Chapter 105:
19. EuropeanSummit 2
Naples was thefourthrgestcity in EuropeafterLondon, Paris, and Constantinople. Therulerofthis ce wasJoachim Murat, the son of an innkeeper, who eventually became Marshal of France andKing of Naples.
His position evaluated by European politics wasonly oneofthe lords of the FrenchEmpiresnumeroussatellite states, but he thoughtofhimself as theking of an independent country and wasacting likethat.
I waswondering whatthe hellyou werethinking but you were preparing a surprise party likethis? And ahuge party at that, thatsgoingtomake thewholeofEurope buzz!
It was a weekbefore the Minister of theAdministrationCarnot delivered a speech calling for thenecessity of peace among European countries in theImperialCouncil. Joachim Murat smiledwhen he received a letter andinvitation from the TuileriesPce.
The letter, engraved witha pattern symbolizing the Bonaparteimperialfamily, containedNapoleons ambition to prepare acetodiscuss bnced development andpeaceinEurope, along with abriefgreetingtoMurathimself.
Napoleon seemedtowant to make thisbanquet, whichwas scheduled to be held at the Rohan PceinStrasbourg, the headquarters of Europe.
Itwas added thatitwouldbea ce forall European countryleaders to attendand discussthe future, regardless of thenationalpower, governance, and reputation of their countries.
In short, itmeanttorecreatethe ConferenceofDresden[1], whichbrought together allthe French allies, satellite states, and descendants of prestigious European families ahead of theRussian expedition in 1812
Murat, who was basicallyanignorantman but hada not-so-shortcareer in Parisian politics, immediately doubted Napoleonsintentions.
Resolution of a peace regime at this time? Napoleon wrote this? Thats nonsense!
Obviously, he guessed thattherewouldbesomething elseinsidious, butMurats limitations were onlyuptohere.
That was whyMuratoftencalled the head of Salernocourtfor advice when he needed a political sense that was beyondhis capability.
Thisisa n to distinguish between goodand bad led by His Majesty the Emperor of the Empire. The difference is thatthe scale is the whole of Europe.
The head of the court read Napoleonsinvitation closely, thought for a moment andreplied like this.
Distinguishing betweengood andbad?
Yes, Your Majesty. To be exact, it shouldbeseen as an actofclearly distinguishing between enemiesand allies. Althoughithas not yetmade an official position, the Empire will surely wage awar againstBritain. Before that, it seems to be lookingforrades who will jointhe war.
Napoleons letterwas mainly about peace andharmony on theEuropeancontinent, butthe headofSalerno court spoke of warwithout anyhesitation. His opinionwas likethis.
British provocationscannot be tolerated by theEmperor. Also, the Empire hasnointention ofpensating forthe damage demanded by Britain. TheBritish know that, too. War is inevitable, and thetwo countries aresecretlypreparing for it.
Nevertheless, it wasclearwhy the British did notwant to dere war. This wasbecause they wanted Francetobreakthe Treaty of Madridfirst. Naturally, itwas to insist on theinternationalmunitythat they had justifications forwar.
France would first createanexcuse for them to go to war, and if the treatywas broken, Britain would be able to raise the will of its ownpeople to wagewar while gainingsupport from other powers.
However, this one move by Napoleon was powerful enoughtooverturnBritains natonce.
The harmonyand coexistence of European countries arenothing butpretty words. Perhaps thisisa justification for installing the next great strategy Thats what I think.
Thatsright. Although the Emperor has changed alot, even his belligerent spiritand desire to conquer havenot disappeared.
Bringingtogetherthe rulers of allEuropeancountries is ahigh-level intimidationtothem, asthey have to choose whether to follow or opposeanordeing fromthe French Empire.
The Roman Empireinthe pasthad usedthe samemethod. Therulers of all provinceswere brought together at oncetopraise themand at the same timetoestablish hierarchical rtionships. Theprovinces who opposed the call wererepaid withfierce retaliation, punishment, andeven purges.
The countryrulers mustknow this. What it meant to refuse Napoleons call, and theheavyconsequences thatwoule forthem.
Ahem Is there anychoice for ourcountry?
It goeswithout saying, YourMajesty. Wemust stand by theEmpiresside no matterwhat.
