Napoleon was stunned for a moment, then put away his smile and said, "My brother, what do you have to say about this matter?" ”

"Napoleon," said Joseph, after a moment's hesitation, "I would like to know whether France will be a republic or an empire in the future, in your aim." ”

"Joseph, why do you doubt Napoleon?" Before Napoleon could speak, Lucien spoke with dissatisfaction.

"Shut up!" Joseph did not even glance at Lucien, but continued to stare at Napoleon. So Lucien sat down beside him with a calm face, and said nothing.

"What about the Empire? And what about the republic? Napoleon had intended to say directly, "Of course I want to be emperor," but somehow, a phrase came out of his mouth, with a weak smell that he himself hated.

"Hahahaha," Joseph laughed, but there was no smile in his eyes, "my brother, have you also become a person who always makes 'I don't dare' follow 'I want'?" But knowing the goal of hiding yourself is also a sign of maturity. And, Napoleon, it is rare that you raised a very discussable, not so stupid question. In your opinion, what is the difference between an empire and a republic, and what are their advantages and disadvantages? ”

This is a very broad question, but for Napoleon it is a question that cannot be left unanswered. Napoleon, who was full of middle school ideas, certainly hoped to become emperor. But Napoleon also knew that without Joseph's support, the position of emperor would not be so easy to sit in. Even if Joseph cannot be supported, at least, Joseph cannot be opposed.

Napoleon knew that his eldest brother was a mathematical monster, and this mathematical monster did not mean Josephus's xx law, but that when this guy was making judgments, it was like doing mathematical problems, what rhetoric, passion or something, the value of this guy was equal to zero in his place. He only believes in real strength and benefits, and these are the only ways to convince him.

"Let's talk about the benefits of the empire for the family first." Napoleon said this, knowing that it was easiest to convince Joseph by speaking from this angle.

"If France becomes an empire and I become emperor, our family will go from being a small aristocratic family to the top royal family in all of Europe. Some of our family, like you, like Lucien, can become kings of a certain country in Europe, and then our family will continue to prosper...... Joseph, do you think that's right? ”

Joseph said noncommittally, "What about the hazards?" You don't think that a certain approach is only beneficial and not harmful, right? ”

"Of course there are risks." Napoleon said, "The short-term risk, let's say, that we lose on the battlefield." Everything we do today is based on the ability to win on the battlefield continuously. If we lose on the battlefield, we may be beaten back to square one. Well, that's the main risk in the short term, but I think that with your internal coordination and my command of the battlefield, I don't think that risk can be very big. ”

"What about the long-term risks?" Joseph asked.

"Long-term risk?" Napoleon laughed, "Joseph, in the long run, we are all going to die. This is the biggest long-term risk. Of course, in addition to this, there is also the risk of revolution in the long term. Joseph, I know what you are worried about, you are only worried that one day the French people will be dissatisfied with us, and will even overthrow our family as we overthrew Bourbon, and even as we guillotined Louis XVI, that weak fool, one of our descendants, to the guillotine. But Joseph, even then, judging by the comparison of costs and benefits, are we really losing? Or rather, has our family lost? ”

"Go on." Joseph said.

"Okay, let's take Bourbon as an example, if the Bourbon family hadn't become a French royal family, would they be in a better position now than if they had become a French royal family?" Napoleon asked.

Then, without waiting for the others to answer, Napoleon himself shook his head and said, "If the Bourbons were still the Dukes of Bourbon, they would not be able to escape the Revolution, and perhaps the Dukes of Bourbon and the Duchess of Bourbon would also be guillotined, or hung directly on the poles of street lamps." Even, because the entire family is in France, in the storm of 93 years, the entire Bourbon family was wiped out, and it is possible to die without a single one. But what about when the Bourbons became royal? Even today, they can even hold another crown in Spain.

So, Joseph, you see, to be king of France is much more secure for the family than to continue to be a Duke of Bourbon. And if the Bourbons were not even dukes, or even nobles, but just ordinary poor farmers in France, then it would not even take the turmoil of 93 years, from 1584 to the present, I don't know how many famines, plagues, wars, lack of money to marry a wife, and so on, could have caused this ordinary commoner family to die. Joseph, I don't know if you've found out, but if any of the existing commoners track down his previous generations, it won't be long before they can get involved with the nobility. Their ancestors are likely to be declining nobles, low-class knights, or their illegitimate children or something.

Joseph, why is that? Why is it so rare to find a family that traces back generations, all of them ordinary people? The reason is very simple. Because such a family can't be passed on for so long, and it won't take a few generations, they will cut off their children and grandchildren because of the reasons I mentioned earlier. It is difficult for the inheritance of a poor family to even exceed three generations, and the humble status is the greatest danger for a family. Joseph, do you think I'm right? ”

"Bang bang bang ......" Joseph applauded. But this applause did not delight Napoleon, because Joseph, who was clapping, did not have any expression of joy on his face.

"Napoleon, you think very deeply, and what you say makes a lot of sense." "But, have you considered the difference between our family and the Bourbon?" The Bourbons were able to become royal because they were originally of royal blood. However, our family, at least to the extent that it can be traced back, is not. Of course, if it goes back to ancient Rome, or even to Troy, then maybe there really is, or no, and it is not difficult to make up a powerful ancestor for yourself. It's just that, even so, according to the basic rules of inheritance, the crown will not be our family's turn. Napoleon, you don't rush to refute, listen to me continue.

Those feudal royal families will never agree with us. Of course, our family now has enough power to crush these so-called rules and set a new rule for the world. We can turn ourselves into royalty in our own power, and oppress them and make them bow down to us. This is not difficult, especially now that the 'Zeus Project' has basically succeeded, and the 'Hephaestus Project' is also moving towards success, we can easily do this.

But, Napoleon, if we do this, you tell me, what kind of rules have we written? As you just said, those who are still alive now, almost certainly, will have a noble ancestor, and even if you go all the way, you may be able to catch up with the heroes of Greece, or the princes of Troy, or even the pharaohs of Egypt. If one of our family can become emperors, then everyone can become emperors. Whether or not you can become an emperor is only related to power, and has nothing to do with other things. So we wrote a new rule, which is, 'Princes and generals, would you rather have a kind?' Or to put it more clearly, 'Is the emperor a natural noble?' It's just the strongest man in the army. ’

In this way, our family became the target of everyone. On the side of the commoners, every man of talent and ability will covet our crown and throne with great ambition; On the aristocratic side, everyone hated us to the core. Napoleon, don't you think how terrible this situation is? In our generation, with me and you, although Lucien is a fool, he can barely use it, with the three of us, there will probably be no problems, but what about the future? Our rule certainly cannot be as solid as that of Bourbon.

And, in order to secure our rule, we must have more support. And the reason why these people want to support us can only be for one reason, and that is that we have brought benefits to them. In other words, in order to secure our regime, we can only curry favor with those people. Napoleon, now you can ask the soldiers, and the people, to die for France, because they mistakenly think that France is theirs. But if France becomes an empire, you will no longer have the moral height of calling on the soldiers and the people to die for France. Because France has become yours and is no longer theirs, why should they sacrifice for you? By that time, the whole of France, both the army and the people, will turn into mercenaries. The question of mercenaries, you who are familiar with Roman history, cannot be unclear.

Of course, even so, being able to become the new Roman royal family is a good thing for the family, and the benefits far outweigh the risks. But the once-in-a-millennia opportunity to write the new rules of the whole world with our own hands—almost the opportunity to climb Mount Olympus and become a new god—has fallen into our hands, and we have used it so rashly? ”

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