Napoleon in 1812 -
Chapter 97:
17. The Great – 3
At first glance, the full-bodymirror in front of him lookednormal. However, it wasdecorated witha silvertray carvedbyJean-Baptiste Lemoyne, themost famoussculptorofthe first halfofthe 18thcentury in France.
It could be said to be avery expensiveand meaningfulrelic, enough to light theeyes of vain and extravagant European aristocrats if it wasonthe market.
Napoleon, standing in front of themost expensivemirror in the TuileriesPalace, lookedathimself in themost luxuriousway. He recalled thepast.
After the BattleofHrodna, he hadput on his uniform to go to the end-of-war negotiations with Russia, and had stood in front of a full-length mirror as he wasdoingnow.
The well-maintained middle-aged manhad disappeared, anda penguin witha body withouta singlemuscle and only abelly(witha slightly stripped head) hadbeen showing in ablurry look.
Howembarrassing and shameful haditbeen?
Napoleon had been veryfrustrated. Even on hisway backtoParisaftersigning theagreement, he felt thathis internal condition wasmore serious thanhis uglyand pathetic appearance.
Chronic stomachpain, cough, fever, difficulty breathing… even skindiseasesbotheredhim. He hada bitofeverything.
Napoleon had started taking care of his body in earnestwith a strong feeling thathewouldnot lastlong if he just lived likethis.
Despitethe concerns of people aroundhim, he continuedregular high-intensity exercise, strict dietmanagement, and regularlife under close consultationwith hisfamily doctors.
With afirm determination to get outofthis unrecoverable body, he clenched his teeth andpersevered.
Fouryearshad passed since then. Napoleon, who worked so hard thathewas evenadmired by hismarshals, was able to regain hispast appearance and health. A happysmilewas drawn on his face lookinginthe mirror.
“As expected, this is my body. ButI couldn’t completely erase the storm of time.”
His body, which wasmoderately thin, with almost no fatand withelastic muscles, wasexactly what Napoleon had beforemoving overtothis world.
Thincheeks, prominentcheekbones, and prominent eyelids. It wasNapoleonBonaparte’sbeautiful facethat hadbeen hiddeninthe flesh.
Many peopleargued that‘Napoleon has changed’, but behind that claim, such achanged appearance musthave playeda bigrole. Nothing stood outasmuch as an outward change.
Napoleon’ssideburns, as he was48 yearsold now andclearly middle-aged, were more grayishthan before.
It wasasifproving that the passage of timecouldnot be deviated. He wassoimpressed withthe way he took specialcare of hisbody that he did notlowerhis headany more.
After combing his hair well, he could see a middle-aged man in a veryaristocratic atmosphereinfrontofthe mirror. Asexpected, aman’sappearance washis confidence. He was very satisfied.
“Your Majesty’s speechatthe Louvre Palaceisresonating with the media, salons, andsquares. Most of them agree withthe values andrights asserted by YourMajesty. Public opinioninareaswherethe poorlive is also verygood. They believe in YourMajesty’s promiseand are waiting for follow-uppolicies. If we providea support planfor thisassoon as possible, theirsupport forYour Majesty willbeeven stronger…”
Baron Fain, his secretary, followed Napoleon as he was changing hisclothes, and detailed the reactionstohis lastspeech. Theimpact was notsubsiding overtime. Napoleonwas calm, but he seemedmore excited. Or maybe he felt sympathy for thepolicy.
Therehad beenseveral discussions in Paris, Washington, and Berlin in thepast on thebasicrights thatpeople would receiveintheirlives. In the UnitedKingdom, itwas alsoa point that candidateshad always spokenout to attractvoters at every election season.
However, the Emperor of the Empire, who wasexercising absolute power, had never donesodirectlyinfrontofthe Parliamentand the press.
It was natural to feela differentlevelofweight thanbefore.
“Baron, I think we can proceed alittle slowly on that matter.”
“Yes?”
“It means we don’t have to fly toohigh like the wings of Icarus.”
“…Yes, I will takeyour order, Your Majesty.”
Baron Fain, who sawthrough Napoleon’s intentions, immediately changedhis complexionand did notbringupthe lastspeech. As expected, hewas aquick-witted and agile man.
‘Thereisnodoubtaboutmyloyalty to Franceand affection forthe people. But I must still putupboundaries.’
Toomuch wasjust as badastoo little. Just as excessivekindnesscouldbea nuisance, running state affairs in the ruler’s position required moresophisticated hasty control thanleading thearmy in war.
Investment in social facilities, support for thepoor, the vulnerable, and even the working class, of course, was necessaryand should be done someday.
It wasdifficult to finda betterway to be popularand praisedbyeach class of society, so it wasalso suitable forgathering national support. But theproblem wasthat peoplequickly getused to therighttoreceive anddid not easilyknow satisfaction.
‘Once youraisethe level of social welfare, youcannot lower it again. There is a limit to the amountofgoodsthat canbeprovided, and it is notpossibletodevote everythingonly to ‘support’.’
Now the economy of the Empirewas rising at a steep pace. In addition, thestructure of the industry andthe classesofcivilsociety were changing rapidly. There was a needtomaintainthe upward trend forthe timebeing…
To do so, they should avoid investingtoo muchmoneyinsocial welfare. The most important thing nowwas the growthofthe national economyand the expansionofthe middle class. Inotherwords, the expansionofsocial welfarecouldbesaid to be a goodsmokescreen.
Nevertheless, there wasa reasonwhy Napoleon spoke about the welfare of the poor. It wastoencourage themtolive life in arapidly changing society, where thegap betweenthe richand the poor was graduallywidening.
To alleviatethe relative deprivation theywouldfeel more coldly andtoprevent them fromrevealing anti-government tendencies, support for them would proceedslowly, while narrowly keeping the line where their complaintswouldnot burst.
‘Overcomingthe system must be transferred peacefullyina state of my will and socialconsensus at eachclass. Until then… I’m sorry, butbig supportisdifficult.’
To achievewhat he thought was an absolute proposition, Napoleondemonstrated his shady politicalpower. Every timehedid this, he realized thathewas never agood man.
Thesituation in the country had improved a lot, but nevertheless, allocating limited resources wasstilla difficultproblem.
===
“You’re here, YourMajesty.”
“You looksogracioustoday, my Lady.”
“Hoh, I’m morehonored to hear acompliment from ahero like His Majesty.”
Charles’ nanny, Mrs. Montesquiou, covered her mouth andlaughed. They hadbecome close as theywent back and forth to Charles’ palacea lot, and nowthey could even exchange light jokes.
“His Highness is takingfencing andsaberswordsmanship lessons.”
“At thesame place as usual?”
Mrs. Montesquiou nodded, and Napoleon headed to theterrace. Underthe terraceoverlookingthe artificiallake of theTuileries Palace, a platinum blondeboy was competingwith a man with apracticesword.
Hisswiftappearance while movingback andforthina straight line was characteristic of children of hisage.
However, nomatter how hard Charlestried, it was impossible for himtogive a blowtothe man in front of him.
He wasfacing Baron Debelle[1], who wasone of the best swordsmen in theimperialcourt. Unless Charles was a genius of swordsmanship, whoonly appeared once in athousandyears, it was impossible for theboy who wasonly sixyearsold to stabthe Baron.
“YourHighness’ skills aregrowing daybyday! Butyou needtoadjust yourfeet a little more, andthen relax your wrist! Come on again!”
Baron Debellespared no advice to improve Charles’ sword skills. Following his words, Charles moved busilyand showed bettermovements thanbefore. Napoleon lookedpleased at thescene.
“I’m veryworried about theacademicteachingfor His Highness theCrownPrince. HisMajesty’s orders forguidanceare too focused on the useofhis body…”
“Charles is still young, soistherea need for himtoalready sufferfrom studying? It’s most important forchildrentogrow up healthy. After that, he canfeed hismind.”
Howmuch hadhefelt nervous withMarie-Louise whenCharles hadfrequentillness when he was younger? These guys did notknow… Healthwas the best. Knowledgecouldbeaccumulatedlater, but if one’s healthwent bad, it would not be possible.
“Wow! Dad!”
Charles, whofinishedexercising, came running withhis sweaty hair shining. Mrs. Montesquiouand the other servants grabbed their foreheads at theprince’sattitudeasheabandoned court etiquette, but Napoleon hugged hisson witha smiling facewithout caring.
“Your fencing skills have improved alot. Andyou gained weight, too!”
“How can I gainweight in two days?”
“Dadknowseverything.”
Napoleon kissedCharles on thecheekwith a bright expression, andwas greetedbyBaronDebelle.
“You’reborn to be a competitorbecause youresembleme, right?”
“That’sright, YourMajesty! Seeing him activelike this and good at learning is likeseeing YourMajesty as a child.”
Baron Debelle, who wasyounger than Napoleon, could notknow Napoleon’s childhood, and he was noteven from Corsica. But Napoleon didnot feelsobad eventhough it was clearly flattery.
“It appearstobethe bestcompliment forCharles.”
It seemedthat Napoleon wasnot the only one feeling good. Charles’ bright smile tickled his ears.
Looking at theclockattachedtothe balcony, there was still quite some timeleft until thestartofhis work. Until then, he should play withCharles. Napoleonwas planning to walkthrough thelake andforest withhis son after a longtime.
“Where is theEmpress?”
“She is welcoming guestsfrom Austria. I was told 30 minutesago thatitwouldbeprolonged.”
At the servant’sreport, Napoleon raisedone eyebrowasifhedid not appreciate it. After winning the Iberian Peninsula War, France held the hegemony of Europeinname andreality.
Potential enemy countriessuch as Austria, Prussia, andSweden stoppedall suspiciousmovements. At first, itlooked likethey were going to lie flat. When the warendedand the situationinEurope stabilized, Austrian diplomats were caught busy moving.
Theywere apparently doing their bestinFrance to remove theharshclauses of theTreaty of Schönbrunn (theagreement signed in 1809 whenAustria lost to France).[2]Marie-Louise wasthe Empressofthe French Empire, but shewas alsoa memberofthe Austrian imperial family.
Napoleon, theImperialCouncil, and the Cabinet wererumored to be stubborn, sothey seemedtohave decided to focus on her somehow.
“Theyare still playingtricks likerats. They think that by doing it thatway, I would not budge.”
Peoplearound him flinched at hiscynical andchilly words. If they wanted to removethe clauses, theycouldput acorresponding price on theotherside of thescale.
Or they could completelyreduce the numberoftroops to showthat they had no will to fight? It didnot lookgood to trytolure Marie-Louisefor their national interests without riskinganything.
“Mypresent forDad!”
Napoleon thoughtthat Charles was playing nearthe lakebecause he could notsee him in front of himfor awhile, but he came backwith something. WhatCharles gave to him, saying it was a gift, was a hardcover book composed of antiqueparchment.
Itwas athickand heavy bookthat wasclearly notsuitablefor Charles… Napoleonread thetitleand burst intolaughter.
TheEmperor andthe Giant
A story of a giant who didnot knowhow hugehis bodywas, woke up, metthe Emperor, and went out into the world.
– Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz.[3]
Two years ago, a lettercame from the great Polishwriter. He wrote that he wanted to model a character in hisnovelafterhim, butNapoleondid not care too much and allowed it.
Hewas fromPoland, France’s true ally, so he was notgoingtomock or disparagehim maliciously. He forgotaboutitafterthat, but the novel must havebeen completedand he senthim alimited edition hardcover.
But this little guytook thebook andgave it to himsaying thatitwas his present?
Athis son’s cuteprank, Napoleon grabbedhis cheek and shook it a little. Even thoughhis white cheek was slightly warmedup, Charlesgrinned at him. Napoleon received the book fromhis son, vowing to readitlaterwhen he hadtime. Itwas aquietafternoon.
TL notes
[1]César Alexandre Debelle
[2]TreatyofSchönbrunn
[3]JulianUrsynNiemcewicz
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