He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 346

(346) It’s Better to Have an Anglo-American War Than a Franco-American War

The United States, a nation not even 20 years old, was a republic.

However, as in the modern politics of the original timeline, a republic isn’t a country that moves solely according to the will of its voters.

This tendency was even more pronounced in the 19th century.

It meant that collusion among influential figures heavily influenced the decision-making of states and the federal government.

So, who was the most influential person in the United States of America?

Undoubtedly, it was the President.

In the Presidential Mansion, the most influential person in the United States, Thomas Jefferson, was unusually angry.

“Go to war with England? Good heavens, Mr. Hamilton. What on earth are you talking about!”

It was not without reason that Pinckney, who was challenging Jefferson for the presidency, was meeting with Livingston and Aaron Burr.

Although the Southern Alliance, led by Jackson, was staging protests, it was merely a storm in a teacup. [A minor, insignificant event.]

Most of Washington’s political circles had been quietly ignoring it, considering it a minor issue that would soon pass.

Jefferson had distanced himself from Jackson, even though George Clinton had praised him to some extent.

However, the bombshell that Hamilton dropped in *The Evening Post* was different.

The newspaper was distributed in Washington and New York, but the news would soon spread throughout the country.

The rumor was that England was plotting a *conspiracy* to harm the United States.

On the other hand, Hamilton simply replied with a brazen face.

“Mr. President, this is reliable information obtained through trusted sources. It is literally *news*.”

“Hasn’t England been talking about banning the slave trade since yesterday? Furthermore, doesn’t this sound like advocating for slavery?”

“It’s a completely different matter, Mr. President.”

Hamilton suddenly stared at Jefferson and said,

“I am also against slavery. But, right now, at this moment, if slavery is suddenly banned, all Southern farmers will go bankrupt!”

In fact, Jefferson was a large plantation owner from Virginia with a slave mistress.

Hamilton, on the other hand, was involved in the media business and had no direct economic interest in slavery.

Also, Jefferson was pro-French, while Hamilton was pro-British.

However, politics is a game where positions change depending on the situation.

Jefferson, who had been glaring at Hamilton, turned his gaze to the desk in his office.

“Alright, Mr. Hamilton. Take a look at this.”

Instantly, a pile of documents was thrown in front of Hamilton.

-Thud!

Hamilton glanced over the documents and chuckled.

“Petitions, I see.”

“They’re pouring in. Petitions from Southerners opposing the abolition of the slave trade. Some even from Northern merchants.”

“Not exactly good for this year’s election, is it?”

Jefferson, the president facing re-election, glared.

“Surely, you’re not spreading false information for the sake of the presidential election? If so, tell me the truth!”

Whether it’s the 19th century or the 21st century of the original timeline, every action of a politician is interpreted politically.

Hamilton was ousted from his position as Secretary of the Treasury due to a scandalous affair and was effectively forced into political retirement.

However, as the owner of a leading evening newspaper and a prominent figure in the Federalist Party, he wielded considerable influence.

Jefferson knew this better than anyone else.

After all, Hamilton was the one who got Jefferson elected in the first place.

So, could it be that Hamilton was suddenly reporting this news because of the presidential election?

Hamilton shook his head.

“No. In six weeks, news will arrive. News that the ban on the slave trade has been passed in England, just as I said.”

“And you really think that’s an English plot?”

“Right now, our agricultural exports are maximized. This is due to the war in Europe and trade friction between Russia and England. But, to ban the slave trade at this time? It’s definitely a plot!”

Jefferson glared at Hamilton before turning his head away.

“Disappointing, Hamilton. I believed you were a more rational man. You’re no different from Jackson!”

It was a dismissal.

Hamilton briefly raised his hat in greeting and smiled.

It was the moment he earned the President’s animosity.

However, unlike the original timeline, there was no CIA, no FBI, and not even a Presidential Protection Service under the Treasury Department.

This meant he could not pose any direct threat to Jefferson’s personal safety.

“In that case, it wouldn’t be strange for Jackson and I to join forces, would it, Mr. President?”

With this, Hamilton became Jefferson’s political enemy.

***

Politics is a world where the truth you believed yesterday becomes a lie today.

“Drive out the British! Let’s repel foreign powers!”

“Great citizens of the United States, slaves are absolutely necessary. Let’s condemn England for banning the slave trade!”

“What is the government doing! Are they planning to sell the country to England!”

These were the shouts of the alliance of Southerners, soon to be known as the *Confederate States of America*, who had been denouncing Nouvelle France and Eugene until recently.

Clearly, before *The New York Evening Post* published the article, their movements were different.

With the support of Jackson, a prominent politician from their home state, they were lodging and eating while advocating for anti-French sentiment.

But now, everyone was raising their voices on a completely different matter.

That was the issue of abolishing the slave trade.

“Mr. Calhoun, what on earth is the Congress doing? Abolishing the slave trade, are they just going to let this happen?”

“Now, now, calm down. Congressman Jackson will be out to speak to you soon.”

“Let’s just storm the Congress! We need to make our voices heard to the Congressmen!”

Jackson’s secretary, Calhoun, tried to dissuade the protesters, but they were becoming increasingly radical.

