He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 418

(418) Controlling Eastern Europe with the Second Rhine Confederation

Originally, the Rhine River doesn’t only flow through Western Europe.

“It also flows through parts of so-called Eastern Europe. Well, tributaries, though.”

In Mainz, a city overlooking the Rhine, Talleyrand, an elegant man with a cane, spoke.

This is the Archbishop’s Palace of Mainz.

Usually, it’s one of the few remaining bishoprics [territories ruled by a bishop] north of the Alps, a place where church ceremonies are frequently held.

But today, it was the stage for the extreme of the secular world, a stage for international politics.

It was the Rhine Confederation, a gathering of princes created by Napoleon after dissolving the Holy Roman Empire.

“So, are you saying that Eastern European countries will also be included in the Rhine Confederation, Foreign Minister?”

“That would be difficult. Even with the name Rhine Confederation, Central Europe is the limit. However, Saxony will join this time.”

“Then, is it true that the Elector of Saxony will be given the Polish throne in exchange for being deposed?”

Talleyrand smiled and replied to State Secretary Hugues-Bernard Maret, who continued to ask sensitive questions.

“The Polish throne will not be revived. However, the name Duchy of Warsaw is being considered.”

Maret would later become Talleyrand’s successor in the original history.

However, the position of State Secretary is, in fact, not a chief administrator, but rather a position like the chief of staff of the cabinet.

He is also a master of practical affairs and writing, leaving behind an autobiography that will be remembered for a long time.

But now, he was virtually serving Talleyrand, who was like a prime minister in Napoleon’s imperial cabinet, as his superior.

Maret, who had been watching the Rhine Confederation, a stage created by Talleyrand, with interest, his eyes sparkled.

“There, the leader of our alliance is coming.”

“The Archbishop of Mainz? Did you hear? Cardinal Fesch has been appointed as the co-responsible for the Archbishopric of Mainz?”

“Oh dear, it seems Archbishop Dalberg has been outmaneuvered again.”

Maret, who had also served as the British ambassador and was skilled in diplomacy, was about to whistle when Brienne, the Emperor’s principal secretary, ran up and shouted.

“His Majesty the Emperor is coming!”

Brienne was already famous for taking bribes.

But Talleyrand, standing next to Maret, was no exception when it came to bribes.

Maret shook his head, wondering who would receive more bribes while hosting today’s Rhine Confederation reception.

“What’s the point of appreciating today, Foreign Minister?”

“Three things. Will Archbishop Dalberg maintain his position as leader? Will the position of Grand Duke of Warsaw really be newly established, and will the Elector of Saxony ascend to that position? And, the last one is over there.”

“Are you talking about the Elector of Bavaria?”

When Maret asked, following Talleyrand’s gaze, Talleyrand nodded elegantly.

“Have you heard that the Elector of Bavaria has been making a fuss since before? He’s desperate to get his eldest daughter, Auguste Amalia Ludovika, into the French imperial family somehow. If that doesn’t work, even as the Emperor’s mistress.”

Amalia, who was rumored to be quite a beauty, was seen wearing a splendid dress.

On the other hand, beauties from the French imperial family were also present, among whom Stephanie de Beauharnais stood out.

Could it be true that Stephanie would be presented to one of the princes of the Rhine Confederation this time?

Maret was thinking that he had a gossip to bring back to Paris when Napoleon entered the party hall.

-Thud, thud, thud!

Maret saw Talleyrand’s face suddenly stiffen.

Maret, following Talleyrand’s gaze, had a strange expression.

Because Eugene was standing right next to Napoleon.

Suddenly, Napoleon waved his hand and laughed heartily.

“Oh, everyone’s already gathered. Sorry I’m late. But the main character of a party is supposed to arrive late, isn’t it?”

“Hahaha. It’s not that Your Majesty is late, but that we came too early!”

“How tired you must be from marching from afar! I am sorry that I could not greet you sooner!”

As the princes praised him, Napoleon raised his hand.

“Then, now that everyone is gathered, before we get drunk, I must make an important announcement.”

Everyone tensed up again.

