Fox of France

What Talleyrand is worried about is that some people in the French army, such as Marshal Berthier, and Marshal Soult, who just seized the last chance to win the title of Marshal in Ireland not long ago, are said to have the intention to turn to politics . To be honest, if Napoleon's opinion is not taken into account, they actually have an advantage over Talleyrand. Although they have no political experience at all, they all carry the halo of war heroes, and they are from the army, and the French generally trust the army very much.

In addition, these two people do not have those messy scandals. Compared with Talleyrand, the reputation of these two people is much more innocent.

But for them, Talleyrand was not particularly worried, because he knew that Napoleon was a guy full of vanity and desire for power. He abdicated in order to make himself a saint, but this does not mean that he is really willing to give up power. He felt that Napoleon probably planned to hide behind the scenes and continue to manipulate the situation. Moreover, Napoleon did have such power. Whether it is the French people or the French army, it can be said that no one except Bonaparte recognizes it. No matter who it is, even if he has already taken the first position in power, as long as his performance dissatisfies Napoleon, he can get that guy to step down with just a hint.

"So, whoever takes this position can only be a puppet. In the Ministry of Public Security, at least I have the final say on everything. Even Napoleon rarely interferes with the affairs of the Ministry of Public Security. But if I go to be the No. Once in power, the Ministry of Public Security, which is almost completely autonomous, will be handed over, and I will become a puppet who has no decision-making power in major matters. Am I someone who would do such a stupid thing?"

In the Ministry of Public Security, Fouché is also discussing this matter with his subordinates. Several subordinates were somewhat disappointed that Fouché did not intend to "go further".

"Maybe I will seek this position in the future, but not now." Fouche said.

Indeed, he was not like Talleyrand. Talleyrand cannot be without money, and Fouché cannot be without power.

Of course, Talleyrand knew that as the first consul, he did not necessarily expand his power much, but there were many ways to make money—Napoleon would only control major events, as long as he grasped Proper, the first ruling is still promising.

Therefore, in the end, as everyone expected, after Napoleon officially announced his withdrawal from the next first ruling election, Talleyrand, who received Napoleon's support, successfully became the next first ruling. The last bill proposed by Napoleon as the first consul was successfully passed: the bill prohibiting anyone from serving more than two consecutive terms.

After Talleyrand took over as the first ruling, the first bill proposed by the State Council was to build a large-scale construction project in Paris.

"In recognition of my predecessor, the eternal leader of the French people, the eternal first ruler, the greatest commander in French history, the greatest thinker, revolutionist, statesman, military strategist, scholar, the great French Republic and the invincible The founder and commander of the French army, the guardian of peace and order in France and Europe, the embodiment of the French spirit, the great achievements of Napoleon Bonaparte's first administration, I suggest that we should erect a wonder of the world for him —on the site of the demolished Bastille. Don’t you think so?”

If you ask the French parliamentarians whether they approve of this kind of thing, then of course they agree. Of course, members of parliament still questioned Talleyrand's plan.

"Talleyrand is in power, where is your design? Can you show us?" a member of parliament shouted.

Although Talleyrand's position is the first consul, everyone, including various newspapers, intentionally or unintentionally removed the modifier "first" when calling him. Even Talleyrand himself is like this. For example, when he took the oath of office, he pronounced the word "first". Perhaps in the whole of France today, only Napoleon would call him "the first ruler".

"That's right, Talleyrand is in power. We don't doubt your sincerity, but we don't think highly of your aesthetic level." When not facing Napoleon, the MPs generally became more joking.

But Talleyrand will not be angry because of this. Instead, he replied with a smile: "On this point, we have reached an agreement. So I have no design plan, yes, at least not yet. I don't think it is mine. The matter is not a matter of the French government, it is a matter of the whole of France, and even the whole of Europe. Therefore, my plan is to first solicit proposals from the whole of France, and even the whole of Europe, and then the parliament and the government will jointly organize a committee to conduct a preliminary review , After passing the preliminary review, it will be sent to the Academy of Sciences for review, and the Academy of Sciences will give the final candidate plan, and then pass a parliamentary vote to make a democratic decision. I don’t think anyone intends to doubt the aesthetic level of the French Academy of Sciences, right?”

So everyone laughed together.

Then the motion was passed unanimously, as if the motion had been proposed by Napoleon himself.

So after Napoleon resigned, there was another round of frenzy in Europe. From the whole of Europe, and even the whole world, from Mexico to St. Petersburg, almost all people with a little education were talking about this matter. Many people—regardless of whether they have received an education in architecture—joined in the design of this wonder of the world, and then snowflakes of design proposals were sent to the "Paris New Landmark Organizing Committee" in Paris, and then, They are packed in batches and sent directly to paper mills for pulping and recycling. If it was faster, those participants might have had time to recycle the paper a few times.

