From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Five minutes later, in the main hall of the Palace of Justice.

Fifty-two voting judges gathered in the Grand Tribunal to debate and review the trial in accordance with the rules and procedures, and finally voted on the verdict.

Since President Edmund had given hints to the judges about this trial in advance, coupled with Madame Du Barry's performance in giving up her defense in court and the evidence provided by Jean Du Barry, this so-called final vote was nothing more than a Just going through the motions.

Every voting judge will cast a guilty vote, and only a handful of judges will abstain from voting in order to make the final result appear less one-sided.

Therefore, instead of staying in the Grand Chamber to supervise the vote, Justice Maupp stayed in an adjoining room to meet with Laurence Bonaparte, who was "forced" to remain in the Palais de Justice.

"In this way, my mission is all over, Your Excellency Bonaparte." Justice Maupp took a sip of black tea and leaned back in his chair slightly tiredly.

For the first time in so many years, he presided over a trial in front of thousands of people.

Lawrence patted his palms twice, nodded with a smile and said:

"I have to say that it was a majestic and courageous trial, and your performance was outstanding."

Justice Mopp let out a relaxed breath, shook his head and sighed:

"Then we just have to wait for the voting judges to complete the process."

Lawrence also nodded, not having any worries about the final process:

"The judges should have received Lieutenant General Philip's instructions long ago and would sentence Madame Du Barry to life imprisonment."

Justice Mopu sighed reluctantly:

"Well, according to past cases and laws, Madame Du Barry can definitely be sentenced to death by hanging."

It is a serious crime for a commoner to pretend to be a noble. After all, it involves the vital interests of the ruling class. If a person with a bad influence like Madame Du Barry is completely handed over to the independent trial of the High Court, she will definitely be sentenced to death. .

It's just that both Lawrence and Justice Maupe knew in their hearts that if they tried Madame Du Barry without authorization, they would inevitably arouse the dissatisfaction of His Majesty the King. If Madame Du Barry was sentenced to death, it would be a complete loss of face to His Majesty the King. .

Therefore, there is no need to provoke Louis XV's more anger on this nominal crime.

"In the final analysis, the High Court's judgment will not kill Madame Du Barry." Lawrence shrugged and said with a smile:

"The only person who can really decide this woman's life or death is His Majesty the King in the Tuileries Palace."

Just when Justice Mopp nodded in agreement, a Palace of Justice guard suddenly broke into the room, seemingly not even bothering to knock on the door.

Before Justice Mopp could reprimand him, the guard reported anxiously:

"Your Majesty! It's bad, Madame Du Barry! Madame Du Barry!"

Justice Mopu frowned, waved his robe, and scolded displeasedly:

"What's wrong with Madame Du Barry? Please speak clearly!"

"She, she ran away out of fear of crime!"

The guard took a breath and almost collapsed and shouted:

"The window of the study room where she was held was broken. She should have climbed over the window and escaped outside."

"What did you say?!"

Justice Mopu trembled, and a thin layer of cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

He couldn't believe it at all. It was already the final moment and something like this would happen unexpectedly.

If Madame Du Barry escaped from the Palace of Justice and returned to the Tuileries Palace under the protection of Louis XV, then all their efforts today would be in vain.

"Damn it, what are those useless guards doing!"

Justice Mopu stood up suddenly, and even overturned the porcelain cup on the tea table because of the violent movement. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth and ordered:

"Send someone to search immediately. There are people all around here who hate her to the core. She must not have gone far yet! Now take me to the study where she is detained. Your Excellency Bonaparte, come too."

However, Justice Mopu's words stopped abruptly in the middle of his words.

Because he saw that His Excellency Bonaparte seemed to be okay, still drinking hot tea unhurriedly, as if he had not heard the sudden bad news at all.

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, you"

Justice Mopu was stunned for a moment, and suddenly realized something. He immediately turned around and blocked the guard away:

"What are you still doing? Take people to search immediately, but don't let the people outside know about it yet!"

After the guard hurriedly left the room, Justice Mopp slowly sat back in his chair, frowned and asked:

"Your Excellency Bonaparte, Madame Du Barry's escape"

Lawrence put down his tea cup and chuckled, then dispelled Justice Mopp's concerns with one sentence:

"The ones who took her away were my people."

"Sure enough." Justice Mopu breathed a sigh of relief and asked in shock:

"You want to take her somewhere else and imprison her?"

In the view of Justice Maupp, the most important thing at the moment is to keep Madame Du Barry firmly in the hands of her own people. Whether she is under house arrest in the Palace of Justice or imprisoned in other secluded places, she cannot be allowed to easily communicate with Louis. Meet on the fifteenth.

However, Lawrence's next words made Justice Mopp almost jump out of his chair again:

"No, I'm going to send her back to the Tuileries."

"What?!"

Before Lawrence finished speaking, Justice Mopp opened his eyes wide and exclaimed:

"You're not joking, are you?"