The princes now knew that Napoleon often changed his mind.

But no one could predict what decision he would make after winning an overwhelming victory.

At Napoleon’s gesture, Commander Lannes and the guards brought medals.

-Clack, clack, clack!

Holding the medals high, Napoleon grabbed the Archbishop of Mainz, who was standing right in front of him.

“I appoint our great leader of the Rhine Confederation, Archbishop Dalberg, as the Grand Duke of Frankfurt!”

Dalberg, who had been worried that he might be taken away by the guards, breathed a sigh of relief.

The Grand Duchy of Frankfurt is, in fact, one of the old bishoprics.

So, Napoleon had arbitrarily presented one of the archbishoprics to the Archbishop of Mainz.

Of course, there must have been prior consultation with the Pope, but there was no need to announce it with such a surprise show.

Then, Napoleon added a shocking pronouncement.

“Also, the heir to the Grand Duchy will be my son, Eugene Bonaparte!”

“Yes? Ah, that is.”

“It is natural for a clerical prince to have no heir. Now, let’s all applaud! Quickly!”

As the Archbishop of Mainz was flustered, everyone applauded, led by the Duke of Bavaria.

Eugene already controlled vast territories in the New World.

Whether he had any territory in Europe, it was obvious that he would be virtually an absentee landlord.

Then, someone had to practically control Frankfurt.

While everyone was watching to see who that would be, Napoleon held another object in his hand.

“Also, I will give a gift to my friend, Duke Friedrich August von Sachsen [Frederick Augustus I, Elector of Saxony].”

The Elector of Saxony swallowed hard and approached Napoleon.

In fact, Napoleon was not friends with the Elector of Saxony, nor was he in a position to give him a gift.

Immediately, in the last War of the Third Coalition, Saxony had straddled both sides.

But since he was giving something, he was worried that it might be a ticket to the guillotine.

Suddenly, the Elector of Saxony’s eyes widened.

“Isn’t this a map?”

“Originally, handing over a map is an important symbol of royal authority. Unfortunately, you will not be able to exercise royal authority here.”

“Could it be?”

Patting the Elector of Saxony’s shoulder, Napoleon laughed heartily.

“I entrust you with the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, which is newly established. My chief adjutant, Suukovski, and my new Superior General [a rank above Major General], General Poniatowski, will help you.”

Colonel Suukovski, the chief adjutant from Poland, and Poniatowski, the meritorious person of the Bohemian War, approached.

The Elector of Saxony’s eyes widened at the sound of virtually handing over military power to Polish French soldiers, but he forced a smile.

He was in danger of being deprived of his duchy, but rather ascended to a new grand duchy, so it was a happy thing.

Then, why did the Elector of Saxony wear the Polish crown?

“This is too distant of a relationship.”

Talleyrand clicked his tongue.

In the 18th century, Poland elected its king.

So, the Elector of Saxony was once the King of Poland.

So, Napoleon presented the Grand Duchy of Warsaw to the Elector of Saxony because of that historical relationship.

Maret watched Talleyrand’s expression with interest and asked.

“What is a Superior General?”

“He doesn’t want to overuse the title of Marshal. It’s higher than a Major General, a new position.”

“At this rate, there will be positions like General and Lieutenant General.”

As if making a prediction, Maret spoke, Napoleon looked around the audience.

“Now, the last gift.”

So far, the princes had all received gifts.

Of course, with the shackles of adding Eugene as an heir and Poles as supervisors.

But would they receive a gift this time as well?

Above all, which prince would receive the gift?

At that time, Napoleon’s gaze turned to a man standing in the center.

“Dear Maximilian Joseph, Archduke.”

“Your Majesty, it’s hard to handle.”

“I haven’t said anything yet? Hahaha!”

As the Elector of Bavaria bowed his head, Napoleon laughed heartily and shouted.

“Now, you will be king!”

In the era when Austria was weakened, a new king was born in Germany.

***

All of this was, of course, the result of international political considerations.

“In the end, you married Princess Marie, Your Highness.”

A beauty approached Eugene, who was drinking wine in the corner of the reception hall.

