Chapter One: The Day

On the bright and sunny day of July 21st, 1706, Emperor Constantine XIX rode in his carriage down the main avenue of Paris, while adoring citizens cheer . HE was a conquer. He pushed back the mighty Aztecs from encroaching on Rheims and Paris. Peace was at last. He smiled as he led himself wander into thoughts of statues and other such markers of his achievements. As the horses trotted along with the open carriage in tow, disaster struck.

An assassin pulled two pistols from his vest pocket took a shot at Constantine and then turned the second on himself. His second shot blew the left side of his skull of and sent the crowd running and screaming. Like they needed encouragement, the first shot was enough. Advisor Louis de Non leaned over the body of the wounded monarch. The bullet had struck him in the right ribcage and didn't come out. "Louis..." Groaned Constantine, "take care of Napoleon, he is king.." as his voice trailed off, he died in his advisors arms.

Constantine was taken back at home in Château d'Quois, his private residence. When the dead monarch arrived at his home, a solider ran up to de Non. "Sir, the assassin was positively English in nature. We have alerted Emperor Napoleon and he will be here shortly." "Emperor Napoleon..." de Non pondered, "16 years old and Emperor of France. Hmm..." de Non was worried. He knew the brash prince could be a great leader, but he needed more energy than he had. At the age of 77, he wasn't as tough as when he had coached Napoleon's Father, when he took the throne in 1690.

Still, he had a duty, and that duty was to... The stream of thought was interrupted by a Horse bursting into the courtyard halted next to de Non. A short, muscled figure in mud-splattered blue cloth hopped of th horse and greeted de Non. "His he dead, Louis?" "Yes, I'm he is, Napoleon" sighed de Non Both advisor and emperor looked sadly at the cobblestones for a few minutes. Am I, the um..." Napoleon mumbled. "Yes," said de Non, "You are now Napoleon XI, King and Emperor of France, Lord of Conquered Rome and Spain, Sultan of the former Arabs." "Oh? I didn't know that I was Sultan too..." Napoleon's sarcastic wit always got a smile from de Non. "Do we know who did this?" asked Napoleon, sobering up from the last joke. "Yes, sire, it was told to me that the English sent him."

Instantly de Non knew it was a mistake. Napoleon was know for hold a grudge for a short time, only because whoever the grudge was against didn't last long. "Alright, I want and audience with Elizabeth IV tomorrow. If she refuses, war. If she does not give us 500 talents of gold, war. If she looks at me funny, war. Secretly, no matter what she does, at the end I will curse her out and declare, war." The look of horror on de Non's face was unparalleled by anyone. "War weariness had all but disappeared, but our troops are not yet back up to full strength! What is in that young man's head!" thought de Non. Then it hit him like a train, his father declared war on the Aztecs because they poisoned his father. It all became clear. Napoleon was going to be a handful, just like papa.

Chapter 2, Council of War

The next day, Napoleon sat on his throne with the beautiful English Queen in front of him. She was in her early twenties, but rule had made her face a little sunken. She said no to all offers and in the end war was declared. A huffy Elizabeth was shown out and back to her carriage by the elderly de Non. "Now what?" DeNon said to the man approaching behind him. "We go to a council of war, obviously!" Said a cheeky Napoleon.

The next day, September 1, 1706, the council was gathered. A large rectangular oak table lit by hundreds of candles in a windowless room in Trefoneive Palace was a sight to behold. At one end sat Napoleon, at the other sat de Non. On the left side sat Generals Louis Sevonie, Charles d'Arc, and Stephan du Braille. Generals of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd armies respectively. On the Right sat General Horatio Ponte, of the 4th Army. Also sat Admirals John-Baptiste St. Croix, 1st Navy, and Jacques Geroce, 2nd Navy. "Okay gentleman, I want to win this war quickly. What can you do to help." Admiral St. Croix spoke up first, "We live on one landmass, and therefore have no problem defending our ports on the Southern tip of the continent. The 1st at one side, the 2nd at the other. Besides, they have a weak navy." Napoleon stayed quiet for a moment. “Good, we shall win the Naval war, right gents?" A round of grunts in agreement. "Now the problem, land. How shall we best destroy our opponents?" "The young, blonde haired Gen. du Braille spoke, " There is an open grassland that we need to cross. I propose that my army run across this grassland, then hold the hills until all the others arrive, since mine is the closest to the English Border. Next, Gen. Sevonie spoke, “I say that we wait for our armies to be close to the border then advance in four stacks, capture and hold Nottingham and York, the two closest cities, and then go straight for London." General Ponte was standing up to speak when Napoleon said, "I like it. I'll go with a mixture of du Braille's and Sevonie's plans. du Braillie, I want you to hold those hills at all costs. The cannon can reach York from there, so bombard it. Sevonie, d'Arc, Ponte I want you to organize as fast as possible and get to those two cities, alright? Everyone in agreement that we are doing this?"

All said "Yes, Sir!" The generals walked out so that it was just de Non left. "We need you, sir." projected de Non. "I know," sadly mumbled Napoleon," Sevonie is the only competent one. Du Braille is too cocky, the rest are too old-styled in their tactics. I know what you mean, Louis. To morrow, I make the announcement and I'll take the city guard and imperial guard with me as core units." "What? Core Units? You’re forming the..." "Yes," countered Napoleon," I am forming the 5th army. Those two regiments of cavalry, along with three of infantry, two artillery and four volunteers will make up my glorious army." de Non chuckled. "If only Constantine could see his son now..."

Chapter 3: Double Time

Napoleon walked back from the addressing window at Trefeneive palace drenched in sweat. He had done it. France was at war, volunteers came out, and all the commanders moved quickly to the beat of the victory drum. He walked to the briefing room near the front entrance. de Non was there, along with the second advisor Jean-Claude Desperadeaux. "Our spies have gotten back their information for us." said Jean-Claude. "Ah excellent! What is it! Don't keep me waiting!" "de Non opened his ledger.

"Sir here are the facts we know of. The English army has about 69,000 men compared to our 54,000. One regiment equals 1,000 men, of course. Apparently, the English cities to the far north have been captured by the Americans. The English have only three cities, London, Nottingham, and York. They may be small, but hold vast resources and power. They are most noted for their gold mines. Rich, Productive, Small. That means each city is a huge loss for them. Take two, and peace is yours... They have a general named Daniel Ryan, and excellent man of aptitude far beyond modern comprehension. Be wary of him. That is all the information the spies could give at this time."

The room was silent for a long while. Finally Napoleon spoke, "I want production changed so that every city is making troops, I want all money funneled into the military. Elizabeth is mobilizing, I just know it. She'll be across the plains to our hills before we can do squat. By December 1st I want du Braille's army and my army ready to go, kapeche?" de Non and Desperadeaux knew very well the high stakes game the played. In old age, de Non had realized one important thing, "Just do it."

On December 1st, du Braille and Napoleon were on their way. Their cavalry and rifleman shudder the ground while the progress was slowed due to the hauling of cannons. In total, 27,000 men where on the march, just entering the plains. A small river ran through the middle called the Arness River. Both armies crossed it with little problem and were on their way once more, they had just mounted the tops of the hills outside York on March 6th, 1707, when they heard a distant trumpet blast the note of fate, the order to march, double time...

Chapter Four, First of Many

The second trumpet blast confirmed it. The English under another commander, Gen. Roxby Notswood. The English advanced with 30,000 rifleman and cavalry. Command instincts took over as Napoleon shouted orders. "Artillery, Prepare! Cavalry, take the flanks, mine left, du Braille right! Rifleman, take positions! The English cavalry advanced up the woodless hill quickly, and got within 75 yds when the 70 cannon opened up and blew the front two lines away. The rifleman shot back and drove the cavalry off. Next, the rifle man advanced from the center. They got within 50yds when both cavalry regiments slammed into their flanks. Absolutely repulsed, Gen. Notswood led the retreat off the field.

In the first day of fighting, 1,000 French and 4,000 English were killed. Napoleon personally helped carry other dead and dying off the field, even the enemies. He was a proud, boasting, sarcastic young man, but he took death very seriously.

After the dead and dying were removed and buried, the French settled in for a long siege. The guns started at 6:30 every morning and quit at 10:00 every night. Day by die went by, but the massive walls of this ancient city would not yield a crack. Napoleon sent a letter back to de Non in Paris, telling of their victory over a superior force and inquiring how his 15 year old brother was doing, being regent?

In the English court, a bloody and bruised Notswood stumbled into the throne room. "Well?" The icy cold voice of Elizabeth rang out across the empty hall. "We advanced and lost. Our casualties 4,000, theirs, 1,000. I apologize for not being able to..." He was cut short by an axeblade. Elizabeth needed to win. She knows that Napoleon will show no mercy for killing his father. She needs to push Napoleon across the hills and take the fight to him. If she wins, she gets Rheims and all the wonderful diamonds, spice, and ivory that live near the city. If she loses, her civilization will be crushed. She needed Ryan, and she needed him now. Unfortunately, he was coming, but with artillery, so the progress was slowed down a bit. She sat in silent contemplation for a minute before leaving and heading back to London, where Ryan was.

Napoleon was dozing off when a superior officer knocked on his tent. "Hmmph... What?" Mumbled Napoleon. "Sir, you need to see this..." the officer said. "Fine, fine..." grumbled Napoleon. He got up and walked outside. “What is it?" asked Napoleon impatiently "His officer pointed and said "over there..." Napoleon looked where the man was pointing All Napoleon could get out was, "What the..."

Chapter Five, It's our evening ritual

Napoleon was trying to wrap his head around what he was seeing when it clicked. "Ha!" Napoleon exclaimed. This startled the officer so, that he jumped. "Be not afraid, Amadeus (The officer's last name). Apparently, the English have not implemented a state religion, and they are still worshiping the old Gods. That explains why they're burning a cow on top of the walls while smashing chickens onto giant stones. Aha! The old God of protection, Jaagar, demanded this as payment for protection! Oh my, Amadeus you look, eh... disgusted, no?" As he said disgusted, Amadeus ran for the lavatory. "What luck, a squeamish officer." thought Napoleon. As he was watching this ritual unfold, he pondered, "I remember the stories, of when Napoleon I founded Paris they did the same things. Look at how far we've come. I guess I can say I'm proud to have such a civilized religion such as Judaism. Founded by my ancient Uncle Peteir d'Claut in 2300B.C". As he was thinking proud thoughts about how good his religion is, he noticed that the ritual people had left the gate open when some went outside to cleanse the walls of blood with urine. He alerted du Braille to this development. He, happy to see an opportunity at such an early point, jumped at the chance to rush the city.

So, on the night of March 8th, 1707, Napoleon, du Braille, and 300 Riflemen crept down the hill to the gates of the city. du Braille slit the throat of the guard, and the troop advanced in. They went directly to the commanding officer's quarters' in the barracks. Napoleon woke him up and had several rifleman point guns at him. "Good evening, sir. I would like to borrow your city." Napoleon said in broken English to the surprised man. He looked at Napoleon, then at du Braille then at the riflemen. He began to speak in immaculate French, "Sir, if you fire the shots, all 20,000 troops will come and destroy all of you except Napoleon. They will take you to London to be executed. So, no. May I sleep now?" Napoleon watched as the man turned over to go to sleep again. Napoleon grinned, "No." At the same time he unsheathed his sword and jammed it into his chest. Napoleon turned to his companions, "Time to go." The troops quickly escaped the city, but not before stealing weapons, food, and 300 talents of gold, one each to the riflemen who came along. Why, you might ask, did not just kill all the troops in their sleep, or set fire to the town? I'll tell you. To do that would be ungentlemanly. Besides, he knows exactly where the barracks are now, so he can bomb them later. The apparent suicide of the commanding officer would be a severe morale blow to all the troops.

Napoleon thought, "This will be mine by the end of April. I don't really like York, I'll call it, hmm.... something for my father...I've got it! Constantinople, Perfect!" Napoleon finally went to sleep thinking visions of a grand empire, correctly or incorrectly, we will have to find out at a later post...

Chapter 6, Betrayed

The next ten days were uneventful. The bombardment of the barracks and other locations continued. The troops had been quite unhappy to see their officer dead. The English flags flew at half mast. A weird custom, in Napoleons eyes. Finally news was sent to him. All four reports reached him with thirty minutes. The first was from General d'Arc. All 27,000 men of the forces had been mobilized and were heading to the hills near York. The second was from Admiral Geroce. It stated that all attacks on the seas had been defeated and that all of the ocean in their borders was theirs and they where working quickly to shure up Elizabeth's small coastline into submission. The third was much more grievous. Ryan had finished mobilizing and was headed to York with 59,000 men. The forth was devastating. de Non was not pleased with the acting King, Pierre, now 16 as of March 12. He had decided to seize power. "The people hate him and there is much rioting" de Non wrote, "Please return, if just for one week, and restore order. Your Kingdom depends on it." After reading all four reports again, Napoleon called du Braille into his tent. He told him," I have to return to Paris, I will stay for one week and then be back. I want you to do exactly as I say. Ryan will be here in four days with 59,000 men. I need you to concentrate all fire on the gate. Once it is open, have your men rush it. Take the city at all cost, but try to keep the costs minimal. The other Generals will be here in three days with an extra 27,000 men to reinforce before Ryan arrives. Alright?"

