Crisis (3)

"What do you mean?" Carnot frowned.

"Lazar, to defeat the enemy, we must understand the enemy. Only by understanding the enemy can we effectively deal with them. Yet some of our officers go into battle without knowing anything about the enemy, or even about themselves. Lazar, this is not fighting, it is sending soldiers to their deaths, it can even be said to be a crime against the Republic! I have always believed that there should be a principle in military affairs, that is, never fight an unprepared battle," Joseph said.

"Your whole principle is good. But the situation is very critical now, and we can't ignore Vendée," Carnot said.

"Lazar, why do you think those peasants in the Vendée rebelled? What made those honest peasants take up arms? What are the characteristics and weaknesses of the rebels?" Joseph asked again.

"Why?" Carnot thought for a moment and said, "They must have been instigated by those priests and won over by those nobles."

"No," Joseph shook his head. "When we beheaded Louis XVI, they didn't react; when we ordered the expulsion of the clergy, their rebellion was still limited; but... but when we ordered conscription, they rebelled on a large scale. What made them rise up in rebellion was nothing other than conscription. Only conscription truly damaged their interests and enabled them to unite in resistance."

"However, we cannot refuse to conscript soldiers, nor can we make an exception for Vendée," Carnot said.

"Of course," Joseph said. "I'm not saying this to object to the conscription policy. I'm just pointing out a characteristic of our enemies, the Vendée rebels. Hmm, Lazar, do you remember that most of the Volunteer Army in Paris didn't want to leave Paris?"

"Of course I remember... Joseph, you mean, they and..." Carnot listened, seemingly understanding.

"They are actually quite similar to our Volunteer Army; they are unwilling to leave their homes and have the courage to defend their hometowns and lives. If they were to fight in the Vendée, they would be like Antaeus standing on the earth, almost invincible. If we try to solve the problem solely through military means, we cannot truly achieve victory unless we completely eradicate the Vendée. To accomplish this task, Lazar, I must say, the number of troops you have prepared for us is too small. I think we need to multiply it by at least ten."

"What the hell, Joseph? If I had that many troops, why would I go to the Vendée? Why don't we just go to Vienna?"

"Therefore, a direct military solution is a pipe dream! The Vendée issue requires a two-pronged approach, both military and political!" Joseph said.

"It seems you've had this in mind all along, Joseph!" Carnot said. "Tell me how to go about doing it both ways!"

"Let's talk about military matters first. Political matters are not something we can completely resolve," Joseph said. "Militarily, I don't have a complete plan yet, but I can offer one idea: we need to find a way to lure Antaeus away from his land. The Vendée peasants certainly don't want to leave their land, but the nobles who lead them, and the Britain behind them, won't allow them to remain holed up in the Vendée. They will find a way to get them to attack us. If we can lure them out, they will come out even faster. Then, on the battlefield outside the Vendée, we can find an opportunity to strike them hard and wipe out their elite forces outside the Vendée. This will make many things much easier in the future."

"Hmm," Carnot nodded, "That's an interesting line of thinking. So, what about a political approach?"

"Politically speaking..." Joseph slowed his speech, "Political matters, in the final analysis, boil down to the distribution of interests. Lazar, why are the farmers of the Vendée opposing us? Isn't it because we've harmed their interests? If we can provide them with appropriate, even very reasonable, compensation, we might be able to completely resolve the Vendée problem."

Upon hearing this, Carnot shook his head in disappointment and said, "Joseph, if we have enough to compensate them for their losses, why do we need to conscript soldiers? Why not just recruit them directly? What compensation do we have for them? We can't just print another batch of Assignat for them, can we? They're not stupid... Even a fool knows not to use Assignat these days."

"Lazar, have you read Machiavelli's * the Prince *?" Joseph asked.

"That Italy conspirator?" Carnot replied.

"That guy's views are certainly unpleasant, but some of his techniques are quite interesting. To be honest, if our former king had really had Machiavelli's tricks, France might still be a kingdom today," Joseph said.

