Chapter 10

Napoleon's Genius Son - Chapter 9 (10/547)

(9) Amid the Storm of the Estates-General, Eugene Goes to the New Continent

The Estates-General, as the name suggests, is a meeting of three estates.

"What is the Third Estate? Everything. What was the Third Estate? Nothing. What does the Third Estate demand? To be something!"

On April 28, 1789, Tuesday was boiling from the morning.

The day of the Estates-General was only a week away.

Last winter, a harsh winter had swept through France, causing widespread crop failures.

Life, already difficult, was further devastated by the skyrocketing price of bread.

People had to sell their meat, clothing, and furniture.

Literally, the freezing, starving citizens of Paris were enraged.

However, the royal family and government had no solution.

Ultimately, the royal family capitulated.

They decided to convene the Estates-General after 175 years to introduce new taxes.

"This, this time, the priest Sieyès says we must go to the Estates-General! This country doesn't need tax thieves! The new Third Estate, the voice of the citizens, must be heard by the government!"

In Paris, France, at the Place Louis XV.

The speaker was shouting at the square named after the king.

He seemed to be a member of the Estates-General but stuttered slightly.

However, even his stuttering words excited the starving, explosive citizens, who cheered and roared.

- Cheers!

The sound was so loud it could be heard inside the luxurious carriage, drawn by six horses.

Inside the carriage, which would be a Rolls-Royce in modern times, Eugene turned his head.

Meeting Eugene, who was heading to the palace, the owner of the carriage suddenly spoke.

"Paris is already in turmoil."

The owner of the carriage, the Duke of Orléans, smiled.

Paris was in a state of turmoil.

The speaker Sieyès, whom the Duke of Orléans had invited to his residence, the Palais Royal, was shouting about tax thieves and the demands of the Third Estate.

Clergy, nobility, and urban citizens.

The third estate.

In the late 18th century, when the lower classes and peasants had no right to speak, these were the only ones with a voice.

The lowest of the Third Estate, the citizens, were in turmoil, yet the first noble of the kingdom was at ease.

He was confident that he could control the situation.

The Duke of Orléans smiled at Eugene and said,

"Heh, it's a pity you're so young. Gambling prodigy. If you were just ten years older, I would have recommended you as a member of the Estates-General."

"Your Highness, are you also a member of the Estates-General?"

"Yes. This time, the Estates-General is different from the previous Estates-General."

Suddenly, the Duke's eyes sparkled.

"It will be a golden opportunity to overturn the country, gambling prodigy."

The Estates-General, a meeting of the nobility and clergy, was held 160 years ago in 1787.

The reason was the same as this time: new taxes.

However, the nobility and clergy refused the new land tax and stamp duty.

The only thing approved was the issuance of bonds in the following year, 1788.

These were the French government bonds that Eugene was selling to Baring's Bank.

In essence, nothing had changed.

Ultimately, the king, unable to bear it, convened the Estates-General, which included influential commoners.

However, the ambitious Duke of Orléans decided to attend the Estates-General as a member.

Eugene shrugged.

"I'm fine as long as I don't have to eat bread mixed with dirt. I might have to soon, though."

"Heh! What a fuss for a rich man? I hear you started selling bonds, starting with me. If you haven't forgotten my kindness, you'll help me, right?"

"Do you need political funds already?"

Suddenly, the Duke of Orléans looked out the carriage window.

"Look at the street, prodigy."

The speaker had already come down.

However, the gathered crowd did not disperse.

The starving citizens, with fire in their eyes, roared.

They were surrounding and trying to burn a house.

"Burn the tax thieves who exploit the people!"

"Cheers! Burn them! Thieves! Robbers!"

"What? You dare say a married worker can be bought for 15 sous? Kill him!"

On the rue Saint-Antoine, the wallpaper merchant Reubell's house was under attack.

Reubell, though a successful businessman, was actually a supporter of the Third Estate.

However, the rumor that he said a worker could be hired for 15 sous, or 15 pennies, had spread throughout Paris.

Enraged by the rumor, the crowd rushed to destroy the house.

It couldn't be helped.

A worker's daily wage was roughly 30 sous.