"Alright, It'll be an honor to take York for you, sir!" Napoleon smiled and stood up. "I will be leaving in 15 minutes in with Maj. Amadeus, so.. until next time." Napoleon swiftly walked out of the tent and over to his horse, Maj. Amadeus was alerted and joined him minutes later. Together, they rode at break-neck speed across the plains and over the river Arness. They reached Paris in record time. At 10:00 AM on April 1st, they reached they palace and jumped off. de Non was there to escort him to the window from which emperors had spoken to their people since it was built 983 years ago. He raised his hands to the crowd and said, "I have returned!"

Chapter 7, Suck it up

The crowd's cheer was so loud, it was heard 5 miles away in the hamlet of St. Saunte. Napoleon left them with the words, "Now, I believe Pierre and I have some business to attend to!" Which brought chants of "NA-POL-E-ON!" He left the window happily knowing that all of France was behind him, he could do whatever he wish to deal with "Pierre VI" as he had claimed. He walked into the holding chamber just down the hall. He opened the door and there sat Pierre, bound in chains, with Desperadeaux, de Non, and his Cousin Jean-Paul. They greeted him warmly and left the room, with old de Non winking at him as he left. "So, Pierre, Why did you do it?" Pierre sat in silence for a moment before responding, "You will lose the war, the people, and your place. I wanted to avoid that, so I took it from you before the people could." "Oh how generous. Take the power for yourself before the people could give it to you, eh?" "You have no clue what the state..." started Pierre but Napoleon interceded, "What! I don't know! The State! The State! I AM THE STATE! It is you, Pierre, that does not know the state of things! They hate you, I hate you. Tomorrow, you will be executed by hanging, and I will be pulling the LEVER!" Napoleon threw the door open and slammed it shut. The advisors and Jean-Paul had never seen Napoleon that angry. When he spied the look of terror on Jean-Paul's face, he knew that he would replace Pierre as acting regent. Anyone who was afraid of him would do just fine. "I'm sorry, did I yell?" Napoleon jokingly cooed.

Smiles broke on their faces as they left for early lunch on the grounds. In between bites of Fillet Mignon, Napoleon communicated that Jean-Paul would be acting regent and he would leave for the front once again in two days. That night, Napoleon tossed and turned as to how the battle came out. He decided to but it out of his mind by thinking of the many joys of execution... The next day 'Pierre VI' had the noose tied around his neck. The crowd of 100,000 plus watched as he said his last words, "My brother is unfit for command make Jean-Paul King. Anything is better than dear, dear Napoleon... Before he could finish and to the crowds happiness, Napoleon pulled the lever and watched his hated brother drop like a stone. As the ody was escorted away, Napoleon was whisked away to a waiting horse along with a man to replace squeamish Maj. Amadeus. His name was Maj. Marc de Gaul. They rode off into the flat grassland to the hills of York. By April 17th, they had arrived in the hills. Napoleon urged his tired horse up to the crest. Both Napoleon and Maj. de Gaul said at the same time, "Holy...

Chapter 8, Return to York

All around the city of York lay Ryan's army of 59,000. One third of their army was cannon, about 200, and they were bombarding the city non-stop. Glad to see that du Braille had followed orders, Napoleon smiled in-spite of the desperate situation. When night fell, He and Maj. de Gaul snuck into the city. All four Generals were gathered around a map of the city when the two walked into the headquarters. Savonie, d'Arc, du Braille, and Ponte were all surprised and happy to see him again. "So, what of it?" Napoleon asked. du Braille spoke, "I took the city thirty minutes before the other three showed up and just 10 hours before Ryan Showed up. Our situation is desperate, though. We have combined 51,000 men as to Ryan's 59,000. HE also has more cannon. We can hold for another six days before our reserves of food and water run out, also we..." Napoleon interrupted, “How many cannon does he have?" "Umm... 189 pieces, sir." replied d'Arc. "Great!" shouted Napoleon. A look of puzzlement went through the room. "Don't you see," Napoleon said," with our inflated infantry we can get rid of their cannon easily. With Our Artillery, we need to get the cavalry, and with our cavalry, get the infantry protecting the guns! It all works. I'll call it operation muzzle. Generals, brief the men and train them on what to do... We make our assault on the enemy in three days!"

The generals scurried around fulfilling Napoleons order. "Maj. de Gaul, I would like you to be my new assistant, alright?" "I would be happy to serve, Emperor Napoleon." "Thank you, Maj., now, I think I need some sleep... Napoleon retired to the Queen's visitation palace that night. He spent the next two days there in that massive building. on the third day, the day of the assault April 20th, 1707. At 6:00 AM, the guns peeled off and the troops marched out. Napoleon watched with field glasses from the wall. The guns destroyed a lot of cavalry horses that were sleeping. The troops made short work of the cannon and even chased some horses away. But the Cavalry was overwhelmed by the sheer number of infantry. Most of the regiments were decimated, but a flak attack by our troops caused the rest to retreat. The battle had been won. Napoleon jumped for joy at the sight. When Gen. Sevonie gave his report later that day, Napoleon was not happy. The victory came at a high cost. They lost 12,000 men while Ryan lost 17,000 men and 107 cannon. The numbers in the French combined army was down to 29,000 men but up to 277 cannon. Ryan's army was down to 42,000 men and 82 cannon. Ever resourceful, Napoleon kept d'Arc and Ponte in York with 20,000 men to hold the city. The rest under Napoleon, Sevonie, du Braille, and the new General de Gaul headed back to Paris to pick up reinforcements.

The battle did not go unnoticed by Elizabeth. She summoned Ryan, but had the wisdom not to kill him. He was their Kingdom's only hope for survival. He was stripped of 250 of his 2700 acres as a warning. By the time the 9,000 reached Paris, it was May 5th, 1707. In Paris they were met with cheers as heroes. While there, Napoleon checked on Jean-Paul. The acting regent had accomplished only good things, the treasury was growing while still producing troops. Science was at its peak production. "I should keep him as administrative advisor when I get back..." Thought Napoleon. After their week long R&R in Paris the 9,000 troops along with an additional 6,000 troops made their way to the planes. When they reached the Arness River, a cloud of dust was seen in the distance. As it got closer, Napoleon realized what it was. It's cavalry! Dig trenches, men!" Puzzled, the soldiers looked at him. None had ever heard of 'Trench Warfare' Before. Napoleon rolled his eyes, "Deep trenches, like irrigation!" The soldiers finally understood and started to dig down into the soft earth. "Dig faster, or else the we will irrigate our crops with your blood!" shouted Napoleon as encouragement. "I hope this works..." thought Napoleon.

Chapter 9, Bloody Irrigation

By the time the cavalry was in firing range, the trenches were about three feet deep. Napoleon ordered them to crouch and await his signal. Once they hit the river, they're gone," Thought Napoleon. He waited. 100yds, 75yds, 50yds, "FIRE!!!" Instantly guns opened up and a wall of cavalry went down But there was just more and more. Wave after wave was defeated. Until the 13th wave, then the horses crossed and charged. The soldiers retreated, upset at their first defeat. The cavalry of the English won a costly victory. French casualties: 2,000/15,000 English: 8,000/17,000. Napoleon retreated for a day until he came to rest near a small lake called Lake Nieuspaunchant. He rested his army until June 1st and then moved on. He told his officers that he was happy how well that this 'trench warfare' worked, and they agreed. As they advanced across the Arness River, London was in celebration. The first English victory was celebrated as a national holiday. The survivors were treated as saints. Ryan got his land back and morale returned to the flagging British populace. Over in Paris, the defeat was a shocking turn of events. How could mighty Napoleon be defeated? Acting King Jean-Paul kept Napoleons image up, reminding people constantly of his two victories at York. After Napoleon returned to York on June 13th, 1707, he took 7,000 troops from his garrison there and merged them with the thirteen thousand left in his main army. He started to march towards the gold fields near Nottingham.

He knew that with his force, he couldn't capture a city, so he decided to destroy that form of income, to starve the British out. He arrived in late June and started to collapse the mines as fast as possible. By July, he had gotten rid of all of them. Just then, he spotted something from the horizon, Ryan's New Model Army was coming. Ryan thought, "With my 30,000 man army, I'll easily crush this fly, Napoleon." Napoleon had about 19,000 troops He couldn't run to York, Ryan was in between them. He would simply pursue them until he caught them So, he decided to make his stand on a mountain next to the coast. As luck would have it, a French Galleon was passing by and came to help. When Ryan arrived, the Galleon bombed his forces as did Napoleon's guns. The combned attack brought the attention of the 1st Navy. St. Croix thought as his and four other ships were arriving to help, “This should be interesting..."

Chapter 10, de Gaul

Napoleon sat on top of Mt. Olympus watching his cannons and the five galleons blow apart Ryan's Army. He showed Ryan that with combined firepower, size doesn't matter. (On a side note, Ryan is something like 6'4" and Napoleon is something like 5'4") After thirteen days of relentless assault, Napoleon ordered charge on the hapless New Model Army. In the ensuing chaos, 16,000 Brits were killed as to 3,000 French. A HUGE victory, this was for Napoleon. Not only had he defeated a larger foe (like before) he had used both types of forces. "This would be recruitment gold at home!" thought Napoleon. The beleaguered English retreated to Nottingham, while the French boarded the ships on the coast. A celebration was held on the ships as they headed for the port city of Orleans, not too far away. The acting King along with a crowd of 150,000 plus were there to greet thee victors. The loss at Arness River was completely forgotten. Jean-Paul took Napoleon to the city hall, where he gave a rousing speech in front of an even larger crowd. The thought kept nagging his mind as he ried to sleep that night. "What if I can fool Ryan? I've got 16,000... No, I just got reinforced, 21,000 troops. I can send 3,000 to take him to Nottingham while I head for London? Good I'll do that." The next day he briefed his generals, de Braille, de Gaul, and Sevonie. They all liked the Idea and it was put into action. de Gaul was to take the 3,000 into the outskirts of Nottingham. Meanwhile, Napoleon, du Braille, and Sevonie are to take the main cor of 18,000 to London and lay siege.

They set sail to enact this plan on July 21,st 1707. The same day Napoleon's father was killed one year ago. The ploy worked well, Ryan gave chase to de Gaul while the rest began the siege of London. Unbeknownst to Napoleon, de Gaul was actually a spy. On August 1st, de Gaul and Ryan met up. With a combined total of 21,000 troops they marched towards London. Napoleon was sitting in his tent drinking coffee when a white-as-a-ghost aide came in. "What is it?" Asked Napoleon. "de Gaul and Ryan teamed up and are coming to attack. They will be here in 30 minutes..." The aide roused out and promptly collapsed. Napoleon was furious, though he had no time to be. He took all of his troops and readied them. When Ryan and de Gaul came from the Weat, the troops garrisoned in London came from the east gate. All Napoleon could say is "Oh shi...

Chapter 11, Damn

Napoleon knew it was lost before it was even started, so he prepared his men to march. "Damn", he thought, "Just damn." His army scurried back to York before much damage could be done. Bad news followed his march into York. Generals Ryan and de Gaul would be marching with a combined total of 40,000 men on York. Just after he heard this, another courier came in. A detachment of soldiers were just arriving. Boosting all defenses. Now it would be exactly even, 40,000 versus 40,000. "This is it," thought Napoleon," England's will shall be broken if I win this battle, the French industrial might has slagged, and will not be able to provide soldiers soon enough to rebuild an army." He then made the decision to fight on the hills behind York, and to surprise the enemy, and to reinstate trench warfare. He had his men dig seven trenches along the layers of Copernicus Hill. Named so, for the observatory on top. He would stay in this building and, well, observe what was going on.

The army had finished the last one just before daybreak on the 20th of August, 1707. The enemy arrived later that day and were the most bit surprised at the fact there was a network of trenches, forcing them into a box. After they rode or walked in, an earthworks wall was built to prevent their escape. A shocked Ryan made his soldiers do the same, and trench warfare was born. Both sides launched assault after assault. Napoleon's left line came close to breaking, twice. By the 30th of September, it was a stalemate. Napoleon decided to take or break the stalemate by tunneling under the 300 yds between trenches. Some mining engineers were brought forth, and started to mine from the earth wall in the rear to the English rear. By the end of the first day, they were halfway there. On the eve of the second day, they reached the enemy lines. They put one ton of explosives at the end of the tunnel, mainly cannon powder.

