Rules

Napoleon paused for a moment, then his smile faded, and he said, "My brother, what do you have to say about this?"

"Napoleon," Joseph hesitated for a moment, then said, "I want to know, in your vision, will France in the future be a republic or an empire?"

"Joseph, how come you also doubt Napoleon?" Before Napoleon could speak, Lucien spoke up with a displeased tone.

"Shut up!" Joseph didn't even glance at Lucien, continuing to stare at Napoleon. So Lucien sat down Steadfast beside him, his face grim.

"So what if it's an empire? So what if it's a republic?" Napoleon originally intended to say directly, "Of course I want to be emperor," but for some reason, this sentence, carrying the weak tone that he himself hated, came out of his mouth.

"Ha ha ha ha," Joseph laughed, but there was no laughter in his eyes. "My brother, have you become someone who always makes 'I dare not' follow 'I want'? But knowing how to conceal one's goals is also a sign of maturity. And Napoleon, it's rare that you've raised a very worthwhile, not so stupid, question. What do you think are the differences between an empire and a republic? What are their respective advantages and disadvantages?"

This is a very broad question, but for Napoleon, it was one he couldn't avoid answering. Napoleon, with his head full of adolescent fantasies, naturally wanted to become emperor. However, Napoleon also knew that without Joseph's support, the throne wouldn't be easy to hold. Even if he couldn't get Joseph's support, he at least couldn't afford to let Joseph oppose him.

Napoleon knew that his elder brother was a mathematical genius. This didn't refer to Joseph's Law, but rather that when making judgments, this guy treated it like solving a math problem. Words and passion were worthless to him. He only recognized tangible power and benefits, and the only way to persuade him was through those.

"Let's talk about the benefits the empire brings to the family first," Napoleon began, knowing that this was the easiest way to persuade Joseph.

"If France becomes an empire and I become emperor, our family will transform from a minor noble family into one of the most prestigious royal families in all of Europe. Some members of our family, like you and Lucien, could become kings of some Europe country, and our family will continue to prosper... Joseph, do you agree?"

Joseph replied noncommittally, "And what about the harms? You don't believe that a certain approach only has benefits and no harms, do you?"

"Of course there are risks," Napoleon said. "Short-term risks, for example, such as our defeat on the battlefield. Everything we have now is built on the foundation of continued victories on the battlefield. If we are defeated on the battlefield, we may be reduced to our original state. Well, that is the main risk in the short term, but I think that with your internal coordination of production, plus my battlefield command, I don't think that risk can be too great."

"What about the long-term risks?" Joseph pressed.

"Long-term risks?" Napoleon laughed. "Joseph, in the long run, we are all going to die. That's the biggest long-term risk. Of course, besides that, there's also the risk of revolution in the long run. Joseph, I know what you're worried about. You're simply worried that one day the France people will be dissatisfied with us, that they might overthrow our family just as we overthrew the Bourbon, that they might even send one of our descendants to the guillotine just as we sent Louis XVI —that weak fool. But Joseph, even so, in terms of cost and benefit, have we really lost out? Or rather, has our family lost out?"

"Go on," Joseph said.

"Well then, let's take the Bourbon family as an example. If the Bourbon family hadn't become France royal family, would their situation be better now than if they had?" Napoleon asked.

Then, without waiting for anyone else to answer, Napoleon shook his head and said, "If the Bourbon family were still the Dukes of Bourbon, they wouldn't have escaped the French Revolution either. Perhaps the Duke and Duchess of Bourbon have been guillotined, or even hung from lampposts. Moreover, because the entire family was based in France, in the storms of 'Ninety-Three, the entire Bourbon family might have been wiped out, with not a single one left. But what about after the Bourbon family became royalty? Even today, they still retain another crown in Spain."

So, Joseph, you see, becoming King of France is much safer for the family than continuing as Dukes of Bourbon. And if the Bourbon family weren't even dukes, or even nobles, but just ordinary poor farmers in France, then, without even needing the turmoil of 1583, countless famines, plagues, wars, and the inability to afford wives from 1584 to the present could have wiped out this ordinary commoner family entirely.

Joseph, I don't know if you've noticed, but any living commoner, if you trace their ancestors back a few generations, you can soon find a connection to the nobility. Their ancestors were very likely fallen nobles, low-ranking knights, or even their illegitimate children.

Joseph, why is that? Why can't you find a family that has been traced back to many generations and consists entirely of ordinary people? The reason is very simple. Because such families can't last that long. In just a few generations, they will die out for the reasons I mentioned earlier. The survival of impoverished families is rarely even more than three generations. A humble status is the greatest danger for a family. Joseph, do you agree with what I'm saying?"

"Clap clap clap clap..." Joseph clapped. But the applause did not bring Napoleon joy, because Joseph's face, as he clapped, showed no expression of happiness.

"Napoleon, you've thought this through very deeply, and what you say makes a lot of sense," Joseph said. "But have you considered the difference between our family and the Bourbon? The Bourbon family became royalty because they originally had royal blood. But our family, at least in the traceable lineage, doesn't. Of course, if we trace it back to Rome, or even to Troy, then maybe we really do have one. Even if we don't, it wouldn't be difficult for us to fabricate a powerful ancestor. But even so, according to the basic rules of inheritance, the crown will not fall to our family. Napoleon, don't rush to refute me, let me continue."

Those feudal royal families will never accept us. Of course, our family now possesses enough power to crush these so-called rules and establish new rules for the world. We can completely rely on our own strength to become royalty and oppress them, forcing them to bow down to us. This is not difficult, especially now that the 'Zeus Plan' has been basically successful and the 'Hephaestus Plan' is also on the road to success. We can do this with ease.

But Napoleon, if we do this, tell me, what kind of rules are we writing? Like you just said, almost everyone alive today has a noble ancestor, perhaps even a Greece hero, a Troy prince, or even an Egypt pharaoh. If someone in our family can become emperor, then everyone can. Becoming emperor will then depend solely on power, nothing else. Thus, we've written a completely new rule: 'Are kings and nobles born with a special destiny?' Or to put it more bluntly: 'Is an emperor a born nobleman? He is merely the one with the strongest army.'

In this way, our family becomes the target of everyone's ambition. Among the common people, every talented and capable individual covets our crown and throne; among the nobles, everyone hates us to the core. Napoleon, don't you think this situation is terrifying? In our generation, with me, with you, and Lucien, though a fool, still somewhat usable, the three of us are probably safe. But what about the future? Our rule certainly won't be as stable as the Bourbon's.

Moreover, to consolidate our rule, we must gain the support of more people. And these people will support us for only one reason: we bring them benefits. In other words, to secure our regime, we can only appease those people. Napoleon, you can now demand that your soldiers and the people sacrifice themselves for France because they mistakenly believe France belongs to them. But if France becomes an empire, you will no longer have the moral authority to call upon your soldiers and the people to sacrifice themselves for France. Because France will become yours, no longer theirs, why should they sacrifice themselves for you? At that time, the entire France, both the army and the people, will become mercenaries. You, familiar with Rome history, cannot be unaware of the problem of mercenaries.

Of course, even so, becoming a member of the new Rome royal family would be a far greater benefit than a risk for the family. However, this once-in-a-millennium opportunity to personally rewrite the rules of the entire world—almost like the chance to ascend Mount Olympus and become a new god—has fallen into our hands. Are we going to use it so carelessly?