Young Dai did not quite believe Napoleon's words—my surname is De Gaulle, not De Gao Le, you bastard, you can't treat me like an idiot!
If Louis XVI truly wanted to solve the problem, he should have completely banned opium, instead of allowing it to spread rampant in France, let alone letting it spread into the army.
Young Dai once again recalled the art student from Austria.
If one were to be precise, France was actually very similar to Austria—Austria was ruled by the Habsburg family, while France was ruled by the Bourbon family. Austria had a plethora of problems, and France had no less.
The only difference was probably that France had allied with the right power. Those messy problems could still be suppressed, and even formed an advantage over other European countries. Austria’s situation, however, was relatively worse.
By analogy, facing France’s problems was already extremely tricky for him, so what would the Austrian art student do when facing Austria’s problems?
Perhaps, he would truly do as he had said before, breaking the old to establish the new?
But Young Dai knew very well that he was completely different from that art student. That art student could adopt the "break the old to establish the new" approach, but he couldn't.
Of course, the main reason was that Austria’s current situation was beyond rotten, with no room for further decline, whereas France’s situation had not completely collapsed and there was still a chance for recovery.
After another period of silence, Young Dai simply looked up at Napoleon and said, “I hope you can allow me to train an army, an army trained entirely according to the standards of the Great Ming army.”
Napoleon pointed outside the door and said with a smile, “They are trained by me according to the standards of the Great Ming army—from training to equipment, they are all according to the standards of the Great Ming army. They could beat the Habsburg family like a dead dog, and they can also roast the rose beefs from England into steak.”
However, what Napoleon did not expect was that Young Dai still insisted on personally training an army.
“They have only learned the superficial aspects of the Great Ming army, but they have not learned its essence.”
Young Dai did not care if this statement would offend Napoleon; he only wanted to stick to his point: “On the battlefield, can they use their bodies to block bullets for their comrades?”
“In the face of danger, can they sacrifice their lives to ensure the survival of ordinary civilians?”
“Or, to put it mildly—when they conduct disaster relief, will they bring shovels or firearms?”
This time, it was Napoleon’s turn to fall silent.
Even when picking the tallest among the short, it was unavoidable that this tall person was still short—just like the French army. On the surface, it appeared to be stronger than the armies of other European countries, but in reality, not much had changed. At its core, it remained a traditional European army.
What were the characteristics of traditional European armies?
The officers were basically nobles. They were obsessed with frontal decisive battles and neither pursued mobility nor paid attention to strategies. Such armies could definitely win battles when they held the advantage, and they could win them beautifully.
The problem was that when they did not hold the advantage, they were completely finished. Let alone expecting them to win, it would be good if they didn't rout.
Besides being unreliable in battle, traditional European armies were also very fond of harming ordinary civilians. There was nothing they wouldn't do in terms of burning, killing, looting, and plundering, with absolutely no military discipline.
In addition, traditional European armies were also very fond of planting seeds—back then, after the soldiers of that foolish Eagle country withdrew from England and France, there were many illegitimate children born in England and France.
Such deeply ingrained things could not be changed simply by sending a few officers to study in the Great Ming.
It was precisely because of these reasons that Napoleon and Louis XVI chose to allow the English army to land on French soil—the French army could form an advantage against the English army on French territory. Compared to the more destructive English army, the image of the French army could be improved…
However, this was also a last resort.
If… if Young Dai were allowed to train an army strictly according to the Great Ming’s military system…
Napoleon was somewhat tempted.
After careful consideration, Napoleon simply looked at Young Dai and said, “What kind of help do you need? Do you need me to dispatch some elites for you? Also, what are your plans?”
Young Dai shook his head slightly and replied, “I don't need you to dispatch any officers or soldiers. On the contrary, I need to find suitable soldiers in French schools—they are young and strong, educated, do not consume opium, and can obey orders. Well, to put it simply, they are much more naive than the existing French army, and they are more receptive to Great Ming-style training and military discipline.”
Napoleon was even more tempted.
As a relatively pure soldier, Napoleon had been a high-ranking officer from the beginning when he took over the French army. Although he had the support of a few classmates who had trained with him at the Great Ming Military Academy, the basic framework of the French army had not changed. The things that the few overseas students could change were very limited.
Napoleon had not considered training an army from scratch strictly according to the Great Ming’s system and equipment, but the wars with the Habsburg family and the friction with England and several other small countries had made the overseas students in the French army scarce. Napoleon had no choice but to abandon this tempting idea.
Now, with Young Dai—this batch of overseas students graduated in political science and administration, understood a little about the military, but would not stay in the army for a long time. Training a new army with them might be possible?
The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed. Napoleon simply said to Young Dai, “How about this, I’ll first convey your request to His Majesty Louis. If he also agrees, then you don’t need to worry about this war with England.”
Louis XVI would naturally not refuse the proposal of Napoleon and Young Dai—as the King of France, Louis XVI naturally hoped to have an invincible army.
In his excitement, Louis XVI readily agreed, allowing Young Dai to recruit soldiers from any university in France, including the National University of France.
The National University of France was established by Louis XVI in imitation of the Great Ming’s Northern Metropolitan University. In terms of disciplines, faculty, student configuration, and support, it was infinitely emulated after the Great Ming’s Northern Metropolitan University.
The teachers were required to be the top tier in all of France; the students were also required to be the top tier in all of France; the location was not far from the Palace of Versailles; and the disciplines were basically copied from the Great Ming’s Northern Metropolitan University.