They laid the trail leading to the opening, where, at night fall on October 1st, Napoleon did the honor of lighting that match and setting the trail aflame. The French were awake and prepared. Not so with the English. The last rays of the setting sun were blotted out but the massive explosion. It sent chunks of earth a mile into the sky, which came down miles away. The entire back line was eliminated in the fireball. The confused and now deaf English stood up frightened. The French removed their protective ear-coverings and stayed silent. The English were so scared that a pin drop could be heard. Napoleon called out in broken English, “Surrender or die, Ryan!" More silence...

Chapter 12, Lizzy

After another moment of silence, Ryan spoke up in heavily accented French, “I will never surrender to you, Napoleon, you filth!" Without orders, the entire French army either leapt over the wall or jumped out of the trenches. They didn't need orders, they were soldiers bent on avenging their leader. Napoleon rarely fought alongside his troops, but this was a different occasion. He ran headlong into the enemy Trenches, he found Ryan fighting off a few French soldiers.

Time seemed to slow down, for the next moments seemed to take forever. Napoleon drew his pistol from his vest pocket. He took careful aim, then pulled the trigger. The bullet hit Ryan in his left shoulder blade, blowing some of it off. He dropped to the ground in agony. Before the French Rifleman could bayonet him, Napoleon stopped them. He had two riflemen take Ryan to the surgeon and have him patch Ryan up. Most of the remaining English soldiers surrendered on the field. The cheer was immense. The French had done it! The most pivotal battle, total victory... Napoleon still had one more battle to fight before the morning came.

When Napoleon made it back to the field hospital, he met Ryan face to face for the first time. He knew Ryan was tall, but to Napoleon, he was a giant. He was about 30, had bright red hair, and seemed to give an aura of cool confidence. "My, Ryan, you have recovered well..." "Thank You, Napoleon..." They addressed each other's name with an immense amount of disdain. "Look, either you tell me the size of the garrisons in Nottingham and London and where 'Dear Queen Lizzy' is, or I cut off all your appendages one by one, then burning the wound to stop the bleeding. You won't die, you'll be in extreme agony, then I'll kill you. So, what do you say?" Ryan sat in grudging contemplation. " Nottingham has 4,000, London 11,000. Her Royal Majesty, The Honorable Queen Elizabeth IV is now in Royale Palace in London. Are you satisfied?" Napoleon smiled, he had gotten what he wanted. Now, what to do with him...

Chapter 13, Jean-Claude's Fall

When the next morning came, the British 12,000 survivors of the attack were lined up before Napoleon. "I am a lenient man," Napoleon addressed the anxious crowd, "and I shall therefore not kill you all." A small cheer went through the English ranks. "But," continued Napoleon, "As of today, you are disbanded, never to fight for any army other than the French army ever again. Go, tell what I have done here so that Elizabeth may be frightened. Go home to your families and tell of the generous Napoleon, Go!" With that, 12,000 men separated in different directions, some thankful, others grumbling.

Generals Sevonie and du Braille were waiting for Napoleon in his tent. "So, what now Emperor?" asked Sevonie. "We go to Nottingham, Ryan sang like a canary, and they're the weakest. We march tomorrow." "But Sir," spoke up du Braille, "What should we do with Ryan?" "We'll take him to Paris when this is all over..." with a wink and a nod, Napoleon left the tent. He was congratulating the troops individually when a courier stopped him.

"Sir! It's from Paris, urgent!" Napoleon took the letter and broke the seal. It was trouble all right. Acting regent Jean-Paul fell from his horse while riding in the woods. He had suffered many broken bones, and a major loss of blood. “In his condition, he'll be gone by October 5th," Were de Non's exact words "Get to Paris, now." Napoleon had never been addressed with the 'now' at the end, so it must be urgent. He returned to his tent, where du Braille and Sevonie were still talking. "Gentleman, I've been called back to Paris. I'll be leaving in ten minutes with you, Sevonie. Du Braille, I want you to march the army over to Nottingham and take it. Wait for me, I shall return. Sevonie, if you'll follow me..." Napoleon led a mildly shocked Sevonie to the horses. "I'm taking Ryan, so it'll be us three, alright?" "Yes, Napoleon."

Before long, Napoleon, Ryan, and Sevonie were riding as fast as possible towards Paris. Ryan was bound in chains lying over the back of Napoleon's horse. They got to Paris on the 11th of October, 1707. Jean-Paul had lingered on and had died the previous day. Napoleon went to the addressing window where a crowd lined the Champs Eleyeseis for a full mile. He spoke as loud as he could, but explained the unfortunate death of Jean-Paul in the most delicate terms. He then motioned for Gen. Sevonie to come out on stage. "France, meet your new acting-king, Lord General Louis Sevonie!"

Chapter 14, P. G. T.

The crowd clapped politely. The look of astonishment on Sevonie's face could be rivaled to none. After he finished his speech about the huge victory, Sevonie pulled him aside. "Me? You want Me?" "Yes, you're the best candidate. I have a total of six surviving male counterparts older than 14. Three hate me, two are planning revolutions, and you're the last one left! I had no choice. So, I estimate that you'll be acting-regent for, say... a few months. OK?" Sevonie nodded. Napoleon spent the rest of the day showing Sevonie the ropes.

The next day, he called another speech at the addressing window. "I have good news citizens, I have a token of victory from that battle. Meet the enemy general, Ryan! As Ryan stepped out, Napoleon stepped in of the small balcony. A barrage of rotten food and vegetables hit the once dignified Ryan in the face and chest. Napoleon walked down the hallway with his attendant behind him. "Tomorrow, I want Ryan to be put in shackles and led through the streets. After that, put him on a boat and send him to our distant colony of Les Tourte. There, put him to work on the Banana plantation. Tell him that I am being very generous, so don't even think about going back to the English, or organizing a rebellion of some kind. Got it?" The aide hurriedly shook his head and went back to his office. Napoleon stayed one more day before finding a new general and returning.

He took especially careful aim in deciding who to choose, considering that de Gaul was a traitor. Fortunately for de Gaul, he was killed in the fighting, so Napoleon could not get to him first. Anyway, he choose a young Pierre Gustaf Toutaint as de Gaul's replacement. With 3,000 reinforcements, they started on the march to Nottingham on November 1, 1707...

Chapter 15, Mutton's Chops

The arid climate of the continent made the winters non existent, even in the far south. Therefore, crossing the Arness was a cinch. On New Years day they reached the outskirts of Nottingham. Fortunately, all was well. Napoleon met up with du Braille and explained the situation. du Braille seemed to have taken a liking to Toutaint, and that made Napoleon unbelievable happy. Last thing he wanted was quarreling Generals at the end of a war.

That evening, the 'Big Three' were walking along the walls, surveying their fortitude. A passing solider later remarked in his journal that, " Never in [French] history, has any war so major, been decided by those so young..." He was correct in saying that. du Braille was 24, Toutaint was 19, and Napoleon was 17. Combined, they were still younger than Gen. Sevonie back in Paris by three years!

The day after next, the combined total of 30,000 troops to take London and end the war for good. Across the same woodland where they spent a mile running, over the same plains that they had walked across only last July, confident of victory in London. They were still confident of victory, but it caught them by suprise when 15,000 troops stood outside the gate, ready to fight.

The new English general, General William Chops Mutton, was a firey man, with long blonde hair. He had started a new fad of wearing a full beard, with the bottom shaved. His soldiers nicknamed it 'Mutton's Chops'. Mutton rode his horse up with the white flag in his hands. "Here," he said in perfect French, “You might need this for later..." He spun his horse around and sped towards the front lines of his own soldiers. Napoleon grew blisteringly mad. "Who does this man think he is? His utter bombasity! The gall of it!" Those and other nasty phrases wound themselves in Napoleon's head. “Now, how best to kill him..."

Chapter 16, He's dead?

Early that morning, Napoleon sat in his tent shaving. The thought entered his head, "Hey, this could be the last conflict of the war!" Not only would this decide the outcome, it would be an absolute necessity to win. The once mighty industrial power of France was in the tank due to the war. He could not replace troops fast enough to meet the demand. More hinged on this battle than any other during the campaign.

At 10:00AM, he had the Generals meet on the next course of action. Tountaint started, "Well, we watched Mutton march back into thee city, so we know he's in there along with Elizabeth for support. We also know that these soldier’s are fighting for their lives. If they fail, the burden of defeat will be on them. They'll never surrender, Mutton can assure us and them of that. I recommend we use all cannon possible and try to siege." "I concur," spoke up du Braille, "with a siege, they'll be demoralized so badly that Mutton will be frowning!" Napoleon wanted to end this war quickly, but realized that Toutaint and du Braille were right... "OK, gentleman. du Braille, I want you at the East Gate with half the Artillery. Toutaint and I will spread the rest out. I really want the east gate to be stormed, in reparation for the August incident... Are we all understanding?" "Sir, yes sir!" responded both generals.

Firing commenced at 4PM and went around the clock. Napoleon sat impatiently in his tent, reading a book called, "Idiot's guide to defeating the English." By his Great-Grand Father, Daniele IX. Daniele did just that shortly before his death in 1650. He was interpreted when Toutaint walked in. "Yes?" Cautiously probed Napoleon while putting his book down. He noticed Toutaint had a tear running down his cheek. "du Braille is... is... dead. Killed by a cannon shot from inside the city." "Oh God..." Napoleon said, astonished. He couldn’t believe it. The Hero of the sieges of York and Nottingham? Dead? Napoleon couldn't help but shed a tear.

He regretted calling him cocky behind his back. He immediately went over to the eastern gate cannons and saw that the gunners were too distraught to continue firing. He went over and through his overcoat on the ground. He checked inside a cannon, all it lacked was a ball. Napoleon single-handedly picked up the weighty ball and plugged it in the barrel. He went around the cannon to prime it when he chanced a glance at his comrades. They were watching him through their tears. du Braille was a soldier’s general. Never a harsh word, just a good ol' slap on the back. Next to Napoleon, he was the most loved and respected general. Napoleon finished priming and was about to fire when he called out, “Does anyone wish to help me?" A grizzled old solider took the wick and together they lit the cannon. The ball whizzed and blew a rampart up on top of the gate. "du Braille has fallen, but not I. Carry on." In this simple phrase, he told them that he's in charge and that du Braille would have wanted them to move on...

Chapter 17, Govenah?

The ranks continued to fire cannonballs at the walls of the fortress. A massive tower on by the east gate, called the tower of London, was extraordinarily hard to crack. But, after three months of bombardment, the city was in shambles. On April 2nd, 1708, he ordered the assault. 30,000 troops rushed the city, while the hapless defenders looked on. The French streamed over the lines of the weakened defense and did as they were secretly told. They marched up to and surrounded the palace. Elizabeth was trapped and doomed to her fate. Napoleon rode in through the city and up the Royale Palace's steppes. He even rode his horse into the receiving room of the palace. "Hello Lizzy!" "Hello Napoleon."

The two greeted each other with distain, and a touch of sarcasm. "So, screw the formalities. I have a deal for you." "Oh, I'm all ears, little one..." This last remark burned and made Napoleon reconsider his off, but he kept going. "If you give us the city, thereby destroying your 'empire', I will allow you to live in this city as governor in this palace." "That is a very generous offer, and I'll..." Before she could finish Napoleon interjected, "But if you raise but one solider against me, I will kill you." She tossed the thought in her head a bit. "I agree. You win, the city's yours."

Napoleon rode to the steppes and shouted for his troops to hear. "The city's ours!" An immense cheer went up through the columns. du Braille's death had been avenged. All was well. The triumphant Napoleon garrisoned 10,000 troops before leaving for Paris. They got to Paris cheering and chanting, "We've got it!" The crowd that gathered was elated. Napoleon let the troops celebrate. The next day, he gave a victory speech at the addressing window. The only down side, in the crowd's mind, was that they couldn't kill Elizabeth! Also that day, Napoleon was about to take his crown back from Sevonie when a messenger rushed in. Napoleon asked, "What is it?" (And I'll leave it at that. While I'm gone, feel free to speculate on what will happen!)

Chapter 18, "Show the idiot in!"

"Sir!" gasped the messenger. "Hmmm?" "Sir, George XIII Washington, of America will be here in ten minutes!" "What the...! Fine, he's more powerful... Show the idiot in..." A minute later Washington stepped in. He was a tall man, about 6', with piercing blue eyes and a head topped by a white wig. He was dressed in blue, all blue. From his stockings to his tri-cone hat. "Good morning, Napoleon" "Same to you, George..." The two spent the next moment sizing each other up.

If it weren't on such short notice, Napoleon would have had his scientist Freud size up the blueberry of a man in his midst. "I have pressing business to attend to, Napoleon. Or can I call you Leo?" "Call me Leo at your peril..." Washington ignored this comment. He was the most powerful man in the world, and he knew it. "I need coal, and seeing as you have a lot of it, I would like to have some. How's, eh, three-hundred gold up front?" Napoleon knew he was planning something. "No, I want no part of this. I want 700 Gold up front and 15 per turn. Comprende?"

