After reading the achievents and honors that should be awarded to a Marshal (Saint Arno) and three Generals (Pellissier, Conrobel, Bo Ke Si) responsible for commanding the entire Crian War, Jero Bonaparte lifted his head and nodded approvingly at Kuzan Montebon: "You at the Ministry of War have done well in this regard. This is how statistics should be conducted!"
"It’s all thanks to your guidance!" Kuzan Montebon respectfully replied to Jero Bonaparte.
"This has nothing to do with !" Jero Bonaparte shook his head, unwilling to take all the credit. "Let’s do this! Give the departnt responsible for compiling this list a collective rit!"
Kuzan Montebon promptly expressed gratitude to Jero Bonaparte on behalf of the statistics departnt of the Ministry of War.
"This is the honor they deserve!" Jero Bonaparte said flatly.
Then, he lowered his head again, turning the pages one by one to look at the subsequent contents.
Following the Marshal and three Generals, next in line were the chiefs of staff (ranks: Brigadier ~ Colonel) of the First, Second, and Third Divisions. It was because they led their staff according to the grand strategies of the Expeditionary Army Staff Departnt that there was victory at the Sevastopol Fortress. Therefore, two chiefs of staff with quasi-general ranks were proposed to receive the Legion of Honor (their silver dals were a notch below those of Conrobel and others), while a Colonel-level chief of staff gained an opportunity for promotion to Brigadier General.
Following these three Division-level chiefs of staff, Jero Bonaparte’s familiar nas MacMahon and Bazan appeared on the list.
As the only two sharp swords in the entire Expeditionary Army, the Zouave soldiers of these two regints didn’t fall behind in any battle—from the Silestra Fortress to the landing at Yevpatoria, to the surprise attack at the Battle of Alma and the offense and defense at the Star Fortress, MacMahon and Bazan handed in a satisfactory report to Jero Bonaparte.
Strictly speaking, in terms of fierce and intense battles alone, MacMahon and Bazan’s contributions were above those of the three Division-level chiefs of staff.
However, the French Army is gradually transford by Jero Bonaparte’s reforms into a force centered around the directives of the Staff Departnt rather than being solely dependent on the qualifications of the commanding officer.
Therefore, while MacMahon and Bazan’s roles in surprise operations were indeed greater than the Division chiefs of staff, their overall contributions were less impressive.
Although MacMahon and Bazan were ranked behind the three Division chiefs of staff on the list, they received silver Legion of Honor dals, just like those staff officers.
Next were the contributions of the officers in charge of regints and battalions under the divisions.
Since many battles were determined after the forward regint and battalion units established victory, the subsequent troops would either rush forward in a swarm or retreat ingloriously,
the two victories on the Crian battlefield were achieved after determining victory at the regint and battalion level, leaving the remaining troops to rout, followed by the cavalry team charging into the enemy’s camp to begin the kill.
If fortunate, the enemy’s army would be enveloped and surrounded by the cavalry team after the first round, resulting in capture.
As for the contributions at the company level, they were not included in the statistics by the Ministry of War. Their appointnts and removals were in the hands of the divisions, with the Ministry of War only needing to handle the promotion mber lists.
After the divisions received instructions from the Ministry of War to compile company-level promotion lists, they submitted the already-promoted company-level cadre lists to the Ministry of War, which then sorted and archived the lists.
However, despite the absence of company-level mbers’ nas in the list, Jero Bonaparte discovered his nephew Jero Patterson’s na at the last part of the list.
Jero Bonaparte Joseph Patterson, a mber of the First French Division, rank: Captain, participated in the engagents including: Battle of Silistra, Battle of Alma, Battle of Sevastopol...
In the awards recomndation overview, the Ministry of War "suggested" a special promotion of Captain Jero Patterson to Lieutenant Colonel.
"Is this suggestion from your Ministry of War or from the Expeditionary Army Headquarters..." Jero Bonaparte placed Jero Patterson’s information in front of Kuzan Montebon and Nie’er for questioning.
"Your Majesty, this is a suggestion from the Expeditionary Army Headquarters!" Nie’er hastily responded, "They also said that Captain Jero Patterson perford his duties diligently in the aforentioned battles, living up to the Bonaparte na!"
"Indeed!" Kuzan Montebon also echoed.
"Even so, he cannot be promoted out of turn!" Jero Bonaparte declared firmly.
