Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 33

6. Paris, City of Light – 3

‘The Emperor has changed.’

It was the first words that Talleyrand uttered quietly when he left the Tuileries Palace, the official residence and imperial palace of the French Empire. Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was never one to admit his mistakes, nor was he one to lower himself to ask for advice to a former official.

The change was radical, to the point where there was a terrible sense of incompatibility. People could never change in a short period of time. Talleyrand, who had been thinking about it, suspected for a moment that another person looking like the Emperor was acting in his stead.

‘And at the beginning of the Russian conquest, the Emperor suddenly declared a halt to the expedition and stopped the march. The Emperor as usual would have run to Moscow to prove that he was right, with some hell waiting before him.’

Talleyrand, who had not stopped pondering on his way out of the palace, quickly relieved his embarrassment and regained his coolness. Talleyrand did not think at all that the Emperor had found reason. Of course, he thought that he was scheming something hard to guess. After all, the Emperor had already sent a delegation to Russia wishing for peace to reassure Tsar, and then had led the battle of Hrodna to destroy the Russian army. This time again, it would be a two-sided tactic in a similar vein. Then what was the Emperor’s true intention?

…Is the Emperor suspicious of me?’

What if this move was aimed at discriminating Talleyrand? Or if was he trying to convey fake information through himself to the French enemies? Talleyrand shook his head. Too much thought would ruin the conclusion. It was time to focus on the original theory. The only thing that was clear was that Talleyrand now had to obey the Emperor’s orders.

“Let’s go straight to the mansion without stopping by. We’ll have to go on a long journey soon.”

“Yes, I understand.”

After ordering the coachman, Talleyrand climbed into a carriage pulled by four horses and leaned over the window. Talleyrand had eventually accepted the Emperor’s request to step up in the negotiations with Spain. Even if Spain could not accept them, the words spoken in the office of the Tuileries Palace were sincere. And even if Spain accepted them, the war on the peninsula was intricately entangled with completely different interests between Britain and Portugal.

End the war and make Spain a French ally again? It was a dream, pure and simple. The war on the Iberian Peninsula was already rotting. Natural healing could not cure it. It had to be cut out with a knife.

‘Even if the Emperor truly changed his mind… It’s too late now. The Empire’s consumption has already gone beyond its limits since the old system. France no longer needs a leader who is crazy about warfare.’

Talleyrand made up his mind. That was right. His route could not be changed.

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After sending Talleyrand away, Napoleon ordered his secretaries to bring the entire archive inside the Tuileries Palace. The reason was that there were a lot of things that needed to be checked and verified as soon as possible. In a sea of documents taken out of the archives, Napoleon took out what he wanted and collected them.

These were documents that recorded the timeline of the major events France had experienced since the attack on the Bastille Prison (1789), one of the major turning points in history.

…The war from 1789 to 1798 makes no big difference between the world over there and here. From the moment I (Napoleon, Nabot) emerge in earnest, there is a peculiarity in which the road is divided.’

Facing reality, Napoleon felt a terrible sense of incompatibility. As if looking in a mirror, everything was the same, except for Napoleon. Even in the myriad dimensions and worlds spoken by the native voodoo doctor, only Napoleon was sucked into another world?

It was as contrived as the setting of a story. In the meantime Napoleon faced reality. Clicking his tongue, he looked at Nabot’s past.

I’m the only one who’s different, but I didn’t imagine the difference at the crossroads would have widened like this.’

The main difference was the war history of France between this world and the other one. In short, a grand military operation of July 1798 called the ‘Egyptian Expedition’ existed in this world. Nabot here did not reject the government’s order to attack Egypt, or rather seemed to have taken the initiative.

He did not know what delusion he had, but the result was a catastrophic failure of both the Army and the Navy. This had caused France to lose its historic ally, the Ottoman Empire. Then the events were almost the same in both worlds that led to the presidency. However, after becoming a president, they were were sharply divided.

Napoleon himself did his best to prevent war, avoiding military actions that would threaten his neighbors after becoming president. This was because the government decided that it was better to focus on internal affairs to heal the wounds of the revolutionary war and revive the broken economy. The card of war was taken out only when it was really necessary. And if they decided to go to war, it did not necessarily last long. He maneuvered quickly and rapidly, to have an overwhelming strategic advantage. And even after his victory, he avoided harsh diplomatic negotiations.

As a result, the French Republic was able to have relatively favorable relationships with neighboring countries even though they lost.

On the other hand, Nabot did not stop war, war, and war after the expedition to Egypt. Nabot only knew to wage war, but he did not have the ability to finish it right. His talent for strategy and tactics enabled him to lead most wars to victory and conquer many territories, but in the process, he greatly raised the boundaries and public resentment of neighboring countries.

