(Sad UNKNOWN Noises)
And I wish you luck.
Do you want the Short version or the long version?
We have time. Assuming it doesn't detract from your work.
So the test of opening the second objective (of our mission) is secured French interests in Egypt. That second objective being secured continued interests in India.
The Problem is that High command gave direct orders to go to Egypt to secure it. They want us to go as far away as possible.
I don't know, he can always flee deeper into Austrian Territory.
Well that is true, but they would also be more vulnerable to British counters, and if they get stuck, they will be out of reinforcements and left to die.
And don't forget, a possibility to link up with Napoleon when he's rampaging through Italy.
Murat is a Calvary Officer, not a good admiral at this time.
I mean, he has already broadened his mind quite a bit since we've taken him under his wing.
This is where independent command comes in handy. We can operate from Sicily to Alexandria, Egypt across the whole Eastern Med. Our orders leave a lot of room to roam. As long as we visit Egypt or one of our subordinates* does, on our behalf and the plan covers the aims of the order. What they want and what they have asked of us are two different things.
So in other words... We're stretching the orders enough so we have leeway... but following them close enough to not get a reprimand...
It's a poisoned chalice. Even a nominal sip isn't healthy. I try to preserve the fleet in being at Malta and the Army on agricultural Sicily. Leverage from this position moves the rest.
That is a really bad reason. The tally is 9 v 8 now so you are deciding with this vote one way or the other. I think you should change it.
A what now?
They would have no chaperone, since Charlotte is at present only 14, and her brother is 7, and we would be thousands of kilometers away to help them. Sending them there alone seems like a terrible ideia. If you guys don't want to send them to Egypt, at least consider handing them over to Brian. They would be much safer in Italy and under his protection.
Why would you think that? We don't know anything about the place as far as I am aware.
The only thing you know is that Napoleon recommends the academy.
That's a pretty low bar though, and there are die hard republicans and DIE hard republicans. If he is the latter that is not good for the kids. If we know him well enough and he is the former I guess it would be alright.
Yeah, there is no way we should let the two of them be responsible for each other. They are much too young. Which is why the apartment option is a non-starter
That doesn't really narrow it down
(I'm guessing Lucien?)This doesn't fill me with confidence, since they are potential pretenders to him, and he probably has taken that in consideration when selecting the academy. So maybe no Royalist plots, but other things might happen. I guess the question is: would we trust Napoleon with them enough?
Napoleon wouldn't recommend a bad school, nor one that promoted royalist ideals. As the school's customer we would hold them accountable, Brian could too. Can we detail a bodyguard?
Sure, but the two of them are potential pretenders to the leadership of France. It is much more likely that he suggested it to keep an eye on them and make sure they are isolated from people sympathetic to them. The quality of the school is immaterial if it is a hostile environment for the children or puts them in potential danger.
Well there is one vote already for Charmans + Road Trip so I joined Icefox and hopefully others can reconsider too.
I do want them to have an education, just worried at what sending them there would entail. The trip to Egypt will make us sit in a ship doing nothing for some time, so we can personally attend to that, and during the preparation we should definitely see about finding a tutor for them. They can learn Arabic with us as well, since we'll need to speak that in the future.
You do realize that children have been sent to boarding schools throughout history, and all signs indicate they turned out just fine? One of them actively wants to attend one. And it's not like we're just dumping them there and forgetting them, there will be correspondence through letters.
That's... debatable. Regardless, this isn't just a boarding school and the children aren't "regular children"
We are, we'll be more than a month away through communcation, and handing them off to a total stranger, who probably has a bad view of them as a matter of principle.
That is just wrong though. If there is a food shortage, the people least affected by it would be the officers and their wards. We won't starve, the soldiery will. And they won't be in the frontlines fighting, they'll be in the rear, as they were when we campaigned before.