Became the Weapon Monopolist of the Gods-Chapter 3: Napoleon ()

About the previous events: The tea set I gave to Augustin was one I had purchased for 50,000 won from a home shopping network.

And just three days after Augustin received the tea set, Napoleon was appointed as the artillery commander of Toulon.

‘Was the tea set that special?’

For its price, it was an unexpectedly powerful item.

I had expected it to take at least a week to change a commander, considering the level of the position.

But there was a reason for this quick turnaround.

“The previous commander didn’t know much about artillery.”

“How did someone like that become the artillery commander?”

“They say his father is a member of the National Convention.”

“Ah, I see.”

I immediately understood.

In a revolutionary army, where positions are often given through connections, it wasn’t unusual for the child of a National Convention member to hold such a prominent position.

Still, it felt strange that they had placed someone who wasn’t even an artilleryman into the position of commander.

‘It’s worse than I thought.’

I had heard stories of the early revolutionary army being chaotic, but seeing it firsthand, it was much worse than I had imagined.

A member of the National Convention wielding power to assign officers, and a commander who had never handled artillery...

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Thanks to this, it was easy to get Napoleon appointed as the artillery commander.

However, despite being appointed, Napoleon didn’t seem happy about it.

“Is there a problem?”

“Did you notice right away?”

“It’s written all over your face.”

It was a lie.

I only knew from history that Napoleon would face issues shortly after being appointed.

“The commander is... ignorant.”

‘As expected.’

Saying that the commander was ignorant might sound harsh, but Napoleon had carefully chosen the mildest words.

As expected in a citizen-led revolutionary army, the commander of the Toulon Siege knew nothing about military matters.

Jean François Cartaux.

General Cartaux.

His profession was that of a “painter.”

The revolutionary army had entrusted military authority to a painter who knew nothing about tactics.

It wasn’t surprising that Napoleon was struggling.

This man couldn’t even hit a stationary hill with cannons because he didn’t know the range of artillery.

‘But Napoleon is no pushover.’

Having failed in his operation because of Cartaux’s incompetence, Napoleon disregarded the chain of command and reported Cartaux to the revolutionary leadership.

It was like a mere captain directly calling the president’s office to report a general in modern times.

The result was General Cartaux’s imprisonment.

‘The problem, though, is that the general who replaced him was an internist...’

Despite the setbacks, Napoleon was still able to lead the Toulon Siege to success, making him a hero.

But Napoleon, only recently appointed, didn’t know how dreadful Cartaux was yet.

If he had known, he wouldn’t have complained to me but would have written a letter to the leadership instead.

“Looks like you can’t come for a while.”

“Is there a new operation?”

“Yes, they’re saying there’s a recapture operation.”

I had regular meetings with Napoleon at the general store, but when the Toulon Siege began, the frequency of our meetings naturally decreased.

By the way...

“Do you know the name of the fortress they’re trying to recapture?”

“They say it’s called Malgraves.”

‘Hmm.’

Hearing the name ‘Malgraves,’ I muttered to myself.

‘Has it already been built?’

Malgraves, also known as ‘Little Gibraltar,’ was the key fortress in the Toulon Siege. It was considered “impossible” to retake.

It was so well-fortified that even Napoleon, the genius of war, had to lead the enemy out of the fortress during the battle.

But the more serious problem was something else.

“General Cartaux is personally leading the attack.”

“......”

Napoleon hadn’t fully grasped the severity of the situation yet.

Having only been in charge for a short while, he still hadn’t assessed the situation properly.

He didn’t even know the kind of man General Cartaux was.

Napoleon couldn’t have known that Cartaux didn’t even understand the range of artillery.

‘No wonder things seem to be progressing so smoothly.’

I felt a headache coming on as the situation was quickly turning into the worst-case scenario.

If Napoleon went into battle like this, it looked like the “debut death” would be the likely outcome.

“Napoleon.”

After careful thought, I gave him one piece of advice.

“Never leave the artillery position.”

“What do you mean?”

“An artillery officer should never leave the artillery position.”

“That’s an obvious thing to say.”

Napoleon lightly smiled.

“The main force will be commanded by General Cartaux, so I won’t be leaving the artillery position.”

He didn’t realize yet how ignorant Cartaux was.

The recapture of the Malgraves fortress was carried out under General Cartaux’s command.

Napoleon’s mission was to climb a hill and bombard the fortress.

Once the fortress was bombarded and weakened, Cartaux’s main force would charge in. It was a simple strategy.

A simple strategy, so it should have been difficult to fail.

Napoleon thought so, at least, until he saw the position of Cartaux’s main force.

