The True Ending

Talleyrand was worried about certain people in the France army, such as Marshal Berthier and Marshal Soult, who had recently seized a last-ditch opportunity in Ireland to obtain the title of Marshal, both of whom were said to be inclined to move into politics. Frankly speaking, if we disregard Napoleon's opinions, they actually had some advantages over Talleyrand. Although they had no political experience whatsoever, they both carried the aura of war heroes, and they came from the army, which the France generally trusted greatly.

Furthermore, neither of them had any of those messy scandals; compared to Talleyrand, their reputations were far cleaner.

However, Talleyrand wasn't particularly worried about them, because he knew Napoleon was a vain and power-hungry man. His abdication was to portray himself as a saint, but that didn't mean he truly wanted to relinquish power. He felt Napoleon mostly intended to remain behind the scenes and continue manipulating the situation. And Napoleon certainly possessed that power; both the France people and the France army could be said to recognize no one but Bonaparte. Anyone, even if they had become First Consul, could be removed from power with a mere hint if Napoleon disapproved of their performance.

"Therefore, whoever takes this position can only be a puppet. In the Ministry of Police, at least I have the final say in everything. Even Napoleon rarely interfered in the affairs of the Ministry of Police. But if I were to become the First Consul, the almost completely autonomous Ministry of Police would have to be handed over, and I would become a puppet with no decision-making power on major issues. Am I the kind of person who would do something so foolish?"

At the Ministry of Police, Fouché was also discussing this matter with his subordinates. Several of them were somewhat disappointed that Fouché did not intend to "go further."

"Perhaps I will seek this position in the future, but not now," Fouché said.

Indeed, he was different from Talleyrand. Talleyrand could not live a day without money, while Fouché could not live a day without power.

Talleyrand knew, of course, that becoming First Consul wouldn't necessarily expand his power much, but it would certainly open up many more avenues for making money— Napoleon only exercised control over major issues, and as long as he maintained a proper balance, being First Consul still held great promise.

So, just as everyone expected, after Napoleon officially announced his withdrawal from the race for the next First Consul, Talleyrand, who had Napoleon's support, smoothly became the next First Consul. At the same time, the France parliaments quickly passed the last bill proposed by Napoleon as First Consul: a bill prohibiting anyone from serving more than two consecutive terms.

After Talleyrand became First Consul, the first bill he proposed in the Council of State was to undertake large-scale construction in Paris.

"To honor my predecessor, the eternal leader of the France people, the eternal First Consul, the greatest commander in France history, the greatest thinker, revolutionary, politician, military strategist, and scholar, the founder and commander of the great French Republic and the invincible France army, the guardian of peace and order in France and Europe, the embodiment of the France spirit, and the great achievements of Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul, I propose that we erect a world wonder in his honor—on the very site of the now-demolished Bastille. What do you think?"

If you ask France parliamentarians whether they approve of this, they will certainly approve. Of course, they did raise questions about Talleyrand's plan.

"Talleyrand is in power, where is your design? Can we see it?" a member of parliament shouted.

Although Talleyrand's official title was First Consul, everyone, including newspapers, intentionally or unintentionally omitted the modifier "First" when referring to him. Even Talleyrand himself did this; for example Napoleon France refer to him as "First Consul."

"Yes, Talleyrand is in power. We don't doubt your sincerity, but we have very little faith in your aesthetic sense." When not facing Napoleon, the members of parliament generally became more inclined to joke.

However, Talleyrand wasn't offended. Instead, he replied with a smile, "On this point, we've reached a consensus. So I haven't designed a plan, yes, at least not yet. I feel this isn't just my business, nor is it the France government's business; it's a matter for all of France, and even all of Europe. Therefore, my plan is to first solicit proposals from all of France, and even all of Europe, then have a committee jointly organized by Parliament and the government conduct a preliminary review. Once the preliminary review is passed, the proposals will be sent to the Academy of Sciences for further review, where the Academy of Sciences will provide the final candidate proposals. Finally, Parliament will vote to democratically decide. I think no one intends to doubt the aesthetic standards of the French Academy of Sciences, right?"

Then everyone burst into laughter.

The proposal was then passed unanimously, as if it had been proposed by Napoleon himself.

So after Napoleon's abdication, a new frenzy swept across Europe, and indeed the Europe, from Mexico to Saint Petersburg, almost everyone with a modicum of education was talking about it. Many people—regardless of their architectural training—joined the design of this world wonder, and countless design proposals were sent to the "Paris New Landmark Preparatory Committee of Paris Committee." Then, they were packaged up in batches and sent directly to paper mills for pulp recycling. If things had been done quickly, perhaps the participants could have recycled the paper a few more times.

