Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

The sky was clear, with not a breath of wind, and the world seemed as quiet as an oil painting.

On the parade ground of the Paris Army Officer Academy, Joseph, along with dozens of officers, looked up, staring at the small gray spot in mid-air.

Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier enthusiastically introduced, “Your Highness, later we found that silk was not only expensive but also not very airtight.

“After repeated trials, we chose to bond paper and silk together to make the balloon envelope, which worked quite well.

“The current hot air balloon is very tough, and its weight has also been reduced by 35% compared to before.”

Indeed, the object floating in the sky at this moment was a hot air balloon, the military version of which had been improved multiple times.

As early as ten years ago, the Mongolfier brothers from the south of France invented the world’s first hot air balloon and demonstrated it at the Palace of Versailles.

However, at that time, the balloon’s envelope was made of paper and supported by flax ropes, making it extremely cumbersome to deploy and prone to damage.

The French military had evaluated it then, deemed it not up to military standards, and thus had ignored it.

Later, the General Staff, owing to issues with the Sharp Signal Tower, reviewed and reorganized all high-tech military equipment, and the hot air balloon project finally resurfaced.

With a grant of 7,000 francs, the Mongolfier brothers finally completed the technical improvements as required by the military, and today was the first technical inspection.

A technical officer from the General Staff asked, “How did you address fire prevention?”

Elder brother Michel immediately boasted, “With alum, sir. We soaked the balloon’s entrances and insides with alum, which effectively prevents them from igniting by sparks.”

The hot air balloon had floated to a height of four to five hundred meters and, under the pull of tethering ropes, was hovering there.

Then, a soldier standing beneath the hot air balloon looked toward its basket through a telescope, muttering, “d, e, u, x…”

Another soldier quickly noted down the observations, and within two minutes, he raised the paper in his hand and loudly announced, “2.2 kilometers away. Direction: 1 o’clock, zero five minutes, 22 seconds. Estimated height: +55 meters. Three 12-pound cannons. Over 70 soldiers.”

An excited staff officer nodded to Joseph and said, “Completely accurate, Your Highness.”

The hot air balloon accurately reported the conditions at the target site 2.2 kilometers away.

The surrounding officers glanced at each other excitedly and began clapping enthusiastically.

You see, in this era, to understand the movements of enemy forces several kilometers away, one could only send cavalry for reconnaissance.

Without enemy interception, the cavalry would take at least an hour to go back and forth.

But using a hot air balloon takes only two minutes!

And that’s just one of the advantages of the hot air balloon.

Cavalry, hindered by terrain, can only observe the general situation of the enemy, and much information is inferred from experience.

However, the hot air balloon, being elevated, allows you to see every soldier clearly.

Moreover, cavalry must return to report after a glance, while the hot air balloon can keep its gaze on the enemy from the sky.

One can imagine that in future wars, while the enemy carefully maneuvers several kilometers away, the French Army might already see whether they are having salted meat or pickled radishes for lunch.

It’s like enabling “full map view” in a game; how could the enemy win under such conditions?

Michel Mongolfier continued to flaunt, “Your Highness, according to our previous tests, in favorable weather, we can even see people 10 kilometers away.”

“You have created a great invention.” Joseph nodded approvingly and then thought back to the earlier process of launching the balloon—about twenty people pulled the balloon open, then lit the fire to let hot air flood into the entrance of the envelope.

By the time the balloon was airborne, more than two hours had passed.

On the battlefield, such a long time could already mean a missed opportunity.

“The launch time is still too long.” He looked at the Big Mongolfier, “I hope you can control the launch within one hour. Additionally, the retrieval time should not exceed half an hour.”

“This…” Big Mongolfier paused, as the process of inflating and deflating the balloon was fixed, with little room for improvement.

But he still gritted his teeth and bowed, saying, “I will make sure to satisfy you, Your Highness.”

Seeing his troubled expression, Joseph recalled some designs from the future and suggested, “You could design a dedicated hot air balloon launch and recovery vehicle.

“Mount a foldable long wooden pole on the vehicle and secure the deflated hot air balloon to it.

“When stored, fold up the wooden pole, and when used, extend it so the balloon can immediately unfold.”

The Mongolfier brothers suddenly had an epiphany.

The deflated balloon is a sprawling mass, and it takes some time to find the inflation port, not to mention at least ten minutes to spread it out.

However, following the Crown Prince’s method, the wooden pole would allow for immediate inflation after being extended.

Joseph continued, “Also, you could install a pedal-operated blower on the vehicle. Use it to blow towards the flame during launch, and hot air would quickly fill the envelope.

“You could even try bringing a small steam engine for pressurized inflation.

“Furthermore, try to reduce the balloon’s size. A smaller envelope can be filled more quickly…”

He was still speaking when he suddenly noticed the hot air balloon in the distance starting to descend slowly.

He asked Bertier, puzzled, “Is the test over?”

The Chief of Staff quickly replied, “Not yet, Your Highness. The hot air balloon’s fuel has run out, so it needs to descend for replenishment.”

Joseph frowned, “How long was it airborne?”

A staff officer next to him glanced at his watch, “32 minutes, Your Highness.”

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