“They said we must wait here.”

“Here?”

“Yes, set up the artillery and fire when ordered.”

“...From this distance?”

Napoleon was momentarily speechless.

The fortress of Malgraves appeared in the distance, a mere speck.

At least 6 kilometers away.

Meanwhile, Napoleon’s artillery, a 24-pounder cannon, had a maximum range of 2 kilometers.

The fortress was 3 times farther than the maximum range of the artillery.

In a state of shock, Napoleon asked,

“Does Toulon’s artillery have a different range?”

“We’re using the same 24-pounder cannon.”

It seemed so.

Of course.

The most advanced artillery in the military was the 24-pounder cannon.

‘The hill location must have been miscommunicated.’

Napoleon had no choice but to assume the information had been passed incorrectly.

There was no way General Cartaux had mistakenly assumed the cannon’s range by three times.

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Then, when Napoleon confirmed the position of the main force, his expression froze.

“They’re too close.”

Cartaux’s main force, which was supposed to be waiting, had approached the fortress.

But something was strange.

From that distance, the fortress should have noticed, yet there was no reaction from the enemy.

It was eerily quiet.

Suspicious, Napoleon was about to go check for himself.

At that moment, a voice flashed in his mind.

─Never leave the artillery position.

It was the voice of the owner of the general store.

Choi Seo-jun’s voice.

What had seemed like a joke earlier had now stopped Napoleon in his tracks.

It sounded absurd, but Napoleon couldn’t ignore what Choi Seo-jun had said.

There was an inexplicable conviction in his words.

That conviction became a reality once again.

─Attack! Attack!

─Waah!

The Royalist coalition, lying in ambush near the fortress, ambushed Cartaux’s main force.

Caught off guard, the main force collapsed instantly.

What followed was a one-sided massacre.

‘If I had been there...’

A chill ran down Napoleon’s spine.

─It’s the General!

─Protect General Cartaux!

Cartaux, who had lost his main force, was seen fleeing up the hill.

“How did you know?”

Napoleon’s first words when he visited the general store after five days were full of disbelief.

“What do you mean?”

“You knew the main force would be ambushed.”

“Did I?”

“You didn’t know?”

“Yes. How could I have known that?”

I had only learned that the main force was ambushed through Napoleon.

‘It looks like the artillery position was safe, after all.’

The only thing I knew for sure was that General Cartaux had completely misunderstood the range of the artillery.

Jean François Cartaux.

He was the incompetent general who had mistaken the artillery’s range by three times in the official records.

I had advised Napoleon not to leave the artillery position for this reason.

As long as Cartaux was in charge, the artillery position would be in a safe area, no matter what kind of operation was being carried out.

“Cartaux has been dismissed due to the defeat.”

“So, he’ll rest until the next general arrives?”

“The next successor has been appointed. It’s General Doppé.”

Napoleon’s face looked grim as he spoke.

“I’m guessing you’re not pleased with this.”

“General Doppé is a doctor.”

General Doppé, who would replace Cartaux, was indeed a doctor, just as Napoleon had said.

And he was a coward.

Having heard rumors of Napoleon firing a general with just a letter, Doppé was a mere guinea pig, doing whatever Napoleon told him.

But since he had no experience in war, when he saw a subordinate being torn apart by enemy fire, he was too frightened and resigned from his general position.

Only after two replacements of generals could Napoleon finally engage in a real battle.

“Don’t worry. It’ll definitely work out.”

“You really seem to know the future, don’t you?”

“Do I?”

“You do.”

Napoleon was fascinated by Choi Seo-jun.

When he spoke, there was an uncanny feeling that what he said would surely come true.

It was as if Choi Seo-jun knew everything and never seemed to be flustered, exuding a sense of confidence that couldn’t be shaken.

It felt like the Magi who foretold the birth of Jesus Christ in ancient times.

The reason Napoleon kept visiting the general store was probably for this reason.

Whenever he spoke with Choi Seo-jun, he found himself regaining peace of mind.

“I’ll come again.”

“Anytime.”

From then on, Napoleon continued visiting the general store regularly.

Each time, his rank had risen.

Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel...

Napoleon’s promotions were so rapid that it was almost unbelievable.

Two months later, Napoleon had reached the rank of Colonel.

‘It’s almost time.’

I had a feeling that today would be the last time Napoleon would visit the general store.

He had always come before battle, like a believer praying before heading to the battlefield.

And after Napoleon became a Colonel, the first operation he led was the final battle at Toulon.

In that battle, he would retake Toulon and rise as a hero of the revolution.

“In two days, we will attempt to attack the port.”

The end of the early modern era was approaching.