He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 265

(265) The Year 1800, the Time of the Consul

Originally, a person in power is not like a master key.

“Power is like an instrument. Depending on how you play it, a masterful performance can sweep the world, but usually, it mostly creates discord and suffering.”

In January 1800, the Tuileries Palace became the office of the Consul.

It was practically the end of the century, with only one year left until the 19th century.

The whole of Paris was celebrating, proclaiming the arrival of a new era.

However, Napoleon, now the supreme ruler, wasn’t smiling.

Eugène, seeing Napoleon in civilian clothes for the first time in a while, shrugged and smiled.

“I came to congratulate you, but I guess I can’t.”

“Of course not. Eugène, you’re stealing all the time I could be spending with Josephine.”

“Father, from what I hear, you see Giuseppina quite often.”

Giuseppina Grassini was an opera singer Napoleon had first met in Milan.

Of course, Napoleon wasn’t traveling all the way to Milan to see her.

Previously, when he was commander-in-chief, Napoleon had summoned Giuseppina to Paris.

However, art requires money.

For Giuseppina to perform in Paris, she needed a sponsor.

Napoleon was quite interested in financial matters, but he wasn’t wealthy enough to sponsor an actress.

And he certainly couldn’t ask Josephine for money.

So, Recamier subtly solved the problem, and the news reached Eugène’s ears upon his return to Paris.

“Ahem! We’re just discussing art. By the way, you’re not seeing Pauline again, are you?”

Napoleon jumped up and shouted as if caught red-handed.

However, love affairs were Josephine’s domain, not Eugène’s.

Besides, Napoleon was a typical Italian man who strictly separated his wife and mistress.

He was the type to abandon his mistress the moment she interfered with his interests.

For this cold-blooded man, his new wife was more of a problem than his mistress.

For example, a remarriage partner with the Austrian Empire as a background.

Eugène chuckled and shook his head.

“Absolutely not.”

“Right? Me neither. I don’t have time to waste on women! The chief aide should be the same. Did you know? I only sleep four hours a day!”

“You take a lot of naps, though. But irregular sleep ages people faster.”

Of course, Napoleon, who hadn’t even turned 32, scoffed.

“Hmph, I’m the youngest ruler in France, except for the kings. Should I be worried about aging already?”

“Your virility will also weaken. Very quickly, it will subside.”

“W-What, what, what did you say? I-Is that true? Where did you hear that?”

Napoleon, flustered, suddenly stuttered in a Corsican accent, and Eugène brazenly replied.

“It’s based on research conducted in Larray and Egypt. I conducted clinical trials on Egyptians.”

Of course, it was a lie.

At the same time, it was a truth researched in the modern field of sexology [the scientific study of human sexuality] of the original history.

Lack of sleep is directly related to the aging of the brain and body, but above all, it greatly impacts virility [masculine sexual potency or strength].

Eugène knew that Napoleon was famous for premature ejaculation [ejaculating sooner than desired during sexual activity].

Now, it seemed Josephine had given him special training, so such rumors didn’t seem to be circulating in society.

But would that be the case in the future?

Of course, Eugène didn’t care about Napoleon’s mistresses, but if Josephine cheated, that would also be a headache.

Anyway, Eugène went to Egypt, got rid of Ippolito, and Josephine didn’t go to jail.

Perhaps because of that, there were no reports of Josephine cheating.

However, conversely, the famous ‘Egyptian Return Incident’ in which Josephine completely succumbed to Napoleon did not occur either.

With this in mind, Napoleon smacked his lips at Eugène’s joke mixed with truth.

“I’ll keep it in mind. I can’t help it for the time being.”

“Is it because you have to learn the Consul’s duties?”

“Good heavens! What do you take me for, Chief Aide! It’s not that I don’t know what to do. It’s that there’s too much to do!”

Napoleon gritted his teeth, pointing to the documents piled high on the desk in the Consul’s office.

“This country is a mess right now.”

“That’s a harsh assessment. But that’s why Father became the Consul.”

“The war with England isn’t over yet. The financial situation is on the verge of collapse. Resources are still scarce, and our ‘allies,’ Batavia [modern-day Indonesia], Switzerland, and the Ottoman Empire, are under pressure from the enemy.”

