Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 61

10. Defense master, offense genius – 7

‘In that sense, Nabot from here was definitely better than his predecessors. He took a number of effective steps to restore the ruined economy, including building a huge road network around Paris, building high value-added luxury factories, and setting up a central bank.’

However, the problem was that much of the economy depended on plunder, reparations and protections. As a result, when the money fell and the economy stagnated, he had also led troops to invade and rob foreign countries, ripped off compensation, and forced French products to sell.

It was time to root out this fundamental economic climate. Napoleon, who had been reading various documents and reports from the government and ministers, found a secret letter accompanying them.

“Everyone out for a while.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!”

Napoleon opened the secret letter only after they left.

‘Nabot was preparing to mechanize the cotton industry. At least he didn’t have frog eyes that couldn’t read the flow of time.’

Not long ago, Napoleon discovered an industrial complex that Nabot of this world had secretly created and where he operated private organizations.

Spinning machines and textiles using coal and steam engines were being studied and used there, and surprisingly, the machines were so complete that the prototyping stage of cotton products using them was just around the corner. Although there were still troubles with unit prices and errors.

Even officials in the Empire did not notice the existence of these industrial complexes, which were operating on Nabot’s personal property. Only a few of Nabot’s henchmen knew about them. If they had not contacted Napoleon first for reasons such as financing and equipment problems, Napoleon himself would have never even known there was such an industrial complex in his life.

‘Anyway, its existence is good luck for me and France.’

France was already manufacturing cotton textile machinery at the government level, imitating British industrial machines. Although it was going through trial and error, the gap was able to be narrowed quickly as there were already existing models.

The direction and purpose of the two industrial complexes (Napoleon’s industrial complex mass-producing and imitating the British mechanical revolution, and Nabot’s secret industrial complex producing its own French machinery) were clearly different. Nevertheless, facilities, blueprints, and know-how could be fully shared.

Nabot’s secret industrial complex would be absorbed and merged into a government-run industrial complex. The mechanical revolution in France would be born in Paris, which would help a lot.

Napoleon worked hard to foster the cotton and wool industry by gradually revealing ‘Nabot’s Industrial Complex’ in the open. At the same time, the company worked to change the framework of France’s industrial structure.

Cotton fabrics made and run by individuals were bound to lag behind in terms of productivity and efficiency. If those who would be unemployed wandered the streets because of the principle of market competition, it would cause a huge social chaos incomparable to now.

‘But this will completely change the future of France. And ultimately we, France, will replace Britain’s position in the European market.’

Nabot and Napoleon’s propensity, ideas and values differed in many ways, but if there was one thing in common, it was to think that the key to bringing Britain to its knees was the ‘economy’.

In order to bring them down, they had to bring down their economy. In the other world as well, France’s lifelong rival was also England.

“Deliver my letter to the Minister of Industry and Trade. Make sure you report progress on development and mining every 15 days and immediately suggest to the Special Economic Committee advisor (François Carnot) if there is any major change.”

France’s land was, by all accounts, Europe’s richest and most fertile land, but unfortunately, it did not have as much coal reserve as Britain. However, coal mines were abundant in Flanders, Wallonia (now Belgium), Alsace-Lorraine, and Rhineland (now southwest of Germany), which France had annexed through active conquests from the time of the revolutionary government. It was foolish not to take advantage of it.

His letter to Trade Minister Jean-Baptiste Collin de Sussylll was full of locations of coal mines and seams in Flanders, Wallonia, Alsace-Lorraine and Rhineland. The French Empire of this world knew the importance of coal, and therefore developed several mines and mined coal, but in fact, France in the other world was on a different level.

It established a Mining Ministry, established a joint association between sub-national institutions and cooperative associations related to them, and carried out large-scale mining projects through private funds and state funds. France in the other world developed numerous coal mines to form a coal mining village and a bundled economy, and accelerated industrialization by providing the latest road network for direct transport to steel mills and factories.

‘And I was the one who led all this business.’

Naturally, Napoleon knew almost exactly the location and size of the coal mines in France’s territory. It was not difficult for him to pinpoint the locations of mines that had not yet been developed or discovered.

Soon, countless machines and products linked to steam engines would emerge from within France. And the fuel for running these machines would be coal. The development of coal mines would be the driving force behind the French government’s move to the next level of industry without suffering from fuel shortages.

Napoleon took a pencil and a pen instead of a baton, and led the way for the Empire to move forward. Coming out of the barracks after roughly finishing his day’s work, he began to warm up before exercising, twisting his body around.

After sitting in a chair for a long time, he bent his dull and stiff body from side to side, and gently stimulated his joints by slowly turning his ankles and wrists. The Emperor’s attendants had been frightened at first by this bizarre act. Now, they seemed to have gotten used to it, and they only rolled nervous eyes.

