He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 59

(58) The Birth of Napoleon, Paris’s Chief of Police

Power is always extremely sensitive to betrayal.

“We must purge the military! I am a witness! Carnot and I were almost captured by the Austrians like Beurnonville!”

What is the scariest thing in the world?

Usually, those in power think it is power itself.

In peacetime, that’s correct.

Depending on the decisions of those in power, even the most remarkable person can have their head chopped off by the guillotine.

However, power is merely a mechanism that operates through command and execution; it has no substance.

In times of war, this fact becomes clear.

Military force.

The very substance that kills enemies with bayonets.

Now, among the soldiers wielding those bayonets, there are traitors.

The Committee of Public Safety meeting at the Fleur mansion.

One of the twelve members, Saint-Just, was shouting in fury.

“So, Dumouriez has finally betrayed us?”

“I knew it, you can’t trust the old aristocracy! And isn’t Lescure under him also from the nobility?”

“Can we trust Pichegru or Kellermann? Let’s replace the commanders immediately!”

The stammering Desmoulins, the gourmet Cambacérès, and the wheelchair-bound Couthon exclaimed in surprise.

These were the very people who had sentenced countless *émigré* [French nobles who fled the country during the Revolution] nobles to death in Paris.

They demanded the death of the king, ordered the destruction of cities, and called for the extermination of opposition.

However, faced with the betrayal of a military officer, they were utterly powerless.

Then, the square-faced member, Danton, who had been pulling on his plump cheeks, suddenly spoke up.

“I heard an interim commander has been appointed, Member Saint-Just.”

All the members except Carnot, who already knew, were taken aback.

Without the permission of the Committee of Public Safety, a commander had already been appointed?

However, instead of being flustered, Saint-Just raised his nose even higher.

“That’s right. General Jourdan has been appointed as the interim commander.”

“Why did you commit such an act of unilateralism! Isn’t the appointment of a commander the responsibility of the Committee of Public Safety!”

“The Minister of War has been captured, and the commander has committed treason, Danton!”

Saint-Just retorted, asserting that his overreach was justified, glaring.

“It wouldn’t be strange if the front lines collapsed! Are you saying we should leave the front lines empty? Do you think war is child’s play?”

Danton glared back.

“Such impudence!”

In fact, both of them were not soldiers.

However, unlike Danton, who was literally a desk-bound official, Saint-Just himself had toured the front lines.

Of course, he only supervised, monitored, and interfered on the front lines.

Still, he had at least seen the battlefield.

Conversely, Danton was a prominent figure in the revolutionary faction, one of the ‘Three Giants’.

No matter how close Saint-Just was to Robespierre, he couldn’t compare.

As the atmosphere turned ominous, Desmoulins, a friend of both Robespierre and Danton, hurriedly stepped in.

“Now, both of you, calm down. More importantly, I, I have a question. Member Saint-Just.”

“What is it, Member Desmoulins?”

“I, I heard that General Hoche was detained. W, why did you do that?”

Desmoulins swallowed hard.

“Have you forgotten that General Hoche was sent by Member Robespierre?”

Though he stammered and was easily frightened, Desmoulins was a politician who had survived this revolutionary period.

He would say what needed to be said.

Hoche was a talent recommended and selected by Robespierre.

What was the reason for daring to detain him?

However, Saint-Just replied calmly.

“Even so, it is a serious crime to disobey the orders of a deputy on the field.”

“Disobey orders?”

“Yes. He resisted the authority of the deputy and tried to appoint an interim commander on his own.”
Danton interjected with a dumbfounded expression.

“No, who was he trying to appoint?”

Saint-Just retorted, glaring at Danton.

“Jourdan.”

Jourdan, the conqueror of Flanders [a region in present-day Belgium, France and Netherlands].

He was a talent nurtured by the Committee of Public Safety, replacing Dumouriez, who was suspected of being a royalist, and Lafayette, who was a *Feuillant* [a moderate political faction during the French Revolution].

In particular, he was a figure recommended by Carnot.

However, there was a problem.

Danton opened his mouth wide, suspecting he had misheard.

Desmoulins, who had asked the initial question, repeated it.

“You appointed Jourdan?”

“Because he is the most suitable.”

“Hoche was also trying to appoint him, so why is that a crime?”