Napoleon had no small measure of power. He had the only three coals in the known world, so this was major leverage. "Hmmm...Washington, or may I call you Georgie?" is snide remark clearly showed that he held the upper hand now. "Fine. Here's 700." Washington directed his aides to drop the Gold on thee floor. "I'll be leaving, now. OK, Leo?" "Fine with me, Georgie Porgie!" The atmosphere was heavy with animosity as Washington left the room. Minutes later, documents were signed and Napoleon was officially back in power.

Over the next few years he revitalized the flagging French Economy. He built hundreds of towns to produced commerce, and use the gold to rebuild York, Nottingham, and London. Ryan stayed calmly in Les Tourte for the Time being. Lizzy stayed in London as the first female governor of a French city. Washington got his coal, but used it for building commerce and production, not machines of war. There seemed to be no problems on the horizon. But, he hadn't met Pierre's son, Constantine. Yet...

Chapter 19, Constantine's Awakening

A few years of peace and prosperity pass. The animosity fades between Napoleon and Elizabeth, and they get married in 1711. Ryan dies of Pancreatic Cancer in Les Tourte in 1714. de Non dies in his sleep in 1721. But trouble was Brewing on the horizon. The usurper to the throne's (Pierre) son, Constantine was harboring hatred. He had been two months old when the noose brought his father's life to a close. He had been spirited away by his mother to avoid Napoleon's wrath.

Now, in the year 1729, he was 22 years old. He lived in the upper class neighbor hoods on the hill north of Dijon. For three years, he had waited for an opportunity. Anything that would spark rebellion. It finally came. Napoleon issued a small tax increase, but it made the people grumble. Seizing this opportunity, he made his way to the basement of his home. There, thirty soldiers sat. Those were the only loyal men he had. Within minutes, they were out and marching toward the Versailles palace, located in the center of Dijon. He stood on the lower terrace overlooking the city, and began to speak.

"Friends! We have been pushed too much. We have been taxed way too much. Our lives are put in peril by the joke of a King Napoleon! Washington has emancipation, why not us? I'll tell you. He wants you all as his personal slaves!" By now, men had come from Dijon's garrison. "Look! Look now... His henchmen arrive. My soldiers, keep them at bay!" At this, his soldiers pointed their rifles at the unarmed soldiers. "My friends, the time has come for change! The time has come for revolution! The time has come for Constantine XIV!" At this the crowd now gathered cheered, and threw rocks at the soldiers trying to arrest Constantine. The troops backed off while the crowd jeered.

Within hours, Dijon fell to Constantine. Later that night, July 4, Napoleon had learned about this. He didn't take this threat too seriously, and ordered that one thousand troops be used to put it down. He was busy teaching his two young sons, Louis and Jean-Paul, how to add and subtract. The troops arrived and were aghast at what they saw. The two thousand troops that made up Dijon's garrison had been impaled on spikes outside the walls. Gen Axule who led the one thousand, sent this message back to Napoleon, "Need more troops and artillery, dealing with French Barbarians. Come and see..."

Chapter 20, Le Barbarians

Napoleon was unnerved with the message. He wanted to stay with his sons, but felt that he needed to go. He was readying his horse when his sons came up to him. "We want to go, too dad!" Spoke up Louis. The slightly more emotional older brother. "Agreed" said Jean-Paul, the much calmer younger brother. After thinking for a minute, Napoleon relented, "You can go, I was just a little older when I led a country through a war... Come help me with the troops." Napoleon led his children and 3,000 troops out of Paris and onto Dijon. He left Elizabeth in charge of the country. After all, she had been Queen before... By the time the troops reached Dijon, it was late July. Axule had kept the rebels busy with diversions, so his exhausted forces were happy to see Napoleon's cannons roll into view. They began to bombard the cities outer walls before it was dark the day they arrived.

Napoleon surmised that the campaign would be a swift victory. After all, had he not defeated the English a short... Wow, had it really been that long? 21 years this past April 2nd. How time flies. Toutaint had been appointed governor of London after Lizzy's departure for Paris in 1711. Mutton had died in the fighting. "All these years!" thought Napoleon, " Have I done nothing?" Not a thing. In the middle of this negative stream of thought, his son Louis walked in.

"Father?" "Yes, Louis?" "The cannons have broken through the main gate, what should we do?" "By all means press the attack. Spare no citizens holding weapons. Bring Constantine to me, alive..." "Yes, father!" Louis departed and within minutes the entire army was rousing at the breach.

It was over relatively quickly. Constantine was taken and his thirty faithful ones executed. The citizenry felt ashamed and pleaded their leader for mercy, of which he gave plenty. On the morning after the storming, July 11, Napoleon had Constantine come into his tent/office. "My wrongful tyrant summons me?" mumbled Constantine as he walked into the tent. "Yes, he does. Why did you do it?" "You might recall what my father said. "I'm sure it was for the same reasons, minus the war." Napoleon thought for a moment. "He was right, minus the war, his revolution had been fought for the same reasons."

"Ok, Constantine, how about this. You get ten lashes for every solider of mine's death. Looking at my casualty reports, I see that you should be lashed about, say, 21,000 times! Ouch... Or, you could be hung, or you could be shot. Take your pick." Louis stared blankly, "Hung, the same way my father died." "I don't think so." Remarked Napoleon. He withdrew the pistol from his vest pocket. The same vest pocket and same pistol he used to blow off Ryan's shoulder blade. “I prefer you getting shot." And that was that. The bullet exited the barrel and flew into his ribcage. It hit the upper-most bone at the bottom and bounced downward, right into his heart.

Guards came and dragged the limp body away. "I hope he doesn't have a son!" playfully thought Napoleon. Before the end of the week, his army was on the march back to Paris, when they caught sight of an army in the distance. Setting on a hill, they could clearly see the banners of America. By the bright blue banner, he could tell that Washington was with them. "Is it war then?" Remarked Napoleon. "I guess so," said his son, Jean-Paul.

Chapter 21, Civil War

Napoleon waited a few minutes, until Washington could get into hearing range. "George XIII Washington, of America, what is your intension?" He shouted out. Washington was caught off guard by seeing Napoleon with an army on the hill above them. "Come here, and you'll decide yourself." And with that, Napoleon marched with 1,000 soldiers down the hill. "What am I to decide now, Washington?" "Either you lessen the cost per turn of the coal, or my armies will conquer your puny country." "I see... Let's come to an agreement. How about we keep the same cost, and I don't surround and kill your army. Of course, I'd save you, and kill you later... Deal?"

Washington pondered this for a moment. "Deal." Washington and his small army turned around and started to walk off. A thought flashed through Napoleon's mind. Realizing his opportunity, he withdrew the famous vest pistol, took careful aim, and killed Washington. Right through the back of thee skull. The rest of his troops scattered and made for the border.

"What were you thinking!" shouted General Axule "Now were at war with his country!" "There's where you're wrong, Axule. Washington had no direct heir. He has, however, four male cousins, over the age of fifteen. They all hate each other, and will all be fighting for the throne. Thus, we lose our agreement, and gain coal. While the factions are fighting, we can go in and pick up valuable cities. We can also play faction against faction if peace seems inevitable."

The plan, pure genius, worked immediately. Within days, the four claimants to the throne were at war with each other. By August 10, there was complete and total war. Napoleon readied about 30,000 troops in Paris, and they set off to pick America clean. Before they left Napoleon put his sons, Louis (16) and Jean-Paul (14), in charge of one regiment, called the Prince's Own. He left Elizabeth in charge. By now, the people had grown to love Elizabeth, and it was all but forgotten of the War of English Annihilation, as it was now called. So off goes the soldiers, marching to their first target, New York City...

Chapter 22, No Mercy

He passed through the American countryside with relative ease. New York was the largest scientific city of America. It was also the closest to French territory. As Napoleon looked across the flood plain, in the distance he could pick out the spires of the mosque in down town New York. The claimant holding the city, John Adams, had left only a few thousand troops to guard it, while he set off for Washington to fight for the city, and the crown.

On the 28th of August, Napoleon set up cannons and began to bombard the city. Cannon ball after cannon ball flew over the walls and into the decimated city. After only a week, it was ready to fall. On September 4, his troops rushed the city, but were stopped dead in their tracks at what they saw.

Nobody. All of New York was a smoldering ruin, but no people. A perplexed Napoleon ordered a search of the entire city. In the barracks, he found only about 100 troops. For hours, he tortured their leader until he sang. The French had been tricked. A week before the siege, Adams had the entire city evacuated. The 100 left had been ordered to make it look like a larger army was occupying New York.

The big problem hadn't even been hit. Napoleon made one huge mistake that day. He left all of his cannon outside with no one to protect them. Now, Adams' army had taken over their cannon and were using it to blowe the French to bits. "Cursed American ingenuity!" Napoleon was heard to have screamed at all hours of the ceaseless bombardment.

By the 20th, the walls were reduced, along with the attackers. Napoleon had to fight his way out, now or never. He ordered that his troops pour out and attack the loosely guarded left wing. He rarely fought along side his troops, but he did this time. The gate flung open, and the French poured out. They ran headlong into the flank, and smashed a hole in it. About 23,000 made it out alive. By the time they re-grouped, Napoleon was nervously surveying the chaos for his sons. He ran and picked up a lightly wounded Jean-Paul. He had a small scratch from a bullet across his left cheek.

Together, they looked for Louis. Nothing. After hours, the exhausted duo were about to stop when they saw him. He was lying on a cot, near the outskirts of camp. When Napoleon leaned over his oldest son, he moved the bandage covering his gut. Horrified, he placed it back. A canister shot had torn through his intestines and came out via his spinal chord. "It's alright, dad... I'm OK." "Yes, son, I think you'll be just fine." Just then, Louis' eyes rolled up backwards in his head, and his head shifted to the left. Dead, at 16, was Louis Maximally Constantine Daniele Ricard Bonaparte. "Now," growled Napoleon, " I will show Adams no mercy!"

Chapter 23, Adams' End, France's New Beginning

The next week went very quickly. Napoleon and his troops buried Louis in Le France de Militarie la Cemeteriae, and marched on New York. They took the city quickly and waited for the retaliation. On September 30, Adams showed up with his modest army. Before much could happen, Napoleon ordered that all troops, except Adams, be slaughtered. Within minutes, the American army was annihilated. Two rifleman brought Adams to Napoleon, and left them in alone in his office. Napoleon had his spectacles on, and was going over casualty reports when Adams spoke.

"Do you like my office, Napoleon?" "Yes, it's roomy. Now, I'm sure you know why your here. You have killed my son, Louis, no?" Napoleon was still reading when Adams began, "My soldiers did, not I." "I care not who, but if they did the duty. That duty was to kill French. Your soldiers followed orders, and killed my son. Excuses? None. Reasons? Luck, maybe..." "So, is this the part where you shoot me?" "No, I am bound by law. You will be publicly executed in Paris. We will be going there along with my son tomorrow, at 5 AM. For every minute you are late, I kill 500 citizens of New York." "I'll see you then, Napoleon." "Likewise..."

Adams turned and proceeded to walk away. Napoleon finally looked up from his papers and looked at Adams. He was surprised to see a sickly old man in his late sixties. He also noticed that he was limping. "What ails you, Adams?" "What ails me, my dear Napoleon, is the state of my fallen country." Napoleons warm blue eyes met the lifeless grey eyes of Adams. "5 it is." Mumbled Adams, as he departed.

The next morning, they left at 5, and the trio, Adams (in shackles), Napoleon, and Jean-Paul, set off on the long journey to Paris. On the 2nd of December, 1729, they reached the gates of Paris. Adams, the once dignified man, was being assaulted with vegetables and insults. "What have I done wrong?" Adams thought. No matter, for he was duly executed by hanging on the 10th. Napoleon was reluctant to do so, buthe knew good could come from this whole situation. The day after, he walked over to the Addressing Window, and began to speak. At first, there were only a few people, but by the end, thousands had listened in.

"Friends! Today is a sad day in French history. The death of Louis and Adams made me think, however. What reasons do we have, to invade other countries, when they are in civil war? From now on, peace be to all! No more shall France dabble in other's misfortune, and I would hope that others would not dabble in ours. For too long, we have ruled with an iron fist! As of today, all religions in the empire are free to be practiced, without fear of governmental influence. All of you, now have the right of free speech! Go on! Be happy! Live so that others may live! Peace to you all, and peace to the United States!"

With this, a cheer roared through the audience. "Now," thought Napoleon, "how best to preserve it?"

Chapter 24, Diplomacy?

Napoleon set about moving towards his goal immediately. He invited the Aztec leader, Moctezuma V (In actual history, 'Moctezuma' is closer to his name that 'Montezuma'...), to visit Trefoneive Palace. Fortunately for Napoleon, they both had a common language in English. Otherwise, no one would have gotten anything done. He arrived on December 25, his Holy Day, as he was Christian. They spoke at length about trade and peace and the American situation. Finally, they agreed to a trade. Napoleon gives gems and ivory in exchange for dyes and 4 gold per turn. "Finally," Napoleon thought, "a step towards world peace."

