He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 298

(298) Meeting the Father of the Industrial Revolution

In this era, Europe is truly an international continent.

“As a Parisian-born, I became the chief engineer of New York.”

“But now you’re the top engineer in London, right?”

“Yes, Sophia. But there are too many who call for me.”

Marc Brunel looked back at his wife, Sophia Kingdom Brunel, and chuckled.

“Even Paris is calling for me.”

It would be strange if a Frenchman didn’t feel anything about returning to France.

But Brunel has his reasons.

Because in 1792, when the revolution was just beginning, he had to flee to New York to escape Robespierre.

The reason was his statement about Robespierre’s reign of terror:

「Robespierre will surely die too! Definitely!」

It’s fortunate he escaped instead of dying.

Fortunately, the American atmosphere was friendly to the French, and with his skills, he even became the chief engineer of New York.

He successfully completed various projects, from armories to shipyards to tunnels.

The reason Brunel, who had been so successful in the New World, came to England was somewhat absurd.

To see his wife, Sophia.

There’s a slightly complicated story here. Sophia and Marc had actually met in France before the revolution.

Sophia was a tutor teaching English, which was popular in French academic circles at the time, and Marc was an engineer burning with academic zeal.

They fell in love while studying English, but the revolution separated them.

Marc fled to America, and Sophia was caught as a foreign spy and barely survived.

Afterwards, they exchanged letters and became a couple in London.

Brunel, a romantic adventurer unlike an engineer, was about to look around the street after getting off the carriage.

“Oh, are you Monsieur Brunel? Nice to meet you! I’m Jacob Ellie, who contacted you by letter!”

Holding Sophia’s surprised hand, Brunel smiled.

Neither of them has good memories of revolutionary France.

In their own way, it is a journey back home at the risk of their lives.

Of course, there were people behind the scenes who coordinated all these processes.

Brunel greeted Ellie, the deputy director of the Sûreté [French security organization].

“I’ve heard about you. Are you a government official?”

“Haha! It’s just a small title. Is our postman doing well?”

“Huh? Was that friend a postman? He came all the way here with me, and his movements were unusual.”

Ellie laughed and waved to the coachman’s seat.

“Ah, that’s his nickname. Oh, Monsieur Ganet. You came too!”

Royal attendant, Milan Bank postman, and now Sûreté’s major-level agent, Armand Ganet, jumped off the carriage.

So, it went in this order.

Eugene’s instructions were conveyed by Rochejacquelin, then planned by Ellie, and executed by Armand.

It’s a simple task for Eugene, the commander.

But it was a difficult task for the workers or the engineers who decided to re-immigrate.

Armand, who had gone abroad with a bonus, gritted his teeth and retorted to his superior.

“From now on, please only assign land transportation to me. I can’t stand the sea.”

“Oh, how can you be so tired with just the Dover Strait? I crossed the Atlantic in the old days.”

“You must be strong against seasickness, tsk.”

Then Brunel, who had been a New Yorker until recently, was delighted.

“You crossed the Atlantic? How far did you go?”

In fact, Brunel is not just an engineer.

A man who started his career as a sailor in his youth.

He even briefly passed through Martinique.

Ellie, who had already confirmed that fact in the intelligence file, smiled and replied.

“Martinique. You’ve been to New York?”

“Hahaha! That’s how it happened. The times were turbulent. Robespierre is really gone now, right?”

Brunel frowned slightly and reaffirmed what had been promised.

“Hmm, I’ll believe it since a close aide to the supreme leader has guaranteed my safety.”

Ellie nodded and led Brunel forward.

Auguste Robespierre is still a major politician in the Club Bonaparte.

However, as long as Eugene has confirmed his safety, Brunel’s safety will be guaranteed.

However, the reason he overcame all these threats and returned to France is not because of patriotism.

Suddenly, Armand approached Ellie and asked.

“How much was promised?”

“A lump sum of 500,000 francs, and a monthly salary of 10,000 francs.”

“Wow, even if I risk my life, I don’t get even 1/10th of that amount. Is he that valuable?”

Suddenly, Ellie smiled as he looked at Brunel walking ahead.

“When have you ever seen our Patron engage in a losing business?”

At that moment, Brunel ran to the edge of Paris and roared.

“Yeah, Paris! I’m here!”

In September 1801, Brunel, the father of the greatest engineer France has ever produced, came to Paris.

***

[Dupont Société], located in the northern suburbs of Paris, Saint-Denis, is noisy today.

-Cheee, Bang!

Brunel, watching the explosion from afar, asked with an astonished face.

“What is this?”

Dupont laughed and replied.

“As you can see, it’s smokeless gunpowder, Monsieur Brunel.”

“Wow, how is that possible? I’m not a chemical expert, but I know that such synthetic materials are difficult to make.”

“That’s not even the problem. The real thing is this.”

In fact, it is a test version of early smokeless gunpowder, soon to be known as nitrocellulose.

That alone is an amazing invention that can clearly change at least the aspect of war.

But Dupont insisted that there was something even better.

Leading to one side of the factory, Dupont said proudly.

“Recently, a book called ‘An Essay on the Principle of Population’ is popular in England, right? The author is said to be anonymous, so no one knows who it is.”

“Oh, I’ve seen it. Population increases geometrically, and food increases arithmetically, so what was it? Everyone will starve to death?”

“Fertilizer to overturn that statement.”

Pointing to the pile of gray powder, Dupont’s eyes flashed.

“Superphosphate fertilizer. The world’s first artificial fertilizer!”

Of course, artificial fertilizers created after the advent of later nitrogen fixation methods have not yet been created.

