The marshal's expression was extremely lonely, as if he was recalling the poor living conditions in his youth, but he quickly shook his head, "Actually, like you, I came up from the bottom little by little. I have seen poverty, and I have tasted it. White eyes..."
"If there is any difference, maybe my family could still maintain enough food and clothing at that time, and I could still get a certain education. This may be the difference between you and me..."
"Other than that, I am just like you... We are all a group of people who are far away from power and wealth. We are all the foundation of the pyramid. It's just that I can see a little sunshine, while you are all buried deep underground. There is no light at all..."
At this point, the marshal's expression became solemn, "So! What changed our destiny? It was the Great Revolution! We must always remember that it was the Great Revolution that changed our destiny!"
"Without the Great Revolution, there would be no Declaration of Human Rights. Without the concept that all people are created equal, there would be no phenomenon in which civilians could also be knighted!"
"Before the Great Revolution, the world was dark. Nobles were always classified by blood, and untouchables would never change their destiny in their lifetime!"
"Without the Revolution! What are we? We are nothing, we are just bullshit!"
"Others can steal our money, trample on our food, insult our wives and daughters... but we cannot resist at all!"
"Because there are always people telling you that you are born poor...that is your fate!"
"Why!" McMahon said loudly, "Why? Anyway, I don't accept it! The people of France don't accept it either! This is the revolution that changed the world!"
"Children! Everything we have now is actually the legacy of the Great Revolution. We have been eating the legacy that our ancestors gave us with their lives!"
"Now look outside! Look at those armed Prussian thugs! They are different from us, different..."
McMahon stood up and pointed in the direction of the enemy without fear of danger. "Look, those people are different from us... Prussia is still a feudal monarchy! Their social structure is completely different..."
"Feudal dictatorship! They are a country with a military feudal dictatorship! All they want to do is destroy everything we have right now!"
"Do you know what the society in Prussia is like now? Their people are extremely poor. Although they have a huge army armed with hypocritical nationalist spirit and whips and sticks, you must remember that those stupid soldiers will never Nor will I change my destiny by relying on my military exploits!"
"Those who can get the most rewards will always be the descendants of the Junker nobles and the descendants of their Hohenzollern family... Common people want to change their own destiny? Just dream!"
"Aren't I a real example? I am a descendant of the Jacobites who came from a civilian background. In the end, I became a marshal due to my military exploits. I can also be made a duke!"
"This would never happen in Prussia!"
"Bismarck, Moltke, Steinmetz... look at those important ministers in the Prussian court! They are all nobles, all descendants of feudal nobles!"
"This is where we are different from them!"
"From the bottom of our hearts, we are not a country! Although we are an empire now, our empire is an empire that inherited the legacy of the Great Revolution!"
"The glory of the Revolution flows from every pore of our empire!"
The soldiers around were dumbfounded! Everything the marshal said sounded so strange and distant, but after thinking about it carefully, it made some sense.
At this time, a young voice in the crowd said, "Marshal! What you said, do you mean that you have given up the empire and converted to the republican system?"
"Does what you said mean that you gave up His Majesty the Emperor and chose the Republic!"
The words shocked everyone around him like thunder. The officer behind McMahon even drew his command knife and said, "Who! Who is talking nonsense? Do you dare to frame the marshal?"
Dare to question the marshal blatantly, and even say that the marshal wants to abandon the empire and emperor and support the republic. If this hat is firmly held, it will be a huge sin!
A group of marshal's direct line officers wanted to capture the daring man and shoot him. While they were looking for him, a very young officer walked out among the soldiers.
McMahon was stunned when he saw it. It wasn't that he knew the soldier, but that the soldier was too young. It looked like he might have just turned 20 years old.
But this young man is actually a lieutenant!
According to the practice of the French army at that time, a lieutenant could serve as an officer at the platoon level or deputy company level, but this age was too young!
"Young man? How old are you this year?" McMahon was not only surprised by his youth, but also surprised by this child's fearlessness, showing no fear at all when facing so many senior officers.
"Eighteen years old!" The young man proudly said with his chest raised and his head raised.
ah! The crowd roared, "So young? Are you fake? It's impossible... an eighteen-year-old lieutenant?"
The boy's face suddenly turned red as if he had been insulted. "Are you questioning me? I am a technical soldier. I am a student of the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris. My major is engineering!"
"I was specially drafted into the army, and now I serve in the Vincennes Artillery Regiment! Metz, Chalon, and Sedan... all have artillery positions built under my supervision!"
oh! All the officers and soldiers, including the marshal, suddenly realized it. McMahon raised his hand to stop his men from moving rashly.
"You turn out to be the country's future engineer! As expected, you were enlisted through special recruitment. I admire your patriotism!"
"With a group of young people like you, our motherland has hope!"
"The question you just asked is very sensitive, but it is not unusual for college students like you to ask such a question!"
"After all, you live in Paris, a place with complex ideas. You are exposed to many new ideas, so you will naturally have questions..."
Ecole Polytechnique de Paris is actually the École Polytechnique de Paris in the 21st century!
This school was born during the French Revolution. It was originally a science college that trained engineering. Later, Napoleon I upgraded it to a military college.
The most famous standard of this school is the statue of two crossed cannons given by Napoleon, just like the mathematical symbol x!
The cannon represents the military, and x represents the unknown number in mathematics. Its purpose is self-explanatory!
It is worth mentioning that this college is the ancestor of all science and engineering universities in later generations, and it was this college that established this educational model.
All the polytechnics and colleges of this model in later generations are the École Polytechnique of Paris where you study!
In 1870, the French Ministry of Defense deepened its management of the school. An active general became the administrator of the school, and all students were awarded military ranks from the moment they entered school.
Their unified name in school is "student officers". Once they are temporarily recruited into the army, they will be awarded corresponding military ranks. This is the origin of the 18-year-old lieutenant officer.
Note: Who is this young officer? Take a guess, I have revealed enough information to everyone, and there will be more information if you guess right!
