Mutiny (1)
After giving the artillerymen a thorough drill, the newly promoted Major Napoleon walked to his tent with Steadfast, only to find Joseph waiting for him there.
"Joseph, what are you doing here?" The series of defeats had put Napoleon in a bad mood. Although the defeats were expected, they still made Napoleon very upset.
"I need to talk to you. Let's go for a walk over there," Joseph said.
Napoleon glanced at Joseph, realizing something might have happened, and nodded, saying, "Alright, let's go for a walk."
At this time, both of them were living in the military camp. Tents could block the view, but they weren't very good at blocking sound. So if they had any secrets to discuss, it was best not to do so inside the tent, otherwise someone outside would hear them without them knowing. Therefore, if they had any secrets to discuss, it was better to do so outside.
The two men then walked towards a small hill. Along the way, they encountered many soldiers. These soldiers lazily raised their hands in salute—clearly, the current situation had dampened their spirits. One manifestation of low morale was the laxity of discipline and etiquette within the army; the fact that the soldiers were even willing to salute Joseph and Napoleon was already a great favor. Some officers were completely ignored by the soldiers, and in such circumstances, the officers were hesitant to question the soldiers' lack of decorum.
Although the soldiers' salutes were weak and listless, Napoleon and Joseph returned them crisply and perfectly. Napoleon even extended his hand occasionally to pat the shoulder of the soldier opposite him: "Pierre, you're a fine soldier, very brave in the last battle." "Jules, cheer up, we will surely win!"
The two moved to a less crowded area, and Joseph said, "Napoleon, you're really good. I've noticed that you can call out almost all the soldiers' names and tell them things related to them. That's really impressive; the soldiers will be willing to fight for you. In that respect, I really can't compare to you."
Napoleon was taken aback, staring wide-eyed at Joseph for a long time. "Is this something you can say, Joseph? It's like a Cyclops singing a mermaid's song. Are you mocking me, or are you plotting something?"
Joseph, upon hearing this, smiled smugly and said, "Napoleon, you should know one thing: the strong are never stingy with praise. For example, we would sincerely praise a child for being clever and adorable, without any jealousy or scheming involved."
"You bastard, you've turned me into a little child!" Napoleon exclaimed.
"Are you still trying to say, 'I'm not a child anymore?'" one of the bad guys continued to ask.
"Damn it! Enough of this nonsense, let's get down to business. What brings you here?" Napoleon said, stomping his foot hard on a newly sprouted blade of grass.
"Alright," Joseph said, "You noticed..." He glanced around, then lowered his voice, "Did you notice anything unusual happening with the General?"
"Is there something unusual going on with the general?" Napoleon asked in surprise.
"Yes, his entire guard has been replaced with Germany mercenaries. The former France guards have been gradually reassigned to other combat units. Also, did you notice that he moved the Duke of Chartres' men to the vicinity of the command post?"
Upon hearing this, Napoleon stopped and thought for a moment before saying, "Joseph, are you perhaps having an allergic reaction? The general isn't that foolish, is he? How could that be? Even Lafayette couldn't do that..."
"Who knows? But given the current situation in Paris, how long do you think Paris can continue to tolerate it? It's like we all know that a goat will definitely die if it jumps off a cliff. But if a herd of goats is being chased by hunters and reaches the edge of a cliff, they might risk jumping off. What if one jumps first, and then another jumps onto the goat's back, and they can jump over the cliff?"
"Nonsense. If goats had that kind of intelligence and discipline, they could form an Oblique Order, forcing hunters to jump up and trample them one by one. But... I understand what you mean, are you saying the general is at his wit's end?"
"Whether he's truly at his wit's end is uncertain, but he has certainly reached a point where he must take a risk," Joseph said. "Napoleon, if anything changes, will your soldiers obey your orders?"
"Those who came from the Red Army can definitely do it. It's just that they're not all in one place. We need to make contact with them first. But that's easy. They were supposed to return to the Red Army after the war anyway, so it's perfectly normal for us to keep in touch with them," Napoleon said. "The Red Army still has more than three hundred men, the general's Germany mercenary cavalry has one hundred, and the Duke of Chartres's Volunteer Army has five hundred. But they don't have cannons. If it really comes down to it, I can easily crush them!" Napoleon replied in a low voice, his face full of excitement.
"Carnot wrote to me, mentioning that he might send some special envoys to the army to ask the general some questions," Joseph said. "He's worried this could cause some unforeseen circumstances. Also, if the general tries to contact you these days, you must be careful. Everyone knows about our relationship with Carnot, so we'll be seen as staunch Republicans and the Mountain. If I were the general, I would definitely control these two destabilizing factors before I do anything."
