A choice for talent
Napoleon couldn't help but feel a pang of emotion.
He always felt that his brother shouldn't have given up his law degree to go into business—but as it turns out, his brother's business acumen was indeed lacking; after all these years, he had barely broken even.
Now that my brother has only been working at the negotiating office for a short time, he is able to accompany the Minister of Commerce on overseas negotiations, which means he has found a way to make the most of his talents.
The latter part of Joseph Bonaparte's letter was a retelling of a message from their mother, Maria Letizia.
The mother said that the government finally paid out the compensation for the vineyard last month, which reduced the family's debt by half and greatly eased the interest burden.
Furthermore, the France Brewing Technology Association has decided to invest in building a large winery in Ajaccio, which is currently under construction. To ensure a sufficient supply of raw materials, the winery has signed supply contracts with vineyards around Ajaccio. In the future, barring natural disasters, the Bonaparte family will be able to obtain a stable income of nearly 2,000 Livre per year from this.
In short, the family's financial situation has improved significantly, and they are even able to afford to hire people to work in the vineyard.
His mother gave Napoleon her final instructions: he no longer needed to ask for leave to come home and help; he should perform well in the army and strive for promotion as soon as possible.
In reality, Napoleon's so-called "returning home to help" was merely a pretext to participate in the activities of the Corsican Restoration Organization. But when he saw what the letter said, he felt a sense of relief for some reason, shaking his head and muttering to himself, "It seems that it won't be easy to return to Corsica until I find a new excuse to leave that can be kept from my mother."
In other words, he can now go to Verdun to see the new type of Horse Artillery Carriage without any worries!
What he didn't know was that the Crown Prince had instructed people to take care of things at his family's vineyard, so that he could stay in the army with peace of mind.
Of course, Joseph built a winery in Corsica to improve the living standards of the local people. Seeing a way to make money, everyone was busy growing grapes; who cared about "overthrowing France rule" anymore?
Even the winery was built by the France. If the France are driven away, who will buy the grapes?
While Napoleon was reading his letter home, in the nearby Cavalry Battalion, a soldier of similar age, with curly hair, a slightly plump face, and melancholy eyes, was leaning over a hay cart, writing rapidly a letter home so that he could deliver it to the postman before he left.
He bit his pencil, lowered his head and continued writing, "Dear Father, I have made my final decision not to return to Fort Fortinier to study fashion, because today I have found my true purpose in life: to join the Royal Guard Legion and become an outstanding cavalry officer!"
Yes, in the Royal Guard Legion, anyone can be promoted to officer, regardless of their background, as long as they are brave enough and train hard enough.
Do you know what an amazing army that was? Every single one of their soldiers was incredibly strong, carrying guns and Blankets, and could run 5 kilometers in 20 minutes—that's 1.25 Lieue! The speed at which they changed formations was as if a giant was leading them by strings... and their astonishing marksmanship... oh, and those handsome Military Uniform ...
In short, I am absolutely certain that this is where my dream will come true! Please forgive me, but I truly cannot return; otherwise, Fort Fortinier would be missing a great general...
After he finished writing, he read it again and wrote at the end of the letter: Joachim Mura, put the letter in an envelope.
Then he took out the "Royal Guard Legion Application Form" that he kept close to his body and began to fill it out attentively.
The Cavalry Company commander walked past him, glanced at the half-filled application form, and then walked away as if he hadn't seen anything—he himself had filled out the same application form and had just handed it to the postman.
In fact, at this time, almost the entire Champagne Legion was filling in this stuff.
Bavaria.
Northwest of Munich.
A black Carriage bumped along the potholed road. Inside, Joseph Bonaparte was intently examining the documents in his hands, occasionally checking the numbers with his assistant, appearing extremely focused.
The stack of documents contained the results of his recent business research in Württemberg, including numerous questionnaires and data collected on-site.
These are all important documents that will be used in the trade negotiations the day after tomorrow.
Upon arriving in Munich, he first reported to the Assistant the Minister of Commerce, who was also his direct superior. After that, he stayed in his hotel room to memorize the data until early June, when negotiations officially began.
Munich Palace, bands and Honor Guard lined both sides of the road. Master of Ceremonies moved back and forth to the accompaniment of music, greeting negotiating representatives from various countries.
Grand Duke Karl Ottodor of Grand Duke of Bavaria presided over a brief opening ceremony for the negotiations in the square in front of the palace, then left everything to State Minister Pomenthal and left in a huff.
It's no wonder he was in low spirits. Not long ago, he was planning how to distribute the Southern Netherlands territories he had acquired to his Illegitimate Son, only to receive news of Austria's defeat, which shattered all his dreams.
Pomenthal beckoned the negotiators into the Conference Hall, delivered a speech, and then looked at Austria Minister of Foreign Affairs Baron Thugut.
The latter smiled and nodded, then stood up and went to the front of the Meeting Hall. He cleared his throat and said loudly, "I believe you are all very aware of how chaotic the trade situation in the German Territories is right now."
"The constantly changing Tariff, the sudden appearance of various fees, and the various entry restrictions have greatly hindered our trade..."
"Therefore, at the joint initiative of His Majesty the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire," he said, gesturing towards Talleyrand and Bayei, "And His Majesty the King of France, we will begin discussions and the signing of an unprecedented and great agreement!"
However, unlike his enthusiasm, the representatives from Bavaria, Salzburg, Württemberg, Baden and other countries seemed less interested.
These small countries find it difficult to compete with large countries like France and Austria in the fields of industry and trade, and therefore they are wary of the so-called "free trade".
However, because they did not want to offend Joseph II, they could only go through the motions and did not really expect to reach any trade agreement.
After exchanging pleasantries, Baron Thugut instructed his assistant to distribute the pre-prepared trade plan documents to everyone, "This is Austria's preliminary draft agreement. Please take a look. Of course, this is only a draft; the specific terms will require further discussion before they can be finalized."