He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 250

(250) Napoleon Meets His Son

Everyone is certain that this battle will become an immortal record.

-Waaaaa!

The French army has not yet ceased fighting.

Masseéna chases the Austrian 3rd Army, Augereau continues to crush the Russian line infantry, and Sérurier sorts out the surrendered soldiers.

Lannes and Murat are also busy chasing after the fleeing soldiers.

However, Napoleon, at the center of the army, simply stands tall on the Marengo plain, looking around.

Suddenly, his aide-de-camp Marmont rushes towards Napoleon and shouts.

“Commander-in-Chief, Eugene and Desaix are coming this way!”

Napoleon glances in that direction and chuckles.

“I don’t see Junot? He’ll be disappointed. Anyway, where have you been until now?”

“This is no time for jokes. You must greet them with enthusiastic praise!”

“I know that without you telling me, Marmont.”

As if piercing through with an awl, two groups of cavalry pierced through the Russian army.

One is very familiar.

The mounted grenadiers, mainly composed of the postal units that fought under Napoleon in Toulon, Vendée, and Italy.

In fact, the commander is closer to Junot than Eugene.

But the other is a unit he has never seen before.

A cavalry boasting turbans, scimitars, and Arabian horses.

The one standing before the soldiers, who seem to have jumped out of the medieval desert, is none other than the handsome master of the harem, Desaix.

Looking at the two, Napoleon subtly twists the corners of his lips.

“I owe them a great debt.”

Unlike Napoleon, who has a complicated expression, there is also a man who is purely happy.

General Masséna, who had been enduring this chaotic battlefield with intense momentum until just now.

Masseéna, who was engaged in a chase more intense than when he was a smuggler, suddenly turned his troops around.

To rush towards Augereau, who is still fighting the enemy.

“Augereau, look over there! It’s Freischütz [a legendary marksman in German folklore, often associated with magic bullets]!”

“I have eyes too. He’s quite pale for someone who came from Egypt. Was he slacking off?”

“Tsk, no need to pretend you’re not happy. Hey, Sharpshooter. You’ve landed another magic bullet! Hahaha!”

Chief of Staff Berthier, who had been struggling in a corner of the battlefield, also laughed like crazy.

“Good heavens, Freischütz has arrived! This war is over!”

Even Berthier, who is usually always calm, had a hard time this time.

His brothers, Victor Leopold Berthier and César Berthier, who were guarding his side, also shouted together.

All of them usually adopt silence and composure as their motto.

“Oooooh! Freischütz!”

Of course, not everyone welcomes Freischütz’s return.

“Hieeek, Freischütz!”

Suddenly, Lannes asked Murat, who was showing a very intense reaction for some reason.

“What’s wrong, did you commit a crime? Murat?”

“No, that guy is always eager to send me to the navy. Surely, he won’t find fault again, will he?”

“Puhah! You and I practically won this war. How could we have won without you capturing the cannons?”

Lannes boasted about his achievements, then turned to Eugene and chuckled.

“Still, Freischütz took the top spot for contribution. Hahaha! I’ll have to tell him to treat me next time!”

If this battle had been a little more relaxed, Lannes might have been jumping up and down too.

When it comes to competition for merit, Lannes is as fierce as Napoleon.

But in this Marengo, any general could have died.

If Eugene had not arrived in time, the French army might have collapsed under the renewed Russian counterattack.

That’s why everyone is so happy.

“Huh, he’s really grown up a lot now. He’s not a boy general anymore, is he?”

A middle-aged man greeted the Eugene cavalry that was approaching.

“It’s been a while, Commander Sérurier.”

“It’s been a long time. General Bonaparte. How was Egypt?”

“Hot, difficult, and many enemies. But I left after opening a canal.”

Sérurier laughed heartily and stepped aside.

“Oh, I interrupted the reunion with your father.”

Behind him, Napoleon was walking closer.

-Step, step, step.

Eugene quickly jumped off his horse.

But now Eugene is taller.

Looking at Eugene, who had grown so much, Napoleon hugged him tightly.

At the moment when those who were not fighting in the French army were watching, Napoleon shouted.

“My son has come!”

At that moment, a shout echoed throughout the Marengo plain.

-Waaaaa!

Enough to drown out the screams of the still ongoing 80,000 Russian soldiers.

***

Even after the victory or defeat is decided, the engagement ends a long time later.

“Everyone in the Italian command seems to know that boy? I only know General Desaix.”

Soult sat down in the center of the plain where the bonfires were spread out and asked.

The time is night, long after the sun has set, but the engagement is still ongoing.

Because the Russian soldiers are rampaging like crazy at the death of Suvorov, whom they regarded as their ‘father’.

That’s why most of the Russian generals resisted to the end and succeeded in deserting.

Rather, the battle after Suvorov’s death was, in some ways, even more fierce.

It was Soult who led the simple but later part of the battle.

Looking at Soult, who had not yet wiped off all the blood, Masséna said jokingly.

“What, haven’t you heard the story of the conqueror of the Orient? Soult? You should read the newspaper.”

“Are you talking about the Egyptian expedition? That was led by Commander Hoche, the hero of Flanders, wasn’t it? General Marceau, who was the commander of the Paris police force, was also with him.”

“Oh, you’re not well-informed about military information, Soult!”

Masséna, now 41, ruffled the hair of Soult, who is still 30, and laughed.

