Severus had once evaluated Napoleon, this "historical figure," in this way: He won because when everyone else was unprepared, he was more prepared than anyone else.
After achieving victory at the Battle of Toulon and on the eastern front, Bonaparte received an enthusiastic welcome from the people in Paris. His name began to become known in every household, and quite a few people had noticed the rise of this new star, including Faport. At the time, however, he was still a Girondin and had once served as Roland's secretary. But because he had issued an order to expel the nobility, he himself was driven out of Paris, and thus escaped being implicated.
It was not until Robespierre fell that he returned to Paris as Minister of Finance, by which time Bonaparte had already been imprisoned. Before setting out for Nice and being arrested, Bonaparte had gone to Genoa. His ostensible mission was to strengthen the defenses along the entire coast from Nice to Toulon, but in reality, he was following Maxime Robespierre's orders to investigate Genoa's fortifications and troop deployments, in preparation for a future attack on Genoa.
Though Genoa called itself a republic, it was in fact ruled by oligarchs. The core of its army consisted of mercenaries, while its navy faced the Royal Navy of England. Neither the French Republic nor the Anti-French Coalition was someone Genoa could afford to offend. The Anti-French Coalition treated Genoa as unclaimed land and could pass through its territory as if no one else existed on their way to the front. Thus, Madame Maxime Robespierre contacted France's chargé d'affaires in Genoa and instructed him to assist Bonaparte fully in completing this mission.
At the time, Genoa had as many diplomats as spies. After arriving as a special envoy, Bonaparte established contact with