Suddenly, Napoleon’s gaze turned to Eugène.

“But the most important problem is different. My term is ten years.”

Eugène barely suppressed his admiration as he looked at Napoleon.

Usually, when a soldier suddenly seizes power, they often struggle.

Experiencing trial and error is the least of it, and most develop a taste for exercising power and wielding it forcefully.

If they become corrupt, they indulge in entertainment, luxury, and women.

Napoleon never did that in the original history either.

Until the moment he was ousted from power, he devoted himself to the development and glory of the nation.

He just went to Russia.

Eugène stared intently at the man, both light and darkness, and said.

“You’re thinking of changing it.”

“I don’t know what it should be yet. But I know that the ten-year Consul system is temporary. Did you know? England’s George III has been king for 40 years already. Prime Minister Pitt has been in power for 17 years!”

“One is a king, and the other is a prime minister who is only responsible to the king.”

Napoleon snorted at Eugène’s subtle remark.

“Yes, I need such a firm foundation. Even to transform this France!”

In the end, the only one who can promote innovation without being bound by a term is the monarch.

However, most monarchs are only concerned with preserving their position.

Even George III has lost America, Egypt, and is losing in continental Europe.

Moreover, when a genius like Napoleon becomes a monarch, there are other problems.

Recklessness.

So, Eugène couldn’t immediately bring up the revival of the monarchy as a card.

Napoleon waved his arms and shouted at Eugène, who was silent.

“To do that, we can’t do things one by one. We have to push everything forward at the same time. Foreign affairs, domestic affairs, and the power base, all of them!”

Eugène nodded.

Now was the time to let Napoleon use his time to the fullest.

***

So, what exactly does Napoleon mean?

“Puhah! Ooh, my head is spinning?”

Ippolito, who had little interest in state affairs, got up from the bed naked.

The surroundings were littered with disheveled bedding, liquor bottles, and underwear.

It was a familiar sight for Ippolito, who often spent the night with women.

However, he couldn’t immediately remember who the woman he’d slept with last night was.

At that moment, a plump, slightly obese figure rose from beside him.

“Oh my, handsome general. Are you awake now?”

“Eek? Who?”

“How disappointing. We spent a hot night together last night, and now you’re pretending not to know me?”

Only then did Ippolito realize who the woman he had spent the burning night with was.

“Ah, Madame de Staël. How could I forget? Last night, I came to deliver General Kléber’s letter.”

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein, known as Madame de Staël, was the daughter of Necker [Jacques Necker, a Genevan banker who served as finance minister for Louis XVI].

She was a married woman but famous for her free love throughout her life, and in the original history, she was a prominent writer under Napoleon’s surveillance.

Currently, she ran a salon in Paris and was also Kléber’s lover before he left for the Egyptian expedition.

However, while receiving the letter that Kléber sent to Paris through Ippolito yesterday, Ippolito caught her eye.

Sending a sticky look, Madame de Staël whispered in Ippolito’s ear.

“Are you going to share a lot of fun stories with me today too? On this bed.”

“Hahaha, it was a pleasant night. But I’m very busy. I think I’ll have to come back in a few days.”

“Is that so? Well, Bonaparte, the new Consul, must be in crisis in foreign affairs, domestic affairs, and the power base.”

Ippolito, who was quickly getting dressed, widened his eyes.

“What do you mean by that, Madame de Staël?”

Of course, Ippolito had no intention of getting caught by this famous philandering salon owner.

Her husband, Baron de Staël, was also staying in another mansion in Paris.

Besides, with so many beauties waiting, why bother playing with a voluptuous married woman?

Nevertheless, what Madame de Staël just said was significant.

“Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know. First of all, our France is still at war with England, right?”

“It’s practically over. Prussia has also requested a ceasefire agreement.”

“The port city merchants say otherwise, though? Yesterday, rumors spread that even Toulon was attacked. The place where the Consul first made his leap, right? Ah, and Chief Aide Eugène too.”

As Madame de Staël pointed out with a smile, Ippolito smacked his lips.

