He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 529

Extran (7) Anti-Imperialist Babeuf Never Gives Up

That blood can only be washed away with blood isn’t just a saying from the Code of Hammurabi.

“The death of our comrades! The Emperor must pay for it! Overcome the tyranny of the tyrant! Workers, rise up!”

South of the Seine in Paris, in the 7th arrondissement.

A secret meeting of republicans was being held.

It was a gathering of those who dreamed of revolution, striving to overthrow imperialism even today.

Moreover, today was particularly grim.

Recently, there had been fatalities during a protest march in the north of Paris.

In fact, the protesters were the more aggressive side, but that doesn’t justify the deaths.

Newspapers continued to voice opposition to the excessive crackdown every day.

However, the Republican members voiced their concerns to the white-haired man who was denouncing from the podium.

“But the uprisings continue to fail, Secretary-General!”

“The Vendée [a region in western France known for its royalist sympathies] is still controlled by pro-Bonaparte unionists. We can’t infiltrate our people at all!”

“Let’s just revolt in Arras. It’s also the hometown of Comrade Robespierre!”

However, the white-haired Secretary-General shook his head vigorously and raised his voice.

“That won’t do. Only Paris matters. Paris is the heart of the French Empire and the stronghold of capitalists! If we don’t subdue this place, it’s useless! Also, Vendée is a necessary place to subdue Paris!”

Paris, the capital of the French Empire.

This isn’t just an administrative designation.

The reality of France, an empire that overwhelms Europe, is that its population, economy, and industry are all concentrated in Paris.

It’s true that excessive centralization is driving the current high growth of the empire.

However, it’s also true that discontent and protests are taking place every day in the densely populated environment.

A political group representing dissatisfied citizens, workers, and university students.

The Republican Party members, who claimed to be descendants of the Jacobins [a radical political organization during the French Revolution], were overwhelmed by the Secretary-General’s words.

Soon after the Secretary-General entered his office, the Republican members whispered to each other.

“Hmph, our old man is really stubborn.”

“Hey, Blanqui, the reporter. Any news from the Justice League? It would be easier to revolt if Theodore Schuster helped us.”

“Buonarroti, the writer, just write pamphlets more diligently. There’s no chance the Prussians will rise up. They’re becoming completely agricultural.”

Louis Auguste Blanqui, a reporter for the progressive newspaper Le Globe, grumbled.

He had just taken his first step into society at the age of 20 and jumped into subversive activities.

In fact, in the original history, he was the one who made a name for himself during the Paris Commune [a radical socialist government that briefly ruled Paris in 1871].

On the other hand, Filippo Buonarroti, who was smiling in front of Blanqui, was a veteran activist who had been with the Secretary-General since the Great Revolution [the French Revolution].

Buonarroti nodded.

“The revolution must be based on the common people and workers, not farmers. According to Babeuf’s principles.”

Of course, this principle is miserably broken in the original history.

Because welfare is given to the workers.

Even at this moment, the social insurance being prepared by the new Prime Minister Lafayette in the parliament is one such example.

It was while the Republican Party members, who didn’t know what was happening in the parliament, were whispering to each other, that suddenly, the door of the Republican secret meeting hall in the 7th arrondissement burst open.

“Lyon! A revolt has broken out in Lyon!”

Buonarroti, who was surprised that it was a public security investigator, approached with a different kind of surprise.

“What are you talking about, Armand Barbès?”

“You know that there are still handmade silk craftsmen in Lyon, right? The Canuts [silk weavers of Lyon] at the pinnacle of their craft have revolted!”

“Why? The government deliberately didn’t industrialize that place.”

Barbès, a full-time revolutionary who would become Blanqui’s rival in the original history, shouted.

“Chinese silk! Qing silk, which the British are smuggling indiscriminately, has completely destroyed the market. In the end, the Canuts went crazy!”

Lyon is a city that has been famous for being subversive since the revolutionary period.

Originally, it was a place where Fouché [Joseph Fouché, a French statesman and Minister of Police] would have gone to carry out a massacre in the original history.

However, Fouché ended up going to Vendée, so he didn’t participate in the massacre.

However, even if it wasn’t a massacre by Fouché, there was a massacre committed by the Jacobin faction’s circuit representatives.

It is such a rebellious city, and economic dissatisfaction has been added to it.

The demand for handmade luxury silk has decreased due to the influx of imported silk.

Naturally, they expressed their dissatisfaction through violent protests.

Blanqui’s eyes flashed.

“A chance!”

“But it’s a bit far from Paris, Blanqui.”

“Even during the Great Revolution, the Lyon revolt had a great impact! That’s why a massacre was committed to stop it!”

Buonarroti also nodded.

“The Emperor won’t be able to commit a massacre. He’s pretending to be a gentleman. If so…”

The three Republican members looked at each other and shouted.

“Let’s make the flames of revolution spread to Paris in succession!”

Those who dream of revolution.

The successors of the Jacobin Republicans.

The Republican Party members began to plan a simultaneous uprising.

“Secretary-General Babeuf, where are you!”

To report to the Secretary-General, Babeuf.

***

The old revolutionary, who once used bomb terror as his main weapon, is now old.

“Why hasn’t the Spy Master contacted me?”

When the white-haired Babeuf grumbled, his comrade Augustin Alexandre Darthé shrugged.

“Why are you waiting for an Englishman who wants to become a French aristocrat? We can work on our own.”

“He is in charge of funding from the British government. And more importantly, he has a list of key French Republican figures.”

“Still, he’s been living as a Spy Master for several years, do you think he’s been caught?”

