He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 217

(217) Eugene’s Expeditionary Force Assembles in Cyprus

Acre greets the day with a vibrant morning.

“Morning, everyone!”

Pauline cheerfully dashed into a building in Acre, greeted by smiles from everyone she passed.

This place was once famous as [Hammam al-Basha], a bathhouse built by Cezar.

However, after the French expeditionary force occupied it, Eugene turned it into the headquarters for the medical unit.

In Islam, bathhouses traditionally served as medical facilities, so in some ways, it was a fitting choice.

Nevertheless, the original bathhouse features remained intact, making it a rather unusual hospital.

A beautiful brunette, changing into a gray medical uniform, greeted Pauline.

“What makes you so happy, Pauline?”

“Hehe, Madame Foures. I’m always at my best, especially since crossing the Mediterranean.”

“Is it because of the commander? He is handsome. Ah, if he were only older, I might try to seduce him.”

Pauline glared playfully at the joking married woman in her twenties and chided her.

“Take good care of your husband. Make sure Monsieur Foures doesn’t stray.”

“When you see the commander, please put in a good word for my husband. He’s desperate to join the commander’s guard this time.”

“Don’t worry about that. Eugene mentioned he needs to recruit new guards anyway.”

Jean-Noël Foures, the cavalryman remembered in history because of his wife.

In the original timeline, the beautiful Madame Foures, in her twenties, should be in Cairo by now.

As a very important figure in Napoleon’s expeditionary force, not Eugene’s.

Of course, in this Egyptian expeditionary force without Napoleon, Madame Foures is simply a stowaway who followed her husband.

At that moment, someone entered the nursing unit’s office, whistling.

“Yo, ‘Pauline.’ Your perfume smells different today?”

It was Antoine Lasalle, always cheerful, and his friend Champot, looking gloomy today.

Could it be that Lasalle is setting his sights on ‘Pauline’ this time?

However, the response came from the other side.

“Oh my, how did you know, Antoine? The new products just arrived at the port recently. They say it was goods from last year that are only arriving now.”

“Hehe, I always remember the scent of a beautiful woman. I can’t remember the names of enemy soldiers, though!”

“Then, can you guess the perfume I’ll wear tonight? Hehe.”

Pauline Bonaparte, who was watching Lasalle flirting with Madame ‘Pauline’ Foures, scolded him.

“Monsieur Lasalle, this is a hospital, you know? Behave yourself.”

Looking around the medical office filled with injured soldiers, Lasalle whistled.

“Oh, I forgot there was a flower here I can’t flirt with. I’m sorry, but I don’t remember Mademoiselle ‘Bonaparte’s’ perfume.”

“Stop with the cheesy lines. Why did you come here?”

“Ah, I’m healthy, but my frail friend is sick. We have to go to Jerusalem next week.”

Then Brigadier General Champot shouted in anger.

“Why am I frail! I just caught a cold!”

Pauline Foures giggled and approached Champot.

Although she becomes Napoleon’s [mistress] in the original history, she is now the head nurse of the nursing unit.

Rolling up her sleeves, Madame Foures said lightly.

“Let’s see. Huh? Wait a minute.”

She tilted her head, having discovered something strange on the [affected area], when Pauline shouted from behind.

“Don’t get close, Madame Foures!”

“Po, Pauline. What’s wrong?”

“Those blisters, fever, black sores!”

Pauline’s eyes widened.

She didn’t study very hard, but she learned basic medicine at the convent school.

Above all, that disease is a very famous epidemic to Europeans.

Suddenly, Pauline screamed.

“It’s the plague!”

In that instant, the nursing hospital erupted into chaos.

***

In long-distance expeditions, unexpected variables always arise.

“It’s a disaster, the plague has broken out in Acre! General, Champot seems to have caught it too!”

In July 1798, the French Syrian expeditionary force was preparing to conquer the inland hinterland.

Damascus, Aleppo, and Jerusalem.

Of course, they had expressed their willingness to surrender, or envoys had come to request peace.

Nevertheless, troops must be stationed to demonstrate power, and only then will they become a [protectorate: a state controlled and protected by another].

However, it seemed that Eugene would not be granted such leisurely time.

Eugene listened to Brigadier General Joubert’s urgent report and summoned Lareille, the head of the medical brigade.

“Head of the Medical Unit Lareille, what’s the situation?”

He was originally a specialist in surgery.

However, the problems that military surgeons have to deal with are not just war injuries.

In fact, in this era, doctors don’t have clear specializations.

