Napoleon in 1812
Chapter 91:

15. Interlude – 1

Caulaincourt, who wasincharge of the negotiationsatthe French table in thepalace of Madrid, achieved100% of what Napoleon had ordered him.

He tookthe bestpossiblebenefitsfrom theenemycountries, which were uncomfortablewith theexpansion and growthofFrance. Anyonewalking under thetricolorflag shouldrejoice in this victory.

Even if it was a bit frustrating now, the futurewouldpraise the outcome of these negotiations. But there was a single Frenchmanwho was defeated while allthe other French were victorious.

“Are you tryingtoconvincemetoaccept thisridiculous negotiation result?”

Anofficialletter in amonotonous form was deliveredtohim by Caulaincourt anda diplomatic delegation. The singlesheetofpaperconcluded thatJoseph Bonaparte would abdicate theSpanish throneinfavorofFernandoVII.

The Emperor’s brother torethe official letter bearing the Emperor’sseal to piecesbut was still angry, and shoutedatthe ForeignMinisterCaulaincourt withouthesitation.

“We arethe onlyones here, so tell me the truth! Isthis because of the incompetenceofthe Imperial ForeignMinistryatthe Madrid Conference!? OrisitNapoleon’s will!?”

“…Everything is theresult of His Majesty’sjudgment.”

“Hahaha, I knew it! It wasthe intention of my brother, theEmperor of this Great Empire!”

“Becareful what you sayand whatyou do, my King!…”

Louis-GabrielSuchet, whohad beenassisting him throughout the Peninsular War, triedtostop him. Joseph Bonaparte’s anger wasfullyunderstood by those aroundhim who hadlong servedhim, andthe people of theImperialCabinet felt sorry for him.

JosephBonaparte was originally KingofNaples, butbecame KingofSpainbecause of Napoleon’s insistence.

Josephexplained to his brother severaltimesthat he wassatisfied withthe KingdomofNaples, butthe Emperorinsistedonmaking him King of Spain. Joachim Murat succeeded himasKing of Naples.

It wasnatural forthe Spanishpeople to riseuplike wildfire because their kingwas deposedand aforeigner tookhis place.

Joseph I urgentlyaskedhis brotherfor helpwhen theflames of rebellion started everywhere, and theEmperor seemedtobeeagertohelp himatfirst, but hisattitudechanged over time.

Thetroops dispatchedtothe peninsula were gradually forcedout of the country, in thename of an expedition to the East. JosephI foughtdesperatelyagainst theAllies despitehis lacklustersupply, buteventually lost Madrid andwas reprimanded by his younger brotherthe Emperor.

“His Majestythe Emperor, of course, was not satisfiedwith ourachievements. He’s beendealing with his arrogant enemies withhis genius mercenaryskills given to him by God, so how pathetic must we havelooked to him when we could not even pushone Britishguy back?”

Obviously, it wasunfortunateand sad foranindividual. But thatindividual also needed to keep the line to acertain extent.

Caulaincourtand the other members of the diplomatic delegationunderstood JosephBonaparte’sinevitable circumstances, buttheirexpressionsbecame colder as thesarcasm against the Emperor grewworse.

Napoleon wasnot justthe Emperorofthe French Empire. He was a savior forhis countryand ahero forhis people. Itwas not acceptable to speak ill of him.

“That’s enough. His Majestywill also remember yourhard work and sacrifice.”

“His Majesty musthave some consolation and rewardtogive youafterwards.”

Suchetand other quick-witted generals noticed the signs andtriedtoease hismood.

In any case, Josephlost hisSpanish thronebut was notsent outasanaverage manatall. TheEmperor gave him a new title, King of Sicily.

As a result of theMadrid Conference, France acquired theislands of Sardinia andSicily, in addition to theBasque Countryand Catalonia.

The Emperor established anew satellite state calledthe KingdomofSicily by combining thetwo islandsand delegated their sovereignty to JosephBonaparte.

“Thenwhen shouldI leave formynew job?”

“…It’s nota job. It is YourHighness’ kingdom, to be ruled entirely by YourHighness.”

