French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 64 Unreserved Investment

"Quiet down, all of you, quiet down."

The scene was somewhat chaotic, and Cornwall, his face flushed, had to shout several times before the soldiers calmed down.

"Young men, these gold coins are the Crown Prince's advance payment of your full monthly military pay, using the last bit of his savings in the bank."

"Long live!"

Although they already knew, when Conrobel announced it, the soldiers couldn't help but erupt in a thunderous cheer, and many jumped up excitedly.

During the Second Empire, it was common for the army to be in arrears with its pay. Many soldiers did not receive a penny even after six months of service and had to rely on meager government subsidies to survive.

This is inseparable from the government's financial pressure and the corruption in the military. Eugène had to admit that France under his father's rule had too many shortcomings. However, at this moment, Eugène did not dislike these shortcomings; without comparison, there is no harm.

Without the failures of the Second Reich, how can we demonstrate Eugene's excellence?

Not only did Eugene not delay paying his soldiers' wages, but he also advanced them a month's salary in gold coins, not those paper currencies that could depreciate at any time.

Prior to this, Eugène had always used paper francs because the French government's credit was still relatively strong at that time, and paper francs could be used normally.

Now, the franc banknote is far less valuable than it once was; a 25-franc banknote is equivalent to a 10-franc gold coin.

Eugene, who had been hoarding gold coins, certainly wouldn't try to fool his soldiers with paper money during the final pay ceremony.

"According to the Imperial military system, a private receives 35 francs per month, a corporal 38 francs, a sergeant 40 francs, a sergeant major 45 francs, and a second lieutenant 80 francs."

When it was time to hand out the money, Camrobel looked at the soldiers below, who were constantly stirring and eager for gold coins, and said the words that the young Frenchmen wanted to hear most at that moment.

At that very moment, at that very moment, Conrobel's voice sounded like heavenly music to the soldiers' ears.

"Now, each battalion will come in order to collect their pay. Everyone will receive a share; no one will be left out."

Straightening their collars, the soldiers who were to be the first to collect their pay forced themselves to suppress their excitement under the watchful eyes of everyone, and lined up in neat rows to walk to the pay distribution point.

When these people received those heavy, cold gold coins in their own hands, a happy smile couldn't help but spread across their faces.

Who wouldn't be happy to receive gold coins? No one can resist the allure of money.

Many new recruits were more excited than the veterans. As conscripts who were temporarily enlisted, they had no idea whether they would receive their September pay as the war continued.

The veterans had at least received the August salary promised by Eugene and enjoyed many of the benefits he had promised, while the new recruits had nothing except for a few good meals.

It's not even September yet, and Eugene is already paying out for September. Of course, the new recruits are happier than the veterans.

In front of the carriage, the young private Du Rang, who had just received his gold coins, hurriedly made way for his companions, but carefully put the three gold coins and one silver coin into his pocket, clutching them tightly with his hand, as if afraid someone would steal them from him.

The lowest denomination of gold francs was 10 francs, while 1, 2, and 5 francs were used as daily circulating currency in silver coins.

Dujan's salary of 35 francs naturally consisted of three 10-franc gold coins and one 5-franc silver coin.

Unlike the majority of the Paris Legion members who came from the vicinity of Paris, Durand was one of the few. He was a farmer from Normandy, and at home, Durand had elderly parents and three younger siblings.

With a gambling father, a sick mother, and a younger brother and sister in school, Du Rang perfectly embodies what a broken family is.

The reason Duran stayed in Paris was because the salary there was higher, allowing him to send more money home.

After being recruited into the army, Du Rang heard about the army's welfare policies and saw that the salaries were higher than those he earned working outside, so he joined the army without hesitation.

But after arriving, Dujan became a little apprehensive, because in the current situation, with all they did every day was build fortifications, it looked like Prussia could besiege the city at any moment, could the French government really provide the funds?

This doubt was not only in Du Rang's mind, but also in the minds of many new recruits.

Now that the Crown Prince had distributed millions of genuine francs in front of all the French soldiers, the anxiety in the hearts of Dujan and others vanished.

Dujan himself was very grateful to Eugène for the salary; the 35 francs were enough for his family to live on for three months.

"I'm going to send this money home. My parents will be so happy to receive it."

"Me too. I need to buy some nutritional supplements for my pregnant wife and a cradle for my unborn child."

........

Looking at the French soldiers below who had received their pay and were enthusiastically discussing how to use the money, Eugène, standing on the platform, smiled.

In this era, or indeed in any era, money is the most direct and effective means of boosting morale.

This advance payment of September's military pay cost him a total of 3.5 million francs, which is just a drop in the ocean compared to the 120 million francs he borrowed from the bank.

But it was this very tea that earned the loyalty and morale of 120,000 soldiers.

This deal was incredibly lucrative for Eugène, who was about to settle his accounts and extract new francs from the capitalists' homes.

Of course, besides the advance payment of military pay, Eugen did many other things to improve the soldiers' lives. At this point, throwing money at the problem was Eugen's only standard, as long as it could increase the soldiers' favorability.

Having played the game "Galatians," Eugène easily won over a group of French soldiers.

In each military camp, Eugene built bathhouses and laundry rooms so that soldiers could take hot showers twice a week and change into clean clothes once a week.

[Comfort +1]

[Favorability +1]

Although he couldn't see the soldiers' panels or their systems, the battle-hardened Euren could still imagine the text appearing above their heads.

Eugene's initiative not only increased comfort but also significantly reduced the incidence of skin diseases and infectious diseases.

However, bathhouses and laundry rooms are ultimately only good for building up favorability. The only place that can truly increase favorability in actual combat is...

Eugène expanded the military hospital, hiring more than two hundred doctors and nurses from hospitals in Paris and nearby provinces to meet the needs of the war effort. He also purchased a large quantity of medicines and medical equipment.

Now, wounded and sick soldiers can receive timely treatment, unlike soldiers on the front lines who can only lie in trenches and wait to die.

To enrich the soldiers' leisure time, Eugene set up reading rooms and recreation rooms in each military camp, providing newspapers, books, chess, and playing cards.

During these few days, due to the high intensity of training, Eugène also invited several theater companies and musicians from Paris to perform at the military camp, putting on plays and concerts for the soldiers.

In any case, thanks to Eugène's relentless investment, the Paris Saint-Germain team's goodwill has truly been maximized.