Personal maid acquired

"My dear, come and have a taste, this is Vienna Vanilla Crisp Cake." Queen Mary fed the Cake to her son, then asked, "You just returned from Austria a month ago, why are you going again?"

Joseph's mouth was immediately filled with a unique vanilla flavor, but it wasn't as cloyingly sweet as the Cake he used to eat at his mother's house.

"Ah, this tastes very good. Your pastry chef skills have greatly improved."

Joseph offered a casual compliment, then got down to business:

"My uncle is preparing a large-scale campaign in Silesia, you know, and I have to go and show him my support."

"I really hope the war ends soon." Queen Mary shook her head, then suddenly remembered something and looked at her son, saying, "Do you want to go back to the battlefield again?"

"Uh... I'm far from the front lines, don't worry, there will be no danger."

Queen Mary took his hand and said earnestly:

"My dear, I know you will achieve great things, and I will fully support you, but you must promise me you will stay away from danger! Don't let your father and me receive heartbreaking news."

Joseph nodded quickly, but then heard his mother continue:

"Also, I always tell you, you must bring a chef when you go on a long trip; they can take care of your stomach. Oh, and a pastry chef and a musician too; no matter how busy you are, you need to relax sometimes. A tailor, a leatherworker, and a beautician should also be brought along... and several maids; you can't always have Viscount Eman doing so many tedious tasks by yourself..."

Joseph was immediately exasperated. "Mom, I'm going to the front lines to lead troops. If I bring so many servants with me, I won't be able to do anything!"

"Um, well, the Cake was quite special." He tried to change the subject, "I wonder if it'll be cold in Vienna lately..."

Just as the Queen was about to continue her nagging, Camellia, dressed in a long white dress, hurried over and curtsied to her.

"Your Her Majesty the Queen, did you look for me? Oh, Your Crown Prince, you've come too? It's a pleasure to see you."

Queen Mary smiled kindly and waved to her:

"Darling, your desserts are absolutely wonderful! I think Mr. Sehilian should be worried about his position, haha."

"My mother taught me all of this," Camellia said. "She used to be a pastry chef in the household of Archduke Ferdinand."

Queen Mary looked at the sweat on her forehead and said softly:

"You can leave the cleaning and stuff to Bettina and the others, you don't need to..."

As she spoke, she suddenly remembered that her son had just praised Camellia's Cake, and that the girl was very diligent and capable, doing the work of several maids. Suddenly, an idea struck her: if she went with Joseph to Austria, at least she could take care of his meals along the way.

Queen Mary immediately looked at Camellia:

"My dear, would you be willing to help me take care of the Crown Prince's daily needs and go with him to Austria?"

Camellia's heart skipped a beat, and she immediately remembered her teacher's words. After a moment of hesitation, she quickly nodded and said:

"Of course, Your Majesty, it is my honor to travel with you."

Joseph was greatly surprised and hurriedly said:

"Mother, I'm afraid this is not quite right..."

Queen Mary immediately feigned a stern expression:

"Then you should bring 3 chefs, 5 maids, and..."

"Ah, okay, alright." Joseph had no choice but to surrender. "Please don't say anymore, I'll take her there, alright?"

That afternoon, Joseph's convoy set off for Austria.

In the third Carriage the convoy, Camellia politely smiled and nodded to Perna, who was sitting opposite her— General Berthier was discussing matters in His Crown Prince's carriage, so she had to squeeze into the same carriage as the female doctor.

Perna nodded in response, but she was somewhat distracted. Wasn't this girl supposed to be Her Majesty the Queen's maid? How did she end up here with His Highness?

Did she insist on coming along, or did His Highness request her to...? No, no, why am I thinking about these things?

In Joseph's car, Berthier said:

"Your Highness, 12,000 sets of Bulletproof Insert have been packaged into military uniforms as per your request and shipped to Silesia."

A set of Bulletproof Insert consists of 5 pieces and can be used to equip one soldier.

Joseph nodded:

"It is imperative to ensure timely delivery; this will be crucial to our victory over the Prussia."

Berthier then looked at the map on the table and said:

"Your Highness, the Duke of Brunswick has set up nearly 200 cannons on the western front of Lignitz. If we try to break through the Prussian defenses, we will likely suffer very heavy casualties."

"You're right," Joseph said, his expression also serious.

Unlike the Southern Netherlands, Silesia is a purely "enemy-occupied territory" and a key area for development. Legion movements and supply lines can be moved and replenished very efficiently, making the situation for the French Army extremely difficult.

Therefore, we must avoid a direct assault on the Prussia frontal defenses.

The South Donbas.

Yekaterinoslav.

This peculiar place name commemorates Catherine II's great achievement in conquering the Crimea region.

However, at this time, apart from a very rudimentary small town, it was basically still a wasteland.

Well, the entire vast land from Donbas to Crimea has a population of less than 700,000, and its area is larger than the Netherlands and the Southern Netherlands combined!

Viscount Olivier, owner of the Silk Steel Company, stood on a barren hilltop, feeling extremely uneasy.

He has invested half of his fortune in Russia this time, and if the giant Coal and Iron Mine that His Crown Prince mentioned is not found, he will face the risk of bankruptcy.

A Captain rode up on horseback and shouted:

"Regiment Commander, the laborers have arrived. What are your plans?"

The Donbas Development Regiment consisted of 170 people, and Viscount Olivier, having invested the most, was appointed as its commander. The deputy commander was Captain Lemair, a former Lieutenant in the Royal Guard Legion who was sent by Joseph to manage the military affairs of the Development Group.

Viscount Olivier peered down the mountain through his Telescope and indeed saw a winding procession, its numbers at least a thousand, partially hidden among the tall grass.

He tugged at the reins and followed Lemair back to the Camp:

"There's nothing planned. Just have them level the ground and use weeds to make something to shelter themselves from the wind and rain. In this godforsaken place, they won't slack off without us prompting them."

A moment later, the two returned to the Camp with their guards—the so-called Camp was actually just a large, leveled open space with seven or eight wooden huts and a large number of tents.

By this time, over a hundred disheveled laborers dressed in North Africa -style clothing had poured into the Camp. Lemair hurriedly urged his horse forward and instructed the soldiers:

"Make them expand their camp and build living quarters; they'll only get food after they finish the work!"

Immediately, someone shouted in Arabic to the laborers, and the crowd dispersed with a roar, each taking their tools and getting to work.

These people were the labor force that Joseph used to develop Donbas. Some of them were prisoners of war from Algiers and Tripoli, and the dark-skinned ones were members of the Moroccan Guard Corps. After several wars in North Africa, the number of prisoners was not large, but there were still three or four thousand, and these prisoners were all strong and capable laborers.

Algiers dared not submit the matter of returning prisoners. According to Ottoman tradition, captured soldiers, even if they returned, would be severely punished, some even becoming slaves. Therefore, many of the prisoners of war in Tripoli were unwilling to return; of course, even if they wanted to, Joseph would not release them.