Eagle’s Glory

Chapter 675 291, Conspiracy

"You, like me, still have a heartbeat!"

Major Mipe's words shocked the soldiers present.

To be honest, they are indeed quite dissatisfied with the status quo. They are not taken seriously, and they are wasted their time by being beaten to a place like this, with no hope of promotion. Naturally, no one wants to be like this for the rest of their lives. However, even if they are dissatisfied, they can't find a way out. After all, promotion in peacetime is a carrot and a pit. When there are vacancies, it is natural that those who are more reliable and more connected will be promoted. Naturally, there will be no promotion for them. share.

But now, long-term peace has been achieved between the countries, and there is really no talk of war. Naturally, there is no chance to work hard in exchange for merit, so we can only silently accept the status quo.

The future can be seen at a glance. The natural choice for ordinary people is to mess around. They don't do anything that is not part of their job. They do the things that are part of their job half-heartedly. When they have nothing to do, they get together to drink and play cards. Naturally, it becomes normal.

Not only France at this time, other countries also experienced the phenomenon of "passivation" or "corruption" of the military.

If everyone was "passivated" together, it wouldn't be a big problem, because in this era, most European powers still retained the tradition of nobles commanding their armies.

During the Napoleonic Wars, in order to cope with increasingly large-scale wars, various countries had to expand their armies and recruit conscripts on a large scale. The proportion of officers who were not from the upper class gradually increased; and after the war, the great powers carried out corresponding disarmament , reduced the size of the army and re-strengthened the control of the aristocracy and upper class over the army.

For example, in the United Kingdom at this time, within the military, promotion of military rank required not only birth qualifications and years of service, but also a sum of money to purchase a position. In other words, once a vacancy became available, the officer at the next level would be promoted. Can choose whether he buys the position.

This job sales system is open and clearly priced. The price of an infantry second lieutenant's certificate of rank is 450 pounds; if it is a lieutenant, he must add 250 pounds (a total of 650 pounds); if he wants a higher one For a captain's certificate, you have to pay another £1,100 (a total of £1,750); for a major's certificate, you have to pay an additional £1,400 (a total of £3,150); for a lieutenant colonel's certificate, you have to pay an additional £1,300 (a total of £3,150). Around £4,500).

Therefore, if an officer wants to climb to the rank of colonel in the army, he will have to spend a total of 4,500 pounds on the military rank certificate. This is undoubtedly a huge investment. In this era, 4,500 pounds is enough to buy a mansion and a large piece of real estate; it is also enough to pay for a Senior technical worker bonus is 100 years of annual salary.

It is clear,

This system uses money as the "threshold" to monopolize senior military positions to middle- and upper-class children; and those who have spent such a large amount of money to climb to the top of the military will naturally try every means to spend their money. Then get it back, so corruption is rampant within the army, and overstaffing becomes an inevitable result.

In the original historical line, from the end of the Napoleonic War in 1815, it was not until 1853 that Britain once again entered the war (fighting the Crimean War with the Russian Empire). In the early days of the war, the British Army's already decayed war machine, The performance was chaotic, the command system was ineffective, and the logistics were in a mess. Only after suffering heavy losses did they adapt to the war again.

After all, France has a special feature compared to Britain - the Great Revolution has completely washed away the "old ruling order". In the bloody storm, the noble children were either killed or forced into exile, and the army was completely rebuilt by the Republic. , most of the officers inside were re-promoted by it (Napoleon and his marshals are the most outstanding representatives).

After the restoration of the Bourbon dynasty, no matter how much it wanted to restore the old order, it was unable to turn its army into its original model. It was impossible for it to disband its army and then spend more than ten or twenty years to rebuild one. In the end, it could only He pinched his nose and accepted this army unchanged, which was not created and cultivated by him.

Although after the Restoration, the Bourbons purged a large number of officers who were considered "politically unreliable" and promoted those who were willing to be loyal to the royal family, they also purged all the original officers and relied solely on aristocratic children. To control the army, this cannot be achieved in a short period of time. It will take at least two or three generations to achieve.

So this became a big problem - the main body of the army had no feelings for the dynasty.

The last time the Bourbons won a war on the European continent, it dates back to the War of Polish Succession in 1733. It has been 100 years since then, and for ordinary people, 100 years ago is almost the same as 1,000 years ago. What a difference, few people are still cheering for the Battle of Guasdala.

Marengo, Austerlitz, Jena, Friedland... these glorious names have nothing to do with the Bourbon family, and all honors will not be recorded in the name of Iris.

For these soldiers who grew up during the Bourbon dynasty, the Revolution, and the Empire, it had neither royal favor nor glory, and it was impossible to gain their respect.

The dynasty could not completely deny them positions, nor could it really give them opportunities for promotion and wealth. It could only continue to retain them with a distant and indifferent attitude, hoping that time would slowly erase all these annoying traces;

And these soldiers know this very well, and they naturally perform their duties with a distant and indifferent attitude, never worrying about how to defend the dynasty. Many of them have even been secretly looking forward to another big reshuffle. , drive away the Wang family and their lackeys, and make room for themselves.

Marshal Soult, Major Mipe and others, as members of the alienated and excluded group, of course also know the psychology of the old robes very well. They know very well that as long as they arouse their ambitions and eliminate them The fear of "killing oneself by striking an egg against a stone" can persuade them to participate in rebellion with almost no effort.

Just as he expected, when the opportunity came, everyone present was very interested in listening.

Seeing that he had aroused the emotions of the people present, the major was secretly proud, but he did not show this pride, but continued to show the excitement stimulated by alcohol.

