French Empire: But Napoleon IV

Chapter 46: Distribution of Resources and Discussion of the Food Issue

France was not lacking in weapons. Historically, Prussia had captured 600,000 Châteppé rifles from France, a large portion of which were in near-new condition.

The Franco-Prussian War was never an unequal war, and neither side possessed an overwhelming advantage in terms of national strength. France's defeat was largely due to various internal factors.

After the 13th Army transformed into the Paris Legion, at 10 a.m. on the other side, the Prime Minister's Office had to convene another emergency cabinet meeting for the establishment of the Paris Legion.

Unlike the previous issues that involved multiple topics, this time there was only one: the distribution of supplies to the Paris Legion.

Forced by reality, Montauban, who had no choice but to issue three orders, slammed a handwritten Paris supplies statistics table on the table with a gloomy face. After expressing his dissatisfaction with a cold snort, he began to explain the current situation of stockpiling supplies in Paris.

"This is the latest data jointly compiled by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Commerce. Paris currently has 3 tons of flour, 1.1 tons of wheat, and a total of 4.1 tons of grains. The city also has 3 cattle and 18 sheep."

The Bois de Boulogne also houses 4 cattle and 25 sheep, urgently transported from Normandy. In addition, there are 4000 tons of rice, 30 kilograms of coffee, and 1.2 tons of fodder for military horses.

These data have already been calculated; expecting Montauban, a roughneck, to do it on the spot would be asking too much of him.

The prime minister read aloud the data and calculations submitted by his subordinate departments.

"According to wartime quotas, the average Parisian citizen is required to consume 250 grams of grain and 100 grams of meat per day. With 200 million citizens, this would mean consuming 500 tons of grain and 200 tons of meat daily."

The current grain reserves are just enough to last 82 days. Based on the meat yield rate of 150 kg per cow and 20 kg per sheep, the total meat production is 1910 million kg, enough to last 63 days.

This time, Eugene attended the meeting, as the Crown Prince needed to secure some necessary benefits for his army.

Enemies meeting are bound to be filled with hatred. Montauban, having finished reading the supplies information, raised his head, his eyes fixed on Eugène.

"Your Highness, 12 troops are stationed in Paris. Due to training and combat needs, each soldier consumes at least 500 grams of grain and 200 grams of meat per day. In addition, the horses consume 60 tons of grain, 24 tons of meat, and 150 tons of fodder every day."

If all resources are prioritized for the Paris Army, Paris will run out of civilian supplies within 55 days. At that point, the starving populace will revolt without the Prussian army even needing to invade.

Nonsense. Now, thanks to the Seine and railway transport, goods from all over the country are being shipped to Paris.

Historically, the riots in Paris in September were even more intense, and the city was later besieged, yet civilian supplies still ran out in a short period of time.

Montauban's words were simply an attempt to put pressure on Eugène. Undeterred by Montauban's rhetoric, Eugène proceeded with the distribution of supplies in Paris according to his own plan.

"Mr. Prime Minister, I agree with your calculations, so I suggest that all combat-related supplies be divided into three parts."

Two-thirds were allocated to meet the needs of the Paris Legion, and one-third to maintain the police, gendarmes, and local garrisons. Fifteen percent of the civilian reserves were set aside as emergency reserves specifically for dealing with famine and sudden unrest.

No one would criticize Montauban's calculation method, which completely ignores the transportation of external supplies; Eugène even nodded in agreement.

In his words, since supplies are so scarce, the government should just give up on expanding the army and hand over the supplies to the Paris Legion, the police, and the gendarmerie.

If these supplies are still insufficient, I won't ask the government for any more. Eugène Napoleon's face was full of sincerity, but in Montauban's eyes, this sincerity turned into irony.

Montauban's calculations were absurd, and he himself knew it; he just wanted to use this argument to criticize Eugène.

However, Eugène countered, and Montauban, as a military officer, found himself unable to argue, so he could only blush and slam his fist on the table to reject Eugène's distribution method.

"No, two-thirds is too much. We can only give half at most. The troops at the front need supplies, and the Bazin Legion, being on the front lines, needs the material support from Paris even more."

"The Bazan Legion is stationed at the Metz fortress, where there are 2.5 tons of wheat and 8000 head of cattle in the granaries, enough to last them for three months."

The struggle for resources is uncompromising. Montauban could not accept Eugène's arguments. Now, Eugène also cannot accept Montauban's arguments.

As a key fortress built by Nashville and a frontline supply transit center, Metz Fortress had no reason to continue risking Paris to transport supplies.

Unlike the last argument that turned into a full-blown feud, this argument, while still somewhat confrontational, was generally much more subtle.

"Paris is the heart of France. If Paris is lost, it will mean nothing even if the Bazin army wins every battle."

His Majesty's order is very clear: all supplies must be allocated unconditionally and with priority to the Paris Legion. Mr. Prime Minister, I doubt you intend to disobey His Majesty's supreme command order.

Once Eugène said that, what else could be said? The big label had already been placed on Montauban, and he was caught in a dilemma—to speak out or not to speak out.

Montauban really wanted to retaliate and mock Eugène, telling him that he was daydreaming, that the French army at the front hadn't collapsed yet, how could the Prussian army possibly have reached Paris, and that he had no basic military knowledge.

However, he swallowed the words back. Paris would eventually have to expand its military, and at the moment, Paris only had the 13th Army, a regular army.

Even if they win the debate now, what good will it do? The government still has to obediently hand over supplies to the Paris Legion. The renowned French National Guard hasn't even been ordered to be formed yet, unless the French government is truly at its wits' end.

Eugène sighed, realizing that the Governor-General of Paris and the Prime Minister were at odds and could easily hinder the country during wartime. She had been trying to reconcile the two.

The French Regency had to step in once again to break the deadlock.

"Do as the Crown Prince says. Two-thirds of the war supplies will go to the Paris Legion, and the remainder will be allocated by the Cabinet. Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture, you will implement this plan."

In addition, starting today, Paris will implement a food rationing system, distributing 200 grams of grain per person per day and meat once a week.

Eugénie was dissatisfied with Eugénie's layout, but couldn't come up with any new solutions. She couldn't very well bring in another soldier from Montauban, so she had to grit her teeth and accept reality.

From the moment Eugénie laid out the first page, military power and control of most of the resources in Paris fell into the hands of the fourteen-year-old Crown Prince of France.

On the surface, the supplies were given to Campbell, the qualified French marshal, but everyone knew that giving them to Campbell was tantamount to giving them to Eugène.