"I've read that book before, but I've forgotten a lot of it. Joseph, just say what you want to say."

"We don't need to compensate them with our own things. As Machiavelli said, a wise ruler is good at being generous with other people's money," Joseph replied.

"Ah, this part, I remember now. Hmm, Alexander Great, Caesar, and Augustus had a reputation for generosity, but their generosity actually meant generously distributing other people's things to their warriors... Ah, is that what you're talking about?"

"Yes, Lazar, think about it, what do those peasants crave most? Isn't it land? We'll lure those nobles out of the Vendée first, then wipe them out, and before they can recover, we'll storm the Vendée and kill all the Vendée and landowners, but we'll make sure some of their descendants escape. Then we'll confiscate all their land and distribute it to the local peasants, giving the best land to those willing to fight for us. If we can really do that, Lazar, I think the Vendée rebellion isn't insurmountable, and the Vendée region might even become our strongest base of support in the future," Joseph replied.

"This idea... should be feasible, but such a significant decision must be approved by the National Assembly," Carnot said hesitantly. "Right now, passing such a resolution in Parliament will certainly face opposition from some people."

"Why? It doesn't cost us anything!" Joseph asked.

"Because...because the council has already confiscated the land of the nobles in the Vendée region as collateral and issued Assignat," Carnot hesitated for a moment before answering.

"What? There's such a thing?" Joseph was stunned.

"However, your previous military suggestion was also very good. Joseph, I think entrusting this matter to you would be a good decision." Carnot once again wanted Joseph to take on this responsibility.

"I'm not being modest, nor am I unwilling to serve France. As long as it benefits France, I don't care even if it means risking my life. How could I shirk responsibility because of personal gain or loss? But designing such a strategy is very different from commanding on the spot. Don't be fooled by my eloquent explanation here; if I were to actually command on the front lines, things might go wrong. Actually, Lazar, you and I are closer; we're both better suited to serve in the War Department. No... we're still different. You're more suited to working in the War Department, while I'm actually better suited to the laboratory. Damn it, it's been so long since I've been away from the lab."

"Actually, I prefer the lab too, really!" Carnot patted Joseph on the shoulder and said, "I understand you. But we all have to work for France now. Hmm, if you can't go, how about Napoleon? I think he's quite good tactically."

Joseph did not object to the appointment, but he did raise one point. "If Napoleon is to assume this responsibility, I have no objection. He is indeed more suitable than me. However, I have two requirements. First, you must help him strengthen the ranks of his mid-level commanders. Second, if Napoleon takes any unusual actions, I hope everyone can trust his command."

"I understand," Carnot said. "Although my influence is limited, I will never allow those clueless guys to interfere in military command matters."

And so, Napoleon suddenly became the commander-in-chief of the suppression army. Although the army was small, consisting of only one division, this marked the beginning of his true independent command.

As for Joseph, he returned to Carnot's side and became Carnot's deputy. He also served as the director of a new organization—the "Tactical Research Institute." Carnot once tried to persuade him to join the Committee of Public Safety, but Joseph politely declined. In short, Joseph became a harmless yet very useful person once again.

Just as Joseph had predicted, the nobles of the Vendée could not bear to remain idle in the Vendée and impoverished countryside. They used the wealth accumulated by their families over generations to recruit an army of more than 40,000 men and began their northward advance. Opposite them was only a newly established division of Napoleon with no more than 5,000 men, as well as some local National Guard.

Based on the peasant army's fighting prowess demonstrated in previous battles, rebel commander General François Atanas de Charette de Delatrie believed they were fully capable of defeating the French Army in front of them and advancing directly towards Paris.

Of course, General Delatrie knew that with such a small force and his weak logistics, it would be insufficient to truly capture Paris. But he believed that as long as he achieved one or two victories and threatened Paris, the northern front would become chaotic, and the Republic, besieged on both sides, would surely perish.