He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 169

(169) The Directory Wants to Send Napoleon to Ireland

A coup, even if it fails, delivers a massive shock to the regime.

“Just what is going on here?”

The Security Command is located on Île de la Cité [Island in the center of Paris] in Paris.

Due to the attempted coup, public sentiment in Paris is volatile.

Moreover, the members of the former royal Bourbon family need to be even more careful about their safety.

Therefore, Security Commander Marceau summoned the Bourbon family members, including Eugene’s lover, Marie, to the Security Command.

In a way, it’s similar to house arrest, but Marie is different.

Rather, Marceau is in a position where he has to look after her.

Marceau greeted Marie, who came to the Security Commander’s office, with a gentle smile.

“It’s been a while, *Patrone* [Boss] Marie.”

“Are you making fun of me too, General? Only Eugene’s cartel employees call me that.”

“I’m also a member of that cartel. Hehe. Where should I start explaining?”

Marceau lightly tapped the desk in his office before beginning his explanation.

“It started not with the Queen, but with the acquisition of Florida.”

Whether the Queen meets with Fersen or not is outside of Eugene’s interest.

However, the Florida acquisition was a massive event that would change the internal and external direction of France.

Therefore, Eugene also dedicated the cartel’s full strength to this project.

But along the way, Lafayette gave a warning, which both Eugene and Marceau heard.

“During the Florida acquisition, we received a warning of a coup attempt. Directly from General Lafayette.”

“How did General Lafayette know?”

“He said he just sensed ominous signs, but it seems he got the information through the Freemason network. And from the British Freemasons.”

Marie was startled by Marceau’s explanation and asked again.

“Good heavens. Isn’t that close to treason?”

“Indeed. When you think about it, even after hearing the warning, he only conveyed the warning and didn’t take any measures to stop it. But he probably misjudged it, thinking it would be easy to stop.”

“Eugene moved to stop it then.”

Marceau clapped his hands and pointed to the head of the [Sûreté] [French Intelligence], who had come to the Security Command to report.

“That’s right. Rochejacquelin happened to be back. He’s someone who can dig into the royalists’ true intentions.”

Immediately after this coup, the Sûreté was officially recognized as an organization under the government.

It was recognized for its contribution to preventing the coup.

A spy organization composed of rebels from the Vendée and Toulon uprisings had suddenly become a government intelligence agency.

Naturally, its head is Rochejacquelin.

However, Rochejacquelin shook his head with a stern attitude and pointed to the person next to him.

“I didn’t do anything. Vidocq did it all.”

“Heh heh heh! How honest, you noble lord.”

“I’m a general, not a noble. Sergeant Vidocq.”

Just as Vidocq was about to frown, Rochejacquelin solemnly declared.

“From now on, fulfill your duties as a sergeant of the Sûreté.”

It was as if he was giving him a reward.

However, for a man who deserted the army because he hated it and escaped from prison because he hated it, re-enlistment was truly hell.

Vidocq cried out in disbelief.

“What? I made a contribution, and you’re telling me to enlist? Don’t you know that almost everyone in the entire unit is being discharged right now?”

“The necessary troops are still being conscripted. The war hasn’t ended for us yet.”

“What are you talking about? Wasn’t the war over?”

But Marceau smiled gently and shook his head.

“The war is not over, Sergeant Vidocq. Rather, this coup is about to restart the war with England because England tried to overthrow the French government.”

In short, the truce with England is effectively being broken.

Then, whether it’s the New World, the European continent, or Dover, clashes with England are inevitable.

Naturally, the intelligence organization, the Sûreté, will become important.

Just as Vidocq was about to look tearful, Marie suddenly remembered something and asked.

“Come to think of it, Congressman Brissot passed away. What happens now? The criminals, or the royalist congressmen? Surely, not all of them will be executed?”

“Well, their treatment isn’t that important. What’s important is how to form the government in the future.”

“It’s important to me, Security Commander Marceau.”

Marie said, looking directly at Marceau.

“If I hadn’t caused a scandal to protect *Maman* [Mom]? Congressman Brissot might not have died. I don’t want any more bloodshed.”

In fact, the incident where Marie caused a scandal was something Eugene had planned.

If he had thought Marie would just stay still, he wouldn’t have bothered sending her to Paris in the first place.

But Marceau didn’t bother explaining that fact to Marie.

There was no need to increase the reasons for Eugene to be resented.

Besides, from the beginning, Eugene and Marceau had no intention of simply executing the criminals.

Because they have a very important use.

“There’s no need to worry too much. They’ll probably pay a price instead of dying, like General Rochejacquelin.”

