The First Meeting Between Life and Death

The day after the premiere, Armand and the Dragon and Rose Theater Troupe received a number of new offers to perform. And among these invitations, one stood out. Because it did not come from a theater but from Mr. Robespierre, a member of the National Assembly.

If Joseph had read the invitation, he might have been startled, for Mr. Robespierre was later to become known as a "murderer", and according to some accounts, during his reign in France, a high guillotine was erected in the middle of every square in Paris, and an "enemy of the people" was put to death from the top of every street-lamp pole. Later generations even concocted this epitaph for him, "I, Robespierre, sleep here long; do not mourn for me, O passers-by; if I live, none of you will live!"

Joseph believed that after Robespierre's downfall, there was hardly any one of his enemies, from the Thermidorians to the later Emperor Napoleon to the restored Louis XVIII, who would have liked the fellow who was "the incorruptible, the defender of the people, the creator of the motto of the nation: 'Liberty, Equality, Fraternity'" (Robespierre's true epitaph). So, throwing sewage on his head would be an almost certainty. Like during the period of the Bourbon Restoration in history, they made up all sorts of amusing stories about Napoleon, portraying him as a combination of "Tartuffe" (the protagonist of Molière's comedy "The Hypocrite") and "Don Juan" (a name synonymous with lechery in Europe). So, those legends about Robespierre being temperamental and taking pleasure in killing and such are mostly unreliable. But even with all this in mind, one thing remains certain: this "incorruptible man, defender of the people" has killed a lot of people, and many of them were once in the trenches with him. To say that Robespierre took pleasure in the killing would probably be slander, but it would probably not be false to say that Robespierre was in the habit of solving problems by "solving the people who made them". To be Robespierre's enemy is very dangerous, but to be Robespierre's friend is not necessarily much safer.

But Armand didn't know that, and by this time, Robespierre's reputation was just about right. He spoke more than 200 times during the Estate General and the Assembly, ranking twentieth among the delegates. In his speeches, he supported universal male suffrage, opposed the king's veto, supported civil rights for Jews, called for the abolition of slavery and the death penalty, and opposed censorship. (Yes, you read that right. Robespierre was an abolitionist in those days. Is that weird? It's not surprising, it's just one more piece of evidence that asses determine heads. When Robespierre was an abolitionist, the death penalty was a tool in the hands of King Louis XVI, and it threatened "unruly" people like Robespierre. So naturally, as the "unruly man", Robespierre opposed it. And when that tool fell into Robespierre's hands, that situation was naturally different. Speaking of this moment in time, Louis XVI had just completed the only technical invention of his life - improving the design of the guillotine and making it more efficient. Ironically enough, Louis XVI was the first user of this improved version of the guillotine. Master Lu's poem reads, "As soon as the face is broad, it changes, and the number of heads cut off grows. Suddenly, they are out of the field again, Namo Amitabha." Can be a reflection of these people.)

Most of Robespierre's proposals were not adopted, but they gave him a reputation as an "incorruptible man". Now that he had received his invitation, naturally, Armand was overjoyed. And the location provided by Robespierre was extraordinarily special, the place being the Palais-Royal.

Originally built for Louis XIII's chief minister Richelieu, the Palais-Royal was once known as the Palais-Cardinal (Richelieu was a French cardinal) before being transformed into the residence of the Duke of Orleans. In an effort to pull in the Parisian populace, the Orleans family opened it to the public in 1780. Since then, this private garden palace has been gradually transformed into a public square for the people of Paris. And, of course, there must have been the Duke of Orleans behind it. Nowadays, his political ambitions are also perfectly well known.

During the French Revolution of 1789, Paris had two political centers. One was Versailles, outside of Paris, where the Estate General was being held to decide the fate of France. The other is the Palais-Royal in the center of Paris. For a time, it was a thermometer for measuring the political fervor of the Parisian populace. These are the two places of political authority, and if compared, after July 14, 1789, it was not Versailles but Palais-Royal who led France. Versailles could not influence Palais-Royal; conversely, Palais-Royal could dominate Versailles.

The Palais-Royal is a large palace with a capacity of tens of thousands of people, a place where political pamphlets and orators of all sorts abound. Of course, there is no shortage of spectators and listeners of all sorts. Since the Estate General, people have been exchanging all kinds of information here, including from Versailles, and at the same time turning it into all kinds of rumors and spreading it. If Armand's play can be staged here, even if it's just one show, it will definitely make Armand's reputation.

