Make France Great Again-Chapter 160: The Minister of War Returns to Paris

General Renio chuckled as he watched all the officers present fawning over him, or more precisely, over the President behind him.

In the French Army, in order to gain loyalty, one must rely on fame and fortune.

He has already led them to gain enough benefit in the Roman campaign.

To protect the vested interests of the army, General Renio has endured plenty of complaints from the bishops under Pope Pius IX.

This army has essentially pocketed a third of the wealth of Rome, and everyone in the Expeditionary Army owes General Renio a favor; hence, he enjoys unanimous support from all members of the Expeditionary Army.

Currently, General Renio is using the Ministry of War to entice them, which naturally makes this group of grunts even more determined to swear loyalty to the President.

Not only them, but even Brigadier General Niel, who normally has no obvious party affiliation, seems somewhat tempted.

The chaotic scene gradually settled into silence with General Renio’s silence, as everyone focused their gaze on him.

"Come on, make a fuss! Why stop now?" General Renio jokingly mocked the officers present: "Look at yourselves, you’re behaving like a bunch of bandits gathering to divide loot! Do you even have a semblance of what soldiers should look like?"

Some officers showed embarrassed smiles, while most had developed a thick skin.

After "scolding" this group of grunts, General Renio continued to soothe: "Don’t worry! Would the President forget your contributions? Didn’t the letter state that you would receive your deserved reward?"

"Long live the President, long live the Empire!"

Edgar Ney shouted loudly, and all the officers joined Ney in shouting as well.

After that, a few officers spontaneously shouted the slogan, "We recognize no one but the President!"

Instantly, the entire conference room was filled with an atmosphere of "loyalty."

"Enough!! The President has understood your loyalty, no need to repeatedly chant slogans!" General Renio raised his hand to indicate lowering the volume before saying, "I will depart for Paris tomorrow!"

Except for Edgar Ney, everyone expressed shock at General Renio’s sudden departure.

Brigadier General Niel hesitated for a moment, then spoke, "Commander, without an order from the Ministry of War, leaving impulsively might..."

Niel suddenly realized that General Renio was going to take over as Minister of War and didn’t necessarily need an order from the Ministry of War.

As long as he has the President backing him, they can provide a procedure afterward.

"Don’t worry!" General Renio said casually, "Those guys at the Ministry of War can’t do anything to me!"

"Then, General, during your absence, what will become of the Expeditionary Army?" Brigadier General Niel continued to inquire of General Renio.

"Brigadier General Niel!" General Renio showed a serious expression and addressed Niel.

"Yes!" Brigadier General Niel immediately rose, waiting for General Renio’s next command.

"During my absence, you will serve as Acting Commander of the Roman Expeditionary Army!" General Renio commanded Brigadier General Niel, then turned to all the officers present: "During my departure, you must keep it confidential externally! Do not let the outside world know I have left the army! Although I’m not afraid of impeachment by those weaklings at the Ministry of War, I also don’t want to create trouble for the President at this critical juncture! Understand?"

"Understood!" The officers responded to General Renio in unison with vigor.

"Rest assured! It won’t be long before you can leave Rome and return to Paris! By then, you will all be pivotal figures at the Ministry of War! By the way, I heard the President still has a Military Secretariat under him; perhaps you might be assigned there!"

Due to the Pope State gradually getting organized, the nearly 20,000 French troops have become a burden for the Pope State, so under the "negotiations" between Pius IX and the French ambassador to the Pope State, the French Army retained a contingent of about 3,000 men near Rome to protect Rome and the Pope, while the remaining troops would gradually withdraw to Paris after October. General Renio painted a visible, tangible picture for everyone present, though they will need to wait some time.

The officers once again loudly shouted their loyalty to the President under the witness of General Renio and Edgar Ney.

The meeting ended at 11 in the evening, and Brigadier General Niel was once again specifically kept by General Renio.

"General Renio!" Niel still maintained a soldier’s demeanor and addressed General Renio neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Excellent!" General Renio nodded with satisfaction and said, "You truly resemble a real General, no wonder His Majesty mentioned you in the letter!"

Brigadier General Niel paused, then instantly understood that "His Majesty" referred to Jerome Bonaparte from the Elysee Palace; he was surprised that his reputation had reached the President’s ears.

"Thank you, General!" Brigadier General Niel believed it was due to the General’s recommendation that he appeared in the President’s field of vision.

