A Promotion

General Lafayette was indeed a magnanimous man. In the following months, Joseph's work was not significantly affected. In fact, at the end of the month, Joseph and Napoleon received a bonus for their outstanding work performance.

A few days later, Carnot approached Joseph and asked him this question, "Joseph, what would you object to if we transferred Napoleon to a combat unit as its commander?"

Joseph's heart tightened upon hearing this, and he quickly asked, "Lazar, isn't Napoleon doing a good job in the Red Army? Where do you plan to transfer him?"

Carnot glanced at Joseph, knowing he was still worried about what happened that day, and smiled, "It's not decided yet. Here's what happened. You know, just yesterday, Emperor Leopold and King William II of Prussia issued a joint declaration in Pillnitz. In the declaration, they threatened to use force to 'help France restore order'."

At this point, Carnot curled his lip and said, "Do those Habsburg really think their empire was built with swords and spears? And William II, who does he think he is? Does he think he's his father? If he were his father, then the threat would be worth paying attention to, but William II? Heh... Who have we France ever been afraid of on land? Even his father, if it weren't for the Russia's betrayal, even his father would have been defeated by us!"

After expressing his contempt for Austria and Prussia, Carnot sighed and said, "But Joseph, as you know, our army is in a terrible state. There's a lot of conflict between the lower and upper ranks. Several mutinies broke out recently, and the general had to punish some people according to military discipline. While this suppressed the conflict, it didn't truly resolve it. Joseph, you know what will happen when an army goes to war with such contradictions."

What would be the consequences of an army going to war with mutual distrust and even hatred between its ranks? Need I say more? Back in the day, a coachman from the Eastern Great Eater Nation, simply because he didn't get a sip of mutton soup, delivered his commander directly to the enemy army, resulting in his capture. Given the state of the France army, if they were to actually go to war, it wouldn't be impossible for them to mutiny and rebel.

"Therefore, the general believes that, in terms of fighting spirit, the National Guard is perhaps more trustworthy than the regular army. However, as you know, the National Guard's soldiers are generally poorly trained, and even more critically, the National Guard is extremely lacking in qualified officers."

"Then why not transfer some reliable officers from the army into the National Guard?" Joseph asked. But as soon as the words left his mouth, he knew he was talking nonsense.

"In that case, the general is worried that things might go wrong in the army," Carnot replied.

The notion that "trouble might break out" in the military is actually quite easy to understand. Currently, the high-ranking officers in the military are mostly inclined towards the monarchy, while the lower-ranking officers tend to favor revolution. A natural balance exists between them, and the military's neutrality and lack of direct political intervention to this day is largely due to this balance. If a large number of these revolutionary-leaning officers were transferred to the National Guard, it would disrupt this balance. Then, who knows when, the military, under the control of those aristocratic officers, might suddenly rise up to "eliminate the rebels." Therefore, this approach is definitely undesirable.

Furthermore, if the officers in the National Guard are all lower-ranking officers from the military who are inclined to revolution, it may not be beneficial for Lafayette's control over the National Guard. These people are easily poisoned by the Jacobin, and then one day they might join the Jacobin in a rebellion.

Therefore, it is definitely not feasible to transfer a large number of junior officers from the military to serve as officers in the National Guard Forces.

"Now, war may be imminent," Carnot said. "Therefore, the general has considered transferring Napoleon to command the National Guard. Based on his performance recently, the general feels he should be qualified as a regimental chief of staff, and the rank requirements for a regimental commander in the National Guard are relatively lower. So he has this idea. However, when he consulted me, I expressed my opposition. I believe that his current position allows for the promotion of more officers, which is more beneficial to France. However, I also made a new suggestion to the general, a suggestion that came to my mind on the spur of the moment, so I didn't have time to discuss it with you, but it involves adjusting your work."

"What's your suggestion?" Joseph asked.

