Able Was I Ere I Saw Elba

Introduction
In 1814, for months after the Battle of Leipzig, Napoleon had been fighting an increasingly desperate defensive campaign against bigger and bigger odds. Finally, on the 18th of April, with the Russians occupying Paris, the French Emperor abdicated. The allies, showing some kindness on their tireless enemy, allowed him to retain his title of emperor and rule the island of Elba. On the 4th of May, Napoleon landed on his new Principality of Elba. The Emperor was allowed to keep 500 officers in his retinue, and a guard of 1,100 men. He was afforded all the dignities of a true sovereign, and had the chance to spend his retirement in imperial splendor. But on the 25th of February, 1815, he threw it all away by sailing back to France to take power again in the 100 Days Campaign. He would never see his island principality again.

But what would have happened if Napoleon had used his head, and instead spent his old age ruling his small, wealthy, island realm?