I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 246

< Stop it, you crazy bastards >

Exactly two hours later, the French Parliament was urgently convened.

“Prime Minister… shouldn’t we explain this matter?”

“Yes, that’s why I called this emergency meeting.”

“We saw this and wondered what on earth was going on.”

“The Prime Minister never mentioned that we would be making such a treaty.”

To equate the Prime Minister with the Emperor of the Central Plains, instead of the King?

It’s obvious who came up with this insane condition.

It can’t be Robespierre.

That man doesn’t think highly of the position of Emperor itself, and he’s not the type to do something so absurd.

Nor is it Davout.

I knew better than anyone that Davout is a soldier through and through and has no desire to do anything diplomatic.

So, by process of elimination, there’s only one person left.

“…It seems Commander Napoleon unilaterally added this clause.”

“Commander Napoleon? Why?”

“Well, we’ll have to hear it directly from him. I plan to send an official letter demanding a detailed explanation immediately.”

“But aren’t the rights of diplomacy already entrusted to the Governor-General, and the rights of military operations to the Commander?”

“If it’s clear that there’s a significant flaw, doesn’t this side have the right to demand correction?”

The congressmen immediately started debating among themselves without even listening to the end of my answer.

To be honest, the content is absurd enough.

From the start, subtly trying to put the King and the Prime Minister on the same level of protocol is insane.

In some ways, equating me with the Son of Heaven of the Central Plains might be a secondary issue.

But rather, the congressmen were more absorbed in the latter, exchanging opinions.

Whether treating the Prime Minister as equal to the Emperor is a huge diplomatic blunder or not… it’s not a question that can be answered quickly.

Still, if the French congressmen, who are full of pride in the current system, will surely conclude that this is too much.

I can just ride along with that and give Napoleon a warning.

“Now, now! Quiet! Everyone, let me summarize our party’s opinion first!”

Danton’s voice, who is effectively acting as the speaker of the lower house after Robespierre left, echoed loudly through the parliament.

As one of the main figures of the revolution in the original history, he can never accept such a controversy.

Yeah, yeah, I understand.

“Everyone! It’s not like the Prime Minister is going to ascend to the throne, so what diplomatic blunder is it to match the protocol!”

Hmm? Something’s wrong with the introduction.

“Hey, Dan….”

“The Prime Minister is the face of France, representing the French parliament and administration! I think he deserves this kind of treatment, especially the first Prime Minister!”

“Councilor Danton is right!”

“I agree! Frankly speaking, should our Prime Minister have to bow before that Qing Emperor [referring to the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty]!”

My head was spinning from the uproar of the congressmen.

No, wait a minute. Shouldn’t you at least hear what the person involved has to say before you 맞춰야 말을 [before making assumptions]?

“Honorable congressmen. I have no intention of receiving protocol equal to that of the Emperor….”

“Of course, of course! We know. We all know that the Prime Minister, the embodiment of constitutional monarchy, has no interest in such a position. After all, isn’t this a matter of diplomatic practicality, not actual power? At first, we were embarrassed, but after careful consideration, we realized that there was nothing wrong with it at all.”

“I appreciate you understanding my heart, but this issue is not something that can simply be glossed over.”

“Of course! We will hold a vote in parliament right now. Shouldn’t we issue a statement that Commander Napoleon’s decision was not a diplomatic blunder and was an appropriate measure that should have been taken for the benefit of the nation?”

Danton’s face, already half drunk on 뽕 [a Korean slang term for being high on drugs or nationalistic fervor], read, ‘I understand your heart.’

Looking around, the other congressmen were the same.

“No, listen to me for a second!”

“Yes! As expected, the Prime Minister was right when he said that if Commander Napoleon was sent, Qing would not be able to do anything! To think that an enemy force of over 100,000 suffered no damage to our side is a feat that is hard to find even if you search through the entire history of world wars!”

“That’s right! It’s all thanks to the Prime Minister’s optimal judgment!”

“Weren’t all the new weapons introduced this time developed and introduced under the Prime Minister’s instructions?”

“Long live the Prime Minister! Long live France!”

I was wrong.

These people must be seriously mistaken about something.

The congressmen gathered here were not trying to listen to my explanation from the beginning.

The explanation the congressmen demanded was really just purely curious about the whole story, and not to make any criticisms or complaints.

And I roughly understood why even the parliament was swept up in this atmosphere.

The French are naturally fond of national뽕 [nationalistic fervor], and that’s not just ordinary citizens.

And the news of Napoleon’s victory that just arrived was enough to make the noses of the French, which were already high, soar higher than the Alps.

The strongest country in the East, Qing, sharpened its knives and 投入 [invested] a large army of 100,000, but this side simply annihilated them with just one legion.

Even the impossible result of no deaths.

If I were a typical French congressman, wouldn’t I have shouted, ‘Hey, how strong are we!’ and downed a bottle of wine?

“Isn’t Qing now left with no choice anyway? They will have no choice but to accept whatever demands we make.”

“If they can’t even receive that level of conditions in this situation, they haven’t come to their senses.”

“That’s right! Even if Commander Napoleon occupies the Forbidden City, they won’t be able to do anything!”

The congressmen, already in a state of great excitement, were virtually out of control.

