I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 264

< The War to End All Wars >

“Things seem a bit hectic today, don’t they?”

“You’ve got to hand it to those Russians and Brits for being so slow. They’re really dragging their feet.”

The French army stationed in Xinjiang was quite relaxed.

They were there to mediate the dispute between Russia and Britain, but both countries had been delaying with various excuses for months.

Since they hadn’t anticipated a battle, the stationed force was just a single battalion.

They were passing the time betting on when those slowpokes would finally disband their armies.

“Still, hasn’t it been noisy over there lately? Does this mean we can finally go back to Beijing?”

“Dream on. Have you just met them? They’ll make a fuss like this and then go quiet as if nothing happened.”

“That’s because you bet that it would take another month. This time it’s really different, okay?”

“That’s because you bet you’d be back within a week. Those idiots······.”

Bang!

“What, what was that?”

“Some idiot set off a bomb!”

“But did we even have any shells in our battalion to begin with?”

“…Huh? Uh oh?”

For a moment, the soldiers thought some fool had accidentally fired a shell during training.

But then they realized that such a thing was impossible in their battalion, and their minds went blank.

Beeeep!

“It’s the Russian and British armies! They’re firing shells!”

“······?”

“Those Russian idiots. Now they’re accidentally firing shells.”

“Russia, fine, but what are those Brits doing?”

“But why are they coming here? Are they trying to report in before disbanding?”

The French soldiers never imagined that they would be threatened.

They had no reason to antagonize them.

Russia, at least, was a formal ally.

However······.

“Attention, French army! By now, your homeland should have received a declaration of war. Disarm immediately and surrender! I repeat! Disarm immediately and surrender!”

A sentence that no one with a sound mind could understand came from the Russian side.

Perhaps they were shouting in broken French, and they were misunderstanding the meaning.

Of course, that must be it.

Surely Russia wouldn’t have declared war on them unless they were crazy.

“Those morons can’t even speak French properly anymore······.”

“Hey, I must have misheard, right? Did they just tell us to surrender?”

“Didn’t they say something about a declaration of war too?”

Ta-ta-ta-tang!

The Russian army, facing the French army in a state of cognitive dissonance, fired dozens of warning shots into the air.

At the same time, the British army stationed on the opposite side began to advance as if they had been waiting for this moment, closing the distance.

At this point, the French soldiers had no choice but to accept reality.

“…Are those guys really crazy?”

“They’re going to war with us? Really?”

“Wait, wasn’t Russia our ally?”

Even the invincible French 2nd Corps couldn’t fight against the enemy’s large army with just one battalion.

If they had brought the right weapons from the start with that intention, it might have been different, but now they were almost on a pleasure trip without proper equipment.

Since they had rushed over at the same time as the declaration of war, even if they ran away now, they would be caught.

“W-what should we do? Commander! Should we take up our guns?”

“We don’t have many bullets!”

“Are we Spartans? How are we supposed to fight them with just one battalion! Let’s just surrender!”

The seasoned battalion commander immediately saw through the opponent’s intentions.

They planned to capture the French army as prisoners of war at the same time as the war and use it for propaganda to show that they were successfully carrying out the war.

Unless they openly ignored international law, which required prisoners of war to be treated with respect, they wouldn’t be able to torture or abuse them.

A soldier shouldn’t be afraid of battle, but driving subordinates to their deaths was another story.

They had to survive here first.

“Everyone, drop your weapons! We’re surrendering!”

At the commander’s order, the French army cursed and disarmed themselves according to the Russian army’s instructions.

“Heh heh heh, the mighty French army is nothing special.”

“I know, right? They’re like cowards.”

The battalion commander couldn’t help but sneer at the Russian army’s behavior of making fun of them in awkward French as if they wanted them to hear.

He didn’t know what those idiots were trusting in to start a fight, but once they started fighting in earnest, they would find out.

Who they were fighting against.

※※※

The Forbidden City, in Beijing, the capital of the Great Qing Empire.

Thud!

“A declaration of war?”

“No, have these guys gone crazy? Are you saying they’ve declared war on us?”

Robespierre was so agitated that even his loud voice and stomping on the floor felt unreal.

Unlike the extremely angry Robespierre and Napoleon, I was busy organizing my confused thoughts.

“This isn’t a forgery, is it?”

“The Russian and British ambassadors delivered it themselves, so how could it be a forgery?”

“No, but that doesn’t make sense… What are they trusting in to declare war?”

Of course, neither Napoleon nor Robespierre could answer my question.

They were just as dumbfounded, so I didn’t expect them to answer in the first place.

“Besides, what’s with this half-assed reason?”

The reason given by Alexander I of Russia was as follows:

-France did not fulfill the agreement, and as a result, Queen Julianne felt extreme mental distress and pressure. Eventually, her health deteriorated due to these problems and she died, so France must take responsibility.

Where in the world are there people who wage war for such a ridiculous reason?

Of course, I didn’t take this at face value.

This was just an excuse, and the real intention was that the queen had died, the marriage alliance had been broken, and they were going to switch to Britain, which seemed to have more to offer.

