The great purge begins

Queen Mary stared at the sketch in front of her, her face tense with extreme displeasure. "Is the punishment so lenient?"

Minister of Justice Breteuil nodded somewhat helplessly. "Your Majesty, according to the relevant laws, this is the harshest punishment for General Bessonval. Unless, there is evidence to prove that he deliberately let the bandits approach Your Highness."

That's how France law is these days; it's very lenient with the Nobility. More than ten years ago, Countess de La Motte Jeanne, claiming to be Queen Mary's maid, found a prostitute to impersonate the Queen and tricked the Archbishop de Rohan into buying a necklace worth 2 Livre for the "Queen." Jeanne then handed the necklace over to Count de La Motte, who took it to the United Kingdom to sell.

The truth came out when the Jeweler complained to the Queen about the delayed installment payments. Archbishop de Rohan publicly produced a letter in the Queen's own handwriting to prove his innocence, which made the Queen the talk of the town.

Even in such a serious case, Rohan and the Count de La Motte were acquitted, while Jeanne, due to her Nobility status, was only sentenced to Bastille. The following year, she escaped—some suspect that the Duke of Orléans helped her escape.

Therefore, given Bessonval's situation, exile is really the best a sentence he could get.

Queen Mary looked at Brienne and Mono and the others, and seeing that they also nodded, she could only pinch the bridge of her nose. "Alright, then exile."

"But the place of exile... I remember we had a small island in East Africa, what was it called again?"

Kexer, summoned as an eyewitness, immediately replied, "It's Seychelles, Your Majesty."

"Yes, Seychelles." The Queen nodded bitterly, glancing at Breteuil, "That's where Bessonval is to be exiled."

Seychelles is a full 10,000 nautical miles from Paris. And with the navigation technology of the 18th century, there was no guarantee that everyone could sail there alive from France.

Although Bessonval has not yet been sent to trial, since the Queen has chosen Seychelles, it's practically a done deal.

In the Meeting Hall, no one, including the military ministers, dared to speak up for Bessonval. Aside from the King and Queen's anger, yesterday's attack was truly far too serious. Moreover, the presence of a foreign princess who witnessed everything made it all incredibly humiliating.

Baron de Breteuil glanced at the Queen's expression and continued, "Your Majesty, as for the rest of the French Guard... they all bear significant responsibility for failing to stop the attackers."

"Given that it is still unclear how the two bandits approached the Crown Prince's carriage, all officers and soldiers of the French Guard need to be isolated and investigated. Those suspected will then be handed over to Military Tribunal for prosecution and trial."

"Investigate..." The Queen waved her hand wearily, "Baron de Breteuil, please join Vermorel in assisting the Gendarmerie Department in investigating the officers and soldiers of the French Guard."

"Until they are proven innocent, all officers are suspended from their duties and none of them are allowed to leave the Military Camp."

Please report the investigation results to me promptly.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Minister of War Saint-Priest breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this— Bessonval was certainly finished, but as long as the Gendarmerie and Military Tribunal handled the matter, the other officers in the French Guard should be spared.

After all, they're all people within the military system; it's just a formality, and then they'll announce that they weren't involved.

As the elite force of France, and stationed in Paris, the officers of the French Guard Dadu influential figures. Within the Military Noble Group, their interests were intertwined, and their networks of connections were extremely extensive.

Putting aside other matters, the commander of a Cavalry Battalion in the French Guard is the brother-in-law of Saint-Priest's cousin. If the Queen were to send someone from the Royal House directly to investigate this matter, he would be in serious trouble.

Just as he thought the matter was over, he saw Kexer bow to the Queen and say, "Your Majesty, I believe that given the capabilities demonstrated by the French Guard, they are no longer suitable to continue guarding Paris. Perhaps a more reliable force should be assigned to Paris to ensure its safety."

The Queen nodded in agreement, then looked at the other ministers. "What do you think?"

Saint-Priest lowered his head and remained silent.

Minister of the Interior Mono forced a "good-natured" smile and said, "Your Majesty, the entire French Guard is currently under investigation and unable to fulfill its duty to protect Paris. Other troops should indeed be deployed to ensure the defense of Paris."

Last night, Joseph sent someone to inform him, instructing him to cooperate with Kexer.

Brienne nodded in agreement, saying, "Your Majesty, there is no longer any fighting on the Southern Netherlands border. It would be a waste to leave such an elite force as Flanders Brigade there; it would be perfect to bring it here to assist in the defense of Paris."

Baron de Breteuil's eyes lit up at this, and he loudly echoed, "Your Majesty, I also think the Flanders Brigade is very suitable."

Like him, the commander of Flanders Brigade was one of the very few Nobility who were staunch supporters of the King, and bringing them to Paris would greatly benefit his political power.

The Minister of Census was in Birmingham, handling the ceremonial closing work of the Anglo-French Trade Negotiations. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, returning from Russia, had just arrived in Austria.

Therefore, no one in the Meeting Hall objected at this point. Seeing this, Queen Mary immediately made the decision. "Then summon the Flanders Brigade to Paris. The French Guard's base will be moved to Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne."

She had vivid memories of the town where the Blood Blade Bandit Gang had made their stronghold, and it was a good place to leave the French Guard.

An hour later, in the gardens of Versailles Palace Square, the Duke of Orléans was smiling broadly at the Marquis of Saint-Priest:

"Therefore, I shouldn't contact the Gendarmerie right now, and I'll have to ask you to convey my message. Who can predict a bandit attack? Even Louis XV was assassinated right in front of him. We can't let innocent officers get involved."

The French Guard was his "territory" that he had cultivated for many years, especially his officers, with whom he had probably invested over a million dollars. Naturally, he couldn't stand by and watch them be dismissed or exiled.

The Minister of War nodded confidently. "Please rest assured, with this 'funding' for the operation, the Gendarmerie will definitely be lenient. Even if anyone is prosecuted, I will handle it through the Military Tribunal."

The Duke of Orléans had just promised him a full 250,000 Livre, and he estimated that he could get at least half of it. After all, the officers of the French Guard would also take care of the Gendarmerie, so he wouldn't have to do it all himself.

The Duke of Orléans, who had missed the earlier meeting, breathed a sigh of relief and bowed slightly, saying, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

In the Crown Prince's Palace, dozens of Nobility looked worriedly at the "seriously" injured Crown Prince, wishing they had taken his place in the attack, and cursing the incompetent French Guard a thousand times over in their hearts.

Dear family and friends, because Qidian currently having a double monthly ticket event, I'm begging you all to vote for me with lots of monthly tickets! Please, please! Love you all!

(End of this chapter)