What Dupont is showing now is the previous stage, fertilizer using [phosphate] minerals.

Unlike artificial fertilizers made through nitrogen fixation technology, mass production is a bit difficult because natural materials must be used.

However, the important point of this fertilizer is that it is not made from excrement and is highly efficient.

Above all, Malthus’s famous was published in 1798.

At this time, it was still published anonymously, but the British intellectual society was in an uproar over the shockwave of population theory.

It was from this time that the argument that the poor should not be rescued but should be eliminated began to gain strength.

It is the invention of artificial fertilizer that breaks this argument.

No matter how much the population increases, food production can increase much more.

It is the most obvious example that technological innovation can solve the problem of resource scarcity.

Holding up the powder that will lead the era of the 19th-century scientific revolution, Dupont shouted.

“This powder will save the world! I’m showing it to you especially, Monsieur Brunel!”

Of course, engineer Brunel, who did not fully grasp the implications of Dupont’s words, just shrugged.

“I didn’t know I had to do agricultural research too.”

“Of course, it’s not your job, Brunel. It’s about the work you did in London.”

“All I did in London was make pulleys for ships.”

Dupont grabbed Brunel’s shoulder excitedly and nodded.

“That’s it! The machine tools made by Henry Maudslay, and the automated pulley manufacturing machine made with Joseph Bramah, the inventor of the flushing toilet!”

They are the technicians who will become synonymous with machine tools in later generations.

But now they are just nameless workshop manufacturers.

Brunel was surprised to see Dupont mentioning colleagues he had worked with in London until recently.

“Did you send a spy or something? How do you know all that?”

“That’s information that you can get appropriately while working as a businessman. We need that technology too.”

“It’s not that special of a technology. Wait a minute, could it be…”

At that moment, Brunel frowned.

“Are people still manufacturing everything here by hand? It’s been 10 years since I left France?”

In short, the conversation between Brunel and Dupont highlights the gap between England and France.

In the early 19th century, England had already entered the Industrial Revolution 30 years prior.

Because the population is smaller than France, they are very active in introducing steam engines and making machine tools.

It cannot be compared to the conveyor belts of modern history or modern automation systems, but mechanization is clearly more efficient than manual labor.

But in France, there are still many people who have never even seen the steam of a steam engine.

Even Dupont, who is an engineer, is like that.

Dupont nodded and said quickly.

“That’s right! Mechanization! Automation! Mass production! I also heard that England, led by London, is facing an Industrial Revolution. Now, France must also face a new revolution!”

Brunel, looking around the amazing factory with a somewhat pathetic expression, clicked his tongue.

“That’s why our new [owner] hired me with a lot of money.”

“I also played a part. I’m kind of a partner.”

“Hmm, are you a shareholder of this factory? By the way, where is our owner? After spending that money?”

Then a craftsman who was making something on one side of the factory appeared.

“That amount of money is nothing to our [Patron]. He said he would see us today. Everyone.”

Brunel asked, looking at the craftsman holding a saw, and noticing he was sawing by hand instead of using a machine.

“Who are you?”

“Samuel Pauly. You can call me Pauly. That’s what we call it in our hometown French.”

“Pauly is better. But what are you holding?”

Gun Master Pauly smiled and raised the object in his other hand.

“The latest firearms and ammunition that will change the war. You have to mass-produce this.”

Pauly quickly loaded the Boarne-style breech-loading rifle that had been made by hand until now.

-Click!

From now on, it is what the machine tool will make.

***

Three giants of engineering entered the Boarneh Bank mansion in Paris.

“All three of you are here. It’s like the industrial sector of the Eugene Cartel is complete.”

As the host, Eugene said, welcoming them, and Dupont, the senior, asked first.

“How is that, Patron?”

“Research, development, production. Isn’t that right?”

“It seems like everything is mixed up. Speaking of research, when will you bring our teacher Lavoisier back? I’m getting so many letters these days that my eyes hurt.”

Currently, Dupont’s teacher, Lavoisier, is staying in Egypt.

Eugene took him to build a factory in Egypt, but he left him there.

Since his main job was tax management, he seems to be using his skills in Egypt to do administrative work as well.

However, it was natural that he would miss Paris more than hot and desolate Egypt.

“Lavoisier has to stay a little longer. I don’t think it’s been 5 years yet.”

“Time flies, Patron.”

“I’ll bring him back when the situation changes. Dupont, you know the atmosphere, don’t you?”

Dupont rolled his eyes and nodded.

Lavoisier is not the problem.

The real problem is General Hoche, the commander of the Egyptian garrison.

But Eugene is now promoting something that goes against the revolution through Napoleon.

It is a sensitive issue for Dupont, who is from a noble family.

“I understand. But why did you call us?”

Eugene nodded and looked back at Pauly.

“I’m going to put on a show. The main attraction is a Russian-made unicorn [a type of cannon] modified to be breech-loading.”

“I didn’t modify it yet!”

“You have to modify it from now on, Pauly. You will be introduced as the best technicians, chemists, and gunsmiths who planned and developed the show.”

Brunel, who was rolling his eyes, slipped in.

“I have to earn my keep. But what kind of show is it and where is it?”

Eugene smiled and said something huge in a very calm manner.

“The stage is Flanders, and the name of the show is the [Legion of Honor] award ceremony. It’s a medal.”

Napoleon’s legacy that remained until modern times.

The greatest honor in France, the Legion of Honor.

In the original history, the medal was awarded in Boulogne, where the Grand Army was gathered.

Now is the time for that honor to trigger events in Flanders.