I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 137: The Victory of the Potato

As the commander of the Prince's Guard, Berthier, announced the start of the joint exercise, both the military and police units quickly ran to the center of the parade ground under the guidance of their respective commanders.

The exercise had four prearranged stages: drill formations, shooting, marching, and combat simulations.

The first stage was the drill formations. The Prince's Guard, with its years of military experience, was expected to have the upper hand. However, they had recently undergone reorganization. Despite Berthier's efforts to group soldiers from the same units together, many were now in unfamiliar companies, and even the drummers and flag bearers were strangers to them.

While they performed basic drills like standing at attention, marching, turning, and handling their weapons with professional military precision—easily outshining the police—their formations became chaotic during more complex maneuvers, especially when changing formations while on the move.

In contrast, the police cadets, despite only having trained for a few months, had developed excellent teamwork. Their ability to swiftly switch from skirmish lines to battle formations left the Prince's Guard in awe. The soldiers didn't yet know that this was part of a new combat tactic proposed by the Prince, something they too would eventually learn. But for now, they had no choice but to concede defeat.

Ultimately, in this drill formation exercise, the officers judging the event gave higher marks to the police cadets.

The soldiers of the Prince's Guard were not only shocked but also deeply humiliated—the elite troops of France had just lost to the police!

Next came the shooting exercise. Determined to redeem themselves, the soldiers of the Prince's Guard were ready to show the cadets what real soldiers could do.

Indeed, the soldiers delivered an impressive performance, completing three rounds of volley fire in 1 minute and 8 seconds, with 75 hits. With only 300 men firing at a distance of 70 paces, this accuracy was remarkable.

The soldiers left the field with pride, expecting the cadets to be thoroughly outclassed. However, the cadets surprised them again, completing their three rounds in 1 minute and 10 seconds, with 66 hits.

While the cadets' performance was slightly lower, it was still impressive for any military unit. What shocked the soldiers most was learning that these cadets had only been training for a few months.

Of course, the cadets' impressive shooting skills were thanks to the Prince's insistence that the police academy provide ample live-fire practice, with each cadet firing three rounds daily. While three rounds a day might not seem like much, in Europe at the time, even the most elite units rarely had the resources for such frequent live-fire exercises.

The soldiers, heartened by their win in the shooting exercise, were determined to continue their comeback in the next event: the marching exercise. But here, too, they faced an unexpected defeat.

The police academy cadets had been regularly training with one-league (about 3 miles) weighted runs, while European armies of the time rarely focused on physical conditioning. As a result, the cadets completed the 1.5-league march and returned to the parade ground a full ten minutes before the soldiers, who arrived exhausted and gasping for breath.

It was only in the final combat simulation that the Prince's Guard finally showed their true elite status. Coordinating their infantry and cavalry, they quickly overwhelmed the cadets' defenses.

The final result was a 2-2 tie. Although the combat simulation carried more weight in the overall score, allowing the Prince's Guard to win, the near-draw against cadets who hadn't even graduated yet taught them not to underestimate their opponents.

So, when Berthier announced that the Prince's Guard would rotate through the Paris Police Academy for training, not a single soldier objected. Some even looked forward to it after hearing about the quality of the food at the academy.

And so, the number of students at the police academy suddenly increased by over 2,000.

...

After returning to his office in Paris, Joseph was greeted by Varenne, the Assistant Director of the Bureau of Industrial Planning, who had previously been stationed in Bordeaux to assist Veniot.

Varenne respectfully placed a stack of reports in front of the Prince and reported, "Your Highness, the spring planting in the south is almost complete, so I returned to report on the situation. Thanks to your efforts, more than one-fifth of the farmland around Bordeaux has been planted with potatoes this year."

"Really? That much?" Joseph was pleasantly surprised. He had expected a 15% planting rate at best. After all, potatoes yield four times as much as grain, so planting 15% potatoes would increase the total harvest by 60%.

Varenne explained, "Many small landowners and independent farmers, seeing the large plantations investing heavily in potatoes, gained confidence and followed suit."

Joseph nodded in satisfaction as he reviewed the report. "What about the other regions?"

"Mr. Veniot used your approach, persuading many plantation owners in Burgundy and several provinces in the south with the new distilling techniques. These areas have about 15% of their land planted with potatoes."

Joseph scanned the report: Burgundy, 16%; Béarn, 15%; Foix, 15%. Veniot had not only met but exceeded expectations.

Varenne continued, "Your Highness, Brittany and Normandy have also planted potatoes, though not as extensively as the southern regions."

Joseph flipped through the report: Brittany, 13%; Normandy, 11%. While these percentages were lower, they were still a bonus.

"Did Veniot also go to the west?" Joseph asked.

Varenne shook his head. "Mr. Veniot moved on to Provence after the south, but he asked a friend named Jean Sonnet, along with members of the Distillers' Association, to promote potatoes in the west."

Jean Sonnet? The name sounded familiar to Joseph, likely another future leader of the Girondins. It seemed he and Veniot had been collaborating for quite some time.

But, Joseph thought, these Girondins seemed quite efficient in commercial promotion.

As he continued reading the report, he noted that Provence and Dauphiné had 6%-8% of their land planted with potatoes, showing that Veniot had tirelessly continued his work in the southeast.

While Joseph and Varenne discussed the potato situation, Emon entered the office with a court official, who bowed and said, "Your Highness, the King requests your presence at Versailles as soon as possible. He says there's something important he needs to discuss with you."

Joseph quickly instructed Emon to help him change into formal attire, preparing to meet his father.

Just as they reached the door, a messenger hurried in and handed several sealed letters to Emon.

After glancing at the seals, Emon whispered to Joseph, "Your Highness, they're from your 'grain merchants.'"

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