Reincarnated as Napoleon II-Chapter 95: The Automobile Concept

Napoleon II was handed a chalk and proceeded to the chalkboard where drawings and schematics were drawn on it.

"Can I erase it?" Napoleon II asked.

"It’s fine, Your Imperial Majesty, we have documents anyways," Nicéphore confirmed.

"Very well," Napoleon II brushed the chalkboard clean with the side of his hand. White dust smeared across his sleeve, but he didn’t seem to notice. The board was blank now.

He raised the chalk.

The first lines were simple. A long rectangle. Two circles at the front. Two at the back.

Claudine-Antoinette frowned slightly.

Nicéphore tilted his head.

Napoleon II kept drawing.

He sketched a frame connecting the wheels, then a box-like structure in the middle. Lines branched inward toward the center. He added a compact block at the front, marking it with quick strokes. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

He sketched a frame connecting the wheels, then a box-like structure in the middle. Lines branched inward toward the center. He added a compact block at the front, marking it with quick strokes.

Inside that block, he drew a simplified piston layout.

Lemaine shifted his weight. "Your Imperial Majesty... what is this supposed to be?"

Napoleon II didn’t look away from the board.

"This is how I idealize an internal combustion engine powered carriage. I call it, automobile, because it’s automatically drawn by an engine and not by horses," Napoleon II said wittily.

He added a shaft running from the engine block toward the rear wheels. Then a differential housing. He marked a steering linkage at the front, connecting to a wheel drawn inside the cabin.

Next, he drew a fuel tank behind the engine. A pipe feeding forward. A simple exhaust line running underneath. Then he boxed in the passenger compartment.

Four seats.

A steering column.

Pedals.

Nicéphore stepped closer to the board.

"You’re... mounting the combustion engine directly onto the chassis," he murmured. "And transmitting power mechanically."

Napoleon nodded once.

"Yes."

Claudine-Antoinette traced the air with her finger, following the drawn drivetrain.

"The rotation... goes through this shaft... into the rear axle..." she said. "So the wheels turn without external force."

"I can’t still imagine what you are doing, Your Imperial Majesty," Charles said, his chin propped up by his hand.

"It’s expected, you don’t know anything about mechanical systems," Napoleon II chuckled and continued. "I have a detailed design back in the palace where you can go and retrieve it a day later to start building this prototype. Before that, I’ll explain the design first."

Napoleon tapped the chalk against the board.

"Think of it like this," he said. "Right now, a carriage moves because a horse pulls it. The horse is the power source. Its muscles generate force. That force goes through the harness, into the wheels, and the carriage moves."

He drew a small stick horse in front of a box carriage and an arrow pointing forward.

"Horse... force... motion," he said. "Simple chain."

He erased the horse with a quick swipe.

"Now we replace the horse with an engine. The engine becomes a mechanical animal. It eats fuel instead of hay. It breathes air. Inside, controlled explosions push pistons. Those pistons rotate a shaft. That rotation is what drives the wheels."

He circled the engine block.

"This," he said, "is the heart. Everything else is circulation."

Nicéphore nodded slowly. "So the engine is the muscle."

"Exactly," Napoleon said. "Now watch the flow."

He began sketching arrows like a diagram.

Fuel tank → fuel line → engine

Engine → crankshaft → driveshaft → rear axle → wheels

"This is your motion chain," he said. "Fuel goes in. Combustion happens. Rotation travels through the shaft. The wheels turn. The vehicle moves."

Charles leaned closer, eyes following the arrows.

"So... it’s like a mill," he said. "Except instead of water turning the wheel—"

"The engine turns it," Napoleon finished. "Yes. Same principle. Different energy source."

He added another section near the engine.

"Starting," he said. "An engine doesn’t run by itself at rest. It needs an initial spin. Like pushing a flywheel."

He drew a small cylinder beside the engine.

"This is an electric starter motor. A compact motor powered by a battery. When activated, it spins the crankshaft just enough for combustion to take over."

Lemaine frowned. "So electricity is only used to wake the engine?"

"Correct," Napoleon said. "Think of it as striking a match. Once the fire is lit, it sustains itself."

Claudine-Antoinette’s eyes brightened. "So no hand-cranking? Like we did just now?"

"Yes."

He moved to the wheels.

"Now suspension," he said, sketching coiled shapes between the frame and the wheels. "Roads are imperfect. Without suspension, every shock transfers directly into the frame and passengers."

He tapped the chalk.

"Imagine walking with stiff legs," he said. "Every step jars your spine. Suspension is like bending your knees. Springs absorb impact. Dampers control rebound. The chassis remains stable."

Charles grimaced. "So that’s why carriages rattle apart."

"Yes," Napoleon said. "This prevents that."

He drew a steering linkage.

"Front wheels pivot," he explained. "The steering wheel controls angle through mechanical rods. You guide direction without shifting your entire body weight like a rider."

Nicéphore folded his arms, studying the layout.

"So the automobile is... an integrated system," he said. "Fuel, ignition, motion, control, shock absorption. Each part depends on the other."

Napoleon nodded.

"Exactly. Think of it as a mechanical organism," he said. "The engine is the heart. Fuel is the blood. Frame is the skeleton. Suspension is the joints. Controls are the nerves."

"But there are two engines? Gas and fuel oil?" Nicéphore inquired.

Napoleon nodded at the chalkboard.

"Yes," he said. "Two approaches to the same goal. Motion. They burn different fuels and behave differently under pressure."

He tapped the engine block he had drawn first.

"This one," he said, circling it, "is the gas engine. It uses a lighter fuel. Vapors mix with air before ignition. A spark sets it off."

He sketched a tiny spark symbol above the piston.

"Spark... burn... push... rotate," he said. "That rhythm repeats every cycle."

Claudine-Antoinette nodded. "So it’s controlled ignition."

"Exactly," Napoleon said. "Now the other."

He moved the chalk to the second block.

"This is the oil engine. Heavier fuel. No spark. Instead, air is compressed until it’s hot enough to ignite the fuel on injection."

He drew a piston compressing air, then a small spray line.

"Compression... injection... ignition," he said. "The pressure itself creates the fire. You know how gas behaves right? You took the gas law lesson?"

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."

Nicéphore leaned in.

"So the structure must be stronger," Claudine-Antoinette said. "Higher compression forces."

"Yes," Napoleon replied. "But the reward is efficiency. More energy per unit of fuel. Better endurance. Ideal for heavier vehicles."

"So... one is easier and lighter," his brother added slowly, "and the other is stronger and more economical."

"That’s it. So you do understand it now? Now, for the prototype. The Ministry of Science and Technology will give you the manpower and the machine you need to make a prototype. I want it in six months. There’d be different models and those models are based on my design. Understood?"

"Yes Your Imperial Majesty."