New Teacher

After this experiment, life became fulfilling yet monotonous once again. Joseph basically had only one thing to do every day: study the mathematics of this era. This was partly to avoid accidentally introducing something ahead of its time due to a lack of understanding of contemporary mathematics, and partly to prepare for his future teaching duties.

Amidst this busyness, winter slowly passed. The winter that had just ended was cold and arid; not a single snowflake had fallen throughout the entire season. This was not good news for France, as it meant that in the coming year, French agriculture might once again face the problem of a poor harvest. The British across the channel faced the same issue, but having lost North America and India during the Seven Years' War, the French could not rely on colonial supplies like the British could. Therefore, the danger posed by a poor harvest was clearly greater for them than it was for the British.

However, Joseph did not care much about this, because even if food prices were to skyrocket, a teacher at the Paris Military Academy would not go hungry. Besides, his family still had some farmland in Corsica. The Mediterranean region rarely suffered from droughts, so it should still produce something. If he could manage to transport it over, he might even make a small profit. However, whether by land or sea, transporting goods from Corsica to Paris involved paying a mountain of taxes. If he truly paid them all honestly, he would be lucky not to lose money.

Unless I find a way to smuggle grain using warships later on, this money won't be so easy to earn. But for now, it's still not too late to hoard a few things in advance. Hmm, I remember that Old Grandet in Balzac's writing made his fortune by hoarding goods. Joseph thought to himself.

However, this was just a thought, because Joseph had very little money in his hands. A portion of it had to be sent home, and the rest was just enough to get by. Even if he wanted to speculate, he had no capital to play with.

Besides, speculation is risky. Even if you know the general history, the specific execution is still fraught with danger. And my risk tolerance is still a bit lacking. So, for now, I really can't do anything; I can only wait quietly for my fixed salary.

This is the sorrow of the poor. For the wealthy, a failed speculation, even if it costs a "small target," is merely the price of tuition. But for the poor, the result of a failed speculation might mean the whole family has to... according to Christian doctrine, suicide is not an option—you absolutely cannot commit suicide in this life—so one would either have to find a way to smuggle themselves to the Americas or India, or be caught by creditors and forced into all sorts of ancient and illegal businesses to pay off the debt.

In short, in economic activities, the risks the poor must take are always greater than those of the rich, because they have no capital, only their lives. And Joseph, generally speaking, was actually a person who feared death quite a bit.

Anyway, there are still a few years until the Great Revolution; there is still time to accumulate slowly. Joseph thought.

Once winter passed, only the final semester of Joseph's secondary school life remained. In fact, there were basically no subjects left to attend in this last semester. Those planning to continue to university entered the preparatory courses at Lycée Louis-le-Grand. Those who were not planning to study further were already running all over Paris looking for work. Only someone like Joseph, who neither intended to go to university nor needed to find a job, still came to school every day to hang out in the library and read.

But he wouldn't be staying for many more days, as the graduation exams had actually been taken during the winter. Thus, shortly after, Joseph received his diploma from Lycée Louis-le-Grand. Then, he could report to the Paris Military Academy.

"Monsieur Bonaparte. Although I already knew from Monsieur Monge and Monsieur Laplace that you were very young, I still didn't expect you to be this young. However, since you have received the joint recommendation of Monsieur Monge and Monsieur Laplace, your proficiency is certainly beyond doubt—especially Monsieur Monge, who believes your future achievements will far exceed his own. You may not know this, but we are currently in desperate need of teachers who can instruct in descriptive geometry." Count Dupont, the principal, said to Joseph during the reporting process.

"Thank you for your trust." Joseph nodded.

"Young man, strictly speaking, I do not trust you. I simply trust Monsieur Monge very much. Although that man is a bit stubborn, he is indeed a very reliable person. At first, I wanted to bring him over from the Royal Military Engineering Academy. But he is stubborn... and he doesn't quite like certain students at the Paris Military Academy... Hmm, perhaps I should also remind you that our school is not quite the same as the Royal Military Engineering Academy. Many of our students here come from great noble families, and for many of them, coming here to study is merely a matter of family tradition... Hmm, Monsieur Bonaparte, do you understand what I mean?"