"Of course not." Lawrence took out his pocket watch and glanced at the time, made a slight estimate in his mind, then stood up and said:

"As I said, it is not a scrap of paper from the High Court that can kill Madame Du Barry, but His Majesty the King in the Tuileries Palace. Unless His Majesty the King willingly gives up this woman, otherwise Du Barry Madam always has a chance to make a comeback.”

Justice Mopu lowered his head and muttered, then nodded hesitantly.

He also knew that the core of the entire plan was not how to get rid of Madame Du Barry, but how to get rid of Madame Du Barry at the minimum cost.

Otherwise, Justice Maupp could have just appointed a few cronies to disguise themselves as angry thugs and assassinate Madame Du Barry on the spot.

And such an approach will inevitably arouse the great anger of Louis XV. After all, the trial that led to Madame Du Barry's death did not have his approval.

Therefore, the best solution is naturally for Louis XV to voluntarily give up Madame Du Barry. In this way, even if His Majesty the King knows that there are other people behind the matter, he will not investigate thoroughly.

However, although Justice Mopp understood this truth, he was still very worried about Lawrence's approach.

After all, no one can say what irrational behavior a man will do after seeing the woman he loves most being humiliated.

"It's almost time. Madame Du Barry should have left the Palace of Justice safely."

Lawrence closed the cover of his pocket watch, looked at Justice Maupe and ordered:

"Your Excellency, next, you only need to inform the public about Madame Du Barry's escape when you pronounce the final result. As for the rest, my people will take over."

Although he was full of uneasiness, Justice Mopu nodded seriously and accepted Lawrence's instructions.

After all, this was a huge gamble involving his political life, and even his personal life. Even if he didn't know what the Honorable Bonaparte wanted to do, Justice Maupp had no time to doubt or hesitate.

In the courtyard of the Palace of Justice, thousands of people waited for another half an hour to witness with their own eyes the final verdict of the Paris High Court against Madame Du Barry.

As Justice Mopu stood on the trial stand again, the originally chattering courtyard quickly returned to calm.

Thousands of pairs of expectant eyes stared at Justice Mopu, wanting to know immediately what kind of punishment the just law would inflict on the sinful woman.

Under the intense anticipation, Justice Mopu cleared his throat and announced to the judgment in his hand:

"After the vote of fifty-two voting judges, it was determined that the person on trial, Jeanne Bequ, had indeed committed the criminal act of embezzling citizens' property and pretending to be a noble, and had caused extremely bad consequences. The crime is heinous! This court hereby declares that the deprivation Jeanne Bequ's status as the heir of the Lange family and all her privileges were also determined to be invalid, and her marriage to Count Du Barry was deprived of her title of Countess Du Barry. Finally, the court sentenced the person on trial, Jeanne Bequ. Life sentence, served in the Palace of Justice Prison!”

"In addition, Jean Dubarry should have been sentenced to death for forging a noble identity, but considering his good performance in taking the initiative to hand over the evidence, this court commuted the sentence to fifty lashes and ten years' imprisonment, also in Prison sentence at the Palace of Justice!”

As the verdict was announced, there was an immediate wave of cheers among the people.

Although the citizens were a little disappointed that they did not witness Madame Du Barry being sentenced to death, it was still a great victory that went down in history.

Many people clenched their fists in excitement, raised their arms and cheered. For the citizens, this was a rare, and even unique victory in the past fifty years.

They won this fruit of victory through united resistance, allowing a high-ranking figure to get the punishment she deserved, which was simply unbelievable to the previous citizens.

Everyone present had this moment deeply engraved in their minds. This was almost the first time they discovered that as long as they, the people at the bottom, stand firmly together, the villains who are riding on their necks can also be defeated. It flipped over easily.

Jean Dubarry in the audience also smiled miserably and basked in the cheers. For him, fifty lashes plus ten years in prison was indeed a great relief. After all, the Palace of Justice Prison and Shu Compared to the dungeon of the Duke of Vasseur's mansion, it was a paradise.

Justice Mopp on the stage made a downward movement to signal everyone to quiet down, and then solemnly announced the final part of the trial:

"Now! Bring the persons on trial, Jeanne Béqué and Jean Dubarry, and sign the verdict to confirm it."

Since the Paris High Court is already the highest court of appeal in France, this signature confirmation is just a process. After all, even if the person on trial has any objections, he will not be able to find a higher court to appeal.

But even so, the people were still watching the trial stand eagerly. Only when Madame Du Barry signed the verdict, the fruit of victory finally fell into their mouths.

Jean Dubarly walked onto the trial stage tremblingly, without any urging, and signed his name on the verdict without hesitation. He was then taken to the Palace of Justice prison by several guards and immediately began his trial. Prison life.

However, Madame Du Barry did not appear on the trial stand for a long time.

The scene was completely silent. Everyone was expecting that damn woman to appear in the next second, but time was letting them down every second.

Justice Mopu stood on the stage without changing his face, looked back at the main hall of the Judicial Palace, and said loudly:

"Come here! Bring the person on trial, Jeanne Bequ, to the stage!"