But is that really it?

The reason why Britain seems to have more to offer is because they are at a disadvantage; haven’t they thought about that?

“First, let’s think about how to punish these idiots later and come up with a plan. How much military power do the Russian and British forces in Asia have compared to us?”

“Russia seems to be continuing to send additional troops in addition to the previously dispatched corps [a military unit]. Ultimately, in terms of numbers alone, it will be more than the 2nd and 3rd Corps, right?”

“Britain can use the East India Company’s forces as they are, so they have considerable military power. The army can be crushed easily with just one of our corps, but the navy is quite threatening.”

“…It’s going to be quite troublesome to deal with both sides at the same time. Are you confident?”

Napoleon nodded expressionlessly at my question and answered immediately.

“Russia’s army itself is not a threat at all. The important thing is how much we can reduce our own losses. I need to think about that part a little more.”

This isn’t an exaggeration to reassure us.

It’s not unfounded bravado either.

His gaze, already back to the face of a perfect soldier, was looking at the situation with the utmost coldness.

“The most troublesome thing is that Britain is blockading Hong Kong with their fleet. If the sea route is blocked, we won’t be able to receive support from the home country. If this part is resolved, there will be no problem in annihilating the enemy with just two corps.”

“It doesn’t seem easy to solve that.”

We haven’t had a proper naval battle with Britain yet.

The same was true for Britain, but it was an undeniable fact that they had been the rulers of the sea until now.

It was hard to be sure that we could win a battle at sea, even if it was on land.

How nice would it be if Napoleon could show his genius in naval battles as well, but the impossible is impossible, so there’s no point in arguing about it.

“Prime Minister, but our naval power is no longer inferior to Britain’s, is it?”

“As Governor Robespierre said, how much have we invested in naval power so far? If we only look at the level of warships, we will be more dominant.”

“That’s true. But a battle isn’t just about having good weapon performance, is it?”

I thought the balance of power itself had shifted to our side, but the ability of the people who wielded it was another matter.

There was also the issue of the morale of the army, and the naval battle with Britain was a problem that I couldn’t help but worry about in many ways.

The fact that I didn’t have excellent insight into military matters was also a cause of anxiety, as I didn’t know how much preparation I should make.

“First, we need to contact the home country as quickly as possible to find out how the situation in Europe is going.”

“I expect the battle has already begun there. Wellesley [Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington] and Nelson [Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson] are geniuses who are not inferior to our marshals. They would have created a rough framework from the beginning before declaring war.”

“If we fight in Europe as well as in Asia, the situation will become uncontrollable… No, wait. Even so, can Britain start a fight with us in Europe?”

In Asia, it was understandable that Russia and Britain were joining hands to push us out.

No, rather, considering that there would be no other chance if not now, I could praise them for choosing a good timing.

However, the reason why I had a moment of brain freeze was because their home country would be in Europe, so I couldn’t understand what they were trusting in to declare war on us.

“Russia is understandable… There’s nothing as stupid as slamming a corps into Moscow. Even if they invade, they can be confident in blocking it with the power of nature. But what about Britain?”

“Could it be that they are overconfident in their naval power? Anyway, they must have thought that they would not be attacked as long as they did not land the enemy army······.”

“If the battlefield is in Asia, it’s not that I don’t understand. But it’s Europe. Pitt [William Pitt the Younger, British Prime Minister] can’t be so unable to tell the difference.”

If you think about it, it’s not strange that Russia made a stupid decision.

In the original history, Alexander I was originally a man who had no knowledge of military affairs and was stubborn.

That’s why he ignored the words of famous generals like Kutuzov and was completely thrashed by Napoleon at the Battle of Austerlitz.

During the Battle of Dresden, he insisted on observing the war and only grabbed the ankles of his allies, causing defeat.

So, it’s understandable if he made a mistake this time, but Pitt is a different story.

There’s no way that a human being who lives with Nelson or Wellesley wouldn’t have listened to the opinions of such famous generals in advance.

The current naval power of France has been revealed to some extent during the last war and this war.

Here, Spain has recovered Gibraltar and has grown stronger than in the original history.

Even if they are no longer helpful, the Netherlands and Sweden are also our allies.

But are they confident in handling all of them alone?

If they ask for support troops to be sent to Asia, Spain and the Holy Roman Empire can make excuses and escape, but if the battlefield is in Europe, they can’t.

I don’t think they would have started a war without making even these basic judgments.

“Could it be… not just Russia?”

“Yes? That means······.”

“Yeah. If it’s something like that, it makes sense.”

At least the British army must be confident in blocking the support of the French main force from going to Asia.

In that case, the existence of a collaborator to suppress France’s allies is essential.

I’ll know when I get a call from home, but I can roughly guess the candidates.

If my prediction is correct, at least five or more countries will be directly or indirectly involved in this war.

The war between the Russian Union and the Anglo-American Union that almost broke out in Qing last time may have been a harbinger showing that this incident was inevitable.

In the end, it begins.

The war to end all wars.

< The War to End All Wars > End