He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 219

(219) Shall We Execute Catherine’s Great Partition Plan?

On Rhodes, an island famous for the old fortress of the Knights Hospitaller, Eugene welcomed an unexpected guest.

“Oh, to think you’d come to Rhodes so quickly! I almost went to Cyprus instead!”

A man with a generous face, Rigas Feraios, said with a laugh in fluent French.

It had been three days since Eugene arrived in Rhodes from Cyprus.

The nearby Turkish fleet fled without a proper fight.

So, as they were preparing for a full-scale attack, these Greek nobles suddenly arrived as guests.

Bearing a letter of introduction from Stamati, the French consul stationed in Moldavia.

“Rigas Feraios, secretary to the [Voivode] of Moldavia.”

“And the one next to him?”

“Konstantinos Ypsilantis, son of the Voivode of Moldavia. He holds the highest position among the Greek nobility.”

Eugene’s aide-de-camp, Sebastiani, who knew the inner workings of the Ottoman Empire best, explained in a low voice.

In short, they weren’t scammers.

Besides, Eugene had vaguely heard the name before.

Konstantinos Ypsilantis wasn’t a particularly famous name.

Only the family name, [Ypsilantis], remained as a strangely familiar cheer song for a famous university in the original history of Korea.

However, Feraios was known as the originator of the Greek independence movement.

Why would such a man seek out Eugene?

Especially in the current situation, where he was the Ottoman Empire’s greatest enemy.

Feraios unfolded a piece of paper before making his proposal.

Eugene stared at the paper spread out on the table and asked.

“What is this?”

“A map, of course! Haha!”

“Not that, it’s just that the Ottoman Empire looks different from what I know.”

Feraios smiled mysteriously.

“You recognize it. This is Empress Catherine’s plan.”

Catherine, the Russian Empress who died a few years ago.

Famous for the partition of Poland and the suppression of the Pugachev Rebellion.

But, although not well known, the land Catherine focused on was actually separate.

The Greek region.

Constantinople, Jerusalem, and Alexandria—acquiring these so-called [holy sites] was one of Catherine’s wishes.

Of course, there was a practical reason, not just the insane goal of acquiring holy sites.

She wanted to secure a path to the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, seas that didn’t freeze.

So, Catherine sent Count Orlov to Greece to incite rebellion and also accepted many Greek exiled nobles.

There was a plan established at that time.

That is the [Catherine’s Greek Plan] that Feraios is talking about now.

Ippolito tilted his head as he looked at the map.

“Oh, so, northern Greece is one. Wallachia and Moldavia are one. Bosnia? And southern Greece, Crete, and Cyprus are one?”

“Well observed, Brigadier General Charles. To explain, the territory of Rumelia becomes the New Byzantine Empire, Wallachia and Moldavia are combined into the Kingdom of Dacia, western Serbia and Bosnia are given to Austria, and southern Greece, including [the Peloponnese], is given to Venice.”

“Th-that’s complicated. It rivals the partition of Poland. No, is this plan realistic?”

Feraios smiled mysteriously.

“If it were, wouldn’t it have been realized?”

In fact, it was an insane plan.

The [New Byzantine Empire] to be ruled by Catherine’s grandson, the Kingdom of Dacia to be ruled by her lover, Duke Potemkin, and the Yugoslavia region of modern history to be given to Austria.

Here, Venice, which had naval power until the 18th century, is brought in, and Morea, or the Peloponnese, is given to them.

Of course, this is not a feasible plan in the 1770s, when Russia’s military power had not yet been modernized.

But what about now, in 1798?

Eugene stared intently at the map, then gazed at Feraios.

“You said you came with an introduction from Consul Constantine Stamati?”

“That’s right. Through Monsieur Stamati, I have also sent letters to General Bonaparte.”

“My father originally liked exchanging letters with people from all walks of life.”

At Eugene’s seemingly evasive attitude, Feraios hurriedly said.

“I also have connections with the Permon family. I also studied in [Vienna] for a while.”

He seemed quite knowledgeable about European affairs.

And he was certainly well-informed about the Bonaparte family’s situation.

The fact that he mentioned the Permon family was telling.

Junot, who was listening, looked wide-eyed.

Although the young [Laure Permon] was not of interest to Junot, Laure had another older sister.

That was Cécile Permon.

As beautiful as Laure, and with a gentle personality, she didn’t leave much of a mark in history.

Eugene remembered her as one of the beauties Junot had seduced.

With a subtle smile, Eugene nodded.

“Alright, Monsieur Feraios.”

“You can call me Rigas.”

“The [Voivode]’s son, Konstantinos, who came with you, hasn’t said a word, yet you’re the only one talking. What can you promise us?”

Then, Konstantinos, the 38-year-old nobleman who had been watching from the side, opened his mouth.

