Opportunity in a crisis

Joseph left the "White Maple Forest" Manor feeling confident. 💚♝ 🐙💝

The Archbishop of the Paris Region, along with those of Valois and two other regions, have all reached agreements with him on a "shares-for- Grain" deal. Adding to this Talleyrand Brienne of Autun District and the Briands of Toulouse, nearly half of the most influential clergy in the French Church are now involved in this matter.

All that was left for them to do was to negotiate and seek benefits with the Archbishop of the South dioceses.

Judging from the information just revealed by Archbishop Beaumont, the amount of "private grain" in the Church is quite large, and it can even fill the food gap in France to some extent.

However, this would mean that the Church cellars could not be relied upon to prevent the famine of 1792. But Joseph believed that with the continued development of Tunisia, the increased grain production two years later should be enough to cope with the brief spring famine.

After all, Tunisia has one-third the Farmland of France, yet it only needs to feed 1.8 million people.

Furthermore, to ensure that Beaumont and others could produce the highest efficiency, Joseph even promised them the "Pope throne."

Although the Holy See is currently ruled by Italy, in the 14th century Holy See was based in Avignon, France!

It wasn't until nearly a century later that Gregory XI moved it back to Rome.

The Southeast of France still retains Avignon, a territory belonging to the Papal States.

Although the France Catholic Church is currently a self-contained entity, it is impossible to say that the high-ranking clergy have no ambitions for the Pope.

Joseph then revealed his "grand plan" of moving the Holy See back to Avignon to several Archbishop in the "White Maple Forest".

If the Holy See were to return to France, the Pope would inevitably be chosen from among them and Brienne.

Beaumont and the others were all deeply moved. These were the words of the Crown Prince himself, which likely represented the will of the Royal House — the French Royal Family had developed the ambition to command the Catholicism.

Of course, Joseph doesn't have this strategic plan yet; it's just empty talk.

However, if one day France were to actually besiege City of Rome, he wouldn't mind using the Holy See's political resources—using the Pope to command the faithful. France could then easily wage Crusaders against anyone, which would be incredibly satisfying.

He would never act like Napoleon in history, turning against the entire Holy See for a small amount of money from the Papal States, thus losing enormous political benefits.

The Archbishop secretly resolved to make a good impression during this grain distribution, hoping to improve their chances of becoming Pope in the future.

Before going to Montmartre, Joseph had already made a rough plan for the rest of the trip. After returning to Paris, he went directly to the headquarters of the Police Intelligence Division.

After hearing Joseph's plan, Fouche immediately revealed a look of frenzied excitement:

"Your Highness, I simply cannot express my admiration for you. You even managed to find an opportunity in such a situation!"

Just thinking about the grand scheme planned by the Crown Prince made his blood boil.

Joseph interrupted his flattery and offered him a glimpse of the future:

"The Police Intelligence Division North Africa last time. If they can successfully complete this mission as well, I think they should be promoted to a Security Intelligence Department. Oh, ' National Intelligence Department ' seems a more fitting name."

Yes, having something to offer in front of you will motivate your subordinates.

Upon hearing this, Fouche and the others' eyes lit up immediately—a direct promotion to the Intelligence Department meant that the department head would likely enter the Cabinet as the Minister of Intelligence. The lower-level managers would certainly rise in rank as well.

Everyone in the Police Intelligence Division was eager to get to work, wishing they could fly to the South provinces immediately.

Having done all this, Joseph immediately rushed to the Paris Police Academy.

All other plans can only succeed if they rely on the military as a foundation.

The Berthier Legion and the Moulins Legion had already received orders and were assembling at the Police Academy's new campus.

The new campus is the Manor that Louis XVI and Queen gifted to Joseph. It covers more than ten hectares and could easily accommodate 30,000 to 50,000 soldiers if no crops were grown there.

The pre-war mobilization was nothing new; it was simply Joseph giving a speech, telling the soldiers that they would shoulder the historical responsibility of leading France to a turning point and that they would gain unparalleled glory. This was followed by the routine display of marching Phalanx.

A more practical measure was to equip the Moulins Legion with Auguste Percussion Cap Gun. The Moulins Legion's performance in Tunisia was decent, but most importantly, they demonstrated absolute loyalty to the Crown Prince, which earned them the latest weaponry.

Joseph, in an extremely extravagant manner, ordered Andre that all soldiers practice shooting 20 rounds of ammunition each day until the troops were to depart.