She was probably about 18 years old now.

Eugene could still recognize her because some of the features he had seen before remained.

“So it is. Princess. No, I should call you Queen now, shouldn’t I?”

“Have you forgotten what you promised my father in the past?”

“Promise? Ah, that was just a joke. Anyway, you’ve grown into a beauty as expected.”

Princess Amalia of Bavaria covered her mouth with her hand and smiled.

“Are you perhaps, disappointed?”

For a moment, Eugene felt his heart sink without realizing it.

It wasn’t because of Amalia’s beauty.

If it had been according to the original history, Amalia’s husband would have been Eugene.

Moreover, the marriage would have been very happy, and the two might have had seven children.

As the unfulfilled future made his heart ache, Eugene opened his mouth.

“If you marry me, you will be unhappy, Princess.”

“Yes?”

“If you’re lucky, you might become the queen of a country even larger than Bavaria. But you will have to be anxious about being deprived of your position for the rest of your life, and if I lose, you will have to live by forcibly comforting me in despair.”

As Amalia slightly parted her lips, Eugene affirmed.

“That is never a good life, Princess.”

Why did he make Bavaria a kingdom?

That’s because after dismantling Austria, he needed a force to check Prussia and Hungary.

Bavaria has considerable national power, but at the same time, it does not have the power to unify the German region.

The reason why Napoleon chose Amalia as Eugene’s wife in the original history was also because of that.

But that means that her position and fate must be bet on Napoleon’s victory or defeat.

The husband must always jump into the front lines, and he may lose his life at any time.

Amalia is worth not living such an uneasy life.

That’s what Eugene answered now.

Amalia blinked blankly at Eugene’s too serious words and smiled.

“Even so, wouldn’t women be willing to throw themselves at a man like your father? Even if they know that destruction awaits them.”

“Princess, that’s.”

“I’m jealous. Of Princess Marie, who you say will live unhappily.”

Slightly turning her body, Amalia whispered.

“Still, I wanted to live like that once.”

In fact, strictly speaking, this is only the second time Eugene and Amalia have met.

However, Eugene strangely felt as if an hour of his life had been cut off.

Was it because he knew Amalia’s original fate?

Then why did Amalia say that to Eugene?

It was when Eugene was looking at Amalia’s disappearing back.

Suddenly, Ippolito whistled from the side.

“Heh, is this what they call raising something to eat, then missing it [regretting letting go of something valuable]?”

“Shut up, Ippolito.”

“If I touch it, uh, wouldn’t it be okay?”

Eugene smiled and told Ippolito.

“What did I say when you said you would touch my mother?”

Of course, he said he would kill him.

***

However, the stepfather has no time to be immersed in the memories of the woman who was originally destined.

“Stepfather, you’ve given me another great blow.”

Talleyrand, the minister without the title of minister, stood next to Eugene.

Eugene didn’t particularly remember giving him a blow, but Talleyrand seemed to feel that way.

Well, he might have thought that Eugene had arbitrarily adjusted the board of the Rhine Confederation that he had created.

Eugene shook his head lightly and replied.

“Don’t worry, I have no interest in Frankfurt.”

“I’m talking about the Duchy of Warsaw. You know very well that Russia, Prussia, and old Austria were all sensitive to Polish independence, but you did such a thing.”

“Austria has now been dismantled, and Prussia has lost its military power. All that’s left is Russia.”

Talleyrand narrowed his eyes.

“You must not fight Russia, Stepfather.”

Later, Bismarck said in the original history:

Diplomacy is about being friendly with Russia.

It seems that the views of diplomats are similar regardless of the era.

Eugene smiled bitterly and turned his gaze.

“That’s what His Majesty will decide. But, after all, isn’t the side that our France must deal with first all in the west?”

Staring at Napoleon, who was giving a long speech as if his favorite topic had come up, Talleyrand smiled strangely.

“That’s true too. Spain will soon be waiting for you, Stepfather.”

January 30, 1807, winter.

The coordination of the French Empire in Eastern Europe was decided in the Rhine Confederation.