Compared to the high-ranking corps mbers who were as mournful as those attending a funeral, the mid-to-low-ranking officers unhesitatingly chose to support the decisions of the Emperor and Chief of Staff.
The establishnt of the army, division, brigade, and regintal level staff departnts would inevitably involve a large-scale transfer and expansion of military positions, presenting a once-in-a-lifeti opportunity for promotion.
Not to ntion, all the staff departnts are structured vertically, giving them every opportunity to be selected to go to the General Staff for further study, and then be assigned to the local garrison units to hold important positions.
This resulted in a split between senior officers and mid-to-low-ranking officers, leaving the upper-level generals, without the support of the mid-to-low-ranking officers, forced to agree with Jero Bonaparte’s opinion.
Of course, the most opposed to the establishnt of the vertical structure of the staff departnts were not the senior officers, but rather those so-called staff personnel.
Why are they called "so-called" staff personnel? Because these officers, who entered the Staff College through examinations, had never truly fulfilled their obligations as staff even for a single day.
The Paris Staff College, like Saint-Cyr, Ecole Polytechnique, and other advanced military schools, requires stringent exams to enter.
Every officer entering the Staff College can be considered an excellent problem solver, yet these excellent problem solvers beca complacent upon entering the Paris Staff College, spending their days doing nothing but fighting and drinking.
They wouldn’t even glance at the materials on military maps and formation deploynts, making the entire Staff College a stagnant pond.
When soone asked them why they weren’t studying hard, the students of the Staff College would only reply, "Study! Study for what! Only those beggars in the army study. We entered the Staff College to go out and enjoy life! Only fools study!"
Indeed, officers graduating from the Staff College are tied to lifeti tenure from the mont they leave the school. They only need to endure. In the seniority-based Staff College, as long as you endure a certain number of years, you can get promoted.
Most of the exceptional graduates from the Staff College are assigned to important positions in Paris, and many substantive positions are also given to civilian bureaucrats. Officers with slightly worse luck could seek to while away their ti locally or overseas.
Many ambitious corps officers jestingly refer to these groups as "patients in recovery," who have to rotate every two or three years.
When Marshal Renio served as Minister of War, he once replaced a large group of mbers, sending many to local posts, with vacant positions filled by so mbers of the Expeditionary Army and a large batch of diligent civilian bureaucrats.
During Saint Arno’s tenure as Minister of War, such purges intensified, with many idlers being forced into retirent by Saint Arno.
It was only from that ti that the Ministry of War barely ca to life, though so personnel from the Staff College secretly complained about Saint Arno’s lack of humanity, they still dared not take any action.
Now, with the establishnt of the General Staff and Unit Staff Departnts, the Staff College officers, who usually lived by doing nothing, were in an uproar.
Chief of Staff Saint Arno and Emperor Jero Bonaparte were not reforming! This was practically uprooting their clan of the Staff College!
How could those mid-to-low-tier officers handle such ticulous work? When it cos to surveying, it should be the officers of the Staff College who are the experts!
The Staff College faction, whose foundation was shaken, obviously could not endure their backyard being taken by the Chief of Staff and the Emperor. They linked up with one another and, under the leadership of several venerable "old generals," ford a joint petition, hoping to stop the proposal for establishing the four-tier staff departnt.
The petition was full of signatures from mbers of the Staff College faction and was to be taken to the Tuileries Palace by several old generals who had once fought under the Emperor to be handed to Jero Bonaparte.
In these people’s imagination, the Emperor would surely consider the situation thoroughly after seeing these petitions, and at worst, provide them with relatively generous conditions.
For these problem solvers, if they can lie flat, why bother to strive for success?
Ti eroded their wisdom and also their courage.
A few old generals, carrying the petition, ca to the Tuileries Palace, and under the guidance of Mokar (Valerovsky was still busy with Jero Bonaparte’s marriage arrangents, De Moreni focused on liaising with Cabinet Ministers. Vilnius was in a state of extre internal competition.), these venerable old generals were received in a guest room.
Opposite the guest room hung a portrait of Napoleon, and next to it was a portrait of Jero Bonaparte.
Both wore the sa Lev’s Formal Suit, with their golden hair flowing in the wind, the only difference being the background behind them.
After waiting a long ti in the guest room, they finally received Jero Bonaparte.
