After experiencing the agricultural reforms of Jean Dulles and the "strike" incident of Louis Pasteur, nothing else troubled Jero Bonaparte. For the next three months, France moved toward becoming a fully industrialized country with a steady yet slow pace.
In the Lorraine and Calais regions, steel factories sprang up under Jero Bonaparte’s administrative orders and bank loans. The enhanced Besser steel refining thod gave Lorraine’s high-phosphorus iron ore a use, and the steel output of Lorraine and Calais had gradually surpassed that of Le Clerc, adding a new "engine" to France’s military industry.
The Ministry of War, Ministry of Railways, and Ministry of Agriculture and Comrce also intensified their cooperation. With the collaboration of railways, military, and telegraphs, the French Army completed assemblies at a speed surpassing previous limits, then transported assembled troops to designated locations one by one. With continuous coordination among the three departnts, the efficiency of railway transportation beca increasingly faster.
Ti passed with the repeated assembly and mobilization of troops, and by early September, a brand-new issue appeared before Jero Bonaparte, the Ministry of War, and the Secretariat.
With the increased efficiency of troop mobilization, the logistical support chanism of the French Army felt increasingly strained, leading to a situation where the troops reached their destination, but the supplies could not arrive on ti.
Although Jero Bonaparte repeatedly ordered the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of War to quickly establish a logistics support process, they were unable to co up with a solution that satisfied Jero Bonaparte.
This made Jero Bonaparte very frustrated, causing him to have several sleepless nights.
Even when he dozed off, he would be jolted awake by the "terrifying" scenes in his dreams!
"Ah!" Jero Bonaparte was startled awake by his nightmare once again; he dreamt of Old Maoqi leading an overwhelming Prussian army to crush them, while his troops couldn’t even secure the most basic logistics support, filling the entire army with a sense of defeatism. Just like in history, the Old Maoqi in his dream crushed his army.
The awakened Jero Bonaparte sat up on his bed. After a mont, he felt a slight chill on his back and reached behind him, only to realize that his back was already drenched.
Perhaps it was due to the overly hot September weather, or maybe the nightmare, but now he felt entirely uncomfortable.
With the help of the moonlight streaming through the window, he felt for the pocket watch placed under his pillow and checked the ti.
It was a quarter past four in the morning, over an hour before sunrise.
However, he was not the slightest bit sleepy. He put on the casual clothes scattered on the floor and left the bedroom.
The maid patrolling the Tuileries Palace imdiately curtsied upon seeing Jero Bonaparte in the corridor. He waved off the elaborate noble etiquette and inford the maid he needed a hot bath.
Upon hearing Jero Bonaparte’s command, the maid quickly gathered her patrolling companions to prepare the necessities for Jero Bonaparte’s bath.
Jero Bonaparte returned alone to the study to continue handling the docunts left unfinished the previous night.
Half an hour later, a knock ca at the door. Jero Bonaparte paused his writing and opened the door.
The maid standing at the door was startled by Jero Bonaparte’s sudden appearance. After a brief mont of panic, she regained her composure and inford Jero Bonaparte that everything needed for his bath was ready.
Under the maid’s guidance, Jero Bonaparte arrived in front of the bathroom. Entering alone, he removed all his clothes and entered the wooden bath barrel. Soaking in the water with only his head exposed, he contemplated a solution for the logistics issues, sensing that there might be so underlying problem.
After pondering in the water for a long ti, Jero Bonaparte suddenly thought of soone from whom he might get a solution.
Without hesitation, Jero Bonaparte quickly climbed out of the bath barrel, wiped his body briefly, changed into the prepared casual clothes, and left the bathroom.
Before leaving the bathroom, Jero Bonaparte glanced at the pocket watch again; it was now five thirty-five.
The sumr sun slowly rose above the horizon, its warm rays dispelling the night’s chill and the quietness of Paris.
The tranquility of the night no longer existed, with the city awakening once more from its slumber.
"Your Excellency!" Upon entering the living room after leaving the bathroom, Jero Bonaparte encountered the manager Mokar, who respectfully greeted Jero Bonaparte.
"Mokar!" Eager to find answers, Jero Bonaparte spoke hastily to Mokar, giving a swift order: "Prepare a carriage for imdiately!"
"Yes!" Mokar promptly responded.
Before long, a carriage appeared in the courtyard of the Tuileries Palace.
"Let’s go!" Jero Bonaparte called for Mokar to leave with him.
"Yes!" Mokar, without further inquiry, followed Jero Bonaparte out.
As the carriage left the Tuileries Palace, Jero Bonaparte ntioned the destination he was heading to.
