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The Fox of France - Chapter 492
🕑 Added 2024-04-22 03:37:21 +0000 UTCChapter 492: Special Guest
After the fall of Dublin, the remaining British coastal strongholds in Ireland also retreated quickly. Now, all of Ireland had been liberated. After roughly arranging affairs within Ireland, President Russell prepared to officially establish the Irish government.
As for the form the Irish government should adopt, most members of the Federation agreed to directly copy the French model. That is, to establish a Consulate and then create five parliaments—since France was so advanced, developed, and the people lived so well, it clearly indicated that the French system was superior.
However, Russell had some objections. He felt that in the French system, the First Consul still had too much power, even far exceeding that of the former king. It made sense for the French to do this because it was efficient. Revolutionary France was almost a thorn in the side of reactionary forces throughout Europe, and to defeat the grand alliance of reactionary forces across Europe, a highly efficient system was necessary.
But the situation in Ireland was different now; Ireland was not the center of the world and did not face the same dangers as France had. Now, there was no need to adopt the French-style system for the sake of efficiency.
However, since the Federation practiced democracy, everyone opposed his view, so President Russell, while retaining his own opinion, respected the organization's decision.
Then came various detailed arrangements and some diplomatic matters. First, plans for the founding of the nation were communicated to friendly countries. Nowadays, Ireland's friendly countries were not few. Basically, the countries that had declared war on Britain alongside France were Ireland's de facto allies, and even those that remained neutral were considered friendly countries.
The Federation sent special envoys to these friendly countries to discuss the establishment of diplomatic relations and nation-building.
Meanwhile, in France, Napoleon and his family were discussing how to handle the situation in Ireland.
"Generally speaking, there are four types of allies," Joseph said.
Generally speaking, Joseph provided guidance on political matters only in principle; he was not really skilled in specific operations. In fact, apart from scientific matters, especially in mathematics, Joseph really did not care much about the details.
"How could he be known as 'the infallible Joseph'?" Napoleon had once teased his elder brother. But as much as he teased, Napoleon actually appreciated Joseph's style. It would be unbearable if Joseph meddled in everything, asking about every small matter and specific operation.
"Which four types?" Napoleon asked.
"Let's use four animals as metaphors," Joseph suggested.
"The first type is the pig. We raise and protect it for what? Of course, to kill and eat during festivals. There is a type of 'ally' that, apart from having money and resources, is useless. This type of ally is the pig. For us, they are meant to be killed for meat when necessary."
"Hmm, I know you're talking about Turkey, Northern Italy, Austria, Prussia, and Spain," Napoleon said with a bright smile. These "fat pigs" had allowed France to eat well over the years, benefiting from Austria and Prussia's free labor, resources, and markets, although at great cost to those nations themselves. These once great powers of Europe were not faring well these days.
However, although they were not faring well, the kings or emperors of these countries were still quite secure in their positions. (Austria had already reconciled with the Holy See, which acknowledged that Emperor Fritz had been wronged, but the Roman Emperor's crown could not be returned to him, so he became the Emperor of Austria.) Because, although they sold out and exploited their countries, France absorbed a large amount of labor, and with America's vast land accommodating many immigrants, the people's lives were not too bad, preventing major unrest due to the reduced number of young people.
"The second type of animal is the ox," Joseph continued. "For us, these countries are our core allies. We protect them, and they work hard to support our cause. They are beneficial and indispensable parts of our industrial chain, playing a very important role in our economy. Their economies are fully integrated with ours, almost as if they are part of the empire."
"I know, you're referring to the Rhine Confederation, the Netherlands, and Northern Italy," Napoleon said.
"These countries now share our fortunes and misfortunes. We must take care of them and protect their interests, which is to protect our interests, because..."
"Because in fact, these countries' big capital is our periphery," Lucien interjected.
"Oxen and pigs are different; it's better to keep them working than to kill them for meat. Of course, in the extreme case of a great famine, when there's nothing to eat even for tomorrow, let alone next year, we can't care so much. I hope we never encounter such times in our lifetime," Joseph continued.
"You mean, our descendants might encounter such times?" Lucien asked.
"Ah, there are no
permanent empires in the world," Napoleon replied. "Just like the stock market, no stock can rise forever; it will crash at some point, perhaps several times within a week."
"The third type of ally is the dog. These countries offer limited economic help to us; killing them wouldn't yield much meat. But they have a significant advantage—they can bite. As long as we support them from behind, they can bleed on our behalf and hold back the enemy's forces, like hunting dogs in a hunt, playing a key role in eliminating the prey. But now the question is, what do we do with the hunting dog if the prey is dead?"
"I know who you're referring to—the Irish. But the prey isn't dead yet. As for after the prey dies—England isn't that easy to kill; it's always a threat, and keeping Ireland can always be used to suppress England. Besides, what else can they do in Ireland besides grow potatoes? There's hardly any meat there, and you can't even eat their heads."
"The final type of ally is the wolf. They are only temporarily on the same path as us, but more importantly, they have their own ambitions and may compete with us for interests in the future. Like..."