Coupled with Louis XVI’s investment, which was almost cost-free and unlimited, the academic status of the National University of France soared in Europe, even earning it the nickname of the “Northern Metropolitan University of France.”
To ensure the quality of the first batch of soldiers, it was not surprising that Young Dai set his sights on the National University of France as the source of his first recruits.
The National University of France did not live up to its reputation as the “Northern Metropolitan University of France.” A group of students soon waved their application forms and crowded the registration points.
The choice now fell to Young Dai.
Young Dai even pulled in a few of his fellow overseas students to conduct a unique interview: “What is your major?”
“Mechanical engineering.” The young man opposite raised his arm and showed his biceps: “I will work hard and defeat those rose beefs on the battlefield.”
However, what the young man did not expect was that Young Dai did not choose him: “Go back, France still needs talents like you.”
“And you? What is your major?”
“Reporting, sir, I am studying physics and mathematics.”
“You can also go back. Study hard, the future of France lies in your hands.”
“…”
As one student after another was rejected, without even any plausible reason, Edmond, who was accompanying Young Dai, couldn’t help but nudge Young Dai and whisper to him, “How many have there been already? Don’t you like physics, mathematics, and mechanical engineering majors?”
Young Dai shook his head, did not directly answer Edmond’s question, but directly took the application form in front of him and asked in an almost mechanical, repetitive tone, “What is your major?”
“Reporting, sir, I am from the history department.”
Young Dai immediately stood up and exclaimed with excitement, “Excellent! Excellent! France needs talents like you now! The army also needs talents like you! I declare, you have been accepted!”
…
While Young Dai was selecting the first batch of soldiers at the National University of France, Napoleon’s French army officially engaged the English army led by Tojo Nijuhachi.
From the outset, both sides invested a large number of artillery pieces for an artillery duel—thanks to the experience of Napoleon and Tojo Nijuhachi in attending the Great Ming Military Academy, both had learned the theory of carpet bombing.
Coincidentally, both the English and French armies were equipped with a large number of Ming-style artillery pieces, and both sides had also stockpiled a large number of shells.
It was precisely because of this that the war entered a white-hot stage from the very beginning, and the entire Lower Normandy region directly turned into a meat grinder.
“These damned rose beefs have gone completely mad. If they continue to fight like this, they will use up the last shell.” In the command post on the French front line, Napoleon’s expression was somewhat somber: “I need detailed intelligence on the opposite side, especially their casualty data—and you, Villeneuve, have you solved the logistical supply of the rose beefs?”
Villeneuve, the commander-in-chief of the French Navy, immediately stood up and saluted, replying, “You can rest assured, I guarantee that their maritime supply has been completely destroyed. Unless they transport supplies and personnel by rowing bathtubs, but you know, this is fundamentally impossible.”
Napoleon nodded: “Yes, this is impossible, because the shorty on the other side sank the supply ships themselves—but I need you to strengthen sea patrols to prevent George III from transporting supplies to them.”
After Villeneuve agreed, Napoleon turned his gaze to Joseph Bonaparte, who was in charge of commanding the artillery, “Listen, Bonaparte, from now on, I demand that you fire every single shell in your hands. Don’t worry about the gun barrels or supplies. As long as the rose beefs on the other side do not stop, you cannot stop, understand!”
Joseph Bonaparte also stood up and saluted like Villeneuve: “Yes, you can rest assured, I will fire all the shells in my hands in the shortest possible time!”
Napoleon then turned his gaze to Louis Bonaparte, who was in charge of commanding the vanguard army, “When the shorties on the other side run out of shells, or when Joseph runs out of shells, it will be your time to perform—charge forward and stuff the gun barrels into the mouths of those rose beefs!”
“Victory will surely belong to France!”
…
Tojo Nijuhachi’s face was as dark as the bottom of a pot of ash, and his gaze towards Edward and Richard was filled with murderous intent: “Who among you can tell me why the ammunition in the shells has turned into sand?”
“Who among you can tell me why the gun barrels and the rifle barrels have not been maintained strictly according to regulations?”
“And who among you can tell me what kind of things you prepared when I asked you to stockpile supplies?”
Tojo Nijuhachi felt that he was about to join George III—if this continued, he would definitely be driven mad by these damned barbarians!
Look at the good deeds they had done:
First, a large portion of the ammunition in the shells had been replaced with sand. Second, a large portion of the rifle ammunition had also been made of sand, mud, or wood. In short, once the normal ammunition was used up, the remaining firearms could not even make a sound, and apart from exploding and injuring their own people, they were of no other use.
Of course, this was not the most critical issue.
The most critical issue was that among the supplies that Tojo Nijuhachi had asked them to stockpile, a large portion of which should have been food and ammunition, had inexplicably turned into opium.
This was very strange—from the day he arrived at the front line, Tojo Nijuhachi had not found Richard and Edward consuming opium. Edward and Richard had also vowed that the English army did not consume opium.
Tojo Nijuhachi stared at Richard and Edward with a ferocious expression: “You two tell me, what is the deal with all this opium? Didn’t you say that the English army does not consume this stuff?”
Edward replied with a relaxed expression, “Of course, we English soldiers do not consume opium. We only consume the divine medicine bestowed upon us by God—on the battlefield, this is a divine medicine for healing and saving lives!”
Richard also echoed, “Yes, this is the divine medicine bestowed upon us by God.”