The carriage sped through the streets of Paris and quickly arrived at Jero Bonaparte’s destination.
"Get off!" Jero Bonaparte opened the carriage door upon seeing the mansion outside.
Mokar also followed Jero Bonaparte out of the carriage, and the two stood in front of the mansion.
Jero Bonaparte gently knocked on the bronze door of the residence, and the voice of the director of logistics, Major General Niel, was heard from inside: "Who is it?"
"It’s , Jero Bonaparte!" Jero Bonaparte replied calmly.
Staggering footsteps ca from inside the room, and the door of the residence opened to reveal Major General Niel standing in front of Jero Bonaparte.
"Your Excellency, the Governor!" Niel hurriedly saluted Jero Bonaparte.
After Jero Bonaparte returned the salute to Niel, he joked half-seriously, "Won’t you invite in for a seat?"
Niel hurriedly realized his oversight and quickly invited Jero Bonaparte inside, instructing his wife to prepare so refreshnts.
Niel’s wife, upon seeing Jero Bonaparte’s arrival, also got busy preparing various things.
Jero Bonaparte and Niel sat down on a sowhat plain red sofa to converse.
"Your Excellency, why did you suddenly think to..." Major General Niel seed sowhat apprehensive, not understanding why Jero Bonaparte would make an unannounced visit.
"No need to be nervous!" Jero Bonaparte smiled and reassured Niel, "I’m just a casual person, and today’s unannounced visit..."
"No! Your presence here is truly an honor for !" Major General Niel quickly complinted Jero Bonaparte.
"I ca this ti to ask you, regarding the recent logistical issues with the Ministry of War, what are your thoughts?" Jero Bonaparte inquired of Niel.
"This..." Major General Niel hesitated as he looked at Jero Bonaparte; he wasn’t sure if he should voice his concerns to him.
Niel believed that not only he but probably the ministers also saw the issues. However, the problem couldn’t bypass the brilliant Emperor, which is why they dared not speak out.
"Don’t worry! I won’t bla you!" Jero Bonaparte noticed Niel’s hesitation and boldly encouraged him.
"Your Excellency, do you understand what a military base is?" Niel, prompted by Jero Bonaparte’s "encouragent," cautiously asked.
"Military base?" Jero Bonaparte thought for a mont before responding, "A place for training and allocating soldiers?"
"Yes!" Niel first confird part of Jero Bonaparte’s understanding and then added, "The role of a military base is not only to manage the training of soldiers and serve as a transfer station for them. It used to be responsible for gathering supplies. Every ti an army reached a base, it could get resupplied!"
"You an that the current bases no longer have the ability to gather supplies?" Jero Bonaparte instantly understood what Niel ant.
"Exactly! The brilliant Emperor abolished the supply-gathering function of military lines, believing that the best way for the French Army is to rely on local supplies!" Major General Niel, with admiration for Emperor Napoleon, "defended" him by saying, "In those tis, local supplies indeed increased the maneuverability of combat units!"
At this point, Jero Bonaparte could fully grasp Niel’s implication: his uncle had abolished the supply function of bases and switched to a local supply strategy to enhance the mobility of the French Army.
This was indeed an effective approach in the early 19th century when railways were in their infancy.
As the railway system developed, the French Army no longer needed to travel with their entire support structure, as railways could more swiftly transport them to the front lines.
Previously convenient local supplies had beco a source of confusion for the army, while the sowhat obsolete bases regained their importance.
By simply setting up bases along the railway lines, the railways could quickly deliver supplies to where they were needed, saving the ti required for troops to procure supplies locally.
In the end, it boils down to changes brought about by the era; in just thirty years, the nature of warfare had undergone trendous changes.
"Why didn’t you tell earlier?" Jero Bonaparte complained.
Major General Niel awkwardly smiled without speaking. Who in the entire Ministry of War would dare criticize the Emperor in front of his nephew? It would be like an old man seeking death by consuming arsenic—tired of living.
Nobody dared to directly refute the correctness of the Emperor.
"Can the functions of the French bases be restored?" Jero Bonaparte once again asked Major General Niel.
Major General Niel considered for a mont before responding to Jero Bonaparte, "It might be sowhat difficult! Needless to say, restoring the supply function of bases is challenging, even the functions of allocation and training are..."
"Damn it, how did the army end up like this!" Jero Bonaparte couldn’t help but curse under his breath.
"Your Excellency, please don’t be angry!" Major General Niel awkwardly touched his left cheek and said, "The army hasn’t participated in a large-scale war for decades. All our experiences were gained in Algeria! The relaxation of the army is understandable..."
"Are you suggesting that... for France to swiftly regain its forr strength, it must engage in a large-scale military operation?"
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