Despite the battles of Jena and Auerstadt and the occupation of Berlin, the Prussians had not surrendered, and it was only after the bloodbath at Eylau and their subsequent defeat at Friedland that the enemy’s will to continue the fight had finally broken. The men of the Grand Army sensed it at once and had been in high spirits ever since at the prospect of peace, on French terms. All the bitterness and demoralisation that had plagued Napoleon’s soldiers through the long, freezing winter months had gone and even the slaughter at Eylau had faded from the thoughts of most. Though his men once again cheered him heartily as he passed through their ranks, Napoleon knew that their morale, what he called their ‘sacred fire’, was a fickle thing, and if Russia refused to come to terms and the war continued, then they would soon slip into the familiar morose despair of men who had been marching and fighting for too long.

The truth was that Napoleon needed peace as much as his enemies did. He had been away from Paris for too long, and from Fouché’s reports it was clear that his opponents in the French capital were growing ever more bold and outspoken. It was vital that he returned at the earliest opportunity to re-exert his control over the politicians and people of Paris. In addition, he had not seen Josephine for several months, and her most recent letters were filled with a bitter petulance about his prolonged absence. Napoleon had no doubt that word of his affair with Countess Walewska had reached the Empress’s ears and that she had been hurt by his infidelity.

The barge approached the mooring post on the edge of the raft and as the oarsmen, men from the engineers attached to the Imperial Guard, raised their oars, the boat glided gently in at an angle. The man in the prow grunted as he grasped the wooden side of the raft and strained his powerful arms as he braced himself and brought the craft to a standstill. With a quick flick of a rope he fastened the bows to the mooring post and then leaped nimbly on to the raft, where he took the rope thrown to him from the stern and pulled the barge alongside. Napoleon rose unsteadily from his seat and one of the men carefully supported his arm as he stepped on to the deck of the raft. He straightened up and smoothed down his coat and breeches. He was wearing the uniform of a Colonel of the Imperial Guard, and had deliberately left his decorations and sash back at his quarters.The impression he wished to make on the Tsar was that of a commander of men, not some pampered peacock at a royal court.