Authors: Simon Scarrow
THE GENERALS (2 page)
‘Thank you, citizen.’
The voice was soft, and agreeable to Carnot’s ear, and he relaxed his face into a smile. ‘I had not expected you to arrive in Paris so soon. How long have you been here?’
‘We arrived last night, citizen.’
‘We?’
‘My staff officers and I. Captain Marmont and Lieutenant Junot.’
‘I see. And you have found comfortable quarters?’
The brigadier tilted his head to one side and shrugged.‘I have taken some rooms in a hotel in the Latin quarter. It’s cheap, but comfortable enough. I might find something more suitable,’ Bonaparte paused to add emphasis to the words that followed, ‘once I am returned to full pay, citizen.’
Carnot shifted in his chair as he recalled the circumstances of the brigadier’s reduction in pay. Bonaparte had been a protégé of the Robespierre brothers and when they had fallen many of their followers had been executed. Others, like Napoleon’s fellow Corsican, Antoine Saliceti, had gone into hiding. Others, like Napoleon Bonaparte, who openly espoused Jacobin politics, had been proscribed. Trumped-up charges of corruption and selling information to foreign powers had been enough to see Bonaparte sent to prison for several days. Even though the charges had been dismissed, Bonaparte had been only provisionally released on half-pay to continue his service in the army. No wonder the brigadier sounded bitter, Carnot reflected.
‘I assure you, I am doing what I can to restore your rights.’ Carnot opened out his hands.‘It’s the least France can do for one of its most promising young officers.’
If he expected a modest expression of gratitude at the remark, he was instantly disappointed. Napoleon simply nodded.
‘Yes, citizen . . . the very least. I have given good service to France, and I have been loyal to the revolution, and it is still my ambition to serve both as well as I can.’
‘France and the revolution are one and the same, Bonaparte.’
Napoleon gestured towards the window. ‘You might say that, citizen, but there are plenty of voices on the streets that do not. I must have passed a score of royalist notices plastered across the walls as I walked here. Not to mention a man selling royalist pamphlets, not a hundred paces from the entrance to the Tuileries. I doubt he would consider that France and the revolution are the same thing.’
‘Then he is a fool.’
Napoleon’s eyebrows rose. ‘I wonder how many more fools are out there, citizen?’
‘Enough to provide encouragement for the enemies of the republic,’ Carnot admitted. ‘Which is why they must be crushed without mercy. It is the duty of every officer in the French army to assist in the process, distasteful as that no doubt seems to you. Do you find such a duty distasteful, Bonaparte?’
‘I do. As you will know from my letter.’
‘Ah, yes, I recall. It seems that you do not wish to take up your post with the Army of the West.’
‘I am certain that my talents could be put to better use in other armies, citizen.There is no glory to be had in fighting one’s countrymen, no matter how misguided their politics. What chance have they got against professional soldiers? They will be slaughtered like innocents.Yes, I find that distasteful.’
Carnot leaned forward and lowered his voice. ‘For a bunch of innocents they are raising merry hell in the Vendée.Attacking our patrols, burning supply depots and poisoning the hearts and minds of simple peasants and workers. And who do you think is backing them? England, that’s who. English ships land spies and troublemakers on our coasts almost every day, their pockets loaded with English gold. Do not delude yourself, Bonaparte. The war we fight inside France is every bit as vital as the war we wage against foreign enemies. Perhaps it is more important. Unless we win the battle for France it does not matter what happens on the plains of Italy, or along the banks of the Rhine. If we lose the battle for control of our country then all is lost.’ He leaned back in his chair and forced a smile. ‘So you can understand why the Committee wants to appoint its best officers to the army facing the most difficult task.’
Napoleon looked faintly amused. ‘I wonder how much this posting has to do with my ability, citizen.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I am an artillery officer. My speciality is the movement and disposition of cannon. Find me a fortification to lay siege to, or the massed ranks of an army to shatter with my batteries. I can do that as well as any other artillery officer in the service. What use would I be to the Army of the West? Unless they want me to bombard every barn in the Vendée, or fire grapeshot at shadows flitting along the edges of woods.’
‘You will not be required to command artillery, as you already know.You have been appointed to an infantry brigade.’
‘Precisely, citizen. You make my point for me. I am a gunner. I should be placed in command of cannon, not cannon fodder.’
‘You have demonstrated other talents,’ Carnot replied tersely. ‘I’ve read the reports of your work at Toulon.You lead from the front. That’s the kind of inspiration our men need in taking on the rebel scum in the Vendée. Also, you know how to organise. Most of all, you are single-minded and perhaps ruthless. That’s why you are needed in the Army of the West.’
Napoleon was silent for a moment before he replied. ‘Even if that is true, I can conceive of another reason why the Committee wants to send me to the Vendée.’
‘Oh?’ Carnot stared back at him and said acidly, ‘Do please explain yourself.’
‘It would appear that my loyalty is still doubted. At a time when good artillery officers are desperately needed in the other armies, why else would the Committee send me to fight Frenchmen, except to prove that I have no common purpose with the rebels?’
‘The Committee has its reasons, and it is not obliged to share them with you, Bonaparte. You have your orders. You are a soldier; it is not your place to question orders. So you will join the Army of the West as soon as possible. That is the end of the matter.’
‘I see.’ Napoleon nodded. ‘Unless the Committee has cause to reconsider its decision.’
‘It won’t.’ Carnot raised his hands and folded the palms together beneath his chin.‘There’s nothing more to be said. Now, if you don’t mind, I have work to do.’
Napoleon was still for a moment before he replied. ‘Of course, citizen. I will take my leave.’
