Chapter 18
It's Grande Armée Time ①
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"What do you mean by... a new army?"
Cloumille tilted her beautiful blonde hair as she inquired.
"First, let's reflect on your current army," Bonaparte explained while toying with his bicorne hat. "Your army now resembles a gathering of nobles who have contracted with you, much like a household. It may appear as one army, but its contents are disjointed, with no unified command structure."
Cloumille nodded.
"The soldiers gathered by the nobles seem to fight, reorganized by weapon types, but there's no cohesion or unity among soldiers who suddenly find themselves fighting together. They're merely a motley crew, just a bunch of peasants gathered up, with little to no combat training. Frankly, they're a rabble."
Bonaparte took a sip from the drink brought by a servant. It tasted like sweet apple juice.
"The nobles charge as knights on horseback. Knightly charges are indeed powerful, but your knights from Tallgrassland charge haphazardly at the enemy. Those from Axeland at least charge in groups to some extent... but it's a matter of degree; for them, battle seems to be just a collection of individual plays."
Bonaparte gestured to the servant standing nearby for a refill of juice.
Knights can unleash even greater power by coordinating with other units such as archers, infantry, and artillery. Bonaparte knew this from the history of warfare and his own experience. When there were knights in France similar to those in this world, wearing armor, they fought skillfully in coordination with other units. Apparently, in this world, such coordinated attacks were either not considered or, if they were, proved difficult to execute. Coordinated attacks with other units require training.
"Putting aside the problems with how they fight on the battlefield, the fact that it's a gathering of nobles' armies means that without their cooperation, the army can't be moved, and if they so wish, they can use the army to start a rebellion. That's fatal. With such a situation, one cannot become a strong queen."
Bonaparte finished his refill of apple juice.
"In other words! What is needed is an army with a unified command structure, highly trained, and absolutely obedient to the queen's orders! That's the kind of army we need!"
Bonaparte pounded the table, his voice strengthening as if making a long-awaited declaration.
"That's right, Napoleon!" Cloumille nodded vigorously as well. "So, how would we go about creating such an army?"
"Of course, it's about gathering men who pledge loyalty to you, training them, and equipping them with weapons."
"That makes sense... but it would cost a fortune to do so. Where would we get the funds for that?"
"Yes, that's the point, Cloumille. How to obtain gold, money. I want you to think about it. Is there any good source of wealth?"
The two exchanged glances.
"Money, huh..."
"Yes. I do have some thoughts... For instance, imposing heavy taxes on territories, levying special taxes on conquered lands to support the army, implementing a monopoly system where essential goods like iron, salt, and luxury items like wine cannot be sold without the monarch's permission, thus collecting taxes..."
Bonaparte had experience commanding armies in Italy, but fundamentally, the issue of financing the army was something the home government dealt with, resorting to methods such as imposing taxes or plundering if self-sufficiency was necessary. Being a military man, his thinking tended towards authoritarian reliance on military strength.
"However, if I do such things, I'll lose support," Cloumille's face darkened as she answered. Heavy taxation is a policy disliked by nobles, merchants, townsfolk, and peasants alike. Mishandling it could lead to rebellion, undermining any unity.
"Grrr..."
"What about borrowing money from merchants?"
"Merchants?"
When Bonaparte thought of merchants, he imagined the merchants favored by the French army. They were greedy, willing to dilute wine with water or mix bread with sawdust for profit, and had no qualms about supplying poor-quality shoes... such were his associations.
Of course, such behavior was only characteristic of a few unscrupulous merchants; there were many honest and upright ones. They risked dangers to follow the army, traversed rough roads to provide soldiers with necessary bread and wine, facilitated the procedures needed for soldiers to exchange "spoils of war" obtained in occupied territories for money to send wages back to their families, and even lent the army necessary funds. Merchants were indispensable to the army.
"You need collateral to borrow money from merchants. How about selling the right to collect taxes?"
Selling rights in exchange for money was a common tactic of kings, but the likelihood of merchants buying Cloumille's weak rights was low. There might be speculators interested, though.
"I can't think of any other good options..."
"Well... that's true. Alright. For now, let's figure out the money later. Let's start gathering people. Put up recruitment posters throughout the city and send recruiters to each village to enlist volunteers."
"Gathering people without a clear plan for money?"
"Yes. We won't make it in time if we wait until we secure funds. We'll figure out something before paying the initial salaries."
Cloumille's eyes widened in surprise.