In The Shadow of The Eagle
- Thread starter Telamon
- Start date
- Original Alt. History
- Pronouns
- He
[X] NO
M. LÉON MESSIER'S DISPATCH
The duc de Rovigo is a man of excellent character and proven loyalty to France. I avail in the defense of his conduct the immaculate shield of disinterested history. In Marengo, when the valent Desaix perished at the time of his greatest triumph, it was the duc de Rovigo who recovered the general's naked body and gave it the reverence that such a hero deserved. We capture in this episode the fidelity that would define his career. Who here would doubt his performance in the pursuit of the Prussians after Iéna, in their reduction at Wismar, in their capitulation at Rostock, and in their despair at Ostrolenka? Who here would curse the mastery over Spain that we owe, in part, to the brilliance of his mind? What venom I see, what jealousy I hear, over a man awarded a duché grand-fief by L'Empereur! Am I in Lackland or am I in France?
[X] YES
–[X] The Imperial Parliament is in a reckless mood. They will likely disavow the duc de Rovigo. Before the vote can come, it is in the regent's interest to seek the duc's public refusal of the premiership. Leverage the appeal to the wider interests of the empire to seek a bridge between the House of Bonaparte. Surely there is a man who can hold the affection of the roi de Naples and the prince de Venise.
[X] YES
–[X] The Imperial Parliament is in a reckless mood. They will likely disavow the duc de Rovigo. Before the vote can come, it is in the regent's interest to seek the duc's public refusal of the premiership. Leverage the appeal to the wider interests of the empire to seek a bridge between the House of Bonaparte. Surely there is a man who can hold the affection of the roi de Naples and the prince de Venise.
[X] YES
–[X] The Imperial Parliament is in a reckless mood. They will likely disavow the duc de Rovigo. Before the vote can come, it is in the regent's interest to seek the duc's public refusal of the premiership. Leverage the appeal to the wider interests of the empire to seek a bridge between the House of Bonaparte. Surely there is a man who can hold the affection of the roi de Naples and the prince de Venise.
–[X] The Imperial Parliament is in a reckless mood. They will likely disavow the duc de Rovigo. Before the vote can come, it is in the regent's interest to seek the duc's public refusal of the premiership. Leverage the appeal to the wider interests of the empire to seek a bridge between the House of Bonaparte. Surely there is a man who can hold the affection of the roi de Naples and the prince de Venise.
Zimmerwald1915
Revolutionary Defeatist
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Savary is contra-stability, though.
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Zimmerwald1915
Revolutionary Defeatist
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
If he's still politically active, it's probably with the Old Guard. Say was no Bonapartist, but he was also no radical.
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- Location
- NY
[X] YES
The Ministerial Crisis of 1816
Telamon
A corvid.
- Location
- Texas
After a tense session which lasts perhaps a third of an hour, the Regent's ministerial slate is soundly rejected. Savary, the chamber has decided, is too heavyhanded -- a thug in silk stockings, one representative calls him. There are calls for other names -- among them that of Talleyrand, the Empire's foreign minster, currently away in Vienna negotiating with the powers of Europe. The Chamber squalls, dithers, and then adjourns, France still headless.
This leaves the Regent, understandably, frustrated. Napoleon had no Prime Minister -- he headed his government himself, writing laws from the battlefield. But the Regent -- though an able man and clear-headed -- is no Napoleon, and he has a whole continent to adminster. In the two days which follow, other names are bandied and discussed. Maret, some suggest, or Montalivet. Marshal Clarke. Talleyrand indeed, others suggest, for though he is old and crafty, he is more than capable. The Regent meets privately with several leading men of France, who are publicly rumored to firmly and soundly turn down the position.
On the morning of July the 3rd, an army enters Paris. At it's head are three men returned from the wars in Europe -- the first being the Marshal Bessieres, commander of the Imperial Guards. At his side are two brothers: the Marshal Auguste-Jean Caulaincourt, commander of the imperial cavalry corps, and his elder brother, Armand Caulaincourt, the Duke of Vicenza and the emperor's Marshal of the Palace. The men under their command are the Imperial Guard. They have marched non-stop from Vienna in the process of discharging their long and final duty -- to bear the mortal remains of the Emperor Napoleon to the city of Paris.
