All Into My Bowl

Especially Diboa. Being older, he understood even better that organization, management, training, logistics, and the like were the foundation of improving an army's combat power. He immediately took out paper and pen, quietly repeating the military reform measures the Crown Prince had just mentioned as he swiftly copied them down.

Establish a nationwide French conscription system, with comprehensive enlistment and pension regulations, forming them into law...

Create a French Ministry of War, gradually abolish local garrisons, and unify the French Army's selection, evaluation, and promotion systems...

Raise the status of meritorious soldiers, making supreme honor the army's highest pursuit...

Build national-level arms production and equipment systems, encourage research into new weapons, and accelerate their adoption...

Establish military hospitals...

The more he wrote, the more excited he became. If these measures could be implemented, France would surely possess an invincible army capable of defeating every enemy. The humiliation of being forced to sign the Treaty of Paris would be thoroughly washed away, and everything France had lost would be reclaimed!

His father had died on the battlefield at Liegnitz during the Seven Years' War. He had been only eight that year.

All he remembered was how France's defeat had cast the entire nation beneath a dark cloud. His father's death had won him no honor; instead, cruel people would mock the incompetence of French soldiers right in front of him.

He also knew that a mere Major like himself could not influence France's military reforms. But he could hand these precious ideas to experts like Berthier for further study!

From the corner of his eye, Joseph saw Diboa's earnest excitement as he copied everything down. Sensing that the heat was just right, he revealed a smile like a little fox stealing a chicken. "Major, you seem to approve of this military reform plan. Would you be interested in helping me advance this work?"

"I am willing to serve Your Highness..." Diboa had only gotten halfway through before hesitating. "It's just that I'm not particularly skilled in this area. I fear I may disappoint Your Highness."

Then hurry up and bring me the people who are skilled at it—such as the Chief of Staff. Still, Joseph smiled. "You possess extensive combat experience, and that is precisely what we need to refine this reform plan. To be honest, I am gathering people to research military theory, and I hope you can come help me."

Diboa immediately threw back his shoulders and stood at attention. "It would be the honor of my life to follow you!"

Joseph nodded in satisfaction, then turned toward Andre with a warm smile. "Lieutenant, why didn't you carry on your family's glory and continue serving in the Imperial Guards?"

A flash of resentment and loneliness crossed Andre's eyes. "Your Highness, there has always been a great flame called love burning in my chest. Back then, in pursuing and clinging to that flame, I burned some people... In the end, I went to the Soissons Cavalry Battalion."

Joseph said, "Would you be willing to serve under me?"

"Of course!" Andre could barely conceal his surprise and delight as he called out loudly, "The Davout family's title was bestowed by the old King. Loyalty to the royal family is the Davout family's oath! I will become Your Highness's most loyal soldier!"

Joseph looked at the two men before him with considerable delight. With these two lines in hand, Berthier and Davout, those two giants, would sooner or later end up in his bowl.

Recently, the focus of every Parisian's conversation had been Paris Angel's new stores.

They could not help but pay attention to them—three new stores were being prepared at once, like three whirlpools on the sea, ceaselessly drawing in timber, Glass, paint, Copperware, and more from all corners of Paris.

Paris's finest craftsmen had all gathered at Paris Angel's stores. Each was exhausted to the bone, yet their faces brimmed with feverish excitement.

Over this past week, they had earned more money than they normally would in three months!

Every day, Paris Angel's managers prepared four meals and delivered them to the craftsmen on time, attentively waiting on them until they finished eating before politely inviting them to resume work.

As for the food, there was fried meat, Mashed Potatoes mixed with Butter, White Bread, and Tomato Vegetable soup—rich, fragrant, and tempting. They could eat as much as they wanted.

Not a single craftsman cried of exhaustion, and no one wanted to rest—if anyone mentioned rest to them at a time like this, they would curse that person without hesitation.

—Four times the pay! Stopping for even one second would be sacrilege against their wallets!

At night, large numbers of oil lamps were lit inside and outside the stores, making them as bright as day. The next shift of craftsmen would take over and continue working.

Some particularly robust men even set a record of working for three days and two nights straight, receiving a full 28 Livres in overtime pay.

Oh, overtime even came with extra pay! It was simply unbelievable! When the craftsmen learned that this was the Crown Prince's requirement, they nearly prayed for him several times every day.

Some people in later generations loved to say that Westerners prized freedom and enjoying life, that they had never liked overtime. In truth, eighteenth-century France was fiercely competitive. Fourteen-hour workdays in factories were perfectly normal; as long as they were paid, even twenty-hour days were no problem.

What Joseph had not expected was that his attempt to speed up the opening of the franchise stores would bring an unexpected gain—the Parisian citizens who had nothing much to do began treating the construction of the new stores as entertainment, causing Paris Angel's popularity to keep soaring. If this era had trending searches, Paris Angel would have occupied every spot in the top ten.

It was no wonder. Entertainment in this era was far too scarce, and such luxurious stores being renovated around the clock was a rare novelty indeed.

The little boy who had once begged in the alley behind the Paris Angel Boutique was now carrying huge stacks of chairs with his younger sister and four other homeless children, bustling busily through the crowd.

Taking Joseph's advice, he had started a chair-rental business. He had earned quite a few silver coins during this time, and his team had expanded to six people.

He had now rented a room, and he and his sister no longer had to go hungry. He was even planning to save a little more money so he could spend a few hours each day learning to read.

Time passed quickly.

Brent, the General Manager of Paris Angel Company, stood on Saint-Denis Boulevard, gazing at the luxurious yet elegant new Paris Angel store before him. Infinite pride and accomplishment welled up in his heart.

Seven days. It had taken only seven days for the new boutique to be fully renovated. He, the company's employees, and countless craftsmen had created this miracle together!

Of course, the twenty thousand Livres spent on renovation had also played no small part.

In Paris's western and northern districts, there were two more boutiques just like this one, both of which would be completed before the day was over.

At the same time, a franchise store thirty lieues away in Reims was also awaiting its opening. However, the company's newly opened boutique there had encountered a few unexpected problems and would require another two days to finish.

In other words, Paris Angel now had five boutiques ready for business. Even the stores far away in Marseille and Bordeaux, according to the message sent back yesterday by the men he had dispatched, would be completely renovated by the end of the month at the latest.

Meanwhile, a dense crowd had gathered outside Paris City Hall. Four or five hundred people craned their necks, anxiously awaiting the moment Paris Angel Company's shares officially went on sale.

Yes, because of the Bubble Act, this was the temporary Stock Exchange Joseph had chosen.