In reality, using Percussion Cap Gun is not much different from using Flintlock Gun; it just reduces the number of steps involved in loading the Propellant, and can be mastered with a little practice. Not to mention the proficiency gained from firing hundreds of rounds.

It should be noted that many veterans of the old France army did not have experience firing 100 shots.

In addition, the Royal Guard Legion was also equipped with 12-pounder Cannon. This was mainly because after the Tunisia campaign, Joseph found that the previous heaviest 8-pounder Cannon were not powerful enough, so he simply followed Napoleon's later organization and replaced the entire army with 12-pounder and 6-pounder cannons.

The former is used for fire suppression, while the latter is used in battlefield environments that require mobility and flexibility.

Since the Horse Artillery hasn't been established yet, the cumbersome nature of the 12-pound Cannon isn't a major problem; we can simply add a few more horses to pull it.

After arranging the hardware matters, Joseph summoned officers such as Berthier and Friant and issued a series of orders on improving the soldiers' morale.

After Joseph finished speaking, Berthier said with a bitter face:

"Your Highness, the ' Military Affairs Department ' you mentioned involves a great deal of matters, and it will probably be difficult to begin operations in the short term."

Andre nodded in agreement.

"Your Highness, the manpower situation is simply unmanageable. As you require, at least 200 people are needed just to barely complete the work within Paris. And for the soldiers' families in the Outer Provinces, even more manpower will be needed..."

Joseph smiled and nodded, "You don't need to worry about that. The necessary personnel can be directly allocated from the Les Invalides. We only need to send some civilian officials to take command. Oh, and try to have the Les Invalides cover the expenses as much as possible."

Today, the France Les Invalides is no longer the institution that cared for wounded soldiers Sun King; it has become a sanatorium exclusively for retired officers, and ordinary soldiers have no access to it.

Keeping this department around is really useless except for providing weapons to rioting citizens during the Great Revolution. It would be better to take advantage of the absence of high-ranking military officials in Paris and simply drain it dry.

Upon hearing this, Berthier and the others exchanged glances and smiled knowingly.

Joseph then went among the soldiers of the Royal Guard Legion, trying to encourage each one in person, until noon the next day when he dragged his exhausted body back to the Versailles Palace.

All preparations are complete; it's time to start harvesting!

→

Aure Street, Saint-Antoine District, Paris.

A melodious bugle call, accompanied by a brisk drumbeat, came from the south side of the street, drawing curious glances from residents on both sides.

Soon, they saw a group of about 20 people, dressed in impressive ceremonial Military Uniform, marching in two straight Column toward them in perfect unison.

An old fishmonger frowned and whispered to the middle-aged man beside him:

"What happened here? Why are so many soldiers being sent to arrest people!"

The middle-aged man shook his head:

Why make such a big fuss when you're arresting someone? Are you afraid the person you're trying to arrest won't escape?

A young reporter behind them peered out and explained to the two, "That's the newly established Military Affairs Department, I heard it serves the Berthier Legion and the ' Combat Police ' force."

The old man selling fish asked in confusion:

"We don't seem to have any high-ranking officers here, do we?"

According to his habitual way of thinking, this so-called department "serving the troops" is equivalent to serving officers.

The Military Affairs Department's team stopped in front of an inconspicuous house, turned horizontally, and stood on both sides of the gate.

Several soldiers stepped out of the ranks, confirmed the address, and then began hanging red and blue ribbons on the door, and placed several baskets of bouquets in front of the ribbon door.

As the leading officer gave the order, two soldiers unfurled a banner half a meter wide, which read, "Glory of France! Congratulations to Corporal Adrien on receiving the Courage Medal!"

Below that is a line of smaller print: A heroic reputation will live on. One man's merit brings glory to the whole family.

According to the Royal Guard Legion's merit ranking system, the Courage Medal is a "fourth-class merit" below the Copper Iris Medal. A total of 23 people received the Courage Medal during the Tunisia campaign.

The citizens immediately surrounded Adrien's house, staring at the banner and discussing it amongst themselves.

"Didn't Adrien go to the Police Academy? How did he get a medal?"

"I heard he went to North Africa; it seems he made a name for himself there."

"With such a grand display, Adrien really stole the show!"

"He's just a Corporal, why is the military making such a grand gesture to congratulate him at his home?"

