Following the strong

Joseph smiled contentedly. 💚♝ 🐙💝 Now he's managed to keep Napoleon's men with him. As for his heart... Napoleon is only 20 years old now, there will be plenty of time and opportunities to cultivate feelings later.

He and Berthier and others entered the Chief of Staff's office, sat down in the chair at the head of the table, and gestured to everyone. "Please, everyone, have a seat."

"I have already reviewed the report sent by the General Staff Headquarters. Your work is outstanding; you got this place up and running in a very short time."

Of course, Berthier deserves most of the credit for this.

If his ability to lead troops in battle is a 70 out of 100, then his performance as an assistant staff officer is absolutely a 100. Not that he can only get 100, but that's the highest possible score. In this respect, he is undoubtedly France's most outstanding genius!

Berthier and the officers immediately stood up and shouted, "It is our honor to serve His Majesty the King!"

Joseph gestured for everyone to sit down and continued, "Besides the basic recruitment and training work, there are many other things that the General Staff Headquarters needs to do during this period."

"The first thing to do is to conduct a 'combat effectiveness assessment of the entire army'."

"All legions must participate. As long as they meet the Performance Standards, they can obtain the title of 'Royal.' Officers who perform exceptionally well in the assessment will also be promoted."

Berthier said with some surprise, "Your Highness, isn't this reward a bit too much? I mean, it's just an assessment..."

Joseph smiled and shook his head, "No, if you knew the Performance Standards, you would find this reward perfectly reasonable."

"So, what are the Performance Standards?"

"Follow the standard training regiments of the Royal Guard Legion, but with a slight increase. Any regiment that can achieve this will be considered to have met the standard."

Upon hearing this, Berthier immediately smiled knowingly—looking across all of France, aside from the Royal Guard Legion, even including the elite Swiss Guard, who could run 5 kilometers in under 22 minutes? Let alone carrying 18 pounds of weight...

There are several more events following, including shooting, drills, obstacle courses, and tactical coordination. Let alone whether those old-style armies can meet the standards, there are probably some training events they've never even heard of!

A staff officer who had been promoted from the Royal Guard Legion hesitated and said, "Your Highness, it's unlikely that any legion will pass the assessment. So, what's the point of the assessment?"

"Good question." Joseph gave him an approving look. "So after the assessment, they'll definitely say, 'No one can meet this standard.' That's when the Royal Guard Legion will shatter their confidence and show them what true elite status is."

Berthier and the others immediately showed strange expressions. The Crown Prince was too ruthless. This meant that the soldiers of the other legions would live in the shadow of the Royal Guard Legion forever.

Joseph smiled again and said, "Remember to send application forms to those legion members after the assessment."

Berthier didn't react immediately. "Application form?"

"Okay, here's the application form for joining the Royal Guard Legion. Remember, the approval process must be strict. Only those with talent Courage should be allowed in; good-for-nothings should never be allowed into the Royal Guard Legion!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Joseph didn't think that this demonstration alone would win over the Nobility officers, but it would at least leave a deep impression on them.

Ultimately, to truly win their hearts, the Royal Guard Legion must achieve remarkable results on the battlefield.

In the World War I in Tunisia, the opponent was a North Africa army whose equipment, training, and command were all outdated. The battle against the Montcalm Legion also involved an element of calculation. None of this could convince those proud and arrogant France Nobility officers.

Only by achieving an overwhelming victory against a real Europe army can the true fighting power of the Royal Guard Legion be demonstrated.

Soldiers all admire the strong—if you are strong enough, they will naturally follow you.

Just like Napoleon, whether he established a republic or became emperor, everyone from Nobility to commoners followed him without hesitation. Even when he was exiled, he could still make countless soldiers cheer and welcome him back with a single sentence.

After discussing some details of the army-wide combat effectiveness assessment with his staff, Joseph continued, "Next, we'll talk about the situation in the Far East."

"Have you heard the news that the Kingdom of Mysore in India had a conflict with the Dutch people and the Princely State of Travancore?"

Berthier and the others exchanged bewildered glances. An officer quickly left the Meeting Room and returned shortly afterward with a document.

After the staff members circulated the document, they all looked at His Crown Prince with some surprise.

The intelligence came from Pondicherry, India, just two days ago, saying that there was a possibility of conflict in the princely states of the South India, with the Dutch people involved. As for the details, nothing was mentioned.

But His Crown Prince seems to know everything about what's happening there. Could it be that the Intelligence Bureau has already extended its reach into the Far East?!

Joseph naturally wouldn't explain to them, and it wouldn't be a valid explanation anyway. The Intelligence Bureau had barely managed to get things under control in North Africa, and they were only just beginning to infiltrate the Americas; the Far East was out of the question.

Currently, intelligence in the Far East is provided by businessmen and diplomats, so the information is very vague.

Only he, with his cheat-like abilities, knew the details.

Joseph glanced at the military intelligence and had to first brief his staff on the situation in Mysore: "The incident began when the Raja of Travancore purchased two fortresses in the Mysore territory..."

"That's roughly the situation. Tipu Sultan of Mysore has always been a strongman, and he would never allow a rival princely state to drive two thorns into his side. Therefore, I think it's highly likely that he will wage war against Travancore."

One of the staff officers pondered, "Travancore has our interests; perhaps we should support it."

Joseph shook his head. "Quite the opposite, Major."

"Travancore is no match for Mysore, and they will inevitably have to seek help from the United Kingdom."

"The United Kingdom had long disliked Mysore, the only India kingdom that hadn't submitted to them, so they would certainly seize this opportunity to declare war on Mysore."

He looked around at everyone. "Our interests in Travancore are negligible, and we are practically nonexistent in the entire Far East, with no real interests whatsoever."

"So our goal should be to make the United Kingdom expend as much energy as possible in the Far East!"

"In other words, we will support Mysore."

The staff officers exchanged glances and then slowly nodded.

Berthier hesitated, saying, "Your Highness, sending troops directly could very well trigger a full-scale war between the United Kingdom and us."

Joseph nodded. "So, we should hide ourselves as much as possible."

"The main focus should be on providing Mysore with weapons and equipment—preferably avoiding France weapons—and sending officers. As for the army, a small number of Tunisia could be sent, as they share the same religious beliefs as the Mysore."