The entrance of the body into the city is nothing less than the spectacle of a generation. Crowds throng the streets. The Marshals and higher officers present in the city march as an honor guard on all sides of the coffin. All weep. The path of the coffin is direct -- there will time for a tour later, during the funeral. Still, tens of thousands come to see the coffin holding the body of the emperor as it makes it's way through the streets to the Champ de Mars. It is left there, by order of the Regent, under the watchful eyes of two hundred Imperial Guard for ten days of public viewing.
Bessieres, and the brothers Caulaincourt become instant heroes in the city. A song is hastily composed about their heroic march. There are calls in the Chamber of Peers to make them all Princes of the Empire and permanent members of the Chamber itself. Caulaincourt -- the Duke, who had formerly served as foreign minister -- turns down an offer from the Regent to stand as Prime Minister. He is rumored to tell both the Regent and the Empress at an emergency session of the Chamber of Peers that any sensible officer of the Grande Armee would do the same, saying: "We are only soldiers, sir, and there was but one soldier in the whole of the army who might have run the whole of this nation -- you may see him lying there on the field."
When asked who, knowing so well his emperor's mind, Napoleon might have selected to command the domestic affairs of the empire in his stead, Caulaincourt's reply is said to be equally dry: "He would rise from the coffin to continue the work. Failing that, and having no other recourse against God himself, he would appoint Maret."
Maret is, of course one Huges-Bernard Maret -- the Duc de Bessano. A journalist and a liberal firebrand during the Revolution, after the declaration of the Empire he became Napoleon's foremost ambassador and personal secretary. He has drafted every Constitution of the Empire, transcribed hundreds of the emperor's letters, and has served since 1799 as the head editor and publisher of Le Moniteur -- the state newspaper of the Empire, and the first and final word of the Emperor's state to untold millions.
He was Napoleon's pen and voice. Perhaps better than any man living, he knew his mind.
He and his newspaper have not, it must be said, been friends to the Regent Imperial. It is no matter, for every other newspaper in the city publishes a faithful transcript of Caulaincourt's conversation with him the day afterwards. Le Moniteur, to it's credit, waits a full 48 hours.
NAPOLEON'S FAVOURITE: MARET!
After that, it is all a fait accompli. Two days after Napoleon returns to Paris, the Chamber of Representatives is reconvened. Whoever the Regent might have imagined as head of his cabinet, if his appointment of Savary was a ploy, if he might, after all, have named Talleyrand -- none of it matters now. He presents, nearly unchanged, the same slate of minsters as before. Savary is returned to the more humble post of Minister of Internal Affairs, while the Duke of Vicenza is appointed to his former position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Hughes-Bernard Maret is, of course, submitted as President of the Council of Ministers.
Does the Chamber accept the Maret government? If the NOs have it at the end of the vote, the Regent and the Chamber of Peers will either submit a new list of Ministers…or attempt to force their choice through by other means.
[] YES
[] NO
This leaves the Regent, understandably, frustrated. Napoleon had no Prime Minister -- he headed his government himself, writing laws from the battlefield. But the Regent -- though an able man and clear-headed -- is no Napoleon, and he has a whole continent to adminster. In the two days which follow, other names are bandied and discussed. Maret, some suggest, or Montalivet. Marshal Clarke. Talleyrand indeed, others suggest, for though he is old and crafty, he is more than capable. The Regent meets privately with several leading men of France, who are publicly rumored to firmly and soundly turn down the position.
On the morning of July the 3rd, an army enters Paris. At it's head are three men returned from the wars in Europe -- the first being the Marshal Bessieres, commander of the Imperial Guards. At his side are two brothers: the Marshal Auguste-Jean Caulaincourt, commander of the imperial cavalry corps, and his elder brother, Armand Caulaincourt, the Duke of Vicenza and the emperor's Marshal of the Palace. The men under their command are the Imperial Guard. They have marched non-stop from Vienna in the process of discharging their long and final duty -- to bear the mortal remains of the Emperor Napoleon to the city of Paris.
