Chapter 91:


    15. Interlude  1


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


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


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


    Are you tryingtoconvincemetoept thisridiculous negotiation result?


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


    The Emperors brother torethe official letter bearing the Emperorsseal to piecesbut was still angry, and shoutedatthe ForeignMinisterCaincourt withouthesitation.


    We arethe onlyones here, so tell me the truth! Isthis because of the ipetenceofthe Imperial ForeignMinistryatthe Madrid Conference!? OrisitNapoleons will!?


    Everything is theresult of His Majestysjudgment.


    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 Peninsr War, triedtostop him. Joseph Bonapartes anger wasfullyunderstood by those aroundhim who hadlong servedhim, andthe people of theImperialCab felt sorry for him.


    JosephBonaparte was originally KingofNaples, butbecame KingofSpainbecause of Napoleons insistence.


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


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


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


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


    His Majestythe Emperor, of course, was not satisfiedwith ourachievements. Hes 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.


    Caincourtand the other members of the diplomatic delegationunderstood JosephBonapartesinevitable 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 eptable to speak ill of him.


    Thats enough. His Majestywill also remember yourhard work and sacrifice.


    His Majesty musthave some constion 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 theinds of Sardinia andSicily, in addition to theBasque Countryand Catalonia.


    The Emperor established anew satellite state calledthe KingdomofSicily bybining thetwo indsand delegated their sovereignty to JosephBonaparte.


    Thenwhen shouldI leave formynew job?


    Its nota job. It is YourHighness kingdom, to be ruled entirely by YourHighness.


    Youre 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 Caincourt andthe delegationwith himstepped down.


    ===


    When I was akid, I called himBonnie, cared for himand helped hima lot. All themembers of ourfamily did their best to supportthe Emperor No, he wasnt theEmperor back then, and we helpedhim makeall these achievements. I supportedand counseled him.


    Josephmented 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 bing increasingly harsher Arent we supposed to stop him? Im afraid somethingbad wile outofthis.


    Even if he talks like that, he willbeable to shake offeverything andwork tomorrow. His Majestythe Emperorknowsit, thats whyhes leaving him alone.


    Suchetwas wewareofJosephspersonality. He was grumbling, but would nothave thehearttoplot somethingagainst Napoleon. Except for theEmperor, all the members of the Bonapartefamily werelike that. There were greedy peoplebutcked courage.


    Itsusthat matters. Everyone shouldbecareful of their actions. Thewar is over, but thesituation has bestricter. If you aredragged away by His Majesty for nothing, youwontget anything.


    Did you think I wouldnt knowthe way youlook at thesweetadvantages of being close to theKing? Werewild dogs, barbaric warriors whohave to live on battlefields. Its a pity, but we dont 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 someinds? Theirdesired achievements, military sess, splendid honor noneofthesecouldbeoffered by such aking.


    Yourecold, but youre right.


    From thevery beginning, we werepart of theImperialArmy, part of Louis-Gabriel Suchets 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 himand, His Majestyisthe Emperorofthe Empire andthe mostdignified and honorableperson. To make sucha disrespectful remark about him!


    All themembers of theimperialfamily are very passionateand greedy, and Im worried about the futureofthe Empire.


    Dontyou daresay that. The affairs of the imperial familyare for theimperialfamily to dealwith, not for us to discuss.


    Caincourt 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 inders acrossthe sea.


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


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


    Everything will eventuallygoording to His Majestyswill. Weonly have to follow himfaithfully andassist him. Just think about it. Who willbethe realwinner of thishuge, political war? I cant think of anyoneexcept the Emperor.


    Strictly stick to the strongand to the winner. Caincourt intended to followthe mostbasicrule by which socinimals were living.


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


    ===


    My dearfriend andrade, 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, JzefAntoni Poniatowski, theDuke of Warsaw, who wasnow KingofPnd. However, he could noterasethe friendly smile thatwas drawn on his lips.


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


    Polish people aretaking to the streets to praise thegreatvictory of theEmpire and expressing His Majesty the Emperorswar epicinwriting andy.


    The Polishpeoplesenthusiasm forHis Majestyissogreatthat I, theKing, feel a little jealous. Butwasnt he the true savior of this country?


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


    Im d the Polishsoul hasbeen revived, butsometimes I miss thelife of a soldierliving on the battlefield. Dontyou feelthe sametoo?


    The battlefield engulfed in gunfire, where soldiers putdown their lives andfought ording 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 dont 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. Dontforget my words.


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


    Althoughhewas ignorant ofplicated political battles, intrigue, and internationaldiplomacy, he hadananimal sense to notice thesubtle atmosphereinhumanrtions. Murat thought alot about Poniatowskisadvice.


    Everybody in the Empireknowsthat your exploits at the BattleofHrodna werethe best. But its adifferent matter to askthe Emperorfor something. Keep theline, mydear friend. Dont showyour greed forSicily.


    I dont know whenitstarted, but His Majesty has certainlychanged from before, and the standardsand exceptions that he has allowed for youand someothemanders arelikely to change. Youdbetter remember whatkind of embarrassment the Duke of Essling(Andr Massna) went through


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


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


    However, when Murat saw theEmperor after a longtime, hewas abletotell that the Emperorstendencyand 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 thegreatestsess. MurateptedPoniatowskis advice. He would keephis thoughts to him fora while


    TL notes


    [1]Joachim Muratwas KingofNaples and wasmarried toCaroline Bonaparte, Napoleonssister.