Lucien's Suggestion

Lucien blotted the ink off the plans in his hand with blotting paper, then carefully reviewed them from beginning to end. Satisfied, he said to himself, "It should be good. At least there aren't any obviously absurd errors. While the language is a bit verbose, with a few too many modifiers and adverbs, making the writing seem less concise, the meaning is quite clear, even precise. I think it should pass Joseph's approval."

He sat there, closed his eyes, and imagined Joseph staring wide-eyed at him, searching every nook and cranny of the paper for faults, only to end up looking utterly disappointed and finding nothing. This made him feel exceptionally happy.

"That's it!" Lucien said. "If Joseph can still find any problems, I'll... I'll do all of Louis's math homework!"

So Lucien opened his eyes, stood up, stretched, and blew out the candle on the table, preparing to spend the night with his beloved pillow. However, he was surprised to find that the faint morning light was already shining through the curtains. Then, the sound of the reveille came from the playground across the street.

"Damn it!" Lucien said. He knew that it wouldn't be long before Joseph would come knocking on his door and ask him to go for a run on the track together.

"Health is the foundation of everything, and running is the most effective way to improve it," Joseph said, and he demanded this of himself and his brother. Back in Paris, he would take Lucien and Louis to the training grounds of the Paris Military Academy every morning to run with the other cadets—a place where students were generally lax in other areas, but quite diligent in running practice. This was reportedly because the school believed that good running ability was the most important quality for the France army. Later, here, Joseph would also drag Lucien to run on the parade ground, making sure they ran three kilometers every morning.

Having undergone such training, Lucien's long-distance running ability is quite good. If we were to go to the battlefield and our army were to be defeated, Lucien would take off running, and very few people could catch up with him. As for Joseph, well, if one day he were to go to Paris to meet Fanny and suddenly received news that Robespierre had been resurrected, he would definitely be able to run from Paris to the New World in one go, and barely even need to catch his breath.

The chance to spend the night with his beloved pillow was gone. Lucien began to count in his mind. "1, 2, 3..." He was sure that Joseph would appear at his door before he could count to twenty.

Sure enough, when he counted to fifteen, there was a knock on the door. "Lucien, get up quickly, go for a run!"

Lucien opened the door, glanced at Joseph, and said, "Let's go."

Joseph stopped and asked Lucien, "What time did you go to bed last night?"

"What's wrong?"

"You haven't been sleeping at all, have you?" Joseph asked, looking at Lucien. "Your eyes remind me of some kind of animal."

"What animal?" Lucien rubbed his eyes.

"Of course it's... a raccoon, the kind of animal with black eye circles that Stephen Girard mentioned. We were even saying that someday, when we have better ships, we could bring some animals that people have never seen before from Americas to exhibit... Hmm, you came up with the plan all night?"

How did you know?

"I can see the smugness in your eyes. Okay, go get something to eat first, then come back and catch up on your sleep. As for the running, well, we'll catch up on that before we go to bed tonight... Oh, by the way, let me see your plan first..." Joseph said, frowning. After all, this was his younger brother, not one of those programmers from later generations who could be replaced when they broke.

Lucien slept until the afternoon, even missing lunch. It wasn't until his stomach protested that Lucien reluctantly got out of bed and went out.

Go to the cafeteria first and order a special meal; after all, as a leader's secretary, I still have this kind of privilege.

After eating and drinking his fill, he reviewed the plan he had devised in his mind and then headed to Joseph's office.

Pushing open the door, I saw Joseph sitting behind his desk, leisurely drinking coffee, with a book open in front of him, looking at it with a big smile on his face.

"Joseph, what are you looking at?" Lucien walked over.

"Oh, nothing to do, so I took out Don Quixote again and read it once more." Joseph looked up with a smile.

"You still have time to look at this?" Lucien, somewhat surprised.

"I didn't have time originally, but I had time after you came to help," Joseph replied.

Seeing that Lucien's expression seemed rather unwell, Joseph continued, "Alright, Lucien, this means you're now able to help me and Napoleon shoulder some of the responsibility. Alright, are you feeling better now?"

"Um."

"First of all, stop working late into the night. It will shorten your shelf life—make you age prematurely. My brothers and I still have decades to go to support the family business. Besides, even in the short term, it's very uneconomical, because the fatigue from staying up late requires more rest than normal to recover. Of course, there's an exception when you have inspiration. Hmm, you seem to be recovering quite well, right?"

"Completely recovered..." Lucien stretched his arms and bent his legs, about to continue showing off his physical condition, when he suddenly realized that if he said that, that guy would immediately blurt out, "That's good, just in time I have a glorious and arduous task to entrust to you." So he stopped halfway through his sentence.

Joseph, oblivious to his brother's ulterior motives, continued, "In that case, let's talk about your plan. Hmm, your plan has many brilliant points..."

According to Joseph, the first highlight of Lucien's plan was that it was able to analyze problems from the most fundamental level.

In this plan, Lucien first points out that the underground order is essentially no different from the above-ground order; both are fundamentally rules based on violence. These rules, ultimately, are built on violence. The reason the underground order can exist is fundamentally because the above-ground order is too weak and cannot effectively govern many areas. This provides space for these underground orders. And to establish an underground order that benefits oneself, ultimately, one needs a violent organization of one's own.

