He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 94

Napoleon’s Genius Son – Episode 94 (94/547)

(94) The Eugene Cartel Absorbs Milan

So, this meeting was originally about the [Italian Legion]’s supply plan.

“Alright. So, the main point of our supply plan is joining the Alpine Legion?”

“We need 15,000 reinforcements to make it worthwhile. Austria’s new legion, and the Mantua Fortress on top of that.”

“Storming the Mantua Fortress, huh? That’ll be tricky.”

Massená, still in his pajamas, chuckled with his chin resting on his hand.

In contrast, Eugene, Berthier, and Hippolyte were in full uniform.

Because they came to have a [supply meeting] with Massená.

Only to find out upon arriving that Massená wasn’t prepared at all.

Nevertheless, it was necessary to inform Massená of the supply plan.

Why?

Firstly, Massená was the senior division commander of the Italian Legion; secondly, he was the most outstanding division commander; and thirdly, the legion’s supply plan had to be finalized as quickly as possible.

Because, as Napoleon said, there would only be about 100 days to spend leisurely in Milan.

Massená suddenly clapped his hands.

“I think that’s all I need to know for now? The rest can be decided by the chief of staff and adjutants. I have a noble lady waiting for me here.”

Eugene chuckled and looked at the sack of silver coins on the table across from him.

“And receiving more donations, I see?”

“Ah, it’s a donation. The noble lady in the bedroom came voluntarily too. Don’t compare me to petty Swiss guys like Laharpe.”

“Of course, of course. But you see.”

Eugene suddenly turned to Berthier and nodded.

“I forgot that there’s one more incorruptible person here. Major General Berthier also didn’t receive a single penny. You should take an example from him.”

“I guess it’s because he got promoted and his salary increased. Humph.”

“Doesn’t the division commander also receive his salary properly? In silver coins, not assignats [revolutionary paper money].”

After the successful expedition, Eugene wasn’t the only one who got promoted.

Lannes, Berthier, and Murat.

The three who made remarkable achievements in the Battle of Lodi were all promoted.

To Brigadier General, Major General, and Lieutenant Colonel, respectively.

Of course, it was meager compared to their achievements.

But it was definitely an extraordinary promotion.

All thanks to Paris and Saliceti, who were delighted with Napoleon’s perfect victory.

Conversely, Massená’s achievements were outstanding, but there was no higher position available for him to be promoted to.

Instead, he was receiving ‘donations’ like this.

Smiling, Massená tapped the silver coins.

“How can you live on just a salary? A soldier should have this kind of fun too. Haha!”

Eugene chuckled and tilted his head.

“Well, I’m not an auditor. If you’re going to receive donations, entrust them to a secure vault.”

“A vault? Where? Is there a safe place in Milan?”

“In Marseille.”

Eugene’s eyes suddenly gleamed.

“Banque de Marseille [Bank of Marseille].”

At the same time, Hippolyte, who was behind Eugene, smiled and took out documents.

-Thump, thump, thump!

As if he had been preparing for it.

Massená, who was usually unfazed, blinked slightly in embarrassment.

Today’s ‘meeting’ is, after all, a meeting for the reorganization and supply of the Italian Legion.

The Italian Legion had won complete victories in repeated battles, but it had consumed a lot of gunpowder, food, and horses.

In addition, it was necessary to replenish soldiers, so a supply plan for future battles was urgently needed.

Therefore, even though it was a day to enjoy with his new lover, Massená reluctantly agreed to the meeting.

But suddenly, Eugene brought bank deposit documents.

It was as if he knew that Massená would receive ‘donations’.

Of course, Eugene really did know.

Because it was recorded in the original history.

About Massená, a luxurious man who liked to receive bribes and spend them.

Massená, who was actually receiving his first [bribe], asked in bewilderment.

“What is it? I heard your family owns a bank. Has it already expanded to Milan?”

“Didn’t I tell you that the Marseille Bank is in charge of our legion’s supplies? The bank manager, Collo, has already arrived.”

“Already? Wow, that’s really fast? But, the military supplies are one thing, why a bank?”

Eugene smiled as he looked at the 100,000 francs in silver coins left by Count Berri, a wealthy man in Milan.

“Because we have to do business with the wealthy people of Milan.”

“What? What would the old nobles trust?”

“It’s a bank guaranteed by the conqueror of Lombardy, General Napoleon. Don’t you think everyone will feel safe entrusting their money to it?”

Massená, Napoleon’s subordinate, clicked his tongue.

