My Brother Napoleon

For the past few days, Ajaccio has been shrouded in a persistent, drizzling rain, until it seemed as if even the sea itself had been dampened. The endless downpour, thick and clinging, cascaded from a sky that appeared never to run dry, plunging down toward the bay. The sea resembled a grey, soft sponge, swelling within the hazy expanse of the gulf.

Yet, amidst the continuous rain, the water's surface seemed motionless; only in the distance was there an imperceptible, broad undulation, stirring up a misty vapor that drifted toward the harbor, which was hemmed in by the sodden cliffs. The city itself exhaled a mist, which swept across the rain-slicked walls to meet the vapor rising from the sea. No matter which direction one turned, it felt as if one were breathing water; the air had finally become something one could drink.

It was within this haze that Joseph Bonaparte, the eldest of the Bonaparte household—thin and long like a bamboo pole—was walking along the sandy beach, holding an umbrella, heading toward the cliffs that jutted into the sea. The cliffs, stained a greenish-grey by the relentless rain, stretched into the bay like an arm. During the dry Mediterranean summers, Joseph and his younger siblings would often come here to fish among the rocks beneath the cliffs or hunt for various shells and oysters. At such times, their little runt of a second brother would take a book and run off alone to a small, natural cave halfway up the cliff to read.

But it's raining now. That troublesome fellow, could he have run off to that cave again? Joseph muttered to himself as he walked toward the cliffs.

That troublesome fellow was his second brother, Napoleon Bonaparte, who was destined to leave a heavy, colorful mark on history. But at this moment, the future Emperor who would one day shake Europe was merely a headache-inducing little boy.

Among Joseph's seven siblings, Napoleon was the one who gave him the most trouble. Perhaps because he was always short and mocked for it, his personality was quite eccentric. Even among his own brothers and sisters, few could get along with him well. And the small-statured Napoleon was, surprisingly, a violent child. Whenever he was mocked, or if he came into conflict with others for any other reason, he always preferred to resolve disputes through direct violence.

To be honest, Napoleon's physique was actually ill-suited for such methods. Theoretically, fighting relies on strength, and strength is inseparable from physique. Otherwise, why would boxing matches have weight classes? Since relying solely on size and strength didn't work, and Napoleon was keen on using violence to solve problems, the little runt developed two tactics to compensate for his lack of power.

The first tactic was to use unconventional means to attack weaknesses. For instance, catching people off guard by biting them or using his knees to strike at their vital points.

The second tactic was "the villain complaining first." This trick was generally used against his own brothers. In any family with many children, there is no avoiding fights. Every time a fight broke out and their mother, Letizia, came rushing over in a panic to stop it, the first one to jump out and complain, putting on a look of "I have been so wronged," was always Napoleon. And because Napoleon would have rehearsed how to feign pity and deceive his mother many times in his mind before he even threw a punch, he was always the one who started the fight, yet it was always the other brothers who ended up being scolded by their mother.

Because of this, the brothers didn't like Napoleon much, but they were all a bit afraid of him and unwilling to go against his wishes. Only one person was the exception; that person was not only unafraid of Napoleon's tricks but could often even command him. That person was Napoleon's elder brother, Joseph. This was because once, when a conflict arose between Napoleon and Joseph, Napoleon followed his usual routine: he struck first, catching Joseph off guard and kicking him hard in the stomach. The unprepared Joseph fell backward, his head hitting a sharp rock, and he immediately collapsed, bleeding profusely and unconscious. Little Napoleon was completely terrified and lost his head, rushing to call their mother...

Joseph remained unconscious for two full days before waking up. After he woke, he not only failed to recognize his family, but he couldn't even speak. No, to be precise, he had suddenly lost the ability to speak the Corsican dialect (a form of Italian); the moment he opened his mouth, he spoke a strange language no one could understand. It sounded a bit like English, yet it was quite different. The family thought he had been possessed by a demon. (According to relevant Catholic documents, suddenly speaking a language no one understands is a classic sign of demonic possession.) If it weren't for the fact that Joseph's father, Carlo, was a nobleman (albeit a fallen one), Joseph's fate might have been truly tragic. Carlo summoned the bishop, Minier, to perform an exorcism on Joseph.