"Napoleon will take over all your work in the Red Army," Carnot said. "The Red Army's structure is basically complete, and the entire force is on track. As for tactics, I think Napoleon is better than you; he can definitely take over all your current work in the Red Army. Of course, I also have my own reasons. You know, since you've focused your main energy on the Red Army, my workload has increased significantly. If your brother can take over those things, I can relax a lot."

"What does Lafayette want to do?" Joseph wondered, then asked, "What does the general mean?"

"The general feels that Napoleon is still too young, and it's not suitable for him to be the supreme commander of the Red Army, because the Red Army is, after all, an army, not National Guard. Therefore, the general thinks that promoting him by one rank is enough. In addition, since most things in the Red Army are already on track, it would be a waste to continue to let you spend your energy on such matters. So he plans to promote Napoleon to lieutenant and make him the Red Army's operations staff officer, and then find another more senior commander for the Red Army. Of course, Joseph, you have performed exceptionally well in organizing the Red Army recently, so the general also plans to promote you by one rank, which will increase your salary considerably."

Joseph probably understood Lafayette's idea at this point. Lafayette promoted his brothers, but they all left their positions as military commanders.

"It seems Lafayette no longer trusts me. But to appear magnanimous, he'll still promote me and Napoleon. Isn't this a good thing?" Joseph thought.

Joseph's statement that "it's not necessarily a bad thing" wasn't a self-consoling notion of a blessing in disguise, but rather a recognition that the Jacobins' rise to power was historically inevitable. He might seem to lack real military power now, but once the Jacobins in power, all that power would return. Moreover, after the Jacobin came to power, the war France and the intervention forces of the Anti-French Alliance was almost constant; at that time, he and his brothers could both command troops in the field, thus avoiding the terrifying "Twilight of the Gods" in Paris. As for his current position as a purely technical officer, it actually helped him avoid a lot of trouble. And the promotion and salary increase were also good things. Joseph decided that tonight, he would definitely have a good meal and celebrate properly.

"This is a very prudent and correct consideration. And I'll get a lot more income, which is really a good thing!" Joseph laughed, then sincerely said to Carnot, "Thank you, Lazar. Would you like to come to my house for a meal sometime?"

"Haha, what kind of bachelor invites married people to dinner? You don't even have a hostess at your place, how can you entertain me?" Seeing that Joseph had no reservations, Carnot felt relieved and laughed, "Besides, I'll be getting a promotion and a raise soon. In any case, my income will be higher than yours. If I hadn't been so busy lately, I would have invited you to my house a long time ago."

"General, do you intend to promote Joseph and his brother?" Fouché asked in Lafayette's drawing room.

"They are very capable brothers, it would be a waste not to use them. Promoting their ranks is only right," Lafayette said nonchalantly, seemingly without any other thoughts.

"But Joseph's speech at the Jacobin Club had a very bad influence on us," Fouché said.

This is no exaggeration. Lafayette had initially succeeded in bringing out a large portion of the Jacobin Club members, which would have been a significant blow to the Jacobin Club. People would easily view the remaining members as abandoned "survivors." However, because of Joseph's words, these people became seen as virtuous gentlemen upholding their moral principles, while those who followed Lafayette were suspected of treason. With Lafayette's subordinates all suspected of being villains and traitors, Lafayette himself naturally became a "petty thief." This was a considerable blow to Lafayette, who always valued his reputation. But precisely because he valued his reputation, he couldn't retaliate openly.

"Joseph is just too honest; he doesn't have much interest in politics, so he doesn't understand it." Lafayette smiled, as if he really didn't blame Joseph.

Fouché sighed inwardly. He knew Lafayette didn't fully trust him. Although he knew Robespierre had visited the Bonaparte brothers before the club vote, he felt now wasn't the time to reveal it; this information might, in some cases, fetch a good price.

"You are truly magnanimous," Fouché complimented. "Furthermore, I have learned that Mr. Barnave has recently been in close contact with the court. I have also heard that the King intends for Mr. Pétion to succeed Mr. Bailly as Mayor of Paris."

"What? This is truly... what is the King thinking!" Lafayette was both surprised and somewhat angry, because Pétion clearly favored a republic.