Chapter 1176: Preparing for War
Three days later.
Every cabinet minister and deputy, high-ranking military officer, and the heads of the police, publishing, and transportation systems converged on the Great Hall of the Palace of Versailles. The room was so packed that officials were forced to occupy every available seat, even spilling into the corners of the hall.
Most officials of this rank had already caught wind of the situation. A heavy, solemn atmosphere pervaded the hall; everyone suspected that this expanded cabinet meeting was a prelude to a general mobilization for war.
Soon, the Crown Prince entered alongside the King and Queen. The assembly rose as one, pressing their hands to their chests in a respectful salute.
Hardly anyone could remember the last time His Majesty had attended a cabinet meeting in person, which only underscored the gravity of the occasion.
Joseph waited for his parents to take their seats at the head of the conference table. He bowed slightly to them before turning to the assembly, getting straight to the point.
"I believe you have all heard the news. The armies of Britain, Prussia, and Austria have begun to mass. Their total strength is expected to exceed 600,000 men."
A ripple of grim realization passed through the room. This was a scale of warfare the world had never seen before.
Joseph glanced toward Berthier. "According to the General Staff's assessment, war will break out within four to six months. This will be a conflict that decides the very future of France.
"We will now begin the wartime planning. Baron Breteuil."
The Minister of Justice immediately stood, bowed to the King, and began to read aloud in a commanding voice: "His Majesty the King has signed a Royal Decree. Effective immediately, the Wartime Special Emergency Act is in force.
"The primary provisions include: the regulation and requisition of domestic grain, horses, wagons, and ships;
"The mandatory registration of all medical, engineering, and technical personnel;
"The requirement for all citizens to participate in disaster relief, transport, and counter-espionage operations as dictated by mobilization needs;
"Wartime control systems for the press and publishing industries;
"Rules for the temporary authorization of local government powers..."
The officials in the hall nodded silently. While these laws were relatively extreme, they would allow the nation to rapidly centralize its resources and strength for the battlefield. Simultaneously, it would provide the tools to better handle any chaos or sabotage orchestrated by the enemy within the borders.
In another timeline, the first modern war mobilization decrees were issued by Napoleon at the start of the nineteenth century, demonstrating immense power almost immediately.
Currently, no other nation in Europe grasped the concept of a wartime state of emergency. It was common for soldiers to bleed at the front while profiteers at home hoarded strategic materials or even conspired with foreign powers.
The Wartime Act was designed specifically to eradicate such behavior. Furthermore, putting the entire nation into an emergency state would instill a sense of urgency in the populace, making it easier for society to adapt to the inevitable hardships of war.
Joseph had directed the Minister of Justice to begin drafting this act right after the last defeat of the Anti-French Coalition, ensuring it was ready for immediate deployment.
Baron Breteuil provided a brief explanation of the specific clauses before returning to his seat.
Joseph then turned his gaze toward Mirabeau. "The Ministry of Industry has two critical priorities during this period.
"First, every wooden track from Paris to Verdun must be replaced with iron rails. They are to be built to the highest specifications. Simultaneously, you must immediately begin planning iron rail lines from Verdun to Lorraine, and then on to Strasbourg."
France now possessed nearly a decade of experience in rail transport construction. They had a vast pool of construction crews, well-established engineering standards, and had even laid nearly a hundred kilometers of iron rails in Luxembourg.
It was a path they had walked many times before.
However, Mirabeau looked somewhat bewildered. "Your Highness, is it truly necessary to invest such a staggering amount of capital into iron rails at this moment?"
Joseph interrupted him with a thin smile. "Trust me, you will understand their utility soon enough. Please, proceed exactly as I have instructed."
By Joseph’s estimation, Trevithick would likely have a prototype train designed within a year. After all, the man had already built a steam locomotive before. Although its performance had been abysmal—failing to even travel 200 meters—it represented the crucial step from zero to one.
Improving upon that foundation would be significantly faster than starting from scratch.
Moreover, the train didn't need to be a marvel of engineering. As long as it could pull ten carriages and crawl along at a 'snail's pace' of 25 kilometers per hour, it would be the ultimate weapon of this era.
Verdun was the gateway to northern France, while Strasbourg connected to Baden. One step beyond that lay the easily traversable South German Plateau.
Furthermore, traveling south from Strasbourg by boat along the upper Rhine would take less than a day to enter Switzerland.
In essence, once the Paris-Verdun-Strasbourg line was connected by rail, France’s military and logistical deployment capacity would increase dozens of times over!
The entire Rhine front would be as accessible as the French heartland.
And all of this could be achieved with just three or four of the crudest steam locomotives.
Joseph continued, "Second, you must double the production capacity of the nation's armories as quickly as possible. Additionally, you are to provide me with regular reports on Director Carnot’s research progress."
While France's existing military industry could meet the army's basic needs, the new iron cannon casting process meant the entire military needed to replace its bronze cannons with iron ones.
At current capacity, this process would take at least ten months. This was especially critical for the Navy; a single ship could carry seventy or eighty cannons. Without a boost in production, the pressure of refitting the fleet would be overwhelming.
Furthermore, once the breech-loading cannons were fully developed, the expanded armories would allow the army to field the new weapons in the shortest time possible.
"Yes, Your Highness," Mirabeau replied, nodding before adding with a hint of hesitation, "However, the funding required for these two projects will be truly astronomical..."
"You need not worry about that."
Joseph gestured for him to sit and turned to the Minister of Agriculture. "Monsieur Vergniaud, what is the status of the cannery?"
Vergniaud scrambled to his feet. "Your Highness, we completed a trial run using glass bottles last month. Ninety-seven percent of the canned goods remained fresh for over forty days—and that is only because we haven't tested them longer yet.
"Currently, we can fill and steam 1,200 bottles a day. Using glass, that is.
"As for the processing of tin cans... we are still limited to manual soldering. No one has been able to manufacture the crimping machine you requested yet.
"The factory in the Saint-Antoine district plans to begin producing 1,000 tin cans a day starting the month after next."
Joseph felt a flicker of helplessness. He had never actually seen a nineteenth-century crimping machine in detail; he could only wait for someone to have a flash of inspiration and invent it.
He issued his orders accordingly. "Then focus on the glass bottles for now. Increase production to over 3,000 jars a day.
"Also, double the reward for the crimping machine design competition."
While glass-bottled rations were somewhat cumbersome, they were far better than nothing. Moreover, it allowed the factory workers to gain experience. Once the technology for crimping tin cans matured, they could scale up production almost instantly.
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