“It’s a place of memories, hmm.”

It seemed that Madame de Staël didn’t just seduce Ippolito to tease him.

Perhaps it’s because she saw through the fact that he is Eugène’s closest aide?

However, before Ippolito could even think about this, Madame de Staël quickly recited the current political situation.

“Besides, domestic affairs are even more troublesome. First of all, the previous government introduced various taxes in terms of taxation, but they all failed. Did you know? The revolution originally started with the salt tax?”

“Wasn’t it the tobacco tax? Well, taxes are always a headache.”

“Local administration is still not unified. Technology is behind England, and colonies are incomparable. The only thing that’s ahead is Egypt, but there aren’t enough navies to go there, right?”

In an instant, the naked Madame de Staël grabbed Ippolito’s chin and whispered.

“Furthermore, the national debt remains the same, Monsieur Charles.”

Ippolito skillfully kissed Madame de Staël’s hand and smiled.

“Madame, you could go into politics.”

“Hmph, it’s because men don’t give women the right to vote. Besides, I’m originally the daughter of Necker, who was the Minister of Finance of this country. All the guests who come to the salon are the best men in France, aren’t they? Unfortunately, His Excellency Bonaparte doesn’t come.”

“I’m honored to be one of them. Hahaha!”

Just as he was about to slip away with a smile, Madame de Staël wore a strange smile.

“It’s difficult, isn’t it? Power, I mean? How are you going to solve all this? The new government?”

It seemed that Madame de Staël had been talking until now to get this information.

Ippolito twisted his lips and put on his military uniform.

He felt like he should come to see this interesting woman quite often.

“Well, I don’t think we’ll solve it with war, at least. I’m a soldier, though.”

The two men and women, trying to extract information from each other, smiled with sparks in their eyes.

***

The role of the aide is to run around to solve all these problems.

“In short, power is more about how you use it than how you seize it. Especially in times of revolution like these.”

The head of the new government is, of course, Consul Napoleon.

The cabinet consists of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of War, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Police, Ministry of Interior, and Ministry of Navy.

But the person who will truly lead these government agencies is someone else.

Chief Aide to the Consul’s Secretariat, Eugène Bonaparte.

Just as Eugène was about to expound in the cabinet meeting room of the Tuileries Palace, three prominent politicians looked at each other.

“Hmm, that’s all good and well. But can’t we do this while eating something?”

“Oh, can we enjoy Talleyrand’s famous gourmet cuisine?”

“I agree. Isn’t the reason people do things to live? Hehehe.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs Talleyrand, Minister of Justice Cambacérès, and Minister of Finance Lebrun.

They were truly the highest-ranking officials in the government cabinet.

However, judging from the fact that they were asking for a meal first, it was clear that they weren’t very anxious.

Eugène smiled as he looked at them.

“Let’s do that. There isn’t a chef specifically prepared in the Tuileries Palace, so we’ll have to borrow the help of Minister of Foreign Affairs Talleyrand for this.”

Then Talleyrand, a man who left his name in history as a gourmet, nodded.

“Leave it to me. I’ll introduce you to the best chef these days.”

“Who is it?”

“A friend named Marie-Antoine Carême. He’s recently been making a name for himself as the best pastry chef [a professional cook who specializes in making pastries, desserts, and other baked goods] in Paris.”

Calling the chef who would later leave his name as the best chef in France, the cabinet meeting became even more lively.

As Eugène watched the scene, a person suddenly stood next to him.

Brienne, Napoleon’s friend.

“Chief Aide, do we really have to waste time treating those gluttons to a meal?”

Eugène glanced at Brienne and shrugged.

“I didn’t know the Vice-Aide was so impatient. I thought only Father was like that.”

“Dealing with those guys is making me lose my temper. When are we going to have a meeting?”

“They’re not the ones doing the actual work. They’re just the ones who check, no, just the ones who check off.”

In the end, what high-ranking officials like ministers like is decisions [important choices that determine future actions or policies].

The work of making actual plans, confirming implementation methods, and processing administration is the responsibility of the secretaries.

For example, Brienne.

Of course, there is one exception.