outstanding Kano's performance at the military academy was. Yet more than ten years later, he had only risen one rank, from lieutenant to captain.
This was not because of any other reason, but because, in the French army at the time, there was a glass ceiling, and generally speaking, for a civilian officer, a lieutenant was already the ceiling. The fact that Carnot was able to attain the rank of captain speaks volumes about his excellence.
"Nowadays, the National Assembly is quite uneasy about the military, especially about noble officers. At this time, a capable civilian officer is extraordinarily valuable." Joseph thought.
The two talked for a while longer. At this time, a servant came in and greeted them, "Mr. Cano, the Marquis-sama has an invitation. Monsieur Bonaparte, the Lord Marquis has asked me to apologize, and I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer."
Carnot then stood up and said goodbye to Joseph before following the servant out. Joseph then stayed alone in the side hall, drinking 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 meet Marquis de Lafayette.
Joseph stood up and straightened his clothes again before following that servant through a corridor and into the formal parlor.
The Marquis de Lafayette's parlor wasn't like the one at the Duke of Orleans where it was almost big enough for a ball. His parlor was the same size as a side hall, not much bigger than a normal family's parlor, and without any exquisite decorations, it looked quite commonplace. I just don't know if it's always been like this or if it's deliberate.
Lafayette was also talking to Kano at the moment, and when he saw Joseph come in, he stood up and walked up to welcome him. Once Joseph was seated, he smiled at Joseph and said, "Mr. Bonaparte, I asked you to come here this time because there is one thing I hope I can get your help on."
According to Lafayette, he had noticed Joseph's behavior when he was in the neighborhood forming the National Self-Defense Forces. Many of his friends, who had mentioned him to him him, agreed that Joseph was talented in organizing and training the army. (Joseph: How come I didn'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 to maintain the stability of France. Therefore, he wanted Joseph to come forward to serve the country and help him train the army.
Joseph instinctively wanted Lafayette to hire someone else, he said he was not modest, but although he wore a uniform, but did not receive a military education, in fact, only a mathematical technician, how can he take on such a heavy responsibility?
However, Lafayette stated that the National Assembly had already decided that it was you. And it is not for you to take the lead alone. The person primarily responsible for this matter is Lazar Kano, and you are only his deputy. And Kano has also said that just now he had a long conversation with you and realized that you are very knowledgeable about the military, and many of your ideas, very sensible and inspiring. When he accepted the mission just now, he made a request that he would like you to come and help him. Wouldn't you like to contribute to France?
With words spoken at such a point, Joseph had nothing more to say. He was afraid that if he were to refuse, he would only become the enemy of Lafayette, who was justified in his power. He originally wanted to recite a couple of lines of poetry, but suddenly realized that after they were translated into French, the level and rhyme were off, so he pressed down the magic that was running through his mind and replied, "I am willing to serve France."
After leaving Lafayette's mansion, all the way there Joseph was suffering from the thought of whether he had made the right decision today or not. Now Lafayette is indeed powerful, but with his little knowledge of history, he also knows that Lafayette is not the main character of this era, he is just a supporting role in this "you side of the stage" drama in a hurry to come and go. Now he just hurt his thief ship, in the end, right or wrong.
But many years later, when looking back, Joseph lamented that he had done the right thing tonight, because he had followed Lazar Carnot on the path to becoming an indispensable "technocrat". After that, whoever comes to power will need them, and they will be indispensable. That's why, in the original history, Lazar Carnot's death-defying jumps didn't kill him. Joseph, who was essentially a goon, would not have loved death as much as Lazar did, and he was naturally in a safer position.