Make France Great Again-Chapter 912 - 903: Establishing the Military Police

Chapter 912: Chapter 903: Establishing the Military Police

After several rounds of games, the luncheon finally began around 2 p.m.

Jerome Bonaparte, Vayan, Nie’er, and Madam Aline entered the dining room one after another, and at the enthusiastic invitation of Minister Vayan, Jerome Bonaparte, being the guest, sat in the main seat, which was originally reserved for the host Minister Vayan.

Afterward, the butler brought in an unopened bottle of wine, and judging by the bottle and mouth, this bottle must have been taken from the cellar of the mansion.

The butler carefully placed the unopened bottle of wine on a small trolley beside it, then used a corkscrew (which was invented as early as 1795) to pull out the slightly dusty wooden cork.

The next step was to decant the aged wine.

A servant carefully carried a decanter made of glass to the butler, who took the decanter from the servant and then carefully tilted the opened bottle of wine along the rim of the decanter into it.

Red wine flowed slowly into the decanter until less than one-tenth of the original amount remained in the bottle, at which point the butler stopped pouring, placed the decanter filled with wine on the trolley, bowed with a smile to the people present, and then left the dining room.

About five minutes later, the butler reappeared.

He no longer had the wine bottle in his hand, but behind him were four three-tiered trolleys, each layer of which was covered by two covered dishes.

The butler returned to Jerome Bonaparte’s side, respectfully saying to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty!"

"Let us begin!" Jerome Bonaparte responded leisurely.

The servants responsible for pushing the trolleys, upon hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s answer, uniformly retrieved the dishes from the trolleys and placed them in front of Jerome Bonaparte and the others, then simultaneously opened the lids on top.

The first dish was the French traditional delicacy of foie gras. As the aroma constantly wafted into his nose, Jerome Bonaparte cautiously moved his Adam’s apple.

Since morning until now, Jerome Bonaparte had not eaten for nearly half a day.

Following this, the second and third dishes appeared successively, each a traditional French delicacy, yet incredibly appetizing at the moment.

After all the dishes were served, the butler carefully poured the wine, which had been in the decanter for nearly ten minutes, into each person’s glass.

Everyone had a full glass of red wine, and Jerome Bonaparte raised his glass to those present and said, "Let’s toast to the prosperity of the Second Empire and the thriving of our army!"

Minister Vayan, Chief of Staff Nie’er, and Madam Aline likewise raised their glasses, and Minister Vayan, being the host, added, "And to France for having an outstanding monarch like His Majesty the Emperor! Cheers!"

"Indeed!" Chief of Staff Nie’er echoed, "Cheers to His Majesty the Emperor!"

With a slight smile, Jerome Bonaparte clinked his glass with the others, producing a pleasant sound.

After downing the wine in his glass, Jerome Bonaparte immediately savored the lingering fruit aroma between his lips and teeth.

Turning to the butler beside him, he asked, "Which year was this wine cellar entered?"

The butler looked surprised, quickly responding to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, this bottle of wine was buried underground during the third year, in the aftermath of the First Empire being schemed against by the pretender Louis XVIII."

Upon hearing this, Jerome Bonaparte smacked his lips, "So it’s been almost 40 years!"

"Indeed!" replied the butler respectfully.

"What a pity!" Jerome Bonaparte sighed, speaking to himself.

"Your Majesty, wine is meant to be drunk!" Minister Vayan thought Jerome Bonaparte regretted the spoilage of the forty-year-old wine and quickly replied, "Only a person like you tasting it can make it more meaningful, more valuable!"

"No! That’s not what I meant." Jerome Bonaparte shook his head at Minister Vayan, "I regret such an excellent wine waited thirty years to be opened! Truly a pity!"

Minister Vayan quickly understood that Jerome Bonaparte was using the wine as a metaphor, hastily responding, "Your Majesty, it’s not a pity, not at all!

The older the wine, the better the savory experience it offers."

"Indeed!" Jerome Bonaparte chuckled, turned to the butler beside him, and said, "Bring me another glass!"

"Yes!" The butler promptly poured another glass for Jerome Bonaparte.

Both Minister Vayan and Nie’er also poured themselves a glass, and the group toasted once more.

