He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 225

(225) The Tsar Wants Constantinople on a Silver Platter

Let’s rewind a bit, back to three months prior.

July 1798, when France had just conquered Syria.

It was the point when Russia was dispatching troops towards France.

However, the Russian Empire was preoccupied with something other than France.

The Emperor of the Empire, Paul, exclaimed with a glare.

“Rome, the land once ruled by that great name! Hahaha! A name our [Rossiya – Russia] shall inherit!”

The place where Paul is shouting is the Winter Palace, the capital’s annex located in Saint Petersburg.

Though called an annex, it was originally the palace where the Tsar resided, as befitting Russia, where winter dominates.

Empress Catherine also conducted official governance from this Winter Palace.

However, Paul, Catherine’s son and the new Tsar, dislikes this place.

He looks like he wants to escape from here right now.

That’s why he’s building a new palace called [Michael], or Mikhail’s Castle in Russian.

But for now, this is the Russian Empire, the Emperor’s residence.

As Paul gets angrier because of the place he dislikes, people suddenly chime in.

“That’s right, Your Majesty. The era of Rossiya is now!”

“The Third Rome! The true Roman Emperor is here, Your Majesty!”

“Sweden, Turkey, and even France, ruled by those outrageous rebels, will all kneel before Your Majesty!”

Before the Emperor’s audience chamber, many people are seen flattering him.

What’s unusual is that those at the very front are not Russian.

The one at the front is the plump Count of Provence, next to him is the slender Count of Artois, and then the dignified Duke of Orléans.

In short, they were all French royal exiles.

It’s a strange sight to see the Russian Empire’s Emperor being praised by the French throne claimants.

However, even the self-proclaimed Louis XVII, the Count of Provence, didn’t find it strange.

He had lost his country and become an exile.

And there aren’t many countries in Europe that can stand against France.

England, Prussia, Austria, and Russia.

Among them, only British Prime Minister Pitt and the Tsar of Russia welcomed them.

Eventually, they ended up here, inciting the Tsar.

To defeat the outrageous [rebels] of France and restore the monarchy.

The Duke of Orléans looked at the Tsar and spoke respectfully.

“From what I heard from Prime Minister Pitt, England is putting all its efforts into this war. In particular, Saint-Domingue has been blockaded, and they will soon land in Florida, won’t they? They’ve also blocked Ireland and defeated Spain.”

People glared at the Duke of Orléans, who spoke as if he were a spokesperson for England.

Not only his rivals, the Count of Provence and the Count of Artois, but also other close retainers.

From the start, wasn’t the Duke of Orléans a supporter of the revolution, not to mention an exile?

But now he’s acting like the embodiment of counter-revolution, so they couldn’t help but see him unfavorably.

However, Emperor Paul smiled and then glared.

“Here, everyone, did you hear what the Duke of Orléans said!”

The Emperor’s gaze turned to where the generals were standing.

The generals in black uniforms looked at the Tsar with tension.

Seven field commanders and 333 generals were either dismissed or removed from their positions.

The Russian Empire’s Emperor, Paul, hated everything his mother had established, and among them, he hated soldiers the most.

In particular, the people he hated the most were his mother’s lover, Potemkin, and the famous General Suvorov.

Fortunately, Potemkin had been dead for a long time, and Suvorov was advancing into Western Europe.

However, the remaining generals had to endure his anger and annoyance instead.

Paul glared at the generals and shouted.

“Now, our ally, England, is fighting at sea. But we, who claim to be descendants of Rome, are about to hand over Roman lands to France. What do you think!”

He was talking about the situation unfolding in the Ottoman Empire, just to the south.

About the war situation where the French army conquered Egypt and then subdued Syria.

While they don’t know European news in Egypt, they know Egyptian news very well in Europe.

Because numerous newspapers are reporting it in England, where freedom of the press is guaranteed.

-〈Victory in the Naval Battle of the Nile in Egypt, but the glorious victor, Nelson, is dead!〉

-〈French Navy Half Destroyed! But the Army is on a Forced March! Egyptians in the Ottoman Empire Tormented by the Devils of the Guillotine!〉

-〈Barbaric French Army Cutting Off People’s Heads, Shocking Execution of the Syrian Governor!〉

It was a newspaper with quite sensational headlines, soon handed over by the British ambassador.

