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Chapter 973: Arresting "Emperor Napoleon"

Three days later.

Mantua Fortress.

Napoleon glanced at Desaix's private seal on the letter in his hand, then looked at Desaix's aide-de-camp. "Let me guess," he began, "there was a battle, wasn't there?"

He was familiar with this aide-de-camp, having seen him several times during the fighting in Trento.

The latter was clearly nervous, but with a "retainer" —actually a Security Bureau agent—standing behind him, he could only honestly relay Lefebvre's instructions:

"Yes, General. We were attacked by the Austrians, and many soldiers died. Later, we pursued them to Klagenfurt Fortress and even unexpectedly occupied it."

Napoleon smiled immediately and opened the "letter from Desaix."

It was the handwriting of Desaix's aide. He didn't suspect anything; it was common for officers to have their aides write for them when they were busy.

In the letter, Desaix stated that everything was going smoothly, but over two thousand men from Leo's army had retreated to Graz, and he was asking what to do next. He also mentioned that ammunition reserves might be insufficient for a large-scale offensive and needed to be replenished quickly.

He immediately told the aide-de-camp, "Tell Major Desaix to attack Graz as quickly as possible. If the Austrians react, we will face several times their number."

"Yes, yes, General."

After Desaix's aide-de-camp departed in a hurry, Napoleon summoned the Mantua Fortress quartermaster, informing him that Oudinot had been attacked by the Austrians and ordering all ammunition in the fortress to be immediately transported there.

That afternoon, Napoleon set off for Klagenfurt with his guards.

'This battle, destined to go down in history, naturally needs to be personally commanded by me!'

Four days later.

As Napoleon gazed upon the fleur-de-lis banner fluttering over Klagenfurt Fortress in the distance, a triumphant smile spread across his face.

Continuing for several hundred meters, he saw a large number of French soldiers camped in front of the fortress, seemingly over a thousand men.

He frowned instantly, spurred his horse forward, and roared, "Why are you still here? Where is Desaix? I said to attack Graz immediately!"

A man's voice came from beside him. "General, why attack Graz?"

"For Vienna, of course, you fool—" Napoleon turned to see who had spoken, and his voice cut short.

It was Lefebvre.

"You, how are you here?"

Lefebvre tipped his hat to him. "General Bonaparte, you are suspected of violating military orders, abusing your authority, concealing military intelligence, and premeditated murder of soldiers. I am now arresting you."

Napoleon's pupils immediately contracted, and he took a few steps back, shaking his head. "Colonel Lefebvre, I don't know what you are talking about."

"I have a great deal of evidence," Lefebvre said, gesturing to the surrounding soldiers. "They all heard it just now. We can discuss the details when you return to Paris."

Napoleon suddenly said in a low voice, "I order you, Colonel, step aside immediately."

Then he waved to his guards beside him, pointing at Lefebvre. "Contain him!"

He made an instant decision: 'First, stabilize the situation here, then conquer Vienna in the shortest possible time. Even if Paris wants to punish me, they will first have to account for this immense achievement. More likely, I will become a hero of France and be exempt from punishment.'

Just then, a fair-haired man in his thirties emerged from behind Lefebvre and addressed Napoleon and his men, "I advise you not to do that."

As he spoke, he took out a document and unfolded it. "This is an order personally signed by His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince."

Not just Napoleon, but even his guardsmen froze on the spot.

They could not possibly fail to recognize this man—Eman, the Crown Prince's loyal butler, Count Eman.

His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, often inspected the troops and shared meals with the soldiers, and Eman was usually by his side.

Even the soldiers behind Eman had familiar faces; they were the Crown Prince's personal guard.

Napoleon's over a hundred guardsmen exchanged glances, then lowered their weapons and retreated to the side.

As Napoleon's trusted subordinates, they held little regard for Colonel Lefebvre, and even dared to disobey the General Staff Headquarters, but they absolutely lacked the courage to defy His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince.

The French army of today could arguably be said to have been single-handedly created by the Crown Prince.

He was the guiding light for all French soldiers!

If they had to choose between their own general and the Crown Prince, they would undoubtedly choose to obey the latter.

The Crown Prince's guards marched forward, confiscating the weapons of Napoleon's guardsmen.

Lefebvre gestured towards a distant carriage, then bowed to Napoleon. "General Bonaparte, we must return to Paris. His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, is awaiting my report."

The next day.

Leo, the commander of Klagenfurt, escorted Lefebvre all the way to the Austrian border, expressing his immense gratitude once more before they parted:

"I am so fortunate to have received your timely warning this time; otherwise, my troubles would have been immense. Once the war concludes, I will certainly visit you in Paris."

Indeed, if not for Lefebvre, he would most likely have been captured by Desaix by now.

Even if he had miraculously held Klagenfurt Fortress, Vienna would later investigate the matter of over a hundred men in his army being bribed by French spies.

Lefebvre embraced him and asked in a low voice, "Have those individuals been dealt with properly?"

He was, of course, referring to the Austrian soldiers who had accepted money to attack the French army.

Leo nodded. "Yes, we've largely cleared it up. The ringleader was an artillery captain named Leimanler; he took 4,000 Florins. As for the soldiers under his command, we've identified over 120 of them. I've sent them all to the mountains of Transylvania.

"Oh, and as for those who bribed them to cause disruption, I assure you, they will all be sent to Paris within a month."

Lefebvre wasn't particularly concerned; Lieutenant Maistre and several other core Intelligence Bureau personnel had already been identified by the Austrian soldiers, so the Intelligence Bureau could not escape culpability. The others were simply adding to the evidence.

From the Intelligence Bureau to the Udine garrison, the chain of evidence was complete; a military court could proceed directly with the trial.

After a few more pleasantries, Lefebvre prepared to turn and board the carriage, but Leo hurried forward two steps and said, "Don't forget about the exercise."

"Of course, my dear Franz."

Klagenfurt Fortress had caused such a stir that Vienna was sure to notice.

So Leo and Lefebvre agreed that the French and Austrian armies had conducted an "anti-smuggling exercise" on the border, which would allow the matter to be smoothly covered up.

...

Paris.

Versailles Palace.

Nicolas Corvisart, the new Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, stood respectfully before the Crown Prince, awaiting the latter's review of the first draft of the "Provisional Physician's Manual" in his hand.