I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 346 Soldiers' lives are the most precious

"For His Royal Highness the Dauphin!"

A first-term student of the Paris Police Academy wearing a sergeant's collar looked at Joseph, touched his chest and responded loudly, as if the Dauphin was doing a routine inspection at the police academy.

"For His Royal Highness the Dauphin!"

"For His Majesty the King!"

"For glory and France!"

The other wounded immediately ignored their injuries and shouted, and their voices echoed throughout the field hospital.

According to their inertial thinking, with the medical conditions of this era, being injured is basically equivalent to death.

What awaits them will be wound infection, and after one to two weeks, they will die in a coma caused by fever.

Although Dr. Perna repeatedly assured them that only two out of ten people would die from infection, the soldiers only thought she was comforting themselves. Therefore, at this time, they all treated His Royal Highness the Dauphin as the last time they met him before his death, and bravely said goodbye to him.

𝟞𝟡𝕤𝕙𝕦𝕩.𝕟𝕖𝕥】

Of course, some young people curled up in their beds in depression, but they also gritted their teeth and did not make any complaints.

Today, the pursuit of honor by the Guards has become a consensus and habit, making them unwilling to show any cowardice.

The staff officer following Joseph immediately read out the list of meritorious and honored people in public, which immediately attracted cheers, as if death was not a big deal in the eyes of these young men.

The Luxembourg people who helped around couldn't help but look sideways, not understanding why these dying soldiers were "crazy"

Such a scene would happen every time Joseph passed a tent or a farmhouse.

More than half of these wounded were cadets from the Paris Police Academy. He often saw them in the police academy, and some of them could even be called by name.

But at this time, seeing the blood-soaked bandages on their missing hands and feet, he couldn't help but feel sad.

In fact, these wounded have already received initial treatment. Yesterday, many soldiers were wailing in the pain of amputation, and their bloody uniforms were thrown everywhere, which was much more tragic than now.

These unknown young people, with their blood and youth, supported the prosperity and stability of France. But they can only live with disability for the rest of their lives.

After leaving the last tent, Joseph turned to look at the Chief of Staff Berthier who was following behind him, and whispered: "Increase the casualty pension by 20%. The wounded soldiers should try to arrange for work in government departments. The living security of the families of the wounded soldiers should also be improved.

"Let everyone know that it is worthwhile to sacrifice for France, and France will not forget them!"

"Yes, Your Highness! "Berthier nodded and took note, without mentioning the tight military budget.

When Joseph left the field hospital, he lowered his head and thought that if the bulletproof vests of later generations could be developed, the casualties of soldiers could be greatly reduced.

In fact, there were primitive bulletproof vests in this era - breastplates.

However, this thing is made of pure iron. In the face of increasingly sophisticated flintlock rifles, the thickness must reach more than 2 mm to play a life-saving role.

The problem is that the weight cannot be controlled at all.

A qualified breastplate weighs between 20 and 25 pounds. This weight does not seem to be exaggerated, but you have to know that this is an additional weight, which is added on the basis of carrying firearms and individual luggage. And it has to be worn all the time when fighting, and even the most physically strong soldiers can hardly hold on for half a day.

In addition, there is the price. The price of an ordinary breastplate is more than 120 livres, and there is no upper limit for high-quality ones.

This has led to only some Cavalrymen who conduct frontal assaults are willing to equip this thing - the weight is borne by the horses anyway, and the equipment of cavalry is very expensive, so they don't need the money for this breastplate - this is the very famous breastplate cavalry.

As for infantry, only a few "supermen" will equip some breastplates, mainly to deter the opposing infantry.

So, can the breastplate be improved with some later technology?

Joseph quickly shook his head slightly.

Whether it is alloy smelting or Kevlar fiber, it is far from the technology that can be played in this era.

And using only steel forging cannot significantly reduce the weight...

Joseph returned to his temporary office and was still at a loss. Perhaps it would be more practical to improve the level of medical and health care.

At this moment, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the Luxembourg soldiers standing at the entrance of the street - actually the police who maintain order - wearing gray square uniforms, and his eyes lit up immediately: "Yes, how did I fall into a thinking error! ”

Who says you need armor to protect against bullets?

Joseph remembered that someone in later generations had calculated that casualties caused by bullets in the torso accounted for 70% of the total casualties of soldiers. In other words, as long as the torso is protected, most casualties can be avoided.

This is also an important reason why breastplates are popular.

And Joseph also knew a more convenient and simple equipment to protect the torso - bulletproof inserts.

In later generations, Taobao sold hundreds of millions of these life-saving gadgets to soldiers all over the world, and they have also been proven to be very effective on many battlefields from Africa to Eastern Europe.

The so-called bulletproof insert is generally a thin plate the size of a tablet computer, which is inserted into the "pocket" on the chest and abdomen of the military uniform when used. It is light in weight, has good bulletproof effect, and can also be inserted only in front of the body, regardless of the back, according to the situation on the battlefield.

In this way, the overall weight can be basically controlled within 10 pounds.

Joseph recalled the structure of the bulletproof insert - a layer of metal sheet, a layer of Kevlar, a layer of ceramic sheet, and another layer of Kevlar, which were bonded together. The manufacturing process was very simple.

Of course, there was definitely no Kevlar in this era, but silk could be used instead. In ancient times, officers used multiple layers of silk clothing to protect against bows and arrows. Because silk has excellent toughness, the effect was still good.

Although silk is not as strong as Kevlar, it only needs to face lead bullets fired by black powder, so the strength should be sufficient.

And special ceramic technology is definitely not available, so only ordinary hard ceramics can be used.

For the same reason that the power of the enemy's weapons is limited, this can also be replaced.

As for the adhesive, Joseph was a little unsure, and he could only ask Lavoisier to help him find a solution.

If it can be made, the unit price of such a "youth version" bulletproof insert will not exceed 5 livres at most. A soldier is equipped with 5 pieces, which is only 25 livres, which is completely affordable.

He hurried back to his office, wrote down the idea of ​​the new equipment, and was about to write a letter to Lavoisier when he saw Emand knocking on the door and bowing, saying, "Your Highness, General Leo wants to see you."

Leo? Joseph smiled. The commander was finally here, so he nodded and said, "Please let him in."