Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

When Viscount Castlere arrived in Vienna, he probably thought that the chaos in France would give Napoleon a lot of trouble, and that it would take some time before the marshals, generals and officials were convinced of the emperor's return.

Even though he had established great prestige in the army in the past, according to Marshal Marmont and Marshal MacDonald whom he had previously met, the French probably didn't want to do anything anymore, and everyone hoped for peace.

However, the people he inquired with were either soldiers who had defected to the royalist party or had already declared neutrality.

The British probably only wanted to hear what they wanted to hear, and much important intelligence was ignored.

In such circumstances, if the report is inaccurate, then the reporter must take responsibility.

Wellington returned to the Lowlands to reorganize the army, where he and Viscount Castleray had already completed their handover.

To be honest, this duke wasn't very suited for diplomatic occasions. Although he was magnanimous in social situations, it didn't seem to make much of a difference.

It merely eased the previously strained relations between Russia, Britain, and Austria when Viscount Castlere was here.

When Solovyov saw the changes in the British, he didn't pay much attention to them, focusing instead on tinkering with the "bombs" that were supposed to be detonated.

The British originally believed that in the South and the Vendée, there would always be many unruly people rising up against Napoleon's "tyranny".

However, the truth is that the port of Juan is also in Provence. It seems that due to the fiefdom, it was Louis XVIII's former stronghold. His wife's family's territory of Savoy was also nearby, so it seemed to be stable. But soon, the local fishermen raised their harpoons to welcome the emperor's return.

As for the unruly people of the Vendée, they could only thank the Prussian army for their great misdeeds, as they retaliated by requisitioning grain there. Even Clausewitz, in a letter to Gneisenau, mentioned that the unruly people of the Vendée had previously been royalists.

This was useless; instead, it served the purpose of "Instructor Lin, you must not fight each other."

Although Blücher actually spent a lot of money buying wine when he arrived in the area, the performance of the Prussian army made the people of the Vendée fully realize what the Prussian army was like.

Even Napoleon was probably quite surprised that the Vendée people, who had always been mostly rebels and difficult to recruit, suddenly enlisted enthusiastically, with 8000 people joining – enough to form a complete infantry division.

Of these two French domestic agents, one was dismantled by Solovyov, and the other defected due to a major vacancy in the Bourbon Homecoming Corps; both have now vanished without a trace.

As for the Duke of Angoulême in the south, he was indeed captured, but Napoleon did not intend to execute him; he only wanted to ensure the safety of his wife and children.

However, considering that his wife was resting in Rome as advised by the doctor, there was no need to exchange hostages, and Napoleon did not want bloodshed in France, he arranged for the unfortunate duke to stay in Marseille and be watched by Masséna.

Anyway, no one can mess with this old rascal, and we'll even find him a companion to chat with.

This duke was quite an interesting person. Although he was from the Bourbon family, he advocated for constitutionalism, and his political views were not entirely unacceptable.

If history were to be reconstructed, he would probably be the most unfortunate person, and now he's just being controlled.

Masséna had served the government for several years before, and he still had some affection for Louis XVI, after all, he had been allowed to plunder in North America for a few years and even become an officer, all because there were wars to fight back then.

Of course, the emperor allowed him to rob even more, and he almost had the chance to rob a big one in India.

Unfortunately, his health is failing. Although he can still lead troops, his energy is waning.

His desire to rob India will likely be fulfilled by his son.

Soult is still young, and he probably has a chance to make a fortune in the future. Massena sometimes envies him for being younger.

The situation in France now is unexpectedly good, not just good, but excellent.

Because the British were about to assemble another anti-French coalition, the veterans were very enthusiastic about returning to the army. However, disputes over who could join the Imperial Guard inevitably led to fights.

However, compared to the potential for widespread unruly people in France, this is a minor matter.

Even Napoleon's army was still filled with former troublemakers.

The desire to defend the country and the fruits of one's labor is far more important than opposing Bonaparte.

Furthermore, the British are extremely hateful. It's one thing if you win, but in the end, it's the Russians who do the most work. The Emperor's brother-in-law did the most work, but they left without taking a single Soviet item. It's these British people, and the royalists they support, who cause the most trouble.

So now it's as if the vibrant scene of life, where everything is thriving, is still vivid in my mind before the Battle of Valmy.

However, for the French, their military strength is now at a significant disadvantage.

Napoleon was aware of this, and that's why he was also working hard to build up the Northern Army.

Since the Vendée's unruly people have ample troops and high morale, let's assign them to deal with the Prussians.

After reading the report from the Vendée province, Demid understood why this had happened.

“These Prussians. But Uncle, you know, Madame Le Brun, the famous painter, also complained that the Prussians had made a mess of her garden.”

"That lady is a close friend of Queen Marie Antoinette, and even she complains like this. It seems that the Prussians, if they get angry, can probably rob even more than Masséna. Poor old man, if he were still in good health, I would have sent him to Paris to lead a legion."

"Uncle, you don't need to worry. Just pay attention to the staff work and the distribution of the new weapons. Our arsenal has been producing rifles since 1813."

Napoleon looked at his nephew with a pleased smile. This boy was already very outstanding, and it seemed that the Bonaparte family business would truly have a successor in the future.

He's just a bit inexperienced and does things in a very straightforward manner.

His communications department was well-managed and had a group of young colleagues, all of whom were graduates and current students of École Polytechnique.

However, Napoleon was unaware that the textbook Solovyov provided to Demid contained some basic theories, which, although seemingly a modified version of the Pythagorean school, suggested that everything could be explained mathematically, even irrational numbers.

This can be considered the construction of a mathematical model, and Napoleon also approved of the new military structure.

