He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 161

Becoming Napoleon’s Genius Son – Episode 161 (161/547)

(161) Creating Napoleon’s Spy Organization

He remembered the moment he opened his eyes, the sweltering heat and mosquitoes descending upon him.

“Hah, hah, hah!”

Rochejacquelein woke up drenched in sweat.

He vividly recalled being covered with a coarse military blanket in his dream.

A dirty, smelly, and blood-stained blanket.

But now, Rochejacquelein was covered in a pristine white bed sheet.

A soft voice suddenly spoke.

“Oh my, you’re awake?”

Startled, Rochejacquelein turned his head and saw a girl with a bright and cheerful demeanor looking after him.

“Who are you?”

“Pfft, would you even recognize the name if I told you? I’m Émilie.”

“I don’t think so. Certainly not.”

She was probably around 16 years old.

She didn’t look like a maid, appearing to have been raised with care and privilege.

Just then, a much younger girl dashed out from behind Émilie and ran to the bed.

“Kyaa! He’s awake! That man slept for three days straight! Wow, it’s my first time seeing someone sleep through Christmas week like that!”

She was about eight years old.

In contrast to her lively impression, she possessed a beauty that was immediately noticeable, despite her young age.

Émilie hurriedly grabbed the girl and pulled her away from the bed.

“Stéphanie! It’s rude to bother someone who just woke up!”

“Émilie, you’ve been coming every day to look at his face! I want to see too!”

“You little rascal!”

Teenage Émilie and eight-year-old Stéphanie.

Rochejacquelein blinked.

He somehow knew they were the ones taking care of him, but it was a strange combination, and he didn’t know why he was here.

Just then, Rochejacquelein’s stomach growled.

-Grrr!

Putting the information together, he realized he had been asleep for three days.

Come to think of it, it had been a week of fighting wars, visiting Florida and Saint-Domingue [now Haiti], and crossing the Atlantic again.

So, this was Bordeaux.

No longer the fortress of Martinique.

Then, Émilie offered him the meal she had prepared.

“Oh my, I almost forgot to give you a meal since you just woke up. Here you go.”

Rochejacquelein smiled as he looked at the white bread on the light tray.

“White bread, I see.”

“Huh? Haven’t you seen this in the New World?”

“Where I was, it was an island in the Antilles [Caribbean Islands]. If it had been the mainland, we could have imported wheat from America, but we couldn’t. The British ships were blockading trade.”

Antilles, that is, the Spanish word for the Atlantic.

A rather old-fashioned expression referring to the Caribbean, where the West Indies are located.

Even in this expression, it was revealed that Rochejacquelein was an aristocrat from the old royalist era.

Returning to France, where aristocrats officially no longer existed, Rochejacquelein closed his eyes.

“It feels like a dream. The air, the bed, even the bread of France.”

Then, Émilie playfully said to Rochejacquelein.

“That’s right. If you look out the window, it’ll feel even more like a dream.”

“Why is that?”

“Well, there are so many people welcoming you.”

Rochejacquelein blinked and got up.

His body wasn’t in great condition, probably because it had been a while since he had been on his feet.

He was just about to open the window.

-Waaah!

He could see a fortress with citadels and spires everywhere.

Below the fortress, people were cheering.

A crowd of thousands, no, tens of thousands, were shouting, having gathered at some point.

“He’s the hero of the New World War!”

“Rochejacquelein! Look over here, kyaa!”

“A pioneer who left to develop New France! Oh, praise the pioneer!”

Rochejacquelein instantly realized three things.

First, this was the Château du Hâ [Hâ Castle], a fortress on the outskirts of Bordeaux.

A fortress of the County of Bordeaux that was used by the royal family in the past, and a place that was used as a prison after the revolution.

Next, those cheering for Rochejacquelein were either old royalists from Bordeaux or counter-revolutionaries.

This was because Bordeaux had traditionally been loyal to the king and was close to the Vendée [a region known for its royalist sympathies].

Finally, Rochejacquelein had become a [hero] without even knowing it.

In a way, it was an excellent quality to be able to quickly assess information with instantaneous judgment.

However, Rochejacquelein was now in a difficult situation because he was too quick-witted.

Then, Émilie playfully asked Rochejacquelein.

“How does it feel to be a hero who has returned from developing the New World?”

But Rochejacquelein replied seriously.

“This is wrong.”

“Pardon?”

“The New World? I suppose you mean Florida, but my [lord] is the one who took it from Spain. General Eugène. And General Bonaparte must have made the decision. Even if you were to embellish it, it was the Directory [the French revolutionary government] that ultimately negotiated.”

Rochejacquelein, who was too serious, confessed to Émilie, who was embarrassed.

“I didn’t do anything. I can’t receive this applause. I shouldn’t, and I can’t!”

It was then.

“You really are like a knight from an old story, Monsieur Rochejacquelein.”

