The officers looked at the luxurious conference table being moved away with perplexity, replaced by an ordinary small wooden table.
Joseph pointed to the room they were in, with its pillars and ceiling adorned with complex geometric patterns and tapestries hanging on the walls, and said to the crowd:
"I hope that from now on, our combat meetings will all be held in the army's tents. Please remember, our task is to fight wars, and to win wars. Thus, every action we take and everything around us must be related to combat. Pleasure and display can wait until after the war is won, and we talk about it back in Paris."
At present, the officers throughout the European army were full of aristocratic airs, such as hosting wine parties and banquets amidst the smoke of the battlefield, and there were even those who commanded battles with mistresses in tow.