This morning, Marat knocked on Robespierre’s door in a rush.
Robespierre’s landlord opened the door for him.
Upon seeing Robespierre, the first thing Marat said was, "Shouldn’t you get a house of your own? Always living in rented places, you are the Chairman of the National Assembly, after all. It would be more befitting to have your own house.
"There are plenty in Paris wanting to gift you a house, not to mention the many estates of deceased Nobles awaiting allocation. Just take whichever you fancy."
Robespierre waved his hand: "I have never been interested in personal indulgences, and besides, the landlady’s cooking is quite good, which I enjoy very much."
In that era, landlords also provided meals, two a day, included in the rent.
Marat: "Once you have your own house, you could hire a Maid to cook for you. But let’s not talk about this now. Frost has won!"
"Is that so? That must be what the commotion was all about outside just now," Robespierre raised an eyebrow, "Good, those in Paris City who pin their hopes on foreign powers should hold back now."
Marat: "Are you still talking about that? We should take advantage of the grand victory to further cleanse Paris City of traitors! Strike these parasites with heavy blows!"
Robespierre wore an expression of something left unsaid.
In fact, Robespierre was considered a moderate within the Jacobin faction. Historically, it was only after Marat’s assassination that he truly felt threatened and resolved to use terror to eliminate all enemies.
Eventually, he became the so-called "Great Tyrant of Terror."
At this moment, Marat was not yet deceased, so Robespierre remained the moderate.
The moderate Robespierre looked at Marat and carefully formulated his words before speaking: "Frost won, and those opportunists will temporarily withdraw their schemes. They always do. If we continue with extreme actions at such a time, we might push them onto the path of opposing the republic..."
Marat interrupted Robespierre: "Maximilien! As long as they harbor ulterior motives, they will eventually revolt, if not today, then tomorrow! We must take this opportunity when all of Paris supports us to completely purge these bastards! Do not waste Frost’s victory!"
Robespierre: "My point is, with Frost as our strongest support, his military triumph will already silence them. We don’t necessarily have to..."
"Absolutely necessary! Before Frost returns, haven’t we grown tired of the acts of monsters and demons in Paris? These bastards are all enemies of the Parisian people. It is time to annihilate them all! I’m going to write an article right now, to be published in tomorrow’s Friend of the People, calling on everyone to seize the opportunity of Frost’s great victory to expose these enemies of the people!"
Robespierre smacked his lips: "Well, if you insist on doing this, I don’t really have much reason to stop you. After all, eliminating some enemies is a good thing."
Marat: "That’s more like it! Of course, I understand your concerns; you fear that many who were not originally inclined to oppose us might be driven to do so. Don’t worry, if these people oppose, then we’ll send them all to the guillotine! We’ve been concerned about not being thorough enough with the purge of potential enemies!
"So, we are in agreement on this matter?"
Robespierre nodded: "Yes, we are in agreement. Are you going over to Dan Dong’s next?"
"Dan Dong and Saint Just both share my opinion, definitely," Marat turned eagerly toward the door, "I won’t disturb your breakfast then; I still have an article to write!"
Robespierre: "All right, see you."
After Marat left, Robespierre shook his head: "This Marat, like a whirlwind."
Among the four leaders of the Jacobin Club, it was Marat who went about his business with the most vigorous zeal, continuously writing articles in the Friend of the People, attacking anyone opposed to the National Assembly.
Furthermore, he also had to attend the National Assembly every day as an observer, and no one knew where he got all that energy from.
Robespierre continued with the breakfast that Marat had interrupted, muttering as he ate, "Frost has won again, huh? Although I expected him to win, I didn’t expect it to come this quickly."
Including Robespierre, the Jacobins actually all knew that with Frost’s reputation growing ever higher, he would inevitably establish a de facto military dictatorship in France.
Back when the Girondists were still around, they had repeatedly attacked the Jacobins with this very point.
Now that the Jacobins were in power, with Frost as the biggest figure among the four leaders, no one could stop him from establishing a de facto military dictatorship.
Robespierre was deeply conflicted at this moment. As a faithful adherent to Enlightenment ideas, he did not support such a military dictatorship; he believed much more firmly in the separation of powers and in liberty and equality. A de facto First Citizen was antithetical to these principles.
But as a close friend of Frost, Robespierre also felt sincerely happy for his friend’s splendid achievements.
So it was that the "Incorruptible" had his breakfast with a complex mood, pondering over what to do.
In the days that followed, the Jacobin faction launched an all-out offensive.
Riding on the wave of Frost’s grand victory, the Jacobins sent many previously immovable tough characters to the guillotine.
Marat’s Friend of the People newspaper revealed various public enemies daily, clamoring for a thorough reckoning.
At that time, everyone in Paris was in danger, because according to the standards set by the Friend of the People, most prominent figures in Paris were at risk of being purged.
But given Frost’s victories on the battlefield, and with several hundred thousand members of the National Guard currently gathered in Paris awaiting to be incorporated into the army, no one dared to openly oppose the Jacobins.
Those waiting to be incorporated into the National Guard were idolizing Frost as a hero; if you dared to utter a single word against the General, you would soon find yourself being paraded on bayonets by the rank and file.
In fact, there had already been people sent to the guillotine for "showing contempt for General Frost."
For example, a petty noble who had managed to dodge countless disasters since the Great Revolution could not escape this time, as it was reported that he had once insulted Frost with the term ’Leatherworker’ alongside another noble whom Frost had killed in a duel.
The jury at the tribunal unanimously regarded this as a grave disrespect towards the revolutionary hero, and gave the green light to send the petty noble to the guillotine.
Paris these days seemed to have plunged into madness, with someone even jokingly saying that the blood flowing from the guillotines within the city of Paris was more than that on the front lines.
Frost was completely unaware of this; after leading his troops to victory in the Battle of the Marne River and discovering that his forces had sustained minimal losses, he immediately began planning the next phase of the campaign.
A new term originated from Frost’s headquarters and made its way back to Paris, called "People’s War."
Then Marat interpreted this term as "initiating a total war against traitors," using it as proof that General Frost supported the escalation of purges.
Days passed, until finally the moment arrived for the final curtain call for Marat, the Friend of the People.