He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 37

Napoleon’s Genius Son – Episode 36 (37/547)

(36) The Beauharnais Cartel Recruits a Genius in Gun Manufacturing

The revolutionary period is truly a busy time.

“Seriously, what kind of newlywed husband leaves his wife right after the wedding? I was hoping to see General Hoche, or rather, Mr. Hoche, after a long time.”

Early June, 1793.

Another man has rushed to Marseille at Eugene’s call.

It is Damas, the president of the Societe de Beauharnais.

“So, General Hoche isn’t in Marseille after all.”

Damas clicked his tongue and said to Eugene.

In the end, Hoche left his newlywed wife, Desiree, in Marseille and went to war.

In fact, as Cartaux did, it was common in this era to bring one’s wife to the battlefield.

However, Hoche is not the kind of man who would subject his wife to danger.

Conversely, it also means that Desiree is not yet ready to share life and death with Hoche.

Still, Damas was quite disappointed.

In any case, Hoche is an acquaintance from Damas’s perspective.

And that acquaintance has become a hero making a name for himself on the battlefield?

Isn’t it natural to want to meet him?

Eugene chuckled and handed him coffee, replying.

“You can’t take a newlywed wife to the battlefield, Damas. Drink this.”

“Oh, my father took my mother to the colonies.”

“Martinique must have been peaceful then. Anyway, welcome to Marseille.”

Then, Damas exclaimed, his eyes sparkling.

“Hehe, if our [Patron – a term of respect and loyalty, like ‘boss’ or ‘leader’] calls, I must come! What are you going to order me to do this time?”

Antoine de Damas, the eldest son of the Governor of Martinique and Eugene’s business partner.

Strictly speaking, he is the ‘president’ of the smuggling company, the Societe de Beauharnais.

However, as soon as Eugene called, he dropped everything and rushed to Marseille.

Eugene looked at Damas lightly and shrugged.

“You don’t think I just called you for no reason, do you?”

“Hey, both Surcouf and I, how much money were we making in Bordeaux? I even left our San Maria ship docked, you know? I wonder if it will be safe. In this kind of world.”

“It doesn’t matter if it disappears. We have more than 10 British brigantine-class merchant ships.”

Instantly, Damas almost spat out the coffee he was drinking.

“What? Don’t tell me those are all military? How did you get them?”

If there are British merchant ships in southern France right now, it’s obvious.

It’s already been half a year since France and Britain entered a state of war.

Naturally, they were either captured or seized from Toulon.

Then, surely they are ships confiscated by the military, right?

How did Eugene get his hands on military ships?

As if it were obvious, Eugene drank his juice and replied.

“Well, connections are a good thing. Shall I introduce you? General Napoleon is the military attache in this city.”

“Ah, I’ve heard of him. Isn’t he the hard-line Republican general who wants to wipe out all the old nobles? Ugh, scary.”

“Somehow, Damas, you’re quick to hear rumors, but they tend to be inaccurate. General Napoleon is also a noble, you know.”

As of June 1793, Napoleon is a strong Jacobin supporter.

Even Damas in Paris has heard of it.

Of course, in reality, Napoleon is also a lower-class noble from the old royal era.

However, there’s no law that says someone from a noble background can’t support the execution of old nobles.

Instead of pointing that out to Eugene, Damas smiled amiably and replied.

“Well, let’s meet that person later. What are you trying to do? Patron.”

Patron, the French word for owner.

This shows the relationship between Damas and Eugene.

To Damas, Eugene is the ‘owner’.

The owner of the Beauharnais company, and also the owner of the [Beauharnais] circle to which Damas belongs.

To put it bluntly, it’s a kind of Jacobin club.

Cleves de Beauharnais.

Damas was convinced that he was a member of this Cleves (club).

That’s why he broke through the unstable central France of the revolutionary period and rushed to Marseille.

Because the owner of the Cleves, Eugene, called him.

Eugene looked at Damas quietly and smiled.

“First of all, I’m thinking of creating a corporate alliance. I want you to take charge of that.”

