Napoleon in 1812
Chapter 101:

18. Reversalofalliance– 3

It was in June 1814, about three years ago. Napoleon, who correctedthe evils, corruption, anddeviant systems accumulated within theFrench Empire to some extent andstabilized thenationaleconomy, whichhad enteredthe war system, found alittle specialperson.

Itwas CharlesMaurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, the former foreign minister of the FrenchEmpire, whowas scheduled to be tried at theParisHigh Court foracts of treason suchascivilwar and leaking of confidential information.

Napoleon had been searching outstanding talents and hadactivelyhiredthem without lookingattheirorigin, past, or disposition.

It could be seenfrom thefact that Carnot, who did notlike himvery much, wasquickly given a heavy responsibility, andthe factthat Napoleon invested a hugeamount of money in Colin, whohad beendoingillegal taxcollection.

However, he never looked again at some people. Thosewho betrayed their country. Eveniftherewas the excusethat thepreviousNabotwas doing sucha mess thatitcouldnot be helped, Talleyrand-Périgord’s secretcommunication with France’s enemy countries wasnot something that could be forgiven.

Naturally, accordingtoNapoleon’s usual theoryand inclination, it wasnormal to inflicta heavy punishment on him by takingaway allhis social fame and wealth. Of course, some peoplemay say this:

‘Isn’t LieutenantGeneral PierredeVaugiraud de Rosnay, the currentprincipal of the NantesNavalAcademy, also someone who betrayed hiscountry? Hewas taken in again, so whycan’titbethe samefor Talleyrand-Périgord?’

However, there weretwo decisive differences betweenLieutenant General de Rosnay andTalleyrand: the timing of their betrayal, and their justificationfor doing sucha thing.

Shortlyafterthe execution of Louis XVI’s familyand the establishment of the Revolutionary Republic and theNationalAssembly, LieutenantGeneral de Rosnaysidedwith theroyalists, rejectingthe waveofrevolution.

Although he had foughtthe RevolutionaryArmy in association with enemy countries, hewas antagonizing theFrench revolutionaryforces, notFrance. After that time, the Revolutionary Republic was taken down and Francewas transformed intoa monarchy.

Since Napoleon was themastermind behindit, he could hardly frame Lieutenant GeneraldeRosnay as atraitor. However, Talleyrand-Périgordwas completelydifferent.

Afterthe imperial system wasalready in place, hesold secrets of his country to the enemy by using hisold position and influenceinthe salon.

Itwas alsorevealedthat he wrote a letter to enemy leaders, saying, ‘If youbringyour troopstoParis, I will open the door wideand treat you as a liberator.’

Among thepossiblebetrayals, it wasa coward’s betrayal that people despised themost. That waswhy Napoleon did noteven think of takinghim back.

‘That’s too bad, too bad. Originally, thisman should be rolledand eaten as muchaspossible.’

NapoleonBonaparte, whohad watchedTalleyrand-Périgordasthe president of theFrench Republic for many years, highlyappreciatedhis skillful negotiating skills andclose-knit diplomatic strategies.

In this vastEurope, there wasonly onediplomatwho could competewith Talleyrand-Périgord: Klemens vonMetternich, who was currentlythe foreignministerofAustria.

The fact thatsuch a competent personcouldnot be usedwas agreatloss forthe country. Anyway, sincehecouldnot appointhim again, Napoleon visited the Denon villa, whereTalleyrand-Périgordwas imprisoned, to see himone lasttime.

Napoleon’slips twitched when he saw Talleyrand, whoseemed to havebeen hitbythe flowoftime. Then, heheardwordsthat made him doubt hisears.

‘Your Majesty, the great Emperor of the FrenchEmpire. I willabandon my Frenchnationality. I amdetermined to live as ashadow for therest of my life.’

‘!?’

‘As a mercenary without nationality, I willservethe Empire forthe future. This will be my punishment.’

InNapoleon’s previous world, Talleyrand-Périgordwas aperson who wasdifficult to believebecause of hisunpredictable thoughts, conservatism, andhis excessive greed forwealth.

Now thathewas caught, hewas in atightspot. Naturally, Napoleon tried to ignorethe words of thisuntrustworthy man. Until he broughtthis up.

‘Your Majestyhave changed rapidlysincethe expeditiontothe Eastin1812, and has ruled this Empire almostperfectly. However, Your Majestyshowed weakness in onlyone thing: theEmpire’sgrandstrategyagainst theoutside world. I’ll saythat it’s necessary to feed eventhe fishcaught.’

‘…Go on.’

‘Your Majesty pretendtovaluethe balanceand stability of European forces, but thebasisofthe strategy is still French-centered hegemony. It’s an instinct that comes fromthe roots of France that can’t be hidden even if one tries to. This canbeboth a burden anda threattoothercountries thathave foughttogetherunderthe Empire. Only when theycan be moderatelysoothed will the Empirebeguaranteed thesafety of the rear in the upcoming Great War.’

