Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Three days later.

Mantua Fortress.

Napoleon glanced at Desai’s personal seal on the letter, then looked at Desai’s Order Officer: “Let me guess, there was a battle, right?”

He was quite familiar with this Order Officer, having seen him a few times during the battles in Trento.

The latter was evidently a bit nervous, but the “attendee” standing behind him was actually an agent from the Security Bureau, which made him only dare to speak honestly according to Lefevre’s instructions:

“Yes, General. We were attacked by the Austrians, and many soldiers died. Later, we pursued them to the Klagenfurt Fortress and unexpectedly captured it.”

Napoleon immediately smiled and opened the “letter sent by Desai.”

It was the handwriting of Desai’s Aide-de-camp. He didn’t doubt it, as having an aide write on behalf was quite common when an officer was busy.

In the letter, Desai said everything was going smoothly but mentioned that over two thousand members of the Leao Legion had retreated to Graz, and he inquired about the next steps. Additionally, he mentioned that the ammunition reserves might not be sufficient to launch a large-scale attack and needed to be replenished quickly.

Napoleon put away the letter, inwardly criticizing Desai for being indecisive, hesitating over two thousand Austrians.

He immediately instructed the Order Officer: “Tell Major Desai to launch an attack on Graz with maximum speed. If the Austrians react, we will be facing several times more enemies.”

“Yes, yes, General.”

After Desai’s Order Officer hurried away, Napoleon summoned the logistics officer at Mantua Fortress, telling him that Udino was attacked by the Austrians and to immediately transport all the ammunition from the fortress there.

That afternoon, Napoleon set out with his Guards to Klagenfurt.

This battle, destined to be recorded in history, certainly needed to be personally commanded by him!

Four days later.

As Napoleon saw the Iris flag flying on the Klagenfurt Fortress from afar, he couldn’t help but show a proud smile.

Continuing forward for several hundred meters, he saw a large number of French Army soldiers stationed in front of the fortress, seemingly over a thousand.

He immediately frowned, urging his horse forward, and shouted angrily: “Why are you still here? Where is Desai? I said to attack Graz immediately!”

A male voice came from beside him: “General, why attack Graz?”

“It’s obviously for Vienna, you fool…” Napoleon stopped mid-sentence when he turned to see who it was.

It was Lefevre.

“You, how could you be here?”

Lefevre raised his hat to him: “General Bonaparte, you are suspected of violating military orders, abuse of power, concealing military information, and attempted murder of soldiers. I must arrest you now.”

Napoleon immediately narrowed his eyes, stepped back a few steps, and shook his head: “Colonel Lefever, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

“I have substantial evidence.” Lefevre signaled to the soldiers surrounding them, “They all heard just now. Details will be explained when we return to Paris.”

Napoleon suddenly said in a deep voice: “I order you, Colonel, to step aside immediately.”

He then gestured to his Guards beside him and pointed at Lefevre: “Seize him!”

He made a decision in an instant—to stabilize the situation here first and then capture Vienna in the shortest possible time.

By then, even if Paris wanted to punish him, they would have to consider the enormous merits of the victory first. It was more likely that he would become a hero of France and escape punishment.

At this moment, a blond man in his thirties emerged from behind Lefevre and said to Napoleon and his men, “I advise you not to do this.”

As he spoke, he took out a document and unfolded it: “This is an order personally signed by the Crown Prince.”

Not only Napoleon but even his Guards were stunned on the spot.

They couldn’t possibly not recognize this person—the Crown Prince’s close attendant, Count Eman.

The Crown Prince often inspected the army and dined with the soldiers, Eman usually accompanying him.

Even the soldiers behind Eman had familiar faces; those were the Crown Prince’s trusted aides.

Napoleon’s over one hundred Guards exchanged glances, put down their weapons, and withdrew to the side with lowered heads.

As Napoleon’s confidants, they couldn’t care less about Lefevre, the colonel, and dared to disobey even the General Staff but absolutely did not have the courage to defy the Crown Prince.

The current French Army could be said to be entirely established by the Crown Prince himself.

He was the faith of all French Army soldiers!

If forced to choose between their general and the Crown Prince, they would unhesitatingly obey the latter.

The Crown Prince’s guards lined up and confiscated the weapons of Napoleon’s Guard soldiers.

Lefevre gestured toward a distant carriage, then slightly bowed to Napoleon: “General Bonaparte, we must return to Paris. The Crown Prince is still waiting for my report.”

The next day.

Klagenfurt’s Commander in Chief, Leao, escorted Lefevre all the way to the Austrian border, expressing gratitude before parting:

“Thanks to your reminder this time; otherwise, I would have been in big trouble. After the war ends, I will surely visit you in Paris.”

Yes, if not for Lefevre, he would most likely have been captured by Desai by now.

Even if by some miracle he had managed to hold Klagenfurt Fortress, Vienna would later hold him accountable for having over a hundred men in his army bought by French spies.

Lefevre hugged him briefly and asked in a low voice: “Have those people been dealt with properly?”

He naturally referred to the Austrian soldiers who took money to prepare an attack on the French Army.

Leao nodded: “Yes, it’s basically been investigated. The leader was an artillery captain named Leman Lel, who took 4,000 florins. There are over 120 soldiers under him identified so far. I’ve sent them all to the mountains in Transylvania.

“Oh, and those who bribed them to cause destruction, I assure you, will all be sent to Paris within a month.”

Lefevre wasn’t actually too bothered; Lieutenant Master and some core members of the Intelligence Bureau had been identified by Austrian soldiers, which meant the Intelligence Bureau couldn’t escape involvement. Others were just the icing on the cake.

From the Intelligence Bureau to the Udine garrison, the evidence chain was complete, and a military tribunal could directly prosecute them.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Lefevre prepared to board a carriage. Leao hurried forward two steps and said, “Don’t forget about the exercises.”

“Of course, my dear Franz.”

Klagenfurt Fortress had caused such a big stir that Vienna would surely take note.

So Leao and Lefevre agreed to claim that the Fao armies conducted a “anti-smuggling exercise” on the border, thus perfectly covering up the events.

…

Paris.

Palace of Versailles.

The newly appointed Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, Nicolas Kovesat, stood respectfully in front of the Crown Prince, waiting for him to finish reading the draft of the “Quasi-doctor’s Operating Manual.”

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