In this series of affairs, the first few items were very smooth.
For example: The Paris Police Academy had essentially converted Joseph’s estate into a training field, and acquired several acres of nearby land, already becoming France’s largest military and police training base.
Of course, the teaching staff was still far from sufficient.
With the cooperation of the new Minister of War, Duke of Broglie—an old noble who after leaning towards the Royal Family and ascending to the position of Minister of War, was indeed very devoted—many of his protégés agreed to teach at the Paris Police Academy, but given the current size of the academy, it was still a drop in the bucket.
According to Duke of Broglie, other military nobles seemed to still harbor illusions, believing that the Royal Family’s military strength was insufficient to deal with all troubles, and sooner or later they would have to beg for their help, so they continued to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Discover hidden stories at empire
Joseph stroked the armrest of his chair and frowned slightly, these hereditary officers were really “stubborn.” It seemed he would have to pay more attention to this matter himself.
Although in his plans, he intended to have the new army he trained take up all of France’s combat tasks, leaving the old army to retire in their garrisons, this did not mean he would abandon the precious resources of the old army that France had cultivated for decades.
Especially the mid-level officers, and the cavalry, talents that required a lot of resources and time to develop, he would try to absorb as much as possible into the Guard Corps for his use.
Historically, because a large number of old army nobles were either executed during the Reign of Terror or driven away, Napoleon’s cavalry were mostly inadequately trained commoners—cavalry as a troop type are best trained from a young age on horseback to truly become elite, which poor commoners could not achieve—so his cavalry units were always substandard, relying solely on the fervor of revolutionary enthusiasm and a reckless spirit to hold up on the battlefield.
If Napoleon had had an elite cavalry made up of nobles, it’s not to say that he could have turned the tables completely, but at least he could have held out for a few more years under encirclement.
Joseph wasn’t too worried about absorbing talents from the old nobility; after all, soldiers are by nature full of vigor. Or to put it another way, he wasn’t interested in those who lacked vigor.
Thus, he needed to find a way to stir up the blood of these noble officers, make them admire him, and thoroughly impress them with the Guard Corps, so they would naturally come crying and begging to join his ranks.
After planning a recruitment strategy for the noble officers, Joseph finally turned to the last part of the report from the General Staff.
It was a list of personnel who had earned distinction during the suppression of unrest, complete with their personal information and the reasons for their honors.
Most of them were from the Guard Corps, with some from Murat’s Corps and the Paris Legion, but what made Joseph most curious was that there were also a few individuals from the old army on the award list.
Captain Mark Dimitri Babole, who bravely protected the City Hall when Vendee insurrectionists attempted to set it on fire…
Lieutenant Napoleon Buonaparte, who led 50 men against close to 500 rioters in Amiens and ultimately dispersed the mob…
Joseph was immediately taken aback upon reading this; the name Napoleon was very uncommon, and logically there shouldn’t be anyone else with that name, but this person wasn’t surnamed “Bonaparte.”
He hastily pulled out the rest of the information, and saw written: Napoleon Buonaparte. Born on August 15, 1769, in the city of Ajaccio, Corsica. His father was Carlo Maria di Buonaparte, Corsican nobility… having four siblings… entered the Paris Military Academy in 1784, graduated early in 1785…
currently belonging to the Raphael Artillery Regiment stationed in Valence, provisionally the second battalion leader.
Joseph’s breathing suddenly became a little quicker; if it had just been the name that was the same it would have been nothing, but the year-long military academy training, the family situation, and even the father’s name all matched perfectly, it couldn’t possibly just be a coincidence.
“`
This must be His Majesty Napoleon himself!
He immediately became greatly puzzled, why is Napoleon surnamed Buonaparte? No wonder he had never found Napoleon Bonaparte all over France; he hadn’t even gotten the surname right.
But regardless, finally finding His Majesty Napoleon when France needed to draw more benefits from overseas was definitely tremendous news!
With His Majesty in hand, the confidence in leading France to dominate the European Continent instantly increased manifold!
Once the carriage train stopped in Vitrolles, Joseph immediately handed over Napoleon’s information to Eman, instructing him to send someone to Valence to summon the young lieutenant.
While Eman was instructing a messenger, Joseph suddenly remembered that the general staff had apparently ordered the troops from Montpellier to head to Tunisia, and since Valence was also under Montpellier, it was very likely that His Majesty was among them.
So, he instructed Eman to leave a few people waiting at the Port of Toulon to look for Napoleon among the troops heading to Tunisia—the army would surely embark from Toulon to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
However, what Joseph did not expect was that the messenger he sent out returned the next afternoon, reporting that he encountered the army bound for Tunisia in the southern part of Montpellier and, as expected, Lieutenant Buonaparte was in the ranks.
Therefore, at 8 o’clock in the evening, there was a knock on the door of the villa where Joseph was staying. Eman’s voice came softly from outside, “Your Highness, Lieutenant Buonaparte requests an audience.”
Joseph promptly responded with excitement, “Please, invite him in.”
The door opened, and a young man wearing an old white uniform, slightly thin-faced, with a prominent nose and anxious blue eyes, quickly walked in. He stood beside Eman, appearing somewhat awkward.
It was only after Eman gave a light cough that the young officer hurriedly took off his hat and bent down to greet Joseph, “It’s a great honor to be summoned by you, respected Crown Prince…”
Joseph approached to return the gesture, “You are a hero who defended against the insurrections, there’s no need to be so formal.”
He examined the young Napoleon; he wasn’t as plump as often depicted in paintings, but the facial features were very similar.
After a pause, Joseph cautiously confirmed, “Do you also have a brother named Joseph, and younger brothers named Lucien and Louis?”
Napoleon was clearly surprised that the Crown Prince knew so much about his family members, he nodded eagerly, then added, “The youngest brother is named Jerome, Your Highness.”
“Then there’s no mistake,” Joseph said as he pulled Napoleon to sit on the sofa, then casually asked, “How’s your mother’s health, busy with the vineyard, I reckon?”
Napoleon nodded subconsciously, “Yes, Your Highness, she’s doing well, the vineyard hired not many workers to reduce expenses…”
Joseph gestured towards the tea cups on the table, then smiled at the young artillery lieutenant, “I greatly admire your brave actions at Amiens. In fact, I hope you can join the Royal Guards. Oh, in light of your recent achievements, you will be promoted to the rank of captain, taking the post of artillery battery commander.
“So, what is your answer?”
“`