It’s the path that Pichegru was dragged down in the original history.

***

There is also a man who received a physical shockwave from the coup.

“Aaaagh! Treat me gently! Doctor Desgenettes! I’m going to die like this!”

René-Nicolas Dufriche Desgenettes, a doctor famous as the personal physician of revolutionary politicians.

Also, in the original history, he was an exile who wandered to avoid the Reign of Terror.

Furthermore, he was the very person who participated in the so-called Egyptian expedition and left a memoir mocking Napoleon for ‘fleeing.’

However, now that the so-called Reign of Terror was weak, he remained in Paris and worked as a doctor.

For example, treating Danton, who was exaggerating his pain.

Desgenettes hit Danton, who was shouting as if he were going to die from a bruise, and retorted.

“Being in pain is proof that you’re not dead, Congressman Danton.”

“Ugh! I didn’t die at the coup site, but I’m about to die here.”

“Still, isn’t it fortunate that you survived safely? More than 10 people died, including Congressman Brissot.”

Among them is the head of the royalists, Boislandry.

It is truly a major disaster that the heads of two major factions in the parliament died at the same time.

It’s a tremendous aftermath for a failed coup.

Suddenly, Danton jumped up and shouted.

“Yes. Those damn royalist bastards, pro-British factions, Pichegru and the Northern Army Corps! They all have to die! We must present them with the guillotine!”

Then, someone suddenly spoke next to Danton, who was receiving treatment.

“Are you serious, Director Danton?”

“Ah, whether I’m serious or not, do I have the power to do that? I’m just saying it! Ouch!”

“What does that mean?”

Danton sneered at his former rival who had come to see him.

“Hey, Director Lafayette. It’s all over for us now. Don’t you get it? We’re just dogs on Bonaparte’s leash. No, dogs are better. If they at least hunt, they won’t die. Us? It wouldn’t be strange if we were dragged to the execution ground right now.”

This is Danton’s home.

Normally, Lafayette, who doesn’t like Danton very much, doesn’t come to this place.

On the other hand, Danton’s close aides, including Desglantine, who used to frequent Danton’s house, were nowhere to be seen.

It’s another aftermath of the failed coup.

Loss of power.

The parliament has not been dissolved, but it has virtually lost its function.

Just then.

“Then, shouldn’t we just send him out?”

The doctor Desgenettes, the guest Lafayette, and the host Danton all hardened their faces.

First of all, the content of the words is a problem, but the uninvited guest who came is an even bigger problem.

It was Talleyrand, the man who had colluded with the royalist Boislandry.

But why is a coup faction walking around so freely?

Of course, there is a reason.

Danton gritted his teeth and jumped up from the bed.

“Wow, who is this? The greatest traitor who said he would come under me, then sided with the royalists, and now is clinging to Bonaparte!”

“I was just working for my country, Director Danton.”

“Stop calling me Director. It’s been a while since my term ended!”

Then Talleyrand smiled elegantly and replied.

“Don’t you want to be the Director again? General Lafayette here will also want that.”

Danton and Lafayette widened their eyes.

Becoming the Director again.

The meaning of these words is simple, but very dangerous.

It was Eugene and Hoche who suppressed the Pichegru coup.

In fact, soldiers linked to Napoleon suppressed the coup, and the Bonaparte faction effectively seized strong leadership.

That’s why Danton, Lafayette, and existing politicians were neutralized.

But Danton or Lafayette becoming the Director again?

It means overthrowing Napoleon and the Bonaparte faction.

Suddenly, Lafayette glared at Talleyrand.

“Monsieur [Mister] Talleyrand. You acted as a double agent between the royalists and the Bonaparte faction.”

“I did. Otherwise, my head would have already been riddled with bullets, torn to shreds, like Boislandry’s.”

“Well, looking at Barras, it doesn’t seem like that would necessarily happen. Anyway, are you going to play double agent again this time?”

Barras, a former Jacobin who also participated in the coup, is still alive.

The same goes for Fréron and Tallien.

Of course, they are in custody.

Unlike them, the double agent Talleyrand, who moves very freely, smiled and said.

“Wouldn’t it be easy? None of us are very happy about a soldier holding this country in his hands.”

So Talleyrand survived by sticking to Eugene.

It was as if he was cooperating with Boislandry, but immediately afterwards, he contacted Marceau.

That’s why Eugene was able to know the movements of the royalists as if he had them in the palm of his hand.

But now that the coup situation has passed, Talleyrand has approached Danton and Lafayette again.

Because military rule is not welcome to any politician.

Lafayette, a former soldier but current politician and head of a secret society, frowned and asked.

“What’s the method?”