Paul isn’t a fool either.

Although the patriotic British reporters distorted it, in the end, this content conveys one thing.

The French army has conquered Egypt, taken Syria, and is coming to the Ottoman Empire’s mainland.

However, Paul, who has little interest in the old Roman lands, is interested in two things.

The authority of the [Tsar] who claims to be the Roman Emperor, and military matters.

“If this continues, the teenage darling of France will occupy Constantinople. Isn’t that so?”

Benigsen, Bagration, and Barclay de Tolly all remained silent.

If only Suvorov, who went to Western Europe, were here, he might have protested.

Firstly, that’s impossible, secondly, even if that were to happen, they wouldn’t invade the Russian Empire, and thirdly, if that’s what they were worried about, they shouldn’t have fought France in the first place.

But Suvorov isn’t here, and Russia has already declared war on France.

Furthermore, Tsar Paul is a man who learned about war at his desk.

“Then! Those French bastards might attack our army’s rear, might they not? Or, they might attack our empire!”

That’s something only a desk-bound scholar would say.

Firstly, occupying Constantinople is difficult, but even if that were to happen, the French army couldn’t attack Russia.

They are too burdened with conquering enemy territory to have the capacity for an additional expedition.

This is common sense in the modern battlefield, where elite infantry and gunpowder weapons dominate, not a medieval war.

But this desk-bound scholar is the ruler of Russia, the Tsar.

How should they react?

Moreover, the French exiled royals, who have recently captured the Tsar’s attention, are inciting war.

“That’s right! Your Majesty, we must defeat the outrageous French!”

“Punish the darling of France and restore justice. That darling, if my memory serves me right, was just a page in our royal court who only gambled!”

“Hmm, I think he was just a moneylender. Anyway, he’s not fit to wage war. Haha!”

The self-proclaimed Louis XVII, the Count of Artois who used Eugene as a player, and the Duke of Orléans were about to speak.

“Then, I will step forward, Your Majesty.”

Everyone’s gaze turned.

One-eyed, fat, and swaying movements.

He’s quite ugly, but Paul, who is also ugly, actually likes ugly men.

But there’s a problem with that ugly man.

Paul glanced at his closest aide, Vice-Chancellor Alexander Borisovich Kurakin, who was standing next to him.

“Isn’t that guy a close aide of Suvorov?”

“Strictly speaking, everyone is Your Majesty’s subject. Why don’t you listen to his story once.”

“So, he is a close aide. Hmph.”

The one-eyed ugly man, Kutuzov, smiled smoothly even after hearing what Paul said for everyone to hear.

“Just give me 1,000 men.”

“What?”

“Then I will incite an internal rebellion in the Ottoman Empire, seize the border guards, and then gather that army to drive out the French!”

Everyone in that place opened their mouths wide.

In particular, the stellar generals of the Russian Empire were speechless with astonishment.

Is this something that medieval knights would say?

If that were possible, the Russian Empire would have already destroyed the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire, although a backward old-fashioned country, is clearly a centralized state with a system.

In some ways, its bureaucracy is even more advanced than Russia’s.

But an internal rebellion breaks out, and then they take advantage of that rebellion to seize the border guards, is that possible?

But only one person was opening his mouth for a different reason.

“Oh! Kutuzov! You know my will! Good, I’ll give you 1,000 men! I’ll give you the generals you want! No!”

Tsar Paul issued an order from the Winter Palace that no one could refuse.

“I will dispatch the Black Sea Fleet! Anyway, we can’t use it in the war with France!”

This is the story of how Kutuzov came to the Ottoman Empire with only 1,000 men.

Of course, the Black Sea Fleet came with him.

***

The person who heard this story was none other than Sydney Smith.

“Are you saying that seriously, Admiral Ushakov?”

Admiral Ushakov glanced at the uninvited guest on his flagship, [Christ], and smiled bitterly.

The opponent was the one who had once defeated the Russian fleet when Sweden and Russia were at war.

