Napoleon in 1812

“Your Majesty! Breakfast is all ready. Please go to the dining room in the main hall.”

“Hmm… I’d like to have a quick bite to eat here.”

Napoleon, who was too lazy to move again after exercising, murmured, but Baron Fain thought differently.

“The marshals are already up and heading for the dining room. They will be pleased to have you with them.”

For them to be pleased… He would be glad if he did not get sick after eating.

But he could see what Baron Fain intended to suggest this. Napoleon did not reject the proposal of his quick-witted secretary.

=

“His Majesty the Emperor is entering! Please show courtesy.”

Several marshals and senior officers were already seated in the dining room. They immediately got up and saluted, Napoleon saluted as well and sat in his designated seat.

Napoleon was not one to seek splendor in everyday meals unless it was a special occasion. Especially now at war.

So he used to eat relatively simple and easy-to-eat food, but the dishes on the table, which boasted the height of their splendor, made his stomach uncomfortable.

‘I’m trying to lose weight by exercising hard, but I can’t turn that effort into nothing.’

In an effort to control his weight and stay healthy, Napoleon had a frugal meal today.

“I salute Your Majesty the Great Emperor! It’s a very refreshing and good morning for the new year, Your Majesty!”

Jean-Baptiste Bessières, Duke of Istria, greeted him with a disheveled face. Napoleon said to him with a slight smile.

“The sun will rise in the west. The Duke, famous for his laziness, woke up so early.”

“Hahaha, you’re having fun with jokes. I admire your wit, Your Majesty!”

“Do you think it’s a joke? You need to be more diligent.”

“…I’ll try from this year on.”

Mischievous, Napoleon poured vegetables into tomato sauce and put them in his mouth. The crunch and sourness in his mouth gave him a little appetite. He took a bite of bread.

The hall was relatively quiet, although there were some marshals and officers chatting. Drinking a soup of corn and potatoes, Napoleon looked at the marshals sitting at the table.

Jean-Baptiste Bessières, Michel Ney, Claude Victor-Perrin… All of them, including Berthier who had been dispatched, were marshals loyal to him. The same was true of his officers.

It was not just an illusion that André Masséna’s expression in between them looked grumpy. Napoleon found it quite funny and laughed quietly. Then at a sudden thought, he stopped eating for a moment. Watching him, Bessières tilted his head.

“Is there anything bothering you, Your Majesty?”

“No, nothing. It just reminded me of someone.”

Usually, if he answered like this, Bessières would move on without asking any further, but today he seemed a little more lively.

“Is that so? If you don’t mind, can you tell me who you thought of?”

“I don’t mind. It’s Desaix.[1]”

“Ah…”

At Napoleon’s gentle words, not only Bessières but also the other marshals around him looked speechless. Louis Charles Antoine Desaix.

He was a French hero who sacrificed his life to bring victory to Napoleon at the Battle of Marengo. Nabot of this world had shamelessly tried to steal his credit, saying that Desaix’s feats were only the results of his orders.

Anyway, it had been 12 years since Desaix died, but there were still many people who remembered him.

If he took Masséna, who was squinting one eye from time to time, removed his greed and added loyalty, he may obtain Desaix. Desaix was such an excellent general.

Even in the world where Napoleon was originally, he was a brave, outstanding and faithful man.

The battle of Marengo existed in the other world as well, but there was nothing in common with the battle of this world from the beginning to the end.

In particular, Desaix of the other world had not died in vain, but had been subsequently given the title of marshal.

‘Lannes[2] and Desaix were the same… It’s a pity that I can’t see again their faces that I miss.’

Unless he could return to his original world. But there was no way to go back. Bessières faked a cough as Napoleon laughed over his helpless situation.

“Desaix was an example of a great French man. He has won many great victories, but his greatest achievement was to die fighting for Your Majesty the Emperor at the Battle of Marengo.”

Bessières smiled and flattered the Emperor, saying that Desaix would be happy to see the glorious Empire of today, but it did not sound very good to Napoleon.

The body he had now had been eating away that great achievement. Of course it would seem pretentious to say this to them.

Because he was the only one who knew that Nabot was different from Napoleon. In the future, he would be criticized and suffer from Nabot’s karma.

It was bitter, but what could he do? This morning, he felt resentment for the being that had brought him into this world when he had been living well in Louisiana.

=

‘The Emperor brought up Desaix’s name. What the hell is he thinking?’

The Emperor used to praise Desaix’s exploits and sacrifice, but never mentioned his name in private.

Since he used to cover and conceal records and circumstances that were unfavorable to him, it must have been very inconvenient for him if many people said Desaix’s name.

None of the marshals were unaware of the fact that the Emperor had taken Desaix’s credit in an unjustified way.

And now the Emperor mentioned Desaix’s name on his own, bewildering Masséna. Was the Emperor trying to test them?

While eating, Masséna observed the Emperor discreetly. Despite saying an inconvenient name, the Emperor looked calm.

He did not look like he was forcibly suppressing his emotions. As he talked with his marshals, he remained calm all the time. Only then did Masséna recalled the conversation he had had with Berthier. The Emperor had changed a lot from before.