At least in communications and logistics, there is no doubt that young people with a background in mathematics and physics are widely used, and those who studied engineering are also specifically in the engineering corps.

The efficiency of operations improved significantly, and Napoleon also saw the vigor of the young people.

He only got the opportunity when he was in his twenties, after arriving in Toulon.

"Dermid, what are you doing now?" "Uncle, how do you handle intelligence?"

“I have spies, and you’ve seen them before.”

"If it's about domestic issues, perhaps statistics can be used to summarize the characteristics of some people in our country. This isn't my opinion, it's from my mother's old flame."

Demid had already slept with someone's daughter when he discovered an absurd connection: if you counted by seniority, his future father-in-law was actually his cousin, who wasn't related by blood.

Then, you have a younger brother and two younger sisters who are also other people's darlings. This circle is quite chaotic.

Of course, what's important now is the letter Solovyov wrote to him before, urging him to study and offering many suggestions.

Napoleon came to take a look and was quite satisfied, but now he was also rather worried.

How many Russian spies are actually in France?
Although Solovyov wasn't an intelligence officer, he was still very sensitive to intelligence analysis and gathering.

Especially in the area of ​​intelligence analysis, only Demid had learned a little bit of the general principles, and Solovyov himself had not organized many things.

Now Napoleon received new news: an uprising against Prussia had broken out in Saxony.

With Russian troops still assembling in Poland and moving very slowly, the King of Prussia was getting anxious and requested Russian support.

Austria also doesn't want anything major to happen there, after all, Saxony is a close relative, and if things really get chaotic, the consequences would be unimaginable.

However, the Russian army did not move, seemingly having no intention of suppressing the Saxon uprising, but it did send envoys to Dresden to mediate.

Because Saxony wasn't just one entity; besides the main kingdom of Saxony, there were several duchies, including Weimar, which was Mary's husband's family.

The Tsar believed that the problem should be resolved through arbitration rather than force, but a negotiation could not be reached in the short term.

Moreover, some of the Saxon soldiers who were incorporated into the Prussian army are now becoming uneasy, which has resulted in the Prussian army having a limited number of troops stationed west of the Rhine.

At least not as many troops as expected, Blücher's current forces have been weakened.

If the Low Countries battlefield were a closed sandbox environment, then the original strength of Britain and Prussia would be weakened, while France, although not significantly strengthened, would be relatively stronger.

However, before Napoleon set off, he had not yet decided who would be in charge of Paris.

In terms of ability, personal character, and prestige, Lazar Cano is absolutely fine, but he and I are not on the same political side.

If he were to leave behind a general, not everyone would be someone he could trust.

Therefore, he still wanted to keep someone, but Marmont's previous performance made him more cautious.

"Your Majesty, if you really want to appoint a marshal in Paris, why not have Marshal Lefèvre, Prince of Danzig, sit in the council and keep an eye on these people for you? In addition, we also have some loyal generals who can defend Paris here."

"Yes, I know about these circumstances. Lazar, I'm very grateful that you came back at a time like this."

“Your Majesty, you are the Emperor and the Commander-in-Chief. Do what you must do. Until the final fate of France is decided, you will remain on this stage.”

"Yes, on this stage. Your son is outstanding; he would be an excellent engineer in the military, but I think he prefers science. If possible, he should have a place in the Academy of Sciences in the future."

“That’s a good point. Sadi really doesn’t like working in the military. If it weren’t for your nephew being his childhood friend, he probably wouldn’t have agreed so quickly.”

"Also, please organize the army. If my wife returns to France with the children, please take care of them. In addition, please provide assistance if Eugène takes any action."

“I think Eugene should stay in Milan to prevent the Austrians from moving from there, that should be enough. What you need to deal with is the British in the Low Countries, and you must act quickly. Although I have never commanded a large army, and have only been in charge of recruitment and logistics, I know that to achieve a strategic objective, action must be swift.”

Carnot and Napoleon had always had a good relationship, and Napoleon always considered himself a scientist, so only Carnot could stop him from having such delusions.

But at times like these, people are always needed.

"When you lead your army to the front, remember one thing, Napoleon: remember to withdraw at the appropriate time."

"I know."

Napoleon went to inspect the army again, while the Northern Army was still assembling.

Although it seems that Napoleon's army was not assembling quickly, and was even filled with a large number of new recruits.

But the veterans who were captured in 1812 and 1813 returned, and the strength of the French army was there for all to see.

The Old Guard has been fully re-equipped. Apart from the oldest Old Guard Grenadier Battalion 1 and the Old Guard Jäger, the middle-aged Guards who were originally part of the Middle Guards but were recently promoted to the Old Guards, as well as some of the younger Guards, have also started using breech-loading rifles.

In fact, the French army had already begun to transform into a completely new army, a fact that even Napoleon himself did not realize.

The British, despite their superior industrial capacity, had a small army and limited capabilities. Given the past performance of the Ferguson rifle and several rifled guns, even after learning about Russia's new equipment, they hadn't made much progress in over a decade.

It's probably only the green jacket that can be equipped with some, but the quantity is too small.

Meanwhile, the French army is now fully committed to producing new weapons, reorganizing its forces, and replenishing its arsenal.

Soldiers were also generally issued new types of bullets. For ordinary soldiers, there was no need for a firing pin or primer; they could simply load the bullet and the cardboard cartridge separately as before.

There has been only one problem in the army, which has always been a major headache: the cavalry has been short of horses ever since the invasion of Russia.

Napoleon did not have enough cavalry for his use, and the commanders of the cavalry had also changed.

When Murat returned to Napoleon, he was treated like a clown. Napoleon hated his behavior and, although he forgave his betrayal, he was unwilling to let him serve in the army or even hold a position in Paris.

Things always change. (End of Chapter)