Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

The ambitious Murat was only fighting for his own interests, and his declaration in Rimini was also intended to destabilize the situation in Italy.

However, he overlooked the fact that although Eugène was loyal to Napoleon and always acted fairly, there was always a problem.

That was Murat and Carolina, a couple who had always had a strained relationship with Josephine and were always the ones who would cause trouble within the family.

Therefore, Eugène also had a lot of opinions about them. Even though he wrote to Napoleon to say that the emperor was still the king of Italy, he did not express support for Murat's actions.

Napoleon was well aware of this, and Eugène and Murat, in fact, posed a greater threat to Austria in the early stages if they had not made any moves.

He also distrusted Murat and his ambitious younger sister.

"Demid, what are you doing?"

"Your Majesty, these are improvements to optical communication. This kit was sent by Poisson, Saadi's mentor. In addition, there is a paper on Ampère's electrical research."

"You should go to École Polytechnique instead of thinking about what to do in the army all day."

"For this reason, I called Saadi in. He's truly a genius; he does many things very well. He believes that, based on Mr. Ampère's incomplete arguments, we can use electrically powered lines—or something like that—for communication."

Demid and Sadie Cano were the same age and inevitably crossed paths while in Paris.

However, unlike his father, who was once passionate about politics, Carnot, who worked on thermal engines, preferred scientific research. Although the family shared the same political stance, he simply held that position.

From President Cano to the fourth-generation owner of the Cano family, their stance remained the same, but their identities changed.

This genius has many things on his mind right now.

If there were a cable that could be used for communication, with the immense capabilities of the École Polytechnique and the Academy of Sciences, who knows what they might be able to develop.

"But right now, Demid, all we can do is improve optical communications. And you are now the communications chief of the Royal Guard, responsible for the future communications system of the Northern Legion. It's a huge responsibility, but you have almost no combat experience."

"If only he were like Count Solovyov, who was very familiar with communication systems."

"But back then, he used this tactic against us all along. Technological progress is certainly a good thing, but I also hope that France will progress even faster."

As Napoleon spoke, he also watched Demid improve his kit.

As for Octavia, since she was his nephew's wife, Napoleon arranged for her to rest well during this time and stay in Malmaison, where she was taken care of by Josephine.

Although Josephine and Polina had a bad relationship and she had many bad habits, the biggest problem being her philandering nature, she became more mature as she got older.

After all, she's over fifty, so she takes many things less seriously. She's probably more concerned about her two children and her stubborn, unyielding ex-husband.

The past grievances with Polina are all minor matters.

Demid is the eldest boy in the next generation. Compared to his mother, who was at odds with Josephine, he can please everyone at home. Therefore, it would be reassuring for Octavia to go to her.

"Uncle, but if a war breaks out, all communications officers will need to maintain a high level of focus. The same goes for the staff; messages must be concise and effective. Sometimes you need to speak..."

"Good lad, you even dare to tell your uncle what to do."

Napoleon understood what his nephew meant, but compared to that cheap nephew who was more likely to cause trouble, at least Demid was on his side.

He was too young and had never fought in a war, but he was very focused on communications technology. He also found a group of friends from École Polytechnique who were also willing to work on optical equipment. Finally, he managed to increase the communication range to 30 kilometers without obstruction, and the effectiveness of the communication had surpassed Solovyov's communication capabilities with the Russian army.

The French always had technology, and so did the British; they always had a greater advantage in terms of industrial base.

Fortunately, the arrogant British probably looked down on Russian technology and had a history of failures with their own breech-loading rifles, so they didn't pay too much attention.

On the contrary, the French, after seizing some rifles and acquiring communication equipment, began to use them on a large scale.

Napoleon initially had some skepticism, but subsequent events convinced him of the new technology.

After all, the ships that Fulton brought in in the past, despite Napoleon's strong support, failed. Unlike the small boats that Russia successfully built in the pond, which were only damaged by small boilers, the Tsar also expressed strong support for them.

As for the reason he offered such support, it was because he received news of Murat's defeat.

Murat's defeat was so swift that while Napoleon was still preparing for war, Murat was already besieged on both sides.

The message from Genoa reached Marseille, and was subsequently relayed to Paris from the Marseille communications tower and optical reflector.

The feedback had to be relayed from each signal station individually, so the communication distance was not as good as those that reflected Morse code. In fact, it even skipped a few signal towers along the way and transmitted the message back faster.

Comparing the two sides, Napoleon now had to adjust his strategy.

Although veteran rascal Massena is too physically unable to lead troops, his presence in Marseille would still have a significant deterrent effect on some unsettling elements in the south.

Although the old soldier didn't rob domestically, given the reputation of him and Soult as a robbery duo, the restless royalist remnants in the south had to consider this serious issue. After all, many royalists were wealthy old nobles or people who had benefited from the system. While Massena might be older and less interested in women, his interest in money remained undiminished.

However, it is clear that there is no need to leave too many troops on the southern fronts. Only the troops on the Xuxie side need to be more numerous. Legub's side even needs to recruit soldiers and has been an observation army for the time being.

Napoleon's mind was always on the Low Countries side.

Although that place may be a disaster for radio communications in the future, it is not so bad for optical communications.

As for Sirte becoming chief of staff, he still needs time to adjust, since he has been out of the profession for many years.

Moreover, Napoleon's abstract and enigmatic writings are not something everyone can understand.

Although the secretariat remained the same, the main staff members were actually only missing Berthier and Jomini compared to 1813; many of the others had returned.

