Hard Times

Joseph escorted Fanny home, and the old Viscount remarked on their early return. Joseph then told them that he would be leaving Paris the next day to return to Toulon temporarily.

"Ah? Mr. Bonaparte, why go to a rural place like Toulon?" The old viscount was taken aback. "Paris isn't what it used to be."

Joseph knew that regional discrimination was a common phenomenon throughout the world and throughout history.

Just as the people of the capital city of the later-era "Eastern Great Eater Nation" viewed all other places as "lower-class," and the people of Shanghai viewed all other places as the countryside, most Paris considered every place in France except Paris —whether it was Lyon or Marseille —to be both lower-class and the countryside. Not only were the common people there considered country bumpkins, but even the nobility were no exception. A viscount living in Paris was definitely more noble than a count from the provinces. Some people would rather die poor in Paris than go to the "provincial countryside."

"It's necessary for my work. After all, I'm still a soldier," Joseph replied.

"Ah, there's really nothing we can do about it," the old viscount sighed. "I wonder when things will finally calm down... So, do you plan to go back to Paris often?"

"Yes, I will come to Paris often." Joseph glanced at Fanny.

"That's good. Young people always want to fight on the front lines. It's good that they remember to come back often, unlike that bastard Armand, who only knows how to write letters but never comes back."

After exchanging a few more words, Joseph said goodbye and left. Fanny saw Joseph to the door, and when Joseph saw that no one was around, he hugged Fanny tightly and kissed her on the cheek.

"What are you doing? Dad saw it..." Fanny blushed, struggled weakly, and her voice was so soft it was like a mosquito's buzz.

"Your voice is too soft, your father can't hear you..." Joseph said, pulling Fanny even tighter. Fanny struggled gently but couldn't break free, and she couldn't struggle too hard. She wanted to say something, but he silenced her with his lips, so she had no choice but to let him take advantage of her for now.

It took quite a while before the two separated.

"It's all your fault, Dad will find out," Fanny said.

Joseph just smiled.

"You must write to me often, and don't forget me..."

"Um..."

"Also, remember to come back and visit often..."

"Good."

"Oh, right, you said you had some documents for me, what about them?"

"I'll bring it over tomorrow morning, and I'll bring just one...someone to meet you," Joseph said. "He's a very well-connected person; you can ask him for help with anything you have trouble with."

Fanny keenly noticed that Joseph hesitated when he mentioned this person, so she asked, "Who is he? Is he your friend?"

"Friends? No, we're not friends, just business partners. That guy's surname is Fouché, and he's a very capable, even dangerous, individual. Of course, you don't need to worry; his danger is political, and has nothing to do with you."

"But doesn't he pose any danger to you? How can you say he has nothing to do with me?"

"Ah, at least for now, he's on our side, and his danger isn't directed at me." Joseph reached out and touched Fanny's face. "Well, what I gave you isn't anything important. Take your time dealing with it, don't rush. Anyway, we shouldn't need these things for at least several years."

"Um..."

Joseph kissed Fanny again, then got into the carriage.

Fanny watched the carriage disappear around the corner before closing the door. Just as she stepped back into the front hall, she heard the old Viscount's voice from the small drawing room. "Is that Fanny? Come here for a moment..."

The next morning, Fouché arrived at Joseph's residence as agreed. Joseph handed Fouché a small bag. Fouché took it; it was heavy inside.

"Twenty genuine Bonaparte's Little Melon," Joseph said. "Shall we count them?"

"No need," Fouché said.

"Alright, I'll go with you to Fanny's place so you two can meet. I'll be relying on you for a lot of things while I'm away from Paris," Joseph said.

The two boarded the carriage and soon arrived at their destination. Joseph and Fouché alighted, and Joseph knocked on the door, which opened almost immediately. Fanny then appeared before Joseph.

Because there were outsiders present, both of them naturally had to be very polite. Joseph introduced the other Joseph to Fanny, then handed Fanny a handbag and said, "This isn't urgent, you can take your time, don't tire yourself out."

After exchanging a few more words, Joseph took his leave. However, he did not leave Paris immediately but instead went to the Ministry of War first.

