I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 173

< Do Not Doubt >

To put it simply, my plan to bring in a general from the French royal family who could at least maintain appearances hit an unexpected snag.

“Councilor Lafayette?”

“Yes, Prime Minister.”

“I specifically requested a suitable person be selected from among the retired generals, so why are *you* here?”

Lafayette pointed at himself with a puzzled expression.

“Retired general, suitable talent. Don’t those descriptions apply to me?”

“Ah…”

I had forgotten.

This guy was also a retired general now.

Lafayette had been offered the position of Marshal of France in recognition of his contributions during the suppression of the rebellion.

However, perhaps because he had political aspirations, he suddenly left the military and threw his hat into the newly formed parliament.

He was smoothly elected as a Senator, and now he could be considered a proper former soldier and current politician.

“Don’t tell me you volunteered yourself?”

“Of course. It may sound arrogant, but I thought I was the most suitable person to fulfill the Prime Minister’s noble intentions.”

“Noble intentions…?”

Seeing my puzzled expression, he proudly puffed out his chest and explained.

“I was deeply impressed by the Prime Minister’s intention to spread the spirit of liberty, equality, and fraternity not only domestically but also to America. So how could I, as a member of parliament, just stand by?”

“…”

“I will do everything in my power to help the United States Federal Government overwhelm the South. I will share the historic moment of freedom and human rights prevailing with the Prime Minister.”

Lafayette had already established a high reputation in the United States for his distinguished service in the American Revolutionary War.

He was acquainted with George Washington, and numerous congressmen and intellectuals openly expressed their favor towards him.

Moreover, his military capabilities were not lacking, so in fact, he was the optimal choice when you considered everything.

But my original goal wasn’t to send the best talent in the first place.

“It’s good that you’re so motivated, but keep in mind that this is not our war. Be careful not to get too deeply involved, or it could be seen as interference in internal affairs.”

“Don’t worry. I only intend to play the role of an assistant.”

“If that’s the case, then it’s fine, but why did you quit the military in the first place? You must have known that His Majesty was going to appoint you as Marshal of France.”

“Haha… I was tempted, to be honest. But after commanding the rebellion suppression operation, my thoughts changed a bit.”

Lafayette smiled wryly, which didn’t suit him.

“After seeing how the young commanders the Prime Minister discovered were leading the military and what perspectives they were using to operate the units, I felt that my era had already passed.”

“Didn’t you feel like accepting that new perspective and knowledge?”

“Of course, I tried. I understood it in my own way and achieved some results. But one day, I thought, ‘Is there any reason for me to cling to the military and try so hard not to fall behind? Wouldn’t it be better for the country if I opened the way for young people who are much more talented than me and went into a field where I can do better?'”

It seemed that he had come to this conclusion after a fierce internal struggle, not just because he was interested in politics.

In that case, there was nothing more I could say.

“I understand your aspirations. Then I will formally inform President Jefferson, and you can head to America as soon as you receive a response.”

“Yes. Then I will train the American soldiers with the officers who came with me. I will make the most of my past trial and errors in learning new tactics and strategies to provide effective education…”

“…No, don’t do that. Teach them the way you used to do well. If you try something new and something goes wrong, all of France could take the blame. And we might be misunderstood as not actively helping the Union.”

Lafayette, who was overly enthusiastic, brought a string of officers who used to follow him to the New World.

Even if I sent a general-level officer, I didn’t expect proper training to take place.

There was no way a high-ranking general would embarrass himself by training soldiers or junior officers.

But this guy was so motivated that he got approval from the parliament and scraped together even retired young officers.

He said he was doing it out of a sense of duty, so I couldn’t say anything about it.

I couldn’t tell someone burning with conviction and a sense of justice to take it easy because I needed to drag out the war and keep the factories running at full capacity.

Conversely, considering it from another angle, this could be a suitable smokescreen, so it could be seen as a benefit.

Fortunately, the excuse I made up seemed to work, and Lafayette nodded and accepted it.

“By the way, what’s the situation in the home country? Is the House of Representatives running smoothly?”

“…For now, no radical policies or bills have been passed. In fact, I think it’s almost paralyzed…”

“Paralyzed? Are you saying Robespierre and Danton aren’t doing their jobs?”

“Both of them are very motivated and work hard. But the problem, if you can call it that, is that they’re so diligent that it takes them months to pass a single bill.”

I told them to get along and not cause trouble, but instead, they’ve become too cautious.

Sigh… I feel like cursing.

Unless I have two bodies, it’s nearly impossible to run both Nouvelle France [New France, referring to French territories in North America] and the home country at the same time.

I need someone I can trust to take care of the home country while I’m in the New World, but I have a bad feeling about this.

Still, they probably won’t cause any major problems until this war is over.

Surely they won’t be impatient and cause trouble in the meantime, right?

No, even thinking about it is a flag [a literary device foreshadowing a negative event], so it’s better to just clear my head.

Let’s just pray. Just stay still and don’t try to do anything. Please.

※※※

Lafayette and his officers entered the United States to a warm welcome from the Federal Government.

The Federal army seemed to be greatly encouraged just by the fact that he, known as a hero of the Revolutionary War, had arrived.

In fact, the Union was in a dilemma after its initial attempt to end the war quickly had failed.