At that moment, Saint-Just shouted at Desmoulins.

“Member Desmoulins. The Revolutionary Army must be operated under the principle of civilian control. The deputy can appoint an interim commander on behalf of the National Convention. But soldiers cannot!”

Civilian control.

A principle that the government must enforce in times of war.

Otherwise, there is only one option.

For the soldiers to rule.

Because if the government cannot control the military, the military can run rampant on the front lines, even without a ‘rebellion’.

Now, Saint-Just was defending his overreach with a grand principle.

However, if the authority to appoint a commander is given to a single member, isn’t that also a problem?

Just as the members of the Committee of Public Safety were about to frown and retort,

-Clap!

A member suddenly entered the Committee of Public Safety meeting room.

Saliceti, a member from Corsica.

He was not a member of the Committee of Public Safety, nor a prominent member, but merely a deputy dispatched to the south, which was unique.

However, instead of being flustered, Saliceti spoke smoothly with a sly smile.

“Sorry to interrupt during a heated debate.”

“What is it, Member Saliceti? You are not a member of the Committee of Public Safety?”

“Well, a visitor who absolutely had to come to the Committee of Public Safety has arrived, so I reluctantly brought him.”

Saliceti suddenly wore a strange smile.

“The victor of the Vendée [a region in western France known for its counter-revolutionary uprisings], General Bonaparte, has arrived in Paris.”

Now, Napoleon is no longer the hero of Toulon [a city in southern France].

He has become the ender of the civil war, having pacified the more troublesome battlefield of the Vendée.

At that moment, Danton’s eyes lit up.

“Bonaparte! That’s right, that man existed! Let’s send Bonaparte to the Rhine!”

Everyone was bewildered by the sudden proposal.

The Vendée is none other than Marat’s weakness.

He recommended Rossignol and supported a hardline approach, but ultimately failed.

Yet, in a situation where only a three-month deadline was given, a random person jumped out and succeeded.

Not Westermann, who was sent by Danton, nor Kléber, who was approved by Robespierre, but Napoleon of the auxiliary Marseille.

In this situation, Danton momentarily chose Napoleon as a variable.

Marat, in disbelief, jumped up.

“Crazy talk! Sending someone who deserted his post and wasted troops to the Rhine! Danton, are you out of your mind!”

“What are you talking about, Marat? The Committee of Public Safety approved it!”

“I heard something! He moved the troops before the permission was even granted.”

Marat glared with a grotesque appearance full of skin disease.

“Sending such a person to the Rhine front! Sending him to a battlefield where the commander has already betrayed us? Nonsense!”

That’s when it happened.

“That’s offensive. To summon a soldier who fought on the battlefield and then insult him like this.”

Napoleon was standing outside the door of the Committee of Public Safety meeting room.

-Step, step, step.

Amidst the shock of all the members, Napoleon entered.

He is still just a brigadier general.

He is called a general, but the army of the current revolutionary government is increasing exponentially, and the number of generals is also increasing.

The number to be increased by the end of the year is approximately 125.

Napoleon’s rank is still only in the lower ranks.

The only notable numerical position is that he is 25 years old.

However, Napoleon is not just a 25-year-old lower-ranking brigadier general, soon to be a brigade commander.

The Marseille Special Postal Regiment under his command is an elite force that has achieved remarkable feats.

Furthermore, he succeeded in ending the sluggish battlefield of the Vendée with a single attack.

Kléber had sent a report that all those operations came from Napoleon and his adjutant, Eugene.

Therefore, all the members in this place could not ignore Napoleon.

Besides, even the highest authority, strictly speaking, the Committee of Public Safety is a consensus-based institution.

This means that no one can decide unilaterally.

Even Robespierre, whom everyone tacitly considers the number one.

No matter how powerful Marat is, he is just a member.

Facing the rising star of the military, Napoleon, Marat shouted in panic.

“Oh, no. I didn’t know the general was coming. Who summoned General Bonaparte already?”

At that moment, Maximilien de Robespierre rose from his seat.

“I did.”

Robespierre approached Napoleon with a tired face and extended his hand.

His attitude was very ordinary and did not seem very dignified.

However, all the members held their breath.

No matter how much of a number one he is, Robespierre is only a member of the Committee of Public Safety.