Damas had to think back to what he had heard for a moment because the words were so casual.

It felt like he had been entrusted with something too absurd and grand.

***

Damas’s thoughts are actually correct.

-Gulp, gulp, gulp!

Eugene watched Damas drink his coffee, seemingly parched, with a smile.

This is Cafe Beauharnais de Marseille.

In short, it’s a cafe that has newly opened on the first floor of the Marseille Beauharnais Bank building.

Like the Beauharnais Bank in Paris, a place for meetings and negotiations was created on the first floor.

Eugene plans to make this cafe and bank the new core.

The prelude to that is the plan he just told Damas.

Damas, who put down his coffee cup, asked Eugene.

“What alliance? Corporation? What is that?”

Eugene lightly picked up a piece of chalk and replied.

“You called me Patron, right? That’s right. I, Eugene de Beauharnais, will create a union of merchants, a Patron, that is, an owner. Strictly speaking, it would be something like a ‘Cartel’?”

Patron, in English, means the ‘owner’ of a merchant association.

Eugene is planning to create a modern ‘corporate group’ beyond this merchant association.

Cartel, that is, an alliance.

Of course, historically, Konzern (conglomerate) or Trust (joint venture) are more accurate terms.

However, when explaining it in French, there was no word that fit better than Cartel (alliance).

After all, language is about creating concepts.

Eugene called the corporate group a ‘Cartel’, so from now on, this Cartel will mean a corporate group.

Naturally, Damas, who was hearing this word for the first time, widened his eyes.

“Cartel? Alliance? How?”

“We will create a trade association, a manufacturing association, and a military supply association, centered around the Beauharnais Bank.”

“Oh, a military supply association? Isn’t that what we’re already doing, except for that?”

What will change?

Modern people know this, but people of this era don’t know it well.

The efficiency is different between one company handling multiple products and companies handling different products uniting.

It’s like the difference between unsystematic business and systematic business.

Eugene picked up a piece of chalk prepared in advance on the table and drew a structure diagram.

“It’s different. Right now, I have shares and they are operated separately. Now, we will tie the bank, trade, manufacturing, and military supplies together and operate them organically.”

Eugene first marked the manufacturing side with a circle.

“For example, like this. You met him earlier, right? Mr. Francois Clary.”

“Ah, Monsieur Clary. I met him. He was a good man.”

“He’s also Hoche’s father-in-law. Actually, his health isn’t very good, so it’s a business I’ll be doing with his son, Etienne. Anyway, he has a soap factory. He’s going to hand this over to us this time. The shares are about 7 to 3, we have 7.”

Damas clapped his hands.

“Oh, soap! I can’t buy it often these days because it’s too expensive! Will you give me some cheap too?”

“We’ll probably give it to the president for free. Maybe, instead of a salary.”

“You have to give me a salary! Huh? President? Again?”

Eugene smiled and this time wrote letters above the bank.

Cartel.

He circled this again and wrote a name.

Eugene, and below that, Damas’s name.

“That’s right. I am the major shareholder of the Beauharnais Cartel, but you will be the general manager. Antoine de Damas.”

Damas stared intently at the structure diagram.

The reason Eugene originally recruited Damas was because Nicolas Surcouf alone was not enough.

It’s a matter of social status.

Nicolas is an excellent smuggling sailor and a rising captain.

However, he is just a commoner, and in fact, he is almost a smuggler, so it is difficult to put him forward externally.

On the other hand, Antoine Damas is the legitimate son of the highly regarded Damas family, which has been around since the Middle Ages.

Moreover, Eugene was a minor and had to focus on the bank.

Now there is a slightly different reason.

Eugene has joined the military.

However, to follow Napoleon and overcome the turmoil of the revolutionary period, being a soldier is the best.

Even if the Queen’s trial issue subsides, it means he has to stay in the military.

Therefore, he needs someone to take overall responsibility for the business instead.

That’s Damas.

Damas suddenly raised his head.