“No, it’s so tempting that I’m suspicious.”

“I’ll entrust my money first. Can my ‘transaction money’ go to Paris? I need to send it to my family.”

“Huh? General Berthier, you don’t receive donations, do you?”

Major General Berthier glanced at Massená and shook his head.

“I didn’t receive donations, but I did receive ‘gifts’. Duke Ercole di Este of Modena sent me 10 paintings as a sign of ‘friendship’.”

Modena is a small country located further south than Parma.

A place ruled by the ‘Este’ family, a historic noble family that has been around since the Middle Ages.

Of course, it was only a matter of time before Napoleon’s legion would crush them.

So, they sent ‘donations’ to the real power of Napoleon’s legion.

Very good paintings.

“So? You’re entrusting the paintings to the bank to move them?”

“That’s also a good idea. But I’m not interested in paintings, so I sold them to Brigadier General Eugene. He gave me 200,000 francs.”

“What kind of paintings are they?”

Just as Massená was about to ask what kind of paintings were so expensive, Eugene replied.

“Raphael’s works, mostly.”

“Wait, I think I’ve heard that name before? You gave 10 Raphael paintings and only got 200,000 francs? You thief!”

“It’s a new feeling to hear that from the division commander. Anyway, if you entrust your money to Banque de Marseille, you’ll get an annual interest rate of 10 percent.”

Massená had to be shocked again.

“That’s twice the assignat! How on earth! What are you doing!”

The revolutionary government’s poorly issued bonds, assignats, only yield 5 percent per year.

It’s an era when financial returns are not high at all.

Unless you’re running a usury business, it’s very difficult to get a 10 percent return.

But Eugene, of course, has a way to generate returns of more than 10 percent.

“Well, of course, it’s military supplies. Did you forget? All the supplies for our army are provided by the [Boarneh Cartel]. Well, the name might change soon, though.”

Massená stared intently at Eugene, who was joking lightly, and then turned his gaze to the documents on the table.

The military supplies listed in those documents.

Gunpowder, uniforms, shoes, firearms, food.

All of those are military supplies that the Boarneh Cartel is currently supplying.

How much would that be worth in money?

It’s an amount that even the wasteful Massená would be tempted by.

“I’ll entrust it. All of it. Can I withdraw it anytime?”

Eugene swallowed the words ‘just leave it as retirement funds’ and smiled brightly.

“Of course. Anytime, anywhere, any amount.”

In any case, as long as he’s with Napoleon, Massená will never go bankrupt.

He’ll just suffer from financial difficulties due to his unique spending habits.

***

However, the biggest thing Eugene needs to gain in Milan is not [donation] deposits.

“So, you’re offering me a proposal to come to Paris? To give up all the positions I have in this Lombardy?”

Volta asked, with a dumbfounded look on his face.

This is the Serbelloni Palace.

Napoleon made it his residence, but this palace is too big to use alone.

So, Napoleon’s adjutants, especially Eugene and Hippolyte, also had separate rooms to use.

Eugene, walking through the old [butler’s room] that had become the temporary chief adjutant’s office, turned his head.

“That’s right.”

“You know that I’m the head of the Physics Department at the University of Pavia, right?”

“Of course.”

Volta asked back with a troubled face.

“Then, why should I give up my position and go to Paris?”

Volta actually came here to reject the invitation.

In any case, Eugene is a member of the occupying forces.

He just responded to the invitation because he didn’t know what would happen if he refused outright.

But Eugene suddenly drew a blueprint in front of Volta.

-Swish, swish, swish.

Volta, who was quietly looking at the blueprint, widened his eyes.

“What is this?”

It is the blueprint of the [Voltaic pile] [an early electric battery].

Eugene, brazenly drawing this blueprint in front of Volta, stared at Volta.

It is still 1795, and there are 5 years left before Volta conducts this experiment.

He only has initial ideas, and Volta himself will not have a clear concept.

“Professor, you know, right? It’s a blueprint for artificially creating static electricity.”

“Wait, anyone can just draw a picture like this.”

“The wires are made of iron or copper, the core is made of copper on the top and zinc on the bottom. Furthermore, it causes a chemical reaction of each metal with salt water.”

Eugene drew a line connecting the cathode and anode of the battery.

“Then, electricity will be artificially generated.”

Of course, this principle itself will later be established by Michael Faraday as the law of electromagnetism.

However, Faraday is currently 4 years old.