Soult sometimes found it difficult to understand Napoleon's orders.

But asking the emperor directly, or even his secretary, would be somewhat beneath one's dignity.

However, he knew that Demid must understand.

His nephew was a junior to the marshals, but he got along well with everyone. Soult could even ask him a question as "Uncle Soult." Solovyov had no idea that the effects of his outing with Polina and curing the mother and daughter's illness would only become apparent so long later.

To the marshals, Demid was like "Leclerc's nephew," and his relationship with Davout was even closer—he was practically his uncle.

In fact, logically speaking, it would have been easier for him to ask the marshals for advice.

It turned out that Surtr came to ask him the same question, which is quite interesting.

"Your Excellency, you only need to look at it this way. Although there are spelling errors on these handwritten notes, they can still be read. However, they need to be 'deciphered' first. This was told to me by the Emperor's personal secretary."

"I see. You are indeed intelligent, just like your father. Moreover, you have a talent that we old folks don't have; you have a great grasp of new technologies."

"If His Majesty's orders deviate in any way, we can even correct some phrase errors through optical communication. However, we cannot do this on the battlefield amidst the smoke of gunpowder, as that would be extremely dangerous."

"Because there are obstacles?"

"I think so too. Communications officers always need to understand the situation."

After Demid finished speaking, he continued to discuss improved communication methods with Sadie Cano.

If Sadie Carnot had lived long enough, not only would he have mastered heat engines, but also the second law of thermodynamics. Considering that he had mentors like Poisson and Ampère at the École Polytechnique, barring cholera, he could probably have achieved remarkable success.

As for the communication method he came up with in a flash of inspiration, it was the telegraph line.

If we had made further progress in electromagnetism and optics, we probably would have already gotten our hands on radio by now.

On Solovyov's side, after collecting scientists for so long, he only managed to acquire the great mathematician Gauss. Russia made greater progress in engineering, thanks to the significant advancements made by Scottish engineers.

However, it is so difficult for Russian scientists to produce another Lomonsonov, and this is not even the stage where Russian scientists will have an explosive growth later on.

After completing the modification kit, Demid conducted another test and had a servant in Malmaison send him a message.

This guy got Octavia pregnant before they were even married. Although it's only been two months, Octavia's slender figure makes it obvious very quickly.

This is very satisfying. Demid specifically used "encryption" methods, using content compiled from a work by Voltaire, to achieve relatively simple encrypted communication, and it seems that the efficiency is already higher than that of the Russian army.

Comparisons are odious; Solovyov has been working tirelessly in the military for years to advance technology, almost single-handedly.

In France, the students at École Polytechnique alone have taken his work out and disseminated it, which has already significantly improved the situation.

In terms of talent, France does indeed have an advantage.

But in the military sphere, it's clearly not like that for researchers.

Advances in education have not led to a corresponding improvement in the minds of soldiers.

Even if Murat had gone to Napoleon after his defeat, he would not have received the emperor's forgiveness.

The cavalry commander became Ney, who was indeed brave, but commanders like Nansutti, Klemann Jr., and Grouchy were more suitable for leading the cavalry.

Now that Murat's army has been defeated, he can no longer even hold onto Naples, and it's only a matter of time before he flees.

Naples was the last piece of Bonaparte territory in Italy that could barely maintain complete independence, but now that is certainly gone.

At the Vienna conference, Viscount Castlere, upon returning to the meeting, once again raised the territorial claim of Naples to the allied nations for the Bourbon of Sicily.

Austria agreed, and Russia and Prussia had little to object to.

The defeat was too abrupt; Carolina even went to seek refuge.

This was Napoli's ultimate fate, and it wasn't unexpected.

But the situation with Eugène was rather absurd. Even when Napoleon was still preparing for war in early May, he still maintained armed neutrality in a very mysterious way.

Napoleon actually hoped for this. Eugène was in Lombardy, which was blocking the main transportation routes. If Austria were to launch an attack on him, it would cause all sorts of problems at this time when it was important to maintain the balance of power.

Naples was the first to act, and was subsequently partitioned. The original king successfully restored his throne and finally returned from Sicily after so many years.

If Austria were to take action in Lombardy, it might not necessarily receive support from other major powers.

Moreover, Eugene is the son-in-law of the King of Bavaria, and having two points of attack right in front of Austria would actually make things very difficult for them.

Prussia and Russia both favored Eugene, but they did not confirm his status in Italy.

Eugène is still the Governor-General of Italy, but most of the land around him has become Habsburg territory, or his status is uncertain.

Such a bizarre thing happened in Milan, where Napoleon even retained the title of King of Italy.

If this problem is solved, he will probably have to be defeated as well, just like he was a year ago.

The British and Prussian troops arrived first, while the Austrians now faced more troubles, as they had to remain at the gates of Lombardy and advance into southern Germany.

At this point, the journey through Austria was actually subject to more disruptions.

The Russian army has not yet taken any action; it will take time for them to regroup, resume training, and carry out large-scale marches through Prussian territory.

For Napoleon, his strategic position was now at its most advantageous.

We just need to take control of the lowlands first, achieve a decisive victory there, and then we can talk about the rest.

The only problem is probably the Duke of Wellington, the commander of the British army.

If it were just Blücher from Prussia, Napoleon wouldn't have cared.

Although Wellington's praise was essentially just business flattery, it still garnered some attention from him. (End of Chapter)