The Supreme

After hearing Joseph's words, Napoleon fell silent. He felt he understood Joseph's meaning. At that time, if he insisted on becoming emperor, Joseph probably wouldn't have opposed him too much, but he didn't seem to support him much either. Perhaps, in the most Joseph way, it would be. "This is an approximate solution to the problem, but only an approximate solution. Although it's not entirely wrong, it's still a long way from the optimal solution."

"Of course, Joseph would definitely add something like, 'But Napoleon, with your level of intelligence, to be able to come up with such an approximate solution that deviates from the correct solution by only a few hundred kilometers is already very satisfying, even surprising,' which is a seemingly complimentary but actually sarcastic remark," Napoleon thought.

Now, Napoleon's thoughts, or rather his immediate short-term goal, have quietly shifted. The focus has changed from how to persuade his elder brother to accept the monarchy to what, in fact, what is the optimal solution for his brother?

Napoleon racked his brains for a while, then had to admit that he had no clue what Joseph's optimal solution was.

"Having such an elder brother is both a blessing and a curse," Napoleon thought to himself.

As the eldest brother, Joseph almost acted as a father figure to everyone, including Napoleon, who received his education and care from him. Although Napoleon frequently, and would seize any opportunity, to satirize and ridicule Joseph, even he had to admit that without Joseph's help, he would not have achieved his current status and success. In a large family, having such an elder brother is certainly a blessing.

However, having such an elder brother was truly a blow to one's pride. Napoleon always considered himself a very intelligent man, at least Lucien, smarter than Louis, smarter than Jerome... well, smarter than everyone except Joseph —even Laplace. Napoleon admitted that he was no match for Laplace in mathematics, but he felt that this was simply a matter of specialization.

However, when it came to Joseph, the issue of 'specialization' no longer applied. Aside from battlefield tactics and getting the Pope to spend lavishly, Napoleon felt he was truly inferior to his elder brother in everything else. In many ways, he even struggled to keep up with his brother's train of thought. This feeling of being intellectually crushed was truly... "So painful." Therefore, Napoleon often felt that some of the less bright individuals he could casually despise, like Murat, were actually quite endearing.

However, after many such incidents, Napoleon gradually got used to it. It was perfectly normal not to be able to solve Joseph's problems correctly, so what was the big deal? If things got really bad, they could just find some time to go horseback riding and fox hunting together, and he would make sure to crush Joseph in every round to vent his anger.

"After this is over, the whole family will go hunting in Versailles and make Joseph look foolish," Napoleon secretly resolved.

"Alright, Joseph, stop playing games and tell me your 'new rule'." Napoleon finally decided to tactically concede defeat for the time being.

"Before we establish this new rule, let's return to the most fundamental question," Joseph said. "Why are we making rules? Well, Lucien, don't just sit there. This question is relatively simple; you answer it."

Lucien was a little annoyed. "What do you mean by 'this question is relatively simple'? You answer it? Do you think I'm stupid?"

However, he could only think this out loud, but he didn't dare to say it aloud. Because if he did, Joseph would immediately throw him a slightly difficult problem that Napoleon could solve instantly, but which he just couldn't solve no matter what, and then he and that heartless Napoleon would laugh at him.

"If you're so capable, let's see who can get a young girl into bed the fastest?" Of course, he only dared to say this in his heart.

So Lucien followed his heart and replied, "Of course, it's to protect the interests of our family."

"Very good, very well said," Joseph said. "Napoleon, you must also remember this: this is our true constitution, and in terms of priority, it far surpasses your code. Whatever we do, we cannot violate this."

Napoleon did not object to this statement; he nodded and said, "You don't need to tell me that. It's such a simple principle."

"Now, the next major question is what our interests are," Joseph continued, "And what our power can acquire. Here, I want to emphasize in particular that we should not overestimate our power, especially you, Napoleon."

Joseph looked at Napoleon and said, "You are the most heroic member of our family, possessing many of the qualities of heroes from ancient Greece mythology. That's good; our family needs such a hero. But like many Greece heroes, you tend to overestimate yourself and underestimate your enemies."

"It's alright, as long as you're here, you'll always see difficulties, even if they're just as small as a bean," Napoleon retorted somewhat defiantly.