Napoleonimmediatelyfigured outwhat Talleyrand was sayingnow. CountriesinEurope and in theNew World surrounding France could be largely dividedinto three categories.

Potential enemy countries, ally countries, or neutralcountries. Theneutral countrieswere theOttoman Empire, the Balkans and countriesinNorthAfrica, andtherewas no needtopay muchattention to themaslong as therelationships with themwere notharmed.

The problemwas allies. The French Empirehad achieved anew European hegemony withthe successofthe Russianexpedition andthe victoryinthe IberianPeninsula War. The Empire took all thegloryand interests as thewinner, butwas verystingy in sharingthem.

Denmarkhad longfought againstBritain at seadespite enormous losses, the Confederation of the Rhine hadbeen severely exploitedeverytime theFrench wentonexpeditions, and theUnited States hadbeen keeping Britainincheckoutside theEuropeancontinent.

They didnot receiveany compensation, like territories or reparations. Assoon as he heard Talleyrand’swords, Napoleon had no choicebut to admit his mistake.

Hedid not payattention to the management of allies exceptthe United Statesbecause he focused on the problems withinthe Empire andthe movements of hostile countries.

But no oneinthe imperial cabinetpointed outthis. However, even with his hands andfeet tied, Talleyrand-Périgord sawthrough theEmpire’sdiplomatic situationand weaknessesatonce.

‘In thepast, I sawthe picturethat Your Majestywanted. Butitwas an illusion.’

Napoleon was sadthat he could notdeny it. Atthat time, Nabot wasdelusional in conquering the world beyondEurope, thinking of himself likeAlexander the Great or Genghis Khan.

‘But YourMajesty is nowa completely different personfrom then. I onlyadmititnow. So… Your Majestyshould accept this proposal. Because the national interest comes first.’

Talleyrand toldNapoleonthe external vulnerabilities of theFrench Empire andalternatives thathethought about. Ifhis opinionhad sufficientprobabilityand rationality, Napoleon accepted it or correctedittofit reality.

Talleyrand’spurpose wastobeforgivenfor the crimeshehad committed andeventually live the rest of his life likea normalperson.

Ofcourse, since Napoleon didnot knowexactly what Talleyrandwoulddo, he should thoroughly monitorhis daily life, but from his point of view, he hadnothing to lose by accepting this proposal if it was kept strictly confidential. That’s how Napoleon andTalleyrand-Périgord’s secretcontractwas concluded.

===

“From nowon, the Empirewill need to showa truly agile movement.”

Thecurrent external strategy of Franceled by Napoleon and theImperialMinistryofForeign Affairs, with Talleyrand’s help, could be called‘OctopusFeet’.

Francestopped allexpeditionsand warsand was focusing on internal politics anddevelopment, but hands were moving quickly and secretly in thedark without rest.

Notonly diditextend its arms to North America’s belligerent groups, but also to the colonies of Central and South America, which declared independencefrom Spain andPortugal.

Franceestablisheda Frenchconsulate in their territory anddispatched diplomatsthere, starting normal diplomatic relations.

Spain and Portugal were fighting hardagainst them, butwouldthey dare confront France?

France’s foreignministryneatly ignoredthe oppositionfrom theIberian countriesand helddiplomatic eventswithout interruption. Countries in Central and South America, of course, welcomed themwith open arms.

“Preemptive effects alsoexistindiplomatic relationsbetween countries. The colonies fighting Spain andPortugalare, more thananyone else, hoping to receive approval fromotherEuropeanpowers and to be recognized as independent countries. There’s nothing better than receiving it from the Empirethat dominatesEurope. Take fulladvantage of their desperation, geteverything youcan get. Unlike other European countries, the Empire doesn’t needtobewary of Spain or Portugal at all.”

“Theyare currently in an extremelychaotic politicalsituation due to thewar for independence, internal social conflictsand civil war. It’s hard to findpoliticianswho truly strive forthe national interest of their country, and they are allsacrificingthe foundationand future of thecountry fortheirown benefits. This is the best opportunity to subordinate themand makethem economic colonies of theEmpire. There is no need for diplomatic courtesy and moral conscience. Take careofthe Empire’s national interests thoroughly, regardless of means.”

Internationaldiplomacy was a world where the weak bentbefore the strong. Especiallywhen dealing withcountries outsideofEurope, theferocityand viciousness of great powers went beyond imagination.

Talleyrand’s attitude towardcoloniesinCentral andSouthAmerica wasa cool-headed rationalism andnationalismthat Machiavelli would admire.