In fact, even Napoleon himself anonymously sketched a magnificent Rome temple using descriptive geometry. Napoleon believed his design was certainly good enough to make it to the final selection stage. However, this design likely never even got opened before being packaged and sent to the paper mill—who gave you permission to remain anonymous?

Napoleon, however, couldn't say a word, because if some scoundrel found out about this shameful affair, he would surely use it to mock him for the rest of his life. And not just that scoundrel, but Lucien as well. Napoleon thought and thought, growing angrier with each passing thought. Finally, he decided that since he was already retired and had nothing else to do, he would go to Lucien's place tomorrow to pick a fight and give him a good scolding to vent his anger.

What angered Napoleon even more was that after the committee submitted some of the shortlisted proposals to the French Academy of Sciences, Napoleon discovered a design among them that was remarkably similar to his own.

"This, isn't this blatant plagiarism? How could such a thing happen? Can't this world ever get any better? I've never seen such a shameless person!" Napoleon was so angry that his hands and feet went cold and his whole body trembled.

"Napoleon, what's wrong?" Joseph, who was also looking at the design plans, noticed that Napoleon's expression was off and asked.

"It's nothing," Napoleon said, trying to appear nonchalant.

"Let me see?" Joseph said, taking the blueprints from in front of Napoleon.

"Hmm, it's drawn using descriptive geometry," Joseph said, "But the aesthetic taste is absolutely terrible, almost as bad as yours. How did something like this even make it into the second round? It must be that those guys in the preliminary round were influenced by your utterly inferior, country bumpkin aesthetic and deliberately made this up..."

Listening to Joseph's unreserved criticism of the drawing, which was essentially a self-criticism, Napoleon couldn't hold back any longer. "Joseph, you'd better shut up about aesthetics. Everyone knows you have absolutely no talent in art. What can you do besides draw big eyes? Let you listen to music, and you can't even tell the difference between Mozart and Beethoven. My God, even a child could tell the difference in a second..."

Joseph wasn't angry at Napoleon's remarks, nor did he intend to retaliate. Frankly, in terms of artistic cultivation, or rather, artistic talent, Joseph was indeed lacking—he was just a mediocre fellow. Joseph was somewhat self-aware of this. For example, he had once visited the Uffizi Gallery in Florence without experiencing Stendhal syndrome, which showed that Joseph's artistic talent wasn't actually that great. And never getting entangled in areas he wasn't good at was a principle Joseph always adhered to, so Joseph immediately moved on.

"Hmm, so you think this design is pretty good? Well, anyway, this building is related to you, so whatever you like is fine. I don't think anyone else will have a different opinion on this," Joseph said.

"I..."

Napoleon found himself in a dilemma. If he approved it, he couldn't tolerate the fact that the thief Napoleon stole his design could have his name engraved on the base of this magnificent wonder and be revered for eternity.

However, this was Napoleon's own design. To reject it would be tantamount to executing himself. But could he point out that it was plagiarism? After all, he still had the original draft. But if he did, the whole of France, all of Europe, and even the whole world would know. And who would be the most humiliated? Without a doubt, Napoleon. Admiring Chiron, boasting, and—he'd be a perfect buffoon. Therefore, this matter absolutely could not be known by anyone, especially Lucien and Fouché.

So Napoleon gritted his teeth and said, "This design isn't as bad as you described, Joseph, but it's not that good either. Overall, it has some merits, but overall, it's not enough to be considered a design for our spectacle..."

"I've always felt your attitude is strange," Joseph said.

Ultimately, a disgruntled Napoleon chose another option from among the others: a steel obelisk in the style of ancient Egypt, over three hundred meters tall.

When the obelisk was completed, Napoleon was present at the ceremony. The crowd cheered for Napoleon, but Napoleon appeared somewhat melancholy. Some people noticed this and began to create various stories, some about love, some about morality, and some even about aliens... This became a common theme in later France literature.

In short, Napoleon did not fade from public view after that incident. Although Napoleon was no longer in politics and rarely spoke on France or world politics, his legend still circulated Napoleon. Napoleon frequently appeared in public, at charitable, artistic, and scientific events, always drawing cheers. However, while he was previously called "First Consul," he was now addressed as "Our Majesty," because although he was no longer the First Consul of France, he remained the Emperor of all Europe.

Time quickly passed to 1821. In the original history, Napoleon died in this year, but in this timeline, Napoleon was alive and well, with a good appetite. As for Joseph, due to his healthy lifestyle, his physical condition was even better than Napoleon's.

By 1835, Lucien, the last high-ranking official of the Bonaparte Family Ministry of Truth, had also retired from politics. It is said that when he resigned, hundreds of people came to see him off, affectionately calling out, "Dear Father!"

(The End)