Chapter 309: Chapter 305: Far East Foreign Legion
"But what?"
Dico’s face showed a joyful expression. Before receiving Jerome Bonaparte’s affirmative response, he never imagined he could obtain two battalions of "Zouaf" troops at once. The most ideal situation was merely to gain the authority to cooperate with a "Zouaf" battalion. He hurriedly asked Jerome Bonaparte.
The reason for Dico’s intense emotional fluctuation was fundamentally due to the "discrimination" against the navy by a traditional army power.
For traditional land power France, the navy was only an existence that added luster to their victories.
The face-to-face confrontation on the European battlefield had always relied on the army, and the value of the navy was negligible.
Not to mention during the Napoleonic Wars, a series of operations by the French navy completely deprived France of the opportunity to land in Britain, subsequently giving Britain the chance to defeat France. With the frenzied financial backing of Britain, France suffered attacks by an "armed to the teeth" alliance.
If it weren’t for the invasion of Algeria in 1830, and the Orleans Kingdom’s distrust in the army post-1830, the situation of the navy would have been even more awkward than it is now.
In any country, there is a subtle opposition between the navy and the army. Although the sea-land opposition is not as extreme as Showa Japan’s navy building tanks and the army building fleets, it’s still very difficult to get the army to transfer its elite forces to the navy.
Even in the alternate world line of France, only after the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 did the navy and army "work together," with the government leading the focus shift to temporarily let the people fade the fact of the ceding of Alsace-Lorraine and wholeheartedly engage in colonial expansion.
Of course, this method of shifting attention only lasted for a few short years.
After the colonial cabinet government collapsed, the people once again remembered the humiliation France suffered back then...
"I will order the Ministry of War to dispatch two battalions of ’Zouaf’ troops for you. However, the navy must guarantee to me! Establish a qualified force in the Far East! This force will belong to the Foreign Legion!" Jerome Bonaparte calmly demanded from Dico.
"This..." Dico glanced at Jerome Bonaparte, showing hesitation on his face.
Frankly speaking, the conditions proposed by Jerome Bonaparte were indeed tempting, but having the navy train troops for the army was somewhat... how should I say it! Unpleasant!
"How about it, Minister Dico!" Jerome Bonaparte deliberately urged Dico to make a decision quickly.
"I agree with you!" Dico ultimately consented to Jerome Bonaparte’s request.
"By the way! When forming the Foreign Legion in the Far East, it’s best to recruit some people who can teach them to read and write! They may be hardworking, but their discipline..." Thinking of how a certain Sichuan army in the Republic later taught soldiers to stand in formation using the slogans of "straw shoes" and "cloth shoes," Jerome Bonaparte felt a headache.
He simply left this troublesome matter to the Ministry of the Navy, believing that Dico would surely train excellent soldiers for him.
At this moment, Dico did not realize how despairing a task he was taking on.
When the fleet arrived at the Pudong French Concession in the Far East, it began planning the Far East Foreign Legion under the instructions of the Minister of the Navy.
With the help of missionaries in Pudong, nearly 3,000 members of the Far East Foreign Legion were established.
Just when everyone thought they would soon train a qualified team, this team, built on the Siris people as the foundation, showed them what it meant to be a scattered mob.
Forced by helplessness, the Fleet Commander had to use the Zouaf Battalion soldiers ready to attack Hawaii as instructors for training, and then use the "White Translators" for cramming training of the Foreign Legion.
Amidst the officers of the "Zouaf" battalion and the complaints of the Foreign Legion soldiers, the Far East Foreign Legion barely formed after three months.
After that, this force became the first Foreign Legion established by France in the Far East, fighting for France’s expansion in the Far East.
But that is all future matters...
"By the way, who are you planning to appoint as the Fleet Commander going to the Far East?" Jerome Bonaparte sat in Dico’s ministerial chair, crossed his legs, and asked Dico.
"I plan to appoint Marquis Alet for this position!" Dico said to Jerome Bonaparte.
"Hmm?" Jerome Bonaparte looked at Dico in surprise and asked confusedly, "As far as I know, Marquis Alet’s rank before resignation was Colonel, right!"
"That’s correct!" Dico nodded in response.
"The current Fleet Commander rank in the Far East is Quasi-General! Are you planning to let a Colonel command a Quasi-General? Moreover, this Colonel has just returned to the army!" Jerome Bonaparte licked his dry lips and smiled.
"Governor, I believe Marquis Alet’s ability is sufficient to assume the position of Quasi-General!" Dico responded firmly to Jerome Bonaparte.
"And the previous Quasi-General?" Jerome Bonaparte once again asked about the current ’Exalted One’ of the Far East Fleet, Tutelang.
"I have decided that once Marquis Alet arrives, Quasi-General Tome Lang will immediately step down and return home!" When speaking of Tome Lang, Dico’s tone carried a hint of resentment.
