I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1141 The Falcon of North America

“Elba Island?” Joseph looked at the girl in front of him, frowning slightly. “So your fiancé is…”

“It is Mr. Bonaparte,” said Miss Clary. “I have always loved him deeply, but now that love may have to come to an end.”

She gestured to the school buildings beside her: "I donated all my dowry to build these schools so that I could have the opportunity to ask you for help."

"Please have mercy and let me see him one last time, just for an hour, no! Half an hour will do. Please!"

Joseph finally remembered where he'd heard the name Clarrie before—Napoleon's first love was named Desiree Clarrie, the historical Queen of Sweden.

He looked at Desiree, who had begun to sob, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "What a devoted girl." But Napoleon, after meeting Josephine, didn't hesitate to dump her...

Well, in that case, I did you a favor by leaving him on the island—he never had the chance to meet Josephine or any other noblewoman again.

Joseph would certainly not let Napoleon, this "weapon of mass destruction," rot on Elba Island.

By now, Napoleon has been planting grapes on the island for almost three years. It's unknown whether the proud falcon's sharpness has been worn away.

In fact, Napoleon was the most suitable person to command the Egyptian campaign—historically, he used overwhelmingly inferior forces to defeat the Mamluks, and then led his army all the way to Syria.

If the British Navy hadn't cut off his escape route, he might have ended up with most of the Middle East in his hands.

However, Joseph has no intention of letting Napoleon return to Europe at this time.

The command system of the French army is already very sophisticated.

After completing the second military reform, Masséna and Moreau could perfectly replace Napoleon's role, and even if they handed the army over to Soult, they might be able to achieve the same brilliant results as the historical "Napoleon".

So, after Napoleon had "endured" enough, Joseph's arrangement for him was actually to go to St. Louis, North America.

The poor quality of the Native American soldiers there was exactly what he could do to make the most of them and integrate them into a usable army.

In particular, the Americans had a significant numerical advantage, and if other generals were to engage in a head-on confrontation, they might very well lose the Mississippi River defense line.

Napoleon, who was adept at taking risky military maneuvers and achieving victory through surprise, was the most likely person to defeat the American army there.

Finally, by sending Napoleon far away from the political core of France, even if he still had some ulterior motives, he wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

If he could establish a stable colony of Saint Louisiana, France would have another major source of revenue to sustain it for at least another century.

Well, even if France were to have a "one-on-one" battle with Britain in India in the future, Napoleon would have the opportunity to command the Foreign Legion there.

Joseph gestured for Desirée to stand up, nodded, and said, "Your devotion has touched me, as has your selfless contribution to French education."

"You may go to your fiancé's place of exile and stay there for three days. I will send someone to inform you of the specific departure time."

Desiray was surprised that things went so smoothly, and immediately wiped away her tears, expressing her gratitude profusely.

After the Crown Prince turned and left, Desirée looked gratefully at the Dean of the Academy of Sciences, Leroy, and curtsied to him.

Desière and his daughter were very good friends. A few months ago, when Desière came to him asking him to intercede with the Crown Prince to help her see her exiled fiancé, he was in a very difficult position.

He was a highly respected president of the Academy of Sciences in the eyes of others, but in front of the Crown Prince, he was just a little karami.

Therefore, he suggested that Desiree donate to the "New Primary School," which would likely give her a chance to meet the Crown Prince. Leroy, a key figure in the "Education for All" plan, was well aware of the Crown Prince's level of concern for this matter.

His method proved to be quite effective.

Five days later, an intelligence officer named Garrel took Desiree to the port of Marseille, where they boarded the frigate "Confidence" and headed for Elba.

……

1797 4 Month 15 Day.

Egypt.

On the eastern side of Alexandria, in Aboukir Bay, more than a dozen large French transport ships lay anchored on the calm sea. Countless small boats, like industrious ants, shuttled between the fleet and the beach, transporting soldiers and equipment aboard the gentle sand.

Massena, however, anxiously urged the soldiers to speed up.

He knew very well that this place was 20 kilometers away from Alexandria. Once the Mamluk army got the news, whether they held their ground in the port or launched attacks along the way, it would cause him a lot of trouble.

He looked towards the sea to the west and muttered to himself, "If we land on Malabut Beach, we can reach Alexandria this afternoon, and the enemy won't have time to react."

However, His Highness the Crown Prince ordered him to land at the distant Abu Kil Bay.

As the sun began to set, Massena finally saw the soldiers dragging the last wagon off the barge. He immediately turned to the messenger and said, "Order the soldiers to complete the formation within half an hour, and then immediately march toward Alexandria."

Just then, a light frigate sped over and sent a series of flag signals to the French troops on the shore.

Soon, a communications officer reported to Massena: "General, a transport ship just ran aground on the north side of Malabut Bay, and two other ships are worried about other reefs nearby, so they need to wait for the tide to recede."

"They will not be able to get here today."

Massena was immediately startled.

Is the Gulf of Malabut really that dangerous? No wonder His Highness the Crown Prince didn't allow him to land there.

But France has never received hydrographic information about the area around Egypt. How did Your Highness make this judgment?
Yes, Joseph certainly knew that historically, Napoleon had risked landing on Marabut Beach because he was closer to Alexandria. However, the beach was full of reefs and the waves were very large, resulting in heavy casualties for his troops during the landing.

It was later proven that the suggestion from Egyptian fishermen, whom the French had found, to land at Aboukir Bay was the correct choice.

Although this place is far from Alexandria, according to historical records, when Napoleon led his army to the port, he found that the defenses here were very lax and there were no soldiers patrolling around normally.

The French army captured Egypt's largest port in just over two hours.

As a result, the French fleet could not withstand the harsh environment of the Bay of Malabut and sailed through a large number of reefs to anchor in Abu Kil.

Massena constantly sent out hussars to scout along the Nile River. The area was densely networked with waterways and marshes, making it ideal for ambushes, so he had to be extremely cautious.

However, nothing unexpected happened.

By noon the following day, he had already seen the turrets outside Alexandria.

(End of this chapter)