Chapter 317: The Strasbourg Military Reform Problem
In the eyes of the new generation of Parisians, Jerome Bonaparte is no longer a person, but a symbol, a symbol that represents France's past glory.
Now Jérôme Bonaparte seems to have linked his own destiny to that of France. He is trying to prove to the people of Paris that as long as the empire reappears in France, it is the will of all the French people.
In order to let the citizens of Paris understand the "will" of other provinces, Jérôme Bonaparte, while assuming an "approachable" attitude towards the people of Paris, also worked tirelessly to travel to various provinces in France to seek support.
In early October, Jérôme Bonaparte set off for a tour of the eastern provinces of France, passing through Nancy and other strategic locations to the military station in Strasbourg.
An unexpected scene happened at the Strasbourg military platform. When the train carrying Jérôme Bonaparte had just stopped at the Strasbourg military platform, a group of people wearing uniforms in the distance saw
Hussars in First Empire uniforms approached the military platform and rode at extremely fast speeds to the train.
The situation in front of them was beyond all expectations in the carriage, and the atmosphere suddenly dropped to freezing point. The infantrymen responsible for protecting Jérôme Bonaparte in the carriage almost thought it was a mutiny.
Just when they were about to target the imperial hussars outside the train and pull the trigger, Jérôme Bonaparte stopped them. He calmly adjusted his Lev uniform, put on his Napoleon three-cornered hat and said: "I believe
The soldiers of the Empire will never point their guns at their Emperor!"
After saying that, Jérôme Bonaparte ignored Morny's objection and got out of the car alone and loudly rebuked the hussars in front of him: "What are you doing! You want to kill your emperor."
The hussars looked stern and panicked. The leader, a student-looking leader (who looked more like him), waved his hand quickly and ordered all the hussars to dismount, and then came to Jerome Bonaparte alone.
, saluted and said loudly: "Your Majesty! I am a student of the Cavalry Section of the Military Academy of Strasbourg, and I have come here to greet you on the orders of Commander Renault!"
Hearing the answer from the student in front of him, Jérôme Bonaparte finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the coup was not just an impromptu performance. He patted his shoulder and said, "You should have told me as soon as possible!"
Then, he pointed at the soldiers in the carriage behind him and said, "Did you see that you almost became the victims of their guns?"
Only then did the cavalry science students discover that the soldiers who emerged from Jérôme Bonaparte's carriage were all holding the latest model of Miné rifles. In addition to the weapons used for commanding troops and slashing and killing, the hussars had in their hands
There is nothing else that can be used for counterattack except the command knife.
"I..." The hussar swallowed subconsciously. He couldn't help but feel scared in his heart. He almost had a brush with death.
At this moment, the voice of Strasbourg Commander Renault came from behind the hussar: "Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"
The group of student soldiers separated from both sides, and Commander Renault appeared together with his deputy commander and chief of staff.
The expressions of the three people were slightly panicked. Jérôme Bonaparte's early arrival was obviously beyond their expectations. They originally thought he would arrive at 10 a.m., but who would have expected to arrive early at 9:47?
I originally wanted to surprise the ruling party, but now it seems that I am lucky that it didn't turn into a shock.
"Your Excellency, I am extremely sorry! We really didn't think of you..." Commander Renault said condescendingly to Jerome Bonaparte, but was interrupted by Jerome Bonaparte: "Stop talking.
!”
Renio remained silent, feeling uneasy and regretful in his heart. Why did he bother to listen to these two guys in the first place?
Now it's self-defeating and the surprise has turned into a fright. The ruling minister will probably punish him severely.
Jérôme Bonaparte, who was standing there, looked at Commander Reignault up and down. In his impression, the last time he came to Strasbourg, Commander Reignault did not seem to be as old as he is now.
The troops and depots in Strasbourg are indeed a waste of human energy.
By the way, since the Legislative Council established the system of depots and conscription, the First Army of the Seine Department and Strasbourg became the first places to be reorganized.
For this reason, Jérôme Bonaparte often wrote letters to urge Renault to supervise the reorganization. Looking at Renault's gray temples and wrinkled crow's feet, Jérôme Bonaparte sighed and patted Renault's hand.
Shoulder said solemnly: "Thank you!"
"Ah! This is what I should do!" Commander Lenio responded quickly, feeling relieved in his heart.
Judging from the current situation, the government does not want to punish him for this incident.
After comforting Commander Renault, Jerome Bonaparte looked at the group of hussars who greeted him. From their faces, Jerome Bonaparte saw vigor, and he said impassionedly in French
: "...You are an excellent army. From you, I see the future of France..."