In fact, even Napoleon himself, in an anonymous way, used descriptive geometry to describe a magnificent Romanesque temple building. Napoleon felt that, depending on his own level, this design could enter the re-selection stage no matter what. Then, this design, perhaps not even opened by anyone, was packaged and sent to papermaking—who made you anonymous?

As for Napoleon, he couldn't make a sound yet, because if some bastard knew about this scandal, he would definitely use it to laugh at him for the rest of his life. Well, not only that bastard, but also that bastard Lucien must be like this. Napoleon thought and thought, and the more he thought about it, the more angry he became, and finally decided that he had already retired anyway and had nothing to do. He would go to Lucien's side tomorrow to find fault, and then scold him to vent his anger.

However, what made Napoleon even more angry was that after the committee finally submitted some plans after the primary election to the French Academy of Sciences, Napoleon actually found a plan that was very similar to his design.

"This, isn't this blatant plagiarism? How could such a thing happen? Can this world get better? I have never seen such a brazen person!" Napoleon was so angry that his hands and feet were cold and his whole body was shaking.

"Napoleon, what's wrong with you?" Joseph, who was also looking at the design plan, noticed that Napoleon's expression was wrong, so he asked.

"It's nothing." Napoleon tried to act nonchalantly.

"Let me take a look?" Joseph said while taking the blueprint in front of Napoleon.

"Well, it was drawn using descriptive geometry." Joseph said, "but this aesthetic taste is really too bad, it is almost comparable to yours. How did this kind of thing get into the re-selection? It must be The primaries were influenced by your downright crappy redneck aesthetic and put it on purpose..."

Listening to Joseph criticizing the drawing without any scruples, and denying himself in fact, Napoleon couldn't help it: "Joseph, you'd better shut up about aesthetic matters. Who doesn't know that you have nothing to do with art? No talent. What else can you do besides draw big eyes? Let you listen to music, you can't even tell the difference between Mozart and Beethoven. My God, the difference between them, a child listens You can tell the difference in a second..."

Joseph was not angry at what Napoleon said, nor did he intend to fight back. Because to be honest, in terms of artistic accomplishment, or in terms of artistic talent, Joseph is really not good-he is just a vulgar guy. Joseph still has some self-knowledge on this point. For example, he once visited the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, but did not cause Stendhal syndrome, which shows that Joseph's artistic cells are actually not so much. It is also the principle Joseph has always followed to never get entangled with others in a field that he is not good at, so Joseph immediately transferred into it.

"Well, so you think this design is not bad? Well, anyway, this building is related to you, so it's what you like. I don't think other people will be any different in this matter Opinion," Joseph said.

"I……"

Napoleon found himself in a dilemma. If he was allowed, Napoleon found it intolerable that the thief who had stolen his own design should have carved his name on the base of this great spectacle, and thus be revered forever.

However, this was Napoleon's own design. If it was rejected by him, it would be like shooting himself. But can you point out that this is plagiarism? After all, I still have the manuscript. But if this is done, the whole of France, the whole of Europe, and even the whole world will know about this matter. And who is the most embarrassing person? Undoubtedly Napoleon. Admiring Xi Rong, bragging about himself, and then—this is simply a perfect buffoon. Therefore, this matter must not be known to others, no matter who it is, especially Lucien and Fouché.

So Napoleon had no choice but to grit his teeth and said: "Although this design is not as bad as Joseph you said, it is not as good as that. Generally speaking, it has certain merits, but overall, it is not enough Design as our spectacle . . . "

"I always thought your attitude was weird," Joseph said.

In the end, Napoleon, who was in a bad mood, chose another plan among other plans, which was a steel obelisk in the style of ancient Egypt with a height of more than 300 meters.

When the obelisk was completed, Napoleon came to the scene in person, and the crowd cheered for Napoleon, but Napoleon seemed a little melancholy. Some people noticed this, so they wrote various stories, some about love, some about morality, and some have something to do with aliens... This has also become a common feature in the literary creation of later generations of France. theme.

In short, since that time, Napoleon has not faded out of people's sight. Although Napoleon is no longer in the political arena, and he rarely speaks about political affairs in France and the world, the political arena is still full of legends about Napoleon. Moreover, Napoleon often appears in various public occasions, such as various charity activities, various art activities, and various scientific activities. Every time he appears, he always wins cheers. It's just that the people used to call him "Your Excellency the First Consul", but now everyone calls him "Our Majesty", because although he is no longer the first Consul of France, he is still the emperor of the whole of Europe.

Fast forward to 1821. In the original history, Napoleon died in this year, but in the time and space of the certificate, Napoleon was alive and kicking, nothing happened, and he ate deliciously. As for Joseph, because of his good living habits, his physical condition is even better than that of Napoleon.

By 1835, the last senior official of the Bonaparte family. Minister of Truth Lucien also left politics. It is said that when he resigned and left, hundreds of people came to see him off, and called out affectionately, "Dear Papa!"

(End of the book)