Originally, he was not born very wealthy in England, so he can be recruited later.

However, whether he recruits Faraday or has Eugene give him ideas to research, a foundation is needed.

Volta is an important talent who can create that research base for the first time.

That’s why Eugene is trying to bring Volta to Paris now.

Even Napoleon, who didn’t know the importance of electricity in the original history, tries it later.

Volta stared at the blueprint and glared at Eugene.

“Have you experimented with this?”

“No. I thought about it based on chemical knowledge. The professor has to do the research. It’s not like you’re going to lose anything by experimenting, right?”

“I will lose. If I see this and go to Paris!”

Volta, already half out of his mind with an unexpected [answer], shouted.

“I’ve thought about this too. But the metal, electrolyte, and structure, none of them were clearly defined. But!”

“I see.”

“Ha! A famous gambler boy in Paris did research that I couldn’t do? Who’s behind you? Lavoisier [Antoine Lavoisier, a prominent French chemist]!”

One way or another, the most famous chemist in France seems to be Lavoisier.

But Eugene was surprised by something else.

Gambling prodigy.

Was that nickname known even in Milan?

“How did you know I was a gambler?”

“Ha, the French royal family collapsed only 6 years ago. Parisian trends were directly connected to Italy. Milan was also a hot topic when the Bourbon royal family had a gambling prodigy as their attendant.”

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to be a trend. Judging by the fact that a mass-produced version hasn’t come out.”

Eugene, who was throwing a dark joke, tilted his head.

“What if there is Lavoisier? Along with his disciple DuPont, he is currently conducting research. With the best chemical experiment equipment. Right.”

“I’m not a chemist. I’m a physicist.”

“I can give you research facilities. First of all, this.”

Eugene flicked the blueprint of the Voltaic pile and shone his eyes.

“I will help you prove this and make it on a large scale.”

Volta looked at the blueprint once again.

His face clearly shows that he wants to run home and experiment right away.

More than anything, he is curious about how he could make such a blueprint.

But Volta realized that Eugene would not say a word now.

Volta, gritting his teeth, finally accepted.

“Okay. But I’m really a pure researcher. How can I help you?”

Eugene smiled and replied.

“You’ll find out when the time comes.”

Just as Volta was about to leave with the blueprint, the adjutant Hippolyte asked.

“Why do you really need him? He doesn’t study gunpowder like Lavoisier, he doesn’t study fulminate of mercury like DuPont, and he’s not a weapon maker like Polley, right?”

“Far from it. Volta can bring about a fundamental [revolution].”

“Revolution? That person?”

It is an era when James Watt has already made two important inventions in England.

The steam engine in 1776 and the handmade copier in 1780.

It was in 1785 that mass production began by attaching a steam engine to a loom.

10 years later, the [Industrial Revolution] has begun on the island of Britain, although the European continent does not know it.

France caused the French Revolution, but the Industrial Revolution barely starts in the 1820s.

But what if this power could be replaced with electricity instead of steam?

Instead of these complicated explanations, Eugene pointed to the carriage outside the window.

“For example, what if those wheels could turn automatically?”

“Is that possible? How?”

“It’s possible if you can artificially create electricity. Of course, it’s difficult with Professor Volta’s battery.”

Eugene recalled his memories of his past life and said in a low voice.

“If we could create a machine that generates electricity, that is, a generator.”

Hippolyte didn’t understand what he was saying, but he realized one thing.

[Master], Eugene, who always follows him, is looking at a bigger world.

Perhaps about an experiment that will change the world more than a revolution.

Hippolyte scratched his head lightly and talked about what he had in mind.

“It’s too much to talk about. Oh, Collo said he’s finally setting up a bank. He said he’s putting up the sign today, right?”

Eugene also nodded.

“Yes, right now, money is more important than the revolution of the future. Let’s go.”

The electric revolution that will replace the steam engine.

It’s still a long way off.

Gold is closer now.

***

A new sign was erected in Porta Nuova, the new city of Milan.

-Bang, bang, bang!

It is the place where Ferdinand, the uncle of the former Austrian Governor-General, Marie Therese, lived.

The so-called Governor-General’s mansion.

The new sign erected in this mansion is as follows.

–

In fact, the head office is in Paris, but the Milan branch of what is now commonly called the [Marseille Bank] has been established.

Amidst the busy comings and goings of workers, three mismatched people stood in front of it.

The boy Eugene in military uniform, Collo in plain clothes, and the handsome Hippolyte who always accompanies Eugene.