“I have brought my father’s proposal. But, I think it’s a useless proposal.”

His father, Alexandros, had instructed him as follows.

Tell them that you will allow them to use the [Greek rebel groups] in Morea, or the Peloponnese peninsula.

However, the moment Konstantinos arrived in Rhodes, his thoughts completely changed.

The numbers were about 20,000 in the army and about 10,000 in the navy.

But with huge battleships, well-organized infantry, and even Mamluk auxiliary troops, their power was enormous.

There was a reason why the Bey of this region, who was responsible for the defense of Rhodes, had fled in a hurry.

Such a highly motivated French army would not move with just an internal rebellion.

Something grander was needed.

That’s why he showed the map through Feraios.

Eugene looked at Konstantinos and shrugged.

“What do you mean, Prince Ypsilantis?”

“I am not the Voivode’s son. I am merely the son of a puppet of the Ottoman Empire, a governor who rules over his own people. Also, I don’t want nobility or anything like that.”

“Prince, what are you saying?”

Konstantinos, who had taken a deep breath, flashed his eyes.

“I have come to propose, along with my teacher, Rigas, the establishment of a revolutionary republic in Greece!”

Originally, in the original history, Konstantinos devoted himself to the anti-Ottoman movement.

He joined hands with Russia and temporarily created an independent state centered on Wallachia.

Although he eventually failed and fled to Russia, his son Alexandros achieved Greek independence.

Konstantinos, a nobleman who had accepted Western culture early on and was moved by the French Revolution, passionately exclaimed.

“This Ottoman Empire is not one. It is divided into numerous races and forces.”

“I saw it in Egypt.”

“The mainland, Rumelia and Anatolia, which are ruled by the Ottoman clan, are the same. Especially here in Rumelia, it is divided into numerous races.”

Pointing forcefully at the map, Konstantinos said.

“Bulgarians, Serbians, Romanians, and us Greeks.”

Eugene looked around the map and replied.

“There are also Bosnians, Albanians, and Croatians.”

“You know it well, more than I thought.”

“Local information is the most important thing in war. Of course, I didn’t expect the Moldavian ‘Voivode’ to offer me cooperation.”

Eugene smiled strangely and asked again.

“Then, why are you showing me this plan?”

Feraios quickly interjected.

“The partition according to this plan is what we want. Venice has now become a satellite republic of France, right?”

“That’s right.”

“There is Venice’s share here. We will hand over Morea, Crete, and Cyprus to France. The only land we want is the Rumelian mainland.”

Eugene looked at the map and tilted his head.

“It’s not your land yet. Why should we give you Rumelia?”

“France cannot conquer and rule the entire Turkey either. That is not possible for European powers. Unless the entire population converts to Islam.”

“Are you saying that we will accept partition rather than conquest?”

Konstantinos nodded, and Feraios smiled.

“This great partition plan is the best. What do you think?”

Empress Catherine’s [ambitious scheme], the Greek Great Partition Plan.

The moment that plan came to life on Eugene’s desk had arrived.

***

If the Ottoman Empire were intact, this plan would naturally be nothing more than a delusion.

“Oh, Albert Permon. Your family is friends with them?”

At Junot’s playful question, Quartermaster Albert Permon smiled with a troubled face.

This was Rhodes Fortress, once the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller.

Now, it was occupied by the French expeditionary force and used as a temporary headquarters.

Because it was used as a base by the Ottoman Navy, crescent moon patterns were drawn in various places in the office, which was unusual.

Albert stroked the crescent moon pattern and shrugged.

“No, honestly, they’re just very distant relatives. Both Monsieur Stamati and Monsieur Feraios. My family came to Corsica almost a hundred years ago.”

“But you always bragged about being a nobleman of the Eastern Roman Empire, didn’t you? Haha!”

“That doesn’t mean I’m going to live in Greece.”

Albert turned his gaze to the commander, who was reviewing the supply plan.

“But are you really going to accept this partition plan? Then, could I buy some land in [Crete]?”

Originally, Laure Permon’s older brother, Albert, was a supply officer in charge of supplies for the French army.

Since the previous Italian expedition, he had been in charge of trading goods between the Beauharnais cartel and the expeditionary force.

He had come along with the Egyptian expeditionary force and had accompanied them here.

Eugene glanced up at Albert and asked.

“What do you mean by that, Albert?”

“No, I did some studying before I came. Commander. I heard that Crete is such a wealthy island. Until it was taken over by the Ottoman Empire, so much cotton and wine came out of here, I heard?”

“Your dream is small, just a real estate owner. You originally came from the Brienne school, didn’t you? I don’t think your father would just leave you alone.”

Albert, who was once Napoleon’s junior at the military academy, laughed heartily.

