I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 824 Galloping Kitchen
"Two months ago, Her Majesty the Queen summoned Miss Veronique for this matter and asked her what reward she wanted. As a result, she said that she only wanted to be your maid. After Her Majesty confirmed that she had excellent court etiquette, grooming management, silent dusting, cooking and other skills, she readily agreed."

Veronique's family was a hereditary noble family, and they had some status in the Palace of Versailles, so she was barely qualified to be the maid of the Crown Prince. Queen Marie thanked her for helping Camelia, so she agreed.

Camelia glanced at the girl and whispered to Joseph, "Your Highness, Miss Veronique really admires you. After learning that she could come to Brussels, she was so excited that she couldn't sleep for several nights."

Joseph smiled and nodded at Veronique, but he didn't feel anything special.

After all, there were dozens of maids around him, and he could only remember the names of a few bedroom maids. At the same time, the competition was fierce, and this lady might be replaced in a few months.

"Your Highness," Veronique warned carefully, "what about dinner?"

"Oh, it's a little late today. Let's taste your cooking next time."

"As you wish, Your Highness." The girl's face showed just the right amount of desolation. She took two steps back and stood behind Camelia again.

Joseph turned to Emmanuel and said, "Please ask the chef to prepare an extra dinner and send it here. I want to dine with Camelia."

He had been away from Paris for quite a long time this time, and was ready to hear from the maid about the king, queen, and Charles' recent situation.

When the dinner was mentioned again, Camelia suddenly puffed out her chest with some pride and said to Joseph: "Your Highness, thank you for your invitation. Well, I also have something to give you as a return gift for the dinner."

Joseph had been busy with military and state affairs recently, and now he felt a rare relaxation. He asked with interest, "Oh? What is that?"

"It's in the yard outside." Camelia identified the direction, came to the east window, and pointed to a "carriage" not far away. "That's it, Your Highness. I call it the 'Flying Kitchen'!"

Joseph's eyes lit up when he heard that, and he turned around and asked, "You mean, cooking can be done in that carriage?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Camelia said, "When I was recuperating, I saw the makeshift cooking carts used by the nobles for picnics, and I remembered that Her Majesty the Queen was always worried that you wouldn't have delicious food at the front, so I worked with Mr. Picard to improve that thing.

"Then we asked Lieutenant Leroux for advice. You know, he had fought in the war in Tunisia."

Picard was the Dauphin's personal carpenter, while Lieutenant Leroux was a palace guard.

Joseph asked again: "Your...ah, it's called 'Flying Kitchen'? How heavy is it? Can it be driven in the wild?"

"It's probably about the same weight as a carriage with three people in it," the maid said. "Lieutenant Leroux tried it and it can pass through any place that is not particularly muddy."

"So what can it do?"

"It has an oven and a stove inside. Mr. Picard designed them to share a furnace. You can use it by unfolding the carriage wall. Oh, and there is also a complete set of pots and cooking utensils, as well as coal blocks, seasonings and so on." Camelia seemed to be very fond of her little invention, and she looked even happier. "If a skilled chef is used, he can use it to prepare 20 servings of stew in 150 minutes. Including the time to light the fire."

Joseph didn't even care about his dinner when he heard that. He dragged Camelia out of the house and said, "Let me take a closer look at it. You may have created something incredible."

Don't underestimate the soldiers' diet.

Eating is really directly related to combat effectiveness.

It is conceivable that the soldiers on both sides of the war were eating dry bread and rock-hard bacon on one side, and hot meat and vegetable soup and soft hot bread on the other side. Who would have higher morale when the battle came?
Even the latter's physical strength is much higher than the former. Especially when it's cold, a bowl of tomato beef soup can restore your health. In this era, the armies of various countries basically use dry bread and pickled meat as rations, with a little wine for seasoning.

The best elite troops could only heat up the food so that there would be fewer impurities in the bread.

Even for officers, it is basically a luxury to have freshly cooked hot meals.

The core reasons for restricting military meals are, first, the cost of food, and second, that cooking on the battlefield will increase a lot of logistical burdens.

When going to war, the army would rather transport more artillery shells than a lot of cooking utensils.

But Camelia's battlefield dining car is very maneuverable and can be towed by a draft horse. It can provide food for about four to five hundred people.

A regiment with three vehicles and eight or nine cooks can greatly improve the soldiers' food standards. The increased pressure on logistics is completely acceptable.

Joseph remembered that similar battlefield dining cars did not appear until the late Napoleonic Wars, and the quantity was not large.

This treasure girl in front of me was actually figured out so early!

He and Camelia came to the "Flying Kitchen" and ordered the guards to open it. They saw an ingeniously designed wooden frame structure inside, with a stove on the left and tools and storage space on the right.

It seems that Mr. Picard also put in a lot of effort.

Joseph looked at the size of the furnace and the standard iron pot. Based on his own experience of going on military expeditions, he judged that Camelia's serving data was still conservative. He estimated that she had asked the court chef to test it.

If it were the rough guys in the army, they could probably make stew for 20 people in 200 minutes.

He simply had the dining car unfold, light the fire, and call a chef to cook dinner here.

Half an hour later, two simple dinners of tomato-braised pigeon, artichoke mashed potatoes, roast veal, and a few slices of bread appeared in front of him.

This is a big pot meal, so it takes about the same amount of time to make it for 2 as it does for 40.

Sitting at a small wooden table in the yard, Camelia was eating food on her plate, stealing glances at the cheerful Crown Prince. Her cheeks turned slightly red, and her face was full of a happy smile.

His Highness had done so many things for her and even saved her life. This time, she could finally repay His Highness a little.

If only I could do more for His Highness.

After dinner, Camellia wanted to continue serving the Crown Prince, but Joseph, considering her fatigue from the journey, told her to have a good rest first.

When the maid returned to her room and was about to open the door, she heard a girl's voice behind her: "Miss Camelia, do you want to be closer to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"

Camelia recognized the name without turning her head: Veronique Legris.

(End of this chapter)