The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 133

Chapter 133: Newly Appointed Colonel Berthier

Berthier took a deep breath and walked into the Crown Prince's bedroom, passing between the guards. He immediately bowed to Joseph with his hand over his chest:

"Your Royal Highness, is your health improving?"

Joseph sat up on his sickbed, smiling and nodding:

"I am much better, Colonel. I am glad you came to see me."

He then asked Éymond to dismiss the onlookers, citing his need for rest.

"Colonel?" Berthier froze for a moment, thinking it was a slip of the tongue, and quickly reminded him in a soft voice, "Your Highness, I am only a major..."

Joseph seemed not to have heard and gestured toward a chair beside the bed. "Please, sit."

"Oh, by the way, do you remember when I mentioned military reform to you?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Berthier nodded.

Although the Crown Prince had only briefly mentioned the military exercises at the police academy, Berthier often visited the academy afterward and listened to Dubois explain the Prince's military reform plan in detail.

"I was particularly impressed by the 'military service regulations,' 'promotion system,' and 'the establishment of a general staff' among the proposed reforms."

"Oh? It seems you are quite familiar with the details of the military reform." Joseph nodded enthusiastically. "So, what do you think of my military reform plan?"

Berthier, noticing that Joseph had not mentioned the French Guards, let out a small sigh of relief. He immediately said what he had been wanting to express since his discussion with Dubois:

"Your Highness, while France appears to have a powerful military, in reality... forgive my frankness, it is more like a decaying tree on the inside. The defeat in the Seven Years' War is the best proof of this."

"Our generals have obviously realized this and have made some changes, but I believe it is far from enough."

"I participated in the Anglo-American War. Even when facing the British Army, our troops had no advantage."

"And your military reform plan has almost corrected all the deficiencies in the current army and proposed many innovations, which is exactly what France needs right now!"

Joseph immediately followed up:

"Then, do you think it is possible to implement military reform now?"

Berthier furrowed his brows and hesitated for a moment before shaking his head:

"It should be very difficult to carry out. Just adjusting the promotion system would be met with opposition from almost all the officers."

Currently, France's officers were firmly controlled by the nobility. It was extremely difficult for commoners to enter military academies. Even if they did manage to enroll, most of the programs were engineering or technical subjects, and they would have little to no exposure to combat command.

After graduating from military academies and entering the army, even if a commoner had exceptional talent, it would be nearly impossible for them to rise above the rank of lieutenant.

In fact, not even lower-tier nobles could become majors. In addition to the suppression and exclusion from hereditary military nobles, the costs of promotion were beyond the means of smaller nobles.

Yes, in present-day France, military officers had to pay a large sum of money for promotion. The higher the rank, the greater the cost. Even some of the larger noble families, once they reached the rank of colonel, would find themselves unable to pay the required fees, often getting stuck at their current rank for years.

Furthermore, like in the bureaucracy, military officer positions could also be bought outright. These purchased officers had the same command authority as those who came from official military academies!

These "bought officers" made up about one-third of the French army.

This meant that if a full-scale war broke out, at least one-third of the French soldiers would be led by entirely inexperienced officers. The results could easily be imagined.

One of the key points in Joseph's military reform was to promote officers solely based on merit and military achievements, regardless of their background. Additionally, no fees would be required for promotion. The sale of military positions would also be strictly prohibited.

This would undoubtedly allow more talent to rise to the top of the French army, but it would also break the military aristocracy's monopoly on officer ranks, and they would certainly resist the reform with all their might.

"Yes, you are right," Joseph said solemnly. "Not just the promotion system, but reforms in weapon procurement, recruitment, and the military merit system will all face strong opposition from those people."

Berthier's expression darkened.

Although he came from a minor noble background, he was one of the victims of the current military system. He had almost had to borrow money to secure his current rank of major. This time, in order to join the French Guards, he had exhausted all his savings but still fell short. If not for the Crown Prince's generous assistance, he would have been forced to return to Soissons in disgrace by now.

He spoke quietly: "Yes, Your Highness. So, military reform will be a very long process..."

"Not necessarily," Joseph suddenly smiled. "For example, right now, there is an opportunity to take the first step in implementing my military reform."

He turned to Berthier: "Of course, I will need your help."

Berthier immediately rose and bowed: "Your Highness, I am at your service."

"Thank you, Major Berthier. First of all, you will be promoted to Colonel of the infantry regiment."

"Ah?"

...

"Baron de Bréteuil says you have a way to calm things down?" Minister of War Saint-Priest looked skeptically at the man before him.

Had it not been for being out of options, he certainly would not have believed that a mid-level officer could solve the current problem.

He never expected that the investigation of the French Guards would evolve into something like this.

The perpetrators of the artillery attack on the farmhouse, such as Théodore, had already been handed over to the military court for prosecution, but it did nothing to diminish the public dissatisfaction with the French Guards. Especially after news of the Crown Prince's assassination attempt spread, the people of Paris were even more enraged.

The Crown Prince, who had led police reforms to improve security in Paris, enjoyed a high reputation among the citizens, and this led to growing protests outside the French Guards' camp. The people, especially from the Saint-Antoine district, kept throwing mud at the military camp and cursing loudly, almost storming the gates.

Outside his office, there was also a crowd of noblewomen demanding a thorough investigation of the officers who had been involved in the attempt on the Prince's life, to the point where he had not dared to show his face for a long time.

Meanwhile, the military was pressuring him to protect the officers of the French Guards...

Amidst his mounting stress, the Minister of Justice had informed him that this mid-level officer named Berthier might help him resolve the situation. Desperate, he had decided to meet with him.

Sitting across from him, Berthier looked a little nervous:

"General, do you know why there have been continuous reports about the officers of the French Guards, even implicating the tragedy at the Axell farmhouse?"

"Oh? Do you know something about it?"

Berthier immediately followed the script provided by Joseph:

"Yes, General. From what I know, it is because Her Majesty the Queen is extremely angry about the Crown Prince's injury and wants to vent her anger by punishing the officers of the French Guards."

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