“Hahaha! I’m not the kind of person who can be with such a hero. I’d rather make money. It seems like there are plenty of opportunities to make money around the commander.”

This is probably why Albert didn’t leave any special records in the original history.

Even though his younger sister became Junot’s wife.

Chuckling, Eugene asked Albert this time.

“Then, let me ask our quartermaster, who likes to make money. What do you think, will this work?”

Albert naturally doesn’t know much about war.

However, as he is in charge of supplies, he is quite knowledgeable about financial matters and assessing situations.

Albert looked at the map, calculated for a moment, and nodded.

“It would be possible if we win, right? Partition is much easier than conquest.”

Then, Marceau asked Eugene with a nervous face.

“Will it really work? Partitioning like this? Isn’t it too grand a plan?”

“Egypt and Syria are already partitioned within the Ottoman Empire, right? It’s not difficult to partition the Greek region, the southern peninsula, and Crete. And taking Wallachia and Moldavia away too.”

“Empress Catherine is quite a mastermind. To come up with such a huge plan. Wait a minute.”

Marceau’s gaze turned to the western part of the Ottoman Empire.

“It seems like there’s something else important to France in this plan?”

Eugene followed his gaze and nodded.

“That’s right. It’s the area that Austria originally intended to partition.”

“Serbia, Bosnia, and what else?”

“Croatia. There are also Albanians. It’s a complicated area. The most peculiar is Serbia.”

Originally, it was the place where the so-called [First World War] began in the original history.

After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Austria succeeded in conquering this region.

However, they failed to properly integrate it and were constantly plagued by ethnic strife.

Eventually, they lost their crown prince to assassination and fell into the quagmire of the World War.

Now, the age of nationalism is about to begin, but of course, it is not easy to govern.

Then Junot looked at the map with greedy eyes and asked.

“Can’t we merge it through the Veneto Republic?”

Eugene glanced at Junot, the conqueror of Venice, and shook his head.

“It’s difficult.”

“Why? Because of Austria?”

“That’s also a problem, but the residents here are very peculiar. It will probably become a hotbed of rebellion. It’s better to partition and make them independent.”

But it seemed that Junot didn’t ask because he necessarily thought they should merge.

“So, you’re going to accept it?”

Looking at Junot, who was asking with a satisfied smile, Eugene looked at the map again.

“We need to make adjustments. It would be a problem if the Ottoman Empire were to collapse altogether.”

Eugene can now execute this plan, which may be a delusion.

Because he can beat the Ottoman Empire.

***

In front of the port of Rhodes, Eugene stood at the place where he was sending off Feraios and Konstantinos.

“Monsieur Feraios, let me convey our answer.”

“Please tell me.”

“Start a revolt in Morea. And when the time comes, I want Moldavia to move as well. If you do that.”

Eugene took out a map and drew a line with a pen.

-Ziiik!

Eugene declared to the surprised Konstantinos and Feraios.

“I will give you all the remaining Greek regions, except for Constantinople and its surroundings.”

It was still the territory of the Ottoman Empire.

But Eugene was guaranteeing it as if it were an item in his pocket.

Konstantinos, who had been momentarily stunned, realized anew.

The boy in front of him was the conqueror of Egypt and Syria.

“You’re giving Morea and taking northern Greece?”

“That’s right.”

“My father is the governor of Moldavia. Are you worried about that?”

Moldavia and northern Greece could be connected and become one country.

It was something that Greece actually tried in the original history.

However, Eugene was not considering such a problem.

A completely different problem was the reason why Eugene made this choice.

It was a countermeasure against Russia.

“It will be difficult for you to become the president of Greece. Even more so if you want a republic, Konstantinos.”

Konstantinos’ eyes widened.

In fact, Konstantinos may have been inclined towards revolution, but he would have felt a lot while looking at France.

That a politician from a powerful country might be better than a royal from a weak country.

However, what Eugene needed was not a powerful Greece.

Also, there was a separate place to use Konstantinos.

“Instead, I will make you the king of the new Romania.”

“A king?”

“You will become an ally of our France there. You will realize the ideals of the revolution as a constitutional monarchy, and leave the republic to Feraios here.”

Mutual checks, cooperation systems, or allied alliances.

Any system is possible.

Also, from France’s point of view, it will have an ally against Russia.

It will be a much more solid alliance than the Ottoman Empire, which is prone to betrayal depending on the change of Sultan.

Eugene quietly looked at Feraios and Konstantinos and asked.

“This is my proposal. Will you accept it?”

Konstantinos looked at the map and nodded vigorously.

“It’s an offer I can’t refuse. Alright. When will we start moving?”

No matter how inclined to revolution one is, one can only think of oneself and one’s children.

Furthermore, if one can ultimately save the nation, it is natural to accept.

The problem is that all these plans are just decided on the desk.

To become reality, you have to win the war.