He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 164

(164) The False Royalist Rochejacquelin Uncovers a Coup

Here, there is a man whom all political factions in Paris are watching.

“It’s been a while, General. We’ve only exchanged letters, but now we finally meet in person.”

Napoleon?

No.

It’s Vincent de Vaublanc, a very dangerous man who champions the King’s return to France.

At 41 years old, he hails from Saint-Domingue, served as a soldier under Louis XVI, was a member of the National Constituent Assembly of the revolutionary government, and stood among the few who insisted on saving the King.

Now, Vaublanc, the leader of the Royalist faction, welcomed his guest.

Then, who is the General sitting on the sofa in the drawing room?

It was Charles Pichegru, a 36-year-old general, who raised his coffee cup while looking at the middle-aged assemblyman.

“Congratulations, you’ve become a member of the National Assembly again.”

“Is that something to celebrate? Our faction has only about 90 members. We don’t even occupy a third of the 500-member Council.”

“Heh heh, that’s how minority parties usually are. Still, didn’t you do well, considering the Florida whirlwind swept through the election?”

Vaublanc frowned at Pichegru’s words.

“Yes, suddenly Danton—no, Bonaparte—brought up Florida. It was a complete mess. He completely ruined the election. That Corsican bumpkin!”

When only the conquest of Italy had been successful, the situation was different.

In fact, the victory of war is only good for those in high places.

Most of the soldiers are conscripted without pay, and in a wartime system, supplies are given priority to the front lines, and trade is also blocked.

Despite the victory, public sentiment could not be good for the ruling party.

This dissatisfaction, combined with longing for the King and the complaints of Catholic priests, led to the rapid rise of the Royalists.

But suddenly, Danton brought up the Florida purchase.

Diplomacy is a political card that only the ruling party can use.

Thanks to this, the Royalists quickly shrank, resulting in only one-fifth of them being elected from the number that had been aiming for a majority.

Now, it’s a situation where they can only nominate one out of five Directors [members of the executive branch].

Pichegru suddenly smiled subtly.

“You must be desperate for a card to reverse the situation.”

“Yes, so I’ve recruited a good person. A prominent figure who can turn the current political situation around.”

“Really? Who is it? Assemblyman Barthelemy?”

Vaublanc smiled, relaxing his frowning face.

“It’s not just that level. He was supposed to come today, so he’ll be here soon. By the way, what brings you here in person? Shouldn’t you be busy with military affairs in the Army of the North?”

Pichegru’s current position is Commander of the French Army of the North.

Soon, he will be the commander of the support unit backing up Hoche, the commander of the Flanders garrison.

For Pichegru, who once conquered Brussels, it is a kind of sinecure [a position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit].

However, it is also true that he still holds actual combat units in his hands.

Moreover, Vaublanc and Pichegru have been close for a long time.

This is because Vaublanc was saved by Pichegru’s plea around the time of Robespierre’s Reign of Terror.

In addition, Pichegru is a soldier who subtly expresses his desire for the King to return.

So, Vaublanc was also interacting with Pichegru, and he came to visit in person like this.

Pichegru suddenly snapped his fingers and laughed.

“I also came to introduce some good people.”

The moment Vaublanc widened his eyes, the door of Vaublanc’s house opened.

-Step, step, step.

Three uninvited guests, whom he had not invited, were entering at once.

“It’s been a while, Count Vaublanc.”

A man with a brazen face smiled, calling out the title from the old royal era.

Vaublanc was startled by the sudden intrusion of the uninvited guests and jumped up.

But the uninvited guests only smiled as if they were glad to see Vaublanc.

The man who greeted him, Barras, whistled and said.

“Is this the first time since the National Constituent Assembly? I’ll see you in the Assembly again now?”

At that moment, Vaublanc, enraged, jumped up.

“Barras? No, even Fréron and Tallien! How dare you come to me?”

Fréron and Tallien, who came with him, hesitated.

Fréron is the dispatched member who worked with Barras as the executioner of Provence in the past.

