# Plan of Battle explained — The Vicomte de Bragelonne

> Chapter companion for The Vicomte de Bragelonne by Alexandre Dumas.

## What happens

Fouquet, joined by his brother the Abbé and Gourville, devises a plan to rescue the financiers Lyodot and D'Eymeris from execution. The Abbé will mobilize a hundred and twenty men to stage a riot on the Place de Grève, using a cabaret as a staging point to spirit the prisoners away through a garden. Fouquet authorizes a hundred thousand livres for the operation, determined to defy the king and save his own house.

## Themes in this chapter

### Power and Ambition

Fouquet's desperate gamble to rescue the financiers reflects his ambition to preserve his power against the king's encroachment.

### Court Intrigue and Deception

The plan to stage a riot under the false cry of 'Colbert' exemplifies the deceptive machinations of court politics.

### Greed and Corruption

Fouquet's willingness to spend a hundred thousand livres and employ bandits reveals the corruption underlying his defense.

## Character check-ins

### Nicolas Fouquet

The superintendent, pale with dread, orchestrates a riot to rescue Lyodot and D'Eymeris, determined to contend with the king.

### The Abbé Fouquet

Fouquet's brother, who commands a hundred and twenty sworn men and devises the plan to stage a riot under the cry 'Colbert, vive Colbert!'

### Gourville

Fouquet's confidant, present at the planning and tasked with counting out a hundred thousand livres for the operation.

### Jean-Baptiste Colbert

Mentioned as the name the rioters will cry to disguise their true purpose.

## Key lines

> The night was already far advanced when the Abbé Fouquet joined his brother. Gourville had accompanied him. These three men, pale with dread of future events, resembled less three powers of the day than three conspirators, united by one single thought of violence.

Late at night, the Abbé Fouquet and Gourville met with the superintendent; the three looked more like conspirators than statesmen, bound by a violent purpose.

_Sets the conspiratorial tone of the chapter._

> I will manage that. My men shall cry out, 'Colbert, vive Colbert!' and shall throw themselves upon the prisoners as if they would tear them in pieces, and shall force them from the gibbets, as too mild a punishment.

The Abbé plans to have his men shout support for Colbert while pretending to tear the prisoners from the gallows, disguising the rescue as a mob's outrage.

_Reveals the deceptive strategy of the planned riot._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_vicomte_de_bragelonne_se/chapters/60-plan-of-battle
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_vicomte_de_bragelonne_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/the_vicomte_de_bragelonne_se/chapters