“You’re makingjokes, man. The Empire is risingday by day, and the Emperor is alive, so what do you mean ‘thekingdom to be ruled by me’? Suchanuncivilised…”

“Haha… hahaha! His Highness seems to be very tired.”

“HisHighness’ spirit andbody areexhausted fromthe longwar. Everyone, please leave. Ahem!…”

The generals said withtheireyes that thisincidentshould be put on hold. This situation wassettled once Caulaincourt andthe delegationwith himstepped down.

===

“When I was akid, I called him‘Bonnie’, cared for himand helped hima lot. All themembers of ourfamily did their best to supportthe Emperor… No, he wasn’t theEmperor back then, and we helpedhim makeall these achievements. I supportedand counseled him.”

Joseph lamented his situationasheopened one bottleafterthe other, andthe French generals whowere caughtupinitwere embarrassed.

While somegeneralswere catering forhim, Suchetand the otherswere able to get outofthe drinking party.

“His Highness’ wordsand actionsare becoming increasingly harsher… Aren’t we supposed to stop him? I’m afraid somethingbad willcome outofthis.”

“Even if he talks like that, he willbeable to shake offeverything andwork tomorrow. His Majestythe Emperorknowsit, that’s whyhe’s leaving him alone.”

Suchetwas wellawareofJoseph’spersonality. He was grumbling, but would nothave thehearttoplot somethingagainst Napoleon. Except for theEmperor, all the members of the Bonapartefamily werelike that. There were greedy peoplebut lacked courage.

“It’susthat matters. Everyone shouldbecareful of their actions. Thewar is over, but thesituation has becomestricter. If you aredragged away by His Majesty for nothing, youwon’tget anything.”

“…”

“Did you think I wouldn’t knowthe way youlook at thesweetadvantages of being close to theKing? We’rewild dogs, barbaric warriors whohave to live on battlefields. It’s a pity, but we don’t have to staywith HisHighnesswho is no longer King of Spain.”

It was a cool-headed judgement, but thatwas how those aroundhim evaluated thesituation. What could armyofficersexpect fromJoseph, whobecame the king of someislands? Theirdesired achievements, military success, splendid honor… noneofthesecouldbeoffered by such aking.

“You’recold, but you’re right.”

“From thevery beginning, we werepart of theImperialArmy, part of Louis-Gabriel Suchet’s Corps.”

Suchet nodded. In the end, soldiers had to line up well. And they did notjudgethat line to be behind JosephBonaparte.

===

“No matteryour position under hiscommand, His Majestyisthe Emperorofthe Empire andthe mostdignified and honorableperson. To make sucha disrespectful remark about him!…”

“All themembers of theimperialfamily are very passionateand greedy, and I’m worried about the futureofthe Empire.”

“Don’tyou daresay that. The affairs of the imperial familyare for theimperialfamily to dealwith, not for us to discuss.”

Caulaincourt wasnot as worriedasanyone else. He knewthat theEmperor wasa great andspecial man.

In thepast, hedid not have the respect of everyone in France, but his reputation and fame soared to theend of the skyasheachieveda great feat thatnoone in French history had ever achieved, overthrowingthe frozen empireand evensubduingthe islanders acrossthe sea.

SomeFrench evenstarted to admirehim likea livingdivinity. Caulaincourt hadwatched with his owneyes thehistorical scene of France’s oldenemies surrenderingtohim. Theintellectual who hadrolled overthe political arena forquitesome time realised it at thatmoment.

The Emperor’s reign would never falter, and loyalty and obediencetohim werethe onlyway to surviveinpoliticswithin the Empire.

“Everything will eventuallygoaccording to His Majesty’swill. Weonly have to follow himfaithfully andassist him. Just think about it. Who willbethe realwinner of thishuge, political war? I can’t think of anyoneexcept the Emperor.”

Strictly stick to the strongand to the winner. Caulaincourt intended to followthe mostbasicrule by which socialanimals were living.