Tallien was the one who carried out the massacre of counter-revolutionaries in Lyon instead of Fouché at the time.

In other words, those who were in charge of one aspect of the Reign of Terror in the early days of the revolution came to the house of the Royalist leader.

However, the brazen Barras asked back with a straight face.

“What’s wrong with you? You were once a revolutionary who participated in the Tennis Court Oath [a pivotal event during the early stages of the French Revolution].”

At that moment, Vaublanc shouted in anger.

“Shut up! I never agreed to assassinate His Majesty the King! Even if he was a fool who had his own wife taken away by a foreign aristocrat!”

Louis XVI, Vaublanc thinks, is a foolish king.

Furthermore, even at the time of the revolution, he believed that this corrupt French system should be overturned.

However, when the revolution began, Vaublanc’s thinking changed.

Too many people were executed.

Unnecessary wars caused even more people to die.

Then, did France pay the price and become a much better country?

The territory may have been expanded.

However, the state affairs themselves are still in dire straits.

The finances are holding up with the spoils brought in through conquest, but even next year, the financial crisis will come again.

To end this chaos, it would be better for the King to return.

Vaublanc was so sure.

But weren’t Barras, Fréron, and Tallien all those who agreed to the assassination of the King?

Even if the King committed suicide, he has no intention of joining hands with the King slayers.

That’s when it happened.

“Am I in the wrong place?”

At that moment, everyone’s eyes turned to the door of the mansion.

A young man was seen among the servants who were at a loss due to the sudden uninvited guests.

A man with brown skin that had been burned by the equatorial sun stood out.

Barras whistled at the moment.

“Oh, Count Rochejacquelin! You’ve finally returned! To Paris!”

Then Pichegru looked back at Vaublanc.

“Is that the card you were talking about?”

With a strange face mixed with unpleasantness and pride, Vaublanc replied.

“Yes! The hero of the new continent of Florida, and the hero of the Vendée! Rochejacquelin has decided to join our faction!”

It was Rochejacquelin, the former leader of the Vendée rebels [Royalist rebels in the Vendée region of France], who was the card recruited by Vaublanc.

***

It’s a very strange combination.

Former Royalist rebels, current Revolutionary Army generals, Royalist executioners.

Rochejacquelin smiled bitterly.

At first, when he heard Vidocq’s request, Rochejacquelin jumped up.

「You want me to approach the Royalists? Does that make sense? I’ve already converted!」

He is Rochejacquelin, the former commander of the Royalist rebels.

However, when he surrendered to Eugene, the object of his loyalty to the King had already changed.

Does he now have to be loyal to a king who does not even exist?

Vidocq urged as if it were very natural.

「Don’t you know that Pichegru doesn’t meet with Danton, Lafayette, or even the Bonapartist members? The only people he can meet now are the Royalists!」

「Are you telling me to jump into the dangerous Royalists, believing only in such a slim possibility?」

「You are not dangerous. The Royalists are weak, you are a star, and you were also a symbol of the old Royalists!」

Prisoner, Vidocq was right.

Anyway, Vaublanc, the leader of the Royalists, became someone who invited him to his mansion without suspicion.

After visiting a few times and having a meal, it was a piece of cake.

However, he didn’t know that the invitation would overlap with the day Pichegru was meeting.

Rochejacquelin was about to hide his expression while drinking coffee.

At that time, Commander of the Northern Army Pichegru clapped his hands.

-Clap!

Vaublanc, who was still furious and panting, turned his head and stopped in surprise.

It was because General Pichegru was glaring at him.

No matter how small his achievements, he is a general who commanded an army.

It was difficult for an ordinary member to withstand that momentum.

Pichegru, who was staring with a ferocious look, twisted his mouth and smiled.

“Well, I didn’t call you to fight. Assemblyman.”

“General Pichegru! Wh, who told you to call those people! Send them back right now!”

“Then, are you going to give everything to Bonaparte?”

Vaublanc suddenly closed his mouth.

Napoleon Bonaparte, commander of the Italian garrison.