Without supplies from France, the gap between the Union and the South was not that significant.

Even so, there was a sense of complacency within the Union army, thinking, ‘Surely we won’t lose if we fight properly?’

However, the offensive that rushed into Virginia to seize victory in one fell swoop was easily blocked by the South’s struggle.

Of course, the South also suffered considerable damage as its attempt to annex Kentucky was thwarted, so it was a stalemate.

Jefferson didn’t have much knowledge of the military, but he had an uneasy feeling that this war would turn into a long-term conflict.

“Mr. President, the South’s resistance is fiercer than expected. We continue to receive requests for additional troops from the front lines.”

“Didn’t you say that the combat ratio itself is better on our side when looking at the battle results? So why can’t we just push through?”

“Originally, the defending side has a more advantageous position in war. To completely neutralize the enemy’s resistance, we need a decisive victory that matches it.”

“Hmm… So if we need more supplies and troops, it can’t be helped, but…”

Unlike the generals fighting on the front lines, Jefferson couldn’t just focus on victory and go all in.

He was in a position where he had to continue a precarious balancing act, comprehensively considering human casualties and economic losses.

Moreover, the fact that he, who had never commanded the military, had to make these decisions was the most troublesome thing.

If Aaron Burr were here, he would have been helpful, but that bastard was already a traitor who had sided with the South, so he was out of the question.

“By the way, how are the people from France? Are they following our requests without complaint?”

“Yes. We are also surprised at how motivated they are. General Lafayette… No, I should call him Councilor now. The Councilor has repeatedly stated that he will do everything he can for the Union’s victory.”

“…That’s strange…”

“Yes?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Was he mistaken?

Jefferson massaged his temples, feeling a sudden headache.

After watching the recent situation, he was secretly suspecting that this was a card game being played by France and England.

It would be a stretch to say that the violence that caused this incident was a planned operation, but the subsequent events were clearly led by Christian.

And as if waiting for it, England stepped in to help the South.

France, excited, began building factories and producing weapons in cities near the Great Lakes.

The Union was reluctantly buying up all the goods, and the South was probably not much different.

“We should have conveyed our position to the British ambassador. Isn’t it about time we received a reply?”

“Yes. We received an extremely brazen answer. They are not in favor of the South’s ideology or policies, and they are just making excuses that merchants are trading privately. They are threatening to formally take issue if we use that as an excuse to stop food exports.”

“Those guys have no conscience…”

England was currently importing a significant portion of its food consumption from them.

If they cut off exports here, they would be in trouble.

But no matter how much threatening warnings they gave, England didn’t even pretend to listen.

Jefferson was secretly expecting France to be involved in this as well.

France was already the country with the best productivity in Europe, and this had doubled with the development of the New World.

As food began to be produced in the great granary area of the central New World, supply far exceeded demand.

From France’s point of view, it became necessary to sell food to other countries, and England must have jumped at this opportunity.

So even if they, the largest exporting country, threatened them, England, which had a reliable source, wouldn’t even pretend to listen.

In the end, to sum it up, this was a plan designed by France and England from the beginning, and they had been nicely caught in it.

Of course, Jefferson didn’t intend to protest this.

It was just a hunch with no material evidence, and if he used this situation to the fullest, Jefferson could also achieve his goals.

The problem was that this reasoning was shaken from the root because of Lafayette.

“…If Councilor Lafayette shows any strange behavior, report it immediately.”

“Yes. Do you suspect France and Councilor Lafayette, Your Excellency? That they have some ulterior motive…”

“No. I just mean that there are no absolute allies in this world, so don’t trust them too blindly.”

“That’s what you meant. I understand. I will pass it on to others as well.”

In fact, even to Jefferson, Lafayette was the most friendly person to the United States, and he was a grateful person who even took the initiative to do things that he hadn’t asked for.

The fact that they sent such a person could only be interpreted as France sincerely trying to help them.

Besides, he heard that Lafayette was supposed to be awarded the title of Marshal of France in his home country.

He even secretly hinted through an aide about a plan to directly threaten the Southern capital of Richmond using the superior Northern navy.

If they succeeded in the naval blockade, even if they couldn’t strike the capital, it would be difficult for the South to receive support from England.

The balance of the war would shift to the Union’s side in an instant.

He had been putting this aside in case it was a trap, but no matter how he looked at it, it didn’t seem to be the case.

Looking at the current situation, it was closer to speculation that France wanted the American civil war to drag on.

Perhaps he had been too suspicious of Christian.

He had been in the political arena for a long time, and he may have fallen into the trap of suspicion.

He had been determined not to become a monster obsessed with conspiracy even if he was in politics, but without realizing it, he had been twisting everything.

He should send a good wine as a gift later and apologize.

The contents of a letter sent by a young boy from Kentucky suddenly came to mind.

He had read it himself because it was a plea from a young boy in his early teens, and he had almost teared up.

Even such young children want the war to end quickly and Americans to reconcile with each other.

Then responding to this would be the mission given to him, the president of this country, by God.

Jefferson smiled awkwardly and told the Secretary of War to review the plan proposed by Lafayette as if it were his own idea.

No matter what means or methods he used, he would end this crazy war.

< Do Not Doubt > End