CHAPTER 350: CHAPTER 345: THE REBOUND OF THE STAFF COLLEGE

Compared to the high-ranking corps members 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 establishment of the army, division, brigade, and regimental level staff departments would inevitably involve a large-scale transfer and expansion of military positions, presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for promotion.

Not to mention, all the staff departments 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 Jerome Bonaparte’s opinion.

Of course, the most opposed to the establishment of the vertical structure of the staff departments 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 became 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 deployments, making the entire Staff College a stagnant pond.

When someone 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 lifetime tenure from the moment 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 time 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 members, sending many to local posts, with vacant positions filled by some members 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 retirement by Saint Arno.

It was only from that time that the Ministry of War barely came to life, though some personnel from the Staff College secretly complained about Saint Arno’s lack of humanity, they still dared not take any action.

Now, with the establishment of the General Staff and Unit Staff Departments, the Staff College officers, who usually lived by doing nothing, were in an uproar.

Chief of Staff Saint Arno and Emperor Jerome Bonaparte were not reforming! This was practically uprooting their clan of the Staff College!

How could those mid-to-low-tier officers handle such meticulous work? When it comes 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," formed a joint petition, hoping to stop the proposal for establishing the four-tier staff department.

The petition was full of signatures from members 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 Jerome 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?

Time eroded their wisdom and also their courage.

A few old generals, carrying the petition, came to the Tuileries Palace, and under the guidance of Mokar (Valerovsky was still busy with Jerome Bonaparte’s marriage arrangements, De Moreni focused on liaising with Cabinet Ministers. Vilnius was in a state of extreme 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 Jerome Bonaparte.

Both wore the same Lev’s Formal Suit, with their golden hair flowing in the wind, the only difference being the background behind them.

After waiting a long time in the guest room, they finally received Jerome Bonaparte.

At that moment, Jerome Bonaparte was dressed in an emperor’s casual suit (Napoleon’s), his face adorned with a smile that seemed 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 Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome 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, Jerome Bonaparte and the veteran generals took their seats one by one.

The shrewd veteran generals did not immediately reveal their intentions to Jerome Bonaparte. Instead, they fervently recounted stories of how Emperor Napoleon led them in battles across the land, attempting to showcase their achievements to Jerome 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 regiment 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 Jerome Bonaparte how the wars had been so brutal... and how they managed to crawl out from heaps of dead bodies...

Jerome Bonaparte quietly listened to the generals’ recollections, nodding in acknowledgment from time to time.

As Jerome Bonaparte affirmed their contributions to the Empire, the courage of the generals began to grow. They shifted from personal achievements to praising the former Emperor and lauded Jerome 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 Jerome 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 Jerome Bonaparte by utilizing his identity as the Emperor Napoleon’s nephew, forcing Jerome Bonaparte to submit.

In simple terms, the veteran generals seemed to raise the banner of "the ancestral law cannot be changed" to make Jerome 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 Jerome 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 chimed 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 Jerome Bonaparte’s mouth.

No matter when, no matter where, there will always be a group of people waving the Bonaparte flag, opposing Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte understood clearly that these men spoke highly of the Emperor merely to protect their core interests.

"Generals, I understand your loyalty to the Empire!" Unwilling to tear the facade, Jerome 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 Jerome Bonaparte’s sleeve.

Jerome Bonaparte paused, looking at the self-righteous man before him, and still politely asked, "General, is there something 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 Jerome Bonaparte’s sleeve and pleaded.

Jerome Bonaparte put away his smile, responded coldly with a grim expression: "General, your merits should not become the means of your extortion! I don’t want to hear this a second time!"

"Your Majesty! This is the army’s petition! It’s signed by nearly 200 officers." Another general quickly presented the prepared petition to Jerome Bonaparte.

Jerome Bonaparte took the petition, looked at the densely written French, then raised his head and disdainfully said: "Are you threatening me?"

"Your Majesty, please stop the reforms!" Several veteran generals said in unison.

"I can tell you clearly, if you think you can force me to back down this way, it’s absolutely impossible!"