The months went by, and trade was strong between the Aztecs and French. Eventually, a victor arose in the American civil war. He was the skinny and bookish Thomas VIII Jefferson. A new American dynasty of kings, and Napoleon had to meet them. Napoleon issued a welcome to which Jefferson readily agreed. On July 15, 1730, they met in the Trefoneive Palace.

Napoleon issued his greeting in a stumbling English, "Welcome to my humble palace, Jefferson of America!" Jefferson replied in immaculate French, "It is an honor to make your aquatainceship, my dear Napoleon." "Where did you learn to speak French?" "I learned from my mother, she was from Rheims, but moved to America and married my father. I also know Latin, Nahuatl, Spanish, Russian, and Arabic. As we all know, All but French, English, and Nahuatl are dead. That, we owe to your Empire and my Empire..." "Ah, I see. I have a proposal for you.." And the day went much like this. At the end, food in America was traded for luxuries in France. Also, Jefferson left the meeting rather friendly in attitude.

Before long, Jefferson and Napoleon had signed a defensive pact. They had devoted all resources to inventing technologies. They coordinated their efforts, so as not to create the technology tice. After one discovered something, the other would ask for it, and the discoverer would oblige.

Unfortunately for the other two, Moctezuma was wary of this close alliance between them. He had been waiting for a long time to pounce. The opportunity came when Napoleon had disbanded about 15,000 troops to save more money for scientific research. By this time, Moctezuma was researching Natonalism while the other two where on Ecology! On January 1, 1745, Moctezuma could take it no more and declared war on Napoleon. On the 2nd, Jefferson declared war on Moctezuma. The very first World War was on. Moctezuma marched about 70,000 troops in four stacks towards the French border. At the same time, he launched about 50,000 troops in two stacks against Jefferson.

What will the allies do against Moctezuma? Find out in the next post!

Chapter 25, We shall overcome!

The small French army mobilized all the troops they could muster. 13,000 modern armor were assembled, and were marched into Aztec land. Napoleon, although almost 55, led the troops as commander. His son, Jean-Paul, now 31, was second in command. Elizabeth kept Jean-Paul's children at home, while acting as regent once again.

In the north, Jefferson mobilized 12,000 troops and marched them into Aztec territory. Being 72, Jefferson left the army to be commanded by his son William. Moctezuma was a crafty fellow. He knew right where Napoleon would make his move, so he positioned his troops on either side. At dawn on January 10, 1745, Moctezuma made his move.

Napoleon was eating breakfast inside his tent with Jean-Paul when a messenger ran in. "Moctezuma will be here within minutes!" Immediately, the King and Prince jumped to their feet, and ran to their armors. The army of the Aztecs rushed at them.

First, wave after wave of rifleman were destroyed by the defenders with little difficulty. After the rifleman slumped back to the main body of men, thousands of cavalrymen rushed at the armors. These were cut down with minimal casualties as well. Then came the kicker. Moctezuma had a small core of elite tanks, which then made their move. At decent cost, they were pushed back. At the end of the day, 60,000 out of 75,000 of the Aztecs lay dead on the field. With the French, they lost 9,000 out of 13,000.

The Aztec dead were buried in small, shallow pits containing about 7-10 men each. The French received a more honorable burial On the 12th, Napoleon finally got wind of what had happen to the north. Jefferson's men had won a devastating victory over the Aztec forces, while only loosing 2,000 men. Napoleon was reinforced to 15,000 troops, and marched to the nearest city of Teotihuacan. The French moved into sight range and were horrified at what they saw. 30,000 tanks and 25,000 rifleman were guarding the city.

"Well, this should get interesting..." Napoleon thought.

Chapter 26, Amnesty International

Napoleon set his sights on the weak left flank immediately. He did some minor damage, but not substantial. He immediately ordered that artillery should be brought to the field. Within days, it was there, and it was blowing the city into bits. By February 2, the defenses had weakened enough and the French rushed the city. Teotihuacan fell the next day, and was immediately renamed Victorieville.

In the north, Jefferson had taken the city of Calixtahula and was moving on Texcoco. Napoleon next set his sights on the Aztec capitol. When he arrived, he saw it was defended by 90,000 tanks. He set up artillery and began to bombard the city.

Napoleon had a secret weapon up his sleeve. He immediately started to bombard the city from the air with his new bomber. While he was bombing the city, Jefferson's men had arrived, and helped attack the city. Eventually, the city fell, along with its empire. Jefferson had personally arrived to congratulate his troops and to help Napoleon to take care of Montezuma.

When the two most powerful men on the plant reached his large office, they were shocked by what they saw. Monctezuma had fifty rifleman waiting to kill both the leaders. Napoleon quickly knocked over a table and pulled Jefferson behind it. "Stay here!" Napoleon said as gunfire erupted. After the shots were unloaded, Napoleon stood up immediately. He pulled out a machine gun and proceeded to blow the rifleman away. When only Moctezuma was left, he pulled out that famous pistol. The one that had shot so many, hit its target once again. It hit Moctezuma right in the forehead.

"You know what's funny, "said Napoleon, "I was going to pardon him." "Me as well" said Jefferson a little shakily as he pulled his 72 year-old frame from behind the table. Later in Napoleon’s victory speech, he said that, "April 5, A day which shall live in infamy..." and for the French, how true was that...

Chapter 27, Two deaths and an accident

The two armies settled in once again into a king of lul. Soon thereafter, Jefferson died on July 4, 1745, at age 73. His son's name was William VII Jefferson. With great pomp, he was crowned at age 39 on the 10th. Napoleon and his French court attended the ceremony. Madison was about 5' 8" with sandy blond hair with flecks of grey. A fiery aura shrouded this man, which earned the respect of both civilian and solider alike. Napoleon was happy that such a man was going to lead such a nation.

The French went home with a feeling of peace. The technology trade went along unscathed and unabated. February 25, 1747 was a sad day indeed for the nation. The Queen Elizabeth died in the palace of pneumonia at age 63. A national day of mourning was declared, and America followed suit. A sullen Napoleon lived in sorrow in the palace for many months before re-appearing in December of that year. In the time alone, he had been drawing thousands of genetic maps, and had single handedly unlocked the genetic code of humankind.

He re-emerged to attend a banquet held by William VII in Philadelphia. On the activity list was hunting. On a surprisingly warm December 20, the party of the two leaders set off into the forest. After a few hours, Napoleon was convinced that all game pursuance was fruitless when he saw a deer in the bush. He raised his gun and fired. A huge scream emanated from the wounded monarch, William VIII.

Chapter 28, Death knocks twice before entering

Napoleon ran over to the bush, and pulled the wounded monarch out of it. Napoleon used all of his might and slung William over his shoulders. At age 57, that's quite a difficult thing to do. Napoleon staggered back to the main camp, and collapsed under his heavy burden. As the day flashed and grew dark in Napoleon's head, the last thing he saw were people rushing towards him. Then, darkness...

Napoleon awoke with a start a few hours later. He was in a chamber in the palace, and no one was around. He stood up and put on his overcoat while trying to remember what had happened. Suddenly, it all came rushing back. The shot, Williams wound, he carrying William. Napoleon strode out of the chamber and into the hallway. He had spent many months here, so he knew all about the building.

Napoleon went into a storage closet and pushed in a certain brick. The brick swiveled and a key board appeared. 'M-O-C-T-E-Z-U-M-A' he typed into the keyboard, which instantly retreated. The brick made a low hissing sound and opened wide. Napoleon lept up the stairs three at a time until he reached the King's bed chambers. He burst through the bookcase so suddenly, it made the women scream and the men jump sky high.

"That's not the normal reaction when I walk into a room..." mused Napoleon. He strolled over to the bed, and looked upon William. The bullet had hit him right in the buttocks. "Napoleon," whispered William, "You've never been a pain before, but I guess I can justifiably say you’re the pain in my ass..." "I guess I am." playfully smiled Napoleon. The doctor came over and led Napoleon away to a corner of the room.

"He lost a lot of blood , but the wound is sealed. I tried to convince him of the need to take the bullet out, but he wouldn't hear it. He said that he wanted to think of France every time he sat down." "Is he going to be all right?" "As far as I know, he'll be around for at least twenty-five years longer."

Napoleon walked over to his friend again when he noticed something. "Doctor, what’s that?" The doctor strode over and looked to where Napoleon was pointing, as did William. On William's right side, there was a lump. The doctor ran some tests on the spot and said, "I'm afraid to inform you, sir, but you have cancer of the large intestine.

Chapter 29, Ride to Philadelphia

William was devastated to learn that he had cancer. He lived like a recluse for several months until Napoleon convinced him to go to the Rockwood Cancer Clinic in Philadelphia. Eventually, William conceded and decided to go on March 15. William, Napoleon, and their assistants boarded the 9am train to Philadelphia, and got on their way.

To get to Philadelphia from Washington, one had to go over the Saltoon Mountain range. From there, over many hundreds of miles of prairie. Once you hit the coast, its a short ten miles to Philadelphia. The train was going over the last of the Saltoons when the boiler started to heat up rapidly. Perplexed, the engineer studied the gauges, only to discover that the boiler had a small crack in it. Within seconds, the boiler exploded and sent the train in a violent downward spiral.

The monarchs were sitting in their private car when the explosion was felt. They braced themselves as the engine careened violently down the last slope. Topping speeds at over 210 mph, the train whizzed across the first 120 miles of the great prairie before stopping. The frightened passengers hopped out of the cars and onto the stiff earth. The engine was totally destroyed, save the frame and the wheels. The first passenger car had its front section blown away. In all 31 people had been killed.

The monarchs charitably went around and comforted the people. "Now, William, how do you suppose we get to Philly?" "Well, this new thing called a 'cell phone' was just invented. It works like a telephone, but it is totally portable. Only my offices in Washington have them. I'll see if I can reach them." William pulled out a briefcase and turned a switch. He let it charge for a minute before pulling a phone of its top, and dialing the number.

"Your Majesty?" answered the advisor back in Washington. "Yes, Phil, It's me. I need a clean up crew on the rail line between Carrollton and Hundred City, on the W&P railroad. Got it?" "Yes, is everything all right?" "No, a devastating train wreck just happened. Both Napoleon and I are fine. Tell all that I have told you to the media, but emphasize that Napoleon and I are fine, and leave out every reference to cancer. As far as the public is concerned, I am vacationing in Philly. Got it? Good. Good-Bye." "Good-Bye, your majesty."

"Well, when are you going to get me one of those 'cell phones'?" asked Napoleon playfully. "Whenever we reach Philly!" answered William. By noon, a clean-up crew had arrived, along with the vulture-like reporters. By 3 pm, the wreck was cleaned up, and all those who wished it, were on their way to Philadelphia again.

Chapter 30, I'm dying o'er here!

The pair of monarchs reached Philadelphia on the replacement train with relative ease. King William checked himself in for some tests on the 16th of March, 1748. Napoleon bid his friend adieu and traveled back to Paris the next day. He arrived in time to celebrate his grandson Louis' 5th birthday. A dull and uneventful seven months followed until late October, 1748.

William had telephoned him and had asked him to come to Philadelphia. Napoleon arrived on the first of November, and visited William in the intensive care unit. "William, I presume?" smartingly jested Napoleon. " 'Tis I." "And what of it?" "The doctor, Dr. Sphilhelm, says that I have but a week to live." "Does he, now?" "Aye, and In that time, I would like to dictate to you my will."

Napoleon fetched his paper and pad. "OK, shoot." "I, King William VII Jefferson, being of sound mind and quite less than sound body, do hereby decree that this shall be my last will and testament. Alas, I have n children. And therefore, my title of King and Emperor shall be given to my second cousin, the old and wise Theodore Roosevelt. My possessions, personal and otherwise, shall be spread in equal division amongst my family, only extending out as far as third cousin. I bequeath the entire collection of artwork privately held by the monarchy, to be given to the Museum of Artwork in Boston. To my friend Napoleon..." He paused and both pair of eyes met for the breifest of moments. "Yes, to you, to my friend and colleague King Napoleon XI Bonaparte. To him, I do bequeath my cellular phone and 200 talents of gold." "You know I'd be just happy with a cell phone" grumbled Napoleon. "And thus ends my last will and testament."

"Phillip?" called William. A balding advisor with black hair entered the room. "Tell the press I'm dying. High time they know. Get Teddy, he'll like to know he's king. Within an hour, Roosevelt and the media had arrived. Roosevelt entered the room, and found the two monarchs sitting alone. "Teddy, meet Leo, Leo, Teddy"

Chapter 31, Wit to Waste

Teddy was an interesting fellow. He was robust, healthy, and 60 years old. He had sixteen children and had been married for only eighteen years. He had a smile that showed both rows of teeth, and at the same time he viewed war a a sport to be conquered, literally. He had been the first member of the royal family to travel in a submarine, fly a plane, bungee jump off of a building, and survive six assassination attempts. And at 5'6", was close to Napoleon in height. This was one tough, jovial, rotund, cookie.

