‘Can I afford not to?’ Napoleon responded. ‘You know his reputation. The soldiers love him. He has great influence over those officers who served under the Bourbons. If Ney serves me, then we may be sure that those officers will follow his example. So, Ney commands the left wing.’

‘Very well, sire. When will Ney be joining the army?’

‘I sent for him shortly before I left Paris. Have him brought to me the moment he arrives.’

‘Yes, sire.’

Straightening up, Napoleon rubbed his haunches, which were aching after the long journey by carriage from the capital.‘What is the strength of the army?’

‘As of this last night’s returns we have eighty-nine thousand infantry, twenty-two thousand cavalry and three hundred and sixty-six guns.’

Napoleon frowned. ‘I had expected more.’

‘A division was diverted to the Vendée to suppress the rebels there, sire. On your orders.’

‘Ah, yes. A pity. Well, I am confident that we have enough men for the task. In any case we shall have the advantage of surprise and that is worth more than any division, eh?’

‘Yes, sire.’

‘So it only remains to decide the time and place of the attack,’ Napoleon mused as he returned his attention to the map.‘We will strike here, at Charleroi, in the early hours of the fifteenth of June.’

Soult’s eyebrows rose. ‘So soon?’

‘We cannot attack soon enough. Issue the orders. The cavalry is to screen our approach to the frontier tonight. No fires are to be lit until the campaign begins and every man is to be as quiet as possible. The enemy must not guess our intentions. Now, I am tired. I need sleep.’ Napoleon turned and headed back towards the door. ‘I trust that you have arranged quarters for me?’

‘Of course, sire.’ Soult hurried after him. ‘I’ll have a clerk show you the way.’

The room was spacious and a comfortable breeze cooled the air as Napoleon lay on the bed, stripped down to his shirt and breeches. Even though he was exhausted by the frenzied activity of the last three months, no sleep would come. He lay still, staring at the ceiling, as orderlies and officers came and went in the rooms below. Beyond the walls of the inn he could hear the faint hubbub of the army; shouted orders, the occasional rattle as a recently recruited drummer boy practised his beats, and the high-spirited cheers and laughter of men on the verge of a great adventure. Napoleon’s restless mind grappled with the supreme challenge posed by this latest campaign. Despite what he had said to Soult he knew that the odds were against him. Each of the allied armies matched his in size. Unless he could force his way between them there was little chance of victory, and without a decisive victory there was no hope of breaking the will of the vast coalition gathering to overwhelm him.