"Would I be like this if it weren't for you? You really think I'm a coward?" Joseph said.

Napoleon remained silent. Napoleon truly believed Joseph wasn't a coward. Joseph's ability to catch up with him amidst the hail of bullets and advance alongside him had proven that. Napoleon believed Joseph was, like many other brave heroes. Napoleon also believed that Joseph's conservatism, his prudence, and his reluctance to take risks stemmed from the fact that—there were simply too many reckless children in the family. As the eldest brother, bearing the heavy responsibility of the family, how could he not be cautious? But with so many reckless children in our family, don't you bear any responsibility, Joseph?

Of course, this last sentence was just a thought; Napoleon never dared to say it aloud.

Since Napoleon said nothing more, Joseph continued:

"Furthermore, we must consider the decline of family power. Sir Newton was one of the most brilliant men in the world, but what about Newton son? Have you ever heard of him? The son of a hero is not necessarily a hero. I have no idea that my son will surpass me in mathematics and science. Well, Napoleon, I also don't think your son will be able to match one of your toes in military ability."

"However, I believe that when it comes to charming young girls, Lucien's son still has a chance to catch up with him," Napoleon quickly interjected, lest Lucien stay here too Akarin.

Lucien curled his lip, but did not attempt to retaliate. After all, there was no reasoning with that scoundrel Napoleon.

"Napoleon, let's not get off topic," Joseph said. "Our family is very fortunate to have so many talented people in our generation. Even Lucien, on his own, is capable enough to support a good family. But we can't expect God to be so kind to us forever. We must be prepared that our next generation may not be particularly outstanding."

Of course, rigorous and appropriate education can improve their abilities, but the role of talent is undeniable, even irreplaceable. Therefore, when considering what we can acquire, we must also consider what our descendants can hold onto, preparing for their retreat and defense. Napoleon, you know, the most dangerous and difficult thing in military affairs is retreat. When the inevitable ebb of power occurs—and this time is even predictable, that is, after you and I have both died of old age, and Lucien has become senile—we must do everything we can to ensure that our family's descendants can retain as much as possible."

Napoleon remained silent for a long while before speaking, "Joseph, I understand your meaning. If the rule we ourselves have written is that the emperor is chosen by whoever has the strongest fist, then after our power declines, when our fists are no longer strong enough to subdue everyone, if someone like you, or like me, or even just someone like Lucien suddenly appears in any family, our family will be in great danger and may lose a great deal. Therefore, you want us, although we have essentially obtained all this through violence, to establish a rule that prohibits the use of violence to seize benefits?"

"Yes, your idea is good, but isn't such a demand itself contradictory? How the new rules will be written depends not on what we say, but on what we do. We ourselves seized power through violence, so the rules will definitely be seized through violence. Others, especially those who can seize power, are heroes. Even if we use certain methods to cover it up or deceive, they can't possibly not see through it."

"You're right. But whether they can see it or not isn't important; what's important is that most people can't see it. You need to think about it: what common interests do we share with that future hero, the hero who will end our family's rule?"

"Common interests?" Napoleon was initially puzzled, but quickly smiled with realization. "Joseph, you're right. We do have common interests. They are us now, and their primary concern is the interests of their own families—unless that hero is not only a hero but also a true saint, but the probability of that is extremely low. So even if they see through our facade, they still have to maintain it for the sake of their families. And to maintain this facade, they can't use overly violent methods against our descendants. Hmm, the Republic, that's the facade. Is that what you mean? However, to use this facade while still holding onto power requires a very ingenious plan. Joseph, stop beating around the bush, just tell me what you're thinking!"

When Napoleon said, "Unless that hero is not only a hero but also a true saint, but the probability of that is extremely low," Joseph suddenly thought of someone from another time and space. Such a person, who is both a hero and a saint, does indeed exist, and this person was indeed such a person. However, just as Napoleon said, the probability of such a person appearing is extremely low. Not every era or every nation has such good fortune.

"Well," Joseph said, "in the far East, there was a philosopher Lao Dan Laudan who said something like this: 'The most skillful ruler in the world is one whose rulers are so oblivious that they are not even aware of his presence.'"