“Indeed, I understand roughly. The trade business is being done by the newly recruited Major Bruix and Surcouf, right?”

“Well, Nicolas will end up doing it. Major Bruix will be returned to the military when the time comes.”

“Produce soap, sell it through trade, and buy imports again with that money? Like coffee. And the Beauharnais Marseille Bank will handle currency exchange and fundraising.”

The smuggling business that Nicolas Surcouf, who arrived first, started with Bruix.

The first smuggling was already successful.

It is an upward journey from Marseille to the nearby Republic of Genoa.

For the time being, they plan to continue smuggling using this route.

Furthermore, the trade business will effectively sell manufactured goods and rotate cash.

Eugene nodded.

“That’s right. You understand the business structure. You will be making the Cartel decisions at the center of this. For example, you can be called the president of a holding company, or rather, a central company.”

“No, but why me? Marceau is also there, right?”

“Marceau can’t do it.”

Eugene replied firmly.

“Because he has to join the military with me.”

In the end, the military is the best in this revolutionary era.

Marceau has an organized mind and is a courageous man.

He has emotional aspects, but he knows how to make accurate judgments.

He is the type to succeed quite well even if he invests as a businessman.

However, Marceau was a friend of Hoche in the original history and won victories in the Vendée and Rhine.

Since Eugene has joined the military anyway, he will need an aide.

Ippolito, whose military talent has not been verified, is not enough.

Damas tilted his head to the side, still seemingly disappointed.

“I think Monsieur Marceau would do better in business. I’m too soft-hearted. Well, okay. You have a plan, right? Then, what are you going to do with military supplies?”

Eugene lightly took out his watch and checked the time.

“We have to build a handicraft factory. I have someone to meet today. No, people.”

Louis XVI’s relic, the pocket watch, ticked as it moved.

-Click!

Now, the time has come for Eugene to enter the military supply business.

***

So, who did Eugene call?

“Whew, I don’t know if it’s okay to go like this. Monsieur Brienne, are you really hiring us?”

A 27-year-old young man, Paulie, asked, sweating.

Right now, Paulie and his party have crossed the border.

Although France is at war, not all borders are closed.

In particular, the Swiss side, which claims neutrality, is virtually free to pass.

Even so, coming to another country is not an easy task.

Especially if it is a country at war.

Suddenly, a young man who was lightly driving the horse in front of Paulie turned his head.

“Ah, my friend Napoleon, or rather, General Bonaparte, guaranteed it. Don’t you know the hero of Toulon?”

Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Brienne.

Napoleon’s classmate from military school.

The current employee of the French Consulate in Stuttgart.

Among them, the most tempting thing is definitely being Napoleon’s friend.

Even so, Paulie stuttered again as if confirming.

“I, I don’t really care if it’s just me. But, here, my friend is going with me, so that’s why.”

“Hahaha! I’m okay, Samuel? It’s been a while since I’ve traveled to Marseille.”

“T, then that’s a relief.”

His friend, Francois Prelat, laughed and patted Paulie on the shoulder.

“Let’s see the hero of Toulon!”

Brienne frowned as he looked at the two 20-year-old young men who looked like country bumpkins.

Of course, Brienne is also 24 years old, the same age as Napoleon.

Also, these two people are quite famous in Bern, Switzerland.

As gun enthusiasts and amateur inventors.

However, that’s just the story of Bern, a Swiss city.

Is he someone that Napoleon, the hero of Toulon, would be particularly interested in?

He is not a prominent technician that Brienne, a diplomat, would specially bring in.

If a letter with Napoleon’s signature had not arrived, Brienne would never have moved.

Brienne, who was frowning slightly, suddenly opened his eyes.

“Really, I don’t know why they’re making such a fuss about recruiting these friends. Oh, Monsieur Bonaparte! Here it is!”

The technicians were startled by the name Bonaparte.

Of course, it’s not Napoleon, who is busy with military affairs.

Another Bonaparte who is relatively free.

Joseph was rushing from Marseille.