So, Lareille, who ended up being in charge of infectious disease control, replied with a grave face.

“At least 100 patients have been found in Acre, Commander.”

“There are no confirmed cases on our side yet, right?”

“That’s right. But given the nature of the plague, we don’t know when it will break out.”

Lareille’s uneasy gaze turned towards the garrison’s encampment outside Acre.

“If we stay like this, it’s only a matter of time before our entire expeditionary force gets the plague.”

Eugene hesitated for a moment.

There might be patients.

Should we wait until they are cured?

But there is no time.

Originally, Napoleon launched the Egyptian expedition in 1798.

The current Egyptian and Syrian expeditions are progressing about a year and a half faster.

Also, Napoleon remains in the mainland.

There will still be some time before France becomes fully embroiled in war.

Nevertheless, dealing with the plague here would take too long.

In the end, Eugene made a decision.

“Summon the entire army. Check by squad, and isolate anyone with suspected symptoms. Everyone else, get on the ships!”

Those with suspected symptoms, abandon them.

The main force will all go out to sea.

The most important thing is speed.

The cavalry division, infantry division, and artillery, which were preparing to go to the hinterland, all suddenly boarded ships.

Of course, soldiers showing suspected symptoms were forbidden from boarding.

It was truly something that happened in half a day.

The soldiers’ wailing echoed through the port of Acre.

“I’m not infected! It’s just a cold!”

“Isolation! Are you going to abandon us!”

“You can’t do that! We’re comrades! Ugh!”

Deje rushed over with a bewildered face and asked.

“Commander, is this okay?”

Already standing in front of the Horus, Eugene coldly looked at the port.

He could show mercy.

But in the end, in the original history, Napoleon’s army abandoned soldiers infected with the plague in the desert.

Acre, a major city in the Near East, would be better than that.

“If the plague spreads, there’s no solution.”

“But, abandoning soldiers who only show suspected symptoms…”

“I promise instead.”

Eugene declared to the soldiers wailing in the port.

“Whether they live or die, I will compensate them or their families with 10,000 francs each.”

As this declaration spread, the wailing suddenly stopped.

A soldier’s daily wage is about 0.5 francs.

So 2 days is 1 franc, and 10,000 francs is 5,000 days’ wages, roughly equivalent to 13 years’ salary.

It was natural that all the soldiers accepted.

There were even soldiers who wanted to stay even though they had no symptoms.

The remaining force totaled 2,000 men.

“Then, I will command these friends, Commander.”

It was decided that Volney, who had declared that he would remain as ambassador, would command the troops.

Eugene grabbed Volney’s hand, released it, and hurriedly boarded the Horus.

Glancing back at the port, Adjutant Hippolyte whistled.

The port, which was noisy just an hour ago, is now quiet.

“Very smooth, isn’t it?”

“Most things in the world don’t work out because there’s not enough money.”

“Wow, truly a financial prodigy! So where are the troops on board going now?”

Everyone on the Horus looked back at Eugene.

Emergency situation, emergency order, emergency action.

Everyone moved frantically for half a day.

But no one had heard where they were going.

Even Admiral Shaila and the flagship captain Surcouf were the same.

Eugene was lost in thought for a moment, then nodded.

“When there’s an epidemic, we must conquer a safe place. We’re going to Cyprus.”

Junot grabbed Eugene in surprise.

“Wait, isn’t that where the Ottoman Empire’s naval headquarters is located?”

“Formally, yes.”

“Are we going straight there without any preparation?”

It was only Junot who said it, but all the commanders of the expeditionary force had shocked faces.

Until this morning, there were even generals who dreamed of touring Jerusalem.

But suddenly, Cyprus was declared a target of conquest.

Could Cyprus really be occupied in this state?

But Eugene shook his head calmly.

“You’re wrong, Junot. The unprepared side is the Ottoman Empire.”

“No, it’s been a month since we conquered Acre!”

“You overestimate the enemy too much.”

Suddenly, Eugene rummaged through his pockets and took out an aluminum coin.

“Want to bet with me? 100 francs. The Ottoman army will not be prepared at all.”

The aluminum coin with Marianne, the symbol of the revolution, engraved on it.

A bet of 100 francs had begun.

***

Cyprus, once called the island of the goddess, is very peaceful.

“This is the birthplace of Aphrodite, you say? But why is there nothing here?”

There are two important islands in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Crete and Cyprus.

In particular, Cyprus occupies an important position because it is close to the so-called Turkish mainland, the Anatolian Peninsula.

