Flowers, Swords and France

Perhaps because he was a little excited when he said this, Ciel's breathing was slightly rapid, and he regained his composure after a while.

He barely suppressed his emotions and nodded gently.

"We have made our words very clear, and I hope you will not betray our trust." General Saint-Arnault had nothing more to say, and waved his hand gently, "Okay, that's all for today. I hope you will do the same in the future." Be able to show your determination with your own actions.”

All the young officers stood up from their seats neatly in an instant, saluted the two men respectfully, and then prepared to leave.

"Mr. de Lautrec, please stay for a moment. We have something else we want to talk to you about." Just as Viscount Alex de Lautrec was about to leave, suddenly Your Excellency the Minister gave another instruction.

ah? Is there anything else you want to tell me?

Alex felt only a sense of surprise in his heart.

At this time, he felt the envious gazes of his colleagues next to him, and then he smiled bitterly in his heart. Although this kind of thing will be regarded as an honor by colleagues, it has never been an easy job for me... Well, since I have received such a big reward, there is nothing to say even if I tolerate this occasional discomfort.

"Yes, Your Excellency." He replied respectfully, and then sat down again.

After everyone else had left and the door to the conference room was closed again, the conference room fell into brief silence again. Until a moment later. Charles then raised his head and looked at Viscount Lautrec, "Alex, how are you feeling lately? Is everything going well? How are you getting along with your colleagues?"

This series of questions. Alex was caught off guard, but he quickly calmed down and replied with a slight wry smile, "Everything is fine, sir. Although our department is a start-up, the members are all very outstanding members. Everyone is very happy." I’ll be able to get started soon. But... everyone is a bit too individualistic sometimes... so I’m afraid it will take more time for me to coordinate well with my colleagues.”

"Haha, does that mean we need more time to get along with these people?" Although Alex spoke a little hesitantly, both Charles and the minister understood what he meant. Then they all laughed. "It doesn't matter, we will give you time. Besides, you are the person in charge of our choice. Sometimes you should come up with your own style. Don't worry about what we think."

To be honest, Alex’s current situation is imaginable.

The people they took photos of were all ambitious and arrogant people. How could they easily be convinced by others? Even if Alex is their immediate boss, they may only respect him on the surface, but they are quite dissatisfied on the inside.

It doesn't matter, it's a good thing to have this energy, if everyone is mediocre. That's the trouble, Ciel thought.

"Okay. I understand." Viscount Lautrec nodded. He knew how important his dream was and how hard-won it was. "I will do my best to integrate everyone as soon as possible. It makes our organization run efficiently.”

"It's good that you have this determination." Charles nodded approvingly, and then he smiled again, "However, we specially kept you here today because we have another important thing to explain to you."

"Important things?" Alex looked at Ciel suspiciously.

"Yes, I think... have you heard another news?" Charles' tone was rather mysterious, "We plan to establish another important organization within the army..."

"Another important institution?" Alex frowned slightly and lowered his gaze, "If you put it like that... I have heard some rumors, but they are not very accurate..."

Upon hearing what Charles said, his curiosity aroused, and he wanted to find out what this already strange young man was thinking about now.

"Oh, it doesn't matter, you can know the whole story now." Charles' tone became more mysterious, which whetted Alex's appetite. "We plan to station a permanent army agency within the Ministry of Railways, directly under the minister. institutions so that some officers can understand the modern situation and avoid information occlusion. "

"Resident agency? Ministry of Railways?" Alex was completely confused by Charles's words, "Why? Also, what do I need to do?"

"You know, I served in the Ministry of Railways before coming to the Ministry of War, so... I can't boast that I understand the strategic significance of our country's railway industry very well." Seeing that Alex didn't quite understand, Xia Xia Er then patiently explained, "Although our country's current railway industry is still not developed enough, I can assert that soon we will have a very developed and complete railway network, and this network will completely reach our peak." The current existing war system..."

He paused for a moment to let Alex catch up with his thoughts, and then continued, "Since railways are so important to the military, we must make preparations early so that our country's railway network can be established according to military needs. We don’t have to wait for things to be remedied later. In addition, we need to equip a group of officers with sufficient intelligence and ability to master the skills of how to use this railway network so that the railway can play a huge role in the future.”

Alex blinked, not particularly understanding. Although he could understand what Ciel meant, he was still a little confused.

"After setting up such an organization, because it is so important, I hope that it can also be enriched by the best officers." Charles stared at Alex and revealed his purpose, "So , Alex, what I want to tell you is that in our planning, This organization needs to communicate regularly with the Secretariat, and sometimes even let some people exchange positions with each other - we want a group of young elites who are familiar with the institutional work of the Army and understand the actual operating conditions of the railway, so that we can Get generalists who are both authoritative and knowledgeable about practical matters.”