However, the price of a pound of bread had doubled from 2 sous to 4 sous.

In other words, Reubell's words were telling the workers to starve to death.

Amid the chaos, a woman carrying a child ran around shouting,

"Bread! We need to find bread! Please!"

The rise in wheat prices.

A simple summary of the situation.

In 1789, France was facing a climate crisis of drought, flood, and cold.

With the remaining food exported and tariffs collected at various points in the walls of Paris, the price of wheat skyrocketed.

The government had already been in financial ruin for two years.

The Duke of Orléans, watching outside the carriage, tapped the floor with his elegant, jewel-encrusted cane.

"This is reality. The country is at a crossroads. Either a rebellion will break out, or the king will step down."

This was probably the reason the Duke of Orléans had Eugene in his carriage.

Recently, Eugene was a well-known big player in the French bond market.

This was because he had become one of the few intermediaries selling French government bonds overseas.

In other words, a bond broker.

The transaction amount had already exceeded 12 million livres.

Commission alone was 1.2 million livres.

Would this be enough to solve the debt?

Not a chance.

Without even considering the accumulated debt, the annual deficit of the French royal family was over 120 million livres.

Unless Eugene sold 100 million livres worth of bonds, it would be like peeing on a hot foot.

However, it was enough for political funds.

The Duke, who had a lot of money but spent too much, smiled.

At that moment, Eugene looked at the Duke and asked,

"Do you want to be king?"

"Ah, what a disrespectful thing to say. I merely mean that the king should relinquish power, like in England."

"You mean to do that at the Estates-General?"

The Duke of Orléans, Louis Philippe, smiled.

"Yes. Lafayette and Mirabeau will help me. Right?"

At that moment,

-Crash!

The carriage stopped.

Outside, the street was filled with an excited crowd.

The crowd, armed with hammers, clubs, and metal tools, was banging on the windows and shouting,

"Noble sir! Shout 'Long live the Third Estate!' or we won't let you go!"

In fact, among them, there were few who were actually going to the Estates-General.

However, it was not strange that the crowd's anger was directed at the nobility.

The nobility had ruined the country, causing the price of wheat to skyrocket.

Eugene was pondering how to break through when the Duke stood up as if it were natural.

"I must go out."

"Your Highness, it's dangerous. They are agitated rioters."

"No, they are the people, the citizens. I must embrace and protect them."

As the Duke stepped out, one of the menacing crowd recognized him.

"Your Highness, Duke of Orléans?"

It was the speaker who had been inciting the crowd earlier.

The Duke smiled, recognizing him.

"Oh, it's been a while. Camille Desmoulins. How have you been?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. If I had known you were in the carriage, I would have stopped them."

"No, you're not a violent person. You were probably dragged into it. Besides, what crime have these people committed?"

Camille Desmoulins, whose name made Eugene slightly surprised and glance outside.

A friend of Robespierre during the Great Revolution.

A stuttering lawyer who led a famous uprising.

And in the original history, he was executed by Robespierre.

However, Eugene had no time to admire Desmoulins.

The crowd was swarming the Duke.

"Oh, Your Highness!"

"You represent us!"

"Your Highness, please tell the king! About this disaster!"

The Duke addressed the crowd with a gracious and gentle demeanor.

"Dear citizens, please calm down. And act peacefully. We will surely have a happier future."

To Eugene, it was meaningless words.

However, this was a society of estates, and the Duke was the highest noble after the king.

The Duke of Orléans embodied the very concept of a duke as commonly thought of in modern times.

Royal blood, immense wealth, and a representative of the nobility.

That such a high noble was speaking on behalf of the people excited the crowd, who were in despair.

"Cheers!"

With a light gesture, the Duke got back into the carriage.

"Then, let's get out of here. Coachman, start."

"Are you not going to lead them?"

"What do you mean, Eugene? How can I control an agitated crowd? Besides."

The Duke glanced outside and said coldly,

"The royal guards will soon arrive to suppress them."

This was both the grandeur and the limitation of the Duke of Orléans.

The Duke knew.

He sensed that the world was about to be overturned.

He preemptively aligned himself with the future leaders of the