Carnot’s shoulders relaxed a moment as the tension eased slightly. He had feared that the brigadier would prove more obdurate than this, and felt that he ought to offer some last word of encouragement. ‘If you serve us as well in the Vendée as you served us at Toulon, then I’m sure you will find that the next posting will be more agreeable, more . . . glorious.’
Napoleon fixed him with an even stare.‘I understand, citizen.’
‘Then, good day to you.’ Carnot quickly reached for his pen and pulled another requisition off the pile.
Napoleon turned and strode to the door, then paused and looked back.‘Before I take up my new command, there are a few personal matters I need to attend to. I have not had any leave for over a year. I would appreciate some time to get my affairs in order, citizen.’
‘How long?’
Napoleon pursed his lips for a moment. ‘A month. Perhaps two.’
‘Two months, then. No more. I’ll have my secretary inform the Committee.’
‘Very well.Thank you, citizen.’ Napoleon bowed his head and stepped out of the office, closing the door loudly behind him.
Carnot winced and muttered, ‘Damn the man . . . Just who the hell does he think he is?’
Chapter 2
‘I’ve sold my carriage,’ Napoleon said as he poured more wine into the cups of his two friends.They were sitting in one of the bars on the Palais-Royal.The thoroughfare was beginning to fill with those who were looking for their evening’s entertainment.
Marmont and Junot exchanged a look before Junot took a healthy swig from his cup and set it down softly. ‘What did you get for it, sir?’
‘Three thousand francs.’
Marmont pursed his lips. ‘That’s a fair enough price.’
Napoleon shook his head. ‘I was paid in assignats.’
‘Ah . . . That’s not so good.’
‘No,’ Napoleon agreed. ‘But there’s no helping it. I need the money. I haven’t been paid a sou since we left Marseilles and the owner of the hotel won’t wait much longer for the rent. At least we’ll have a roof over our heads and wine in our cups for a few weeks yet. So drink up, but not too fast, eh, Junot?’
The other men smiled but there was a lingering expression of guilt on Junot’s face as he stared into the dregs of his cup. He glanced up. ‘Sir, it’s not right that you should have to pay for us. My family has a little money. I could ask—’
‘That’s enough, Junot.You are on my staff. Part of my military family. It is only right that I should pay for us all. What kind of commanding officer would I be if I didn’t take care of such things?’
‘A richer one,’ Marmont cut in with a bleary smile. He reached over and patted Napoleon’s shoulder. ‘Cheer up. Something will come up.There’s a war on.They need us. Our time will come. In the meantime let’s hope Carnot lets your leave run a while longer yet.’
‘Yes, I hope so.’
Napoleon reflected that it had been over a month since the Minister of War had granted him leave. Fortunately for him, Carnot’s attention had been diverted from military matters for much of that time. A new constitution was being debated in the chamber of deputies and every political faction was fighting to have its views enshrined in the document. While the debate preoccupied Carnot, Napoleon had been pleading his case with the officials at the Ministry of War to find him another command. But time was running out. Unless the military situation changed, he would be forced to leave Paris and join the thankless fight against the rebels in the Vendée. And possibly very soon. That morning he had received a message from the Ministry, summoning him to a meeting the following day.
Napoleon raised his glass and took another sip of the cheap wine, then gazed for a moment at the surrounding scene.
Now that the days of the Great Terror were over the capital had quickly recovered much of its gaiety. The wealthier citizens no longer dressed down when they walked abroad for fear of being singled out as aristocrats. Ostentatious carriages had reappeared on the streets and those ladies who could afford it paraded their fashions openly. The cheaper theatres once again played comedies and sketches that dared to poke fun at the more tolerant, or ridiculous, members of the national assembly, though as yet those who sat on the Committee for Public Safety were studiously overlooked by Parisian playwrights. Every day, it seemed, a new newspaper appeared on the streets, taking an increasingly critical line on those who ruled the republic. Every social ill was laid at the door of the government: inflation, the failure of the harvest, the black market, the apparent political anarchy and the poor management of the war. Some newspapers even dared to argue for the restoration of the monarchy and there had been angry confrontations between rival crowds of republicans and monarchists on the streets. Even though the high temperatures of summer had dissipated, the mood in Paris was heated and strained, like the air before the breaking of a storm, and Napoleon, like everyone else, was filled with a sense of foreboding.With good reason. He drained his glass and muttered, ‘I am to present myself at the Ministry at noon tomorrow. I was informed this morning.’
‘Why?’ asked Junot.
‘I don’t know, but I fear my leave is about to come to an abrupt end.’ Napoleon shrugged. ‘So I might as well as make the most of this evening. Come on. Let’s be off. I’ve heard that there are some new girls at Madame Marcelle’s place.’
The Palais-Royal was lit from one end to the other by the orange glow of lanterns. Madame Marcelle’s establishment was in the far corner, and as the three officers threaded their way through the evening throng of friends, families, lovers, hawkers and all manner of street entertainers, Napoleon noticed a crowd gathered round a man speaking from a large wine cask outside a café. He was screened from his audience by four men carrying long staves. As Napoleon drew closer he could hear the first words of the speaker, strident against the good-humoured tone of the wider crowd.
‘Citizens! You are in grave danger - your complacency threatens to kill you! Do you not know that even as you stand there, the Bourbon agents are plotting to overthrow the revolution? It is they who are behind the price rises and food shortages. They are the ones who are trying to undermine the new constitution. Trying to steal the liberty that we have taken into our own hands.’The speaker raised his fists. ‘All that we have fought for. All that those gallant martyrs of the Bastille died for - all, ALL will be torn from us and we will be as slaves again. Is that what you wish?’
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