Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 35

6. Paris, City of Light – 5

After voting for the three main agendas in cooperation with the Council, Napoleon declared the meeting closed. Members approached Napoleon with sparkling eyes, but he avoided them because he had a lot of duties and was physically tired. When he opened the door of the parliament hall, reporters, who had already guessed that something was going on, had gathered together and were waiting for interviews.

“For the future of the Empire, we have concluded a fruitful discussion with the delegates. Steps for progress and development will start soon, so the people of the Empire should trust me, the government and the Council, and wait.”

Napoleon returned to the Tuileries Palace after this remark.

After hours of mentally demanding struggle, his body was already exhausted. Napoleon called officials in the Emperor’s office. They were high-ranking officials working directly under the Minister of the Economy and Finance, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Administration, that he had called the other day. Napoleon gave them a document stating every points discussed in the Imperial Council.

“I delegate my authority on this matter. Consult your superiors and members of the Council to take care of it.”

“Y-Your Majesty?”

“You just have to report the results on time.”

The officials rushed out of the office, even though they were not sure what to do with the Emperor’s gesture. After they left, Napoleon put his feet on the table and leaned back on his chair. He twisted his body in a comfortable posture and closed his eyes for a moment.

‘The wheel begins to roll. The reform of France starts now.’

The three most urgent issues were put on the stand, but there were many other abscesses growing on the body of France. What was the point of pouring out economic revival policies? It would be useless unless there was a massive eradication of the corruption that prevailed throughout society.

Napoleon thought that an in-depth analysis of the Empire’s tax receipts and finances was needed.

There were many other things that needed to be changed and reorganized, including stopping the oppression of Jews, breaking unfair tariffs by region, introducing transparent income and progressive taxes, credit adjustment in the international financial market, standardization and institutionalization of direct and indirect taxes, and improvement of the military medical system.

‘I have to stop here for now. This country has a large land, and the administrative system is weak and fragile… I can’t do much at once.’

Still, he could not hide his sense of accomplishment that he had taken a step forward.

A light smile was engraved on Napoleon’s face with his eyes closed… But the thought that quickly came to his mind caught him off guard.

‘I have to exercise… Oh, damn it!

There was no time to relax for a second.

There were French soldiers returning to the military base after hard training near Paris. Their steps were heavy. Was it fatigue from training? One of them, Maxime, thought it was not.

‘Oh, the sky is so clear without a cloud.’

Maxime took off his sweaty military hat while spitting. Then he could see an editorial of a famous journal on a street sign.

…omitted… The overwhelming victory in a huge battle fought by hundreds of thousands of troops brought the Slavic empire to its knees. This great achievement will remain praised in history. The French warriors who participated in this will live with infinite pride …omitted…

As soon as the content of the article came into view, Maxime frowned. He felt even more rotten and dirty. Maxime ripped the newspaper and tore it up roughly.

‘Win a historic battle, but to whom does the honor go? And when did the soldiers at the bottom ever wish for such honor?’

What they really wanted was life. A life without fighting. A life without worrying about being killed, a life with a family.

“They say our next destination is the Iberian Peninsula.”

“Do you mean we have to creep into the Land of Death!…? Oh my god!..”

The comrades of Maxime murmured with a lost look on their faces.

‘If you go to the Iberian Peninsula, you will surely die or be crippled.’

It was an ominous rumor circulating among the French troops. And this rumor was also based on facts to some extent.

“The cold, hunger, and the infectious diseases of the country are terrifying, but they cannot be compared to the hell in the south. It’s just not a habitable place.”

The soldiers who experienced the war on the Iberian Peninsula trembled and exaggerated.

“At some point, the old man who was talking comfortably with us came down and threw an axe at the back of our company commander. I clearly saw the scene up close. Some villages poisoned their wells. They said they were going to kill all the French passing by.”

“I even caught a guy starting a fire in the camp at night. I thought he was a little small, so I took him close to the bonfire and he was a young man with no beard yet.”

“Oh… that’s terrible.”

“They are demons. Demons in human form.”

All of the fellow soldiers agreed.

A place where no one could be trust, where no one could relax for a moment, and where the whole of Spain was filled with malice. It was what they thought was the Iberian Peninsula. And now they had to go to war again in such a place. Maxime could not hide his mixed feelings.