"How's the health son?" Teddy asked William. "Not as perfect, by this stage in life, as I had hoped." "Ah, well. Allah (Remember, most Americans are of the Islamic faith in this game, and most French consider themselves Jews.) will see ye to the place divine. Now, Young fellow!" Teddy reached out and shook Napoleons hand. Napoleon later swore he could hear his bones crack under the immense pressure of this shorter giant. The two conversed and struck up a friendship almost immediately. Both Napoleon and Teddy waited out another four days in the center before being called back into William's room.

"Gentlemen, I am dying sooner than expected." William barely managed to eek out this in a whisper. HE had been reduced to a stature of 5'2" and had grown extremely frail ince 4 days ago. "When I die, I want to be buried in the American Royal Cemetery, next to my father." He whispered one last time, "Its your time, not mine gentlemen. With it, do what ye will. As I could not do so for long, the kingship of my realm is in your hands, King Theodore III Roosevelt." And with that, he smiled, turned on his left side, and passed away. William VII Jefferson, 1-28-1706 to 11-5-1748. He was just 42...

Napoleon had seen much death after ruling the French empire for the almost exact length of William's life. Yet on this occasion, he couldn't help but breakdown in tears. "Teddy, you know *sniff* you're the fourth King of America I have *sniff* met while being emperor. Oy Vey, I'm younger than you by 2 years and you're in better shape, and will probably out live me..."

"Non-sense! By my starry skies! You need more exercise! After the funeral, I'll take you hunting in the mountains!" "No thanks, that brings back bad memories..." "Why, did... Oh, you did shoot William... Hmm... Well no matter, I'll be in touch."

With that, Teddy left the room to alert the press of William's death, leaving Napoleon thinking, "I wonder when my time is..."

Chapter 32, Bad News

Napoleon hadn't seen a doctor in forty-five years, since 1703. After William's death, he decided to check up on his own health. He had an appointment at Le Parie d'Generale Aflicion Clinique for December 10. After the doctors gave Napoleon a full physical, they ran 200+ tests on every thing imaginable. After two weeks, the results were in. Napoleon skimmed over the results with a trembling finger. Every one came out fine except for one. He had the beginnings of Parkinson’s disease.

The report said, "Unfortunately, the disease will affect you rapidly. For now, your hands will shake very lightly. Within a year, however, you will have little control over your basic motor functions. It is with regret that we inform you of this devastating conflagration of your body." He set the report down slowly, and raised his hands to eye-level. They were shaking ever so slightly, but it was noticeable.

He decided not to tell his son or any of his grand children, for he did not want them to worry. Instead, he confided in the old King Theodore. Napoleon asked him what he should do. "Well, I'm going horseback riding next week, perhaps you'd like to join me. Do stuff like that before you...err...can't. Sounds good?" "Alright, I'll see you then." "Bully! I'll see you in Boston on January 2. Ser Goot?" "Ser Goot."

Chapter 33, Chickahamunga

Early on the morning of January 2, Napoleon rose and put on an old coat and hat, and set off for the train station. He enjoyed disguising himself and mingling amongst the people. As he stepped onto the platform, he put on a pair of dirty spectacles and set off for his train. He sat in coach and took up a conversation with a group of mine workers. They talked until the workers got off at the Mt. Pelastiue Mine Station. From there on, it was uneventful travel without conversation.

Teddy was there in similar dress to greet him. They walked away in silence before bursting out with laughter. They had fooled hundreds of people! They went to the governor's house and changed before setting off into the mountains. On the other side of Mt. Schott, there was a large horse farm where they got Teddy's horses and set off into the forest.

Be fore long, Napoleon and Teddy were deep into the Russian forest. Named so, because there the ruins of the ancient cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg can be seen. As dark fell, they set up camp on the banks of the little Chickhamunga Creek. Their tent was large enough to accommodate sixteen people, but they managed to squeeze in.

The next morning they packed up and set out on horseback through the forest once more. They emerged from the forest back into the farm, where they returned the horses. "You know, I'd like to thank you Teddy. I've never been camping before and that, let me tell you, was fun." "I'm sincerely glad you liked it! Maybe we could do it again sometime?" "Sure! Why not in March, eh? Good?" "Perfect, We'll be in touch!"

Uneventful months went by. They went camping, fishing, hiking, etc... Then, on the morning of September 19, 1749, it awoke as a normal day. But suddenly, a scream emanated from the palace. The Parisians looked up to see Napoleon cry out in horror high on the sixth story bedroom of the Trefonieve Palace...

Chapter 34, The Surgery

Napoleon stared at his hands in horror. They were wriggling faster than normal. He just couldn't keep still, so he screamed as loud as he could out of anger and fear. He ordered that a coach take him to Le Bastillieon de Genetices of Huemans and Appes (The Bastion of Genetics of Humans and Apes).

When he arrived he strode up to the head scientist and held up his hands, which were moving out of control. "CURE ME! TEN FOLD SALARY BOOST IF YOU DO!", Napoleon shouted. The scientist hesitated for a moment before rushing to the labs on the 84th floor, where the Parkinson's department was. They began running all sorts of tests and combing Napoleon's genetic code for any unusual patterns. Three days later, and after round the clock teams had gone over thousands of feet of paper, they found the discrepancy.

Apparently, Napoleon's Paternal Grandmother was half Russian, and that disease was known to be common in Russians over 55. Napoleon must have drawn the short straw on that one, and collected that juicy 2,000 letter long code. The scientists were able to Identify where this small strand was on his code core, a place on the body that has not yet yielded its secrets to modern scientists.

After a 50 hour operation, they managed to remove this part of his core. Unfortunately, this left him absolutely NO, NONE AT ALL, control over basic functions, so he immediately took a poo all over the table. After this mildly funny-embarrassing episode, they replaced this section of his core with a freshly dead cadaver's. Bodies have full access to the core for one hour after death, and lucky enough, a man dropped dead right outside the bastion in the middle of the operation.

This final surgery took a 'mere' 29 hours and all was well. The last question to be answered was, would his body accept it or not?

Chapter 35, Don't cha know?

An exhausted and heavily bearded Napoleon awoke slowly. He was tied down to a bed, lying flat on his back. He suddenly remembered why he was here, and his eyes flew open. "Nurse?" called a weak Napoleon. Immediately a red headed Nurse came over. "Yes." "What day and time is it?" "It is 6:30 AM, September 23, 1749." "Thank you child, now get the Doctor." "Yes."

"Wow, what a conversationalist." muttered Napoleon under his breath. The Doctor who had done 26 hours of the 69 hour surgery came over. The others could not, as they were sleeping. "How do ya feel." "What the hell do you THINK I feel like?" "Welp, your cured. We'll have ya outta hear in eh jiffy, ay?" "You're not from around here, are you?" "Nope, nope, nope, I'd be from thar natharn whastes calleid San Antonio, In America, don't cha know? But me family's from down south in Minneapolis, don't cha know?" "Mmmhmmm, alrighty then..."

As soon as the doctor turned away, Napoleon couldn't resist mimicking the poor man, which Napoleon did almost scarily well... No matter, for Napoleon was out, ahem, out, of there in a jiffy. (Dang it all, I'm stuck in Minnesotan Voice, Don't cha know. D'Oh!) He went back to the palace and laid low for a few days. Teddy visited on September 30, and much to Napoleon's suprise, was a mere shade of himself.

"What ails you, Teddy?" "Well, it surely isn't 'The state of my country', but 'Tis something." "You've been reading my book of favorite quotes, haven't you?" (This is in reference to the remark Adams made when asked the same question. Favorite Quotes of Napoleon XI is a copyrighted trademark of the Royale Booking Company, London, Copyright 1733, 1741, and 1746.) "Why yes I have, Napoleon. As to my illness, I have a small case of the flu, nothing big." Both leaders talked back and forth for awhile before Teddy returned and Napoleon went back to his tough schedule of eating and sleeping.

Chapter 36, "It goes to Franklin!"

Unbeknownst to Napoleon, Teddy was not in the last throes of his cold. Days after his visit, it turned into a particularly awful case of pneumonia. He went to the largest hospital in the world, on the out skirts of New York in a village called Oxford. As Napoleon's health increased, Theodore's decreased. When Napoleon learned of his friend's condition, he took a train to the hospital immediately.

On the surprisingly wintry night of November 1, 1749, the train equipped with powerful head-lights chugged into the station in Oxford (Pronounced Ahx-furd by the locals.) Four feet of snow lay untouched on the ground as Napoleon stepped off the big 2-6-2 and onto the platform. He came alone, and dressed as a commoner once again. He walked over to a man renting horses, "I need your fastest horse." "That'll be 3 gold for two days, sir." "Say I give you seventy and I keep him."

At this point, Napoleon pulled off his glasses and hat to reveal himself to the man. The horsemen was shocked and said, " D-d-deal." "Thank you," said Napoleon as he put his glasses and hat back on. As he jumped on the horse, he tossed a bag with gold in it into the snow. The poor man took the bag up and was shocked to count out 150 gold pieces. Napoleon was a generous fellow, but this had been an unusual bit.

He galloped his horse off into the chilly night and through the forested thoroughfare that led to the hospital. He reached it around midnight, and threw his horses' reigns to the sleeping stable boy and marched in. "Where is King Theodore's Room?" The nurse on duty gave him a look and said, "What the hell would he want with you, you dirty nothing?" Napoleon realized he had not taken off his disguise yet.

"Because, dear madam," he took off his hat and glasses, " I am his counter part, Emperor Napoleon." The night nurse fainted and another came forward, "Sorry about that, my Liege. He is in room 824. Would you like me to show you up there?" "No thank you, I can still walk." Napoleon turned and went up to the elevator and went up to the eighth floor, and found his room to be a large area, with a beautiful view of the Mosque in down town New York.

Theodore was still sleeping, but he awoke shortly. "Hello old friend," said Theodore weakly. Suddenly, his eyes grew bright and he shot straight up and stood stock still for a few moments. He screamed," It goes to Franklin!" and with that he laid down and breathed his last.

Chapter 37, Franklin II Roosevelt

Napoleon walked over to his friend and looked sadly upon the mans face. With gentle care he placed the sheet over his head. Napoleon trotted glumly down the stairs to the landing and walked over to the night nurses' desk. "Terribly sorry about before!" said the nurse who had fainted. "Mmmhmmm," mumbled Napoleon, "The King is dead, I'll call Washington so you don't have to."

With that, Napoleon stepped back into the bitterly cold early morning of November 2, 1749. By this time, cell phones had evolved into what they look like today (2007, for those of you living in CivTime...). He called the offices of the capitol to let them know of Theodore III Roosevelt had died of Pneumonia, and that his last wish was that his 29 Year-Old son, Franklin, assume the throne of America.

"Alright," said the man on the phone, "Ill see to it that King and Emperor Franklin II Roosevelt learns of his ascension." "Thank you sir, good-bye" "good-bye, emperor." After the conversation, he got on the horse and rode across the frozen north to the heart of New York City.

He reached the airport around 6AM, and bought a ticket on the next flight out for America. The fastest way to get to Washington was to get on in New York and take the next flight out to San Antonio, and then take a flight from there to Washington. He bought his ticket and walked over to the gate, where to his surprise, he found an old friend.

Chapter 38, Franklin the Menace

At the airport was the old General d'Arc. Napoleon had fought with him in the English war of annihilation back 42 years ago. d'Arc was a frail 91 year-old man now, unlike the healthy man from way back when. They talked for a few moments before Napoleon got on his flight, and made his odyssey to Washington.

Napoleon attended the coronation of Franklin II in Washington, on November 5, 1749. Franklin was about 5'9" and had dark brown hair with eyes to match. After the ceremony, Napoleon had the chance to talk with Franklin. Much to Napoleon's surprise, he was not the rotund happy cookie his father was. This Roosevelt was a cold-hearted fiend who had nothing on his mind other than total power.

Obviously, this made Napoleon a tad un-easy. When he got back to Paris, he immediately ordered that th militaries' size be increased from 7,000 modern armor to 20,000 modern armor, 5 fighters, seven battleships, and 10,000 marines. This, of course, made the atmosphere between Paris and Washington all the more tense.

Within weeks, the American military was growing, surpassing the French. Napoleon tried to keep up as the number of troops swelled to over 90 thousand in each army. After a further amount of time, the troops were placed on every foot of the border. Cold war was coming, all knew it. But, would it turn hot?

Chapter 39, Almost There

Napoleon surveyed the blazing steppland of the far west border with America. The amazingly hot day of May 30, 1752 was beating down on the entourage relentlessly. He surveyed the vast steppe with one sweep of his spyglass. His son, Jean-Paul, stood by his modern armor waiting for his father to speak.

"Well," began Napoleon, "No incursions yet." A sigh of relief went around the armors. Diplomatic tensions have reached an all time low between France and America. A permanent hot line speed dial phone has been laid between Paris and Washington, so if war is declared, all will know within minutes. The heavy industry was putting out about 4,000 modern armors per month, which were all transferred to the border.

