Seeing that Barras had made his decision, Josephine sighed: "Okay, but you can't go alone now. You have to find someone who has influence on Robespierre to go with you."
Barras: "Didn't I say I wasn't going to ask Andy Frost about this?"
"Besides him, there are other people who can have an influence on Robespierre, such as Saint-Just, or M. Fouche!"
Barras: "That old fox wouldn't lend a helping hand so easily. Thank God he didn't add insult to injury. And it's too late to go find him. It's more than a day's journey from here to Lyon. I'll leave now to go back.
Going to Paris, is your carriage in good condition? Can it be used?"
Josephine: "It works. Although the journey is very fast, my carriage is of very good quality and is regularly maintained. The wheels and axles will not be broken just because of this."
"That's great, let's go."
**
One day later, Paul Barras stood in front of Robespierre's new apartment.
He saw a person who might be the landlady spraying water in front of the door, and said hello: "Hello, my name is Paul Barras, and I'm here to see Mr. Robespierre."
The landlady raised her head: "Mr. Robespierre is not here today."
"I have been to the National Salvation Committee, but he is not there, and the Parliament is not in session right now. Everyone tells me that Mr. Robespierre should be drafting documents at home!"
The landlady hesitated for a moment and asked, "What do you want from him?"
Barras: "There is something very important, concerning... the fate of France!"
Originally he wanted to say that it was a matter of my life and death, but he felt that Robespierre would not care about it, so he changed his mind.
The landlady considered it for a moment and nodded: "He is in his bedroom on the second floor. You can go in."
Barras immediately strode into the house and went straight to the second floor.
As soon as he arrived on the second floor, Barras saw Robespierre arranging his clothes in front of the mirror, looking like he was about to go out.
Barras immediately said in the tone of an old friend: "You actually know how to organize your clothes. I thought you never cared about this!"
Robespierre turned his head and looked at Barras, frowned slightly, but did not speak. Instead, he walked to the water table, picked up the cup and scooped a cup of water from the basin, then picked up the toothbrush and dipped it in
Put on tooth powder and start brushing your teeth——
Barras was irritated by Robespierre's obvious disregard, but he tried to calm down his mood and told Robespierre his purpose.
"Mr. Robespierre, there may have been some rumors about me recently. I want to say that this is extremely wrong! My loyalty to the Republic is obvious to all, and I have also made great contributions to the Republic!
“I hope the National Salvation Committee can understand everything and clear my name!
"My friend Madame Josephine Beauharnais has lost a letter she wrote to me. Some people may use it to make a fuss about it, but those are all distortions by intentional people. I can explain every point in that letter clearly.
!”
Robespierre did not even look at Barras and continued to clean his teeth carefully.
Barras refused to give up and continued: "I demand that the person who accuses me face-to-face, and I will refute his accusations one by one!"
Robespierre finished brushing his teeth and began to rinse his mouth. He even raised his neck and let the water swirl in his mouth.
Barras: "Mr. Robespierre! Please believe me, my loyalty to the Republic..."
Robespierre spit the water into the basin of waste water, then put down the cup and turned to look at Barras.
He just looked and didn't speak.
Barras could hardly restrain his anger and went up to give Robespierre a slap.
But he endured it.
Seeing that there was no result, Barras could only say goodbye: "Okay, Mr. Robespierre, I will go to the National Salvation Committee to visit you again!"
After saying that, he turned and left the room.
On the first floor, Barras saw the landlady again.
Landlady: "Have you finished talking about a major matter related to the fate of the Republic so quickly?"
"No, M. Robespierre doesn't talk to me."
Landlady: "That's because this is his private time. At this time, he only talks to people he thinks are pretty good. Obviously, he doesn't like you."
Barras: "Can this be the case?"
"Don't worry, he will talk to you during working hours."
"Because it's something we have to do?" Barras asked, but immediately shook his head angrily, "Fuck, of course it's because of this."
It seemed that there was no chance of going to Robespierre directly. Barras quickly went through the people he could still find in his mind.
Finally, the two choices of Danton and Frost surfaced.
Barras thought for a while and finally decided to put Frost last, because Frost has always shown a very indifferent attitude towards Paris politics.
Barras jumped on the carriage and said to the driver, "Go to Dandong."
Josephine's coachman naturally knew the addresses of all the nobles in Paris. Without saying a word, he waved his whip and urged the horses to pull the carriage forward.
Half an hour later, the carriage arrived in front of Dandong's house.
Danton lived in a rather luxurious manor. This kind of manor was basically built by country nobles in Paris before the Revolution. Now these manors have either been turned into military barracks or occupied by the establishment after the Revolution.
Seeing the manor where Dandong lived, Barras immediately felt a little more confident.
Because this shows that Dandong is a person who enjoys himself.
He walked up the steps and was about to knock on the door when the door opened and Saint-Just came out and turned back to talk to Danton.
Danton, who was seeing Saint-Just out, saw Barras and immediately showed a surprised expression: "Mr. Barras, you have returned to Paris so soon? The summons to you by the National Salvation Committee was only issued last night."
Barras was also shocked: "The National Salvation Committee summoned me?"
Generally, those who are summoned by the National Salvation Committee do not have a very good end. The minimum guarantee is the guillotine.
Dandong: "Don't worry, I just want you to explain the content of the letter your lover sent you."
Barras thought to himself that something happened to that letter, and by the way, he cursed the eighteen generations of the people who intercepted the letter.
Barras: "But I just went to Mr. Robespierre and wanted to explain to him, but he acted as if I didn't exist."
Dandong: "That means he regards you as an enemy of the Republic. That person is a little paranoid. In his opinion, many people are enemies of the Republic."
Saint-Just looked at Dandong with a strange look.
Danton continued: "Don't worry, Mr. Barras, you will be fine."
Saint-Just: "Well, you continue chatting, I'll take my leave now."
Dandong nodded: "Have a good trip. As for you, Mr. Barras, come in and sit for a while, and I will tell you what's going on."