Napoleon was mocked

No, none of those are true...

Joseph suddenly realized he had been careless—according to the customs of later generations, he didn't need to consider marriage at the age of 15, but in the 18th century, this was already very close to being considered an older unmarried man!

Queen Mary's brow furrowed even deeper:

"My dear, you're already 15. Your grandfather and great-grandfather were already married when they were your age." She glanced at Louis XVI beside her. "Your father married me when he was 16, but that was rather late. Don't end up like him."

Louis XVI nodded in perfect agreement.

Queen Mary, holding her son's hand, took a deep breath and said in as gentle a tone as possible:

"My dear, since you have no complaints about Clementine, why not marry her as soon as possible? The people of France will feel more at ease once you have children!"

"I..." Joseph felt extremely passive at this moment. He had considered the entire European Continent, as well as Africa and the Americas, but he had never thought of planning his own wedding.

Who would be in a rush to find a wife for a 15-year-old boy?! He's only been going through puberty for less than two years!

Getting married too early is bad for your health; that's common sense... My great-grandfather and grandfather both married young, but one only lived to 64, and the other died in the prime of his life at 36. Haven't you thought about why?

Moreover, Clementine was a close relative of his. Did he expect him to practice orthopedics in 18th-century France? She was only 12 years old. Such a criminal offense, if it were in later generations, would cost at least three years, with no upper limit!

Seeing her son remain silent, Queen Mary:

"My dear, if you're thinking of marrying that girl named Perna... well, it's not impossible, but how should I put it? Her background is just too low... If you like her, you can certainly keep her by your side. But as for a formal marriage partner, I believe she must be a princess of a country, or at least the daughter of Crown Prince."

Joseph nearly coughed up blood; how did Mom bring up Doctor Perna again...?

He tried to calm himself down, thought for a moment, and decided to follow the "ambitious" approach:

"Mother, if we're talking about Love, then my true love is only one— France!"

"As Crown Prince, I hope that, with God's witness, France will stand at the pinnacle of Europe!"

"If I must get married, I must find a princess from a country that can provide France with tremendous support."

"Clearly, that country is not Austria."

Queen Mary immediately looked surprised. "You think there's a more suitable country than Austria?"

Joseph nodded. "You should have heard that Austria was just defeated by the Allied Forces of Prussia and the Netherlands in the Southern Netherlands. If Austria loses the Southern Netherlands, Austria national strength will decline rapidly. It might even be surpassed by Prussia!"

"No, brother, he will surely reclaim Southern Netherlands," Queen Mary's voice immediately rose, "I know him, the Prussia won't intimidate him!"

A smile flickered in Joseph's eyes, "Father, Mother, perhaps we should wait until the war in the Southern Netherlands is over before considering a marriage alliance with Austria?"

Louis XVI nodded with some emotion, took his wife's hand, and whispered, "My dear, Joseph has really grown up. He can now consider marriage from the perspective of the nation. Perhaps we were too hasty."

Taking advantage of his wife's inattention, he winked at Joseph and mouthed, "You go first, I'll talk to her."

While his mother was still in a daze, Joseph quickly got up, bowed, and fled from the Petit Trianon.

Queen Mary looked at her husband with a resentful expression. "You know, those were just excuses."

Louis XVI smiled and said, "Our son is so intelligent; he must have his reasons. We should trust him."

"You really spoil him too much," Queen Mary sighed. "Clementine so beautiful and lovely, why doesn't Joseph like her?"

Louis XVI kissed his wife's hand and, unusually, complimented her with high emotional intelligence, saying, "With such a beautiful mother, he probably has a very high standard for what constitutes a beautiful woman."

"How awful!" Queen Mary giggled, but quickly put on a serious expression. "But he's really not young anymore. We must find him a wife before next year."

"Very well," Louis XVI agreed, "I will have a good talk with him."

Middle East France.

Troyes Province.

An Military Uniform in crisp uniforms, with Golden Iris insignia on their collars and carrying brand-new Auguste Percussion Cap Gun, marched in neat Column toward the outskirts of town.

They will be there to demonstrate their "Performance Standards" to the renowned Champagne Legion. They have done this many times before, and every unit that has witnessed their demonstrations has suffered a "destruction of confidence."

After they left, the capable and ambitious officers and soldiers in those legions submitted transfer applications to the General Staff Headquarters, requesting to join the Royal Guard Legion, even if it meant working as menial laborers.

In the middle of the column, a few soldiers glanced at the young officers on horseback ahead and began to whisper among themselves, "Hey, is that Captain new? Does anyone know him?"

"They say they brought in the Royal Guard Legion through General Berthier's connections," said a tall, burly soldier with a stubble. "His name is something like Napo... a strange name."

"It's Napoleon. Napoleon Bonaparte," the middle-aged soldier behind them whispered. "He's Italy. But he didn't join the Royal Guard Legion through connections; I heard he did quite a bit of work quelling the rebellion in Amne."

"Haha." Two soldiers laughed. "You probably don't know, but this officer who made such a great contribution couldn't even pass the 5-kilometer run. He stayed in the Military Camp during the previous 'demonstrations'."

"Well, Italy are the way they are, so it's not surprising that they're a bit physically weak..."

"I also heard that this Captain used to frequently take sick leave."

"So he was sickly all along, no wonder, haha."

The young officer on horseback in front of him vaguely heard the soldiers behind him laughing and talking about him. He couldn't help but feel his forehead veins throbbing, and his hands, gripping the reins too tightly, had turned pale.

However, he couldn't argue with that, because that damn 5km run was just too difficult.

He initially didn't believe these soldiers could run such a distance in 22 minutes, but reality taught him a harsh lesson—only three men in the entire legion failed to finish on time. One of the other two had a fever, and the other had a broken boot.

Worst of all, the Royal Guard Legion required officers below the Major to complete a 5-kilometer run alongside the soldiers.

He secretly vowed to himself that he would shut up those soldiers who were mocking him during this "Performance Standards demonstration"!

When has Napoleon ever lost to anyone? Those guys who looked down on him at military school were all surpassed by him in the end with their outstanding grades!