“Bonaparte is ultimately a soldier. Soldiers want a battlefield of glory. First, reassure him, and then present him with a battlefield of glory.”

“What battlefield are you talking about?”

Suddenly, Talleyrand’s eyes lit up.

“Ireland. The very island that contacted Lafayette.”

Just as Lafayette was about to be taken aback by Talleyrand’s intelligence, Danton asked in surprise.

“It’s an island that can directly strike England. I’ve heard that there’s been an uneasy atmosphere there for a while. But you contacted Lafayette?”

“There was such a thing. But, sending Bonaparte to the Irish liberation operation? Isn’t that too much of a gamble? Would Bonaparte go?”

“Hey, explain exactly what you mean!”

Ignoring Danton’s urging, Talleyrand stared at Lafayette and smiled strangely.

Lafayette felt a chill down his spine.

It was as if he knew that Lafayette had joined hands with the Irish rebels through the Freemason network.

How much does this guy know?

Then Talleyrand opened his mouth.

“He will go. Bonaparte.”

“Why?”

“Because he’s a gambler, as he already proved in Italy.”

Talleyrand’s words certainly had a point.

That’s why Danton and Lafayette agreed.

Nevertheless, these three politicians don’t know just one thing.

Napoleon is actually a true gambler beyond imagination.

***

Conciergerie [Prison in Paris], a place that was called the prison of terror in the early days of the revolution.

-Clang!

It was virtually empty now, but recently it suddenly became full.

Among them, the door of a fairly spacious solitary cell opened.

The prisoner, who had been lying leisurely, sat up straighter as he saw the guest who had entered.

The prisoner’s name is Francis Baring, soon to be the owner of Barings Bank.

“Hmph, I didn’t expect to see you again like this. I thought we would part on good terms after the Florida sale was over.”

“Shouldn’t I be saying that? Mr. Baring, you proceeded with the coup knowing that I could die, right?”

“I couldn’t help it. Our East India Company’s chairman, Lushington, ordered me to find a way to save Pitt at all costs.”

Baring smiled bitterly.

Baring is a banker who is not very interested in politics.

He jumped in to try to make a big deal, but ended up getting burned.

“What are you going to do, kill me? Eugene?”

Eugene Freiherr von Bonaparte [Eugene, Baron von Bonaparte], the very person who thwarted Baring’s plan.

Once a child running around selling royal bonds.

But now he is the adopted son of the conqueror of Italy and a boy who holds a corner of power in France.

Eight years have changed a lot.

Just as Baring and Eugene have changed from traders to prisoner and guard.

Eugene shrugged, looking at Baring silently.

“Well, I’m not killing Barras, Fréron, or even Pichegru. It would be strange if I killed you, right?”

“You’re not killing them? Then are you forgiving them?”

“A tradition has already been established in the French revolutionary government. Rebellious soldiers who surrender are sent to the New World.”

Eugene smiled and threw out a terrifying story.

“You will be sent to develop Florida and Hispaniola [Island in the Caribbean].”

In the original history, modern times, it’s like being sent to a resort.

But in this era, it is an undeveloped area infested with natives and endemic diseases.

Furthermore, even in the original history, most of the coup troops sent to Hispaniola die due to yellow fever, a New World epidemic from Africa.

Baring, who knows the harshness of the New World even if he doesn’t know history, opened his mouth wide.

“It’s good if you go and develop the territory, and it doesn’t matter if you die?”

“Yes. Especially Barras and Fréron, I’m going to tell them to go to Hispaniola, where yellow fever is rampant.”

“That’s a cruel punishment. Then, surely you’re not telling me to go too?”

Eugene shook his head.

“You’re British. Besides, I owe you a favor.”

“It’s scary because the introduction is getting longer. Surely you’re not telling me to give up all my assets? That’s difficult.”

“Surely. I’m a banker too, so I wouldn’t tell you to give up capital, which is more precious than a banker’s life. You’ll have to be a hostage here. From now on, call your son and brother to Paris.”

He’s saying he’ll keep him as a prisoner.

Then what is he taking him hostage for?

Baring swallowed hard.

Suddenly, Eugene spoke again.

“I need to attack the place that will strangle England. You’ll have to help me with that.”

Baring, who was rolling his eyes, sighed.

Now that he has been defeated and lost his freedom, there is no choice.

He has no choice but to cooperate with Eugene using the personal network he has as a banker.

Besides, Barings Bank is more important to Baring than the country of England.

“Now that it’s come to this, I have no choice but to cooperate. Where is it? Ireland?”

“What kind of lifeline is Ireland? Besides, it’s difficult for us to occupy it.”

“Then?”