The entrance of the body into the city is nothing less than the spectacle of a generation. Crowds throng the streets. The Marshals and higher officers present in the city march as an honor guard on all sides of the coffin. All weep. The path of the coffin is direct -- there will time for a tour later, during the funeral. Still, tens of thousands come to see the coffin holding the body of the emperor as it makes it's way through the streets to the Champ de Mars. It is left there, by order of the Regent, under the watchful eyes of two hundred Imperial Guard for ten days of public viewing.
Bessieres, and the brothers Caulaincourt become instant heroes in the city. A song is hastily composed about their heroic march. There are calls in the Chamber of Peers to make them all Princes of the Empire and permanent members of the Chamber itself. Caulaincourt -- the Duke, who had formerly served as foreign minister -- turns down an offer from the Regent to stand as Prime Minister. He is rumored to tell both the Regent and the Empress at an emergency session of the Chamber of Peers that any sensible officer of the Grande Armee would do the same, saying: "We are only soldiers, sir, and there was but one soldier in the whole of the army who might have run the whole of this nation -- you may see him lying there on the field."
When asked who, knowing so well his emperor's mind, Napoleon might have selected to command the domestic affairs of the empire in his stead, Caulaincourt's reply is said to be equally dry: "He would rise from the coffin to continue the work. Failing that, and having no other recourse against God himself, he would appoint Maret."
Maret is, of course one Huges-Bernard Maret -- the Duc de Bessano. A journalist and a liberal firebrand during the Revolution, after the declaration of the Empire he became Napoleon's foremost ambassador and personal secretary. He has drafted every Constitution of the Empire, transcribed hundreds of the emperor's letters, and has served since 1799 as the head editor and publisher of Le Moniteur -- the state newspaper of the Empire, and the first and final word of the Emperor's state to untold millions.
He was Napoleon's pen and voice. Perhaps better than any man living, he knew his mind.
He and his newspaper have not, it must be said, been friends to the Regent Imperial. It is no matter, for every other newspaper in the city publishes a faithful transcript of Caulaincourt's conversation with him the day afterwards. Le Moniteur, to it's credit, waits a full 48 hours.
NAPOLEON'S FAVOURITE: MARET!
After that, it is all a fait accompli. Two days after Napoleon returns to Paris, the Chamber of Representatives is reconvened. Whoever the Regent might have imagined as head of his cabinet, if his appointment of Savary was a ploy, if he might, after all, have named Talleyrand -- none of it matters now. He presents, nearly unchanged, the same slate of minsters as before. Savary is returned to the more humble post of Minister of Internal Affairs, while the Duke of Vicenza is appointed to his former position of Minister of Foreign Affairs. Hughes-Bernard Maret is, of course, submitted as President of the Council of Ministers.
Does the Chamber accept the Maret government? If the NOs have it at the end of the vote, the Regent and the Chamber of Peers will either submit a new list of Ministers…or attempt to force their choice through by other means.
[] YES
[] NO
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- Location
- Makati Prefecture, Luzon SSR, RK Philipinnes
[x] YES
Maret is perfectly fine and the city likes him so
Maret is perfectly fine and the city likes him so
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Don't like Savary as Internal Affairs, but...
[X] YES
[X] YES
Zimmerwald1915
Revolutionary Defeatist
- Location
- Lake Wobegon
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Hmm. . . can we approve particular ministers and ask that certain of the slate be replaced, or must we accept the whole slate?
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] YES
Good enough!
Good enough!
- Pronouns
- He/Him
- Location
- E-Girl Deseret
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] YES
Maret is a sensible, leveled-headed choice, who is beholden to no law but the Empire's. Not a bloody-handed tyrant! A man of boundless energy for an empire of boundless promise. Long live the Regent! Long live the Duc de Bessano!
Maret is a sensible, leveled-headed choice, who is beholden to no law but the Empire's. Not a bloody-handed tyrant! A man of boundless energy for an empire of boundless promise. Long live the Regent! Long live the Duc de Bessano!
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