The headofSalerno court sighedinwardlyatthe ignorant and greedyking andexined thatthe Empires allies andsatellite countries werepletelydifferent. Murat, whether he liked it or not, had to participate in Strasbourgsbanquet andserveasa decoration as Napoleonsfaithfulsubordinate.
Murat, alow-bormoner, was able to be King of Naples thanksentirelytoNapoleonand his sister, Caroline.
But what if he wentagainst Napoleon andwalked on his ownpath? The anti-French countries would wee it withopen arms, butJoachim Murats reputationand credibility would falltothe ground.
No, before that, the Frenchwouldcrushthe ItalianPenins to punish thetraitor. Seeing Murat lostinthoughts, the head of the court felt frustrated, but he wasgratefulthat hisking wasnot stubborn.
In the end, JoachimMuratand his wife Caroline Bonaparte decided to participate in the Strasbourg banquet. Of course, none of theFrench satellite countriesrefused to participate.
JzefAntoni Poniatowski of the Kingdom of Pnd, Eugne de Beauharnais, Viceroy of Italy, Joseph I ofthe KingdomofSardinia, Jrme Bonaparte of theKingdom of Westphalia, andothermonarchsofthe Confederationofthe Rhine expressed their willingness to attend.
Muratswepthis chest away, thinking thathealmost became a loner, andthe headofSalerno court lookedslightlypitifully at his king.
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Allcountries of the European continentgatheredinone ce to formamoncouncil andrebuild thevalueoforder, coexistence, andharmony forthe future.
Thetopicraised by Franois Carnotwas enough to heat up the whole of Europe.
And his speechthat becamea hottopicwas named Carnots Deration. It was notthat there hadbeen no attempt to unite Europe so far.
Frederick II, theEmperor of theHoly Roman Empire, had proposed theidea of an alliedarmy involvingall European countries to counter the Mongolinvasion, and beforethat, Pope Gregory VIII had issued a seven-yearceasefire in Europe andhad urged all European powerstoform a crusadetoretake Jerusalem.[2]
However, thereason why Carnots Deration wasessentiallydifferent fromthesetwo previous cases was that he was askingtoform a council.
Frederick II and Gregory VIII were motivatedbywars based on grand causeswith Christianvalues, askingfor aEuropeanunityfor thispurpose, but Carnots Deration preached peace, harmony, andfuture values of theEuropeancontinent to preventthe tragedyofwar itself.
JohannWolfgangvon Goethe[3]: The European springthat weve been waitingfor is finallyhere. And of cultureand philosophyfull of logic, order, dialogue and consultation, not a battlefield dotted with guns, ughter, and malice, will unfoldinStrasbourg!
Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz: Ive always thought thatonly extraordinary figureswith great will could block the blood waves flowing in Europe. Weare now livingthe mosthistoricmoment since the birth of theLord Jesus Christ.
Pierre-Paul Prudhon: ProudcitizensofFrance, ourcountry is so great that eventhe title of theGreat is insufficient, sowewill have to findsomething else. If you dont know whattodonow, just shout Vive Sa Majest ! and sing the national anthemofthe Empire.
Antonio Salieri: I reallywant to seethe future of Europethat theEmperor of theEmpire willlead. Im surethe end will shine brightly likethe HolyGrand willbeassweetasNectar, thedivine drink.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: Martin Luthers Ny-five Theses[4]reformedreligion, changedEurope, andchanged theworld. As I listenedtoFranois Carnots speech, I realized that we wereata turning point likethen.
Europesleading celebrities viewedthis holy challenge with an extremely favorablegaze. For those who were immersed in the Enlightenment ideas, human equality, and romanticism, Napoleon andthe French Empirewere saintschallengingthe ideal theyhad onlydreamed of.
In recentyears, the atmosphere of France exudeda strongscentoffreedomand equality, and Napoleonsattitudedeviatedfrom authoritarianism and despotism, respectingcooperationand representation. As a matter of fact, theabovechange lefta deep impressiononrenownedEuropeanphilosophers, artists, andschrs, and Carnots Deration wasits highlight.
So far, no European monarchhad sought coexistence andharmony withinEurope. Butsuch ideas were directly led by thehead of a hegemony countrywho could surpassall neighboring countries with power and influence? It was unimaginable.
When thetime andluck matched and thecountry reached its heyday, the monarch of agreatcountry wasalways immersed in the warofconquest.