Except for the satellite countries that had been forcibly conquered and subjugated, Denmark, and the United States across the sea, there were virtually enemies everywhere. The Swedish Empire in its golden age and France now looked alike. Of course, the Swedish Empire had soon collapsed.

‘This is more problematic than I thought. I’ve had some prediction, but I didn’t expect it to be this serious!…’

Nabot had used the media and propaganda to manipulate the number of casualties, but it seemed to have been filled out honestly without lying in official documents. Thanks to this, Napoleon was impressed by the post-war report, which summarized the casualties, injuries, and civilian damage that occurred in every war and battle.

From 1789 to 1812, the French had fought continuously, and the number of deaths was well over one million and reached 1.5 million. This caused the ratio between men and women in their 20s and 30s to be 1:1.25. Almost all adult men who could be conscripted had be taken to the military.

The youth, the foundation and future of the country, had already been greatly divided even before the Russian expedition. The problem was that the war was still going on.

“Call the Minister of the Economy and Finance, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Administration right now. Tell them it’s the Emperor’s ‘urgent’ summon, so they’d better stop all their duties and come.”

“I-I understand, Your Majesty!”

The attendants left the office terrified, as the atmosphere around Napoleon turned into a volcano just before an eruption.

Napoleon gritted his teeth quietly.

With an honest heart, he wanted to run to the Iberian Peninsula right now. He had to quickly end the war and undergo surgery on the whole of France, which had already begun to crumble. However, the problems in Paris were far too many and far worse than Napoleon’s expectations. It was doubtful whether these problems within the country would wait until the war was over.

Most of them had been made without countermeasures by Nabot from this world, such as incompetent bureaucrats who collaborated with him, bourgeoisie pretending to be aristocrats, and the military. Among all these problems, the first that needed to be cleaned up was the situation of the entire national military, which was reaching its limits, with the unnecessarily large Great Army and the numerous conscription training centers.

‘It’s going to be a more dynamic Empire than ever.’

Napoleon raised one eyebrow as he saw the ministers rushing in. There was a lot of work to be discussed with them.

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“His Majesty the Emperor enters the Imperial Council. Please all stand up and show a legitimate courtesy.”

It was Napoleon’s first day at a Council meeting after returning from the expedition.

Members of the Council opened the door and applauded Napoleon coming in. It was a sign of respect and awe for the French Emperor who defeated Russia and kneeled down the Slavic army. Napoleon, who was greeted by them, took a look at the people filling the French Council.

A parliament did exist in France as well. It had also a much longer history than in Britain. However, unlike Britain, the French parliament did not have the right to collect taxes or decide budgets, so it could only act as a rubber stamp under pressure from the king.

The same was true of the Imperial Council. Thanks to this, Napoleon was able to overdo his own policies.

“We are abolishing the ‘Imperial-Federal Mobilization Decree’, which was announced in January 1812. The conscription age and standards will be returned to before 1812, and soldiers in active duty who fall short of these can be discharged whenever they want.”

The first announcement made by the President of the Tuileries Palace was a controversial issue in various circles of society. The standard for conscription of French troops was unmarried men between the ages of 20 and 25.

However, even if a man lost his wife or divorced, he was not eligible for conscription if he had children. It was the same for people who worked as military instructors or in foreign countries, or students at school. In some cases, priests of the church were treated as exceptions from conscripts. It meant there was some flexibility.

Sadly, however, the war-maniac leader began to take control of France. Frequent wars and expeditions had led to extreme military and manpower consumption, which had consistently lowered the standard of conscription. The ‘Imperial-Federal Mobilization Decree’ announced by Nabot to make up for the shortage of soldiers ahead of the Russian expedition was a decisive blow.

Not only did he no longer recognize the exceptions to the above conscription, but he also took a large number of young men to the military.he imperial-Federal Mobilization Decree’ was the biggest reason French citizens turned against Nabot. And now Napoleon declared that he would abolish it.

‘Be confident when you give benefits or choices. That way, people who feel the same way will change their minds again.’

Napoleon did not stop here and went one step further, following the principle of human strange psychology.

“Standards for military service shall be governed by the Homeland Security Decree of July 1808. Similarly, soldiers in active duty who do not apply to this will be able to enjoy a return to their daily lives if they wish.”

Exceptions if a man had a wife or child, exceptions if he was an undergraduate at a university, exceptions for aspiring priests. Exceptions if he was an only child who had no siblings to support his old parents. He also raised the age of conscription. Now the 18-year-olds and 19-year-olds, whose birthdays had not passed, were able to escape the military. On the other hand, the retirement age was lowered. Those over the age of 26 who had more than five years of experience in the service, had the option to retire.

Napoleon’s ‘gift’ for the French soldiers who were tired of the war was the right to escape from the army.