Mala put down his pen and looked up at Demulan, "Camille, you know as well as I do that the rumors about those shameless officers only omit their misdeeds, and hardly ever wrongfully accuse anyone."Besides, what I've written are only 'maybe' and 'signs indicate,' and the officers won't be convicted on this basis. The gendarmes will definitely conduct a detailed investigation. Wouldn't it be great if they actually found hard evidence?"He continued to write the denunciation letter, "What I regret the most is that the Justice Investigation Department doesn't have the capacity to go after those bastards in the army."Indeed, once Joseph had learned that the gendarmerie would be responsible for reviewing the French Guard, he immediately began the next step of his response.He first had Fouché hand over some dirt on French Guard officers to Mala, a large part of which were heard from an officer named Tiru during the previous investigation into the shelling of a farmhouse.In tune with Mal

The Minister of War narrowed his eyes upon hearing this. If it was the queen operating from behind the scenes, then the data on the reporting of the French Guards officers must have been procured by the royal claws—the Secret Police.That includes the case of the shelling of the farmhouse; it was also uncovered by them.This would indeed explain everything. A woman who wants to protect her son truly has no difference from an enraged lioness.He looked at Bertier, "How did you come to know all this?"The other could not help but shrink back a bit, vaguely stating, "General, I naturally have unique sources of information.""What is important is that I can guarantee these messages are reliable, and moreover, I have a way to solve your troubles."Marquis Saint Priest gave him another top to bottom look and then nodded slowly, "All right, let's hear it then, what is your solution?"Bertier quickly recalled his prepared statement, feeling as if he were facing an exam. To be honest, he did n

The selection of regular soldiers was relatively easy, prioritizing those with good records while eliminating those with a history of violating military discipline or having committed crimes. A selection of over 1,700 soldiers, combining an infantry regiment and a cavalry camp, was completed in a matter of days.Screening officers was a more troublesome matter.Following the orders of the Crown Prince, Colonel Bertier eliminated all the senior officers, leaving only captains at the highest rank.There was no need to worry about a lack of intermediate and senior officers because among the captains, many had the capability to serve in higher positions but were held back simply due to their humble origins or lack of money.Promoting some of these outstanding individuals was far more effective than relying on the inherited officers for combat capabilities.Among the remaining officers, those of high noble birth were also dismissed, and a further selection was made to remove those of low c

As Commander Bertier of the Guard Corps announced the start of the joint drill, the military and the police quickly hustled to the center of the training field under their respective commanders' lead.The drill sequence had been arranged well in advance, comprising four parts: formations, shooting, marching, and live combat exercises.The first on the agenda was formation drill.The Guard Corps, with their many years of military experience, should have held an advantage in this area. However, they had just reorganized. Despite Bertier's efforts to group soldiers from the same units together, many were still unfamiliar with their new companies, even the drummers and standard-bearers.The basics like standing at attention, marching in step, turning, and rifle drills were manageable, displaying the professional soldiers' poise and easily outperforming the police officers, but when it came to switching formations, especially while on the move, several unpracticed companies started to falt

The current situation in France is such that it should thank Providence simply for being able to pay the interest on its debts, as for repaying the principal? Ha, one doesn't even dare to dream of it in one's sleep.Joseph's face tightened as he shook his head, thinking to himself that it would be great if all those banks that lent to the government could just go bankrupt...Besides debt interest, another major "bleeding point" of France's finances is taxation.The French Government now entrusts most of its tax collection to "Tax Farmers." Every year, Tax Farmers pay a lump sum to the government, after which they are free to collect taxes.Estimates by later historians suggest that the actual amount of taxes collected by Tax Farmers each year exceeds the fee they pay to the government by more than one-eighth.Based on last year's tax revenue in France which totaled 500 million livres, one-eighth amounts to forty million. This money goes straight into the pockets of the Tax Farmers.In