“It’s been a while, Brienne. It seems like just yesterday when we saw each other at the Brienne Military School!”

At the same time.

Eugene was watching the scene from a short distance away.

Suddenly, Eugene muttered to himself.

“Which one is it, black or white?”

As if answering Eugene’s question, a silver-lettered notification appeared.

[White.]

Originally, in European gambling circles, black signified negativity, while white signified affirmation.

Thus, holding a black stone meant opposition, and taking a white stone meant agreement, which was the tradition.

After a moment, Eugene smiled, gripping the reins.

“Alright, then. Shall we go meet the genius of firearms manufacturing? Let’s go, Hippolyte.”

Jean Samuel Pauly.

Napoleon’s firearms maker.

The person Eugene had to meet today.

***

Of course, Joseph doesn’t quite know who he’s meeting today.

He simply received a request from Eugene.

Just like Napoleon would.

“Brienne will be arriving soon. It seems it would be more convenient in many ways if the legal advisor were to greet him.”

“Hmm? Brienne? Napoleon’s classmate? Why is that friend…? Are they trying to involve us in their business?”

“No. He’s not someone who should be handling money. However, there are people he’s bringing at the General’s request.”

Recalling Eugene’s words, Joseph approached the transport wagon.

“There’s definitely someone we need to recruit.”

Back when Napoleon was attending Brienne Military School, Joseph frequented the school quite often.

Because he had to deliver the tuition fees sent from home to Napoleon.

Brienne, whom he saw back then, was quite a bright boy.

Later, he heard that he didn’t go into the military but chose the path of a diplomat.

If Eugene were planning to start a major business, he’s the kind of talent worth acquiring.

But Eugene said that Brienne is not someone to recruit.

Then, who is this friend that Eugene is calling from Switzerland, even rejecting Brienne?

With a very intrigued expression, Joseph examined Pauly and Frélat.

Just then, Brienne chuckled and lightly tapped Joseph on the shoulder.

“Are you talking about something from years ago? How is Napoleone, no, Napoleon doing?”

“Well, he’s adapting as well as he changed his name to the French style. Now he’s a general. Hahaha.”

“That’s good. Hahaha! After I return, I won’t have to worry about being unemployed, right? I’ll have to rely on you.”

Joseph nodded and looked towards Pauly.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Are you Monsieur Pauly?”

“Ah, yes. I am Pauly. This, here, is my friend, François Frélat.”

“Haha! It’s a pleasure to meet you. A brother of the famous hero, General Bonaparte!”

One stutters and is shy, while the other is outgoing.

Joseph observed the two, narrowing his eyes and smiling.

Perhaps the shy one is in charge of technology, and the outgoing one is in charge of sales.

Quite a fitting combination.

Conversely, it’s clear who Eugene needs.

Joseph doesn’t know much about business, but he’s quite bright when it comes to reason.

Eugene is planning to do something with Clary, who became Joseph’s ‘father-in-law’.

That is, creating a ‘manufacturing’ factory.

Then, of course, he would try to recruit a technician.

Affectionately grabbing the hand of the technology expert, Pauly, Joseph said,

“Indeed. Oh, these are the hands of a technician.”

“H, how do you know?”

“Haha, I also grew up in the Corsican countryside. By looking at hands, I can roughly tell whether they are the hands of a farmer, a lawyer, or a technician.”

Suddenly, Joseph stroked his chin and tilted his head.

“I suppose that’s why he’s trying to recruit you.”

“Who are you talking about? Surely not General Napoleon?”

“No, didn’t Brienne tell you? Monsieur Boarner is the one hiring you.”

At that, Frélat and Pauly turned to look at each other.

Brienne had already told both Frélat and Pauly.

Monsieur Boarner, a man who is said to be running a large business in Marseille.

If that were all, they wouldn’t have come, no matter how much the French German consulate staff introduced them.

However, the guarantor was none other than General Napoleon Bonaparte.

The one who defeated the invincible British fleet in Toulon and liberated the French port.

