Joseph, Commander of the Red Army

Although Joseph intended to put some pressure on Napoleon, he also knew that Napoleon wasn't suited to be a strategist. In this respect, he was several Joseph behind Carnot. While Napoleon could handle the meticulous advisory work and arrange various small matters one by one, it wasn't Napoleon's forte. Joseph didn't want to corrupt Napoleon, turning a capable commander into a mere advisor. Joseph actually had a different approach planned for Napoleon.

The day after Napoleon arrived in Paris, Joseph made this suggestion to Carnot in his office on the second floor of the City Hall.

"Lazar," Joseph said, handing him a file folder, "I've suddenly had a new idea about how to train the army. Last night, I worked through the night to come up with a somewhat imperfect concept, and I hope to get your feedback." During their time working together, the two had become quite familiar with each other, becoming friends who could address each other by name and use the pronoun "you" instead of "formal".

"Ah, Joseph, I really envy that about you." Carnot reached for the file folder, pulling out the documents as he spoke. "You always have all sorts of new ideas. I just don't understand, just looking at the size of my head, mine is almost a whole size bigger than yours, but..."

As he spoke, Carnot began to look at the document.

"Hmm, 'The suggestion to establish a dedicated simulated enemy force'... Let me see, let me see..." Carnot lowered his head to look at the document and stopped talking.

Joseph expertly poured himself a cup of tea, then sat down at his desk and began his work.

After a while, as Joseph began to refill his cup with water for the second time, Carnot finished reading the documents in his hand.

"Joseph," Carnot began, "The idea is very good overall, although there are still many details that need to be improved, but spending money on this is well worth it."

Then he shook a bell on the table, and an orderly came in.

"Major, is there anything I can help you with?" the orderly asked. Carnot had just been promoted to major a few days ago for his outstanding performance.

"Ah, Hubert, could you ask for me when Mr. Lafayette would be available?" Carnot said.

"Yes, Major." The orderly saluted and left.

"Joseph, your idea is good," Carnot said. "Set up a small, elite unit specifically to simulate the enemy. Have various units conduct exercises against them. Then the judging panel—well, you could call the Directorate —can evaluate their performance, and these evaluations can be one of the bases for rewarding or punishing units. At the same time, this kind of training can also allow soldiers to gain some experience in fighting real, powerful enemies in peacetime, which is invaluable experience. Moreover, we can use these exercises to experiment with various new tactics and methods. It's a really good idea!"

"We can't possibly send all our soldiers to Africa to fight those barbarians and gain experience. I think that gaining experience in this way, while not as good as the experience gained from actual combat in Africa, is better than nothing," Joseph replied.

"Joseph, you were wrong about something just now," Carnot shook his head. "Even if you have the money, you shouldn't send all your troops to Africa to fight those barbarians. The experience gained from fighting barbarians is of little positive value to an army's development; it's even detrimental. The experience gained in high-level military exercises is far more important and effective than experience gained from fighting barbarians. Fighting barbarians is like playing chess against beginners who don't even know the rules of capturing a pawn—the more you play, the worse you become. That's why the troops brought back from Africa during the Seven Years' War generally didn't perform very well..."

In fact, this phenomenon was quite common in later generations, but Joseph was unaware of it. Back then, the army United States, after fighting the War on Terror abroad for several years, returned to Owen and played a game with a simulated Red Army. The result? A brigade was utterly routed by a single company of the "Red Army." Meanwhile, in Russia, the United States with "combat experience," while directing the Russian army across a bridge, ordered the entire brigade to stop at the bridgehead to guard against roadside bombs. They spent over an hour thoroughly inspecting the bridge inside and out, top and bottom, three or four times. Finally, the brigade was subjected to a massive enemy artillery barrage. As a result, the brigade was rendered ineffective before it even saw the enemy.

Just as Carnot was speaking, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," Carnot said.

The orderly came in and said, "Major, His Excellency the Marquis is alright now. You can find him in his office."

"Thank you for your hard work, Hubert." Carnot stood up, gathered the stack of documents Joseph had given him, and then said to Joseph, "Joseph, let's go see His Excellency Lafayette and tell him your ideas. I think this matter needs to be started as soon as possible."