That hadbeen thecase forMehmet II, GustavII Adolf, Louis XIV, and evenFrederick the Great, who was praised as an Enlightenmentmonarch.[5]Making the country strong wasonly a means of invasion and conquest, and no one seriouslyconsidered thelivesofunknown, ordinarypeople.
France nowalso hadthe power to trampleonothercountries and to continue itsconquest. The Frenchhad aterrifying force that would scare the entirecontinent as longasthey mobilizedtroops.
Nevertheless, Napoleonand their cabcame up with the bannerofpeaceand harmony, citing thecauseofthemon peoples lives andthe joint development of the continent.
Itwas for this reason that Austrian, Prussian, Russian, and evenBritish celebrities praised Carnots Deration. What was thenoblevalueofthe French Empireunless it was a truerevolution?
On the other hand, monarchs andpoliticianspaid attentiontoFrance froma slightly differentperspective. Theyknew betterthan anyoneelse that there was no goodwill without national interest, andthey hadalready learned the inhumanity, cruelty, andcoldnesscontained in it.
If Napoleon really wantedpermanent peace in Europe, hecouldjust maintain thecurrent state. Sacrifice the overall purposefor aillusoryideal? It was somethingthat could never happen.
It mustbea y to showoff the power of theEmpire and theEmperor himself.
I think its intended to unite friendly forces beforethe war against Britain.
It is presumed to be a disguised offensive, talkingaboutpeaceinthe front and preparingfor war in theback.
Foreign ministries of eachcountry naturallydoubted Frances intentions while making these predictions. Intelligence organizationsoperating inside Francewere eager to obtainadditional information.
European monarchs andrulers struggled to grasp Napoleons trueintentions beforedecidingtoparticipateinthe Strasbourgbanquet.
Soon after, as announced, invitations arrivedfrom theBonaparte imperial family to leaders of eachcountry. The moment of decision hadarrived.
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The invitations sentbyFrance could bergelydivided into three categories. The first wassent to Frances satellitestates.
Napoleon sentthem an invitation assuming thatthey would naturallyparticipate. It included requests on how to help the imperial event at theStrasbourg banquet.
The secondwas senttoneutral countriesthat hadlittle to do withFrance. Theinvitation included howthe participationofthe talks would return to their national interestsand how it would affectthe supportofcitizensinthe currentsystem.
It could resemble asolicitation to attractcustomers, butitwas certainly attractive for them. Theproblem wasthe invitationsent to Frances formal allies.
Thisisabsolutely tyrannical and rude! Its an insult to thespirit of Brandenburg, where theGreatPrince (FriedrichWilhelm) stoodupright on thnd, thats whatIm saying!
Whatkind of vulgarwordsare those inside of HisMajestys pce? Watchyour words andactions, Prince of Wahlstatt!
If you hadtrulyassistedHis Majestyand the kingdom correctly, I wouldnt have toethis far!
The manroaring wasGebhard Leberechtvon Blcher[6], with grayhair anda redface. The possible emergence of a European Councilhad caused theover 70-year-old mantojump up andrun to the BerlinPce.
His reckless demeanor wasunhindered even in the pcehall (even if theking hadnot yet entered). Therewas no one to stop him because of his age, career, militaryrank, whichwas the best in the Prussian army, andbecause he wasstronglysupported by the main influential figures.
His Majesty is entering. Everyone, please showcourtesy.
Withthe announce of aservant, Friedrich WilhelmIII[7]appeared witha face thatcouldnot hidehis tiredness. Heentered thehall, sat on the throne, and openedhis mouth.
Prussia is in trouble, itstime forthe wit andwisdom of the ministers.
The court meeting was about to begin after theking appeared.
Im sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty. TheViscountofBuckingham (the Britishambassador) askedfor the permission to enter.
Your Majesty! TheCountofBoulogne(the Frenchambassador) isalso waiting at the entrance of thehall to meet YourMajesty.
Friedrich WilhelmIIIsface wasfilled withannoyance.
TL notes
[1]ConferenceofDresden
[2]Frederick II,Pope GregoryVIII
[3]Johann Wolfgang vonGoethe,Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz,Pierre-PaulPrudhon,AntonioSalieri,Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
[4]Martin Luther:Ny-fiveTheses
[5]Mehmed the Conqueror,GustavusAdolphus,Louis XIV,Frederick theGreat
[6]GebhardLeberecht von Blcher
[7]Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia