Dominate the Country

Napoleon walked back to the Hotel Langilite with his head buzzing. He didn't know how he got back to his room along the way. His legs seemed to be stepping on piles of cotton. One foot was deep and the other was shallow. There was an ups and downs feeling, as if the earth was soft.

He couldn't hear any sound in his ears, the shouts of people, the braying of horses, random noises...

He didn't plug his ears, but his world was absolutely silent.

Everything was insubstantial except for the packet of Pistol in his pocket.

Napoleon never imagined that when he was desperate, the distant Eastern Empire and the distant Chinese would lend a helping hand to him.

And the reason is just because I am 'their' student.

How is this possible?

Napoleon looked at the gold coins shining brightly in front of him. The number was not many, only thirty. But they said that if you want, you can go to the tavern by the Seine and withdraw five hundred pistoles at any time.

Chen Han's support for Napoleon was very strong.

In terms of money, Napoleon's annual withdrawal limit was 10,000 pistoles.

Don't underestimate this number. In fact, it is a very large number, equivalent to one hundred thousand livres.

40 pistols can allow four nobles and their followers to live a month of daily banquets, and 75 pistols can allow the most picky lord and his followers to spend an impeccable trip to Paris. Travel to and from London.

It can be said that the value of a pistol is no different from that of a pound.

Napoleon's annual 'consumption' amount was 10,000 pounds, which was definitely an astonishing figure.

Without raising a private army, the expenditure of 10,000 pounds was enough for Napoleon to use 'money' to clear the way and assume the position of commander of an army.

You know, the five heads of the Directory in Paris and the people under them are very talented people.

For example, Director Paul Barras was the most powerful figure in the Directory, one of the three main figures who overthrew Robespierre's regime, and became the commander-in-chief of the military and police.

But such a big man is famous for his corruption and bribery and his many mistresses. It can be said that his behavior perfectly reproduces the bad governance of the old Bourbon regime and fully implements the "famous saying" of Pope Leo X: "Because God gave us this job, so let’s enjoy it.”

Napoleon still didn't know that Barras would engage in corruption with suppliers and speculators in the following years, and hold banquets in front of the starving poor people, making him completely infamous. But now, Barras has become a symbol of the corruption and sin of the Directory.

If Napoleon had ten thousand pounds in hand, he would definitely win the favor of Barras, the directorial boss and commander-in-chief of the military and police.

The reason why the Chinese support him is that he is one of their French students with the highest military rank and the most promising investment prospects.

Yes, Napoleon has now encountered a low point in his life, but his military rank has not really been cancelled, and the Chinese believe that his talent is destined to shine brightly in the coming time.

"You don't need to love yourself, you don't even need to bribe anyone."

When Napoleon knew that he had a total of ten thousand pistols at his disposal, the light suddenly bloomed in his eyes, and even his contacts could not look directly at him. Napoleon acted too naive.

But his contact told him that the goods delivered to his door unsolicited will not be cherished by the 'owner', and the icing on the cake is far worse than the help in times of need. As for whether Napoleon would associate this sentence with himself, there is no need to care.

There was no way Napoleon could refuse this yellow hand of friendship.

His family burden and ideal ambitions make him cherish the support from China, even if it is secretly.

Of course, Napoleon also knew that China must have demands from him, but haven't the Chinese said nothing now?

He doesn't have to face this problem yet.

The contact person analyzed the current situation of the Directory in Paris for him. The sources of information of the Office in Europe were far richer than Napoleon who was trapped in Paris, and their vision was more comprehensive: "The Directory represents the big landowners and big assets. class power. After the revolution, the Paris Commune and local revolutionary committees were dissolved, people's organizations and clubs were closed, and various commercial restrictions including price-limiting laws were abolished. The emerging bourgeoisie's activities of speculation, theft of public funds and enrichment were unprecedentedly rampant. stand up.

Banquets, orgies, licentious living and appalling immorality were all the rage.

However, the common people in Paris and many cities are facing hunger and poverty, which are in sharp contrast to the extravagant desires and pleasure-seeking of the bourgeois nouveau riche. "

The Office in Europe does not believe that Parisian civilians with a revolutionary tradition will continue to tolerate it.

"Perhaps it won't be long before the hungry masses march to the National Convention building and break down the door of the Directory. But the troops of the Directory will also carry out a bloody suppression of the hungry masses, and then send many people to the guillotine."

Napoleon subconsciously wanted to refute the contact's point of view, but he opened his mouth wide and finally chose to sink. Because everything the contact said is true and will very likely happen.

The struggle of class interests is far from being as simple as ‘good guys and bad guys’.

Napoleon once heard this sentence in China: Only children can tell right from wrong, adults only look at the pros and cons.

Although this sentence was criticized by newspapers in China, it was in line with Napoleon's three views.

He was no longer a child, he had grown up.

And you have to know that the revolutionary regime also had a big internal worry - the royalists.

Louis XVI was dead, and his son was imprisoned in Temple Prison, but it was not that no one in the Bourbon family escaped from Paris. Later, Louis XVIII lived well.

The European Office had every reason to believe that when the contradictions between the citizens of Paris and the Directory intensified, the royalists would definitely take the opportunity to make a comeback.

They still had a certain foundation in Marseille, Lyon and other regions in southern France. At the same time, the royalists gathered in London, Koblenz, Hamburg, Rome and other places would collude with the anti-French allies. Then the Count of Provence, Louis XVI's brother, was very active.

Of course, the most important thing was that the anti-French allies fought very well on the battlefield in northern Italy.

This is the biggest support of the royalists.

"The Directory has a limited army. When the rebellion of the royalists and the people's resistance broke out in various places, the military and police forces in Paris will definitely be quickly dispatched. That requires capable generals to take command. You still have a lot of opportunities."

Before, the young and vigorous Napoleon thought that it was a humiliation for the Directory to let him go to Vendée to lead the infantry, but now he has no such idea. Two months of poverty and hopelessness wiped out Napoleon's attitude and smoothed his edges.

Among the difficulties Napoleon faced before, poverty was his biggest enemy, but now this problem no longer exists. Not only will his life get better, but the lives of his family in other places will also get better, as well as his loyal friend and subordinate Junot, and everyone's life will get better.

Then, Napoleon can quietly wait for his opportunity, waiting for the moment to shine!

He is still very young, he is only twenty-five years old.

"The Chinese must be craving for something."

Three days later, in a residence that did not look luxurious but was quite comfortable, Napoleon's adjutant, Captain Jean-Antoche Junot, waved his arms and said something loudly.

"Of course. There is no such thing as a free lunch. The Chinese naturally have their own interests." Napoleon was very dissatisfied with the attitude of his friend and adjutant, "But my dear friend, you should not doubt my character. I will not sell out the interests of France. Your attitude hurts me a lot."

Captain Junot, who was wounded twice in the war and had a hot temper and was brave, stopped his arms. He realized at this time that his reaction was a bit excessive and this attitude was indeed very bad.

"I apologize, it's my fault, I was a little impulsive. You know, I am just like this." But 10,000 pistols, this huge fortune came too inexplicably, which made him suspicious.

Napoleon, who was rich, knew how to enjoy life. He bought ten Pistor maps at one time. He no longer had to face a map with countless traces and struggle to find the places he wanted to know.

Napoleon took out a world map from a pile of maps. On the map, the red territory representing China was so huge that it was daunting.

"Look at this map. What benefits can the Chinese get from France?"

"Only America."

France enjoyed huge colonial interests in America, which were mainly divided into two parts, one was Louisiana in North America, and the other was the West Indies in the Caribbean.

But the "benefits" that the Chinese might ask for would only be Louisiana, which was huge in area but had little French interest, rather than the West Indies, where the interests of various countries intersected with each other.

Napoleon didn't know the "grand aspirations" of the Chinese emperor. So, at this time, he only thought about Louisiana.

Junot calmed down completely. Looking at the world map in front of him, he had to admit that the Chinese's interest in France was at most Louisiana.

Although it was indeed a rich colony, it was unfortunately surrounded by "enemies" on all sides.

To the east was the newly established America, to the north were the British, the old enemies of France, and to the south were the Chinese and Spanish. Who made the French cede the estuary to Spain, and Spain lost to China?

So the Mississippi River estuary belonged to China, and a vassal state of China was established there. It was definitely Chinese territory.

After the Seven Years' War, Florida, which was exchanged by the Spanish for Havana, was given to the Spanish by the Americans in return after the American War of Independence, and is still controlled by Spain. And the Kingdom of Spain today is also an enemy of France.

So, Louisiana is big, but in a sense, it is an "enclave".

So, among the French today, there are really few people who really take Louisiana seriously.

In history, Napoleon formally signed an agreement with the Spanish in 1800 and took back part of Louisiana - the southern coastal area owned by Spain.

Spain assigned the Spanish Louisiana region to Napoleon in exchange for Napoleon's support for Spain in Europe. After the signing of this treaty, although Spain did not immediately transfer Louisiana to French management, the contents of the treaty were leaked, which caused concerns among people from all walks of life in the United States, especially President Jefferson at the time, who was very worried that France would use the opportunity to control the Louisiana region to expand France's influence in North America.

Because the West and the United States had reached an agreement before, the Americans returned Florida to Spain in exchange for the Spanish's promise to open the Mississippi River and New Orleans to them. Guaranteed that the United States could use the Port of New Orleans as an export base. Then, New Orleans became an important port for the United States to export agricultural products, and its status has always been very important.

But now the world pattern has changed, and Chen Han's sudden appearance has turned New Orleans into Chinese land. In order to allow themselves to take advantage of the favorable transportation conditions of the Mississippi River, the Americans can only come to beg China. Chen Ming also wanted to take the opportunity to understand the newly established America, so he allowed the Americans to have the right to navigate the Mississippi River without paying too much, and guaranteed the opening of the Port of New Orleans to America.

In history, the United States was a potential threat to France in North America, and there was once a strong public opinion in the country that was willing to go to war with France.

The beacon country, which was based on interests, completely forgot the help France had given them.

That is, Jefferson preferred a peaceful solution, which led to the birth of the largest land purchase case in American history - the Louisiana Purchase.

At that time, many Americans opposed the transaction, and the total transaction amount of 15 million US dollars was far beyond the financial capacity of the United States at that time.

However, the area of ​​the entire Louisiana exceeded 2 million square kilometers. The United States successfully purchased the entire Louisiana region at a price of 7 US dollars per square kilometer, which can be called the most cost-effective transaction in world history.

After the United States purchased French Louisiana, it expanded its territory from the Atlantic coast to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. The entire land purchase area is almost a quarter of the current US territory.

The reason why such a land purchase was achieved was that Napoleon's strategic intention had indeed changed. After defeating the Second Anti-French Alliance, Napoleon's original wish was to make peace with Britain in Europe and expand his territory in the Caribbean and North America, but the French military operations in Haiti have not been smooth, and by 1803, the conflict of interests between France and Britain was almost irreconcilable. Therefore, Napoleon decided to abandon the idea of ​​establishing a sphere of influence in the Western Hemisphere and concentrate on dealing with Britain. Under such circumstances, Napoleon, despite the opposition of his relatives, friends and foreign ministers, proposed a plan to sell the entire Louisiana to the United States for $15 million.

It can be said that Napoleon, who is in such a position now, really does not regard French Louisiana as important. He did not dare to believe that he would dominate the whole of France in five years.

He believed that the Chinese investment in him was at most a word in the future.

Napoleon, who had not yet considered himself in the interests of France as a whole, was of course happy to use his words in the future to exchange for the strong support of the Chinese in his most difficult period.

Not to mention how important his words were, Napoleon, who only limited his identity to a "general", knew very well the weight of a military general in Paris.

Even if he became the commander of the Italian Corps, he was just average in Paris.

Junot waved his arms, and his emotions became excited again, "Louisiana has no necessary interests for the Republic. On the contrary, that piece of land blocked America in the west and the Chinese in the east. If it can be thrown away, as long as there is a suitable compensation, France can fully accept it..."