Although Charles Bonaparte (the family had never used a noble title under any circumstances) was an outstanding Corsican patriot, he quickly changed his political side after Pauli was defeated by the French. He was the kind of person who, despite being lazy by nature, constantly designed new projects and made new plans for the development of the government in order to improve his status. However, other than being able to become one of the 12 members of the Ajaccio City Council, Charles gained nothing because most of his plans failed. Even so, his social status was stable among the four generations of noble families, which brought him many opportunities. As his children grew-now Maria Anna (Elisa), Lucien, Louis, Maria Aluziata (Caroline), Paulita (Polina), and Jerome-Charles Bonaparte needed all the help he could get. So, after dropping the children off the ship in Auton, France, he hurried to Versailles to get a full scholarship for Napoleon to enter Brienne in January 1779.
On April 21, 1779, Joseph and Napoleon parted ways for the first time. The day we parted was unforgettable. Joseph later recalled," I couldn't stop crying, and Napoleon only secretly shed a few tears... If Joseph was to a large extent his father's son, then Napoleon was his mother's son.
On May 15, 1779, the skinny and short Napoleon stepped into the military academy campus covered in sand and trees, which would be his home for the next six years. There were only a few old houses built of stone in the military academy surrounded by high walls. The tiles were covered with moss, and on the left was a former monastery. Napoleon put on a light blue military uniform with red cuffs and dark blue breeches. He entered a new world that would change his life.
In the military academy, as a student who enjoyed a full scholarship from the king, it did not make him any different from the other 109 cadets, because half of the cadets enjoyed the same treatment. However, his small stature, his limited French with a strong Corsica accent, his arrogant and combative personality, and his anger at the French occupying his beloved country made him stand out. Proud, irascible, sometimes fierce, and always aware that he was an outsider, he had no true friends; Louis de Brenner was one of the few people he could talk to. The reclusive Napoleon was now increasingly lonely, and inevitably became the kind of bully that could be found in all boarding schools. Considering that his gentle, humble, and approachable brother, Joseph, always gave him some leeway at home, it was not surprising that he would occasionally get involved in fierce fights here. This was the life of a military camp.
However, putting aside these unsatisfactory aspects, the Brienne Military Academy had indeed opened up a new world for Napoleon that was beyond Corsica's reach. In addition to mathematics, ancient history, geography, Latino literature (mostly translated into French), German, and natural science, he had to study social etiquette, dance, and music, which he found most restrictive. Unlike the other teenagers in the military academy, Napoleon knew that without his own efforts, he would gain nothing in this world. His maturity far exceeded his age. Although his father was now the representative of Corsica in Versailles, he was still short of money.
Fortunately, Napoleon was not very interested in personal wealth. On the contrary, as he said, he decided to go back and free Corsica from French slavery. Even then I believed that my will was destined to succeed. he said. He was already a passionate patriot who followed the hero, Pauli, when he was nine years old. In order to succeed, and he had no doubt that he would succeed, he needed to make full use of all the advantages the academy had to offer, no matter how humble.
Napoleon needed special tutoring in French, which was fated to always have an incongruous Corsican accent, and he was addicted to ancient history, reading hungrily in translation of the lives of Cicero, Virgil, Tycius, Svitonia, Horace, and Protarch. Napoleon shared his reading with me. said his brother, Joseph, who had always read books on ancient and modern history. Although the books I read were not as serious as his, I still told him about them in my letter. Joseph liked to read epics and Caesar's Chronicles about the Gaul War and the civil war. Napoleon was also passionate about two subjects: He had surpassed his brother in both geography and mathematics. One of Napoleon's mathematics teachers was a strict man named Jean Charles Pischegro. He joined the army within a few years (during the Great Revolution, he commanded the army to capture the Netherlands, which was later handed over to his second brother by Napoleon). Apart from being invited to Brienne Castle every year to celebrate the king's birthday, Napoleon rarely left the strict stone walls of the military academy. He had no intention of going out in the hostile France. He just buried his head in his books.
The French teenagers taunted Napoleon, laughing at everything about him, including his strange name. Napoleon, pronounced in French like lapaille-au-nez (straw on the nose), they called him that for months. However, he smiled and did not care. Instead, he studied even harder. He did not play with the teenagers who seized every opportunity to laugh at him. One day, I will make you French pay the price! He was always swinging his little fist in return for an eye for an eye, which only made the boys taunt him more vigorously. He was often rude and blunt in class. Once, Napoleon was punished by the instructor for disobeying discipline. He was ordered to take off his uniform, change into ragged clothes, and kneel on the ground to eat dinner in front of 109 students who were laughing. Napoleon did not listen. I want to eat standing up, sir. I won't kneel! He protested. In my house, we only kneel to God! He stood tenaciously, and the beating made him bruised, trembling, and vomiting uncontrollably. The school authorities withdrew the punishment, and the excited Napoleon was brought back to his dormitory. He had been attacked much worse than this since, especially when he was exhausted and unusually nervous.
The Royal Military Academy's inspector checked every student's academic results once a year, and the results would determine the future of the youths. The reports on Napoleon varied. One report said that he was good at mathematics…but lacked social skills, and recommended him for a naval officer position; Another report described him as bossy, arrogant, and stubborn. The final and decisive report issued in 1789 recommended that Napoleon serve in the army.
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