After a moment's consideration, Armand accepted the invitation. He also took Louis, the lead actor, to visit Robespierre later that evening.

Robespierre was at this time staying in a hotel near the town hall. In fact, he would have had better accommodations - many of the members of the Assembly had already accepted the goodwill of the Duke of Orleans or the Marquis de La Fayette to live on their estates because of security concerns. But the "incorruptible" continued to live in an ordinary hotel at his own expense. Robespierre, however, had very much won some cases when he was a lawyer, so he was in a good financial situation, and the hotel where he stayed was in good condition, with a small living room with a sofa in addition to his bedroom.

Armand led Louis, led by a waiter, to the third floor. This was the top floor of this hotel, which was a bit quieter compared to the first and second floors, which was probably one of the reasons why Robespierre chose to stay there.

The attendant led Armand and Louis to a door and knocked gently.

"The door is open. Please come in." A very brisk voice came from inside.

The attendant pushed open the door and said toward the interior, "Monsieur Robespierre, Monsieur Lavoisier and Monsieur Saint-Just have come to visit by appointment."

Yes, Louis' last name is Saint-Just. If Joseph had known his last name the last time he met him, he would have looked at the handsome young man who didn't say much differently. Although in his previous life as an engineering dog, Joseph was not particularly familiar with the history of the French Revolution, but at least he had read Victor Hugo's "Ninety-Three", and from the notes of that novel, he also knew that Robespierre's most hardcore henchman, known as the "Archangel of the Revolution" or the "Archangel of the Terror," known as the Saint-Just.

But even if Armand had not mentioned his surname when he introduced Saint-Just to Joseph, Joseph should have thought he was the "Archangel of Terror" because of his unparalleled beauty.

"Please come in, gentlemen." A voice came from inside the house, but there was no one inside the living room.

"Excuse me, I'm working on a manuscript and I have a few more sentences to finish, so please wait on the couch for a little while. Hey, Henri, why don't you greet them for me and get them a cup of tea, please." The voice was coming from the den over the living room.

That waiter then led the two into the living room, sat them down on the sofa, and poured them tea. It's a black tea from India, but the quality is average, and in Joseph's place, he probably wouldn't drink it because he knows that the low-grade tea of this era tends to add patina to disguise the mold, and drinking this stuff is not good for his health at all. 

But Armand and Saint-Just didn't have these concerns, so they sat on the couch, picked up their tea, and drank it.

After another two minutes, from the study came the words, "Finally, I'm done writing! Sorry to keep you waiting."

With this voice, a young man walked out, perhaps because he had stayed up continuously. His face was a bit pale, but his demeanor was serious. His lips are thin, and his gaze is calm. His cheeks twitch a little nervously, which makes his smile look a little unnatural. As is customary with lawyers, his face was make-up powdered, he wore gloves, his clothes were brushed and buttoned neatly, and there was not a crease in his light blue blouse. The bottoms are beige over pants, white stockings, shoes with silver buckles, a high tie, and a crotch-shaped decoration on the front.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you guys could be patient this fast." Robespierre held out his hand to shake theirs, "I went to your premiere yesterday, and came back so excited that I couldn't sleep all night, my ears full of that war song of yours, and those stirring speeches of our Spartacus. I had even forgotten what I was doing until a short while ago, when I remembered that I had a speech to make in Parliament tomorrow, and I looked at the time and figured you guys wouldn't be here for another hour or two, so I went ahead and drafted the text. I, for one, have a problem that once I write a manuscript, I can't break in the middle. I had to make you guys wait here for a bit. I hope you don't think I'm intentionally trying to leave you guys out in the cold."

"I understand that." Saint-Just said, "I likewise don't like to interrupt halfway through something when I'm doing it."

"Do you know the purpose of my invitation to perform at the Palais-Royal this time?" Robespierre asked very directly as he sat down on the couch.

"You wish to put pressure on the king through this play." Saint-Just answered almost without thinking.

The swiftness of the young Saint-Just's response was clearly beyond Robespierre's expectations, and he froze for a moment before saying: "You are right, that is indeed one of our purposes. Obviously, there are political considerations behind this invitation of ours, and if you accept our invitation, you may also get into some political risks as a result. I don't mean to drag you into politics without you knowing anything about it. Well, as you know, the current situation is quite tense and dangerous."