While Napoleon was warming up, a sound of restrained gait came from the other side.

“Un (one)! Deux (two)! Trois (three)! Quatre (four)!”

“Un (one)! Deux (two)! Trois (three)! Quatre (four)!”

They were French soldiers who were training around the perimeter of the barracks and training grounds.

Napoleon followed behind them, who were running lightly with the lead officers, without disturbing their ranks. The soldiers who were running smiled as if they were used to it and gave Napoleon a place to enter, and the officers who were leading the training looked as if they could not do anything about it.

That was right. Napoleon voluntarily participated in the regular training of the French soldiers to take care of his messy body.

“Hey, you’re a little slow compared to yesterday. Looks like you secretly ate a jar of German sausages during the night.”

“Your Majesty the Emperor! I was on day guard duty yesterday, so I didn’t participate in the regular training!”

“Hmm… Well, I could be mistaken. You all look alike. Big eyes, big mustache… Even the drooling and sleeping marks.”

“Hahahahaha!”

The soldiers burst into laughter at the sly Emperor’s answer, while running together.

Napoleon naturally blended among the soldiers, exchanging bitter stories or joking around. He showed no sense of authority here. As they approached the training camp, the officers’ training reached its peak. They asked the soldiers for a louder voice and a faster run.

Napoleon stopped talking and shouted chants louder than anyone else, and desperately complied with the demands of the officers. The Emperor of the Empire had taken the initiative and was training so hard, so how could the soldiers slow down?

They clenched their teeth and tightened their feet and legs even though they were tired. The ringing chants grew louder and sand dust thickened the surrounding area.

After the regular training, the bayonet training began. It was to develop one’s ability for hand-to-hand combat by repeating and mastering the key movements that were essential during such fights. Instead of dangerous blades, a wooden model knife was hung on the musket’s barrel.

No matter how effective the training was, the soldiers’ bodies would not be spared if they used actual weapons. And moreover, the Emperor of the Empire was also participating to lose weight (the officers understood that it was an act to promote the unity and loyalty of the soldiers).

“Step!”

The key to bayonet skills, similar to that of fencing, was to keep a distance from the enemy. By repeating movements such as forward, normal walking, lunge (footwork), and turning, the virtual opponent could not stab him, but the soldier could quickly move to a position where he could stab his opponent. It was the most fundamental technique with a bayonet.

“Guard!”

This time, it was like a mixture of épée and spear swordsmanship. It was called a guard, but it was actually the basic posture that infantry took before bayonets charge, and the soldiers would then prepare the attack and defense stages separately at the command of the officer. The front line was usually defending, and the row behind was attacking. At the shouts of officers and non-commissioned officers, they had to hold the bayonet and perform the movements quickly and accurately.

As expected for the French Imperial Army, the intensity of the training was very severe.

Even strong young people were short of breath and sweated endlessly, while carrying heavy weight. Worried eyes turned to him, but Napoleon endured with his own mental strength. He was much better now. It had been so hard when he first started to train with them… he had had difficulty breathing and dizziness.

Napoleon rolled again today, with the determination that he wanted to get rid of this fat as soon as possible.

“Stop moving! These guys… You’ve been completely mesmerized that there hasn’t been a battle in a while! You all need to wake

up!”

“Those who can’t stand this kind of training and flounder do not deserve to wear the uniforms of our great Empire!”

Some soldiers seemed to have made a mistake during guard movements, offending the officers. Of course, if they made a mistake, they would be scolded or yelled at. But Napoleon thought the officers’ anger today seemed a little too much.

Strict and rigid military discipline under a free and open climate, this was the tradition of the French army.

‘Sticks can be better in the short term. In the long run, however, carrots eventually lead to higher efficiency. History has proved it.’

For example, the Prussian army, which had been trained with strict discipline and harsh corporal punishment, was defeated by the French army, which operated under a relatively loose discipline, nonviolence and decoration system.

Napoleon thought that this alone revealed the superiority of one of the two ways of training. In fact, this was true not only in the military, but in all organizations. Organizations with repeated praise, honor and rewards for their performance showed superior productivity than organizations with repeated disciplinary, verbal abuse, and salary cuts whenever the employees failed.

Voluntary will was superior to passive will.

‘Maybe because I’m here, they’re treating failures more harshly than usual. Those who squeeze the people below them to prove their loyalty to me. I’ve seen a lot like them.’

The faces of the soldiers who were yelled at by the officers turned white. Some of them showed discontented eyes. Eventually Napoleon stepped in.

TL notes

[1] Jean-Baptiste Collin de Sussy.