While observing the city of Paris more closely from the carriage, Napoleon II knew just how far the differences were. It would probably take years or decades for the reconstruction of Paris, and he wanted the design of the new Paris to be the same as major cities across France.
It's best that they start the process of reconstruction so his father could see a glimpse of how beautiful the city of Paris can be.
"Father, I hope you are not going to war anytime soon. We have to focus on rebuilding France okay? We don't want unnecessary expenses."
"I have learned my lesson," Napoleon I simply replied. "I won't be starting any more wars, especially when I heard from you that I could lose it all."
Speaking of that, Napoleon II had a curious question lingering in his mind.
"If I may ask, why did you invade Russia? You know in my previous life, historians have said that it is one of your greatest blunders. You could have focused on the ongoing rebellion in Spain. Yet you chose to invade them."
"Before I answer that, I want to know your thoughts on it. Why do you think I invaded Russia?"
Napoleon II didn't answer right away.
He watched the street instead. A line of carts jammed against a corner. A shouting match between a vendor and a driver. Mud splashed up the side of a building where the stone had cracked and darkened from years of rot.
"Because Russia already left the war," he said at last.
Napoleon turned slightly. Not surprised. Listening.
"They just didn't announce it."
He shifted on the seat, small hands resting on his knees.
"The Continental System only works if everyone actually follows it," Napoleon II continued. "Britain wasn't beaten by armies. You knew that. You tried to starve them instead. Cut their trade. Cut their money."
Napoleon gave a short nod. That much was obvious.
"But Russia couldn't afford it," Napoleon II said. "Their economy depended on exports. Grain. Timber. Hemp. Tar. They needed British buyers. So they started letting British goods in quietly. Through neutral ports. Through forged manifests. Through smugglers."
He glanced at his father.
"They broke the blockade without openly declaring it."
Napoleon's jaw tightened slightly. A familiar expression. The look he wore when someone violated an agreement and pretended it didn't matter.
"They thought distance would protect them," Napoleon II said. "That you wouldn't march that far. That you'd be too busy elsewhere."
Napoleon exhaled through his nose. "Spain," he said.
"Yes," Napoleon II replied. "Spain was bleeding you. Guerrillas. British gold. An open wound that wouldn't close."
The carriage rattled over a rough patch of stone. Neither of them spoke for a moment.
"You chose Russia," Napoleon II continued, "because if Russia could ignore the blockade, everyone else would follow. Prussia. Austria. The smaller states. The whole system collapses."
Napoleon looked out the window now, eyes narrowed.
"So I had to make an example," he said.
"Yes," Napoleon II answered. "You needed to show that leaving the system had consequences."
Napoleon nodded once. Slowly.
"But you underestimated two things," Napoleon II went on.
Napoleon waited.
"Distance," Napoleon II said first. "Not just kilometers. Supply lines. Roads. Time. Every step east stretched your army thinner."
Napoleon's fingers tapped once against the leather seat.
"And the second?"
"Russia didn't need to defeat you," Napoleon II said. "They only needed to not lose."
He paused, then added, quieter.
"They traded land for time. Burned what you needed. Let winter finish the job."
The carriage passed a narrow bridge. Water below, dark and sluggish.
"You weren't wrong to invade," Napoleon II said. "You were wrong to believe it would end quickly."
Napoleon was silent for a long time.
When he finally spoke, his voice was flat.
"I thought one decisive blow would force them back into line."
"It would have," Napoleon II said. "If Russia had been structured like France. Or Austria. Or Prussia."
"But it wasn't," Napoleon said.
"No," Napoleon II agreed. "It was built to absorb punishment."
Napoleon leaned back against the seat.
"And Spain?" he asked.
Napoleon II didn't hesitate.
"You should have finished one war before starting another," he said. "Empires can survive defeats. They don't survive exhaustion."
Napoleon closed his eyes briefly.
"You speak as if you were there," he said.
"In a way," Napoleon II replied. "You could have become a world conqueror Father where everyone would have spoken French."
"You can't ask the Goddess of Fortune more than she can give," Napoleon I replied.
"But I promise you this Father, as long as you are doing what I'm telling you. Industrialization, reconstruction, and others, I would make sure France would dominate the world affairs. It would be like the United States where in the 21st century, is the only superpower that no one could match."
"United States…that country where I sold a huge swathe of land. Well I did expect that they'd become a great power too. Given their territorial size and distance from Europe," Napoleon finished. "They had room to grow. Room to make mistakes."
The carriage slowed as it passed a tighter street. People pressed close to the wheels. A woman pulled a child back by the collar just in time.
"They didn't have coalitions forming every five years," Napoleon II said. "No neighbors who remembered old wars. No borders packed tight against rivals. Once we return to the Palace, I'll also draft the plan for the reconstruction of the city."
"You sure are working hard," Napoleon I commented.
"Well, if it's going to be an Empire I'm going to inherit, I have to work harder."