Jero Bonaparte reviewed his nephew’s activities in the Crian War and found that Jero Patterson was either acting as Conrobel’s adjutant or Pellissier’s temporary adjutant, never really delving into grassroots work, only conveying directives from Conrobel or Pellissier.
Therefore, Jero Bonaparte adamantly disagreed with the suggestion from the Expeditionary Army Headquarters of promoting him two grades at once.
He would rather have his nephew’s career in the army progress a little slower and steadier than allow him to rise rapidly to the top.
Although on the surface it seems easier to establish power by skipping one or two ranks, such power is like a sandcastle on the beach, unable to withstand any impact.
Just like Jero Bonaparte’s own father, Prince Monfort; despite holding the title of Imperial Marshal, his prestige in the army is incomparable, not only to Saint Arno but also to Marshal Renio, the Commander of Strasbourg. All his titles are based on Jero Bonaparte himself being the Emperor of the Empire.
The building of any power is not achieved overnight; it requires accumulating connections little by little to succeed.
If Jero Patterson were to be promoted to Major, it would fairly match his achievents and would also give an impression of solid progress.
Promoting to Lieutenant Colonel, however, would clearly imply a forced promotion.
"Your Majesty, what do you an?" Kuzan Montbanto cautiously inquired.
"Promote him to Major, and then award him a Knight’s dal (fourth-class)!" Jero Bonaparte said to Kuzan Montbanto.
"Yes!" Kuzan Montbanto promptly replied.
Subsequently, Jero Bonaparte put down the list in his hand and asked Kuzan Montbanto and Nie’er, "By the way, your two departnts also need to draft one!"
"We still need to draft one?" Kuzan Montbanto looked at Jero Bonaparte in confusion, not understanding his intent.
"Yes! Both of your departnts must draft one," Jero Bonaparte said logically to Kuzan Montbanto and Nie’er. "I have said that the honor of war does not only belong to the soldiers who fight bloody battles at the front, but also to the Logistics Departnt that supports them! Without their supply of ammunition, the frontline soldiers would be fighting the enemy barehanded!" He added, "However, the awarding of honors and promotions for your two departnts must wait until the war is over! You only need to record those who perform excellently during the war, and then reward them all once the war concludes!"
Kuzan Montbanto and Nie’er nodded, indicating they would do as Jero Bonaparte instructed, and also asked if they could inform their departnts’ subordinates of this news in advance.
"Proactively disclosing this cannot motivate them! They must think they discovered it themselves!" Jero Bonaparte said with a sly smile, "People always enjoy doing things sneakily!"
Kuzan Montbanto and Nie’er imdiately agreed to follow Jero Bonaparte’s directions.
"Alright! Now that all the preparations are complete, when do you think I should depart?" Jero Bonaparte gently stroked his chin and asked Kuzan Montbanto and Nie’er.
"Your Majesty, I think it’s better to let the Ministry of War handle this! You only need to stay in Paris!" Kuzan Montbanto, after many days, once again suggested that it would be best for Jero Bonaparte to stay in Paris.
Even though the Empire has captivated the people of Paris with successive victories, one can never guarantee there won’t be any mishap. If, after Jero Bonaparte’s departure, the lurking individuals initiate another rebellion, the Empire could face downfall.
"This is non-negotiable! I must personally go to Constantinople!" Jero Bonaparte uncompromisingly responded to Kuzan Montbanto.
"Yes!" Facing the assertive Jero Bonaparte, Kuzan Montbanto could only acquiesce.
"During my absence, Nie’er!" Jero Bonaparte turned his gaze to Nie’er.
"Present!" Hearing Jero Bonaparte call his na, Nie’er’s heart skipped a few beats.
"You will be responsible for the army!" Jero Bonaparte told Nie’er, "All forces stationed in Paris must not be mobilized without permission!"
"Understood!" Nie’er decisively replied.
"For the governnt, I will appoint soone! Just cooperate with him!" Jero Bonaparte continued, "The departure is set for July 20th! From now until I arrive in Constantinople, not a word must be leaked! Should anyone let it slip..."
Jero Bonaparte let out a cold snort, the aning was self-evident.
...
After Kuzan Montbanto and Nie’er departed, Jero Bonaparte instructed Mokar to summon Minister of Justice Rue.
About half an hour later, Minister of Justice Rue appeared in Jero Bonaparte’s office.
"Rue, take a seat! I have sothing I’d like to discuss with you!"
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