He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 487

(487) 1810: The Russian Empire is Finally Divided

A Tsar doesn’t necessarily have to disappear for a country to be divided.

“You want me to be the King of Moscow?”

Pavel’s second son, Konstantin, asked with weary eyes.

Looking at Konstantin, Eugene felt a twinge of guilt.

It wasn’t because of the division of Russia.

The truth was, in the original timeline, Konstantin was known as a good-natured man with [pro-Napoleon] leanings.

But a good-natured person is similar to a pushover.

That was Konstantin; he was disregarded by Alexander and ignored by Napoleon.

Eventually, after the Russian campaign began, the kind Konstantin advocated for peace negotiations, but no one listened to him.

Of course, currently, he hadn’t advocated for peace negotiations, nor was he particularly regarded as a pro-French figure.

However, his innate aversion to war was evident enough for Eugene, who had just met him, to discern.

Also, the fact that he didn’t particularly like the idea of being a monarch.

To Konstantin, the man who had even refused to ascend to the Russian throne in the original timeline, Eugene replied,

“That is correct, Grand Duke Konstantin.”

“I’m not particularly thrilled. But who will be the Crown Prince then?”

“It’s a matter resolved by the Duma [Russian legislative assembly]. The Russian Empire will maintain its national structure, but the current Tsar’s successor will not be determined.”

Eugene confirmed the fact he had heard casually in the Duma.

“This empire will be without a Crown Prince ‘for the time being’.”

Then, who would ascend to the throne after Tsar Pavel’s death?

Konstantin looked as if he hoped it wouldn’t be him, at least.

Originally, in the original timeline, Konstantin faced a succession situation.

It was because Alexander didn’t leave a proper heir.

However, Konstantin, who was the Governor of Poland, refused the succession, and eventually, Pavel’s eighth child and third son, Nikolai, ascended to the throne.

The problem is that Nikolai is a late child and only 14 years old.

Moreover, with the empire being divided, could he really stand as a proper successor?

Konstantin, perhaps contemplating a similar issue to what Eugene was thinking, asked back with a heavy face.

“Until when is this?”

“Priority is until the hegemony of Europe is decided.”

“I heard that the French mainland is covered in rebellion. Are you planning to stay in Russia in this situation? What about the French army?”

The rebellion in the French mainland.

The news was transmitted to Constantinople through Surte’s Mediterranean intelligence network and then reached Saint Petersburg.

However, despite the rumors that Paris had been overturned, Napoleon and Eugene remained unfazed.

Konstantin probably found it strange.

Of course, there was a reason.

It was thanks to the news that Josephine and the imperial family were safe, even though Paris had fallen.

However, there was no reason to explain the internal situation, so Eugene shook his head and replied.

“Grand Duke, this is the will of Napoleon, His Imperial Majesty, and me, Eugene, King of Spain. Also, you just mentioned it. The French army, the Grande Armée [Great Army], is still intact.”

The Grande Armée, the strongest army in the Old Continent that had conquered Europe, defeated the Holy Roman Empire, and trampled Prussia.

Now, they had even defeated the Russian Imperial Army at Borodino.

Of course, inevitable diseases and desertion losses continued to occur during the non-combat period.

However, with loyalty and attachment unimaginable for a 19th-century army, the main body of the Grande Armée was still intact.

Out of 250,000 survivors, 230,000 were still stationed and well.

“Conversely, the Grande Armée can hardly leave until a new [national structure] is established in Russia. Wouldn’t it be better to quickly fulfill your wishes and make them leave France?”

Konstantin sighed and asked back.

“Am I the only king?”

“No. There are four.”

“What?”

It seemed Konstantin hadn’t heard any of the information announced by the Duma.

“King Nikolai of the Vladimir Kingdom and King Mikhail of the Ryazan Kingdom will be born.”

“Ryazan Kingdom? That place is like an unexplored territory. Wait, what about Kiev?”

“Kiev and the old Cossack lands are scheduled to become independent duchies and kingdoms. Ah, the Grand Duke of Kiev is, by the way, Marshal Masséna, Duke of Rivoli. He won’t stay in Russia, so you can rest assured.”

Kiev, the birthplace of Russian history.

To entrust that place to a French marshal, not even a Russian, is an absurd thing.

However, neither Konstantin nor any of the Russian nobles pointed that out.

It had already been 300 years since the center of Russia moved to Moscow, and even counting from when it moved to Saint Petersburg, it had been 100 years.

Kiev was no longer an object of interest for the Russian nobles.

Moreover, since he was an absentee landlord, the backlash was bound to decrease even further.

The part that Konstantin was concerned about was different.

“You said there were four. Then, who is the last one?”

King.

In Russia, where the Tsar might disappear, they would be the ones to represent the old Russians.

If someone not from the Romanov dynasty ascended, that was something he couldn’t tolerate.

Eugene gave an answer that met his expectations.

“Nikolai Yevgenyevich Lukash, the illegitimate son of the dead Crown Prince Alexander, the usurper.”

Certainly, he was of Romanov blood.

However, illegitimate children are never recognized as heirs even in the Russian Orthodox Church.

Konstantin opened his mouth wide and exclaimed.

“Even if my brother doesn’t have any legitimate children, an illegitimate child as king!”

“Instead, the land Lukash will rule is Siberia.”

“What? Si, Siberia?”

Suddenly, Eugene tilted his head.

“Do you want to be the king in that cold place? Then, we can switch it for you.”