But now they are literally in the same boat.

Ushakov, towards Sydney, a man who still takes pride in his Swedish knighthood, took a sip of coffee and replied.

“If I wasn’t serious, would I have seated you, who was clearly an enemy, on my ship? Sydney?”

“Wow, the Tsar is really cool! If I had known that, I would have fought under the Tsar instead of the Swedish king!”

“That was when the late Empress Catherine ruled. With your looks, you wouldn’t have caught Empress Catherine’s eye.”

Sydney laughed heartily and patted Ushakov on the shoulder.

“Puhaha! Your jokes are cool too, Admiral Ushakov!”

Ushakov looked at the presumptuous young man who was less than half his age and smiled bitterly again.

Anyway, he’s a hard person to hate.

Moreover, Sydney’s naval battle experience was extremely important.

Currently, the French [Egyptian Fleet] has survived fighting against the British Mediterranean Fleet.

So, can the Russian Black Sea Fleet really win?

That’s why Sydney’s assessment, who has fought them all, is important.

Ushakov stared at Sydney and asked.

“Now, give me your assessment. Can we win against the French fleet that has appeared in front of us?”

Suddenly, the tricolor flag flutters in front of 16 Russian Empire flag-waving battleships.

-Flutter!

The total number is 21 ships.

Among them, the number of battleships is only 10.

But the opponent has a record of repeatedly defeating the British fleet.

That’s why Ushakov, who has only sacrificed Turkish ships so far, is nervous despite his superior forces.

Sydney frowned.

“Hmm, the boy commander has probably gone ashore. The commander is either the Corsican Casabianca, or Shaila, who participated in the ‘New World War of Independence’.”

“Who are they?”

“Casabianca is just brave. But Shaila is a skilled tactician.”

The British Admiralty doesn’t just collect information on its allies.

It also has a lot of information on virtual enemy countries, especially the world’s second-largest naval power, the French Navy’s generals.

Perhaps the British Admiralty knows the French admirals better than the French military itself.

In fact, the French military is army-centric.

Sydney, who diligently read that information and came to the Mediterranean, shook his head.

“They have preempted a favorable position in front of the Dardanelles. If we approach, there is a high risk of defeat.”

This is the Dardanelles, the southern sea of the two straits that separate Greece and Anatolia.

The north is the famous Bosphorus off Constantinople, and the Russian Empire Navy has succeeded in crossing this strait.

However, the French Navy also quickly moved north and succeeded in preempting the Dardanelles.

In this situation, the side that moves first loses.

The sea between the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, the so-called [Marmara] Sea, is more treacherous than expected.

So, Sydney assessed that French sailors are more skilled than Russian sailors.

Ushakov felt bad but shrugged.

“I can’t help it. That would be the objective assessment.”

“Then are you just going to keep watching here?”

“No, I’m going to wait.”

Suddenly, Ushakov’s gaze turned northeast.

“The French army is going to Adrianople, right? The second-best general of the Russian Empire is waiting there.”

“What kind of person is he?”

“If I had to evaluate him.”

Ushakov, narrowing his eyes, smiled bitterly again.

“He’s a lucky general.”

For example, a man who makes everyone’s delusions come true.

***

Anyway, it’s certainly rare for someone to be able to walk around normally after a bullet has passed through their brain.

“Hahaha! Adrianople! The man of luck built it, right? Now, I’m going!”

Once called Hadrianopolis during the Roman-ruled era.

A city whose name was changed back to Adrianopolis when Greek, not Latin, came to dominate this land over time.

Now under Turkish rule, its name is [Edirne – Adrianople in Turkish].

Those who dream of the Third Roman Empire, anyone in the Russian Empire army knows where it is.

Because it is the gateway to the city of dreams, Constantinople.

Kutuzov, who unfolded a map on the road to that place, is the same.

“I will defeat the darling of France here and offer Constantinople to the Tsar!”

The one-eyed general, Kutuzov, roared with his eyes gleaming.

Behind him, 1,000 Russian soldiers and 60,000 troops were lined up.

The last barrier to block the French expeditionary force has been erected.

In the heart of Rumelia, aiming for Constantinople with one eye.