“Colonization by occupying foreign land, monopolizing rawmaterials and resources, and exploiting nativeshas now becomea thing of thepast. Asa leading countryinEurope, theEmpire mustmore intelligently controland use subordinate states.”

Therewas certainly a timeinthe pastwhen overseas colonies brought enormous economic benefits to their homecountries. Spain, Portugaland the Netherlands ledEurope by monopolizing overseas colonies andthe resources obtained from them.

However, now, withthe development of navigationtechniques, private organizations could build sailingshipsand engage in overseas trade, and as the capitalist class emergedsignificantly, a market-orientedeconomicsystem, nota state-centered one, was takingits place.

Therefore, national monopoly on certain raw materialshad become difficult, and thevalueaddedled by productionhad alsochanged with the emergenceofvarious industries suchaspaper, glass, steel, and cotton textile.

Inaddition, voices of dissatisfaction, reforms, and independencewere popping up within colonial countriesthat hadundergone an indirect modernizationprocess influenced by their homecountries. This was clearly seeninCentral andSouthAmerica now.

In other words, overseastroops, bureaucrats, and finances consumed to forcibly maintain the colonies were rising daybyday, andthe profitsgained fromexploiting them weredecreasing relatively.

Ofcourse, thestorywas alittle different forcountries withadvancedshipsand overseas trade at the level of Britain, butthis wasnot the case for Franceeven after putting all itsenergy intorebuilding itsnavalforces.

“There are many competent peoplearound YourMajesty. A prime example would be the Minister of theAdministration, Carnot. Ifyou entrusthim withthis work, he will be colder andmore vicious thananyone elsetosuck thebone marrowofthe American countries andofferittoYour Majesty.” S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFirᴇ.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“I don’t think that’s somethingyou careabout.”

Despite Napoleon’s coldwords, Talleyranddid not erase hissoft smile.

===

Leaving Talleyrand’s hideout, Napoleon took amoment to organize his thoughts. Talleyrand advised thatcountries other thanneutral countriesshould be dividedinto three categories.

Enemies, economiccolonies, and allies. The basicsofinternational diplomacywere to skillfully mix wine and water to getthe mostfrom relationships.

Nevertheless, Talleyrand insisted on thoroughlyseparating theEmpire’sattitudetoward other countries.

‘This era of peace will cometoanend someday. Thissuggestion means to clearly distinguish the enemy andestablish agreatstrategyinpreparationfor thattime.’

TheUnited States shouldnaturally be consideredasanally. Althoughitwas not in Europe, it was theonly country thatcouldkeep Britain in check beyond theocean, and of course, the strategicvalueofthe United Statesfrom thestandpoint of Francewas absolutelyhigh.

The UnitedStates alsocleverlyused this dynamics to bring its owninterests.

Talleyrand hadquestions about Napoleon’sdiplomatic techniques thatstimulated theUnited States in a bad way. He was notalonetothinkthis, the opinions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairswere also similar. Supportnative tribal groupsinNorthAmerica? Taking the risk of abandoningthe New Continent? It was somethingthey could notunderstand.

‘However, while staying in Louisiana, I sawthe endlesspossibilities of theNorthAmericancontinent. I knowthe value of the continentbetter thananyone elseinFrance.’

The UnitedStates completelydominating thevast continentwouldpose a realthreat to France in thefuture. Forthe future of France, it was necessarytokeep them frommonopolizing America.

This was whyNapoleondecided to provide almost free supportfor the weak nativesofNorthAmerica.

As Talleyrandsaid, France’scurrent hegemony hadanexpiration date, anda ‘GreatWar’ hadyet to come.

Perhaps thisGreatWar was thelast ordealthat could threaten Franceand Napoleon’ssystem. If this ordeal could be overcome, France would overtake Britainand reign as the world’s first power.

Then, according to the basicsofwar, Franceshould worktoincreaseits number of alliesand reduce enemies in preparation for this. Until then, it would be a reasonablechoice to somehowmaintainfriendlyrelations withthe United States. However, Napoleon madea differentchoice.

‘I can’tstay alive forever. Then… Wouldn’t it be better to putaway allthe obstacles in front of FrancewhileI’m still the Emperor?’

He decidedtothinksimply. Even withoutthe supportofthe United States, or evenifitwas on the other side during war, Napoleon was confidentthat he would never lose. Rather, it could be an opportunity to bring downthe United Statesaltogether with France’s enemies.

Although Talleyrand and other foreign officials could rejectthesethoughts, Napoleon did notconsiderhimself unusual. What couldn’t he do?

“Before that, I should give my enemiesone lastchance.”

There was a playfullook on Napoleon’s faceashetook outa piece of paper from his pocketand fiddledwith it. Many of thenameswritten on theupperpart of thepaperbelongedtogiants ruling Europe. The time had come to wakeupagainthe quiet Europe.

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