However, the underground order still possesses its own unique characteristics. Its methods of violence differ from those of the above-ground order. It must be covert, small-scale, and convenient and quick to use. Such violent organizations should differ in organization and training from the leading above-ground violent organization—the army. However, in some ways, they do share many similarities with above-ground police agencies. Currently, due to funding shortages and the purge of the former "Committee of General Security," the Paris police system has been severely weakened, leaving a huge power vacuum for various underground forces. This has provided the Bonaparte Family with the opportunity to establish its own underground force in Paris.

After demonstrating the possibility of the Bonaparte Family establishing their own underground power, Lucien then offered suggestions on how to establish such a power.

Firstly, regarding personnel suggestions, Lucien pointed out that Paris has many unemployed former police officers. Their unemployment stems either from their involvement in the purge of the "Committee of General Security" or from financial difficulties. They possess considerable ability, are very knowledgeable about the situation in Paris, and still maintain close ties with the current Paris police force. Furthermore, due to financial difficulties, the living standards of Paris police officers have declined. This presents an opportunity for us to infiltrate the Paris police system. Therefore, recruiting these individuals would be a tremendous help to our cause.

Secondly, there are certainly differences between underground and above-ground violence. As for the exact nature of these differences, Lucien believes he lacks understanding and investigation. Without investigation and research, he has no right to speak, and therefore cannot offer specific advice. He can only suggest that Joseph consult with those who have some knowledge of the subject when handling this matter. However, he believes that technological advancements will have a significant impact on both above-ground and underground violence. Therefore, Lucien suggests that targeted research be conducted in research institutes. Lucien proposes that this type of research be termed "civilian weapons research."

Of course, it's not economically viable to develop specialized weapons for a limited underground force. Therefore, Lucien suggested that these weapons could be sold outside of France. Both Poland and North America would be good markets for such weapons.

"Although I cannot be certain what the new weapon will look like, it will certainly possess the characteristics of concealment and portability, just like our current Little Melon. Poland's resistance is destined to be short-lived, and guerrilla warfare in the countryside and cities will become an important form of combat in the future. Assassinations of 'traitors' and high-ranking officials of the invaders will also become an important means of their resistance. Such a weapon should be very suitable for their use."

In North America, where there are few restrictions on weapons and a lack of order, there is likely to be a significant demand for portable weapons.

Upon reading this passage, Joseph couldn't help but nod, and the phrase "Free America, shootings every day" popped into his mind.

Finally, Lucien suggested that the organization should be modeled after a police department, divided into three parts: an investigation department, a planning department, and an execution department. The investigation and execution departments should be further divided into multiple parallel groups, each independent of the others, while the planning department would have overall control.

"Your suggestions regarding personnel organization, institutional structure, and weapons research are all excellent. However, why is your writing so verbose and tedious? I originally thought you had a good feel for writing..." Joseph frowned.

"I'm not worried about your comprehension, I'm worried that you might misunderstand me," Lucien said casually.

"Hehe..." Joseph indicated that he wouldn't stoop to his level.

"Lucien, I think your suggestion is quite feasible. Let's call this organization the 'Market Research Office,' and we'll say to the outside world that it's in charge of market research. I'll serve as the department head here, but the day-to-day operations will be handled by you. What do you think? Are you confident you can do a good job?"

"No problem, no problem! I promise I won't cause you any more trouble this time." Lucien.

"Well, although I don't really like your writing style, it at least shows one thing—you've become much more meticulous than before. Remember, the devil is in the details. Especially with this task I've assigned you, you need to pay close attention to every single detail," Joseph added.

In the past, Lucien would have said, "I know, but don't repeat the same thing over and over again like a nagging old woman." But now, Lucien replied, "I understand, I'll be careful. I'll write down what you just said and stick it on my desk right away."

"Well, if you're going to handle this, I have so much to do here, will you be able to manage?" Joseph asked.

"It's alright, I'm strong. This is no problem." During his time as a confidential secretary, Lucien had already begun to taste the power. Now that he had the opportunity to manage the daily work of a department, how could he let it go? It's just a little tiring, right? A man should be tough on himself.

"Idiot, look, I have too much to do, I can't handle it all by myself. So I hired a confidential secretary, right? Why don't you hire one for yourself too?" Joseph said.

"Ah, yes!" Lucien slapped his right fist against his left palm. "Louis's almost eighteen now, he's definitely worth training! Hmm, let's do it! Hehe..."

Lucien gave a strange smile, as if just thinking about how to discipline his younger brother brought him immense pleasure.

"Alright, stop grinning like an idiot," Joseph said. "I have a plan here. Go and budget it, figure out how much it will cost and how long it will take. Then tell me the results."

As he spoke, Joseph handed a file folder to Lucien.

"This is top secret. Look at it here, don't take it out. If you can't remember the key data, just make up this budget in my office."

Lucien opened the file folder, pulled out the document, glanced at it quickly, and then looked up in surprise, saying, "Joseph, so you were prepared for all of this!"