His reputation hasn’t yet crossed borders, but Pauly and Frélat, who are enthusiasts of military equipment, have heard enough.

The very man guaranteed by General Bonaparte.

Boarner, who on earth is he?

The stutterer, Pauly, asked cautiously.

“I, I’ve heard, but who exactly is…”

Just then, Joseph turned his head and waved his hand.

“Ah, there he comes! Monsieur Boarner! Monsieur Hippolyte is here too! This way!”

A person in military uniform, riding a rather small horse, was seen coming with attendants.

But somehow, the person on the horse is also short.

No, that’s not it.

He’s young.

Pauly widened his eyes and gaped.

“No, isn’t that a kid?”

This time, the firearms technology expert, Pauly, didn’t stutter at all.

Conversely, Joseph was at a loss for words, overwhelmed by a feeling of how to explain.

He had forgotten for a moment.

To someone seeing Eugene for the first time, he is still a child who is not even 13 years old.

“No, well. That boy, no, that major… is incredibly rich!”

It was the day Pauly first met Eugene.

***

So, why did Eugene go to the trouble of enlisting even Brienne to recruit this rude Pauly?

“Ahem! Excuse me. So, you’re said to be a famous financial prodigy in Paris?”

The one who quickly spoke to smooth things over was not Pauly, but Frélat.

Moreover, not only Pauly but also Brienne was frowning deeply.

He came a long way at Napoleon’s request, but it’s absurd to be asked by a ‘kid’.

Above all, Brienne has a pretty good memory.

“That’s the face I saw in Marseille last time.”

Seeing Brienne muttering about something from four years ago, Eugene chuckled.

“I couldn’t greet you back then. Monsieur Brienne.”

“You know me? Monsieur Boarner? Are you General Boarner’s son?”

“That’s right. I’m serving as an adjutant under General Bonaparte.”

Brienne glared, then smiled subtly.

“Well, Napoleon must have his reasons. Understood.”

He is Brienne, a friend who has seen Napoleon since he was young.

He has seen plenty of Napoleon’s extraordinary or eccentric behavior and knows it well.

Wasn’t Napoleon babbling about falling for a married woman when he saw Eugene in Marseille the other day?

Whether it’s a whim or there’s a reason, he can’t stop it if Napoleon has decided.

Unlike Brienne, who roughly understood that, and Frélat, who was trying to smooth things over, there was still someone who didn’t understand.

Pauly stuttered, drank coffee incessantly, and then snapped at Eugene.

“This isn’t a scam, is it? Why did you call me? If, if you’re going to send me back, you have to give me travel expenses!”

Damas, who was watching this situation with disdain, clicked his tongue.

“These country bumpkins, do we really have to work with them?”

“No, country bumpkins! Where are you from!”

“Me? Of course, I’m from Paris. Well, I grew up in Martinique, though. Hahaha!”

Knowing that Martinique, which is essentially more rural than Switzerland, is practically his hometown, Damas laughed shamelessly.

Seeing that, Eugene chuckled.

In any case, such shamelessness is necessary to entrust a business.

On the other hand, Pauly, who looks like a country bumpkin, is unsophisticated, and stutters, is an important figure.

Jean Samuel Pauly.

In the original history, the weapons manufacturer who created the ‘independent cartridge,’ in which gunpowder and ammunition were combined for the first time in France.

The developer of airships using instruments.

However, this person was actually recorded in history as the teacher of a more famous technician.

John Nicholas von Dreyse.

The developer of the first ‘mass-produced’ breech-loading needle rifle.

Then, shouldn’t we recruit Dreyse?

Unfortunately, Dreyse is currently 6 years old.

That’s why Eugene had no choice but to recruit Pauly.

You could say he’s the best technician available right now.

Eugene lightly instructed Damas, looking at him.

“Let’s get along, Damas. If you work as a manager, these people will be in charge of the munitions factory.”

“What exactly are you going to have these friends make? What, cannons or something?”

“No, breech-loading muskets.”

Eugene stated something that no one in this place could have imagined.