‘I need to look into it.’

Drinking wine from his glass, Masséna thought so. If the Emperor’s inclinations had changed a lot, Masséna’s political line would have to be different as well.

===

“Extra, extra! Here’s the news about the Iberian Standing Organization!”

“There are also benefits for the Spanish people of the occupied land! You’ll regret it if you don’t read this!”

Freckled boys were waving newspapers and hailed passerbys on the street. People could tolerate curiosity, but could not resist being excluded from benefits that everyone else received.

Merchants selling goods in stalls and pedestrians walking down the street stopped what they were doing and rushed to buy newspapers. The newspaper’s headline was adorned by the Iberian Standing Organization’s ‘Today’s Announcement’.

The Iberian Standing Organization was a temporary organization created by Napoleon Bonaparte, which was responsible for the governance and tax collection of the occupied Spanish territories. In fact, the Spanish local government was doing what it had to do, including relief missions.

According to the headline article, the Spanish citizens who were in need because of the long war would be given free food such as potatoes, rice and wheat.

In addition, the government would provide clothes, wood, and bread to each household, and fish, cheese, beef, soap, and even cigarettes to ‘exemplary’ citizens who had accurate information.

“Those rotten, devilish French!… No matter how clever they try to fool us, Spain remembers the slaughter of the past!”

“Of course! I’d rather hold hands with the devil, I will never accept help from the frogs even if they change! Let’s all work together to get them out of here right now!”

Exasperated, the citizens let out swear words and insults. They started to tear up the newspapers and incited people not to receive all of these supplies together. Those who were bitterly resentful toward the French army had no intention of accepting even a single pea from France.

“Hey, guys! What’s wrong with you? Money has no nationality. They’re giving out free food and clothes, so think about it!”

“You may be able to refuse so hard because you can afford it, but for some of us, if we don’t have the daily necessities that the French hand out, we would all starve to death!”

There were also people saying this to those who wanted the entire village to refuse the supplies. Their ill feelings toward France were the same, but they were not worth more than the livelihood of their families.

When all the farmland they owned was devastated and their parents and children were hungry, how could they refuse even the devil’s hand?

“Look at those traitors who would sell this country! Have you already forgotten the atrocities the French have done to our families and neighbors!?”

“I didn’t forget! But it’s more important for me to get food to support my children, my wife and my parents!”

“If you want to do anti-French operations, find another way! We would never join this.”

“Oh, God! Come to think of it, the numbers of spies who are selling out the secrets of the Resistance are increasing these days, but these guys are the ones responsible!”

The seeds of Napoleon’s division were germinating step by step, eating nutrients. The Spanish people were now only swearing and pointing fingers at each other.

“Stop talking nonsense! Even if we’re traitors, there’s no reason to be insulted by you! I will protect my family!”

“You don’t have to be so passionate and loyal to your country! The King fled to Seville without protecting his people and know nothing of your sorrow!”

“What!? He’s a spy! What a traitor!!”

“Hahaha, what a time to be proud of being a spy! You’d better not show it too much though. The resistance has no forgiveness for traitors.”

“W-What!?”

Eventually, the situation came quickly to an end after a group of people punched others, and some people fainted and were seriously injured.

But this town was a lucky case. In other places, people had used kitchen knives and sickles to stab each other to death. The antipathy the Spanish people had against France was by no means small.

They hated the French proportionately to the amount of damage they had suffered directly from them. France was a deadly enemy, especially to the citizens of León, Valencia, and Zamora, who had suffered a lot of plunder and slaughter.

However, it was difficult to reject the daily necessities that they provided, so there were a lot of people who had to compromise. As such, the situation of the Spanish locals was difficult.

Being the center of war since 1808, Spain’s administrative network had long since collapsed.

The farmland was devastated and the local economy of villages had collapsed. It was no lie to say that if the Iberian Standing Organization, founded by France, did not help them, whole families would have died.

The attitude of the French army, which had changed since Napoleon Bonaparte returned, also played a part in increasing the number of people who were reluctant to accept help from the French.

The French army did not requisition the country as viciously as in the past. They bought food and water from locals, paid the price rightfully, and did not commit evil acts such as devastating nearby villages or cities because of suspected presence of resistance forces.

Of course, that did not dilute the anger of the Spanish people. However, they did not intend to go ahead and shoot the French soldiers who did not want to harm them.

Man was an animal of adaptation. At first, the Spanish were seething with the mere sight of a tricolor flag, but the inevitable contact with them as they received daily necessities from them gradually dulled their sharpness.

At first there were a number of people who stood firm and declared ‘I reject everything that France gives me!’ But day by day that number decreased.

Even if the people accepting the rations were called traitors and turncoats, their numbers were increasing.

Anger was not eternal. Family livelihoods and economic benefits were the eternal aspirations of human beings. Napoleon’s division plan was clearly working steadily.

[1] Louis Charles Antoine Desaix died at the Battle of Marengo (1800).

[2] Jean Lannes was Napoleon’s best friend. He died after the Battle of Essling (1809).

The death of Desaix (painted by Jean Broc), and of Lannes (painted by Paul-Emile Boutigny):