“That’s all the result of that boy in the barracks. Hahaha!”

Soult smacked his lips.

In fact, Soult fought on the Rhine front with Desaix and Davout.

So, Soult sees Eugene for the first time like Davout.

However, in the case of Davout, who is 29 years old, there were familiar faces in the Orient return corps.

“Desaix! You’ve returned alive! How long has it been?”

“I see you here, General Davout. How have you been?”

“I’ve been living comfortably in France. Oh, you’ve gotten a lot of sun in Egypt?”

He is Desaix, the de facto vice-commander of the Eugene Corps.

Since Hoche and Marceau each remained in Egypt and Constantinople, the returning corps was commanded by Eugene, Desaix, and Junot.

However, Junot only focused on commanding the cavalry brigade, and Desaix had to take charge of the actual military operations.

Moreover, in this Battle of Marengo, it was Desaix who showed his agility and brought only the Mamluks [slave soldiers, often of Turkic or Circassian origin, who formed a powerful military class in Egypt and other parts of the Islamic world].

Thanks to the unique appearance of the Mamluk cavalry, Desaix has become a surprise star.

Desaix, who was also wearing a turban, smiled and looked back.

“Somehow, I look more Egyptian than you, Hassan Tubar Bey.”

“Hahaha! If you allow me, shall I give you an honorary Egyptian certificate?”

“No, thank you. When I meet the Commander-in-Chief later, I will tell him to commend the Bey’s achievements in particular.”

Hassan Tubar, the man who brought the Mamluks here, also smiled brightly.

“Later, when King Constantine joins, take care of him. I’m going to get a good share from Commander Eugene!”

At that moment, the veteran Sérurier, who was sitting and listening, turned to Berthier and asked.

“Come to think of it, where did the Commander-in-Chief and General Eugene go?”

“They went into the headquarters barracks.”

“Huh? It’s been a while since they’ve seen each other, so it’s understandable that they want to catch up, but isn’t now the time to hold a victory party?”

But Berthier shook his head and replied.

“No. Rather, now is the time to decide on future operations. General Bonaparte knows that.”

Sérurier blinked, not knowing what was going on.

In the Battle of Marengo, the French army defeated 80,000 Russian soldiers.

They also defeated the 1st Austrian Army led by Karl.

Then, shouldn’t the war be virtually over with France’s victory?

At that moment, Desaix nodded in agreement.

“That’s right. Still, neither Austria nor Russia, and even more so Prussia, are in a situation to give up the war.”

Despite the victory at Marengo, the war is not over yet.

Not in terms of tactics, but in terms of strategy.

***

Inside the headquarters barracks, Eugene suddenly sat down as soon as he found a chair.

-Thud!

Suddenly, Napoleon, who was taking off his hat, glared.

Although he was happy to see his son after a long time, he was also feeling complicated at the same time.

In fact, it would have been a great achievement just to have carried out the Egyptian expedition, but he succeeded in conquering the Holy Land and even subjugated the Ottoman Empire.

So, it was also unwelcome to Napoleon, who is unusually jealous.

Still, he is now more pleased because he saved Marengo from crisis.

But how dare a son sit down before his father, let alone the Commander-in-Chief?

Just as Napoleon, the strict Corsican patriarch, was about to scold him.

“Oh, you’ve become presumptuous, son. You sat down before your father even sat down.”

“Ugh!”

“What’s wrong, why are you doing that? I haven’t punished you yet?”

Eugene glanced at the surprised Napoleon and smiled bitterly.

“My feet are a little swollen.”

When he took off his military boots, his feet were swollen.

Perhaps it was the result of repeated forced marches to get here.

Even though he rode a horse, he kept wearing military boots and spurring, so it was too much.

At that moment, Napoleon ran over and grabbed Eugene’s feet.

-Swish, swish, swish!

Looking at Napoleon, who was wrapping bandages around him in an instant, Eugene shouted in surprise.

“Ah, Father! Ippolito can do that!”

“No way. It’s because you lack marching experience. This needs to be treated early.”

“No, well. I think Father’s marching distance is shorter than mine?”

Napoleon glared at Eugene, who was joking for a moment, and hit his foot wrapped in bandages with his hand.

-Thwack!

Eugene screamed.

“Ouch! It hurts!”

“Trying to show off. Are you boasting that you’ve conquered the Orient? Don’t forget that I planned it all.”

“Of course I remember. It was a crazy plan.”

Just as Napoleon was about to frown, Eugene smiled and said.

“Only Father could have planned such a crazy operation. It will be recorded even after a hundred years. It was something only ‘Napoleon’ could decide.”

Of course, Eugene is completely sincere.

If he could have stopped Napoleon, he would never want to do it again.

In fact, Eugene almost failed several times during the battle.

If the battle had gone wrong even once, the French expeditionary force would have become food for the desert.

Napoleon looked intently at Eugene’s eyes and laughed heartily.

“You’ve really come back with nothing but flattery after going to the Orient! But where is Pauline?”

“Yes? Uh, Pauline, no, Auntie?”

“Yes, your aunt! You haven’t forgotten that!”

At that moment, Napoleon’s eyes flashed.

“My sister who made our mother in Corsica rush to Paris. Do you know how hard I worked to stop her from going to Egypt by ship? But!”

Eugene swallowed hard.

It can’t be.