The ritual was effective. After it was completed, although Joseph had not fully recovered—he still could not speak the Corsican dialect, and his memory had not returned—at the very least, he no longer spoke that strange, terrifying language that might have come from hell.

"The demon has been cast out of him," Bishop Minier said. "But just like a house set ablaze, even though we have extinguished the fire, what remains is likely nothing but ruins. When a demon occupies a person's body, it causes damage as severe as, if not worse than, a fire. Now that the demon has been expelled, rebuilding the house is a difficult task. Whether this damage can ever be fully restored depends on the will of God."

"Amen!" Carlo, Letizia, and all of Joseph's younger siblings said in unison.

Carlo then donated thirty francs to the parish (a significant sum in those days) and asked Bishop Minier to take Joseph to the church to recover for a period of time. After all, within the holy church, the damage caused by the demon should heal more quickly.

Clearly, Carlo's decision was quite wise. Joseph recovered quite rapidly in the church. Under the bishop's guidance, in less than three months, he had relearned how to speak and write Italian, and had even learned to use Latin.

Bishop Minier always liked to keep Joseph by his side, telling everyone about him: "How wondrous is the will of God! Look, a demon once occupied this person's body. When I, in the name of God, cast the demon out, I saw only a wilderness scorched by fire. But the light of God shone upon him, causing saplings to grow anew in this wilderness, and causing them to grow rapidly. In the blink of an eye, they are about to grow from a small sapling into a true tree. Praise the all-powerful and all-good God." In his view, Joseph's recovery was not only a manifestation of divine grace but, in a sense, a testament to his own piety.

"Amen," those who heard him would say, simultaneously reaching out to make the sign of the cross over their chests.

Upon confirming that Joseph had fully recovered, Bishop Minier allowed Carlo to take Joseph home. Everyone discovered that the kind Joseph they knew had returned. Only, compared to before, he was much quieter and had become obsessed with reading. He had even begun to teach himself French.

His mother, Letizia, was happy from the bottom of her heart at this change in her son. She was convinced that her son's recovery and his newfound goodness were entirely due to the grace of God. For this, she donated for another mass to express her gratitude to God. Because of this, if anyone were to speak ill of Joseph to her now, she wouldn't listen to a word of it. Since her son had received the grace of God, how could he possibly do anything wrong?

Therefore, Napoleon's tactic of "the villain complaining first" no longer worked on Joseph. If Napoleon tried to pin something bad on Joseph, Letizia would surely reach out, twist his ear, and make him go before the statue of the Virgin Mary to repent for the sin of slandering his brother.

The clever little Napoleon quickly realized this, so he had no choice but to compromise and show respect to his elder brother, Joseph.

Of course, little Napoleon's change in attitude toward his elder brother was not just because Joseph now had their mother's unconditional trust. It was also because his brother was now vastly different from before. In the past, although Joseph had a kind nature, he was very foolish. Yes, very foolish. As foolish as a dull goose.

But now, his brother had completely changed. Any little scheme Napoleon hatched would be seen through by his brother at a single glance. Although Joseph saw through them, he wouldn't expose them; he simply refused to step into the traps Napoleon laid. Furthermore, his brother had become learned; he had read many books and understood many things. Napoleon had many questions he didn't understand, and he could ask his brother; for those tricky, eccentric questions, his brother could usually provide a convincing answer.

Of course, his brother also had many changes that were not so likable. The most disliked of these was that whenever Joseph answered Napoleon's questions, he always liked to reach out and ruffle his hair, adding, "My foolish brother, this question is actually like this..."

Today, Napoleon had caused trouble again; he had beaten the neighbor's child, Paul, severely. He had been too heavy-handed, actually knocking the boy unconscious. (One of the fighting experiences Napoleon had summarized for himself was that once you start, you shouldn't be timid; you must dare to strike.)

Paul's father, Mr. Giovanni, was a friend of Carlo, and he had only this one son. So, the moment Napoleon saw Paul collapse, he realized his father might beat him severely for this, so he took advantage of the fact that no one had reacted yet and ran away.