I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 136: The Prince's Elite Guard

The more than 2,000 soldiers on the Champ de Mars were still reeling.

Just days ago, they had thought themselves the unluckiest men on earth, dragged into the Prince's assassination attempt and subjected to investigation. Some even feared they would be exiled.

Now, they felt like the luckiest people alive, inexplicably reassigned to a new unit, reviewed by the Prince himself, who announced new regulations offering them a hopeful future.

If they weren't standing in formation, they might have asked someone to pinch them to see if they were dreaming.

After a while, Joseph signaled for the soldiers to quiet down, then announced several policies related to military merit, pensions, retirement benefits, and even support for soldiers' families.

Having learned from earlier, the soldiers were visibly excited but managed to control themselves and maintain discipline.

After outlining the reforms most relevant to the soldiers, Joseph took two small booklets from Berthier and held them up: "Other military regulations and systems will be distributed to each of you by your commander, so I won't repeat them here."

He put the booklets away, looked around at the soldiers on the training field, and said loudly:

"No matter what your background was, and no matter what your unit number is now, from now on, within this regiment, you can call yourselves the Prince's Elite Guard!"

"Of course, you must prove through your actions that you deserve this title. Training will be more rigorous than it is now, and the standards will be higher, but all of this will bring you more honor. If anyone feels they can't handle it, they can apply to leave later and return to the French Guar… Oh, what's it called now?"

Berthier quickly whispered, "It's the Marat Regiment, Your Highness."

Joseph nodded, "You can return to the Marat Regiment at any time."

Everyone in the ranks ignored this option.

Leave behind this unprecedented opportunity for advancement, guaranteed pay, and substantial pensions, and return to the rotten Marat Regiment?

"Prince's Elite Guard," the name alone had an imposing ring to it. It might even mean they were being promoted to the royal guard.

Anyone who wouldn't choose this must be a fool.

So what if training was tougher and standards were higher? They had all suffered before joining the army, whether as farmers or craftsmen, which was much harder than this!

But then the Prince said loudly, "Your first test will be to prove that you're at least better than the police, better at fighting. Oh no, not the police—the police cadets who haven't even graduated yet."

The soldiers laughed internally. They had once been the elite troops of France, able to stand toe-to-toe with the King's Guard.

And the police? They were just thugs recruited and managed by the government, right? Even with the police reforms, they couldn't be that great. If they couldn't even beat those guys, it would be a joke!

However, they would soon realize just how wrong they were.

Finally, Joseph gestured to the two officers beside him: "These men are your paymasters. Each month, they will personally distribute your pay to you. If you have any issues with your pay, you can even write to me directly to complain.

"Now, the paymasters will conduct the first distribution."

Thus, with the happy process of receiving their pay, the Prince's Elite Guard's first inspection ended.

As the soldiers counted their silver coins, smiles spread across their faces.

The lowest pay tier had been increased from 13 livres to 15 livres, and a sergeant's pay had risen from 17 to 20 livres.

While these wages might not seem high, considering that the soldiers were provided with food, housing, and uniforms, they could send all their money back home, easily supporting a family of four or five.

After leaving the Champ de Mars, Joseph headed straight to the Paris Police Academy.

Less than half a mile from the parade ground, he saw a military camp under construction, which would be the new base for his Elite Guard.

From the beginning, he had no intention of sending the regiment back to the village of Moret-sur-Loing. He had bought this land and started building the camp two weeks earlier. As for the issue of being far from their base, Berthier had applied for "extended field training" from the War Minister, and after coordinating with the Paris Legion, no one would question it.

At the Police Academy's parade ground, Principal Joseph delivered a speech to the cadets, preparing them for the upcoming "joint exercise."

After the speech, he went to the Chief of Academics' office to inquire about recent enrollment.

"Over 1,300 cadets currently enrolled?" Joseph looked at Freyant in surprise.

Freyant nodded respectfully, "Your Highness, because the police department provided aid to the Axel family, the number of people enrolling at the academy has surged. If not for a shortage of dormitories, we'd already have over 1,500 students."

Joseph was silent. He had planned to order the academy to increase enrollment, but it seemed that was unnecessary.

He instructed Freyant, "From now on, cadets can choose whether they want to become 'combat police' or join the army after graduation. Colonel Berthier will send you information about the military's system and benefits.

"As for those who pass the elite class assessment, they can directly become officers."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Freyant had previously heard the Prince mention plans to form a combat police force—a group dressed as police but equipped with infantry weapons and even some horses. It was officially to combat dangerous gangs, like the Blood Knife Gang that dared to attack the royal family.

Two days later, the Prince's Elite Guard welcomed over 500 cadets from the Paris Police Academy to the Champ de Mars.

The two groups were about to engage in a joint exercise, essentially a military skills competition.

The cadets made an immediate impression on the soldiers, who were shocked by their neatly pressed uniforms, orderly ranks, and imposing presence. Were these really just a bunch of ungraduated police cadets?

What they found most unacceptable was that the cadets were armed with the latest model Charleville 1776 muskets!

Even the French Guards had only started switching to these three years ago, and a third of them were still using old models from the Seven Years' War—the 1763 muskets.

And at the rear of the cadet formation, there were over 30 cavalry… Oh, they should be called mounted police.

(End of Chapter)

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