"Like the United States," Napoleon said. "But now, the Americans don't have much room for development. To the west is our Louisiana, and soon to the north will be our Quebec. But it's still best to find a way to dismantle it to secure our interests."
"What about Russia?" Lucien asked.
"Russia, ah, Russia is unlike any of these countries," Joseph said. "Russia is not our ally right now, nor is it our enemy... Well, they're barbarians at the moment. Looking long term, Russia has vast territory, abundant resources, and a large population, naturally making it a strong nation. However, they have many internal nationalities, which is a weakness that can be exploited."
After such strategic research, the focus shifted to how to handle the issue of Ireland's nation-building. Ireland's envoy had already arrived in Paris and had visited Napoleon and Joseph to discuss the founding of the nation.
Joseph and Napoleon naturally expressed their support for Ireland's nation-building. The issue now was what protocol France should follow in attending Ireland's founding ceremony. According to the Irish, they were very keen to invite Joseph to attend their founding ceremony and to give a speech on behalf of the advanced countries of Europe at Ireland's founding ceremony.
Joseph demurred, saying, "You're asking a retired general, a scientist, to go to a political event and give a speech?"
Since Joseph was not a member of the Federation, the envoy couldn't tell him, "This is the organization's decision." So, the envoy turned to his student, Carroll. Carroll was a member of the organization, even a nominal member of the Central Committee.
The envoy approached Carroll, saying, "Carroll, the organization has a glorious and arduous task for you."
Carroll laughed upon hearing this: "Jiminy, you want me to persuade my teacher to attend the founding ceremony, right? Well, that's not easy. You don't understand my teacher's character. He really doesn't like to show his face in public. It's strange, isn't it? After all, he's been a general, and he's given speeches to the soldiers more than once, and he's taught many people in various classrooms. He's never been the type to blush and be at a loss for words. But indeed, he doesn't like standing in front of a large crowd. Just like on his defensive positions, normally, you can't see anyone there. However, I can try my best."
With Carroll's persuasion, and then Napoleon also indicating that since Ireland was still a very useful dog, Joseph might as well make the trip. So Joseph had to agree, although reluctantly, that although he didn't like to do these things, as long as it was beneficial to the nation, it was right for an individual to make some sacrifices. Where could he refuse because he was afraid of getting seasick? But, he warned, "Don't mess around in the Academy of Sciences while I'm gone!"
To this, Napoleon expressed his displeasure: "You tyrant of the Academy, the academicians have long suffered under Joseph. But even if you're not there, not many dare to follow my lead and mess around."
Considering that the British Navy still maintained a presence at sea and was often active, Napoleon dispatched the battleship "Caesar," as well as the super cruisers "Free Trade" and "Common Market" which had hurried back from North America, along with two armored cruisers named to participate in the naval review at Ireland's founding ceremony, more importantly, to ensure Joseph's safety along the way.
Speaking of the British Navy, it indeed embodied a fearless spirit. Even under such adverse circumstances, they were still striving. At this point, the British Navy was unable to guarantee
its control of the seas, so their operational objective had become to disrupt the sea control of other modern navies.
For this purpose, the British had boldly modified their cruisers. They realized that for a considerable future period, their success or failure depended entirely on the ships' high speed. So they stripped the armor from the cruisers, retaining it only around the boilers and munitions stores. That is, the British adopted a bare running approach to increase speed, targeting various sea targets besides modern warships in Europe.
After stripping off the armor, the ships were much lighter, making British cruisers faster than their French counterparts for the first time since the age of sail. And their approach of running bare also achieved another unexpected effect.
Just a few evenings ago, a British cruiser, while attacking Dutch merchant ships, encountered an old-fashioned armored cruiser from the Rhine Confederation in a thick fog at sea. At that time, the British were controlling the captured merchant ship, and a thick fog had risen at sea. Then the two warships suddenly encountered each other at a very close distance of only about three hundred meters. A brief and intense exchange of fire ensued, and the Rhine Confederation's armored cruiser was severely damaged; had it not been for the cover of the fog, it might have been sunk by the British warship.
The British cruiser also took more than a dozen cannon shots. But there was a serious problem with these cannonballs—they overpenetrated. Because there was basically no armor on the British cruiser, the armor-piercing shells, after hitting the British cruiser, generally just passed straight from the port to the starboard side, punching the cruiser full of holes. But not a single one exploded successfully.
Because the fog was so thick, the sailors of the Rhine Confederation couldn't see that their shells had overpenetrated. As a result, their explanation became that at such a close distance, they should have hit the opponent with many shells, but all these shells were blocked by the armor of the British cruiser.
This news even fooled the French. For a time, the French really believed that the British had achieved some technological breakthrough, making their warships not only faster than the French but even stronger in defense. As a result, Admiral Treveil specifically ordered French warships to avoid engaging British warships without a numerical advantage.
And the British, knowing full well that their warships were completely bare running, issued a similar order, resulting in the French still believing that the British had new armor technology.
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