In the Ministry of War, Carnot was worrying about military pay. France had already conscripted nearly a million soldiers, making pay a huge expense. When Robespierre was still in power, Robespierre had managed to ensure the army's supplies through various means. But now, the newly established Directory was struggling to even do that. Although, numerically, they were allocating several times more money to the army than before, but... damn it... it was all in Assignat.

As the saying goes, even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. At this point, Carnot could only resort to robbing Peter to pay Paul. Those armies that weren't fighting had to hold off for now, and those fighting in less important areas also needed to hold off for now, prioritizing the armies fighting in the north.

Even so, the issue of military supplies was a major headache for Carnot.

Without military representatives, the quality of military supplies became completely uncontrollable, with various forms of shoddy workmanship causing widespread complaints within the army. For example, some arsenals produced bayonets that, in order to reduce costs, not only omitted the heat treatment process but also used questionable materials. Some bayonets could be bent by hand—of course, after bending them, you could straighten them by stepping on them, which could be considered convenient for maintenance. Others, while impossible to bend, broke several times during training after only stabbing a few straw dummies. However, these also had the advantage of eliminating the need for maintenance.

There were also muskets that exploded due to shoddy workmanship, and "Little Melon" muskets that exploded at some unknown time due to fuse problems. Well, apart from the "Little Melon" that General Joubert encountered that exploded instantly, there was also one that was thrown from the France to the Austria and just sat on the ground smoking without exploding until the French Army charged in with bayonets.

Fortunately, France merchants still had business ethics. They sold these inferior products not only to the France but also to people from other countries. It is said that in Prussia, three "Little Melon" exploded on their own without anyone pulling them out, killing and injuring more than ten people. This caused Prussia soldiers to protest and refuse to use the France -made Little Melon.

However, considering that the technical secrets of things like "Little Melon" are unlikely to be kept, since too many respectable people know about it now, what if that respectable person takes money and does something unethical? Perhaps before long, only the France will be using counterfeit products. Can you imagine how worrying that would be!

So upon seeing Joseph, Carnot exclaimed, "Joseph, what are you still doing in Paris? Get back to Toulon right now and build me a reliable arsenal, or at least produce a batch of high-quality 'Little Melon'! Damn it! We need to hurry, or the north might collapse at any moment!"

"Is it that serious?" Joseph asked. "We outnumber them by a large margin."

"That's just on paper," Carnot said. "Right now, we're short of money, and we have even fewer troops available to deploy than they do!"

"Also, go back and tell Napoleon that starting next month, his troops' pay will be reduced," Carnot added.

"Damn it, how much has it decreased?" Joseph asked quickly.

"Reduce it to one-third of what it is now," Carnot said.

"Are you trying to support an army? Lazar, this amount of pay isn't even enough to feed birds! With this little money, let alone training, it's not even enough for basic food! Other units can endure hardship, but we can't afford to damage our own foundation, can we?" Joseph quickly argued his case.

"The other troops, those not on the battlefield, have been reduced to a quarter of their original size, or even less," Carnot said. "We simply have no money left."

"Lazar, this will destroy the morale of the army. And high morale is one of the most important advantages of our army. If we lose that, France alone cannot fight against almost the whole of Europe," Joseph said, frowning.

"Yes, yes, you're right. But I'm not God; I can't just say, 'Let there be money,' and there was money. Getting even a third of it back from Napoleon is already the result of my best efforts."

Joseph sighed and said, "Lazar, if that's the case, then we'll have to find a way ourselves. You know, the army is a violent institution; they have guns. They're not ordinary people; they won't just sit around starving. If things go wrong, the army could turn into a bandit gang."

"This is absolutely unacceptable," Carnot said.

"Lazar, what do you think about us launching an attack on Italy from the south?" Joseph suddenly said. "Even if the army goes crazy, let them go crazy on someone else's territory."

"You want to turn our army into Genghis Khan's nomads?" Carnot asked.

"No, no, no, we won't become nomads. We're going to Italy to overthrow the landlords and redistribute the land."