The Fox of France

Chapter 112: Toulon 10

Chapter 112: Toulon 10

Almost synchronized with the departure of the British and Spanish, Davout and his army had entered Toulon. Davout had expected that the rebels might put up a stubborn resistance, but as he entered the city, people came forward willingly to show him the way. They claimed to be loyal to the revolutionary republic and had long awaited the arrival of the army, whether it was the King's forces or, oops, I mean the Republic's army from Britain and Spain. However, Davout didn't trust these self-appointed guides. Who knows if they had welcomed the invading forces from Britain and Spain in the same manner?

However, such matters were not Davout's concern. He only needed to control the crucial points in Toulon. As for tracking down traitors and suppressing counter-revolutionaries, special envoys from Paris were handling that. Davout didn't care about how the envoys would deal with them.

Napoleon, on the other hand, didn't care about the fate of the people of Toulon either. With the battle over, his attention was now focused on finding his other family members. Lucien, Pauline, and Elisa were safe, but the situation with the other ship remained uncertain. Napoleon decided to put on a facade and sent out a large cavalry force to search for their whereabouts, claiming to be chasing fleeing traitors.

A day later, Napoleon received news that his other family members had been found. It turned out that Charles's ship had landed near Toulon, almost at the same time as the others. However, Charles correctly assessed that their location was very dangerous, so he decided to take them back to sea for another day before making landfall again. Once ashore, he sent a group of men to establish contact with nearby French forces. Only after ensuring that Toulon was no longer a risk did he bring Letizia, Jerome, and Caroline to Toulon, where they were able to reunite with Napoleon's group smoothly.

After learning about their experiences, Napoleon commended Captain Charles for his caution. He couldn't help but remember Lucien's recklessness and commented, "Joseph really knows how to judge people, that Lucien guy is just not reliable!"

However, he couldn't take the whip to Lucien anymore because, in this matter, he and Lucien had to be on the same page.

"Lucien, Joseph mustn't find out about these things," Napoleon frowned. He didn't want Joseph to lash out when they returned because of this. Considering that Joseph was increasingly giving him face, and this incident didn't lead to any irreparable consequences. Moreover, the main responsibility for this matter didn't lie with him. Perhaps Joseph wouldn't whip him like he had whipped Lucien. But even if that were the case, Joseph would certainly mock him, undermining his reliability by a significant percentage. If that happened, "it would be too embarrassing!"

"As long as you don't tell, I won't be itching to say anything," Lucien said, "Joseph may not be as brash as you, but if he finds out about this..."

At this point, Lucien suddenly remembered Joseph's pile of math problems and shuddered.

"Then there's Pauline and Elisa, they mustn't say a word either," Lucien quickly added.

"Pauline brought this upon herself, she probably won't talk... As for Elisa, we'll have a talk with her, and she probably won't either," Napoleon sat back in his chair, resting his chin on the backrest, furrowing his brows.

"That's hard to say," Lucien said. "Others are one thing, but Pauline... you don't know her yet! She's quite the handful, a real troublemaker. She's quite proud of her antics. Even if you tell her, she might brag to Joseph like showing off a treasure."

"That's true. We need to emphasize the seriousness of the matter to her so she becomes highly alert and develops a sense of responsibility from deep within," Napoleon said.

"Come on, Napoleon, that won't work. The most important thing is to make Pauline realize how terrifying Joseph can be when he's angry. Only when she truly understands that point, will she keep the secret."

"Well, Joseph has always been kind to Pauline. She doesn't know..."

"That's because when Joseph left home, Pauline was still very young. He didn't have the chance to impose his will on her then. But now it's different..."

"Hmm... what are you implying?" Napoleon straightened up.

"Napoleon, I mean Joseph didn't have the opportunity to give Pauline math homework. I think we should let Pauline experience it, so she understands how scary Joseph can be. Only then will she keep her mouth shut."

Listening to Lucien's explanation, Napoleon nodded with a rueful smile, "That makes sense... Let's gather all the math exercises Joseph assigned us and show them to Pauline. It will give her a profound understanding."

"I'll do that right away..."

