Chapter 210: Chapter 210 – The First Consul
A few days later, after extensive deliberation, the National Assembly was about to vote on Napoleon's political reform plan. The people of Paris, spontaneously (truly spontaneously) gathered near the Assembly building, celebrating the imminent passage of the new laws. They sang revolutionary songs, waved rifles, spears, and even models of guillotines, symbolizing the spirit of the revolution. This was all in support of the National Assembly and the joy of victory.
Many soldiers also joined in the festivities, bringing cannons for musical accompaniment. The square in front of the Assembly became a sea of merriment.
Amid this joyful atmosphere, the National Assembly began to deliberate on Napoleon's plan. All the assembly members cast their votes in favor without hesitation, chanting, "It will be fine, it will be fine, the counter-revolutionaries are hanging from lampposts," and so Napoleon's plan smoothly passed.
According to this plan, the French government would undergo comprehensive reform. The highest executive body in France would be called the Consulate. It consisted of three consuls, with different responsibilities: the second consul for domestic affairs, the third consul for military and foreign affairs, and they all reported directly to the first consul. The first consul oversaw all executive matters and served as the Commander-in-Chief of the French army.
The first consul was directly elected, with a five-year term, and as the head of state, he didn't have to answer to the legislature. The second and third consuls were nominated by the first consul and approved by the legislature.
Under the Consulate, various ministries were established, including the Ministry of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Agriculture, Industry, War, Public Safety, and Truth. The ministers of these departments were appointed by the first consul and reported directly to him.
As for the National Assembly, it underwent reforms and was divided into four parts: the Council of State, the Council of the People, the Legislative Council, and the Senate. The Council of State proposed laws, the Council of the People discussed and suggested amendments, the Legislative Council voted on amended laws, and the Senate reviewed them before the first consul implemented them.
Among these four councils, only the Council of State had the authority to propose laws, but the laws had to go through the other three bodies for approval. This significantly reduced the power of the legislature.
On the other hand, according to the new plan, a portion of the council members in these four bodies was appointed by the first consul, and the rest were indirectly elected through a relatively complex procedure. This made the elections susceptible to the influence of the first consul. After this plan was passed, the National Assembly truly became a Senate, as Dickens would later say.
After this law was passed, with swift preparation, one month later, France held its first nationwide election. As the sole candidate, Napoleon received almost all votes, except for a few spoiled ballots due to technical issues.
Thanks to this election result, when he later arrogantly declared in the Senate why he had suspended the execution of a certain law, he could say, "I was elected by every single French citizen! My legitimacy far surpasses any legislature; therefore, the legitimacy of my commands far exceeds the so-called laws enacted by the legislature! Suspending the execution of laws that do not align with the will of the French people is an undeniable power bestowed upon me by the people of France!"
Today, although Napoleon didn't hold the title of Dictator, in reality, he had the powers of one. The only person who could frustrate him now was Joseph.
"Good Lord! Napoleon, you idiot! It's such a straightforward design, and you can't even grasp it. You want to shamelessly infiltrate the Academy of Sciences! Let me tell you! Even if the Academy increased its number of academicians by ten, or even a hundred, it wouldn't be your turn! Don't think you can use your worldly power to taint the sanctity of the Académie Française. I'm telling you, it won't happen! As long as I'm the President of the French Academy of Sciences, your blatant abuse of power won't be tolerated! Unless..." Joseph ranted, spitting venom.
"Unless what?" Napoleon asked.
"Unless you can prove any of the questions at the end of this book!" Joseph casually pulled a book from the shelf and tossed it in front of Napoleon.
The book was Joseph's "Foundations of Mathematics." Despite its name, there was nothing foundational about the contents. Even centuries later, it remained a source of agony for countless science and engineering students. Joseph had unapologetically borrowed significant mathematical creations from the great mathematicians of the original timeline, replacing them to become the bane of students in this era.
In the final section of the book, Joseph had thrown in a series of challenging math problems, including Fermat's Conjecture (now known as Fermat's Last Theorem), the Goldbach Conjecture, and the Four-Color Problem, among others.
"This is unfair!" Napoleon protested. "Even Laplace couldn't solve these problems!"
"Very well, then," Joseph replied. "Prove some scientific law we didn't know before, or I can lower the difficulty to match the last problems in this book."
"Hmph! Just you wait!" Napoleon angrily picked up the application with signatures from notable figures like Lavasie and Laplace and left Joseph's laboratory in a huff. As he walked, he thought, "I must make Laplace produce a high-quality paper for me as soon as possible! It must be groundbreaking, innovative, highly discussable, of extreme significance, and marketable!"
Of course, this was just a minor issue between the brothers. Both were quite busy at the moment. Napoleon was busy establishing his government framework, and Carnot, a trusted associate, became the Third Consul while doubling as the Minister of War. Barras, who joined the "Military-Industrial Complex" at a crucial moment, became the Second Consul and secured the position of Minister of the Interior.
Lucien became the first Minister of the newly established Ministry of Truth and also served as the President of the Council of the People. Fouché continued as the Minister of Public Safety, and the other ministerial positions were allocated to individuals who were aligned with the interests of the Bonaparte family. In short, Napoleon's government was essentially set up.
It was said that during a gathering after the government was officially established, the young First Consul raised his glass to everyone and said, "Gentlemen, many of us have witnessed how the Directory lost the people's trust, how they were abandoned. The main reasons for their fall were two: incompetence and corruption.
Gentlemen, in fact, those in the Directory weren't truly foolish. Each of them was individually competent, and some were remarkably talented. But why did they leave an impression of incompetence? I believe the reason is simple: their intelligence and capability were squandered in internal disputes. Their constant infighting was due to the absence of shared interests.
Gentlemen, in this regard, we are fundamentally different. We all share a common interest – ensuring the efficient operation of this government is in everyone's best interest. We can compete among ourselves, but this competition must have limits and not degenerate into internal strife.
As for the second point, corruption. I don't want to preach lofty principles, I'll say only this: many of us have our own businesses. Making these businesses profitable is far more reliable than seeking wealth through corruption. Don't let minor gains lead to significant losses. For those who have yet to secure their position and profits in our 'Military-Industrial Complex,' I can tell you that we've established a role of 'Enterprise Consultant.' As long as you perform well in the government, upon your departure, this position can bring you much more than you'd gain through corrupt practices..."
On Joseph's side, since the "Zeus Plan" had achieved substantial success, his primary focus was now on the "Hephaestus Plan."
In Greek mythology, Hephaestus was the god of fire and the blacksmith. This plan primarily involved iron and steel smelting. In this era, crucible steelmaking had emerged, allowing humans to achieve temperatures higher than the melting point of pure iron. This resulted in the creation of liquid steel. It was the most advanced steelmaking technology of the time. However, it was still relatively costly and had limited production capacity. This method didn't meet Joseph's requirements.
In the original timeline, it would take several decades for Henry Bessemer to invent the Bessemer converter, marking the first large-scale, low-cost production of steel. However, Joseph wasn't a metallurgist by trade, and he only had a basic understanding of steelmaking. He knew that both the Bessemer converter and the open-hearth process essentially relied on blowing oxygen into molten pig iron to remove excess carbon, resulting in the production of steel. But his knowledge was limited to this. Once it came to technical details, he was completely in the dark.
Nevertheless, even these broad strokes without technical details held immense value. They pointed in the right direction, and as long as the direction was correct and the technology tree wasn't skewed, the technical details could be worked out through experimentation. Moreover, Joseph had the greatest chemist of this era at his side.
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