Descending On France 1780
Chapter 107 - 101 I, the new master of Conte

Chapter 107: 101 I, the new master of Conte

Cardinal Hart, trembling, asked, "The monastery... is it to be used as a garrison?"

Anning: "It’s none of your concern what I use it for. According to the resolution of the National Assembly, all church properties are now the property of the National Assembly. Prior to the arrival of the National Assembly’s Special Commissioner, all church real estate shall be under our management!"

As for when the National Assembly’s Special Commissioner would arrive, that would depend on when Anning applied to the National Assembly in Paris. If Anning never applied, then he himself would be the Special Commissioner.

Hart’s mouth twitched, but seeing the National Guard, who had just achieved a great victory, looking fierce and formidable, he dared not say more.

"Alright, the largest monastery here is the Saint Martin Monastery."

"And the most luxurious one?" Anning asked again.

"That’s also Saint Martin..."

"Good, then that’ll be our garrison. Take us there."

**

Indeed, the Saint Martin Monastery was very large and the entire monastery was built like a fortress.

Anning felt a bit relieved looking at this monastery, thinking that it was fortunate they had crushed the rebel army in the open field, for if the rebels had retreated and defended from within the monastery, he would have been at a loss for what to do.

Now it was all good; the large monastery had become the barracks of the National Guard.

Cardinal Hart led Anning on a tour around the monastery, and Anning was very satisfied: "Alright, this monastery will do. All the priests and choir members, get out of here. And don’t even think about taking any sacred objects with you. I know you have a lot of these valuable items, like the vestment robes you’re wearing now, adorned with gold and silver, all of these belong to the National Assembly!"

As soon as Anning finished speaking, Russell took a step forward: "You, take off the robe!"

Hart: "Should I take it off now?"

"I’m not asking you to take off your priest attire, just the vestment robe you’re wearing over it!" Lieutenant Russell said without politeness.

The group of clergymen with Cardinal Hart was currently wearing a white, vest-like garment akin to a bulletproof vest, lavishly decorated with gold and silver—a glance was enough to tell their high cost.

Anning watched with satisfaction as the Bishop took off the robe, then he ordered Russell: "Organize a team, storm into the nearby monasteries, and take... no, seize all their gold and silver, transport it to the Great Cathedral we just visited. From now on, those will be the property of the National Assembly!

"After moving the items, seal up the monasteries with notices, those real estates are also the property of the National Assembly now. Wait for the arrival of a trustworthy Bishop appointed by Paris to manage them."

Russell: "Yes! Carrying out immediately!"

With that, he saluted and left with his men.

Hart looked pale: "If you seal all church properties, what about us clergymen? This place is directly under the Pope, with thousands of priests and monks. If you seal all the monasteries, where will we live?"

Upon hearing about so many clergymen, Anning was also troubled.

Initially, he had planned to send the masterminds to Paris, publicly try the remaining priests to see who had participated in killing patriots, and then execute them.

However, Anning didn’t intend to massacre so many all at once. His original thought was to hang just a few dozens and be done with it. Hearing there were so many clergymen, he paused, stunned.

To massacre so many clergymen, it would weigh on his conscience, as Anning was fundamentally a good person.

And if he didn’t execute them allowing them to flee to the countryside, rouse the villagers, and incite another wave of the rebel army, that would be unbearable.

Anning felt he had won mainly through luck, devisively thinking of a strategy that worked, and he did not want to try his luck again.

After a long thought, Anning suddenly had a burst of inspiration: "Right, the Church has a lot of agricultural land, doesn’t it? Release all the serfs you’ve employed and have the priests labor in the fields! You should reflect on your sins through toil!"

Hart was dumbfounded: "What the hell? You want us to farm? We are priests ordained by His Holiness the Pope of Rome!"

Anning sneered coldly, "Hmph, the Pope! How many divisions does he have?"

Hart was intimidated by the overwhelming presence Anning exuded as he spoke and hesitated before answering, "Probably...not even one division..."

"So don’t overthink it. Go and farm diligently at the Church estates—no, they now belong to the National Assembly. Reflect on your own mistakes. But this no longer concerns you, you’re the mastermind behind the rebellion, and in a few days, I will escort you and several other bishops to Paris for trial."

**

Thus, the blue-clad National Guard settled down in the Saint Martin Monastery.

The priests who used to live in the monastery were driven out to work the farmlands of the Church estates under the watch of a company of soldiers.

The soldiers of the Self-Defense Army plundered the treasures from several of Conte’s monasteries, moving them all to the Great Cathedral of the Saint Martin Monastery for storage.

Facing a room full of gold and silver, Anning couldn’t help but exclaim, "These are not priests, these are vampires perched on people’s heads, sucking their blood."

Now all these possessions are mine—no, they belong to the National Assembly!

With all these assets, new ideas began to form in Anning’s mind.

He had originally planned to loot a bit and then return to the court, but with so much wealth and considering the size of his force, it would be difficult to transport it back. He figured that along the way, lots of soldiers would likely steal some of the treasure and desert.

If he stayed put, he could ensure the safety of the wealth.

Furthermore, with these assets, he could fully support a sizeable army.

Even if Paris wouldn’t provide any Military Salary, he would be able to afford to pay his troops.

Why not just establish a permanent post in Conte, using "preventing further rebellion" as an excuse?

The more Anning weighed his options, the more reliable the idea seemed. With his current high prestige in the National Assembly, a return to Paris would surely elevate his reputation even further. Even without deliberately doing much, he would definitely interfere with the course of history.

—Besides, I suspect I have a peculiar ability to attract the focus of events to myself just by being present.

At this rate, I’ll become the Duke of the Country of France, and history will steer completely off course. This definitely won’t do.

It’s better to distance myself from the political center and find some periphery place to observe for a few years.

Conte looks good for that, with a luxurious monastery to live in, and so much military funding available, it’s perfect to stay here and watch the world change.

Of course, since this area was the original rebel zone, living here might not be too peaceful, but I can expand the military to cope!

With so much money, doubling the size of the army should be enough to handle any issues. Conveniently, Anning had recently collected over a thousand Flintlocks from the battlefield, useful for equipping the newly recruited troops.

The black-clad army was less than ten thousand strong, after all.

Having made up his mind, Anning ordered the troops to prepare for a long-term stay.

Stock up on food and secure abundant supplies.

While he was busy preparing for his armed self-governance, he blatantly ignored the recall order from Paris and delayed it for over a month.

During this month, Anning established a local Parliament under his control in Conte and also formed a local National Guard as a security force.

Anning also allocated some of the seized funds to nearby areas that had been looted by the Rebel Army, to compensate them for their losses.

He issued recruitment notices in the surrounding towns, calling for Patriots with aspirations to accomplish something.

However, the recruitment notice did not seem effective for the time being, probably because Anning did not set up recruitment stations in neighboring cities and volunteers had to walk to Conte on their own to join.

Anning stayed in Conte causing trouble until July when the Parliament in Paris could no longer tolerate it and sent his close friend Dan Dong to urge him to return to Paris to report.