When Rochejacquelein turned his gaze, a blonde girl with elegant beauty was standing there.

Her platinum blonde hair reminded him of the queen he had seen in the past, Marie Antoinette.

He had never seen her current appearance, but he had a memory of seeing her when he was very young.

It was when the dead king was driven out of the Palace of Versailles and dragged to the Tuileries Palace in Paris.

Rochejacquelein, a young royalist aristocrat who had gathered to protect the king at that time, hurriedly knelt down.

“Princess!”

The princess of the old royal family, Marie Thérèse, smiled brightly and said.

“It’s been a while. I saw you when you came to protect the Tuileries Palace a long time ago, right? It’s Mademoiselle Capet now. After you finish your meal and wash up, get a tour from Émilie.”

Marie suddenly turned to Émilie and said to Rochejacquelein, who was dumbfounded.

“Oh, did you introduce yourselves? This is Émilie de Beauharnais, and Stéphanie de Beauharnais. They are Eugène’s cousins, respectively.”

Émilie, Eugène’s cousin and the daughter of Marquis François, lifted her skirt in a curtsy and smiled.

“Let me introduce myself again. I’m Émilie from the Beauharnais family. Count Rochejacquelein.”

It was the day that the old royalist, the women of the Beauharnais family, and the leader of the old royalist rebellion, Rochejacquelein, met.

***

Of course, the most important meeting for Rochejacquelein was definitely his reunion with his lord, Eugène.

“Has it been three years? You’ve gotten much thinner than I thought. It should be quite a prosperous place there.”

Eugène casually cut the meat on the table and spoke.

On the other hand, Rochejacquelein seemed unfamiliar with the table where the fork and knife were placed.

Perhaps the place where he was accustomed to sitting was the rough dining arrangements on the West Indies battlefield.

With a bitter smile, Rochejacquelein replied.

“There was only sugarcane. Fortunately, food came in from Saint-Domingue, so I barely survived.”

“Nelson blockaded the sea, but it seems you were able to get through.”

“Even if you can defeat battleships with about 30 ships, you can’t completely block that wide sea. That’s what I realized when I got on a ship.”

It was a statement that grasped the weakness of the navy at this time.

Eugène’s eyes sparkled, and he smiled brightly.

Certainly, Rochejacquelein was not just a man who became the leader of the royalist party by luck.

As he showed in the Vendée rebellion, he had a talent for instantaneous judgment and information analysis.

*Then he will do well in the work he wants to entrust.*

“How does it feel to be the hero of Florida, Rochejacquelein?”

At Eugène’s question, Rochejacquelein asked back.

“Why did you make me a hero?”

“There’s always a reason why a hero is born. To cover up a crisis or a problem? It’s the same with my ‘father’ and me being highlighted in the Italian expedition. The French economic situation is still not good.”

“Is that the situation in the New World?”

Eugène shrugged.

“You’ll know if you see it yourself? Saint-Domingue is now led by freed slaves. They might even try to become independent. Florida is a rotten potato that looks good.”

Currently, Saint-Domingue, the western part of the island of Hispaniola, is controlled by the black slave army commander, Toussaint Louverture.

Toussaint was being checked because the eastern part was still Spanish territory.

However, since Spain was virtually losing control of the eastern part, there was a high possibility that Toussaint would soon seize power.

In the original history, Napoleon tricked Toussaint and killed him.

Then, the flames of rebellion grew even bigger, and the Republic of [Haiti] was born.

It can be said to be quite a difficult opponent from France’s point of view.

In addition, Florida was virtually an undeveloped area except for the coast.

Suddenly, Rochejacquelein narrowed his brows.

“Then why did you go to such lengths to acquire Florida?”

Eugène lightly took out an aluminum coin and replied.

“It was an opportunity to buy land with money without additional battles. Also, with newly discovered metal currency.”

“I’ve heard the story. Was it aluminum? A new precious metal recognized by the Vatican.”

“I released too much of it this time, so I have to refrain from distributing it for the time being.”

With this purchase of Florida, a whopping 5 million aluminum silver coins were handed over to Spain.

Of course, the Spanish royal family will distribute aluminum silver coins in large quantities.

For various purposes, including luxury goods, gifts to aristocrats, and the purchase of weapons.

Thanks to this, it will be easier for aluminum silver coins to become official currency, but the value will drop accordingly.

It was an era when mass production techniques were still about a hundred years away from being discovered in the original history.

Eugène was planning to use aluminum very effectively.

But Florida is worth bearing the decline in aluminum.

“Nevertheless, Florida is valuable. Using it as a stepping stone, we can get [Louisiana] again.”

A place called Louisiana, or *La Louisiane*.

It is the area of the midwestern United States in the original history.

It was also land that France once nominally held as a colony.

Rochejacquelein’s eyes lit up.

“Are you talking about the real New France?”