"Our general is a proud man, and he has an unrealistic view of his own influence. I don't think he would do such a thing. However, I understand that necessary precautions are essential, and you should also be careful. After all, I am an artillery officer, and you are a staff officer, so it's easier for him to contact you," Napoleon said after thinking for a moment.
"The special envoy hasn't arrived yet. First, make contact with the Red Army and be prepared to respond to any contingencies," Joseph concluded.
Interestingly, the special envoys were much slower than the messengers. Two days after Carnot's messenger delivered the letter to Joseph, the special envoy from Paris finally arrived at the army camp.
This is normal, because actually sending a special envoy requires the parliament to complete the formalities. And before those formalities are completed, the messengers carrying the messages have already set off.
Upon receiving news of the envoy's arrival, General Dumouriez immediately ordered some of his officers to assemble in order to answer the envoy's questions. However, the messengers sent out to search for Joseph and Napoleon were unable to find them. It was said that they had all left their posts and their whereabouts were unknown.
This news made General Dumouriez feel slightly uneasy, but there was no time to do anything more, as the special envoys had already arrived at the camp gate. Dumouriez could only go and receive these envoys from Paris.
Several special envoys arrived at the military camp and went into the office. Before they could even speak, Dumouriez launched his attack. He first accused Paris of failing to provide adequate support to the front lines, and after being refuted by the envoys, he went all out, declaring that the existing government was an illegal rebellious government and that he and his army believed it was necessary to restore the Constitution of 1791 and make France a constitutional monarchy again.
The special envoys immediately ordered Dumouriez's arrest in the name of the revolutionary government and the National Assembly. However, this was not Paris, and they did not bring a large number of National Guard. Instead, at Dumouriez's command, the Germany mercenaries around him swarmed forward and immediately tied up the five special envoys.
"Traitors! You will not get away with this!" one of the special envoys shouted.
"Gag them!" Dumouriez ordered.
Several Germany mercenaries rushed forward and stuffed prepared towels into their mouths, silencing them instantly.
"General, what's the next step?" Duke of Chartres asked.
"Send some men to take them to the Austria," Dumouriez said.
A group of Germany mercenaries then dragged the special envoys out of the room.
Dumouriez then rallied the officers, who were still reeling from the sudden turn of events, to his cause and to help them rebuild order in France.
Under the guns of Germany mercenaries and the Duke of Chartres ' "Volunteer Army," these officers were forced to take a stand. They were asked to sign a manifesto opposing the republic and advocating for the restoration of a constitutional monarchy. Some officers who refused to sign were immediately imprisoned.
"If we control the officers, we can control the army," Dumouriez told the Duke of Chartres. "Your Highness, trust me, we will succeed."
After receiving news that Paris had sent a special envoy and was preparing to arrest them, Dumouriez and the Duke of Chartres contacted the Austria. Initially, they hoped the Austria would accept and support the proposal for the Duke of Chartres to become King of France. However, this proposal was rejected by the Austria. They insisted that Louis XVII must succeed to the throne. Thus, the Duke of Chartres' future position changed from King to Regent.
"It's just that the Bonaparte brothers aren't here, which worries me a bit," said the Duke of Chartres.
"We have most of the officers under our control, that's enough," Dumouriez said. "Now let's gather the soldiers."
Several messengers ran out. But as soon as they stepped outside, gunshots and shouts rang out in the distance.
"What's going on?" Duke of Chartres asked.
"Grin, take a few men and go check it out!" Dumouriez ordered his captain of the guard.
Grin quickly saluted and led a few men out. Then came the sound of hooves—they mounted their horses and headed in the direction of the gunshot.
"Vieira, ring the bell and gather the soldiers together. I want to speak to them!" Dumouriez knew this was no time to hesitate. The gunshots were coming from the road leading to the Austria army's camp. Judging from the distance, the Germany mercenaries escorting the special envoys had been ambushed. Perhaps the envoys had already been rescued. Now, he had to get the situation under control as soon as possible.
Lieutenant Vieira responded and turned to leave.
A while later, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside again, and then several Germany mercenaries rushed in, one of them with a wound on his shoulder.
"What happened, Fritz?" Dumouriez recognized the wounded man as a squad leader of the Germany mercenary cavalry and asked him.
"General, we've been ambushed," Fritz replied.
"Who attacked you? Where are the special envoys?" Dumouriez asked quickly.
"It was the Red Army! The Red Army ambushed us! They rescued all the special envoys!"
After the Red Army, which was responsible for simulating foreign troops, was transferred to Dumouriez's army, they were not provided with ordinary blue or white uniforms (the original uniforms of the Kingdom of France). So they continued to wear their own red uniforms, which made them very easy to identify.
"The Red Army? Damn Bonaparte!" Dumouriez gritted his teeth.