The situation was on the verge of protesters entering the Congress, 200 years earlier than in the original timeline.

But in 1804, the United States Congress had no so-called Congressional Police.

There was only one sheriff.

Even the Washington police were only watching anxiously from the outskirts.

Hundreds of gentlemen were on the verge of turning into rioters.

A tall man strode out of the Capitol.

Jackson, the sponsor of the Southern Alliance and the one who led the Florida march.

“Finally, you’re here, Mr. Jackson!”

“What on earth is going on? Banning the slave trade!”

“Did you get the truth from the British ambassador?”

Jackson raised both hands towards the shouting protesters.

For a brief moment, people stopped talking to look at Jackson.

Although it was a republic, mass speeches were not as common in the United States as they were in France.

Therefore, there was virtually no politician who could subdue the crowd at once, except for the deceased Washington.

In other words, Jackson was a politician whose charisma was comparable to Washington’s.

“Listen, citizens.”

In this era, a transcontinental journey was not something anyone could do.

Those gathered in front of the Washington Capitol may have looked like rioters, but they were large landowners in their hometowns.

Influential figures from Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and the Mississippi Territory were watching Jackson.

Jackson was a politician who had shown that he could become the center of the South through the Florida march.

What kind of response would he come up with in the face of the slave trade ban?

“It has been confirmed that a bill to ban the slave trade is being pushed forward in England.”

“Good heavens!”

“What is the President doing! The Congress! They’re all like bread-eating worms!”

At that moment, Jackson shouted like thunder.

“The federal government and the federal Congress will never abandon its citizens!”

Everyone was silenced by Jackson’s momentum.

Later in the original timeline, he was called Old Hickory, the Hickory Tree Old Man. [A nickname referring to his toughness and resilience.]

Even at this point, before he was a war hero, Jackson was showing a side that overwhelmed the audience.

Suddenly, Jackson glared at the protesters and shouted.

“The government will send a special envoy to England to resolve this issue. And if the slave trade is banned, we will find other ways to resolve it. We will take measures to ensure that the South is not disadvantaged in any way!”

At that time, a young man standing at the front of the protest, William Henry Harrison, the secretary of the Indiana Territory, asked.

“Isn’t this ultimately a British bill? If the British Parliament passes it, do you have a plan?”

Then Jackson declared to Harrison and the protesters.

“If that happens, we will even go to war with England to resolve the situation!”

Of course, Jackson had no authority to do so.

***

At the port on the Potomac River in Washington, where many people came and went, Jackson revealed his teeth.

“You’re really amazing, Viceroy of Nouvelle France.”

Eugene, who had been waiting for Jackson until then, smiled brightly.

It was worth taking a boat from New York.

After all, he had witnessed Jackson’s speech, which would go down in history.

Eugene shrugged at Jackson and said.

“I didn’t do anything. I just spread the truth far and wide.”

“That’s the truth? Not lies, falsehoods, and propaganda?”

“Isn’t it all true that England is banning the slave trade, that the South needs slaves, and that there will be immediate losses?”

Suddenly, Eugene looked at Jackson and smiled strangely.

“Also, it’s true that *outsiders* can rise to the center by fighting the enemy. Just like my father, Emperor Napoleon.”

Outsiders, often referred to as *minors*, are peripheral forces. [People from outside the established power structure.]

Jackson, when you think about it, is a senator, a militia commander, and a powerful figure in Tennessee.

But in the capital, Washington, Jackson is just a country bumpkin and a non-mainstream politician.

But what about Napoleon, the current leader of France, the *Emperor*?

Wasn’t he from Corsica, which wasn’t even French territory, and didn’t he become the core of the power?

Jackson blinked at Eugene’s words and narrowed his brows.

It didn’t seem like he was saying it with the intention of mocking him.

“What do you mean? Are you saying this situation could be an opportunity for me?”

“A war with England will really happen.”

“What?”

Eugene said softly to the surprised Jackson.

“Why don’t you join hands with the next president and the governor of New York and become a military commander? I think you have enough military qualities.”

Of course, this was what happened in the original timeline.

Jackson distinguished himself in the Native American massacre, the conquest of Florida, and the Anglo-American War.

It was just a small-scale battle in the New World, but his leadership was clearly outstanding.

However, Eugene’s words did not sound ordinary to Jackson.

Because Eugene, when you think about it, is not just the Emperor’s adopted son, but a general who has achieved brilliant achievements in Europe, leading civilization.

“Is that guaranteed by the conqueror of Egypt?”

“Of course.”

“Alright. Viceroy. Who is the presidential candidate you’re pushing?”

Suddenly, as Eugene turned his gaze, a lively voice was heard from behind Jackson.

“Pleased to meet you, Mr. Jackson. I’m Alexander Hamilton.”

At this moment, the two who could not meet in the original timeline met.

That is, the stormy Hamilton and the originator of populism, Jackson.

Eugene smiled as he watched the two shake hands.

“Then, shall we both take a ride on the Horus? French cuisine that is incomparable to British cuisine awaits you.”

In 1804, the wheels of war began to turn.

The wheels of the Anglo-American conflict over the abolition of the slave trade.