I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 692 Let’s Start the Second Phase
After giving instructions about the "optical signal tower", Sharp left first, while Joseph talked to Berthier about preparations for war.

"You may have heard that at the Stuttgart conference the British openly and unabashedly accused our country.

"According to this trend, war could break out at any time."

Berthier nodded solemnly: "Yes, Your Highness. The General Staff has reached a similar conclusion and has been making preparations as quickly as possible."

"So, where does the General Staff think the British will strike?"

"First, there must be a comprehensive naval blockade," Berthier said, "Our trade with America, the Far East, and even the Mediterranean coast will be severely affected.

"The situation will be more serious than during the Seven Years' War. Moreover, this time the Dutch fleet will most likely be under British command."

Of course, in this age without radar, a so-called total blockade is impossible to achieve.

France also has the second largest navy in Europe, and can still conduct some trade by protecting its own merchant ships on certain routes, but the total volume will inevitably drop significantly.

Joseph comforted the Chief of Staff: "I can assure you that, at least in the Mediterranean, the British will not be able to run rampant."

As a military leader, Berthier had naturally heard about the news of the steam battleship, and nodded:

"This will give our army a huge strategic space..."

He quickly returned to his job:

"The British army is not strong enough to challenge us, so they will definitely rely on Prussia, Hanover and Saxony to send troops together.

"Britain and Hanover could mobilize around 10 troops. Prussia's mobilization limit was closer to 20.

"According to the current situation, Austria's attitude is also very worthy of vigilance. They can mobilize more than 25 soldiers.

"The more likely route of attack is to cross the Rhine from Coblenz and attack our Verdun area. Or to go south from the Southern Netherlands to Lille. Even the Italian direction may be dangerous..."

Berthier briefly introduced the strategic judgment of the General Staff, and then talked about the preparations for war:

“Your Highness, at present, the 5th, 6th, and 7th Royal Infantry Divisions, as well as the 12th Royal Skirmishers, the 6th and 11th Royal Dragoons, and the 3rd Royal Cavalry have all been formed.

“The reorganization of the Royal Guards is also nearing completion.

"Currently, the General Staff has a total of 7 new troops. This number can be increased by about 1 by the end of the year."

In accordance with Joseph's request, the new French army underwent a comprehensive reorganization of the division-regiment-battalion model from the beginning of the year - consistent with the Napoleonic era.

This has been repeatedly proven in history to be the most suitable institutional structure for this era, so just copy it directly.

In fact, within five years, all European countries will have carried out similar reorganizations.

The Chief of the General Staff continued:
"As for the old army, it still maintains a size of around 9. However, it has basically completed standardized training, and its equipment has also become popular with percussion cap guns. Even some of the better legions are equipped with bulletproof inserts."

The old army had been greatly reduced in size compared to the 12 soldiers two years ago. The reduction was mainly due to the clearance of vacancies and the absorption of outstanding soldiers into the new army.

As for the "standardized training" formulated by the General Staff for them, it was only slightly stricter than before and was far from the training intensity of the Guards Corps.

After all, they were soldiers under the command of traditional military nobles, and it was impossible for them to keep up with the training pace of the new army - at least their physical fitness could not do so. The nobles could not provide them with high-quality food to keep them healthy. However, even so, the training volume of the old French army was already the highest in Europe, and even the British lobster soldiers could not compare with them.

However, they are at the bottom of the soldier contempt chain in France...

As Berthier was speaking, Perna suddenly appeared outside the door with an anxious look on her face.

Seeing that the Chief of General Staff was also present, she could only pace back and forth, but did not disturb them from talking about business.

After a long while, Joseph finally noticed her figure. He quickly signaled Berthier to stop and looked towards the door:
"What's the matter with you?"

The female doctor walked in quickly and said anxiously:

"Your Highness, Camelia doesn't seem to be in good condition..."

Caribbean Sea.

Saint Domingo.

In the former parliament building in Port-au-Prince, the new British Expeditionary Force commander, the Marquis Cunningham, sat at a table with a gloomy face - all the chairs here had been removed and moved away - and waved to the staff officer who was reading the press release next to him:
"That's it. No one cares about this anyway."

He has not fought a decent battle since he took over the command of the Caribbean battle from Brand a month and a half ago.

Before his expeditionary force passed Bermuda, President Auger of Saint-Domingue announced that he would take all the members of parliament to leave the capital, Port-au-Prince, and go into the Duarte Mountains to continue to preside over government affairs.

Yes, this new government, which was established just a few months ago, has gone into exile in a magnificent way.

Joseph had long anticipated the current situation in Saint-Domingo - Britain was still the most powerful country in the world, and if it was determined to deal with the black government in the Caribbean, the latter would have no power to fight back.

He remembered that in history, similar new regimes would mostly fight the invaders with all their passion, but then be defeated miserably and go into exile.

On the contrary, once these governments begin to go into exile, they will become a nightmare for the empire, causing the latter to fall into a situation of long-term consumption.

There was no other reason. The imperial army could not find any target to attack, and could not retreat. Even if the soldiers just basked in the sun every day, the military funds would be lost like a flood.

What's more, it's impossible for the locals not to cause trouble for you.

Therefore, the strategy Joseph formulated for Saint-Domingo was to skip the hard confrontation stage and start "exile" directly.

During the months since the establishment of the Republic of Saint Domingo, all the blacks on the island have been freed and the plantation owners have been compensated - of course, the compensation money came from the 30 pounds funded by the Duke of Leeds.

Afterwards, Auger ordered the entire Port-au-Prince to be evacuated, and a large amount of food and ammunition were stored in the Duarte Mountains, enough to last for one or two years.

Duarte is a large mountain range in the central part of São Domingo, covering nearly a third of the island, leaving plenty of room for maneuvering.

The last presidential decree issued by Auger before leaving Port-au-Prince was a call on the people of the country to resist the British invaders.

So, Marquis Cunningham sat in Port-au-Prince for nearly 50 days. All he did was to listen to the casualties of the army in the attack and to call on people from all walks of life in Saint-Domingo to come to the capital and re-elect the parliament in the newspapers.

But the white people here are all French and they don't pay any attention to the recruitment of your British officers. The black people have bloodshot eyes and just want to kill the British soldiers.

(End of this chapter)