Napoleon in 1812

Chapter 120

This was before Jean-Pierre Simon, the president of the Imperial Council, read the de facto Declaration of War at the Tuileries Palace, and before the shocking attempted assassination of Napoleon occurred.

La Gazette, the self-proclaimed best and largest newspaper in the French Empire, had attempted a very special and large project that was difficult for a newspaper company to come up with.

The name of the project was 'The 1st Gazette Survey'. It was a survey of French citizens living in Paris and its suburbs, which would later be called the 'world's first public opinion survey', asking about opinions on state affairs, political tendencies, administrative evaluations, and foreign perceptions.

Of course, this was a survey with a limited sample, as it was only selecting the Parisian subscribers to La Gazette. This meant that it was difficult to represent the public opinion of the entire Empire.

Nevertheless, many French literacy groups highly praised La Gazette's breakthrough ideas and experimental spirit, saying that it would change the world.

This was because creating ways that could know the public's opinion fragmentarily was an act of stimulating the lawmakers who had to carry out politics for them in a good direction.

"Looking at it again, this unilaterally biased response is both pleasant and strange. Didn't they (La Gazette) make a move to make themselves look good in our cabinet? They could have manipulated the statistics..."

"My my... His Majesty put the Empire at the top and gave a lot of support, so it is natural for citizens to express their gratitude toward him. It is said that the Minister of the Administration Carnot conducted a thorough inspection of this himself. These figures are reliable."

La Gazette faithfully accepted the imperial government's order to give the results of the questionnaire.

The favorable response of Parisians to the current government system, cabinet heads, and policies and achievements they had made in the process was remarkable.

When asked if their families economic situation had improved over the past decade, 85% of citizens answered positively and only 4% chose 'it has worsened'. More than 80% of citizens evaluated the pledges promised by the imperial cabinet and the foreign policy as 'successful1.

In addition, the number of citizens who were positive about the current situation of the Empire was far higher than those who were not, and the approval rating for the Emperor was also higher than ever.

(Even if this figure included the subscribers1 fear of expressing opinions against the Emperor, officials from the Ministries of the Interior and of the Administration judged that their support for the Emperor was still solid.)

In particular, it was more noticeable because the survey was conducted before the Strasbourg talks, which took Napoleon's popularity to the next level. How much more enthusiastic would they be now?

"The Minister of the Administration said that the size of this survey will be increased, the samples will be varied, and then the government will lead it to regular events. I heard that it is a good means to determine whether the policy direction is right or what the citizens are thinking."

"Yes, I definitely said that."

"Ackl... You are here, sirI"

"I greet the Minister."

A person who made all the busy bureaucrats stand up appeared. He, who was considered to have contributed the most to France's explosive economic growth, was the Minister of the Administration of France, Frangois Carnot, called 'the wise white owl'.

"I brought a bunch of good gifts, paying respect to you who are working hard today like diligent honeybees. Please come to this side."

At Carnot's order, the court's servants and lower officials released what they had brought. Bang! A bunch of paper fell on the table loudly.

"Sir, this is...?"

"It is the result of the 'second survey' conducted secretly and a report containing the evaluation of citizens. The topic is... about the war of the Empire."

Ahead of a significant event that could determine the future of the Empire, Carnot conducted a slightly different survey in cooperation with La Gazette, which claimed to be a French political paper.

Unlike the first survey, which asked about overall state affairs, diplomacy, policies, and pledges, this time, it investigated the enthusiasm of Parisians for war, and their hatred for hostile countries. The results had just arrived.

Officials from the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of the Administration gathered to discuss and prepare various matters related to future war implementation through this result sheet. Cabinet officials began receiving questionnaires from Carnot and calculating the results.

It was a simple but laborious work, but no one complained. Because they all knew how important this job was.

"Through this, it is the job of the Ministries of the Interior and of the Administration to promote the war of the Empire on a large scale and lead the public opinion of citizens and rural society. It's probably not going to be easy."

