Chapter 1156: Vineyard Commander
Chapter 1156: Vineyard Commander
Under the joint push of Grenville and George III, it took only three weeks to complete the reform of Britain's electoral districts.
While the "Rotten Boroughs" were not abolished in large numbers, emerging industrial cities like Manchester and Liverpool gained a significant number of parliamentary seats. The newly elected representatives from these districts, honoring their pre-arranged deals, cast their votes for William Pitt Junior.
And so, after a gap of nearly three years, William Pitt Junior returned to the office of British Prime Minister.
Pitt had no taste for Grenville's style of cooperation and compromise. Upon moving into 10 Downing Street, he immediately replaced every cabinet minister—with the sole exception of the Home Secretary, the Duke of Portland—with a staunch lineup of Tory Party members.
The Duke of Portland had displayed such firmness and decisiveness during the suppression of the recent urban riots that he had earned Pitt's genuine admiration.
Pitt delivered his inaugural speech in the morning, and by the afternoon, he was already chairing his first full cabinet meeting.
He was acutely aware of the monumental challenges facing the Empire. The rival across the English Channel was growing stronger by the day and would grant him no opportunity for complacency.
His strategic roadmap had long been finalized in his mind.
The Second Foreign Secretary, Viscount Castlereagh, headed for Russia to resume the task Fox had failed to achieve—persuading the Tsar to commit his full strength to the European theater.
Speaker of the House Henry Addington was sent on a mission to the Americas to sign secret agreements with the United States and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves.
The newly appointed First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Melville, was granted an appropriation of nearly one million pounds sterling to oversee the massive construction of new ships of the line.
However, Pitt did not entirely abandon the concept of steam technology. He allocated eighty thousand pounds for the Chatham Dockyard to repair the previously commissioned steam warships.
The Chatham Dockyard represented the vested interests of naval officers like Lord Middleton, and since the Boulton-Watt Company enjoyed the protection of MP Egerton, Pitt felt it necessary to offer them some level of consideration.
Meanwhile, Pitt himself, accompanied by the Second Lord of the Treasury, Earl Temple, engaged in a series of negotiations with the Bank of England and four private syndicates, including the Rothschild family.
With his exceptional eloquence, he persuaded them to purchase special national debt bonds totaling seven million pounds, carrying an interest rate of fifteen percent.
Crucially, most members of Parliament failed to notice a single provision buried within the tens of thousands of words in the agreement—it authorized the Bank of England to issue an additional seven million pounds in currency to stabilize the treasury if the British government faced a debt default.
Pitt's intention was unmistakable: if France could not be crushed swiftly, he would rely on the vast revenues of Britain's overseas colonies and a coalition of German States to grind France down through attrition.
...
Elba Island.
"When I count one, step with your left foot! Your left foot, you idiot!" Napoleon shouted, dragging a man out from a line of vineyard peasants. "It has been over two months! Have you still not learned such a simple thing?!"
He tugged at the fabric of his old military uniform and pointed toward the grape trellises behind him. "Group One, take the buckets and advance! Group Two, check your gloves. You must eliminate the pests on these one and a half hectares of land today..."
A peasant began rhythmically striking a bucket, and the eight men of Group One marched into the fields, keeping time with his makeshift drumming.
"Group Three, regarding the results of your previous pruning of the diseased branches..."
As Napoleon was delivering his instructions, he heard the voice of the vineyard owner calling from behind. "Mr. Bonaparte, someone is here to see you."
Napoleon turned instantly and saw a tall man in military uniform approaching from the plantation gates, flanked by two guards.
As he stood there in a daze, a figure in a pale grey dress darted out from behind the three men.
His eyes widened in shock, and he gasped, "Désirée?!"
The girl gathered up her skirt and ran toward him, her voice trembling with emotion. "My dear, are you all right?"
"It really is you!" Napoleon pulled her into a tight embrace, greedily soaking in her warmth. "Heavens, how did you get here? Did you encounter any storms during the voyage?"
"No, none at all..."
Napoleon eventually released his fiancée and looked toward the officer, tipping his hat in a gesture of respect. "You must be the one who escorted Mademoiselle Clary here? I am deeply grateful to you!"
Désirée hurried to introduce him. "This is Major Garrel. He brought me here the entire way."
"It is an honor to meet you, Major Garrel."
Garrel gave Napoleon a polite nod. "You have three days. I will leave you two in peace."
He and the guards turned and walked away. Napoleon immediately led his fiancée toward his small cottage—provided by the vineyard owner as a token of gratitude for training the laborers. In truth, while the peasants smiled less under his regime, their productivity had barely improved.
"How did you manage to obtain a permit?" Napoleon asked as he pulled out a wooden stool and began rummaging through a crate in the corner. "You must try some of this wine! I brewed it myself."
Désirée sat down at the table and whispered, "I had to spend quite a bit of money."
Napoleon brought the wine over, poured it into a small wooden cup, and handed it to her. "It is wonderful to see you! Tell me, what has been happening in the world? I recall reading in the newspaper that Talavera actually went to attack Lisbon?"
While he received some newspapers on the island, they were usually several months or even half a year out of date.
Désirée hadn't expected him to ask about the war so quickly. She hesitated for a moment before answering, "He captured Lisbon. The Portuguese Royal Family was forced to flee to Rio de Janeiro."
"That is a good result. So, he must have begun a concentrated assault on Gibraltar after that?"
The girl shook her head. "No, he went to invade Morocco instead. It seems a tribe there plundered Melilla."
"The fool!"
"The Spaniards suffered a defeat in Morocco at first. But then, for some reason, the Moroccans surrendered and gave up two coastal territories. A place called Ceuta was even ceded to France."
She was, of course, unaware of Soult's daring raid on Marrakesh.
"It was likely the Crown Prince who sent reinforcements to bail out the Spaniards," Napoleon remarked, sounding somewhat dejected. "Ah... such a fascinating campaign. If I weren't confined to this tiny island, perhaps I could have..."
Désirée continued sharing the news. "I heard that we and the Spaniards eventually besieged Gibraltar anyway and fought a battle against the British fleet."
Napoleon pressed her urgently, "And the result? What was the outcome?"
"We must have won. The papers reported that two British ships were captured and towed back to Toulon." The girl thought for a moment and added, "It also mentioned that General Masséna landed in Egypt. However, he didn't end up fighting the Ottomans and was withdrawn back to France shortly after."
"Egypt?" Napoleon raised his hands in excitement. "I said long ago that place was vital! The Crown Prince has indeed made the right decision! So, he defeated the Mamluks?"
"Yes, I believe that was the name."
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