Joseph certainly understood what Count Dupont meant. His brother Napoleon had mentioned more than once that the Paris Military Academy had the best faculty but the worst classmates. Those students of noble birth came here entirely to get a gilded credential so they could become officers in the army, and then rely on their lineage to rise quickly in rank, either becoming generals or leaving the army to become some other kind of official. For the life goals these students intended to achieve, the importance of the military knowledge taught in school was quite low. To borrow a logical expression: learning the knowledge well was neither a sufficient nor a necessary condition. Since that was the case, the actual level of these people was naturally self-evident. Yet these people all had deep backgrounds, and you couldn't afford not to give them good grades. And mathematics was a difficult subject—if you didn't know it, you really didn't know it; there was no way to bluff your way through. Giving high marks to a bunch of people who knew nothing was really a bit... Joseph estimated that this was likely a major reason why Monge refused to leave the Military Engineering Academy to transfer to the Paris Military Academy.

"I understand." Joseph said.

"Hmm, that is good." Count Dupont nodded, but then he added, "However, Monsieur Bonaparte, you cannot be too indulgent with those noble students. You must still try to make them learn at least something, otherwise... it is not very good for the school's reputation."

Joseph also understood the meaning behind Count Dupont's words: that in any case, he should try to make these noble students learn as much as possible within the limits of his ability, and not let them turn into complete idiots who knew nothing. Otherwise, it would greatly damage the school's reputation.

"I will strengthen the teaching of conceptual matters." Joseph replied.

The so-called strengthening of conceptual matters was actually to minimize the parts of mathematics that required quantitative analysis, letting those students understand just the concepts. Anyway, these guys were not necessarily going to the battlefield; for them, being able to blather a few things in a salon like an amateur scientist was enough. And even if they did go to the battlefield, the quantitative analysis would be handled by staff officers who were not of noble birth.

Besides, the Great Revolution is not far off. Most of these great nobles will not escape the fate of being hung from street lamps, and the final imperial wars will not need to rely on them. I only need to secure my money steadily now. If I can use these guys who are destined to flutter in the wind on street lamp posts to make a small fortune, that would be even better. Joseph thought to himself.

"Very good." Seeing that Joseph was so sensible, Count Dupont was very satisfied. "We have already prepared a dormitory and an office for you. In addition, you can draw one month's salary in advance here, and you are entitled to two sets of uniforms every year... You can go find Marcel in the logistics department in a moment; he will help you arrange these things."

"Thank you for your care." Joseph responded.

After leaving the principal's office, Joseph went to find Monsieur Marcel, who was in charge of logistics, and spent the afternoon getting himself settled. Then he spent the evening preparing the lesson content, just waiting to teach those students a few days later.

Napoleon sat in the front row—he was short, and he couldn't see if he sat in the back. The curriculum for this semester had an extra subject: "Military Geometry." Napoleon knew that there was some knowledge in this course that had to be kept confidential. All students taking this course had to first swear to keep it secret, and the school also informed them that if they leaked the knowledge learned in this class, they would be brought before a military tribunal for treason.

Many noble classmates did not take this seriously, but this restriction particularly piqued Napoleon's interest. Napoleon had always been very interested in geometry, and his grades were quite good. Furthermore, geometry was extremely important for artillery, so he naturally attached great importance to it. Thus, he arrived at the classroom early. After a long while, until it was almost time for class, his classmates finally wandered into the classroom slowly and found their own places to sit. The classroom suddenly became lively, noisy just like a vegetable market.

At this moment, the bell for class rang. Everyone quieted down; after all, this was a new course, and they were not quite sure what kind of person the teacher was, so they didn't dare to be too presumptuous for the time being.

As soon as the bell for class finished ringing, a young man wearing a brand-new military uniform strode onto the podium. He placed his lecture notes on the desk, looked around at the students below, and then began to speak: "I am your Military Geometry teacher, Joseph..."