The new Empress Marie-Louise had presented Napoleon with a healthy son in March 1811, only a year after their marriage, which must have been galling for Alexander, whose frail wife had only managed to give him two daughters, both of whom had died. The birth of the baby was attended by great pomp and celebration, and Napoleon immediately created him King of Rome – a title which annoyed all the old established royal houses.
But the greatest cause of contention between the two Emperors was undoubtedly the embargo – the Continental System, as it was called. Napoleon was still determined to defeat England by crippling her trade, closing the Continent to her goods; and for a while it had looked as though it would work. News from England had been alarming – of bankruptcies, of factories working only half the week, of warehouses choked with unsaleable goods, of soaring prices and starvation. But the Continent could not do without England either, especially as her navy controlled the carrying trade. No imports meant no exports; stagnation entered the veins of European commerce. Inflation was rife, currencies were devalued, the unemployed roamed the streets and lanes in starving mobs, and smuggling grew to epidemic proportions.
So the previous year, in July, Napoleon had eased the situation by granting licences to trade with England to certain French companies, by which they could import necessities such as sugar and soda and clothing, and export French corn and wine. A secondary effect of the policy was a vast increase to French treasury resources from the duties; but the rest of Europe looked on sourly, and commented that since Napoleon could not suppress the smuggling, he had resorted to running the trade himself, while other nations were still obliged to keep their ports closed.
The Tsar, in protest, had begun to allow neutral ships to unload their cargoes in Baltic ports, easing the situation in Russia, where the stagnation of trade had caused severe hardship. In October Napoleon wrote him a furious letter of protest, saying that the ‘neutral’ ships were really English ships, disguising themselves by flying a flag of convenience, and he ordered the Tsar to confiscate the goods he had allowed to be landed. The Tsar refused; and Napoleon responded by annexing the rest of the Baltic coastal countries, and closing off the loophole.
Included in the annexation was the Duchy of Oldenburg. Oldenburg was a tiny, marshy flatland sovereignty of no great importance, except that its present incumbent, Duke Peter, was married to the Empress-Dowager’s favourite sister; and his second son Prince George was married to the Grand Duchess Catherine, the Tsar’s favourite sister. Relations between Alexander and Napoleon deteriorated still further.
Then in December the Tsar issued a decree imposing a heavy tax on the import into Russia of luxuries. This was done to try to protect the rouble, whose exchange rate had decayed dangerously because of the Continental System. All luxury goods were included, but the worst affected were French silks, lace and wine, which had been flooding into the country since 1807. It was a blow which Napoleon took personally. The relationship between the two Emperors was now at its lowest ebb, and since Russia and France were virtual dictatorships, that was ominous.
‘From what Caulaincourt told me, war is inevitable,’ Kirov said. ‘Napoleon saw him straight away, the moment he arrived in Paris, but he said there was nothing like the warmth and affection Napoleon usually showed him. He seemd to think Caulaincourt had been seduced by the Tsar and was no longer to be trusted, and you know nothing could more incense Armand than to have his loyalty impugned.’
‘I can imagine. He’s the most honest man in Europe.’
‘Just so. At all events, he did his best to explain Russian grievances. When Napoleon complained that the Tsar wasn’t honouring his promise to uphold the Continental System, he said that Russia could hardly be expected to sustain hardships which France was now avoiding by the issue of licences.’
The servants came in with the samovar and the tray of cups, spoons and sugar bowl. Kirov stopped and waited until they had arranged everything and withdrawn. Anne performed the ritual with accustomed ease, aware that he was watching the movements of her hands with a faint smile: the English governess was very far from home. She handed his cup, and he resumed.
‘Thank you. Then Napoleon complained that Russian troops had been moved up as far as the Dvina river, which he said was an aggressive move. Caulaincourt pointed out that Napoleon had been moving troops up to Danzig and Prussia for weeks, and that the Tsar was worried that this meant the Kingdom of Poland was about to be recreated.’ He stirred his tea thoughtfully. ‘Poland’s a little of a sore point with Caulaincourt anyway, because he was the one who drew up the document – which Napoleon eventually refused to sign – agreeing to expunge the name of Poland from all official documents for ever.’
‘Yes, I remember. It was supposed to be a guarantee that Poland would never be reinstated. Everyone was quite excited about it.’
‘I don’t think Napoleon ever meant to ratify it: it’s all a part of his policy of reculer pour mieux sauter. Perhaps Armand was beginning to realise that: he must have shown his resentment at that point, because Napoleon apparently lost his temper, and shouted that Armand was the dupe and tool of the Russians. Armand flared up, and said that he was willing to be arrested on the spot and place his head on the block if Lauriston didn’t confirm every word of what he’d said.’
Anne took his cup to refill it. ‘He must have been deeply hurt to react so strongly. He is always so restrained.’
‘Yes. It must have been a surprise for the Emperor, too, because he calmed down after that; but Armand said the rest of the conversation – and it went on for five hours – was utterly frustrating. Napoleon was convinced – or claimed to be – that Russia was the aggressor, and wanted war, and was trying to frustrate his plans to defeat England. Then when Armand insisted that Alexander didn’t want war, Napoleon said it must be because he was afraid of him. He seemed convinced that a short campaign and one good battle would have the cowardly Russians running for cover and begging for peace.’
Anne noticed with amusement that even the rational, cosmopolitan Kirov was annoyed by this insulting view of his people.
‘Caulaincourt did his best to persuade Napoleon that Alexander wasn’t afraid of invasion, told him the sheer size of the country, the difficulties of the terrain, and the climate would defeat the French without any need for battle. But to every point the Emperor simply replied that Caulaincourt had been deceived by his love of St Petersburg and by Alexander’s charm. When I spoke to him afterwards, he was almost in tears at the impossibility of persuading the Emperor that to invade Russia would be a monstrous error. But as I told him, Napoleon simply has no concept of the size of Russia. He never was very good at distances.’
‘Poor Caulaincourt. It would be hard, I suppose, for anyone to persuade Bonaparte he could be beaten.’
The Count grunted. ‘He had no chance anyway. What he couldn’t know was that Napoleon has already decided on war.’ Anne looked her surprise. ‘Oh yes – the movement of troops into northern territories is all part of a plan. He’s gathered huge quantities of military supplies into depots at key points – Mainz and Danzig, for example – ready for invasion.’
‘How do you know that?’
He smiled. ‘I told you once before, did I not, that we Russians know everything? But look – he’s replaced Caulaincourt with a soldier, who can send him information about the Tsar’s military preparedness, which dear Armand could never do! He’s had new and better maps of Russia made and sent to his chief of staff, along with large-scale maps of Poland and Livonia. And – what few people know – he’s told Lauriston to send back detailed maps of both Moscow and St Petersburg, to be engraved and copied.’