So Joseph was forcibly put on the hat of a "commander", and then he went to Verdun with the Red Army and a batch of materials donated by the "military-industrial complex". ( .)

When Joseph arrived at Verdun, the defenders of Verdun were in a panic because they had lost their commander. Fortunately, the surname "Bonaparte" helped Joseph a lot, because it is true, as Carno said, although Joseph had not had much contact with the fighting troops for a long time, there were legends of him everywhere in the army. Because all kinds of weapons used in the army carry the surname "Bonaparte".

In addition, General Joseph Bonaparte was the eldest brother of the famous god of war Napoleon Bonaparte, and it is said that he was also a direct superior of Napoleon in the past. Napoleon was so powerful, his brother, the founder of the Red Army, the initiator and leader of military reform, how could it not be bad, right?

What's more, Joseph also brought a lot of new weapons to help. It is said that these weapons were donated by the "military-industrial complex" to defend the motherland free of charge. And these things, compared to those things before the Northern Army, I really don't know how much better.

"Look at this authentic 'Bonaparte little melon', this nick, how beautiful, it is comfortable to touch. Look at this Minny rifle again, this rifling is smooth and neat, it's really more authentic than we used to......" A veteran said as he counted the weapons issued to them and boasted to the reinforcements next to him.

"What is this?" A soldier of the "Red Army" happened to be walking by, and when he heard the veteran blowing there, he said, "We have brought more things than these things...... Rest assured, with these things, there will definitely be enough for those British guys to eat. ”

A general with the surname "Bonaparte", plus a large number of weapons with the same surname "Bonaparte", raised the morale of the defenders of Verdun at once. In addition, everyone knows another exciting good news, General Napoleon Bonaparte is now on his way with more than 100,000 troops of the most elite Italian legion in all of France, as long as he relies on the fortress group of Verdun and holds for a while, the Italian legion can arrive, and then ...... France was saved.

"Little General Bonaparte will kick the British and Prussians in the ass so hard, will kick their ass into eight pieces. As long as we keep a little watch for a few days, it will be enough. "For the first time in the defenders, such optimistic voices appeared.

Having boosted the morale of the defenders, Joseph immediately devoted all his forces to improving the defense of Verdun. New gadgets such as barbed wire, trenches, shrapnel, mines, especially broadsword mines, and even flamethrowers (a land modification of Lavoisier's version) and the "Little Melon Catapult" (large slingshot) were quickly put in place.

Originally, in Joseph's plan, these things were reserved for Napoleon. Since ancient times, soldiers have been fast, and now it is the rainy season, Napoleon's troops have returned thousands of miles to help, and if they bring a large number of weapons and equipment, the speed of the march will be greatly affected. Therefore, according to Napoleon's request, Joseph had already prepared a large arsenal near Paris, so that Napoleon could make his soldiers drop some heavy weapons and baggage, and rush to Paris as quickly as possible.

But now, a large part of the arms in this large arsenal have been appropriated by Joseph. No way, after all, life matters, right? Although Kano felt that Joseph should be very capable of fighting; Although the veterans of the Red Army, the soldiers of the Northern Army, also felt that Joseph must be very capable of fighting; Although all the people of Paris believed that the surname "Bonaparte" would definitely fight; But Joseph himself did not believe that he could fight.

"Though his father is a good swimmer, how can his son be a good swimmer?" Joseph himself said this to himself, so he made up his mind to make his tortoise shell hard.

Although Verdun's defenses were getting stronger these days, many experienced officers felt that Verdun was impregnable, and they even decided that no army could move such a defense. No matter how strong the British and Prussians were, they could only look at the walls of Verdun and sigh. But Joseph still felt that he was not safe enough.

"It's a pity that our technical level is still too poor." Joseph said to himself, "If we could create armor like a droplet, which is maintained by strong interactions, then I would really be able to sleep soundly." ”

Of course, Joseph was able to manage his turtle shell so wholeheartedly, thanks to the British. Although the British and Prussian troops had already caught up to Verdun, the British artillery was still slowly crawling on the road.

The British army had a lot of artillery and was very powerful, but those cannons were originally intended for the navy, but the army was rapidly expanding, and it was impossible to get so many cannons for a while, so the navy's spare artillery was thrown to them in one go. The guns of the Navy are good for everything, they are just too heavy. It rained twice a few days ago. The roads of this era were all loess roads full of ash on sunny days and mud on rainy days, and as a result, the marching speed of the British artillery suddenly dropped to less than 300 meters a day.