In fact, French politicians were secretly concerned about Britain occupying vast lands in India.

Although this side also holds Nouvelle France [New France, referring to French colonies in North America], Asia’s symbolism still had a special meaning for Europeans.

In the meantime, they were so excited that they might be able to seize the suzerainty of Qing.

“Honorable congressmen, first of all, shouldn’t we fix the protocol order of the home country, which could become a mess if we’re not careful? What country in the world puts the Prime Minister and the King on the same level?”

“Don’t worry, Prime Minister. We can create and pass a special law that limits it to the first Prime Minister.”

“Ah… a special law….”

No, this is a familiar 억지 [forced interpretation], but is this really okay?

No matter what I tried to say, the congressmen pushed me away, saying that they understood my heart, so I didn’t have to say anything more.

In the end, I watched the voting done by the congressmen like a sack of potatoes, and all the votes were passed unanimously in the 臨時 [temporary] convened parliament.

“Wow!”

“Long live France!”

“Long live the Prime Minister!”

It seems to be flowing in the opposite direction from what I thought, but what can I do?

First, I’ll have to wait until I get a reply from Napoleon about what he’s thinking specifically.

Under the pouring applause and cheers, I stopped thinking.

※※※

Qing, driven to the brink, did not have many options.

To surrender completely and raise the white flag as it is, or to continue fighting at the risk of the country being cut off.

Whatever it was, they had to make a choice right away, but the Qing imperial family was not very 敏捷 [agile/decisive].

Because the fight over who to blame for the defeat was still 끊이지 [unending].

Those centered on Myeongryang and the Crown Prince claimed that the ministers of the Military Affairs Department were traitors trying to sell the country, and the Military Affairs Department claimed that Myeongryang was the one in collusion with France.

In this situation, Emperor Jiaqing could not do this or that, and eventually had no choice but to choose to buy time.

What Napoleon was demanding was that the delegation come to him in person, bow down, and surrender.

Moreover, he was even spouting nonsense about putting the Prime Minister of France and the Emperor on the same level and declaring it.

Even if the King of France was the target, there would be controversy, let alone the Prime Minister.

In what country in the world is the Emperor equal to the Prime Minister?

Qing interpreted this as an insult to them and that they were not really serious about negotiating.

“Now that it has come to this, it is impossible for us to deal with those 불란서 [French] bastards alone. It is best to honestly admit that we are at a disadvantage and bring in other forces.”

“Other forces?”

“Demand that the vassal states that pay tribute to us participate in the war. We will pay them generously, so tell them to stab the flanks and rear of 불란서 [France].”

In fact, it is not that Qing has never received 지원군 [support troops] when waging war with other dynasties.

There was a precedent for requesting troops from Joseon [ancient Korean kingdom] when fighting against the Tsardom of Russia in the past.

If we approach this with the feeling of an extension of that, the vassal states will not be too suspicious.

Judging that way, Emperor Jiaqing asked Napoleon for time to negotiate and sent envoys to Joseon and Vietnam as quickly as possible.

In particular, if Vietnam, which can hit Guangdong, which is occupied by France, from behind, participates in the war, it will be like 천군만마 [a thousand soldiers and ten thousand horses, meaning a great reinforcement] to Qing.

The envoy who arrived in Vietnam began to persuade them, leaving out the fact that they were at a disadvantage.

“So, the main force of 불란서 [France] is now trying to go up to Henan, but turned to Jiangsu Province. If you hit them from behind, they will have no choice but to suffer.”

“···So?”

“So, just raise about 20,000 soldiers. The Emperor has promised to pay you generously. So, when can you raise troops?”

Emperor Gia Long of the Nguyen Dynasty asked back with a strangely mocking voice.

“Did Qing leave anything with us? You’re talking on the premise that we will 派兵 [dispatch] troops.”

“The Emperor wants that.”

“So, you’re saying that if the Emperor wants it, we have to say yes! I will follow you! and bring troops to 바쳐야 [offer/dedicate].”

“Ah, no… don’t tell me you’re looking down on the words of the Emperor….”

Normally, even the king of a vassal state cannot show such words to the envoy of Qing.

However, Emperor Gia Long already knew exactly what situation Qing was in.

Why would he bother to get on a sinking ship?

He held out two fingers to the embarrassed envoy.

“If you give us Yunnan Province and Hainan Island, I will think about it. If not, please go back.”

“No, are you saying that now…!”

Yunnan Province and Hainan Island combined are larger than the land ruled by the Nguyen Dynasty.

Where in the world is there a 날강도 [robber] who asks for as much land as their own territory?

“Aren’t you afraid of the anger the Emperor will show when this news is delivered?”

“Oh, I’m scared. If the Emperor comes all the way from Beijing above to slap me on the cheek, I will gladly take a hit. Hahaha!”

“This, this 무엄한 [impudent]…!”

“If there’s no need to talk more, go ahead, 여봐라 [Hey, you]! The envoy said he’s going back, so send him off comfortably.”

In the end, those who ran to receive the cooperation of Vietnam were chased away empty-handed without receiving any cooperation.

And on the same day,

The envoys of Qing, who deliberately went a long way around to avoid the eyes of France, arrived in the land of Joseon.

< Stop it, you crazy bastards > End