Collo whistled and shouted.

“Hey, the sign is crooked! Put it up again! By the way, [Patron]. So what do you want me to do?”

Eugene looked at the newly erected sign and replied.

“Collo, I told you to hire postmen at the Marseille Bank’s Milan branch. It would be even better if they were friends from the Marseille Postal Regiment who wanted to retire.”

In the original history, modern post offices combine financial services.

Of course, it is a very unfamiliar concept in the late 18th century.

However, Eugene was thinking of combining a post office with a bank, starting with this Milan branch.

So why Milan?

Originally, Milan was a center of finance in the original history, and the financial industry has been activated since this time.

It is worth entering enough.

Even if you don’t know the history, Collo understood that the Milan Bank would make money.

However, he did not understand the post office.

“Are you going to run a private post office?”

“Strictly speaking, the post office function may become bigger. After all, the funds earned here will go to Marseille.”

“Why are you making it? Are there not enough postmen?”

Eugene stared at Collo, who was asking if it was because of [private soldiers], and said.

“Before the war is over, all our sources of funds are military supplies. You know?”

“I know. Wow, I didn’t know that the entire principal would be recovered so quickly. You know what? Half of the 40 million francs that were supposed to go to Paris, 20 million francs, came to us.”

“Well, the military supply money should originally come from the government, so it’s natural. I think we’ve already made three times the profit of the principal. But after the war is over?”

Once the war is over, military supplies will also decrease significantly.

Especially in Milan.

So what kind of business should we do here?

“Besides, it’s difficult to set up military factories here in Italy. The trading business will be a little easier, but you have to go to Genoa, not Milan.”

“That’s right? Our trading company is originally a smuggling company, so maritime trade is our main business.”

“But we need a base in Milan. That’s why I’m saying let’s set up a bank with a private post office function.”

Eugene’s eyes flashed.

“It will be a place where information gathering, espionage, and armed intervention are possible in case of emergency.”

It’s the same as when I first created the postal unit.

Eugene is not simply creating a post office to send letters.

In an era where security is still unstable, the postman must be someone who can use force.

They must be able to break through dangerous battlefields like messengers.

Therefore, the post office that Eugene is trying to create should actually be called by another name.

Intelligence agency.

However, it is a ‘private intelligence agency’ owned by Eugene personally, not the state.

Collo also vaguely realized it and opened his mouth wide.

“Is that, is that possible?”

“Is it because of the military training? Don’t worry. I’m not telling you to do it alone. I’ll attach Tournay. After all, the postal regiment still has to be operated.”

“Ah, then I can do it. But, this.”

Collo swallowed hard and asked.

“What are you thinking about, anyway?”

I came to Milan thinking that I was just setting up a new bank.

Even though the war is not over yet and it is dangerous, there is only one reason why Collo came all the way here from safe Marseille.

It was clear that [Master] Eugene was going to start a very big business in Milan.

But when I came and listened, it was not just a simple financial business.

What is Eugene planning?

The [Patron] of the Boarneh Cartel, Eugene, stared at the sign and replied.

“It’s still uncertain. But one thing is clear. General Napoleon.”

“Huh? Why General Napoleon all of a sudden?”

“Depending on how far the general goes, the size and goals of our cartel will also change. First of all, my goal is to become the largest merchant cartel in France.”

Collo looked at Eugene blankly and sighed.

“That’s really amazing. Oh, by the way, do you have time tomorrow?”

“What’s going on? Is a new guest coming?”

“Well, someone contacted me through an introduction from Baring’s Bank to meet me.”

This time, Eugene was surprised.

“Are people coming from Baring’s Bank? We can’t trade with them anymore.”

Baring Brothers Bank, created by Francis Baring, an innovative financier in England.

Before the revolution, the first investment that allowed Eugene to take off also came from Baring.

In fact, some of the shares of the Boarneh Bank in Paris are still nominally Baring’s.

However, after the war started, bond trading with England was completely cut off.

So why are they asking to trade again now?

Fortunately, that wasn’t the story.

Collo shook his head and replied.

“No, they’re coming from the Holy Roman Empire, from Hesse. What’s his name? Rothschild? Rothschild? Rothschild? Anyway, he said he’s the eldest son of that family.”

Eugene repeated the name and widened his eyes.

“Rothschild?”

Rothschild.

The birthplace of later conspiracy theories along with the Freemasons.

Or, the family that was called the ruler of the 19th century original history is approaching Eugene.