Napoleon ordered that his convoy of 1,000 elite troops march on again. They were following the border to the east coast, preparing for battle. Around 7 PM, they camped on the banks of the Hoshkohominee River, which served as a border for some 30 miles. As dawn broke the next morning, Napoleon got at least 1200 calls on his cell phone, and he knew why as soon as he lef his tent.

On the opposite side of the border, from the east to the west coasts, stood the powerful American army, in light blue uniforms. Standing armor to armor for thousands of miles, all the Americans could do was smile. Napoleon watched them as he withdrew his cell phone and dialed 002-001-0001. "Good Morning Napoleon!" spoke a cheeky Franklin Roosevelt on the other end of the line. "So, is this it?" asked Napoleon. "Is it? Well I'll tell you it is..." and Franklin hung up.

He loved to play mind games with other people, especially Napoleon, his rival. Napoleon waited for a minute before jumping in his armor, and driving over to his son, "Jean-Paul, it hasn't begun yet, but it is near. Go back to the 7th Army and Command them. I'm off back to the 6th Army. In a few days, Napoleon arrived and took command of his old post, one that he held 45 years before...

Chapter 40, The Tyrant of America

Dusk. The phone call the day before had unnerved Napoleon to a degree previously unseen in any ruler of any country before any war. He slept in his modern armor, as to be ready for war. The next day, June 1, 1752, he got a call from 002-001-0001. "Yes?" "We grow tired of your insolence, prepare for war!" that was all Franklin said before hanging up.

Napoleon sent out a prerecorded message to all thirty-seven generals of the armies and all 5 commanders of the navy. It said: "Gentleman, the time has come for war. Be it known that the people do not like his government, so be gentle to them whilst you attack. The army, show no mercy on the plane of battle, but afterwards, show compassion to the utmost degree. 'Tis on..."

Almost simultaneously, 115,000 modern armors, 95,000 SAM infantry, 30,000 tanks, 35 battleships, 22 bombers, and 13 jet fighters, swarmed into action. The bombers laid runs onto key resource fields and destroyed some coal they had culturally flipped over to America. The fighters stayed above the cities protecting them from aerial assault.

The ships took off in 3 groups of 15, and went around bombarding resources near the coastline, and picking off the small American Navy. The army, however, was slowed by lack of roads. Franklin, who was now being called 'FDR' by his people, had destroyed them earlier before the war. The eerily open countryside made Napoleon sigh, had he not just rode the train by here, a short 3 years ago? Now it was a wasteland, look what Roosevelt had done to his own people!

From that day on, Napoleon made the vow that every day he would try to kill the man who had hurt so many. And from that day forward, he sent out assassins to kill the man of evil, Franklin II, Tyrant of America.

Chapter 41, The First Battle

As darkness approached on the 7th of June, Napoleon grew a tad uneasy. No sightings of any enemy army had been reported, which made him even more wary. The assassins he had sent had only enraged FDR further, as his personal body guard was with him 24/7. The convoy rested at the edge of the Great Plains, where the weary soldiers were to rest for the night.

At the same time, General Hubert Richardson was approaching from the southwest with the 2nd American Army. Gen. Richardson knew that Napoleon would be there, so he ordered his men to march double-time. At 6AM, as dawn broke over the great Plains, the soldiers awoke to a horrible sight. On the hill above them, stood one of the American Army, ready for action.

The French had about 17,000 Modern armor, 11,000 SAM infantry, and 3,000 tanks. Meanwhile, the Americans had 13,000, 10,000 and 5,000 of the same troops in the same order. At 6:05, the first division of armors speed down the hill and into Napoleon's left flank, soon after the whole army was rushing at Napoleon. His men held fast for the time being. 7:05 AM, the battle had been raging for an hour, with significant loses on either side. At 7:19, Napoleon sent out a desperate call for help to the 5th army, who were nearby.

The message was received and the 5th mobilized quickly and set out to Napoleon's defense. By 7:40, the French line was starting to weaken severely, and the left flank was about to open up when, out of no where, the fifth army rolled in behind the Americans. Quickly losing heart, the Americans retreat north to their homeland.

Total Casualties: 6th French Army: 9,000 Modern Armor, 8,000 SAM infantry, 1,000 Tanks. 5th French Army: 1,000 SAM Infantry. 2nd American Army: 6,000 Modern Armor, 4,000 SAM infantry, and 5,000 Tanks. Total Franch Casualties: 19,000 men Total American Casualties: 15,000 men. Total Casualties: 34,000 men.

Chapter 42, Awe in the power of War

Napoleon was in awe of the power of war. Never before had there been a war in which both nations have the exact same technology fighting each other. Never, ever. During the battle, a shot at his modern armor had hit it and sent a piece flying into the cabin. It grazed the Emperor across the cheek before stopping in some non-necessary equipment.

Now, the slightly scared Napoleon led the battered 6th across the planes. He received messages that other armies had engaged the enemy. The 1st, 4th, 6th, 8th, and 9th French armies met the Americans on the same day. All had won their battles except for the 9th army, they had been forced to retreat to French territory. Napoleon ordered that the newly created 13th army join and reinforce them there.

Napoleon had been keeping it a secret for a long time, but he was ready to unveil his secret to the world. He moved his arsenal of 20 ICBMs to the city of New York, and had them pointed at American cities. FDR laughed upon hearing of Napoleon arsenal. He thought," How could Napoleon have 20, when I only have three? Impossible."

His thoughts were changed when he saw pictures of the threat, sitting just a few hundred miles away. Within an hour, he received a message from Napoleon stating: " All the nuclear weapons pointing at you are set to go off. All I need is the slightest reason to do so. OK? Good. See you around!"

No major action was reported until June 10, 1752, when the 1st French army easily beat the 4th American Army. Just one day later, Napoleon's army, the 6th, was involved in yet another battle. On the 11th, Gen. Humphry Bragg of the 11th American Army attacked Napoleon's troops on the planes. At first, the two armies skirmished, but by the end of an hour, at 9pm, the gloves were off as the battle ensued.

The 19,000 in the French 6th, facing off the 20,000 in the American 11th.
The lines wavered, as no advantage favored anyone. After thirty minutes, American morale was collapsing, and Napoleon saw his chance. He sent out what was left of his SAM infantry, and smashed into the right flank. All of the infantry died, but it was enough to make the Americans run.

French casualties: 7,000 Modern Armor ,7,000 SAM infantry, and 3,000 Tanks.
American casualties: 5,000, 10,000, and 1,000 in the same proportion.

Only 2,000 French survived the attack, another costly victory for Napoleon. Before the small army could be decimated, they merged with the 7th Army, nearby, to make the 6-7th Army.

Chapter 43, Spy Bust

Back in Paris, discontent over the war had spread into riots. Napoleon left the 6-7th in charge of another, and headed back to the capitol. After a few speeches and a few wage bonuses, the riots had ceased to be. Reluctantly, Napoleon stayed in Paris, an kept watch of his population. Meanwhile, things had ground to a halt on the front. The French victories were now being evenly matched with American ones.

On the sunny day of June 23, 1752, Napoleon was in his office pouring over maps when his close friend and advisor, Charles de Saue, walked in. "Good morning, your highness!" said de Saue in a cheeky voice. "What's the good news?" replied the more somber Napoleon. "Well, I was walking down the Champs de Ruesone, when who should I run into, but our old friend Jackson Duhly!" The blank look upon Napoleon face made de Saue turn a little red. "Oh! have I not told you? Jackson Duhly has been spying for the Americans! We finally got him! Best part is, he led us to other agents, and a grand total of 24 have been killed, and 3 arrested! Wonderful, eh?"

Napoleon was thrown off guard, he had not realized how many spies had infiltrated his kingdom, and he was determined to stop their raids. "Good. I want tighter security, kapeesch?" "Your word is my command!" Off went de Saue, to do what had been asked of him.

Later that day, Napoleon got a phone call that was troubling indeed. The stalemate had been broken with a major French victory at the hamlet of Collett, in America. Determination set his mind into overdrive. He decided to go back to the front, and take charge again.

Chapter 44, Return to the Front

Six days later, on 29, 1752, Napoleon awoke upon the great plains again. The French offensive had taken a toll on the countryside, of which half was burning. Unfortunately, on the 27th, the Americans had retaliated with a monstrous victory at the town of Akron. Thirty thousand armors had defeated twice that number of their French counterpart. Needless to say, the general responsible for the whole affair went into 'voluntary exile' in Les Tourte.

The next few days were spent consolidating the front, and pushing forward. On the naval scene, Admiral Narouetquet won the battle of Donoix Strait and had put the Americans on the run. News from Washington reached Napoleon over his cell phone every now and again. He had finally infiltrated the higher level of government. His spy, Lewes Brang (real name Louis Brangeaux), had sent him reports of troop movements intermittently.

On the first of July, Napoleon and 45,000 troops were marching across the plains, when they ran into what appeared to be a vangaurd of a massive force. Within minutes, Napoleon fell on them like a hawk. In revenge for the spying in his country, he cut off the head of the spy traveling in the unit. Needless to say, he defeated the force with minimal casualties.

Chapter 45, Battle of Wolfsboro

July 1, 1752. 1:05 PM, Wolfsboro, Great Plains, America. The first shot is fired by an American modern armor in what would become the greatest battle in French history. 7 minutes earlier (12:58 AM), Napoleon saw the units approaching, and sent out this distress call: "Generals, this is your commander, Napoleon. I am facing a force three times the size of my own, and would demand that all who are within a two hours ride come join me. That's an order. If I die, It all goes to my son. Thank you. This is Napoleon, over and out."

Immediately, thousands of troops turned and headed for Wolfsboro. Before we get too into the battle itself, let me, your humble chronicler, explain the ground. Wolfsboro was built in 1225 on a sloping hill to commemorate the attack of wolves on scouts there in 200 B.C. The hill itself is very small, but on the plains, is a huge landmark. Napoleon's troops occupied the high ground while the huge American force occupied the lower.

As was said, the first shots were fired by the Americans. The ensuing onslaught was tremendous. The tanks of Napoleon hid on the broad streets of the towns and only appeared to surprise the enemy with a burst of fire. Some French SAM infantry marched around the Americans and sent a few regiments scattering, but they too were destroyed in the next few minutes of their discovery.

The core of Napoleon's force, his modern armors, were taking heavy casualties on the upside of the hill, where American Howitzers were adept at hitting. After the battle raged for a half-hour, a phone call reached Napoleon, it was Lewes Brang in Washington. He said that the enemy had an army on the way to reinforce the already massive force. But, he also said that The two commanders, Gen. Smith and Gen. Scavader, absolutely hated each other, and to use this to his advantage.

Napoleon thanked him for the information and as soon as he hung up, he sent out another distress call. At 1:46 PM, a French army under Gen. Chamuelat arrived and helped hit Gen. Smith's force even harder. By 2:05 PM, the American line had not wavered for one moment, but Napoleon nearly lost his twice. The last thing he needed was another American army arriving within fifteen minutes!

Nevertheless, at 2:11 PM, Gen. Scavender arrived to reinforce Gen. Smith. The fighting had begun to intensify, and by half past two, the Americans had pushed their way into the heart of Wolfsboro. Napoleon was shooting at the howitzers, which had been reduced to six, when out of nowhere an enemy tank appeared. Napoleon saw it, but was too slow to react when the shell struck at the armor's core. French machinery is the finest ever made, and it proved its worth as it only dented the machine.

Napoleon recovered quickly from this unwelcome shot, and fired his own battery back at the tank, which was promptly blown to bits. This little encounter shook up Napoleon very badly, and before anyone could stop him, he rushed out of the armor, and into the streets where hand to hand combat was beginning to take place.

A smile broke across Napoleons face as he saw the weapons of choice. As the French and Americans had run out of ammo in this very isolated part of town, they resorted to swords from two local sword stores. Napoleon was perhaps the finest swordsman in all of France, and because of which, he quickly withdrew his longsword he always carried with him, and jumped into the foray.

Forgetting the near-death incident with the tank only minutes before, he was quickly slashing away at the enemy. The sight of their 62 year-old leader fighting along side them made the French soldiers cheer and fight harder. Before anyone could say 'hold on, let's have a fair fight,' Napoleon had cut down thirty or more soldiers. Within ten minutes, all the Americans involved in the isolated incident lay dead or dying, with only two or three French casualties. At 2:51, his armor rounded the bend and pulled him out of the cheering soldiers. "Back to shooting howitzers!" thought Napoleon.

At 3:01, Gen de Eunomphet arrived and put more pressure on the Americans. The soldiers wielding swords had ammo by this time, and had gone back to patrolling the streets for enemy drifters. Even till now,, prospects for the French lay dim. That is, until 3:39, when the Americans, in all their high-minded preparedness, ran out of ammo. So much had been expelled, some buildings had collapsed because their structural integrity had been weakened by the onslaught of the bullets.