"Ah? This is your purpose? But...sir...why do you do this?" Alex finally understood. But there is still a bit of embarrassment on his face, as if hesitating, "If the two organizations want to rotate jobs with each other. I'm afraid... my subordinates may not like this arrangement. If they are not cooperative enough, I'm afraid it will be harmful to you." The idea is a very troublesome obstacle..."

These words were indeed from his heart.

As an elite with a bright future from the beginning, he did not feel that being posted to other departments was a bad job, nor did he think it had any special appeal to the officers under his command-if anything, If this secretariat also has a major responsibility to participate in secrets, which is enough to make them flock to it, what does this stationed agency have? Working with soot, charts, and numbers all day long? How is it possible to attract enough people?

Ciel sneered.

This was his purpose, he just planned to force these arrogant and rigid-minded young officers who were immersed in the glory of the past to breathe some fresh air. Understand what war is really about now - force it into their heads if they don't want to.

"It's precisely because I know you don't pay attention to it that I came up with the idea of ​​letting you communicate regularly - that's right. I just want to force you to learn this kind of knowledge that you despise. I want you to know that fighting is not just We are going to risk our lives on the front line with our heads high! Alex, I’m telling you, this is our final decision, you can only obey it, do you understand?”

Viscount Lautrec frowned again and sighed inwardly. Since they have the final say now, what else can be done? No matter how bizarre the request was, he could only find a way to fully execute the order.

"Okay, I will tell them and let them understand what you mean."

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"Alex. You are not a relayer, but a person in charge! You must let them obey the orders you relay. Instead of waiting for them to understand! Sometimes you really need to be stronger, and being too gentle will not do." Charles shook his head, not satisfied with Viscount Lautrec's somewhat reserved attitude. He said, "I hope you can. Although you are only the deputy director, everyone knows that you will have the final say in this department. Therefore, as the actual person in charge, you need to bear more responsibilities than others." …This requires you to gather all your energy and do your job well, do you understand?”

"Okay, I understand." Alex blushed a little due to Ciel's scolding, but still nodded.

"The head of this department is called Lucien Leflair. I will introduce you to him in a few days. In the future, you two heads will cooperate more and communicate regularly between the two departments." Charles continued in that kind of way. He continued in a tone that left no room for doubt, "Do you think this is okay?"

"No problem, sir, I can meet with him anytime." Alex nodded again.

"Okay, Alex, don't be so discouraged." General Saint-Arnaud waved his hand with a smile, "You just don't know the whole plan...Okay, in order to increase your enthusiasm, I will tell you , in the future, the president plans to rebuild the entire General Staff and let it be responsible for the planning and preparation of the army. Because the function is so important, we need some people who are both smart and well-versed in practice... What Charles means is. Select from the Secretariat and the agencies dispatched by the Ministry of Railways..."

"That's right," Charles nodded, and his tone became much more relaxed, "Our plan is to select elites from these two organizations, and then assist the president in controlling the military orders of the entire army in the future... You can tell this news Have you told your subordinates, so that they will be motivated? In addition, you also need to tell them that we need to conduct strict assessments, and only if they pass the appraisal, we will let them be promoted to the most important institutions. Don’t even think about getting through it!”

"Rebuild the general staff and take charge of the military orders of the entire army..." Alex couldn't hear the rest of Charles' words clearly. He only had this sentence lingering in his mind.

Subconsciously, he forgot all about "assisting the president" that Charles said.

He only felt a little dry. "Okay... okay, I will explain it to them carefully."

"We have already told you everything, so you should know how much the president attaches importance to this matter..." Charles continued to look at Alex, "Alex, this matter is very important. So you must work hard, do you understand?”

This is exactly what Charles had in mind, to strengthen the Army Department and the General Staff Department, one responsible for military affairs and the other for military orders. The two are separated and each specializes in its own business. Only in this way can he make the army better prepared for future wars.

And for this purpose, he had to do everything he could to promote it. After all, the Secretariat and the resident agencies are just institutions with insufficient power and unclear affiliation. What he wanted was to learn from Prussia and modern experience and establish a strong General Staff Department.

"I believe in your ability, do a good job, Alex." After seeing that the other party had understood, he breathed a sigh of relief and laughed leisurely.

History will never record that on this day, in a secret meeting room in the Army Department, a group of dangerous people gathered together, planning and preparing to take risks with all the resources of a country, and more than once. (To be continued...)