Paris's enthusiasm did not disappear in an instant. The Paris city government ordered the street where Napoleon lived to be renamed Ruedela Victoise. All kinds of people came to pay their respects. This time, Napoleon adopted a more humble attitude and returned their respects. Although someone had tried to poison him but failed, it did not affect the continuation of the welcome. Among all the welcoming banquets, there was only one that truly interested him: On December 28, 1797, Napoleon became a member of the French Academy of Sciences. He regarded the title as a great honor and said that only the applause at the ceremony had truly touched me.
General Napoleon immediately took up his post and went to the northern coast of France as the commander of the army preparing to attack England. It was an unusual challenge, the kind of risky challenge that Napoleon liked the most. If he succeeded, he, Napoleon Bonaparte, would be the first military commander to invade England since William the Conqueror in 1066. After Italy's brilliant achievements and diplomatic success, if everything went well, Napoleon would bring back the jewel in the British crown for France, sweep away the ruling governor, and seize power in one fell swoop with the support of the people. Even if Napoleon failed, as Ballas had foreseen, he could at least continue to be an officer in the straits. This ambitious man would not stay under others for long. One day, he would become the commander of another army.
On February 10, 1798, Napoleon left Paris in the cold wind and headed to the northern Brest coast to inspect the port, the military station, and the barracks for the French soldiers to gather and prepare for the invasion. He talked to local officers, sailors, fishermen, merchants, and even smugglers, listening attentively to their opinions and asking them for advice with great patience. Napoleon regarded this invasion as a major event that was related to the failure to seize power. The French army on British soil could force their government to sit down at the negotiating table. But his expedition was only to last eight days, because Talleyrand had sent a letter urging him to return to Paris as soon as possible to continue the Rushtat Conference, where our plenieniary anxiously insisted on your presence.
However, when Napoleon arrived in the French capital on February 24th, he learned that the diplomatic situation in Rashtag had suddenly changed. He would not be participating in the negotiations. At the same time, he submitted a report that denied the invasion of England, pointing out that the time was not ripe to invade England in any way: First of all, the season was not right. A surprise attack required long nights and short days. Therefore, only winter was the best time to cross the straits and launch a surprise attack. Besides, without complete control of the seas, it would be risky and difficult to raid England... It would take us years to gain the upper hand at sea even with our best efforts. Invasion of England at present is extremely risky... he said so in his report to the Directorate, but privately he told Brenner that [Europe] was only a molehill. The truly great empire and revolution could only happen in the East. To the governors, he explained that there were only ten French warships in Brest, and they were not equipped with sailors. Under these conditions, he did not intend to challenge the entire British Navy in the straits. Nevertheless, the invasion of England would come sooner or later, and France would have to prepare for several years before taking action.
Just like Napoleon, the Directorate-General was at a crossroads and could not make up his mind. They have already signed the decree in favour of the invasion, and appointed a committee of three to prepare and carry out the measures which General Napoleon wants you to take in connection with the campaign against Great Britain. However, at a military conference dedicated to discussing strategy, the Governor changed his mind and decided to postpone the military operations in the Strait.
Napoleon also proposed two feasible plans. One was to attack the British Hanover, and the other was to go to the east. Napoleon advocated the latter with the full support of Talleyrand. As early as July 3, 1797, Talleyrand advocated the establishment of a new colony in the eastern Mediterranean. In fact, on February 14, 1798, before Napoleon returned from the northern coast to submit the negative report, Talleyrand had already submitted a formal proposal to conquer Egypt.
The proposal reminded the five-member junta: Turkey had conquered Egypt in the early 16th century. Egypt had not always been Turkey's territory. France now had the responsibility to intervene in those lawless provinces that were out of control and to govern them in the name of Turkey. There were two public reasons for this strange action: The entire Egyptian prejudice against French businessmen, including Mamluk's extortion of loans and two public insults and beatings of French Consul General Ma Jialong. The foreign teacher insisted that this was intolerable. France would certainly be compensated for the military intervention. Egypt could provide France with the best climate in the world, not to mention the rich products-grains and vegetables were the most abundant-including rice, crocus, sugar, coffee, and cotton. As for the declaration of war by the Osman (Turkish) Sultan against France, Talleyrand hastened to tell the cautious Directorate: He wouldn't do that. Because the current turbulent Turkish Empire, especially the floodwaters in Albania and Moldova, was flooding, the Turks could not even take care of themselves. At the same time, the British can't intimidate us, he continued, because our war with the British created a perfect opportunity for the French to invade Egypt. They have to be on guard against the threat of a sudden French attack in the straits. They can't send the naval warships guarding the straits to fight us in Egypt. Moreover, once they had established themselves in Egypt, the French would be able to send 15,000 troops from Suez to drive the British out of India. What kind of resistance would France encounter in Egypt? He replied,"At most 8,000 Mamluk cavalry, completely ignorant of modern tactics." France only needs 25,000 men to occupy this country. Five ships and six three-masted frigates are enough to escort our expeditionary force. As for the Mamluks who rule Egypt, they will be abandoned by the enslaved Egyptian people, who will rejoice when we free them from the rule of their oppressors. As for the invasion, it was a piece of cake…France only needed to spend a small amount of money, and it would not take long for the Republic to get all the returns (from the spoils of war and the like). In short, the Minister of Foreign Affairs argued that the conquest of Egypt would be a punishment for the wrongs of the Turkish government for offending us... Egypt was once a province of the Roman Empire, and now it must become one of ours.
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