Napoleon, seizing on this opportunity, rushed at the line with all he had. Only six minutes later, at 3:45, the French themselves had run out of ammo. So, they left their tanks stay idle, and rushed at them with metal poles, swords, clubs, anything they had. Napoleon rejoined the unit he had fought with earlier in the day as they bore down against the Americans.

The uniform for the American solider consisted of a small, broad sword, not unlike the Gladius of the ancient Romans, while the French required no such weaponry be mandatory dress. So, once again, the French fell to a disadvantage in the field. But, yet again, Napoleon made up for it with his presence on the field.

The skill of the 'sword-unit' as Napoleon started to call them was the deciding factor in the French victory that day. At 4:06 PM, the last of the Americans had been killed or fled the field back to the near-by city of Phoenix. The casualties for the French were: 50,000 dead, 17,000 wounded. American: 61,000 dead, 22,000 wounded. In total: 111,000 dead, 39,000 wounded. With 140,000 casualties, it was the bloodiest day of any war ever fought in history, beating out the battle of Borodino. Fought in 1532, it had 99,000 casualties between France, the Russians, and Aztecs.

After the battle, the 'sword-unit' was the only actively commissioned unit in the French army made up entirely of swordsman. It was also the most commended unitt in French History after that battle. It is also the most elite unit in the French army. After that bloody day, Napoleon was just ready to sleep a deep sleep.

Chapter 46, Siege of Emotion

On the morning of July 2, 1752, Napoleon woke up with one hell of a hangover. A battle hangover, that is. Still, a war had to be fought. By noon, the troops were resuming their slow crawl across the plains. When the news reached Paris, the celebrations were so loud and colorful, they could be seen from Rheims, over 100 miles away.

Although Napoleon didn't wish to, he left the front and returned to Paris on the 5th, and give his victory speech. On the sixth, he was christened by Rabbi l'Oront (Remember, most Frenchmen are Jewish) 'Napoleon the Great.' celebrations spread across the French empire. Even more happiness ensued when the capture of 28 nuclear weapons was made public on the 10th. Now only 2 remained in the American arsenal.

On July 13, (Friday the thirteenth), Advisor de Saue walked into Napoleon's office with grave news. His spy in Washington, Louis Brangeaux, had been executed. Better news, though, was he hadn't spoken a word during the six hours of torture. Napoleon couldn't help but shed a tear for his most faithful spy. After thirty-two years of service, peace for him at last.

On July 15th, Napoleon returned to the front to command his armies. On the 17th, an emotional sight greeted him. The majestic city of Philadelphia lay before him. He had spent many days in that sea-side city. The most tragic of which involved the beloved William VII Jefferson, as he battled with cancer.

Sullenly, he began the siege of the city. By July 30, the walls were rubble, and the French defeated the half-hearted American counterattack. On strict orders from Napoleon, no solider was to hrm this city at all. He walked into the clinic, where the doctors he had remembered from just one decade ago, cowered in fear.

He called out, "Come forth, I am but a man. For is it I who have roamed these halls in sorrow, whence a friend hath died? Yes, 'tis I. Lowly Napoleon. Fear me not." This impassioned speech pacified the fear of the doctors, and sent them about as normal.

As Napoleon laid in his tent that night, he couldn't help but cry. His crucible of sorrow hath been clutched from the enemy. Only six cities remained in American hands. San Antonio, Minneapolis, Boston, Pittsburgh, Houston, and finally, Washington...

Chapter 47, The Article

On August 2, 1752, a wire came through that shocked and horrified people from all ranks and roles. The United French Press Association (UFPA) leaked a story that follows here:

Paris Post-Times
August 2, 1752

Atrocities Revealed
By.: Francis de Ponte, UFPA

Shock and awe is the feeling in most French communities today, after you read this article. The UFPA has learned that over 15,000,000 people have been murdered by American tyrant, Franklin Roosevelt. Unless you've been living under a rock for the past months, France is fighting in a war, THE war, against America. Perhaps if our French army and navy can take cities faster, there will be a decrease in these atrocities. Then again, all these people have been exterminated for a reason. Most of them are disabled, crippled, sickly, and old. It seems as if Roosevelt is streamlining his population to make for a more efficient national war machine. HE has also killed many Jews, simply because they follow the faith of France. All of his cities are churning out troops like mad, and it shouldn't be long until he will have achieved a "stack 'o doom." All we can do is wait, pray, and give support to our brave commander, Napoleon, in the field.

When Napoleon had finished reading this article, he ordered that his intelligence sources collect data on these atrocities so that they can be levied against FDR at a later date. Napoleon had no plans of killing him anymore, he had abandoned the assassin idea already. He wanted to drag out his death for months of trials to come.

Napoleon sent out a desperate radio plea to FDR to lay down arms, while there was still time. All that greeted him was radio silence.

Chapter 48, The Ascotia Pass

The campaign carried on as usual, with the slow progression of French troops across the land. By August 10, they were at the foot of the very tall Scott mountains leading into inner America. There was only pass that allowed access into the interior from the south, and it was the Ascotia Pass which ran through the skinniest portion of the mountains.

Napoleon knew he had a decision to make. It was early August, but snow was starting again to build on the caps of the highest Scotts. More snow would be coming soon. In conditions like these, there was no chance of 170,000 French troops making it through there in time. But, a small river, the Erstom River, ran through the valley. This could provide desperately needed resources for the hungry army.

Napoleon decided that he would leave 150,000 troops at the end of the pass, still on the planes, while he and 20,000 marched to view any resources that might be open to take. On August 19, Napoleon left Gen. Carmonchaeux behind and marched off into the pass. At first, he found small herds of animals, but by the 31, he had hit upon major farms, ample to steal and plunder from. He sent word that the army was to camp here for the winter.

On September 24, the last solider left the great planes. It was excellent timing too, for the pass closed on the 28th. Once the columns were reunited, they proceeded to pick clean the small and large farms. The sight of over 150,000 tents and over 100,000 pieces of equipment would breathe awe into any passer by. Though it would really take a few hours for the passer by to fully pass by all the people and items and machines.

Winter truly let itself upon the troops with an Early October blizzard. The rest of October, November, and December went with little strife and without sickness or disease. New Years Day 1753 was celebrated with great joy throughout the camp. A beautiful wooden synagouge was erected in the center of camp for the daily worship that would be the only thing to keep them occupied over the next months. Nearby, a smaller temple was built for the fewer Muslims in the troop, mostly New Yorkers.

The morning of February 17 began like any other. Except one thing, 195,000 American troops were advancing unbeknownst to the French down the valley. At 7pm, they reached the first watch tower, who sent a warning/distress signal back to the other towers and the base. Instant chaos in the camps erupted with the warning siren going off. The defensive stance was employed and the French were ready to fight. They slept with one eye open that night. At 6:48 AM, exactly at sunrise, the Americans stood only 1000yds from the French readying themselves for yet another big battle.

Chapter 49, Battle of Ascotia

Napoleon surveyed his position on the field. It wasn't totally bleak, but it had its dangerous elements in fully display. Off hand, the Americans had the higher ground and more troops. Napoleon's single advantage was in the fact that the Americans had a lake to their back.

Sensing this disadvantage, the Americans made the first move by detaching their left flank and marching it into Napoleon's. This move was countered easily enough, but at decent cost. The howitzers had been trading shots every now and again, but not until an hour into the fight did they pick up steam.

After growing tried of defeating American attacks, Napoleon mounted one of his own. Both his flanks were to detach and attack from their respective sides, while the middle was to smash into the main column. Napoleon stayed in his armor, and when he got within firing range, attempted to blow a hole in the line with the powerful French super-tank.

The Americans were prepared for this, however, and feigned retreat. Napoleon, incorrectly assuming retreat, pushed on the attack. At the shore of the lake, the Americans wheeled around and caught the French off guard. The entire left flank was destroyed, leaving the middle exposed. Napoleon quickly maneuvered to counter this, but it was too late. The Americans had breached the line.

For the first time in his life, Napoleon began to witness failure beyond measure. When he regained his thoughts, he ordered a retreat, double time.

Final statistics, French dead: 34,000, French wounded, 28,000, total French Casualties: 62,000. American dead: 22,000, American wounded, 22,000, total American Casualties: 44,000. Total casualties: 108,000. Second only to Wolfsboro in blood and guts... and a sad day for mighty France...

Chapter 50, The Pass, The Retreat, and The Creation Of Venice

The French skedaddled over through the pass until they reached the entrance, which was blocked off with snow. To run over the thing would be suicidal, because the snow had little integrity to hold such an army. He still had 110,000 men, so if the Americans attacked again, he would still stand and fight.

A mere three days after the attack, on February 21, 1753, he ordered that a series of trench works be built to keep the enemy at bay. The works went from one side of the pass to the other, and about one mile long. A map was created by Napoleon, and he emailed his soldiers via iPhone and they uploaded directions, so they wouldn't get lost. GPS for their trench works, I guess you could say.

February passed without incident, as did March. But, on April 25, great things started to happen. The pass was melting, and the soldiers would be able to get through soon. The trench works that Napoleon had built turned into canals for thee flooding water. The tents were placed between the canals, and small boats were used to carry sorts of things between camps in each section of the canal. Later, the farm people of this valley would use this as irrigation, and a town eventually sprang up here. The locals called it 'Venice', which means "Much Water" in Old English.

By May 17, the entire pass was clear, and Napoleon ordered the retreat out. On the 19th, he met up with Gen. l'Orenie, which provided him with much needed men to replace the casualties sustained at Ascotia. On the 31st, he came to Philadelphia, where he had temporarily stationed his troops before. Here, he gave command to Gen. Bauleseinegaie, with orders to hold off enemy attacks onto the plains. Napoleon began the long ride home to Paris, to explain to the people of the largest loss in the war so far.

Chapter 51, Vivé le Youth!

Napoleon entered Paris on the 10th of June. He rode on top of his tank with his head down, sullenly thinking about the war. The people did not shout in triumph, or hurl fecal matter at him, but were rather as dreary as he was. They had learned of the defeat back on May 20, so they had time to cool off before Napoleon came home.

As he was crossing the Rue de Richelieu, a young boy hopped up onto the tank with him. It startled Napoleon, nevertheless he ask him, "What is your name, young man?" "Pierre." he said sullenly. The named Pierre caused Napoleon to twinge, but he held back, rather than upset the boy. "What brings you upon my tank, wouldn't you rather be with a victor?" "No," the boy said, "I'd much rather be on the same vehicle as my King. Besides, you looked lonely." Napoleon felt a wave of gratitude towards this young man, for supporting his monarch when even some adults gave up.

This gave Napoleon an idea. When he reached the palace the boy hopped off and ran towards the 2nd District, or the poor ward. When he got inside, he called trusted advisor Charles de Saue to his office.

"Good morning, my liege how goes the front?" "Well enough, sit down." de Saue sat and began the conversation.

"I know you'll be happy to see that the spying by Americans have totally stopped."

"Quite. I brought you here for a different purpose, however."
de Saue arched his eye-brows,

"And what would that be?"

"To hold a youth rally. I want to find all the young, patriotic boys and girls of Paris and bring them together in the courtyards and streets in front of Trefoneive. What do you think?”

“I think I’ll get started!”

And with that, de Saue left the office and headed to the nucleus of the palace, the Controeleux Centralé, and started making calls. Pleased with himself. Napoleon clet his mind wonder to the war. “I wonder if Gen. Baulesingaie has done anything yet.”

Chapter 52, The Death of Baulesingaie

The youth rally was a total success. Over 800,000 French girls and boys came to the event, which had to be moved from the Trefoneive Palace to the International Metrodome near the outskirts of Paris. Its capacity of 250,000 was inadequate to support the number there as well.

Napoleon was in the middle of his speech to the youth when his phone buzzed angrily on his hip. After the speech was over, he casually left the stage and checked his messages. He listened in horror as Gen. Baulesingaie told him of the recent events in the army.

Apparently, De Saue hadn't got all the spies. One had infiltrated the camp and had somehow left alive. He told his superiors who had immediately set the march upon the French. They fought a series of running battles, with the French losing most. The Americans had lost all interest in capturing the cities and hamlets along the way, but was far more concerned with killing the French.

The Americans, as of today, had them pushed all the way back to the Ruebeux River, which flowed about thirty miles north of New York. Napoleon knew he had to act fast, so he left the youth rally and boarded the train to New York, disguised as a farmer. He made it to the front at about 10pm. The French had just lost a battle, so the morale of the men was heightened by the presence of their leader.

Napoleon walked into Baulesingaie's office. He was drinking wine with a few of the local women, and this took Napoleon off guard. "This man," thought Napoleon," has just lost a battle and he is fraternizing with WOMEN! How dare he celebrate when there is work to be done!" His anger rising by the second, Napoleon withdrew his sword and screamed, "You're fired!" and cut his head off with one clean swish off his sword.

Obviously frightened by the whole spectacle, the ladies ran from their tent and into the cool night. Napoleon kicked aside the dead head of the former top French general