In fact, if you only look at the title, he is just an ordinary soldier.

However, the Italian peninsula is virtually in Napoleon’s grasp.

In addition, the spoils acquired in Italy have solved the current financial difficulties of the French government.

As a result, he is exerting enormous influence on the government without having to mobilize military power.

Might military power, influence, and financial power through control of the Italian peninsula.

Whether they are supporters of the Republic or Bourbon Royalists, anyone can’t help but think it’s dangerous.

Pichegru, a powerful figure in the military, but pushed out by the three great generals, including Bonaparte, is the same.

On the other hand, from Rochejacquelin’s point of view, it was a situation that made his ears perk up.

“If things continue like this, the regime will virtually fall into Bonaparte’s hands. The way for His Majesty the King to return will disappear, and everyone here will be exiled. Everyone here doesn’t have a very good relationship with Bonaparte, right?”

Barras had already broken up with Napoleon in Toulon.

Fréron tried to become close to Napoleon but was pushed out.

In the case of Tallien, he actually becomes close to Napoleon through Josephine in the original history, but now he is a member who stays on the outskirts of the power without getting that opportunity.

No, to be precise, those here are all those who stay around power.

Vaublanc, the leader of the minority Royalists, Barras and his group, who were the old Robespierre faction, and Pichegru, who was once the conqueror of Flanders.

In addition, in fact, Rochejacquelin also has a grudge against Napoleon from an objective point of view.

Rochejacquelin frowned slightly at Pichegru’s gaze and nodded.

“That’s right. I also lost my men and had to be exiled to a harsh island in the New World.”

Based on this era, the West Indies are like hell to Europeans.

Of course, Josephine, who is from there, and Vaublanc didn’t think that way.

However, Pichegru, Barras, and Fréron, who were from mainland France, all nodded and agreed.

Pichegru, a man aiming for a reversal, looked around and said.

“But on the contrary, we are in a state where both the political and military worlds are gathered. Here.”

Suddenly, the last uninvited guest came in from outside the door and said.

“We also have merchants from the old French East India Company.”

The old merchant who once begged Danton to maintain the French East India Company.

Guillaume de Savattier was there.

Although the East India Company went bankrupt, Savattier’s assets as a banker are still considerable.

Now, politicians, military power, and even funds have been gathered.

Vaublanc narrowed his brows and asked.

“Everyone is really a minority. What are you going to do by gathering like this, then?”

Pichegru, still twisting his mouth, told Vaublanc.

“We’re going to turn the world upside down again. Just like Bonaparte did.”

Just like in the Month of Fructidor [September 1797], Napoleon overturned the Mara rebellion and took the lead.

Just like the current Directors of the Directory became powerful.

***

Of course, all this story was immediately conveyed to Vidocq.

“You succeeded! Monsieur Rochejacquelin!”

“You’re amazing, General!”

“Oh my god, the Royalists have really joined hands with Pichegru!”

Paris Boarneh Bank Cafe, secret room.

Vidocq and Surété agents cheered.

However, Rochejacquelin, who brought the important information, asked with a dazed feeling.

“Now, what should I do with this?”

“How far did you hear?”

“I couldn’t hear the specific details. It seemed like they were going to share more secret stories among themselves. First of all, I don’t have any subordinates officially right now.”

First of all, Rochejacquelin is currently officially on standby.

Also, unlike the sloppy Vaublanc, Pichegru does not completely trust Rochejacquelin.

Although Vaublanc brought him, he was allowed to participate in the persuasion session, but nothing more.

Vidocq, who was quietly analyzing the information, twisted his mouth.

“First, let’s find out who is behind Pichegru.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“I used to be a soldier in the Army of the North. But the General Pichegru I know is not such a bold person.”

At that moment, the eyes of Vidocq, a former deserter, flashed.

“Something bigger must be attached to Pichegru’s back.”

An inappropriate meeting between a Royalist politician and the commander of the Northern Army.

Clearly, these two things mean one thing.

A coup.