However, there was no resistance at Famagusta, the most important port in Cyprus.

From the warship Horus, Eugene shrugged, looking at the port through binoculars.

“You might find something if you dig.”

“Will a statue come out? Then, will I become an archaeologist who discovered an ancient Greek statue?”

“You’ll just be recorded as a general who came to conquer and did something absurd, Junot.”

The so-called Venus de Milo has not yet been discovered.

It appears in 1820 on the island of Melos, north of Cyprus.

But even in this era, there is a very high possibility that ancient Greek statues are hidden in Cyprus.

Of course, it’s a journey where there’s no time for such leisurely excavation activities.

It was just as Junot was looking around and admiring the beautiful scenery.

“Oh, Jesus Christ! The day has finally come when we will recover Rhodes!”

From afar, the deputy commander of the Knights Hospitaller, Tomassi, can be heard exclaiming on the Hercules.

Rhodes was originally the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller.

But this is Cyprus, and Rhodes is far to the north.

“What’s wrong with that guy? This isn’t Rhodes.”

“Cyprus is an island that can control the Eastern Mediterranean. It’s no wonder the Ottomans set up their naval headquarters here.”

“Ha, but they’re so unprepared?”

Suddenly, Junot grumbled, throwing a bag of one hundred franc coins from his pocket.

“Here, 100 francs. Ugh, it’s like sucking the liver of a rat. You’re like a wicked banker.”

Just as Eugene was about to snatch the bag, Marceau approached Eugene.

“Eugene, are you really okay with this?”

“What is it, Marceau?”

“We’ve already given up Damietta. [Port-d’Hoche] will also become the property of the Knights. And if we give them Rhodes, there will be talk when we return to the homeland.”

There is a reason why Tomassi likes it.

In the end, if they conquer the island of Rhodes, they have promised to give it to the Knights Hospitaller.

Of course, giving up conquered territory is a sensitive issue, even if it’s a small island.

Especially Rhodes, which is very famous in Europe, is even more so.

However, Eugene smiled and retorted.

“Marceau, that’s why I like you. Because you’re naive.”

“I think you just insulted me? Didn’t you?”

“Think about it, Marceau. France is in a national crisis right now. There is no hope other than ‘Father.’ In that situation.”

Even Eugene’s ‘Father,’ Napoleon, is in a situation where he could be in crisis.

Literally surrounded on all sides.

What would happen if the Syrian expeditionary force retreated in this situation?

“Who would challenge us over the Ottoman Empire issue?”

No one would have the mind to do so.

Besides, Eugene was confident in one thing.

He is certain that if the retreat is successful, all of France’s situation will be reversed.

At that time, Lasalle, the man who had left his friend Champot in Acre, raised his hand.

“Then, can I ask a question too?”

“What is it, Brigadier General Lasalle?”

“Originally, the intermediate goal of our army was to occupy Syria, right? We achieved that, but we haven’t even set foot in Jerusalem?”

Eugene glanced at Lasalle and shrugged.

“If you want to get the plague, go back and visit now.”

There is a reason why they completely abandoned the conquest of inland Syria.

As long as the plague has broken out in Acre, the more they delay, the more the plague will break out among the soldiers.

It is better to cut it off early and change the strategy to conquer the Ottoman Empire’s mainland.

Also, if they subdue the Ottoman Empire, [Greater Syria: a historical region encompassing parts of modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine] will also fall into French hands.

Of course, it is a pity that they did not directly occupy the holy land, but it is not comparable to the risk of the plague.

Lasalle also understood and quickly backed down.

“I decline, Commander.”

“Then, instead of talking nonsense, why don’t you go and take over the Ottoman headquarters in Cyprus? That Famagusta has surprisingly high walls, so it will be a headache if the enemy comes to their senses.”

“Hahaha! If it’s a blitzkrieg, it’s originally this Lasalle, not General Deje! Hee-ho!”

Looking at Lasalle, who was busy preparing for the landing operation, Marceau asked.

“He’s excited. There won’t be only easy battles like this, right?”

Eugene looked at the high walls of Famagusta and nodded.

“That’s right. Now we have to fight the main body of the Ottoman Empire.”

“Anatolia seems to be almost the size of the entire French territory, what are you going to do about it?”

“It’s the same as Syria. We can’t conquer them one by one. We have to do it the way Father fought.”

The method that Napoleon used in Italy, and in the original history.

Territory is not the issue.

The real enemy is in the combined military power.

If the army collapses, eventually any empire will fall.

That is the war of the upcoming 19th century.