In the previous battles, both the British and the Prussians were accustomed to having a lot of good and good cannons on their side, and now, facing a stronger fortress than Liège, without those cannons, they just went up, so how can it be done.

With the combined efforts of God and the British navy's artillery, Joseph gained a lot of time to consolidate his defenses. And his serious, meticulous attitude, and his approach to the safety of the soldiers everywhere has also won the widespread love of the soldiers.

While Joseph was busy organizing the defense, he also hurriedly sent people back to ask Napoleon for help: "Hurry up and find a few reliable generals, come over in advance, and help me organize the defense!" ”

Napoleon couldn't help but laugh when he received the urgent report.

His chief of staff, Berthier, asked: "Why is the general laughing?" ”

Napoleon laughed: "I laugh at the incompetence of the Anglo-Prussian army, and the incompetence of Joseph." My eldest brother, Joseph, is now the acting commander of the Northern Army, in charge of the defense of Verdun. He felt that he had no one to give him courage, so he wrote to me and asked me to send him a few advisers as soon as possible. Who do you think we send? ”

"Do you want Davout to go? It should be good. Berthier suggested.

"No......" Napoleon shook his head, "Davout is very capable, we have to keep it for ourselves...... Or let Murat go. ”

"Murat?" Berthier was puzzled, "Murat is very brave, but let him go ......"

"Do you really think that bastard Joseph needs someone to teach him how to defend himself? That guy is a big turtle, and he has a lot of ideas for defending against ghosts! He's just a little timid and needs someone to strengthen his guts. Believe it or not, if you were to run over and take a look now, you would surely see that this guy had turned Verdun into a spiky steel tortoise shell. I bet you that without our help at all, Joseph himself could have kept Verdun until the end of the world...... By the way, change the marching plan ......"

"How?" Berthier asked.

"Joseph, that coward, dragged to Verdun the cannons and all the other things that had been prepared for us in Paris. Shall we go to Paris empty-handed? He appropriated our cannon, so of course we'll have to bring it ourselves. Well, let's stop and fix the army so that the cannons and other baggage can catch up...... Why don't we just relax and go out on a picnic in the afternoon? Napoleon replied.

So Napoleon's marching speed suddenly dropped to the point where it was not much stronger than the British. Only Murat, who was "the most courageous", was entrusted with the important task and hurried to the north to serve as an adviser to Joseph.

Joseph was glad to receive the "military adviser" sent to him by his brother, and he took Murat around the entire fortress of Verdun, explaining to him his various defenses and ideas, and then the two of them returned to the headquarters together, entered Joseph's office, and sat down.

"General Murat, do you have any suggestions on how to strengthen the defense of Verdun? You know, I've never commanded such a large army before, and I've faced such a large-scale battle, and I'm quite inexperienced in many places. Joseph asked first.

"Ah, General Bonaparte, you are so polite. The defense of the Verdun fortress was actually very good, but it seemed to me that there were problems. Murat replied honestly.

"What's the problem?" Joseph hurriedly asked. At the same time, I thought in my heart: "I have long known that it is difficult to talk on paper, and I think that it is worth it, and I think that it should be a solid defense system with almost no loopholes, so that experienced generals can immediately see the problem at a glance." Fortunately, I was smart enough to ask Napoleon for a think tank. ”

"General Bonaparte, I feel that the fort of Verdun has invested too much force in its defense, and that the fortification of the defense is somewhat excessive. In fact, it is completely possible to reduce some defensive forces and use these forces for counterattacks or even offensive operations. And there are defenses like here, and here, and here...... You see, if you counterattack like this, I think you can get greater results, so although these facilities greatly enhance the defense capability of the fortress, but also interfere with the counterattack of our army to a certain extent, I think it is completely unnecessary, it should be demolished, anyway, the defense capability of the Verdun fortress is already a bit redundant. Murat said, pointing to the map.

"What should we do if the enemy forces quickly flank us from here while we are working like this?" Joseph asked.

"It's very difficult to complete such a flank attack at the right time, and I think the enemy shouldn't have reacted so quickly, and the probability of not appearing in this situation is very low. Besides, there is no one who does not take some risks in war......" Murat replied nonchalantly.

When Joseph heard this, he replied with a smile: "Okay, General Murat, I will consider your suggestion"

At the same time, he said in his heart: "What is the counterattack?" Wouldn't it be fragrant to hold on and wait for Napoleon to come? What does Napoleon mean by this kid to send such a guy with a head full of onslaught? ”