France.
Provence, to the southeast.
A troop of well-arranged, well-equipped legionnaires marched into the Port of Toulon.
If one looked closely, one could notice slight differences in the crisp white uniforms worn by the soldiers—some had the collar embroidered with the patterns of the iris and dolphin, the exclusive insignia of the Crown Prince of France; others had the emblem of the Paris Police Academy on their collars.
Yes, this was precisely the "Crown Prince's Own Guard Corps" preparing to set sail for Tunisia. They had left Paris and headed south half a month ago.
At the time, Joseph had even skipped the grand ceremony of the announcement of the metric standards in order to see them off. Although it was somewhat regrettable, evidently, the North African strategy was the most pressing issue at hand. He personally gave the troops a pep talk before the battle and accompanied them for more than 20 kilometers, greatly boosting their morale.