"Okay, Lazar." Joseph also stood up.

"Oh, by the way, Lazar, do you have anyone in mind for the commander of this army?" Joseph asked just as the two were about to leave.

"No." Carnot stopped in his tracks. "This unit will definitely not be large at the beginning. I think it would be good if it had a hundred or two men. So its commander can only be a captain... What, Joseph, do you have a good candidate in mind?"

"Well, Lazar, actually, I wasn't the one who actually proposed this plan..." Joseph suddenly seemed a little hesitant. "Well, the one who proposed this plan was my brother Napoleon ... He's an artillery lieutenant, and I think he's quite talented militarily. However, he's a bit too ambitious. He really wants to be the commander of this force."

"Ha ha," Carnot laughed. "Joseph, this is the first time I've seen you abuse your power. Hmm, your brother, considering your situation, your brother must be very talented. But, you know, your brother... ah, what's his name again?"

"Napoleon," Joseph reminded him.

"Well, Joseph, you know, Napoleon was just a second lieutenant then. Convincing His Excellency Lafayette to let a second lieutenant command such a force is quite difficult," Carnot said. "However, his rank is quite good. But Joseph, you're a lieutenant now... Let's go see His Excellency Lafayette and see what he thinks."

Joseph understood what Carnot meant by "quite a good status." In the eyes of the average France, Corsica nobles were hardly nobles at all, no different from, and perhaps even inferior to, the respectable members of the Third Estate. Therefore, Parliament didn't consider them nobles. However, the power of the nobility was undeniable in the military. If someone were a complete commoner, like Carnot, Parliament might be satisfied, but the army might not be. Corsica noble like Napoleon, while not of the highest rank, was still a noble, making him relatively easier for the French to accept.

Joseph then followed Carnot to Lafayette's office.

After entering the office and greeting Lafayette, Carnot handed the document directly to Lafayette.

"General," Carnot said, "We have a new idea and hope to have your support."

"Lazar, you have a new idea again?" Lafayette said with a smile, picking up his glasses and putting them on. "Ah, let me take a look first..."

Lafayette looked at it for a moment, then looked up and said, "A very valuable proposal! Very valuable! And very feasible. But Lazar, when we left together yesterday evening, you didn't tell me a thing, and today you launch such a surprise attack. You're really something."

"General, this suggestion was submitted to me by Joseph this morning. I just saw it myself," Carnot explained.

"Is that so?" Lafayette seemed a little surprised. "Joseph, you've always said you're a novice when it comes to military operations. But looking at your plan, you're incredibly knowledgeable about these things. Putting aside the idea itself, I believe it's not surprising that a brilliant mind like yours could come up with such a concept. But many details in this plan are things that only someone with extensive knowledge of warfare could conceive of. Not to mention, you've come up with so many feasible solutions. Hmm, Joseph, I think you could at least command a regiment of France troops to fight the Britain head-on now. If this were in North America, you could even command a division. You're really too modest."

"General, this is not me being modest. Although I have been trying my best to learn the relevant knowledge during this time and have made some progress, the details of this plan were not completed by me alone. They were completed with the help of my brother Napoleon, who is a second lieutenant in our army's artillery," Joseph replied.

"Judging from the proposal, I think Lieutenant Napoleon is very talented and has a great potential for development," Carnot added from the side.

"I believe that," Lafayette said. "Just look at his brother. Hmm, do you have anyone in mind for the commander of this unit?"

"This force doesn't need to be too large at first; two hundred men will suffice. Since the idea originated with Joseph, and its refinement was achieved with Napoleon's help," Carnot said, "Let Joseph take charge of this experimental force, with his brother assisting him. What do you think?"

Lafayette raised his eyes, glanced at Carnot, then at Joseph, and said, "Then let's first promote Mr. Joseph Bonaparte to captain, and then let him be in charge of forming this unit. Hmm, what do you think should be the name of this unit?"

"This unit specifically plays the role of the enemy in the exercise; our dangerous enemy is the Britain in red uniforms," Carnot said. "Let's just call this unit the 'Red Army'."