After two glasses, Jerome Bonaparte declined the butler’s offer to pour more wine.

Jerome Bonaparte, putting down his wine glass, picked up the knife and fork placed on the plate and carefully cut off a piece of steaming foie gras, chewing it thoroughly.

After swallowing the foie gras, Jerome Bonaparte’s face showed a satisfied smile, jokingly saying: "Minister Vayan, I remember you just told me there was nothing to eat at your place!

This foie gras looks quite good to me, its level almost surpasses the chefs at Tuileries Palace!"

"Your Majesty, you flatter me!" Minister Vayan humbly responded to Jerome Bonaparte.

Madam Aline, sitting next to Minister Vayan, also spoke up with enthusiasm, saying to Jerome Bonaparte: "If Your Majesty is willing, you are welcome to dine at the residence at any time!

Everyone at the residence welcomes your arrival!"

Hearing Madam Aline’s response, Jerome Bonaparte’s expression turned indifferent, and then he casually replied, "Hmm!"

Minister Vayan, sitting nearby, gave a fierce glare at this restless woman, and Madam Aline, realizing her faux pas, could only lower her head and remain silent.

During the next half hour of dining, Madam Aline did not say another word.

Jerome Bonaparte also said little due to Madam Aline’s presence.

After the banquet ended, Jerome Bonaparte, Nier, and Minister Vayan went to the study in the residence, and Madam Aline, with Jerome Bonaparte’s clear refusal, did not follow them inside.

Seated on the sofa, the three began to discuss the current military system and tactical framework of the French Empire’s army.

Although Minister Vayan had come to agree that the current tactical framework was unsuitable for the French Army, he still had doubts about Nier’s improved skirmish line tactics.

After all, the chaos caused by the skirmish line tactics during the First Republic was all too evident.

Only if the skirmish line tactics could prove themselves in the upcoming battles with the Kingdom of Morocco would he fully support Nier’s tactics.

Jerome Bonaparte, of course, understood Minister Vayan’s concerns and nodded in agreement.

Subsequently, Jerome Bonaparte, along with Nier and Minister Vayan, discussed the issue of breech-loading rifles.

Nier and Minister Vayan believed that although the French Army now had the faster-firing breech-loading rifles, they still could not neglect training, and thus they proposed setting an essential marksmanship standard within the army to effectively ensure accuracy on the battlefield.

However, Jerome Bonaparte was not overly concerned about the accuracy of the breech-loading rifles.

After all, in the context of total war in the future, the current 550,000 French troops (actually a bit over 500,000, as nearly 50,000 were already targets for downsizing) would rapidly expand to five or six times their original size, in which case the original units would be scattered, rendering shooting precision meaningless.

Nevertheless, Jerome Bonaparte agreed with Nier and Minister Vayan’s opinion.

More training in ordinary times would certainly be beneficial.

At least it would keep the soldiers from having nothing to do, as inactive troops would otherwise indulge in drunkenness or seek out those in the sex trade for some life excitement.

The world had not yet provided military personnel with trivial comforts.

With this in mind, Jerome Bonaparte once again suggested to Nier and Vayan that each military district should regularly engage in exchanges and competitions to maintain the army’s combat effectiveness!

Nier and Vayan also agreed with Jerome Bonaparte’s suggestion.

Simultaneously, Jerome Bonaparte proposed establishing a military police force to manage army discipline, primarily responsible for inspecting the discipline of legitimate military districts.

Nier and Minister Vayan opposed this suggestion, believing that the military police would undermine the internal unity of the army.

Jerome Bonaparte, of course, recognized that their so-called image of army unity was just an empty phrase; they merely feared that the military police might become a fearsome organization above them.

Back during the Napoleonic Empire, the military police were famously controlled by Fouché, who, like a viper, spied on everyone in the army.

Of course, this also included Emperor Napoleon at the time.

Hence, Jerome Bonaparte immediately told Nier and Vayan that the command of the disciplinary military police would belong to the French General Staff, taking orders from the General Staff and the Ministry of War’s above-division-level commands.

Only then did Nier and Vayan reluctantly agree to Jerome Bonaparte’s suggestion.