The Fox of France

Chapter 207: The Flash of Lightning

As Napoleon launched his attack against the Prussian army, Joseph had already returned to Paris. He relinquished his position as the commander of the Northern Corps to Carnot and engaged in a lengthy conversation with him. Following their discussion, Joseph promptly left Paris, riding a carriage towards the south.

When the news of Joseph's injury by a bullet reached them, a group of researchers led by Lavasie had already left Paris, heading south. This event had been used to fuel the false narrative that Paris was on the brink of falling, and the "Military-Industrial Consortium" was evacuating in advance.

Although "The Journal of Science and Truth" tried to vehemently deny this by claiming that the relocation of these individuals was due to "work requirements," hardly anyone believed them, not even their own journalists and editors. In fact, within the editorial department of "The Journal of Science and Truth," numerous reporters and editors took unplanned leaves.

But many years later, the famous French writer Alexandre Dumas referenced a remark made by Lucien Bonaparte's confidante during a soire: "One day, during a gathering with Lucien and his other paramours, the question arose: 'What is the mark of a truly cunning deceiver?'"

The women laughed heartily, each taking turns to describe the qualities of the "greatest liar in the world, who never utters a word of truth."

Lucien eventually burst into laughter and said, "Ladies, you have no idea what a truly cunning deceiver is like. You're only talking about small-time con artists. The real masters of deception don't need to lie. They speak the truth, but when they need you to believe, you'll believe. And when they don't need your belief, they turn into a Cassandra (the princess of Troy, cursed by Apollo with the gift of prophecy, but no one believed her). The more they emphasize something's true, the more you'll think it's false. And when the truth finally reveals itself, you'll still believe they're trustworthy."

This comment drew laughter and mockery from the group, accusing Lucien of making it up. Only young Miss Marguerite uttered, "Oh my, isn't that just like 'The Journal of Science and Truth'?"

"Always telling the truth but deceptively using the truth," was purportedly one of "The Journal of Science and Truth's" fundamental principles.

Lucien's team had traveled to the south because a critical project, originally overseen by Joseph, was now at a crucial stagethe Paulina Hydroelectric Plant, a core component of the "Zeus Plan."

The Paulina Hydroelectric Plant was built on a tributary of the Loire River, an obscure waterway that originated on the western side of the Alps, near the border of France and Italy. It flowed westward into the Loire River, which eventually emptied into the Mediterranean Sea. This small river, or more accurately, brook, had limited flow, significant elevation changes, and its course mainly passed through woodlands and valleys. It was unsuitable for navigation and irrigation, to the extent that the locals didn't even bother to give it a name.

However, this brook suited Joseph's needs perfectly, with its substantial elevation drop and proximity to a road. Thus, it was chosen as the location for the first hydroelectric plant. A year prior, engineers and workers had diverted the brook in a nearby valley and constructed a dam, creating a small and picturesque artificial lake. At that time, Joseph had even visited with his family, naming the artificial lake after his sister, Paulina.

Now, after a year of construction, the world's first hydroelectric generating unit was finally assembled. A matching artillery factory was also completed in a nearby small, flat basin. It was time to conduct a test run of power generation, and Joseph needed to be present to oversee this groundbreaking endeavor.

In reality, prior to Joseph's arrival, Lavasie, who had been in charge of the work, had carried out dozens of "test runs." During these tests, several previously unforeseen technical glitches were addressed. Furthermore, the accompanying artillery factory had already produced numerous "prototype" units. Originally, according to the plan, the power plant should have commenced operation much earlier, but Joseph had been tied up in Verdun. It wasn't practical to halt the entire testing process just to wait for him. That would be a waste of money!

Nonetheless, overseeing the inauguration of the world's first power plant was a momentous feat that would go down in history, so Joseph imposed a strict rule: all power generation tests would be called "small-scale tests." Only when he personally oversaw the power generation, it would be referred to as "official power generation."

Thus, on the day before the official power generation ceremony, the Paulina Hydroelectric Plant concluded its final extended "test run." It then spent an entire day thoroughly inspecting all components, replacing any worn or potentially damaged parts with new ones, in anticipation of Joseph's arrival.

Since the hydroelectric plant was named the "Paulina Hydroelectric Plant," the Saint Paulina of Tarsus naturally had to be present. And if Paulina was coming, all the brothers and sisters had to join in the fun. With so many siblings, big and small, even Mother had to come along. Therefore, the Bonaparte family, except for Napoleon, who was still at war, and Lucien, who was in Paris, all gathered here.

At nine in the morning, the "official power generation inauguration ceremony" officially commenced. On the already erected dais, Joseph began his speech. He started by expressing his gratitude to the diligent workers of the "Military-Industrial Consortium," then went on to extol the profound significance of this work, and so on...

Finally, at half-past eleven, Joseph's speech, as planned, came to a timely end. According to the program, Paulina was to close the switch, and the entire generator unit would start running, allowing everyone to have lunch.

Paulina pushed the switch up, but the adjacent electric water pump remained motionless.

This was entirely normal, for the switch Paulina pushed was merely symbolic. Moreover, for safety reasons, this switch was not connected to any circuit, with both ends of the wires grounded. In other words, whether Paulina closed the switch or not, there would be no electric current flowing through it.

However, the motionlessness of the electric water pump was unreasonable. Because before Paulina closed the faux switch, the power plant was already operational. When Paulina closed this switch, another person should have pushed a real switch to activate the electric water pump.

But perhaps due to the lengthy nature of Joseph's speech, combined with the beautiful weather that made it an excellent time for a nap, the staff responsible for pushing the real switch had actually fallen asleep.

Paulina believed that by pushing the switch, the water pumps on both sides would start, creating a water curtain on either side of the dais. However, after closing the switch, there was no reaction. Paulina did not know that the switch she had pushed was merely a decoy, a detail Joseph thought was unnecessary to explain.

After some hesitation, she reopened the switch, thinking of trying it again. But just as she pulled the switch back, the dozing worker on the other side finally realized what was happening. He quickly pushed the real switch, and water spurted out. "So, the switch has to be pushed up before it works. That's different from what Joseph told me," Paulina was momentarily perplexed.

The electric water pump had a crucial role, not only for irrigation and agriculture but primarily in industrial production. In a nearby artillery factory, electrically driven drills began to operate, boring the barrels of the first batch of "official production" 12-pounder cannons.

In addition to electric drills, there were also electric hammers and other electrical equipment. The use of these devices significantly improved the production efficiency of this factory. With full adoption of electricity, the factory's production capacity was expected to increase five to ten times its original capacity, according to calculations.

This was just the beginning, and the utility of electricity extended beyond military industries. Almost every business and industry, whether heavy or light, could benefit from it. Just as Joseph had expounded in his lengthy speech, the realization of the Zeus Plan would profoundly change the course of this era.

On the same day that the "Paulina Hydroelectric Plant" officially began generating power, Napoleon launched an assault on the Anglo-Prussian coalition in Hanover. With two thousand casualties, he once again defeated the Anglo-Prussian forces. The coalition commander, Field Marshal von Mollendorf, was killed by a cannon-fired shell during the battle. The entire Anglo-Prussian army, numbering one hundred thousand, suffered massive casualties, and the French army smoothly captured the city of Hanover.

After a brief stop in Hanover, Napoleon continued his advance, arriving at the gates of Berlin ten days later. At this point, Prussia had no remaining troops to deploy, so King Frederick William III left an envoy behind to negotiate with Napoleon while he retreated towards the direction of Blcherberg.

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