Of course, Eugene didn’t want to make the choice of putting an illegitimate child as king either.

However, there was a problem with Alexander’s succession itself.

In fact, in the original timeline, Alexander left behind two legitimate daughters, five illegitimate daughters, and three illegitimate sons.

But among them, only one illegitimate son and one illegitimate daughter were alive at the current time.

In particular, all the daughters he had with the Crown Princess were dead.

It was Eugene’s mistake that he hadn’t remembered the Russian imperial family tree.

However, consideration for Alexander was an important point in persuading the Empress.

In the end, he had no choice but to put forward an illegitimate child.

Instead, he gave him Siberia, a land that was literally a wasteland by 19th-century standards.

A land where not a single development was possible without cooperation from the European side.

Konstantin seemed to have roughly grasped the situation, trembling and shouting.

“Really, you French are cruel, cunning, and evil!”

Looking at the new king, who could have been the leader of the pro-French faction, Eugene rose from his seat.

“Hearing such words from an enemy is called a compliment. Of course, we are friends.”

Especially since the longer Konstantin lived, the easier the division of Russia would become.

***The first people who should hear this news are naturally the serfs.

“Did you hear, Ivan? A new king has been appointed?”

Ivan, a peasant who hadn’t even heard of the emancipation decree, looked at his friend, Pyotr, who had brought the rumor, and scoffed.

Ivan knew that the world was in turmoil.

In the nearby estates, not one or two serfs had been dragged into the war.

However, the war seemed to be mostly over, and farming was more urgent for the serfs, so it wasn’t a very important matter.

Especially the affairs of the high-ranking people.

“A king, I wish he would reduce the damn taxes. Especially our landlord, Count Tolstoy, is too extravagant.”

“They’re also emancipating the serfs.”

“What?”

Serf Pyotr licked his lips and said.

“They say they’re converting our serfs to commoner status.”

Yasnaya Polyana, Count Tolstoy’s estate, near Tula in southern Russia.

This place was quite far from the center, so the emancipation decree was late in reaching it.

Of course, the fact that Saint Petersburg was at the northwestern end of Russia also played a part.

Ivan widened his eyes and shook his head.

“What’s the point of being freed? We need land.”

“They say they’re also distributing land?”

“What are you talking about? The nobles are giving up land?”

Pyotr poured out the story he had heard at church a while ago.

“No, they’re going to distribute all of the Tsar’s private land!”

This was the essence of Napoleon’s serf emancipation.

The biggest reason why serf emancipation had repeatedly failed was ultimately the land distribution issue.

However, in Russia, the nobles owned most of the land, so they couldn’t freely give land to the serfs.

Therefore, the Russian Emperor and his close circle suggested a method of giving money to the serfs and having them purchase land when serf emancipation was carried out.

But if they had money in the first place, why would they be serfs?

They would rather flee to foreign cities and live as citizens.

That’s why serf emancipation was bound to fail from the start.

Napoleon, or rather Eugene, solved this problem by sacrificing the Tsar’s property.

Only [legally], that is.

Ivan, a usually cynical serf, threw down his farming tools and jumped up.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God! We must praise the new king. Oh, but is he different from the Tsar? Pyotr?”

“They say he’s different? And he’s a child.”

“A child?”

Pyotr smacked his lips and replied.

“Nikolai? Something like that was his name.”

In short, the land they lived on was ruled by Nikolai I.

He was only 14 years old.

A boy who was far from capable of resolving the conflict between nobles, commoners, and serfs.

Of course, Ivan, who didn’t care about the king’s age, jumped up and stepped forward.

“Child or whatever! Let’s stop farming! Let’s go get land!”

“Let’s go! Let’s get land!”

“Long live the new Tsar, no, King!”

It was when the peasants were shouting and running out.

“Hey, stop those serfs!”

The stewards of the landlord, Count Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, shouted.

-Bang!

Then the stewards fired their guns all at once.

The serfs and commoners who were working in various parts of the land were startled and shrank back.

Sergei, the middle manager at the head of the stewards, shouted.

“Keep order! Everything you’ve been told is a lie! Go back to your places and keep farming. Then the higher-ups will take care of it!”

“Bullshit! It’s always been like that. You stewards take everything away!”

“That’s right!”

Ivan, who was at the head of the angry peasants, rushed forward with his farming tools.

“Kill that steward!”

Originally, Yasnaya Polyana, the hometown of the great writer Tolstoy in the original timeline.

-Thud!

That place was being stained with blood.

***

In Tsarskoye Selo [Tsar’s Village], a small town created by Empress Catherine on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg, Ippolit sighed as he leisurely looked at a report.

“Really, it’s a mess.”

The Russian Empire was literally engulfed in flames everywhere.

Even Benigsen, who still hadn’t surrendered, wouldn’t have been able to cause this much chaos.

Of course, Benigsen’s army was virtually isolated in the east, reduced to the size of a single regiment.

Eugene read Rochejacquelein’s report, which detailed the situation in Western Europe instead of Russia, and replied.

“Now, it’s just a problem for the four kings, twelve grand dukes, and the noble Duma to solve.”

“Can we return safely?”

“That’s why I deliberately concentrated French and Polish people in the estates on the return route, right?”

Suddenly, Eugene’s gaze turned to the map hanging on the wall.

The Russian Empire, which had spanned the Eurasian continent, was now divided.

It seemed nominal for now, but with the powerful figures separating, it wouldn’t end like that.

Amidst the nobles, commoners, and serfs fighting each other, Russia would be torn apart.