Descending On France 1780
Chapter 82 - 076 "Is this blood really so pure?

Chapter 82: 076 "Is this blood really so pure?

On July 16th, Louis XVI and Queen Mary took a carriage to Paris City Hall.

The King’s main purpose for this visit was to show the people of Paris his acceptance of the revolution.

To demonstrate solidarity with the masses, the King did not wear his magnificent royal attire but dressed like a clerk from Paris City Hall.

It is hard to imagine that just a few days ago, he was a resolute monarch planning to forcefully disperse the National Assembly with the might of the Swiss Guard.

Yet Queen Mary still dressed extravagantly, her opulent gown adorned with layers upon layers of lace, with gold threads winding round and round.

Officials of the newly established Paris Commune and senior officers of the National Guard gathered at Paris City Hall to welcome Louis XVI.

Anning, a lieutenant, found himself amidst a group of senior officers, even standing in the very front row, next to Lafayette.

After all, he was the "Savior of the Parliament," "the man who kicked open the Bastille," and his fame was great.

In truth, Anning himself would have preferred to hide at the back.

Louis XVI entered the City Hall’s grand hall and exchanged pleasantries with Ba Yi and other city officials. Then Lafayette stepped forward and personally pinned a tricolor cockade onto Louis XVI’s cocked hat.

Louis XVI forced a smile, then said to the distinguished individuals present: "Long live the people!"

Anning was shocked; he never imagined that the words "Long live the people" would come from the mouth of a monarch referred to as "Your Majesty".

It seemed that Louis XVI had been utterly overwhelmed by the revolutionary fervor and had decided to fully compromise with the revolutionaries.

When Louis XVI exclaimed "Long live the people," Anning saw Queen Mary roll her eyes.

After Lafayette returned to the ranks of National Guard officers, the current Mayor of Paris, Ba Yi, told Louis XVI, "The City Hall is preparing to rally the people to dismantle the Bastille, to vent their negative emotions towards the fortress."

Louis XVI waved his hand: "Tear it down! Tear it down! I have already signed the order yesterday to abolish the royal prison of Bastille. That castle is now just an ordinary ancient fortress."

After speaking, Louis XVI sighed, "I am a bit tired and will head back to Versailles Palace."

He turned and walked towards the City Hall’s main door, with Queen Mary promptly following behind.

To the very end, this Queen still exuded her hostility towards Anning.

Anning had to make a great effort to pretend not to notice.

Outside the City Hall, a large crowd had gathered on the square. The King and Queen boarded the carriage and waved to the crowds through its small window.

At that moment, someone shouted: "Long live His Majesty!"

Sparse cheers of "Long live" rang out.

Suddenly, another voice, louder and more resonant, shouted: "Long live freedom!"

The crowd joined in shouting: "Long live!"

Their thunderous response was strikingly different from the scant voices that had hailed His Majesty.

Louis XVI listened to all this with a pained expression on his face.

The coachman whipped up the horses, and the royal carriage bearing the coat of arms slowly departed from the City Hall square.

**

The next day, just as Anning arrived at the Imperial Conference Hall in Versailles Palace, he heard impassioned speeches coming from inside the hall.

He entered the conference room and saw a delegate draped in a silver cloak giving an eloquent speech: "Ladies and gentlemen! Violence has spiraled out of control! On the day of the revolution, the people executed Marquis de Launay without trial—they killed him!"

"The Mayor of Paris was also unjustly executed without trial that day! He had only just been appointed by His Majesty on July 11th, and he hadn’t even started his duties!

"Gentlemen! Put yourselves in their place! Imagine such violence happening to you! Do not think this is just an absurd talk, the enraged populace is blind. They would not hesitate to kill these innocent people!

"We must stop this movement before any more innocent people are sacrificed, and bring this so-called revolution to a complete halt! Otherwise, soon there won’t be a decent man left in this country!"

Anning frowned; he was present when the Marquis de Launay was executed. In theory, Anning could have stopped the lynching, but he chose to maintain history’s original trajectory, considering that the Marquis de Launay historically died after the Bastille was stormed.

Honestly, the scene of the Marquis de Launay’s execution was indeed a bit gruesome, and it was hard not to feel sympathy for the Marquis.

While the noble continued his speech, Anning found his companions and asked, "Who is this man?"

Dan Dong: "Don’t know, seems like some country noble."

Robespierre: "Clearly, he’s trying to invoke our sympathy with the fate of the Marquis de Launay, to make us oppose the revolution, as if that were possible!"

Anning: "Then why don’t you stand up and refute him?"

Dan Dong: "Shouldn’t that be you? You were the one who stormed the Bastille, and you were there. Come on, stand up and tell everyone that the Marquis de Launay got what he deserved!"

Anning thought to himself, what am I supposed to say, damn it, I’m trying to reduce my influence now, who ever heard of sitting on the fence only to become the fence itself?

Before Anning could speak, suddenly someone slammed the table and stood up, interrupting the noble’s speech: "Enough! I’ve had enough of these fallacies!"

Anning squinted to see who had stood up, realizing he didn’t recognize the person.

Dan Dong said, "Oh, that’s Banaf, he is a pretty good lawyer, won quite a few cases."

Lawyer Banaf angrily said, "You portray these victims of lynching as good, innocent people, and those who executed them as villains! But I ask you, is their blood truly that pure?

"Are they entirely without guilt? No! At least as far as I know, the Marquis de Launay killed hundreds of people, including children and women!

"If you don’t believe me, let’s ask Mr. Frost who was there at the time!"

Anning was stunned: "Huh?"

——Don’t cue me! I don’t want to be in the spotlight at all right now!

Banaf turned to Anning, "Mr. Frost, tell everyone, how many people were sacrificed at the Bastille that day!"

Anning: "Many were sacrificed, inside the walls of the Bastille, the blood flowed like rivers. But mostly they were men, I didn’t see any women who died in battle."

Banaf: "Regardless of whether there were women or not! The garrison killed a large number of people, and as their commander, shouldn’t the Marquis de Launay pay the corresponding price?

"And the former Mayor of Paris, he was executed because he deliberately delayed the distribution of arms, and the people suspected he wanted to stop the revolution!

"So you see, they all got what they deserved!"

The speaking noble on the stage twitched his lips, but no words of rebuttal came out.

But Banaf’s tone changed, "However, the city order of Paris has indeed spun out of control, with looting and arson all over. We really should stop the people’s excessive behaviors as soon as possible.

"We urgently need General Lafayette to take decisive measures to restore order in Paris."

Lafayette: "I have already ordered the National Guard to maintain order throughout the city. However, relying on the National Guard alone is not enough, Parliament should recognize the Enlightenment ideals as soon as possible, and pass a programmatic document that serves as a basic principle for constitution-making!"

Anning thought to himself that indeed, to pacify the populace was simple; crack down on the profiteers hoarding goods and make bread affordable for the people.

But he did not speak out, after all, the Declaration of Human Rights is also important, and can be regarded as the general program of the entire French Revolution.

After Lafayette spoke, Mirabeau stood up and said, "I believe we should start drafting a programmatic document as soon as possible, as that is the most important thing right now."