The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 138

Chapter 138: The Victory of the Potato 

With the commander of the Guard Legion, Berthier, announcing the start of the joint exercise, both the military and the police immediately marched toward the center of the training ground, led by their respective commanders.

The exercise had been carefully planned, consisting of four components: drills, shooting, marching, and combat simulation.

The first exercise to be conducted was the drill.

The Guard Legion, with its years of military experience, was supposed to have an advantage in this regard. However, they had recently undergone reorganization. Despite Berthier's efforts to group soldiers from the same unit together, many of them were now assigned to unfamiliar squads, and even the drummers and flag bearers were unknown to each other.

Basic commands such as "attention," "march," "turn," and handling weapons were fine, and the professionalism of the soldiers was evident, easily outshining the police. But when it came to changing formations, especially during marching changes, the squads that hadn’t practiced together struggled and became disordered.

In contrast, the police, who had only been practicing drills for a few months, demonstrated perfect coordination among themselves.

Especially remarkable was the police's ability to transition from skirmish line to infantry line, which left the Guard Legion in awe. The soldiers didn’t yet realize that this was part of the new shock tactic proposed by the crown prince, a skill they would also eventually learn. But for now, they could only admit defeat.

As a result, the military officers responsible for scoring gave higher marks to the police for their performance in the drill.

The Guard Legion was stunned and felt their pride was severely wounded—they, an elite force, had lost to the police!

In the following shooting exercise, the military was determined to redeem themselves, eager to show the police how it's done.

As expected, under the combined efforts of the soldiers, the Guard Legion achieved an impressive result in line shooting: three rounds in 1 minute and 8 seconds, with 75 shots hitting the target. With only 300 infantry participating at a distance of 70 paces, the accuracy was exceptional.

When the soldiers proudly came off the field, eager to laugh at the police, the latter shocked them once again by completing their three rounds in 1 minute and 10 seconds, hitting 66 shots.

Although the police had lost, this speed and accuracy were remarkable, comparable to any army. It was said that these police officers had only been training for a few months.

Of course, such shooting skills were cultivated by Joseph’s decision to have the police academy use live ammunition for training. Each recruit had to fire three shots a day.

Don’t think that’s a small amount. The most elite troops in Europe only manage three live-fire exercises over three days, which is already rare.

It’s important to note that the powder and ammunition used in these guns cost money!

While officers were busy scheming ways to line their pockets, who would spare the money for their soldiers to fire rounds of precious gold?

After redeeming themselves, the Guard Legion was confident they could "teach" the police a lesson in the next marching exercise.

But to their dismay, they lost spectacularly.

The police academy regularly conducted 1-mile weighted cross-country training, while European armies were no longer focusing on physical fitness.

As a result, the police finished a 1.5-mile march and, after returning to the training ground, waited a full ten minutes before the out-of-breath soldiers of the Guard Legion arrived.

Only when the combat simulation began did the Guard Legion finally demonstrate their elite status. With the cooperation of infantry and cavalry, they quickly broke through the police's defense line.

The final result was a 2-2 draw. Although the combat simulation accounted for a large portion of the score, granting the Guard Legion a higher total, the near-tie with these still-in-training police officers made them cautious and unwilling to underestimate the police again.

Thus, when Berthier announced that in the future, the Guard Legion would rotate for training at the Paris Police Academy, no soldier objected.

Some even started to look forward to it after hearing rumors about the academy’s food quality.

As a result, the number of students at the police academy suddenly increased by over two thousand.

...

After Joseph returned to his office in Paris, the first person he encountered was Valéan, the assistant director of the Bordeaux Planning Bureau, who had stayed behind to assist Vénio with land management.

Valéan respectfully placed a stack of reports in front of the crown prince and reported, “Your Highness, the spring planting in the south has mostly finished, and I’ve returned to report on the situation.

“With your encouragement, over one-fifth of the arable land in the Bordeaux region has been planted with potatoes this year.”

“Oh? That much?” Joseph was surprised. He had expected only around 15% of the land to be planted with potatoes. After all, potatoes yield four times the amount of grain. If 15% of the land was planted with potatoes, it could increase the overall harvest by 60%.

Valéan replied, “Many of the smaller nobles and self-sustaining farmers, seeing the large-scale planting by the estate owners, gained confidence in potatoes and also planted a significant amount.”

Joseph nodded in satisfaction and opened the report in front of him. “What about the other regions?”

“Mr. Vénio, following your methods, persuaded many estate owners in the Burgundy region and several southern provinces with his brewing techniques. These regions have planted potatoes on around 15% of their land.”

Joseph saw the figures on the report: Burgundy 16%, Béarn 15%, Foix 15%.

He hadn’t expected Vénio to be so quick. He had even exceeded expectations in completing the task.

Valéan continued, “Your Highness, Brittany and Normandy also planted quite a bit of potatoes, though not as much as in the south.”

Joseph flipped the pages and saw that Brittany had planted 13% and Normandy 11%. While not a large amount, it still represented additional income.

“Has Mr. Vénio gone to the West?”

Valéan shook his head. “Mr. Vénio moved from the south to Provence, but he asked a friend named Jean Sonet to bring some members of the Brewing Association to the West to promote potato planting.”

Jean Sonet? Joseph thought the name sounded familiar. It seemed he would later be one of the core members of the Girondists. It turned out that he and Vénio had started cooperating this early.

When it came to business promotion, the Girondists were indeed highly efficient.

Joseph continued reading the report and found that in the Provence and Dauphiné regions, potato planting accounted for 6%-8% of the land, showing that after finishing in the southern provinces, Vénio had immediately moved on to the southeast.

While Joseph was discussing potatoes with Valéan, Eymond entered the office with a court official and bowed, saying, “Your Highness, the King has sent someone.”

The official stepped forward, smiling broadly, and said, “Your Highness, the King invites you to return to Versailles immediately. He has something important to discuss with you.”

Joseph quickly ordered Eymond to help him change clothes, preparing to meet his father.

As they reached the door, a messenger arrived hurriedly and handed Eymond several letters sealed with wax.

Eymond glanced at the seal and quietly said to Joseph, “Your Highness, it’s from your ‘grain supplier.’”

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