All thediplomats following himnodded. They had to be loyal to theEmperor. Then they would enjoy wealth…

===

My dearfriend and comrade, andthe bravestman in France. Not longago, I heard thatyour secondson was born. Is hisname Lucien? Judgingfrom thenaming skills, itseemsthat it wasyou who chose hisname andnot the Bonapartequeen, which is veryunfortunatefor the child.

“Hey, that bastard.”

Murat[1]grumbledasheread a letter from his oldfriend, JózefAntoni Poniatowski, theDuke of Warsaw, who wasnow KingofPoland. However, he could noterasethe friendly smile thatwas drawn on his lips.

I heard here in Warsaw that the waronthe peninsula wasfinally over.

Polish people aretaking to the streets to praise thegreatvictory of theEmpire and expressing His Majesty the Emperor’swar epicinwriting andplay.

The Polishpeople’senthusiasm forHis Majestyissogreatthat I, theKing, feel a little jealous. Butwasn’t he the true savior of this country?

If I had chosennot to ascend to thethrone of Poland buttoremain aMarshal of theEmpire, I would havebeen able to go to the peninsulaand watch these battlesand events that would go downinhistory.

I’m glad the Polishsoul hasbeen revived, butsometimes I miss thelife of a soldierliving on the battlefield. Don’tyou feelthe sametoo?

The battlefield engulfed in gunfire, where soldiers putdown their lives andfought according to orders, walkingonthe thinline between lifeand death.

A frail life thatcoulddisappear withone bullet. Some peoplefelt thrilled andexcited in such asituation.

None of thesoldiershad everheardJoachim Murat saythat he wasafraid to die.

The braverand bolder youwere, the moreaddictedyou became to this feeling. Murat, whohad saved France from acrisis witha decisive cavalry charge in thepast, wouldneverforget the thrillofthe moment, and still missed it. Hebecame the king of acountry, but he was such aman.

I am confidentthat I knowyou well, justasyou knowme. You arethe embodimentofthe desire forfame andconquestthat knows no restraint. Please don’t do anything stupidthat might offendthe Emperor.

“…”

You have beenwith theEmperor forthe longesttime among theMarshalsofthe Empire, and you arecloseenough to speak informallytohim in private. The closeryou are, the lessformal and politeyou can be, but thiswas technically possible in the past becauseyou wereonpar witheach other. Sinceancient times, keeping a distance fromthe ruler, being nottoo far andnot too close to him, has been the waytoleavetolongest. Don’tforget my words.

Murat was a typicalcavalry commanderofthis eraand had risen to this position fromthe verybottom.

Althoughhewas ignorant of complicated political battles, intrigue, and internationaldiplomacy, he hadananimal sense to notice thesubtle atmosphereinhumanrelations. Murat thought alot about Poniatowski’sadvice.

Everybody in the Empireknowsthat your exploits at the BattleofHrodna werethe best. But it’s adifferent matter to askthe Emperorfor something. Keep theline, mydear friend. Don’t showyour greed forSicily.

I don’t know whenitstarted, but His Majesty has certainlychanged from before, and the standardsand ‘exceptions’ that he has allowed for youand someothercommanders arelikely to change. You’dbetter remember whatkind of embarrassment the Duke of Essling(André Masséna) went through…

Muratfolded the letterfrom theKing of Polandwhilethinkingdeeply. In thepast, hewouldhave tried to claim Sicily, as Poniatowski wrote.

This wasbecause theKingdom of Sicily, the predecessor of theKingdom of Naples, alsoincludedthe island of Sicily, as its name implied.

However, when Murat saw theEmperor after a longtime, hewas abletotell that the Emperor’stendencyand habits hadchanged significantly frombefore.

What would theEmperor look likeifheaskedfor Sicily? Hecouldnot predictitatall. It wasthe biggestreason why he washesitating.

‘Huh… Muratdied because he had toomuch temper.’

That could happenifhepretended not to fear the Emperor, whowas now on theroad to thegreatestsuccess. MuratacceptedPoniatowski’s advice. He would keephis thoughts to him fora while…

TL notes

[1]Joachim Muratwas KingofNaples and wasmarried toCaroline Bonaparte, Napoleon’ssister.

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