The spirit of insubordination was even more rife amongst the National Guard, as the following incident will show. Prince Charles ordered the National Guard of Bucharest to assemble at the parade-ground of Cotroceni on July 2, 1866. The President of the Ministry reported to the Prince the day before that the National Guard would refuse to muster as ordered, as a rumour had gained currency that they were to be disarmed on account of their party tendencies. They intended, therefore, to parade before the Chamber, and invoke the protection of the Deputies against such a step. The Prince, however, refused to change his order, and insisted upon its execution. On arriving at Cotroceni the following day, he found that only a couple of hundred men had assembled there. An aide-de-camp was at once despatched to Bucharest to enforce the order, whilst Prince Charles set himself at the head of those present and marched with bands playing into the capital. Companies then appeared from all sides, until some three thousand men were collected on the Theatre Square. The Guard then marched past and cheered their Sovereign again and again, though their behaviour had given him every reason to consider them an element of danger rather than of safety to the State. The projected army reforms were hampered at every turn by the want of money; on one occasion the Prince was even obliged to advance money out of his private purse for the purchase of two batteries of rifled guns from Krupp's factory. The strength of the army, which the Sublime Porte had limited to 30,000 men, was to be organised into a standing force of 20,000 with a reserve of 10,000 men; whilst a Militia of 30,000 and a Landsturm of 50,000 were to be instituted. Every Roumanian who was fit for service was liable to serve from the ages of twenty to forty in one or the other category. Though the total number of men available thus amounted to over 100,000, the great bulk remained untrained, and of very little value for service in the field. The frequent reviews and inspections which Prince Charles initiated proved that the troops lacked cohesion, and their officers the ability to lead their men in accordance with the principles of modern warfare.