As soon as An Ning settled in Versailles, someone came to her door.
Also coming was an acquaintance of An Ning - Paolo Barras, whom he had met once before in Italy.
Anning met Louis XVI in his study, where just a few years before, Anning had forced Louis XVI and his Austrian wife to move to the Tuileries Palace.
As soon as Barras entered the study, he went straight to the point: "You are back, and now only you can stop the situation from getting out of control. Now everyone in Paris is in danger, and even the congressmen are afraid of being guillotined one day!"
An Ning: "Has the situation reached this point?"
Barras: "I don't believe you don't have a little understanding of the current situation in Paris! Before Marat's assassination, Robespierre was like the ballast of the situation. He had been working hard to make the situation less extreme.
"After Marat died, Ballast went crazy and is now desperately sending people to the guillotine. As if he wanted to pay homage to his deceased friend, he kept sending old nobles to the guillotine."
An Ning: "I already know this situation."
"You already know? Is that the end?"
"Otherwise?" An Ning asked, "Do you want me to launch a coup to remove Robespierre? No, no, I won't do that. Of course, I won't sit back and let things develop like this. I will do it tomorrow.
I'll go find Maximilian."
Barras: "You have to talk to him! Let him regain his sense and calmness! If this continues, quite a few people in the National Assembly will become enemies of the Jacobins."
An Ning looked at Barras and thought that after the Jacobins were overthrown, the Directory organized by the Thermidorians that succeeded them was corrupt and incompetent, and everyone was busy enriching their own pockets.
An Ning does not want to see this group of people in power.
The Jacobins at least had revolutionary ideals, but their methods were excessive.
The Thermidorians were all careerists and speculators.
Thinking of this, An Ning looked at Barras with an even sharper look.
If France was to be handed over to these people, it would be better to——An Ning pressed down the thoughts that came to her mind.
Now let's grab some attention from the Jacobins first. Robespierre was a noble and self-disciplined man. As the head of France, peace was relatively assured.
An Ning: "In short, I will advise Maximilian. I think I still have enough influence on him."
Barras looked very worried. He hesitated for a moment and then said: "However, some people are rumoring that Robespierre is very dissatisfied with your situation of supporting troops and respecting yourself. He may want to send another military commissioner."
…”
"Who said that?" An Ning interrupted Barras, "This is trying to sow discord between me and Robespierre. Anyone who would do this must be an enemy of France, or maybe Austria.
Spy! Is that you, Mr. Paul Barras?"
Barras shook his head like a drum: "No, no, no, it's not me! It's just that someone in Paris is spreading rumors..."
"That's why I asked who was telling the story. If you know, tell me and I will immediately send out the Sunset Knights to arrest them!"
When the time comes to take action, you should resolutely take action.
Barras was speechless.
An Ning: "So, it's you who is sowing discord, right?"
"Your Excellency, you understand me! I have always been loyal to you!"
An Ning curled her lips: "Humph, I will see your loyalty, I will see it."
It turns out that An Ning was very clear about the character of Paul Barras in history. It’s just that this man was quite capable, otherwise An Ning would have taken him down long ago.
What An Ning is doing now is like giving Paul Barras a slap in the face, telling him not to use his crooked ideas.
At this time, the door of the study room opened, and Christina came in: "Mr. Barras, why don't you stay for lunch?"
Barras shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, I have to return to Paris. With the current situation in Paris, I can't stay away for too long."
An Ning: "Mr. Barras is now a judge in the court in Paris?"
"No, he's a special inspector, so I'll take my leave first." After saying that, without waiting for An Ning to respond, Barras retreated toward the door.
After Barras left, An Ning said to Christina: "This Barras, do you know anything?"
Christina: "He has a good relationship with Madame Beauharnais of the Chateau Malmaison, and there are rumors in the social circle that Paul Barras is going to marry that widow."
An Ning raised his eyebrows, good guy, Madame Beauharnais of Malmaison Castle, I am familiar with you. In the original history, she would catch Napoleon who had no money, no power and no reputation, and become one of Napoleon and later the Directory of the Directory.
The bridge between Paul Barras.
But now this history has changed. Although Napoleon has not yet made a name for himself, he has become "the general's confidant" and has gained a pivotal position by virtue of this status.
The current Napoleon, to put it bluntly, is no longer worthy of a widow like Josephine. When he comes back, there will be many good families in Paris who want to marry their daughters to this Corsican boy. "In front of the General's eyes
"Red Man".
Christina was keenly aware of the change in An Ning's expression, and asked doubtfully: "Do you know this Mrs. Beauharnais?"
An Ning: "Ah, I heard a little bit about it."
He just replied casually, and realized something only after replying. He quickly looked at his fiancée's face, and then saw Christina pouting: "When did you hear about her?"
An Ning: "I heard what Napoleon said."
But Christina didn't believe it at all: "Listen to Napoleon who is currently defending Sedan? I didn't expect that he is quite free."
An Ning: "Well, he hadn't gone to Sedan at that time. Then he told me that there was a widow in Malmaison Castle who still had a charm, which was quite good."
Christina: "Hey, that's right. Napoleon actually had a fondness for widows. This is the first time I know about it."
An Ning smiled awkwardly, and then changed the subject: "Let's eat. After eating, I have to go to the city to find Maximilian."
Christina sighed: "Okay, business is important. Please persuade him."
**
After lunch, An Ning went into the city.
In order to avoid being recognized by everyone and causing commotion throughout the whole journey, An Ning took a carriage into the city and went straight to the National Assembly venue.
When passing the Revolution Square, An Ning discovered that in addition to the original guillotine, two new guillotines had been erected on the square.
The guillotine is already a very efficient execution tool. This execution tool cannot meet the demand, and two new ones have to be erected. From one side, we can see what the situation in Paris is now.
The National Assembly is still in the building that was converted from the royal stable, and next door is the ruins of the Tuileries Palace.
After these days, the ruins of the palace have been leveled and turned into a large square.
The guard at the door of the National Assembly saw the carriage approaching and stepped forward to stop it with a serious look: "Stop! According to the order of the National Assembly, all carriages are not allowed to approach within 100 meters of the National Assembly!"
An Ning opened the car door and got out of the car.
The guard gasped: "Oh my God, long live your Excellency!"
An Ning gently raised her hand and waved in response, then looked at the stairs in front of her.
According to An Ning's memory, there should be no space in the National Assembly chamber where he could chat with Robespierre alone.
As long as he enters that hall, what he says will be heard by the people next to him.
So An Ning said to the doorman: "Can you please tell Mr. Speaker for me that I am waiting for him in the carriage and I need to have a private chat with him."