At this time, a guard ran up to the stage at the right time and pretended to whisper something in Justice Mopu's ear.

Justice Mopp also took two steps back in cooperation and shouted in disbelief:

"What are you talking about?! Jeanne Bequ escaped?!"

This shout was like a thunderbolt thrown into a clear pond, causing thousands of waves to rise in an instant:

"Did you hear it! The Lord Chancellor said that Madame Du Barry had escaped?!"

"How is this possible? How could this happen!"

"Damn, damn! Why at this last moment!"

"Fuck you! You cunning devil! Bitch!"

"We should have executed her just now!"

"Wait a minute. If Madame Du Barry escaped, she must have fled back."

"Fuck! It's all over! She must have ran back to the palace. As long as she hides behind the king, there's nothing we can do!"

"All our efforts have come to nothing at this time."

After the people finally accepted the fact that Madame Du Barry had escaped from the Palace of Justice, they then realized a fact that made them even more depressed and collapsed:

If Madame Du Barry escapes back to the palace, all the efforts they have made standing here today will be in vain.

The Paris High Court and the French Chancellor were able to cooperate with the people in conducting this trial today, which was an unexpected good thing for the citizens. No one expected that the Palace of Justice would continue to risk angering the king and insist on executing Du Lady Barrie's Sentence.

And in the days to come, there will never be a God-given opportunity like today to punish Madame Du Barry.

When I thought that the victory that was so close to me was shattered to pieces at the last moment, the emotions of unwillingness and anger immediately lingered in the hearts of everyone present.

Many citizens even began to regret that they had given Madame Du Barry a civilized trial. They should have tied up this vicious woman and sunk her to the bottom of the Seine.

But regrets were of no use. Madame Du Barry had escaped from the Palais de Justice, and she must now be on her way back to the Tuileries Palace.

Soon, when this woman stepped into the palace gate, this grand trial ended in vain.

Helpless sighs instantly filled the courtyard of the Palace of Justice. Although they were unwilling to face this cruel reality, many citizens had already acquiesced that their rally today was destined to end in a farce.

After all, was there any way to remove his favorite mistress from the palace and from His Majesty's hands?

More and more people began to accept their defeat and walked dejectedly towards the outside of the Palace of Justice. There was no point in staying here anymore. They would only be caught and thrown into the dungeon by the police and army soldiers who might arrive at any time.

Justice Maupp, who was on the stage, was not in a hurry to leave. He also wanted to see what means Bonaparte would use next.

"Wait a minute, compatriots!"

And amid all the sighs, a sudden shout suddenly came from the crowd:

"Maybe things can turn around!"

The people who were leaving with their heads down couldn't help but stop and look back at the speaker.

Many people have some impressions of this thin young man, because just now it was this thin man who stood in front of the Palace of Justice, waving the conspicuous blue flag, and led everyone to shout and demonstrate inside the Palace of Justice.

With everyone's attention focused on him, Oga Kumas couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

While recalling the instructions he had just received from Monsignor Bonaparte, he shouted righteously:

"Everyone, if we give up here, that damn woman will never get the punishment she deserves!"

Someone immediately responded depressingly:

"But what can we do? Maybe that woman has already run back to the palace!"

Oga Kumas took a step forward, clenched his fists and shouted:

"No, the matter is not over yet! As long as we can still stand together, no one can ignore our existence, no one can ignore our voices, not even His Majesty the King!"

"Hiss you mean!"

Suddenly there was a cry of air-conditioning among the people. Everyone knew what Oga Kumas meant by these words - just like standing in front of the Palace of Justice, he was standing in front of the Tuileries Palace. In front of the gate!

Oga Kumas nodded resolutely, waved his fist passionately and shouted:

"The judges have convicted Madame Du Barry. Our demands are completely legitimate. As long as we stand unitedly in front of the Tuileries Palace, His Majesty the King will definitely hear our voices and His Majesty will definitely Respond to our just and legitimate demands! Let us go to the Tuileries, my fellow citizens!”

After the words fell, Oga Kumas ignored the crowd who were still stunned, picked up his bright blue flag, and took the lead to walk unswervingly towards the Tuileries Palace.

Soon, the gray rats hidden in the crowd immediately gathered and followed behind the Beggar King.

Under the leadership of the gray rats, more and more citizens who were stunned moved their steps and kept up with Oga Kumas.

They have no other choice.

Go to the Tuileries Palace to petition Louis XV. Although it sounds hopeless, this is the last resort for the citizens.

Rather than returning home and sighing with nothing to do, grasping the life-saving straw in front of them has become the choice of the vast majority of demonstrators.

"My compatriots! Let us go to the Tuileries Palace!"

The parade team swelled into a grand crowd in the blink of an eye. They shouted this slogan in unison, attracting all the citizens on both sides of the road to join their team, and then marched toward the Entering the Tuileries Palace.

Justice Mopu stood on the court in a daze, looking at the empty Palace of Justice and returning to calm, he couldn't help lowering his head and murmuring:

"Laurence Bonaparte. Is this your method?"