The Generals

‘Easier said than done,’ Fouche muttered.

Talleyrand turned to him with a faintly amused expression. ‘You surprise me, citizen. I had thought you and your agents have had commendable success in your efforts to undermine and slander the opponents of the consulate. I merely wish to imitate your methods on the diplomatic stage.’

As Fouche frowned Napoleon struggled to hide a smile and nodded to the foreign minister. ‘Go on.’

‘We must move quickly, while the example of Marengo is fresh in the minds of the rulers of Europe. Spain is weak, and will bow to pressure to return to France the territories she seized in North America. She is also concerned about English rivalry in the Americas and the Pacific ocean.We might yet persuade King Carlos to join us in the war against England. Prussia has no desire to echo the Austrian defeats and, in any case, they are rivals for control over the German principalities. The Tsar of Russia is furious about England’s claiming the right to search all ships at sea. My agents in St Petersburg say that Tsar Paul is even now trying to coax the Prussians into a joint war against England for that reason alone. Even America is losing patience with the Royal Navy’s interference with their shipping. Of course, while England is allied with Austria, that means the Tsar will be obliged to fight Austria as well. So, as you can see, the international situation is replete with advantages for us to seize.’ Talleyrand clasped his hands together. ‘If we can make peace with Austria, and put our efforts into diplomacy, then we can isolate England. In time she will be forced to accept peace on our terms.’

‘You make it sound easy,’ Napoleon remarked.

‘I did not say it would be easy, Citizen Consul. But it will work.’

Napoleon nodded thoughtfully. Talleyrand’s advice made sense. And his scheme had the virtue of granting Napoleon time to reorganise and rebuild France’s exhausted armies for when they were needed again - as he had no doubt they would be. Until England was utterly crushed, any peace treaty would be little more than a breathing space before the struggle continued. But France desperately needed a period of peace. The mood of the public earlier that day was eloquent proof of that, and Napoleon’s mind turned from the wider sphere to the more immediate problems within France’s borders.

‘Very well, Talleyrand. Do all that you can to isolate England. That is the goal of our foreign policy from here on, and every other consideration is subordinate to that aim. Clear?’

‘Yes, Citizen Consul.’

‘Good. Then while our diplomats do their work abroad, we shall provide proof of our desire for peace here in France.We will make a new nation. We will consolidate the gains of the revolution so that our enemies see the futility of their desire to restore the Bourbons and all that they stand for. And we must convince our people that they have a stake in the future of France. All our people.’

‘What do you mean by all?’ asked Lucien.

‘I mean that we cannot succeed unless we resolve those issues that divide the French people.’

Lucien stirred uncomfortably. ‘There are good reasons why the people are divided, brother. Class, religion and politics are the very stuff of society. And there are those who are for the revolution and those who are against. It is our duty to see that the latter are suppressed and eventually eradicated.’

Napoleon sighed. ‘Can’t you see? That will never happen. As long as we drive people into the ranks of those who oppose us, France will never be at peace with itself. The process of revolution will never end. We will always see enemies about us, and be locked into one bloody purge after another.’

‘Then what are you saying?’ Lucien asked suspiciously.

Napoleon stared at him for a moment before replying. ‘Perhaps it is time that the revolution came to an end. Perhaps it is time that we embraced those who opposed the revolution.’

‘We once called them enemies of the people.’

‘But they are the people,’ Napoleon countered earnestly.‘They always were, even when the Committee of Public Safety was drawing a line between those who supported the revolution and those who opposed it. That was the Committee’s mistake. There was hardly a peasant in the land who was not a revolutionary, until the Committee turned their sights on the church. The moment they began to attack the priests, they drove a wedge between their own supporters. It is the same with the nobility. Many of them were radicals, yet because of their birth they were branded enemies of the people.’ Napoleon uttered the last phrase with contempt. ‘It was the same in Corsica, Lucien. You remember how our people embraced the revolution? You recall those times at the Jacobin club in Ajaccio?’

‘I remember.’

Napoleon smiled. ‘Every one of us was a fervent radical . . . until the French government decided to suppress our Corsican identity. They lost Corsica because they did not embrace us as Corsicans. Such a little thing, and yet, people being people, there was a conflict where there never should have been one.That was the great mistake. That is what we must resolve.’

Lucien shrugged.‘How? There has been too much blood shed for people to even imagine resolving their differences.’

Napoleon knew that Lucien was right. But unless they tried to draw the French people back together their foreign enemies would not be able to resist exploiting the issues of religion and class that divided France. As long as there were emigres who claimed to speak on behalf of the downtrodden church and nobility, then France would be at war with itself even as it was at war with other nations.That must end, Napoleon decided firmly, before France devoured itself and left England gloating over the ravaged carcass of its longtime enemy.

‘So, then, what do you propose, Napoleon? An amnesty for the priests and aristos?’

Napoleon took a deep breath. ‘I propose that we abolish the laws proscribing the nobles and allow them to return to France. Furthermore, we return their property to them.’

‘Not the land already in the hands of the peasants, surely? If we did that there’d be another revolution. One we’d not survive.’

‘Very well,’ Napoleon conceded.‘We return as much property as we can. And one other thing. We must make a treaty with the Church of Rome.’

‘What kind of treaty?’

‘We have to restore the church in France.’

‘Are you mad, brother? After all that the church has done to the common people over the centuries? After all the money it has taken from their purses? After all the food it has taken from their mouths? The radicals would not stand for it. In case you hadn’t noticed, most of those radicals happen to be in the army. Are you prepared to put their loyalty to the test?’

‘No.That is why any such treaty must be negotiated in secret. And the church must be subordinate to the state. The common people can have their religion, they can have their Catholic church, as long as it is controlled by us, and not by Rome.’

‘Forgive me, First Consul,’ Fouche said quietly, ‘but your brother is right - my agents keep me briefed on the feeling amongst the soldiers. It is too dangerous to even attempt it.’

‘It is too dangerous not to,’ Napoleon replied. ‘We need the common people behind us.We need to deny them any reason to offer their loyalty to our enemies. Besides, soldiers forget their politics the moment they march off to war.’

Talleyrand stirred. ‘That sounds like an argument for making war.’

‘Not this time.’ Napoleon reflected for a moment. ‘But war does serve a purpose as much within a society as without.’

‘Until a society grows weary of it. As weary as France is now.’

‘We’ll know if that’s true soon enough,’ Napoleon concluded. ‘In the meantime we must deal with Austria. If they play their game as they did before they will drag the negotiations out for as long as possible while they prepare to renew the fight. In which case there will be more war, whether our people like it or not. It is your job, Fouche, to silence those we cannot win round.’

‘I will see to it,’ Fouche replied evenly.

‘Good.’ Napoleon nodded. Fouche’s slightly reptilian features unnerved him. Napoleon had no doubt that the Minister of the Interior would use any measure needed to suppress opposition to the new order. It was regrettable, thought Napoleon, but the need for repressive action had been forced on him by the enemies of France. Political freedom was a luxury at the best of times. Besides, what did the common peasant or soldier in the ranks really care about such refined notions as a free press? As long as they were fed and entertained then they were content. And, better still, they could be counted on to support Napoleon against the lawyers, philosophers and radicals who