But at this moment, it somehow looks like a ‘king’ having a private audience with a general.

Suddenly, Robespierre’s gaze turned to Eugene next to Napoleon.

“You must have suffered coming from the Vendée. Is that the [Knight of the Princess] next to you?”

Napoleon shook Robespierre’s hand and replied with a confident attitude.

“Please call him the Boy Standard Bearer of Toulon. He is a brave young soldier who was the first to enter Toulon and seize the Union Jack [the British flag].”

“I acknowledge he is brave. He was like that even in Paris.”

“Moreover, he played a decisive role in defeating the 100,000-strong royalist army in the Vendée this time as well.”

It may be a slightly exaggerated expression.

In any case, Kléber was the one who endured the front lines, and Napoleon was the general who delivered the final blow.

However, it is also true that Eugene’s megaphone eventually made the royalists surrender.

Besides, ‘Bluecoat’ was also possible because Eugene had a breech-loading Ferguson rifle.

Nodding silently, Robespierre said solemnly.

“A special promotion is needed. General Bonaparte, I appoint you as the Chief of Police of Paris.”

This time, everyone except Napoleon, Robespierre, and Eugene was shocked.

The Chief of Police of Paris is the soldier responsible for the security of the entire city of Paris.

In short, it is the same as the commander of the capital defense.

All previous commanders were not soldiers.

The Mayor of Paris, politicians, or police officers held this position.

But now Robespierre is entrusting this position to a soldier, a rising star in the military.

Marat jumped up and shouted.

“Monsieur Robespierre! General Bonaparte is still a brigade commander, that is, a brigadier general!”

“That’s right. The Chief of Police must lead at least a division, right? I will promote him to Major General. I think his merits are sufficient, Marat.”

“Robespierre, this Danton also opposes it. Please reconsider!”

This time, Danton also stood up and shouted.

“The position of Chief of Police of Paris cannot be entrusted to just anyone! At the very least, the consent of all members of the Committee of Public Safety is required!”

Just now, Danton was thinking of sending Napoleon to the Rhine.

However, the Chief of Police is a different story.

Above all, it is a bigger problem if Robespierre becomes the de facto appointing authority.

Robespierre already holds the initiative in the National Convention and the Committee of Public Safety.

At that time, Robespierre’s cold gaze turned to Danton.

“Danton.”

Just as Danton was about to falter at the ominous gaze, Robespierre said coldly.

“There is no member here who does not know who Dumouriez’s friend is.”

Danton’s eyes widened.

“W, what does that mean!”

“Rossignol, who caused problems in the Vendée, testified recently. Westermann was also quite problematic. He is also your friend, right?”

“Robespierre, this is slander!”

Danton hurriedly looked at the surrounding members and shouted.

“Everyone, do you really believe it? I was only recommending them to control the soldiers on the front lines!”

However, the members of the Committee of Public Safety ignored Danton or looked at him with contempt.

In fact, it is true that Danton recommended the generals mentioned now.

In particular, Dumouriez is a real problem, although he has not said anything so far because it is too big of an issue.

Robespierre turned his head again.

“I will entrust the Paris police force to General Bonaparte. Oh, and.”

Suddenly, Robespierre, as if he had remembered something, took something out of his pocket and headed towards Eugene.

-Click!

Before Eugene could even react, Robespierre, who had attached epaulettes to his shoulders, said indifferently.

“I will personally give the rank of Colonel to our Boy Standard Bearer.”

This time, even Eugene did not predict it.

Napoleon’s appointment as Chief of Police.

When he informed Auguste Robespierre’s side of the news, he had received a proposal.

To appoint Napoleon as the Chief of Police of Paris to resolve the current chaos.

Napoleon is the person Auguste picked.

So, it is true that he is considered to be in the Robespierre faction in the military.

That must be the reason why Robespierre chose Napoleon.

But he did not know that he would promote Eugene to Colonel.

Robespierre presented Eugene with the rank of Colonel, following the rank of Second Lieutenant.

Favors always demand a price.

Slightly touching his heavy shoulders, Eugene saluted.

“It is an honor. Monsieur Robespierre. Victory to the Republic!”

It was the day Napoleon seized full military control of Paris.

One and a half years faster than in the original history.