If Tome Lang succeeded in the mission in the Hawaii Kingdom, Dico could merely resent him internally for not playing by "rules." However, Tome Lang’s sneak attack on the Hawaii Kingdom was unsuccessful, instead earning a ’disgraceful’ failure.
Although Tome Lang boasted in his letter that he had caused the Hawaii Kingdom to lose hundreds of thousands of US Dollars and had seized the private vehicle of the Hawaiian King, a failure is still a failure, and no excuse can make up for this failure.
As the "Senior Sovereign" of the Far East, he could only taste the bitterness of failure alone, and Tome Lang, in his quasi-general fate ahead, would likely remain on the sidelines.
Unless Dico dies suddenly one day in the office.
Jerome Bonaparte showed no interest in holding Tome Lang accountable because the person responsible for this task was Dico.
After a brief understanding of Dico’s strategy and personnel selections for the expedition fleet to Hawaii, Jerome Bonaparte did not continue to inquire further.
"Alright! I should leave now!" Jerome Bonaparte took out a pocket watch from his chest, opened it, and glanced down at the time.
It was already 11 PM, and he quickly stood up, with Dico escorting Jerome Bonaparte out of the Ministry of the Navy Building.
As he was about to board his carriage, Jerome Bonaparte continued to urge Dico to take good care of himself and rest.
Dico agreed wholeheartedly to Jerome Bonaparte’s exhortations and watched as Jerome Bonaparte’s carriage disappeared into the night. Ignoring the Secretary of State’s advice, he resolutely returned to the ministerial office to handle documents.
Sleep? Only lazy people sleep; diligent ones have long begun work.
...
In the following months, the rebellions of the Republican Faction and the Mountain Faction gradually subsided, and the rumors of Prince Juaneville landing in Calais were unfounded.
After Jerome Bonaparte had a "heart-to-heart" exchange with the Minister of War, the Minister of War agreed to assign two battalions of Zouaves to the Ministry of the Navy.
After that, the originally reduced 7-battalion Zouaf Battalion was expanded again to 14 battalions.
Meanwhile, the 3000-strong Far East Foreign Legion quietly came under the War Department’s Colony Affairs Bureau.
At the end of March, the Minister of the Navy, Dico, appointed Marquis Alet as the Fleet Commander of the expedition and promoted him to a quasi-general rank.
In early April, a fleet of five third-class battleships and a steam escort ship departed from the Calais Strait, prompting the neurotic Kingdom of Britain on the other side of the ocean to take swift action as well.
That night, British Ambassador Cowley went to the Tuileries Palace to inquire about the whereabouts of the French Fleet from Jerome Bonaparte.
Upon learning that Jerome Bonaparte’s fleet was heading to the Far East for duty, Ambassador Cowley’s anxious demeanor started to ease, and he then casually asked if the French Fleet needed assistance from the British coastal base.
Following the principle of not missing opportunities, Jerome Bonaparte decisively expressed the need.
This would also facilitate closer cooperation between Britain and France.
Of course, Jerome Bonaparte did not disclose that the fleet’s real purpose was to punish the Hawaii Kingdom, instead vaguely stating it was to protect citizens in the Far East.
Like any tactful response, Ambassador Cowley did not fully trust Jerome Bonaparte’s vague statements.
The next day, Ambassador Cowley sent a warning to Britain, alerting them to continuously monitor the actions of the fleet heading to the Far East.
Upon receiving Ambassador Cowley’s letter, Britain was equally anxious about the fleet heading to the Far East.
If not for the intervention of Foreign Minister Palmerston, the Cabinet nearly designated the French Fleet as "enemies" for surveillance.
Under Palmerston’s influence, Britain eventually avoided falling into a state of panic.
The shadow of Napoleon’s wars brought severe trauma to Britain’s heart.
Even so, throughout April, the relations between Britain and France remained subtly distant, giving Nicholas I an opportunity to extend an olive branch to Britain.
As the anti-Russian faction held the position of Foreign Minister in Britain, Britain did not accept the olive branch extended by the Russian Empire.
Britain’s blatant disregard for the attitude of the Russian Empire displeased Nicholas I, and consequently, the relations between Russia and England started to drift apart.
On April 15, 1851, the once tense and vigilant Paris lifted its state of emergency, and the Paris First Division returned to the Paris suburbs.
The National Guard’s twelve regiments within Paris, under the orders of Jerome Bonaparte, began to be phased out, leaving only six regiments loyal to the Bonaparte Faction and the Empire.
On April 20, the World Expo, hosted by Prince Albert, was set to open on May 1.
Leaders of dozens of countries including France, Russia, Austria, Prussia, and the United States received a personal invitation from Queen Victoria, inviting them to bring their country’s "achievements" to Britain.