Jérôme Bonaparte's speech made these anxious military academy students finally take the letter to heart. It seems that the ruling lord has no intention of pursuing their problems.
After Jérôme Bonaparte finished his speech, a shout of "Long live the Empire, long live Napoleon" came from the hussars.
Jerome Bonaparte waved to this group of "German" French people. In Jerome Bonaparte's eyes, they were undoubtedly the most loyal people to France.
After the crisis was resolved, Jérôme Bonaparte, led by Commander Renault, got into the carriage that had been prepared and prepared to go to the hotel prepared for him by Renault.
When the carriage was halfway through, Jérôme Bonaparte wanted to go to the Strasbourg Military Academy to see him.
General Renault, who originally wanted to find an opportunity to take Jerome Bonaparte to the Strasbourg Military Academy, immediately heard that Jerome Bonaparte wanted to go to the University of Strasbourg.
Obey Jerome Bonaparte's order and lead Jerome Bonaparte to visit the Strasbourg Military Academy.
While the carriage was heading to the Military Academy of Strasbourg, Jérôme Bonaparte warmly received the leader of the hussars just now and listened to him tell about the history of the Military Academy of Strasbourg and the scale of the school.
The carriage slowly arrived at the gate of the Strasbourg Military Academy. After receiving the news, the dean and provost quickly organized people to welcome him.
Led by the principal and others, Jérôme Bonaparte visited the colleges of cavalry, infantry, artillery and "civil engineering" and shook hands with them.
On the occasion of parting, Jérôme Bonaparte waved goodbye to them.
After leaving the Strasbourg Military Academy, Jérôme Bonaparte stayed in a luxurious hotel under the arrangement of Commander Renault.
Jérôme Bonaparte, who was tired from traveling all the way, still did not choose to rest. Instead, he called Reignaud and asked about the military reform situation in Strasbourg.
"Your Majesty, Major General Niel's military reforms are good, but there is a problem!" Commander Renault expressed his views tactfully.
"What's the problem?" Jérôme Bonaparte asked. He believed that Commander Renault was definitely not talking nonsense.
"That's it! According to Niel's military reform plan, each military station needs 30-40 military officials responsible for overall planning and dispatch. There are only two military academies in Strasbourg, and we simply can't get enough.
manpower, and he looks down upon the junior officers in our army, thinking that they are the "dregs" of the army, we..." Commander Renault told Jerome Bonaparte his story with a grimace.
Difficulties.
Niel's military reform will not only lay off a large number of military commanders who have exceeded their age, but also carry out large-scale rectification of military depots.
The most critical thing is that there are only two military academies in Strasbourg. Even if they work hard, they cannot produce enough military management talents.
"This is indeed a problem..." Jerome Bonaparte gently pressed his temples. After visiting Strasbourg, Jerome Bonaparte also discovered that Strasbourg's military talent reserve was insufficient.
The problem.
Strasbourg is different from Paris. It has prestigious military academies such as Saint-Cyr Military Academy and Ecole Polytechnique, and the number of military commanders produced every year will certainly not be able to meet the demand.
Most of the officers who passed the actual combat draft from Algeria are illiterate. If they are asked to charge into battle, each of them will be more brave than the other. It will be a waste of energy for them to calm down and truly study the tactics.
Of course, this is not just a problem for France. All countries except Prussia have this problem, and their problems are much more serious than France's.
After Jerome Bonaparte considered it for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said: "The construction of the military station must continue! Order every junior officer stationed in Strasbourg to learn how to read maps and write letters, and the army to set up literacy classes.
The assault class asks those guys to learn *********, what if they don't want to?" Commander Renio didn't think those guys would calm down and study.
"You have to drag me to study! Anyone who is unwilling to study in depth will have his military membership revoked and leave the army!" Jérôme Bonaparte decided to do what he would do a hundred years later.
Since the soft one is not enough, then go straight to the hard one.
You can find out about the compulsory study class.
"Yes!" Commander Renault nodded to express his understanding.
Jérôme Bonaparte stood up and paced back and forth twice, then continued: "It is absolutely not enough to have only two military academies in Strasbourg! At least 5 more... ah no! 2 higher military academies must be established.
colleges and 4 medium-sized colleges and universities! For those who are willing to join the military, we should provide tuition incentives!"
"But... the local finance of Strasbourg..." Commander Renault politely reached out for money.
"When I go back, I will immediately order the Ministry of Finance to allocate funds!"