“Yes.”

“Indeed, then should I go back to the New World again? How many troops should I send this time? No, any number is fine. I will fight and win!”

But Eugène shook his head.

“No, you can’t go to the New World.”

“Pardon?”

“The new person in charge there will be Marquis de Lescure. Turreau has a history of massacres, so it’s a bit difficult to appoint him as commander. Since the Marquis is living as a bonus anyway, he’ll be satisfied even if he can’t return home.”

He had already decided on the commander of the Florida garrison.

Of course, it was originally up to Paris to decide.

However, Eugène, or rather Napoleon, could confirm the military personnel in the New World.

Anyway, Paris was not paying any attention at all because of the formation of the next government.

In addition, from Eugène’s point of view, Marquis de Lescure was also a man who should have died in the Vendée.

Living a bonus life, wouldn’t it be a big deal to suffer a little in the New World?

As expected, Rochejacquelein, the man who should have died in the Vendée with Lescure, asked urgently.

“Then, what should I do?”

Eugène looked at Rochejacquelein’s plate and got up.

“Have you finished eating? Then, let’s go to work.”

Rochejacquelein, who had not yet finished his meal, also got up hurriedly.

He was curious about what the first mission his lord would give him.

***

So, what should a former royalist and New World return hero do?

“I’ll give you your first mission, Rochejacquelein.”

In fact, Rochejacquelein is strictly speaking a soldier belonging to the French military.

Therefore, he must go to Paris immediately after returning home to report his return.

However, Eugène had no intention of sending Rochejacquelein to Paris right away.

Of course, it is obvious that there will be no place for the former leader of the royalist rebels.

Rochejacquelein also understands that he will be staying in Bordeaux for the time being.

But he didn’t know he would be dragged into the basement.

Standing in front of the basement door, Rochejacquelein looked back at Eugène with a dumbfounded expression.

“What is all this?”

“It’s a basement?”

“I know that, but it’s a very… *intense* structure.”

Eugène shrugged as he entered the basement of the Château du Hâ, a fortress used by the royal family during the *Ancien Régime*.

“Well, this used to be a prison. Didn’t you know?”

After the start of the revolution, the fortress of Bordeaux, Château du Hâ, literally turned into a prison.

Eugène emptied that prison and was using it.

A place full of torture, oppression, and screams.

Now, people were busily running around there, with the lamps brightly lit.

-Rustle, rustle, rustle!

Someone shouted among the people who were constantly writing documents.

“Hey! Give me the Venice rebellion trend document!”

“You have to take it yourself! Wait, what was the date the King of Naples fled?”

“It’s urgent! Freed slaves from Saint-Domingue want to immigrate to Florida? Where should I report this? Hey!”

Rochejacquelein’s mouth dropped open.

There are so many amazing stories just from the snippets he hears.

Venice rebellion, the occupation of the Kingdom of Naples, and even the trends in New World Flanders, where Rochejacquelein was until recently.

In particular, the news of Toussaint, the leader of the black rebels in Saint-Domingue, is truly the latest information from the New World.

How could they know that fact in the basement of the Bordeaux fortress?

Then, one of the men who was shouting busily came over and pretended to know Eugène.

“Oh, someone who knows about Saint-Domingue has come, Patron!”

He seemed to know even Rochejacquelein.

“W-w-who are these people?”

Eugène left the embarrassed Rochejacquelein alone and greeted the man who approached.

“I’m late to introduce you, Monsieur Tolli. Would you like to introduce yourself first?”

“Hehe, the purchasing hero of the New World has come. My name is Francesco Tolli. I’m from Milan and I work for General Bonaparte. Ah, of course, not the adult side, but the boy side.”

“Oh, are you the only one introducing yourself? I’m Angelo Pico. Are you the famous Rochejacquelein? I’m actually from the Vendée too.”

The dozens of people who were filling the basement had stopped working.

Currently, Rochejacquelein is one of the most famous people in France.

This is because Eugène deliberately highlighted Rochejacquelein in the New World purchase situation.

However, Rochejacquelein was on the verge of dying from confusion.

Then, a middle-aged man in his 40s who seemed to be the oldest clapped his hands.

“Oh, everyone is too eager to introduce themselves. Welcome, General Rochejacquelein. This is an intelligence unit created for General Napoleon and the Italian Command. Commonly known as [Sûreté] [Security in French].”

Sûreté, meaning [security].

In the original history, this term is used to refer to an institution in modern France.

The National Police.

Eugène turned to Rochejacquelein and smiled brightly.

“Yes, let me introduce you. This is Sûreté. The intelligence agency I created.”

At that moment, Eugène’s eyes flashed.

“This is your new mission. Rochejacquelein.”

Sûreté, an organization created by Eugène by gathering Napoleon’s [spies].

Eugène is planning to entrust this place to Rochejacquelein.