"You are all brave people. I have witnessed some of your heroic deeds with my own eyes. I know that you are all heroes who are not afraid of death! But not being afraid of death does not mean you are stupid. No one likes to lose his life meaninglessly, heroes. More than a coward, we hope to die a well-deserved death! The Marshal and I understand your thoughts, and we also ask you to believe that the Marshal values ​​your lives just as he did in the past, and has never thought of taking a rash risk and wasting your lives in vain. If you entrust your life to him, he will not betray your trust!"

After appeasing everyone's emotions, the major continued, "What exactly does the marshal need from you? He needs you to unite and keep in touch like today, control your subordinates at the same time, and select those who are loyal or dare to do something big. Then wait for the order at any time. When the time comes, the order will be conveyed to you, and then you will lead your people to gather at the border to welcome the emperor we are loyal to!"

"Hi!" The major's words caused a commotion. Some people whistled, and some drank heavily. Then everyone continued to stare at the major, waiting for his further explanation.

To their surprise, however, there was no further explanation at all.

"Is that all?" The older officer just now couldn't help but ask.

"Yes." The major nodded without hesitation. "That's all the Marshal needs you to do."

"Ha..." This time, he was greeted by boos full of surprise and disappointment.

"The marshal may have overestimated our capabilities... We are not politicians, and we didn't have any plans before." The officer frowned, "If this is the case, then we will just be headless flies, which is even worse. The point is that we are a mob. Let alone marching to Paris, we will be bombarded to pieces with cannons before we can even reach Franges..."

His words aroused the agreement of others.

Although their ambition makes them willing to take risks and participate in a conspiracy, no one is willing to do it if they die in vain.

"You... still haven't understood? How can you be such headless chickens?" The major interrupted their noise impatiently, "Don't you think that after welcoming the King of Rome, you shouldn't just follow his orders? Then At that time, the marshal no longer needs to interfere with his judgment, and he no longer has the authority to command you..."

The major's words once again made the whole place fall into silence, and everyone suddenly fell into deep thought.

Logically speaking, there seems to be nothing wrong. Since we have welcomed the King of Rome, we should obey his orders.

However, it seems a bit strange if you think about it carefully.

"The King of Rome is still too young..." Someone questioned in a low voice, "I'm not questioning his right to command us, but does he really understand what should be done?"

Major Mipe knew that this was the most critical moment of the plan. It was at this time that he could not show any wavering, otherwise he might have lost all his efforts.

"Some people, even if they are only teenagers, can accomplish things that mediocre people cannot accomplish in several lifetimes." He said loudly to everyone without hesitation, "Everyone, have you ever seen the King of Rome?"

Everyone naturally shook their heads.

"You haven't seen it, but I have, so I am impressed. I sincerely believe that he is a genius. He is a person blessed by God. He has talents that surpass us. We must not judge based on his age. Him! Don’t forget, whose son he is? Can you guess his talent based on mortal blood?!”

The major's question left everyone speechless again.

Although this statement is not very convincing, in this era, many people still do this - otherwise, the rulers would not think about how to deify themselves every day.

In the silence of everyone, the major continued his lecture, "Although we didn't talk much, I clearly felt that he was wise and sober. Every word he said was to the point and had something to say. He had very complete thinking. He knows how to lead our country back to prosperity, and he also knows how to let those who are loyal and capable sit in the seats they should sit in... Really, although I usually pride myself on being a smart person, but in front of him, But I easily felt my own insignificance, so I made up my mind at that time to follow his career. Only the Bonaparte family can control this country! After many correspondences with him, the Marshal said, He was also full of praise for him. He also believed that the King of Rome is the hope of our country... Yes, he is young, but isn't that better? We have been sinking in the dead quagmire for too long, it is time Let God use those young hands to pull this country up!"

Although everyone understood that the major's words were definitely exaggerated and inaccurate, they couldn't help but be shaken when they saw that he praised the King of Rome so highly and repeatedly reminded everyone that the marshal also judged in the same way.

Could it be that he really has this ability?

"Really, I know you will only be doubtful when I say this, but if you see him, you will think the same as me." The major continued to speak impassionedly, "I can assure you that as long as he arrives, When the time comes, you gather around him and move towards Paris together. From now on, not only will Paris be ours, but the entire country will also be ours!"

After finishing speaking, the major picked up the wine glass and took another big sip to moisten his throat.

And these soldiers were whispering to each other again.

In fact, the major was also playing tricks. The more important reason why the marshal's "help" was only until he received Aigron at the border was that he wanted to keep the room for him to withdraw at any time - this was also the deal between Aigron and Marshal Soult. conditions allowed therein.

The major is now using the title of marshal to encourage everyone. If it succeeds in the end, then the marshal can certainly deserve the great credit of "supporting His Majesty"; but if it fails in the end, then the major will shoulder all the responsibilities and publicly declare this Everything was done by him using the name of Marshal to deceive others and pull the Marshal out of the whole conspiracy.

This was also the last thing he could do to repay the marshal for his years of cultivation.

Of course, everyone present did not know what was going on. They only saw the Marshal's stance in supporting the Bonaparte family from the Major's attitude. And it was precisely because of Marshal Soult's illustrious reputation that they believed that this conspiracy was There is a plan and there is hope that it will come true.

After all, there is no precedent in past history. Didn’t General Monk quietly welcome back Charles II and restore the Stuart dynasty?

At that time, General Monk was made a Duke by the grateful Charles II and took charge of the national army. It is conceivable that if this happens, the marshal will also receive the same or even higher reward.

What about us? The answer seems self-evident.