When on earth can I end this hellish life? No, is it possible to get out of here alive?

“Uuugh!… Ugh!”

“Huh? Maxime! What’s wrong with this little guy?”

“Never seen a man with a weak mind lose it from the impact of a battle? He’s been like this since the expedition.”

“It’s tough… But at this point, how did you train in the suburbs?”

“It was twice as hard for me to take care of him. Damn… how did such a young man end up wearing a military uniform…”

The proportion of soldiers suffering from mental panic after the battle was not small.

Such side effects were natural because the military was forced to recruit unsuitable people from the beginning and to turn them into soldiers. In Maxime’s heart, fierce anger was boiling several times a day. What in the world are we fighting for with guns and knives? What is the purpose to achieve by changing the lives of young people like this?

“Damn it…”

The faces of Maxime and his fellow soldiers as they trudged back to the military base were darker than before.

It was then.

Wow! Ahhhhh-!!

Suddenly there was a tremendous cheer from the other side.

It was such a loud voice that a stray cat walking on the street was surprised and ran away. Maxime and the soldiers looked at each other and rushed there. Something must have happened.

The place where the cheers rang out was the military base to where Maximie and his companions were currently on their way.

There, soldiers dressed in military uniforms of the same color as Maxime were throwing their hats up, showing incredible enthusiasm and joy. Some soldiers crouched down and cried. Although they did not shed a lot of tears, the eyes of all the soldiers gathered at the training ground were reddish.

Among the soldiers raising their arms and crying out ‘Long live the Emperor!’, Maxime could not understand.

‘It wasn’t like this when we won the Battle of Hrodna, when the expedition ended, or when we returned home… What the hell happened here?”

Maxime and the soldiers who were walking with him, looked puzzled because they could not adapt to this atmosphere.

Someone laughed after seeing them.

“Here comes new people to react to this amazing news!”

“Sergeant Maxime, reporting to the battalion commander, returning from the suburbs training with 21 soldiers. Loyalty!”

“Loyalty. Perhaps today will be the last time I receive this kind of greetings from you.”

The battalion commander handed official documents to Maxime, who still did not understand what he was saying, and to some soldiers who could read.

Maxime’s eyes widened after reading the top line of the official document.

Abolition of the Imperial-Federal Mobilization Decree, reduction of the Great Army scale and conscription reform

Maxim read the official document as if possessed. As his eyes went down, his hands trembled more and more. Soldiers who deviated from the standard were given the right to be discharged

Is this dream really real?

The seal of the Imperial Council and Emperor Napoleon at the end of the document awakened Maxime.

“Well, then… we’re…!?”

“Maxime, 11 out of 17 people, including you, are over 25 years old. The other six also have qualifications, like being an only child or an undergraduate. Congratulations!”

Maxime could finally realize it. It was the same for the other soldiers on the training ground. At last… he could finally take off this heavy military cap, uniform, and sword.

“Oh, ahhhh!”

“Oh, my God!… God!”

“The Emperor… Long live the Emperor! Hahaha!”

Maxime and his soldiers could not help but cry at the waves of emotions.

How many twists and turns of tears had been shed in this hell so far? Their sense of liberation destroyed their reason and mental barriers.

“Haha, you’re good soldiers, so I was hoping you’d choose the option to stay in the military, but it’s useless seeing your reactions.”

“I’m, I’m sorry. Battalion commander. But … I want to go back to my daily life.”

The battalion commander patted him on the shoulder with a kind face as if he understood.

“I’m afraid we’re going to have a power vacuum, but I think this is the right thing to do. It was impossible for our Empire to demand unconditional loyalty and hopeless dedication, even if it was against a barbaric country like Prussia. This shouldn’t be happening any more.”

“…Honestly speaking, I’ve rarely been happy in my military career. But I was really lucky to meet a superior like the battalion commander. Thank you so much so far.”

“I’m telling you, you’re still soldiers. You can’t just run home like this.”

A soldier appeared in front of Maxime, who was laughing and talking with the battalion commander. A troublemaker who was plagued by aftereffects after the battle, Brigadier Dugaisault. He was running frantically around the training ground, hooraying.

‘Fuck this guy. He was struggling like a sick chicken in training.’

Maxime smiled bitterly. But the smile on his face did not fade for a long time.

The sky was very clear today.