Just as the officers from the Military Affairs Department were about to knock on the door, Adrien's parents and sister burst out in surprise.

Old Mr. Adrien nervously glanced around, then leaned close to the officer, bowed, and whispered:

"Sir, what's wrong...?"

The officer quickly helped him up, saluted him with his hat, and said loudly:

"Good morning! You must be Mr. Adrien? Your son distinguished himself in the battle to stop the Algerians from invading Tunisia and was awarded the Courage Medal. I am here on behalf of the Paris Police Academy to deliver this good news."

The Adrien family stood there stunned, unable to react for a long time.

The officer stepped forward and stuffed a "Medal of Honor Certificate" and 200 Livre in Silver Coin into old Adrien's hand, saying with great enthusiasm:

"This is Adrien Corporal's certificate and bonus. His Crown Prince asked me to thank you and your family for their support; you also contributed to France's great victory. Oh, please sign here so I can report back."

Adrien's family felt as if they were dreaming; it seemed, as if their son had done something extraordinary.

Not only did officers come to congratulate them, but they also received a bonus of 200 Livre!

Old Adrien finally came to his senses and told his wife to quickly prepare water and food to entertain the congratulating soldiers. Then, he turned around and invited the people from the Military Affairs Department into the house.

The latter, however, first loudly recounted Adrien's heroic deeds to the onlookers at the entrance. The transcript was clearly meticulously prepared, and the crowd listened with immense tension, as if they had witnessed Adrien desperately plugging the gap created by the Algiers cavalry at a critical moment, preserving the integrity of the French Army formation.

Then, the officer went on to describe the various benefits enjoyed by the families of meritorious soldiers, including: priority handling by the Police in case of accidents; opportunities for family members to obtain jobs related to the military; and direct access to the Military Affairs Department for any issues, etc.

In short, the Adrien family will definitely be among the most prestigious families on this street from now on.

The onlookers were all filled with envy and discussed it loudly:

"I never thought that going to the Police Academy could lead to such success!"

"My God! That's a 200- Livre prize!"

"Did you hear that? If his family has any problems, they can go directly to this officer for help."

"Sigh, my third child also wanted to go to the Police Academy, but I didn't let him. I regret it so much!"

Some of the young men who had previously rejected Adrien's sister's advances even brazenly approached the girl on the spot...

For a time, the Military Affairs Department was bustling with activity throughout Paris. The soldiers of the Royal Guard Legion who had distinguished themselves immediately became the focus of attention—newspapers, led by the Paris Business Daily, devoted a large number of pages to introducing their heroic deeds. Even news of uprisings in the South provinces was suppressed by them.

The families and friends of the meritorious soldiers quickly wrote to them to inform them of the commendation, encouraging them to fight bravely and strive to win medals again.

Improving the reputation of the Royal Guard Legion soldiers and enhancing their sense of honor and belonging was something Joseph had long wanted to do.

Previously, because we didn't want to provoke the military Nobility too much, this kind of operation could only be carried out within the military.

Now that the military Nobility has made it clear that they want to oppose the Royal House, there's no need to hide anything anymore.

The soldiers in the old-style army were just lowly laborers and inferiors, but in the Royal Guard Legion, they were soldiers of high status and the glory of France.

If these two sides were to fight, even disregarding the difference in combat strength, the Royal Guard Legion would crush the opponent in terms of morale alone!

However, Joseph's move caused trouble for the Paris Police Academy and the Berthier Legion, who spent almost the entire day dealing with citizens coming to register for the Police Academy or military service...

Less than five minutes after Joseph returned to the Versailles Palace, Brienne arrived looking for him anxiously.

The Archbishop hurriedly bowed, waving the documents in his hand, and said:

"Your Highness, you're finally back! The riots are spreading rapidly, and the Queen has repeatedly asked you for your strategies..."

Joseph smiled and invited him to sit down, saying slowly:

"I was just about to come to you, Archbishop. Please issue an order in the name of the King to the armies of the South provinces, ordering all mid- to high-ranking officers to come to the Versailles Palace immediately. Anyone who fails to do so within a week will be charged with Rebellion!"

Brienne was shocked and jumped to his feet.

"Your Highness, this will not do. If all the generals are summoned to Paris, who will command the army to quell the riots?"

Joseph smiled:

"Please rest assured, the Church will help me resolve the riot issue."