"The subjects will be as strong as they can for the glory, security, and justice of the Empire. Maybe there will be a lot of young people who will voluntarily ask for military service. Even if we don't have to do propaganda work, wouldn't this war attract sufficient support?"

"Haha, will it be like that? I think it's naive to hear that your high loyalty to His Majesty and the government leads to positive public opinion about the war."

Carnot, who had a cold reason and cynicism that was not like a French, was well aware of the extremely defensive and realistic attitudes that the people had toward the state and government.

It was a defense shield that the people, who had been sacrificed by the greed and ambition of the rulers for a long time, had to protect themselves.

Of course, the French were very respectful and proud of their Emperor Napoleon. As it could be seen from La Gazette's first questionnaire, they were loyal with their bodies and minds dedicated to the sovereignty and hegemony of the Empire.

Regardless of that, however, no one welcomed the war itself. Even if it was for the sake of the Empire and the Emperor.

In that sense, the second survey conducted in secret ahead of the Strasbourg talks in 1818 suggested many things. A few hours later, the results appeared.

"...In general, there was a strong public opinion against Britain, Russia, Sweden, and Prussia, and the opinion that they should be disciplined was strong. However, there are many negative answers to the question of whether the Empire should attack first."

"The pros and cons of the war itself are surprisingly tense. There are many opinions that we need to find a peaceful solution."

As public opinion on the war itself did not rise as much as expected, the bureaucrats seemed embarrassed. Some re-examined whether the questions and answers were wrong. Only Carnot nodded as if he knew it would be like this.

'If you think about it, it's natural. Apart from fanatics during the Crusades, who would want to bet their only body and soul, and go to the battlefield where they die if they don't kill?'

Although various mobilization orders were abolished within the Empire with the advent of the era of peace, the Empire was still maintaining a national conscription system that originated from the days of the Republic.

In other words, in the event of a war, adult men included in the conscription criteria would be forcibly conscripted and taken to the military. Not only the men caught in conscription, but also their families, lovers, and friends would all be impacted by the war.

Declaring war while enduring their resentment would bear a considerable burden, no matter how well the imperial government was doing.

The Ministries of the Interior and of the Administration began preparing countermeasures by disclosing the results to the Imperial Council and other cabinet departments. It was necessary to somehow attract the support of the majority of French citizens.

"I've been so troubled to arouse public opinion in favor of the war, but I didn't expect this to be resolved at once."

Carnot's gaze reached the appearance of citizens gathering at Saint-Simon Square and calling for war strongly.

And at the assembly hall on the other side, healthy young men were gathering and asking for voluntary enlistment, saying, 'Please let me join the war for the Emperor and the Empire!'

Things that were hard to imagine in the past were happening because of the news from Nancy.

Napoleon and Marie-Louise were caught up in explosives installed by someone and almost suffered a terrible fate. And it seemed certain that France's enemy countries were behind this.

These two facts succeeded in sweeping away all the peaceful ideas that were covering France. Now the public opinion had been completely turned upside down.

"The neck of the Rabies King (George III), or death!"

"I'll give my life to wipe out the Slavs!"

"Infinite punishment to all those who aimed at His Majesty the Emperor!"

"Let's smash Prussia! Let's crush Sweden!"

The French filled the streets and called for war before the government. Raising their heated eyes, faces, and strong chins, they demanded indiscriminate retaliation against the enemies aiming at the Emperor's life.

The various plans made by the Ministries of the Interior and of the Administration by taking into consideration their worries went to nothing at once. Should they laugh at this?

'Anyway, the Empire finished its final preparations. Now, only a true battle of iron and blood remains.'

Listening to the cries of angry citizens reaching his ears, Carnot quietly closed his eyes. That huge heat would soon swallow up all of Europe.

'May the winner standing until the end be the Empire after the heat goes out.'

Carnot prayed to a god he did not normally seek.

Jean-Pierre Simon's declaration, as the president of the Imperial Council, was practically a justification to declare war for retaliation against France's enemies.

