Chapter 5
"Napoleon and Wellington"
In his palace in Paris, Napoleon was sitting in the bathtub, dreaming of his conquests to conquer all of Europe, when he heard a knock at the door to the bathroom, thus disturbing his dreaming.
"Entre," he called and in stepped one of his most loyal generals who had shaggy red hair on his head and a red sash on his uniform.
"Sire," said the figure, standing behind Napoleon and bowing his head in respect. "I have news regarding some of the independent kingdoms and their response to your proclamation."
"What kind of news, Ney?' Napoleon asked. "Have they all agreed to my demands or not?"
"Most of them have agreed, sire," Ney answered, somewhat hesitantly. "Although there are three kingdoms who have…defied you."
This made Napoleon raise his hands and forcefully splash them in the bathwater, causing the splashes to hit Ney's uniform as he jumped back in fear.
"Come here, Ney," he whispered in an angry whisper and Ney starred down at his naked emperor who had a look on his face that demanded answers. "Who has defied me? Tell me!"
"Well, sire," said Ney. "The rulers of Bretagne and Bordeaux defy your commands of sending every man into your forces."
"Do they now?" Napoleon asked. "I made it very clear that any ruler who defies me will be punished severely. Where are they now?"
"I assume still at their respective kingdoms, sire. Do you think they will flee France?"
Napoleon took a jug of wine and drank it loudly for Ney to hear, then he slammed the jug down with a loud bang. Ney felt the bang trickle throughout his body.
"Of course they will flee France, you fool! They will probably join with Blucher or even worse, Wellington. We must stop them before they flee across the channel to England or the border to Prussia. Ney, I want you and Grouchy to take 2,000 men each and bring them to me, all of them! Do you understand?"
"As you command, sire," acknowledged Ney with a look of concern on his face. "And what are we to do with them when they are in our custody?"
"Why, bring them back to Paris and behead them with the guillotine, of course. As for the rest of their bodies…we'll decide when the time comes. Now leave at once. Take all night if you have to!"
Saluting Napoleon, Ney left his emperor alone in the bathroom. A look of disgust befell Napoleon, seemingly betrayed that there would be those working against him.
"Bordeaux and Britagne, those two kingdoms have always been loyalists to the dead king," Napoleon thought. "Well, I will force them to be loyal to me as long as I am alive."
He then had another thought of another kingdom that could possibly betray him.
"Stefan. Stefan could betray me just as easily," he thought some more. "Him and his friend, Hubert of Marsalie. They could betray me too and flee to that small area of Spain that the English rule over, Gibraltar."
Napoleon then sat up thinking.
"Spain. As mighty as I am, I will not go in this alone. I will have Spain deal with those traitors, while I deal with the other traitors of Bordeaux and Bretagne! Yes, that's what I will do!"
And as he pondered some more, a fire began to develop in his eyes, a fire of war directed towards us…all of us!
…
Meanwhile, in Buckingham Palace, the Duke of Wellington was receiving his instructions from George III as the two men sat in the king's study.
"So, you say that there are independent rulers that need to be brought here?" he asked. "And how do you propose we bring them here?"
"We bring some of our ships to them and then we bring them here to safety. But at the same time, we have another growing threat that needs to be discussed."
"What threat?" the Duke of Wellington asked.
"The threat of what is happening off the coast of Portugal," explained George III. "Villeneuve's fleet is stepping out of line with our shipping routes and quite possibly preparing to attack our ports. I will have Admiral Nelson deal with him and then we must also deal with the growing threat against our colony in Gibraltar."
"If you wish me to take some men into Gibraltar, your majesty," Wellington suggested. "I can provide…"
"No," interrupted George III. "No, we need you to lead a ground invasion of France. Fox can fortify the defenses of Gibraltar just as well. I also hear that the kings of Toulouse and Marsalie might also wish to flee from Napoleon's wrath. Kings Stefan and Hubert along with their families."
"Shall I give the order to Fox to open Gibraltar to them if possible?"
"Of course. Plus, Fox must prepare to fight the Spanish and the forces he has now are atrocious. If Stefan and Hubert are to fight for their homelands, they might as well as ally with us, won't they?"
Now, it's important to also remember that most kingdoms we had contained militia called fencibles, poorly equipped and undisciplined soldiers who are only purposed to maintain public order.
"When you give your orders to Fox," George III answered, taking a cigar and lighting it by the fireplace. "Tell him to replace his fencibles with his foot soldiers and by all means, have his armed citizenry disciplined as well. They can't fight as well, but we can make use of them."
Wellington acknowledged the order as the king breathed out smoke at the Duke.
"Sire, if I may also speak," he said. "A small kingdom in Denmark wishes to fight alongside us."
"Who are the rulers?"
"Eric and his consort, the former mermaid, Ariel."
"So it seems," chuckled George III, a small smile coming onto his face. "So it seems. Then, Admiral Nelson will be more than pleased to welcome them into his ranks. In fact, when all is said and done, I might create a monument to him as well as to you as well."
"If we win this conflict, your majesty."
"We will win, Wellington," promised George III. "We will win…by any means necessary."
…
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