An hour later, cries of Pauline could be heard from Napoleon's temporary residence study, "Sob... Sob... Lucien, you're a wicked person! If I had known, I would have let Napoleon whip you to death!"

So, the alliance dedicated to concealing the truth was officially established.

When Napoleon marched south, the Committee of Public Safety did not immediately send a special envoy with his army, as they were preoccupied with other matters. Moreover, Napoleon's military actions progressed rapidly, and within a few days, he had captured Toulon. Therefore, it was only after Toulon was taken that the special envoy arrived, albeit belatedly.

Although the special envoy arrived late, just by looking at the envoy's name, Napoleon knew that Toulon was of great importance to the authorities in Paris.

The special envoy assigned to Toulon was Couthon, a member of the Committee of Public Safety. His appointment as the special envoy to Toulon showed the significance the Committee attached to the city.

Couthon was confident that he would achieve success and gain more influence within the Committee of Public Safety in the same way Saint-Just had in the north. However, Carnot had been hesitant to send him to Toulon. This delay wasted precious time, and when Couthon finally rushed to Toulon, he was shocked to find that Napoleon had already taken the city.

"What a surprise! Weren't they saying that Toulon had a strong defense, numerous well-trained troops, and was challenging to conquer? How could..." Couthon felt like he had prepared extensively for a grand banquet, but when he arrived, the party had ended, and everyone had left. There were only leftover scraps of food in the plates, and people were heading home with satisfied burps.

Couthon, of course, couldn't blame Napoleon for acting too quickly and not waiting for him. However, he needed an outlet for his frustration. So, he initially directed his anger at Popo. From his perspective, it made perfect sense. You see, Napoleon had taken Toulon in just a few days with minimal casualties, indicating that Toulon's defenses were not strong. But facing such an easily defeatable enemy, Popo had still suffered heavy losses... didn't he seem suspicious of collaborating with the enemy?

Fortunately for Popo, the fact that his eldest son became a martyr helped clear him of suspicion, and Napoleon also acknowledged Popo's significant role in his victory (as many of the troops who dug trenches were under Popo). So, Couthon couldn't directly arrest Popo on charges of treason. However, Couthon did assert that Popo's previous performance could only be understood as incompetence. Popo was either not competent or just plain foolish, and it was up to him to choose.

Popo readily chose "foolishness," leading to his honorable retirement.

With his anger unable to vent on Popo, the people of Toulon bore the brunt of Couthon's wrath. Couthon began mass arrests of "traitors." Anyone with "De" in their name or who had ever worn a black robe (priests) was thrown into prison. He then promptly organized a "Revolutionary Tribunal" to swiftly try these individuals.

The trials were essentially like running a batch processing program. All the suspects were found guilty, and all those found guilty received the same and only punishment - the guillotine.

Toulon did not have a revolutionary symbol - the guillotine - within the city. The original guillotine had been used when the royalists occupied Toulon and had beheaded many Jacobin sympathizers. However, when the British arrived, an English officer, considering the device unique and valuable, had it transported back to England. Consequently, Couthon had to wait for several more days for a new guillotine to be brought in.

Of course, he wasn't idle during these days. Couthon continued his work, discovering many counter-revolutionaries who, at this time, had once again disguised themselves as revolutionary enthusiasts, attempting to evade punishment. Some had even infiltrated the Revolutionary Tribunal! Without Couthon's keen eye, these individuals would not only escape punishment but might even infiltrate the revolutionary ranks, causing greater chaos in the future.

As a result, a large number of people, including several members of the "Revolutionary Tribunal," were sent to prison to await the arrival of the guillotine.

In the prison, one condemned man asked another, "Why were you arrested too?"

"Because I raised my hand too slowly when we voted on whether the Marquis should be beheaded. They said I sympathized with the aristocrats."

"And what about you?"

"I... I was arrested for raising my hand too quickly. They said I had ulterior motives and was trying to hide something."

The two condemned men turned to the one who had been silent all along. "Hey, buddy, what about you?"

"I was arrested because I'm the Marquis."

A few days later, the guillotine arrived, and Couthon, as the special envoy, used it to behead nearly two thousand people in quick succession.