Chapter 101:
18. Reversalofalliance 3
It was in June 1814, about three years ago. Napoleon, who correctedthe evils, corruption, anddeviant systems umted within theFrench Empire to some extent andstabilized thenationaleconomy, whichhad enteredthe war system, found alittle specialperson.
Itwas CharlesMaurice de Talleyrand-Prigord, 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-Prigords secremunication with Frances enemy countries wasnot something that could be forgiven.
Naturally, ordingtoNapoleons usual theoryand inclination, it wasnormal to inflicta heavy punishment on him by takingaway allhis social fame and wealth. Of course, some peoplemay say this:
Isnt LieutenantGeneral PierredeVaugiraud de Rosnay, the currentprincipal of the NantesNavalAcademy, also someone who betrayed hiscountry? Hewas taken in again, so whycantitbethe samefor Talleyrand-Prigord?
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 XVIs 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-Prigordwaspletelydifferent.
Afterthe imperial system wasalready in ce, 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 cowards betrayal that people despised themost. That waswhy Napoleon did noteven think of takinghim back.
Thats too bad, too bad. Originally, thisman should be rolledand eaten as muchaspossible.
NapoleonBonaparte, whohad watchedTalleyrand-Prigordasthe president of theFrench Republic for many years, highlyappreciatedhis skillful negotiating skills andclose-knit diplomatic strategies.
In this vastEurope, there wasonly onediplomatwho couldpetewith Talleyrand-Prigord: Klemens vonMetternich, who was currentlythe foreignministerofAustria.
The fact thatsuch apetent personcouldnot be usedwas agreatloss forthe country. Anyway, sincehecouldnot appointhim again, Napoleon visited the Denon vi, whereTalleyrand-Prigordwas imprisoned, to see himonesttime.
Napoleonslips 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 wibandon 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.
InNapoleons previous world, Talleyrand-Prigordwas 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: theEmpiresgrandstrategyagainst theoutside world. Ill saythat its necessary to feed eventhe fishcaught.
Go on.
Your Majesty pretendtovaluethe bnceand stability of European forces, but thebasisofthe strategy is still French-centered hegemony. Its an instinct thates fromthe roots of France that cant 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 uing Great War.
Napoleonimmediatelyfigured outwhat Talleyrand was sayingnow. CountriesinEurope and in theNew World surrounding France could bergely 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 thertionships with themwere notharmed.
The problemwas allies. The French Empirehad achieved anew European hegemony withthe sessofthe Russianexpedition andthe victoryinthe IberianPenins 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 receiveanypensation, like territories or reparations. Assoon as he heard Talleyrandswords, 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 cabpointed outthis. However, even with his hands andfeet tied, Talleyrand-Prigord sawthrough theEmpiresdiplomatic 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 nowapletely different personfrom then. I onlyadmititnow. So Your Majestyshould ept this proposal. Because the national interestes first.
Talleyrand toldNapoleonthe external vulnerabilities of theFrench Empire andalternatives thathethought about. Ifhis opinionhad sufficientprobabilityand rationality, Napoleon epted it or correctedittofit reality.
Talleyrandspurpose wastobeforgivenfor the crimeshehadmitted 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 epting this proposal if it was kept strictly confidential. Thats how Napoleon andTalleyrand-Prigords secretcontractwas concluded.
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From nowon, the Empirewill need to showa truly agile movement.
Thecurrent external strategy of Franceled by Napoleon and theImperialMinistryofForeign Affairs, with Talleyrands help, could be calledOctopusFeet.
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 Americas belligerent groups, but also to the colonies of Central and South America, which dered independencefrom Spain andPortugal.
Franceestablisheda Frenchconste in their territory anddispatched diplomatsthere, starting normal diplomatic rtions.
Spain and Portugal were fighting hardagainst them, butwouldthey dare confront France?
Frances foreignministryneatly ignoredthe oppositionfrom theIberian countriesand helddiplomatic eventswithout interruption. Countries in Central and South America, of course, weed themwith open arms.
Preemptive effects alsoexistindiplomatic rtionsbetween countries. The colonies fighting Spain andPortugre, more thananyone else, hoping to receive approval fromotherEuropeanpowers and to be recognized as independent countries. Theres nothing better than receiving it from the Empirethat dominatesEurope. Take fudvantage of their desperation, geteverything youcan get. Unlike other European countries, the Empire doesnt needtobewary of Spain or Portugal at all.
Theyare currently in an extremelychaotic politicalsituation due to thewar for independence, internal social conflictsand civil war. Its 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 Empires 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.
Talleyrands attitude towardcoloniesinCentral andSouthAmerica wasa cool-headed rationalism andnationalismthat Machiavelli would admire.
Colonization by upying foreignnd, monopolizing rawmaterials and resources, and exploiting nativeshas now bea thing of thepast. Asa leading countryinEurope, theEmpire mustmore intelligently contrnd use subordinate states.
Therewas certainly a timeinthe pastwhen overseas colonies brought enormous economic benefits to their homecountries. Spain, Portugnd the Nethends 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 ss emergedsignificantly, a market-orientedeconomicsystem, nota state-centered one, was takingits ce.
Therefore, national monopoly on certain raw materialshad be difficult, and thevalueaddedled by productionhad alsochanged with the emergenceofvarious industries suchaspaper, ss, 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 rtively.
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 manypetent 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.
I dont think thats somethingyou careabout.
Despite Napoleons coldwords, Talleyranddid not erase hissoft smile.
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Leaving Talleyrands hideout, Napoleon took amoment to organize his thoughts. Talleyrand advised thatcountries other thanneutral countriesshould be dividedinto three categories.
Enemies, economolonies, and allies. The basicsofinternational diplomacywere to skillfully mix wine and water to getthe mostfrom rtionships.
Nevertheless, Talleyrand insisted on thoroughlyseparating theEmpiresattitudetoward other countries.
This era of peace willetoanend 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 Napoleonsdiplomatic techniques thatstimted theUnited States in a bad way. He was notalothinkthis, the opinions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairswere also simr. 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 UnitedStatespletelydominating 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, Francescurrent hegemony hadanexpiration date, anda GreatWar hadyet toe.
Perhaps thisGreatWar was thst ordealthat could threaten Franceand Napoleonssystem. If this ordeal could be ovee, France would overtake Britainand reign as the worlds first power.
Then, ording to the basicsofwar, Franceshould worktoincreaseits number of alliesand reduce enemies in preparation for this. Until then, it would be a reasonablechoice to somehowmaintainfriendlyrtions withthe United States. However, Napoleon madea differentchoice.
I cantstay alive forever. Then Wouldnt it be better to putaway allthe obstacles in front of FrancewhileIm 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 Frances enemies.
Although Talleyrand and other foreign officials could rejectthesethoughts, Napoleon did notconsiderhimself unusual. What couldnt he do?
Before that, I should give my enemiesonestchance.
There was a yfullook on Napoleons faceashetook outa piece of paper from his pocketand fiddledwith it. Many of thenameswritten on theupperpart of thepaperbelongedtogiants ruling Europe. The time hade to wakeupagainthe quiet Europe.