"Not me!" General Renio shook his head and responded to Niel; he also didn’t understand why the President singled out Brigadier General Niel, perhaps merely because he was the highest-ranking officer in the Expeditionary Army besides himself?

General Renio and Brigadier General Nie’er may rack their brains but still won’t know that their president has read the entire grand Chapter of the Second Empire, in which Niel and his "Niel Law" occupy a crucial part.

Regrettably, the formation of the "Niel Law" came too late.

If the "Niel Law" had appeared a bit earlier, France could have used it to expand its army by half a million troops and three hundred thousand reserves, totaling over 800,000 troops. Adding the local National Guards, the outcome of the Franco-Prussian War might have ended with Napoleon III marching into the Rhine Land.

As long as Prussia showed signs of decline, Austria-Hungary would certainly not mind stabbing it while it resisted Germany and then staging the "Return of the Emperor of Austria" drama.

"His Majesty’s intention is to appoint you as the engineering director of the Ministry of War to manage the army’s logistics! What are your thoughts?" General Renio inquired of General Nier in a consulting tone.

"I obey His Majesty’s orders!" Brigadier General Nie’er immediately expressed his inclination to align with the president.

"Hmm! Once I assume the position of Minister of War, I will immediately work to transfer you to the Ministry of War!" General Renio assured Brigadier General Nie’er.

...

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Dressed in civilian clothes, General Renio hurriedly left Rome unnoticed and arrived at the Civitavecchia Port around 10 a.m.

After a night’s sea voyage, the ship reached Marseille Port. Upon disembarking, General Renio hired a carriage to Lyon.

Finally, he arrived in Lyon from Marseille Port by dusk.

The desolate scene in Lyon surprised Renio, and it wasn’t until he found an inn for the night that he learned from the innkeeper.

There had been a cholera outbreak in Lyon half a month ago, which further devastated the population already reduced by the "red" disturbances, once again plagued by disease.

The sudden cholera outbreak lasted for two weeks, finally brought under control through the collaborative efforts of Lyon’s physicians.

"Alas! I heard a marshal died in the barracks! Lyon’s days are getting tougher!" the innkeeper sighed.

A marshal?

General Renio remembered that the Italian Army was stationed in Lyon, and the person in charge seemed to be Marshal Biru.

Thinking of this, General Renio couldn’t help but lament the death of Marshal Biru.

After a night’s rest, General Renio set off again, taking the train to Paris.

That night, the train arrived in Paris, but not wanting to be exposed too early, General Renio had to change his appearance and reside in the chaotic Saint-Germain District, while writing a letter and sending it to Eugène Roué’s residence.

Upon receiving the letter, Eugène Roué immediately went to the Elysee Palace to report General Renio’s news to Jerome Bonaparte.

"Hmm? General Renio has returned? Where is he now?" Upon hearing Renio’s news, Jerome Bonaparte immediately stood up and asked Eugène Roué.

Eugène Roué handed the letter to Jerome Bonaparte, who nodded at Eugène Roué after reading it, then ordered the Dragoons to summon the adjutant Conrobel, who was still working in the Military Secretariat.

After receiving Jerome Bonaparte’s order, the Dragoons quickly rode to the Military Secretariat to deliver the president’s order to Conrobel.

Discussing with Leboeuf and others about drawing up military deployments and topographical maps of the Near East, Conrobel had to put aside his work and head to the Elysee Palace.

"Your Majesty, do you have any new instructions?" Conrobel stood straight in front of Jerome Bonaparte and inquired.

"General Renio, the commander of the Expeditionary Army, has arrived in Paris! I am not convenient to meet him now, so I want you to make the initial contact! You will be working as colleagues in the future!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Conrobel.

"General Renio, is it? I am willing to serve you, Your Majesty!"

Since the last banquet, Conrobel had already known that General Renio would become the Minister of War.

However, he maintained a composed inner attitude towards this.

After working with the president for many days, Conrobel found that the president valued the Military Secretariat much more than the Ministry of War, and some functions of the Ministry of War had already been stripped away by Minister Liu Aili.

Although the President’s Military Secretariat is currently subordinate to and governed by the Ministry of War, it is certain to become an entity truly commanding the army in the future.

Being the first leader of the Military Secretariat, he is destined to be the one commanding the entire French Army.

Thinking of this, Conrobel couldn’t help but straightening his posture.

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