The Fox of France

Chapter 105: Toulon 3

Ever since the downfall of the royal family, the Palace of Versailles had been all but abandoned. Carnot found a spot within the palace and repurposed it as the headquarters for the "Military Technology Laboratory" and the "Military Technology Inspection Department." With a location established, there was a heap of work to be done. Joseph was busy as a bee, and he often invited his younger brother Louis over to Carnot's place to share meals. The only difference was that in the past, they used to dine with Lucien, but now, Lucien had gone south.

Lucien, along with more than ten others, including Chrysler, headed south and quickly arrived near Toulon. They reported to General Popham and showed him the war department documents.

Popham glanced at the documents and smiled faintly, saying, "General Carnot is quite cautious. My soldiers and I are enough to retake Toulon. However, I welcome General Bonaparte to share in my glory, if he arrives in time. As for your reconnaissance of the enemy's situation, well, I've already prepared to launch attacks against the invaders and traitors recently, so your actions better not interfere with ours."

With that, Popham drew a circle on the map. "Hmm, for the time being, I suggest you avoid entering the area within this circle."

Chrysler lowered his head to study the map. Popham had essentially drawn a radius of at least 15 kilometers around Toulon. If their mission was indeed reconnaissance, avoiding this area would severely limit their options.

"Very well, General," Chrysler nodded.

After leaving Popham's presence, Chrysler and his team changed into civilian clothing and left the military camp, heading east towards the Riviera. Among the group was a young man named Lavenelli, who had been a member of the Marseille Volunteers before joining the Fifth Army. He was from a village on the Riviera. Before joining the army, he had been a fisherman. According to him, he could arrange for a fishing boat for their journey.

The Riviera, a popular tourist destination in the future, was currently a remote and impoverished place. Neither the British nor the French armies paid attention to this region. The group followed Lavenelli to a small fishing village and quickly acquired two boats.

However, both boats had only one mast, and they were more like small dinghies than proper vessels.

"Lavenelli, are you sure these boats can take us to Corsica? There isn't even a shelter on them," Chrysler hesitated.

"Oh, that's not a problem. You see, the Mediterranean is not like the Atlantic; it's as calm as a pond here. As long as it's a boat with a mast and a sail, with enough fresh water and food, we can even sail all the way to Algeria. As for a shelter, well, these boats originally had one, but since it's not winter yet, and we don't usually venture too far, they haven't been fitted," Lavenelli explained.

The Mediterranean climate and geography were different from other regions, and one of its defining features was the mismatch between rainfall and heat. The rainy season hadn't arrived yet.

"But how will you navigate on the sea? Do you know how to use a sextant?" Lucien asked, raising a more critical question.

"What's a sextant? We navigate by looking at the stars, the sun, and using a compass," Lavenelli replied.

"Well, never mind then," Lucien said. "As long as you can find Corsica at sea by looking at the stars and the sun."

"We'll first sail east along the coast to Nice, and then turn south to reach Corsica. We'll follow Corsica's coastline, and we're bound to find a suitable place to dock. Once we're on land..."

"As long as we make it to land, we'll be fine," Lucien said.

...

At the same time Lucien and his team were preparing to smuggle themselves in small fishing boats, Joseph welcomed an old friend at his end, Lavassic.

"This is unbelievable, truly unbelievable! Joseph, look at these people, what have they done to this country! Good Lord, Versailles has turned into this! I remember when I first became an academician at the Academy of Sciences, I visited the palace. It was still... But look at it now, it's in shambles! It's like it's been ransacked by Mongols!"

Indeed, the once grand Palace of Versailles had almost turned into a ruin. Since the king had been taken to Paris, no one had taken care of it. Local farmers would often sneak in, rummaging for anything valuable or useful and then carting it away. Initially, they were taking metals and wooden items, but gradually, their plunder extended to bricks and stones, construction materials. If this continued, they'd probably repeat the feat of the medieval Romans, who had torn down half of the Colosseum.

"Mr. Lavassic, don't blame me for this," Joseph chuckled. "If we hadn't moved here, it would probably have been even more destroyed. Come on, Mr. Lavassic, let me show you to your place."

"Place? Isn't this your laboratory? Let's see the laboratory first!" Lavassic said. "Oh, by the way, Carnot promised me to pay my salary in silver coins, not assignats!"

Joseph smiled slightly but remained silent. These were minor matters, and Lavassic was mostly just venting his frustration.

"That Carnot, always exaggerating things, as if it's all true. But, I agree, Paris is just too noisy; there's no peace to conduct scientific research. Coming here isn't a bad idea. Recently, I had an idea, and I thought I could work on it here..." Lavassic continued grumbling.

Of course, Lavassic knew Carnot wasn't exaggerating. He wasn't a fool, and he understood the consequences of such allegations in today's climate. The guillotine on the Place de la Concorde was in constant operation!

But even after being rescued by Carnot, Lavassic wasn't thrilled. In his eyes, Carnot and the so-called savages were of the same ilk. He may have read many books, but fundamentally, he was a barbarian. Just look at the brawl he got into with other members of the Convention in the past. He was a mathematician, a brute!

So when Carnot asked him if he'd be willing to work at the "Military Technology Laboratory" and assured him that he could protect Lavassic and his family, Lavassic hesitated for a long second before reluctantly agreeing.

...

In the Committee of Public Safety, Robespierre was questioning Carnot. "General Carnot, I heard you recently established an institution called the 'Military Technology Laboratory' and sent some very conservative-minded people there. Is that correct?"

"Yes," Carnot did not deny it, and there was no denying it, but he provided a reason for his actions. "I believe it's a very appropriate course of action. It's similar to sending some of the rebel soldiers to quarries or mines."

"The people at the Committee of Public Safety have significant concerns about this. They believe that criminals, whoever they may be, should receive equal punishment, even if it means sentencing them to hard labor. They should first be judged by them," Robespierre continued.

Carnot had already discussed with Joseph how to address this question. He said, "Mr. Robespierre, you must realize that how to handle these people is not a legal issue but a political one. People like Lavassic are not criminals but enemies. He, along with the others in his group, are our enemies, except they've been defeated and captured by us. These people are not protected by our laws, so we should treat them according to the principles of war. For captured barbarians, we can either execute them or turn them into slaves, send them to various places to work until they die. As for who we execute or sentence to hard labor, the only principle is what is favorable for France and beneficial to our military in defeating the enemy.

Furthermore, where did these enemies get their knowledge and skills? Of course, it was developed through the money they plundered from the people. So, their knowledge and skills are ill-gotten gains and also our spoils of war. I've never heard of catching a thief and, under the premise of being able to recover stolen property, not doing so. Nor have I ever heard of us having to destroy something that was originally the enemy's just because we captured it. I believe the people at the Committee of Public Safety lack political awareness; they're reaching too far."

"General Carnot, the Committee of Public Safety only wishes to follow due process," Couthon chimed in.

"Ha...," Carnot laughed, "these are captured barbarians, not protected by the law, so there's no due process to speak of. And all of their time belongs to us, we can't let the folks from the Committee of Public Safety waste it!"

Carnot's words were full of craftiness, but neither Robespierre nor Couthon wanted to dispute his logic. After all, this logic came from another important member of the Committee of Public Safety, who was currently absent - Saint-Just. In the past, Saint-Just had used this logic to deny the inviolability of the king's person under the law. So, who were they to object?

"Well, General Carnot," Robespierre said, "can we at least request to have people sent to monitor the labor of these captives at all times?"

Robespierre paused for a moment and added, "To monitor their work at all times?"

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