Although it referred to Fouche and his accomplices, anyone could predict that it was aiming at the countries behind him. Naturally, the countries hostile to France, which belonged to that group or were deeply related to it, responded immediately.

Britain, Sweden, and Prussia issued fierce criticisms, saying France was trying to realize its hegemony and desire to conquer, using the attempted assassination of Napoleon as an excuse, and Russia claimed that all this was a self-made play to justify France's war of conquest.

However, as testimony and clues began to emerge one after another, the initiative rapidly began to fall over to France and pro-France countries.

The kingdoms of Poland, Denmark, and Italy argued that the cause of the war was here.

In particular, the Polish King Jozef I continued with his strongest attitude, saying, 'The leaders of Russia, Britain, Prussia, and Sweden should directly explain this incident.'

Countries in the Confederation of the Rhine, such as Westphalia, Bavaria, and Saxony, also pressured them, saying, 'The countries designated by the Empire should prove their innocence while helping to track Joseph Fouche down.'

Naturally, Britain and Russia could not accept this. Some people asked to recall the purpose of the Union's formation, but war supplies already sold on the market began to run out. It was the most decisive evidence that war was imminent.

"We have already received breaking news that Gibraltar and Lancaster are gathering their proud fleet of battleships. Britain will mobilize these fleets as soon as the war begins to block the main ports of the Empire."

Napoleon and other officials nodded at the words of Denis Decres, the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies. The maritime empire that dominated the sea would strangle France in the most standard and persistent way, as always.

With the lifting of the coastal blockade by the British Navy over the past four years, sea-based trade had flourished again in France, and coastal trading stations and marketplaces had also been revitalized.

Transportation through the sea was at least 10 times more efficient than through land and was also economical. In France's dynamic economic growth now, free maritime transportation clearly played a significant role in the revitalization of logistics movement.

Britain was also aware of that, so it would tighten the blockade as soon as possible to forcefully hurt France's sustainability and war capabilities.

"There are different rules and methods to block a port with an anchored fleet and a port without one. Of course, the former takes a lot more time, manpower, and finance. In the past, France used this kind of strategy to induce continuous bleeding in the British economy."

"Then, there are two major strategies, whether to fight back or follow the past."

"That's right. However, even if the latter is chosen, it will be difficult for Britain to do the same iron blockade as in the past. The power of the current imperial fleet of battleships is as formidable as that."

A French fleet comparable to the British fleet. It was truly a remarkable growth. However, what Napoleon wanted did not end here.

"I will ask a question to the Minister, who oversees all the fleets of the Empire."

At Napoleon's words, Denis Decres replied with his head down.

"Please do, Your Majesty."

"The Empire has invested generously in the Navy so far. Of course, all this is to completely defeat Britain, which has taken our seas."

Napoleon had established an institution that could nurture talented officers and non-commissioned officers, brought in Admiral Rosnay, who was originally active in the world where Napoleon lived, and rebuilt new battleships with the best wood from Sardinia that had been difficult to find.

On top of that, the true secret weapon of the Empire developed by Lieutenant Colonel Henri Joseph Paixhans was added, so Napoleon had used all the methods he could.

"I think this is the moment to see the light. However, the eyes of the expert on this matter are also important. What does the Minister think?"

"...As Your Majesty said, so far, battles and wars at sea have been a history of defeat for the Empire."

Everyone paid attention to the words of the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies, Denis Decres. Would a war, in which Britain would take the lead by blocking France with a sea wall, be reproduced? Or would the French unlock the latch and engage in an adventurous battle? The conclusion depended on his words.

"There will be no stage more majestic than this to decorate the prelude of the Great War. I would like to show Your Majesty the greatness of a different Imperial Fleet."

Dice were thrown against the world's strongest maritime empire. With everyone holding their breath and swallowing saliva, only Napoleon burst into a low laugh.

"I had to come back to Paris without seeing the opera performance I had booked due to an unsavory situation."

'Show me the best performance to replace the opera.