Newly appointed regimental commander Lieutenant Colonel Berthier

Berthier took a deep breath, walked through the Guard into the Crown Prince's Bedroom, and immediately bowed to Joseph with his hand on his chest.

"Your Crown Prince, are you feeling better?"

Joseph sat up straight on the hospital bed, smiled and nodded:

"I'm much better now, Commander. I'm so glad you came to see me."

He then instructed Eman to ask all the Nobility who were watching to leave, citing his need to rest.

"Commander?" Berthier paused, thinking it was a slip of the tongue by the Crown Prince, and quickly whispered a reminder, "Your Highness, I'm just a battalion commander..."

Joseph seemed not to hear him and gestured to the chair beside the bed. "Please sit down."

"Oh, by the way, do you remember the Military Reform I mentioned to you before?"

"Yes, Your Highness." Berthier nodded.

Although the Crown Prince only spoke briefly with him when he watched a military exercise at the Police Academy, he later frequently visited the Police Academy and listened to Diboa explain the prince's Military Reform Plan to him in detail.

"I was particularly impressed by the 'Military Service Regulations,' 'Promotion System,' and 'Establishment of the General Staff Headquarters.'"

"Oh? It seems you already have a considerable understanding of the military reforms." Joseph nodded with satisfaction. "So, what do you think of my Military Reform plan?"

Berthier breathed a slight sigh of relief when he saw that the Crown Prince did not mention the French Guard, and immediately said what he had been wanting to say during his previous discussions with Diboa:

"Your Highness, although France has an army that appears very powerful, in reality... if I may be so bold, it is more like a tree that is rotten inside. The defeat in the Seven Years' War is the best proof of that."

"Our generals have clearly realized this and have made some changes, but I think it's far from enough."

"I participated in the American Revolutionary War. Our troops did not have any advantage even when facing the British Army."

"Your Military Reform Plan has corrected almost all the current shortcomings of the military and put forward many innovative measures, which is exactly what France needs right now!"

Joseph immediately replied:

"So, do you think it's possible to implement military reforms now?"

Berthier immediately frowned, and after a moment, shook his head and said:

"It would be very difficult to implement. Just adjusting the promotion system alone would be met with opposition from almost all officers."

Currently, military officers in France are firmly controlled by the Nobility. First of all, it is very difficult for commoners to enter military academies, and even if they do, most of them are majoring in engineering or technology, and it is almost impossible for them to come into contact with combat command.

Once a civilian graduates from military academy and enters the army, no matter how capable they are, they will never be able to rise to the Junior Officers or higher.

In reality, let alone commoners, even Lesser Nobility could not become Major. In addition to the suppression and exclusion by hereditary military Nobility, the cost of promotion was also beyond the reach of Lesser Nobility.

Yes, in France today, officers have to pay a large sum of money to get promoted. The higher the rank, the higher the fee. Even some wealthy Nobility who are not very well-off may be stuck in their positions for more than ten years after they are promoted to colonel because they don't have the money.

Furthermore, just like the bureaucracy, officer positions in the French Army could be bought with money. And officers bought with money had the same command authority as those with formal military training!

Such "officers who donated money" accounted for a full third of the French Army.

In other words, if a full-scale war were to break out, at least one-third of the France soldiers would be fighting the enemy under the command of complete amateurs. The outcome is predictable.

One of the key aspects of Joseph's proposed military reforms was to promote officers solely based on ability and merit, regardless of their background. Furthermore, no fees would be charged for promotions. The sale of military positions was also strictly prohibited.

This will undoubtedly allow more talented individuals to rise to high positions in the French Army, but it will also break the military Nobility's monopoly on officers, so they will certainly do their utmost to resist the military reform.

"Yes, you're absolutely right," Joseph said solemnly. "It's not just the promotion system; changes to things like weapons procurement, recruitment, and the merit-based system will all face opposition from those people."

Berthier's expression was somewhat somber.

Although he was born into Lesser Nobility, he was a victim of the existing military system—he had almost gone into debt to obtain his current rank of Major. And this time, in order to join the French Guard, he had exhausted his family fortune, but it was still far from enough. If it weren't for the generous help of the Crown Prince, he would have already returned to Soissons in disgrace.

He whispered, "Yes, Your Highness. Therefore, Military Reform will be a very long process..."

"That's not necessarily true," Joseph suddenly laughed. "For example, there's an opportunity right now that allows my military reforms to take their first step immediately."

He looked at Berthier: "Of course, this will require your assistance."

The latter immediately rose and bowed. "Your Highness, I will obey your orders."

"Thank you, Major Berthier. Oh, first of all, you are being promoted to commander of Infantry regiment."

"Ah?"

"Baron de Breteuil said, 'Do you have a way to calm things down?'" Minister of War Saint-Priest looked at the middle-aged man before him with suspicion.

If there were no other way, he certainly wouldn't have believed that a mid-level officer could solve the current problem.

He never imagined that the investigation into the French Guard would develop into what it is today.

Teodoro and others responsible for the bombardment of the Farmhouse have been handed over to Military Tribunal for prosecution, but this has done nothing to diminish public discontent with the French Guard, especially after news of the attack on the Crown Prince spread, which further enraged the people of Paris.

The Crown Prince spearheaded Police Reform, improving security in Paris and earning him immense popularity among citizens. This led to a surge in protests outside the French Guard Camp. Citizens, especially from the Saint-Antoine District, threw mud at the Military Camp and shouted curses, almost storming inside.

A large group of Nobility ladies had also gathered outside his office, demanding a thorough investigation into the officer responsible for the attack on His Highness, which made him afraid to show his face in his office for a long time.

Meanwhile, the military kept urging him to protect the officers of the French Guard...

Just when he was at his wit's end, the Minister of Justice told him that a mid-ranking officer named Berthier might be able to help him out of his predicament. Desperate, he decided to meet the man.

Berthier, sitting opposite, seemed somewhat reserved.

"General, do you know why people keep reporting on officers of the French Guard, even bringing up the matter of the Axel Farmhouse?"

"Oh? Do you know anything about it?"

Berthier immediately replied according to Joseph's "script":

"Yes, General. As far as I know, it's because Her Majesty the Queen is furious about the Crown Prince's injury and wants to vent her anger by punishing the officers of the Guard."

(End of this chapter)