At that mont, Jero Bonaparte was dressed in an emperor’s casual suit (Napoleon’s), his face adorned with a smile that seed never to change even after ten thousand years, as he looked at the few old generals before him whose hair was white and faces filled with wrinkles.
The veteran generals who once fought under Napoleon hurried to stand and salute Jero Bonaparte.
Jero Bonaparte also solemnly returned the salute to these generals who had bravely fought in the First Empire, warmly saying, "Sorry to keep you waiting!"
After the basic courtesies were concluded, Jero Bonaparte and the veteran generals took their seats one by one.
The shrewd veteran generals did not imdiately reveal their intentions to Jero Bonaparte. Instead, they fervently recounted stories of how Emperor Napoleon led them in battles across the land, attempting to showcase their achievents to Jero Bonaparte?
"The battle in Russia was truly devastating... Back then, we had just graduated, and the entire class followed His Majesty the Emperor to Russia. In the end, only a few of us, including myself and another classmate, returned safely; everyone else perished in the icy lands of Russia."
"Indeed! During the Battle of Leipzig, my regint led the charge... In the end, less than a company survived, and even I myself was fiercely wounded by the Russians!"
...
The veteran generals repeatedly described to Jero Bonaparte how the wars had been so brutal... and how they managed to crawl out from heaps of dead bodies...
Jero Bonaparte quietly listened to the generals’ recollections, nodding in acknowledgnt from ti to ti.
As Jero Bonaparte affird their contributions to the Empire, the courage of the generals began to grow. They shifted from personal achievents to praising the forr Emperor and lauded Jero Bonaparte as capable of leading France to revitalization just like Emperor Napoleon.
And then, from praising the Emperor himself, they extended it to extolling the military system that the Emperor established, from which Jero Bonaparte discerned a hint of the "two whatever policies".
Compared to him, each of these old guys harbored ill intentions, attempting to cloak their own interests under the guise of loyalty to Emperor Napoleon.
They attempted to morally coerce Jero Bonaparte by utilizing his identity as the Emperor Napoleon’s nephew, forcing Jero Bonaparte to submit.
In simple terms, the veteran generals seed to raise the banner of "the ancestral law cannot be changed" to make Jero Bonaparte halt his reforms in order to protect their vested interests.
"Your Majesty! The Staff System must not be changed!" The theatrical veteran general said, almost in tears, to Jero Bonaparte: "The system that the Emperor painstakingly established was to keep France strong! If there’s any mistake, the French military system will face a collapse risk! I know you only fell under Saint Arno’s influence for the future of the French army; we hope you can cease this reform."
"Exactly, Your Majesty, it can’t be changed!" Another general chid in: "Rash changes could trigger backlash in the army, which wouldn’t be good for the entire Empire!"
Looking at these self-righteous in front of him, who repeatedly called upon the Emperor, a cold smile appeared at the corner of Jero Bonaparte’s mouth.
No matter when, no matter where, there will always be a group of people waving the Bonaparte flag, opposing Bonaparte.
Jero Bonaparte understood clearly that these n spoke highly of the Emperor rely to protect their core interests.
"Generals, I understand your loyalty to the Empire!" Unwilling to tear the facade, Jero Bonaparte smiled and said to the veteran generals: "If there’s nothing else, I’ll get back to work!"
"You cannot leave!" One veteran general stood up and grabbed Jero Bonaparte’s sleeve.
Jero Bonaparte paused, looking at the self-righteous man before him, and still politely asked, "General, is there sothing else?"
"Your Majesty, we implore you to stop the reforms! Please let everything remain as it was, for our service to the Empire!" The general loosened Jero Bonaparte’s sleeve and pleaded.
Jero Bonaparte put away his smile, responded coldly with a grim expression: "General, your rits should not beco the ans of your extortion! I don’t want to hear this a second ti!"
"Your Majesty! This is the army’s petition! It’s signed by nearly 200 officers." Another general quickly presented the prepared petition to Jero Bonaparte.
Jero Bonaparte took the petition, looked at the densely written French, then raised his head and disdainfully said: "Are you threatening ?"
"Your Majesty, please stop the reforms!" Several veteran generals said in unison.
"I can tell you clearly, if you think you can force to back down this way, it’s absolutely impossible!"
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