Babeuf turned to Darthé and frowned.

“Don’t underestimate the Emperor’s hounds. Monsieur Darthé. Surété [French security organization] is more of a problem than Fouché’s police!”

Darthé, like Babeuf, is a veteran of the revolution who has weathered the storm of the Great Revolution.

So he knows how the revolution, which peaked with the death of the king, failed.

He directly saw the era when the military controlled power and even a general became consul and monarch.

Fouché, who was once a comrade of the revolution, acted as their dog and is still at the forefront.

Darthé gritted his teeth as he drank Indian black tea.

“The royalists are running wild! Well, is it any different now that it’s still a monarchy?”

“Even the Emperor’s wife is a Bourbon [the former royal family of France]. You know? They’re making a fuss in the Tuileries [a royal palace in Paris] to pass the throne to their son Charles, even though they still have the facade of elections!”

“There was no sane monarch named Charles! Well, all monarchs are tyrants.”

Darthé suddenly asked Babeuf.

“How about an assassination attempt rather than an uprising? If we just kill the Emperor, this system will collapse.”

It is difficult to deny that the Emperor is a capable man.

Conversely, it is also true that the current Emperor election system relies solely on the ability of the monarch.

If he had been incompetent, the parliament might have taken the lead and moved towards a constitutional monarchy.

However, the Emperor leads the transformation as if he sees the ‘future’.

That is one of the reasons why France, full of dissatisfaction due to industrialization, is still strong.

Then, wouldn’t it be a simple problem if we killed the Emperor?

An elected monarch means that a voting process must be gone through to appoint the next monarch.

This confusion can be fully exploited.

But Babeuf shook his head.

He had already tried it once.

In the old days, when the Emperor was just the adopted son of the late Emperor, when the late Emperor was still a Consul.

“I used to believe that.”

“That’s because the assassination itself failed. Because of stupid guys.”

“I felt something at the time. The Emperor has an extraordinary intuition. You might call it superstition, but it’s definitely true.”

Babeuf, the real culprit in the Spanish royal family bombing, frowned.

“Otherwise, there’s no way he could have detected and avoided the explosion so accurately.”

There is something strange about the Emperor.

He often stood at the forefront on the battlefield, but he was never injured.

It’s a strange thing to see it as just an outstanding ability.

There are even retired soldiers who really believe in the superstition that the goddess of luck is with him.

But Darthé had a strange expression when he heard Babeuf say such a thing.

“It sounds like superstition. Then how about using other imperial family members or royalty?”

“What are you talking about?”

“There are other Charles. Charles Napoleon, and Louis Charles. If you think about it a little more, there’s Louis Philippe of Quebec.”

From the perspective of the Republicans, they are the imperial family and Bourbon family members who must be destroyed.

But Babeuf tilted his head.

Somehow, he is intrigued.

“Let’s make them challenge the Emperor?”

“Charles Napoleon is lenient to democrats. Louis Charles hates the Republicans, but he is strangely negative about the monarchy. Louis Philippe was originally a supporter of the revolution.”

“They are still ambitious guys. But if they were going to move, they would have reached out to us a long time ago.”

Clearly, there were those who were called vested interests who sympathized with the revolution.

But Babeuf shook his head again.

Such compromises ultimately led to the failure of the revolution.

“We must win the revolution through a popular uprising with our own strength. Only that can make the revolution succeed and open a new world!”

Babeuf was about to shout, summarizing his 40 years of revolutionary life.

-Tat! Tat!

The office door burst open and Blanqui rushed in.

“Urgent news, Secretary-General!”

“What is it, Blanqui?”

“A great rebellion, no, a revolt has broken out in Lyon.”

Blanqui, a revolutionary dream tree that Babeuf has been watching closely these days, shouted with a flash in his eyes.

“From Paris to Lyon is 460 kilometers. Let’s start a great uprising along the Lyon Expressway that connects that road. It’s called July, to promote the Lyon Revolution!”

It’s still a long time before summer.

But summer is a good time to start a revolution.

That’s because it’s easy for people to gather.

Babeuf listened quietly to the story of the young Republicans that Blanqui brought and twisted his lips.

“Hmm, shall we use a balloon once?”

“Yes?”

“Just like the Emperor overturned England, let’s convey the revolution in Lyon to the skies of Paris.”

It is a revolutionary uprising plan to reproduce the so-called Great London Air Raid.

***

A revolution is not just executed by planning.

“Then, let’s infiltrate Lyon.”

Even during the legendary Great Revolution of 1789, there were activists who planned and carried out the revolution.

Some of those who survived enjoyed power, but most had to face death.

Which one will Blanqui in front of you be?

Blanqui turned around, saluting.

“I will definitely succeed and return!”

It was when Babeuf was watching Blanqui disappear into the darkness.

-Weaeng!

With a loud siren, a steam car surrounded the Republican secret headquarters.

“Public security! Everyone, run away!”

Buonarroti shouted, but it was already too late.

-Bang!

The sound of gunfire is heard loudly.

Babeuf hesitated and looked to the side.

His revolutionary comrade, Darthé, was seen staggering and falling.

Imperial police appeared in front of him.

“Traitorous rats, arrest them all! Hands up!”

But Babeuf burst into laughter even while bleeding.

“Hehehe! The fuse has already been lit on the bomb of revolution! It can never be turned back, dogs of the Empire!”

A 65-year-old former terrorist and current anti-imperialist who broke through the Great Revolution with his body.

Babeuf does not give up.

Overturning France.

Until the day he overthrows the Emperor.