Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

The “independent action” incident involving troops stationed at Udine did not actually cause much of a stir within France.

Primarily because the matter involved collusion between the intelligence department and military officers, which had a very negative impact, Joseph instructed the General Staff to publicly state that General Bonaparte had directed Desai to smuggle and sell military supplies from the Mantua Fortress to the Austrians. Austria also severely punished a large number of officers because of this matter.

Coincidentally, Leao recently exiled a large number of involved officers to the barren mountains of Transylvania, so the news from both sides matched perfectly.

As for the Intelligence Bureau, there was another case: over a hundred agents from the Central European Operations Division engaged in collective embezzlement, with a total amount as high as 150,000 francs.

This amount could be verified, leading Mala to involve the Justice Investigation Department since 150,000 indeed went missing from the accounts, and the purposes were unclear.

Mala even specifically went to plead guilty to Joseph for failing in his duties, admitting he didn’t notice any signs of such a huge embezzlement case.

After handling the “independent action” incident separately, it became just two slightly larger ordinary news stories.

However, what Joseph did not expect was that even before the military tribunal’s verdict was out, someone had already approached him to plead on behalf of Napoleon and others.

In the reception room of the Crown Prince, Demobin bowed and said in a heavy tone:

“Your Highness, General Bonaparte’s action of disobeying military orders and arbitrarily mobilizing troops is indeed very serious and must be severely punished.”

As a senior military official, he was aware of some real situations. After criticizing Napoleon sternly, he subtly shifted his tone:

“However, after all, he is still very young, eager for success like every young man, and also wanted to teach the damn Austrians a lesson… In the end, the matter was stopped and didn’t cause too much damage.”

The over 70-year-old general sneaked a glance at Joseph: “Your Highness, in fact, many officers are just like him, hoping to march into Vienna in one stroke. Moreover, everyone is convinced that our army has the ability to simultaneously defeat the entire Germany.

“Your Highness, I mean no offense to your decision, it’s just that I feel putting Mr. Bonaparte in prison would be a waste. Maybe you could punish him by having him make up for his crimes on the battlefield. For instance, over in Portugal…”

He had witnessed Napoleon’s genius-like command ability on the Italian battlefield. He genuinely valued talent; if it were someone else, he would have ignored such an attempt.

Joseph didn’t bother with Napoleon’s affairs, but rather noticed another thing the old general mentioned, and asked:

“Did you just say that many officers wish to continue the offensive against Austria?”

“Indeed, Your Highness.”

“Can you tell me who they are?”

“Well, both the Italian Front Army and the Rhein Army have…,” Demobin quickly added, “To some extent, I also agree with the viewpoint of weakening Austria to the greatest extent, Your Highness.”

Joseph couldn’t help but frown.

He had regarded the officers as too rational.

To be honest, in the face of France’s obviously superior military power, anyone would be impulsive.

If he hadn’t previously understood Napoleon’s ending and been influenced by the “diplomatic balance” concept of future generations, he might indeed have marched east to parade in Vienna.

So currently, there are likely many in the military puzzled by his decision to retain the Austrian strategy.

This matter must be treated seriously.

An army eager to fight is an advantage, but if uncontrollable, its harm could be even greater than a lack of enterprise.

Just like during World War II, Japan was forced deeper into the quagmire of war by the obstinacy of its army and navy to the nation’s ultimate demise in doom.

Joseph sighed quietly.

It seems that education on thoughts and concepts for officers and soldiers, along with timely understanding of the strategies of the General Staff, should be put on the agenda as soon as possible.

Hmm, isn’t this essentially the political commissar system that worked so effectively in the Soviet Army later on?

In fact, during the Napoleonic era, they already deployed “political commissioners” in the army to promote the republican ideology among soldiers and supervise noble officers, practically the most primitive form of political commissars.

Of course, the Soviet-style commissar model isn’t suitable for the present French Army, such as strictly controlling the soldiers’ minds and frequently interfering with military command. These are definitely areas for improvement.

But during World War II, commissars inspiring the troops by leading from the front and interpreting central strategies for soldiers made a massive difference in winning the war.

In this aspect, Eastern armies’ commissars performed exceptionally. They were often not just “supervisors” but also friends and mentors to the soldiers.

Ultimately, how to craft the most suitable “political commissar” system for France requires detailed planning, but this framework must be incorporated into the army.

Just as well, the upcoming “Second Military Reform” will make this the core content of the reform.

Joseph regained his thoughts; first, he needed to solve the problem of the army being overly excitable, or else another “independent action” might occur.

Oh, and then there is this old general in front of him to deal with.

He said to Demobin, “General Demobin, do you know the hawk?”

“Yes, Your Highness,” the latter nodded, “My friend Marquis of Monmorency has a few.”

“Alright.” Joseph extended two fingers, “Suppose you have two hawks.

“One moves swiftly with sharp talons, and any rabbit in its sight is sure to be caught. But it has a flaw, occasionally flying away on its own and provoking hives or skunks and other troublesome things.

“The other is very average, flies slowly, and takes three strikes to catch a rabbit. But it is extremely obedient and stands still on your arm without your command.

“Now, you have a hunt to proceed with, but can only bring one.

“Which would you choose?”

Demobin was silent for two seconds, then sighed lightly, “I understand, Your Highness, everyone would choose the second one…”

Joseph nodded, “As for the reason for stopping the war with Austria, I will explain it at next week’s sixth-anniversary parade of the Paris Police Academy.

“You may return for now.”

After Demobin bowed and withdrew, Joseph began drafting the plan for the “French Political Commissar.”

What he hadn’t told the old general was that he would choose the first hawk and then temper it well.

Until its ambition, arrogance, and defiance were all tempered away, it could retake to the hunting ground.

Of course, if it never tempered well, then it could only be left in a cage to fend for itself.

…

August 23, 1794.

The 40th birthday of the King of France, Louis XVI, has arrived.

Nowadays, His Majesty the King’s birthday has become a “day of festivity and entertainment” for all Parisians, especially since it was canceled last year due to war, people’s enthusiasm is even higher.

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