“These people will be the engineers of the munitions factory we will build in Marseille. The first product is a breech-loading rifle.”

Instantly, Pauly was the first to be shocked and jumped up.

“W, wait a minute, breech-loading? I didn’t hear anything about that. And how is that even possible?”

A breech-loading rifle is a rifle that loads bullets from the rear of the barrel, not the muzzle.

It’s a method called breech-loading.

It seems natural in modern times, but in the late 18th century, muzzle-loading was common sense for both cannons and rifles.

Because it is difficult to cause a gunpowder explosion when loading from the breech.

Damas, who is also the son of a soldier, scratched his head and chimed in.

“Uh, yeah. Isn’t the gun originally loaded from the front?”

“Do you think so? What if there’s already a breech-loader?”

“What?”

Eugene snapped his fingers.

-Click!

At that moment.

Hippolyte brought a long rifle.

Eugene’s eyes lit up as he looked at the rifle.

“Now, let me introduce you. The world’s first breech-loading rifle, the Ferguson Rifle.”

A breech-loading rifle that was used on the battlefield before the Dreyse rifle.

Eugene had obtained the Ferguson Rifle.

***

In fact, strictly speaking, breech-loading rifles themselves have existed since the 16th century.

Even among the prized possessions of the famous Felipe II [King Philip II of Spain], there is a breech-loading rifle.

It’s just that it has never been mass-produced, its practical application has been slow, and it has only been made as a kind of novelty item.

Then, what is the thing that Eugene and everyone else have in front of them now?

It’s something that the British used during the American Revolutionary War.

It was also something that the British abandoned.

Hippolyte whistled and held up the rifle.

“Phew, I almost died smuggling it. Ah, of course. Not me, but Nicolas.”

“What is this, Hippolyte?”

“Yo, long time no see? Damas. If you’re talking about this.”

Hippolyte picked up the gun, inserted a screw, and loaded gunpowder and a round bullet from the back of the gun.

-Click, click, click!

In an instant, the bullet entered the chamber.

Soon after, he turned the screw once and the firing pin closed.

Hippolyte raised the gun and aimed forward.

-Bang!

Fast.

The bullet was fired and embedded in the wall, but everyone was not looking at the bullet itself.

They were widening their eyes at the incredibly fast loading speed.

Eugene accepted Hippolyte’s gun and smiled.

“As you can see, a breech-loading rifle. Patrick Ferguson’s flintlock rifle. The British army used it during the American Revolutionary War.”

It is a breech-loading rifle that replaces not the bullet but the [block], so-called breech block.

It was first developed by Patrick Ferguson, a captain in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War.

The rate of fire is about 6 rounds per minute.

The rate of fire for a typical musket shooter is 2 rounds per minute.

Even compared to a very skilled shooter firing only 3 rounds, it is more than twice as fast.

Brienne, Damas, and Frélat were all amazed and gaped.

“There’s such a thing in the world!”

“No, how did you make this? Oh my god.”

“With this, continuous fire is possible? Is this technically possible? Pauly?”

While Pauly was silently staring at the rifle, Eugene shrugged.

“Instead, there’s a problem. This is expensive. The unit price is 10 times that of a normal musket. Moreover, if you don’t handle it carefully, this screw breaks easily.”

“10 times? Then you can’t supply it as military supplies?”

“So, we have to make something that can be fired cheaply.”

Suddenly, Eugene’s gaze turned to Pauly.

“I look forward to your skills, Pauly.”

In fact, it’s not as easy as it sounds.

In the end, the key to a breech-loading rifle is to seal the gas from the gunpowder explosion.

This means that a very precise breechblock is required.

In the original history, even Dreyse, who was obsessed with this problem, only succeeded in 1836.

However, Pauly is a bit of a ‘genius’ type of person.

In the original history, this genius was poured into airships rather than firearms, leading to bankruptcy.

Now, the genius technician, Pauly, is hooked on breech-loading rifles.

Pauly stared at Eugene with sparkling eyes.