Descending On France 1780
Chapter 157: King of 150 Cavalry

Chapter 157: King of 150 Cavalry

Anning quickly apologized to the painter David, then left the room.

David said nothing and quickly followed out.

In the monastery square, there indeed was a troop of Cavalry.

The Cavalry’s uniform was extremely opulent, said to have been passed down from the era of "Attila", composed of two coats called Dorman and Peris, looking like half a coat draped over as a cape.

It is said that many Nobles became Cavalry because of their glamorous uniforms.

Of course, the Cavalry uniform was also quite expensive. After all, the many buttons and densely packed lines of stitches required a lot of labor to sew. If made by a renowned tailor, a uniform could cost as much as a fine horse.

Because of this, most members of the Cavalry were either wealthy or noble, with many hiring famous tailors to make their own unique uniforms.

Besides their striking appearance, the Cavalry was also known for another notorious trait: extremely poor discipline.

This was a common problem for units of this era that required additional subjective initiative.

A "standard Cavalry" was generally skilled in all vices like eating, drinking, gambling, and whoring, viewing charging on the battlefield as a thrilling game.

And Antoine Louis Charles Lasalle was a typical Cavalry, holding the title "King of Cavalry."

Anning recognized Lasalle at first glance, as he was particularly fond of smoking, never parting with his pipe.

Moreover, his pipe was very large and long, resembling a curved saber when held in hand.

Upon seeing Anning, Lasalle immediately straightened his posture on horseback, raised his head proudly, and adopted the Cavalry inspection pose: "Look, the bravest man in all of France has arrived! I salute you, General Frost!"

As he spoke, his mustache quivered, making him look like a cartoon character.

Honestly, it was Anning’s first time seeing someone in real life with a mustache shaped like mammoth’s tusks.

Anning: "I’m flattered. It’s strange to me, they told me that after killing Lafayette, all Nobles would shun me; isn’t the Cavalry mainly composed of Nobles?"

Lasalle: "That’s a reasonable deduction! But Cavalry also admires warriors; a warrior who single-handedly charges into an army of forty thousand naturally attracts the Cavalry!"

As his words fell, the Cavalry behind Lasalle cheered together: "Right!"

"To your courage, we salute!"

Well, it seems the word outside is that Anning charged alone into forty thousand enemies. Perhaps the rumor even exaggerated that he single-handedly defeated Lafayette’s forty thousand men.

Anning: "Welcome to join us. To speak frankly, we are in dire need of Cavalry, very much in need!"

In this era, reconnaissance and communication between troops mainly relied on Cavalry. The amount of Cavalry to some extent determined how large an area an army could control.

Without Cavalry, the troops would become blind.

Lasalle: "Now you have Cavalry. If you need, I can also write to a few Cavalry officers I know well, convincing them to bring their troops here!"

Anning: "I would be much obliged!"

Lasalle saluted Anning again, then, seemingly unable to resist his craving, bit on his pipe and took a deep drag, then contentedly blew a smoke ring.

After taking a puff, Lasalle then said: "By the way, I heard all your Cavalry are ladies. May I have the honor to meet them?"

Anning suddenly became alert.

Damn it, the most undisciplined Cavalry just arrived and is asking where the female soldiers are. Is this a pig looking for cabbages to root up?

Anning: "I am currently very short of Cavalry forces, and every Cavalry is a precious combat asset to me. Don’t cause non-combat reductions in my Cavalry forces, Lasalle!"

Lasalle laughed heartily, and the Cavalry behind him also burst into laughter, as if Anning just made a joke.

After laughing, Lasalle waving his pipe said to Anning: "Rest assured, General Frost, we Cavalry are only interested in good wine and charging into battle! I can hardly wait, when are you going to strike Paris? And the Royalist army, along with the Austrians and Prussians, leading us to turn them upside down!"

Well, well, this guy has a war-maniac trait, huh?

Anning wanted to facepalm, feeling that he had taken under his wing a troublemaker.

Anning: "Don’t worry, there will be plenty of battles to fight in the future. If my guess is correct, we’re heading into a continuous period of turmoil. Soon, there will be so many battles that people will grow weary of them."

Lasalle was overjoyed: "That’s great!"

Damn, this war-maniac, actually saying that’s great?

Then Lasalle turned to Anning and delivered his signature line: "I’ve always believed that a Cavalryman who lives past thirty is a complete scoundrel! So use me as you wish, send me to the most dangerous places, let me dance with death!"

Anning wanted to facepalm: "No, no, your first task is scouting. Cavalry is an important scouting force."

Lasalle: "Of course, including scouting! Hahaha, leave it all to me! But there’s an important issue now. My brothers and I have traveled hundreds of miles to join you, and we now need rest. Who should I ask for a camp?"

Anning turned to Lazar Kano and said: "Arrange a camp for him, make sure it’s a bit distant from the female soldiers."

Lazar Kano nodded, then took a step forward: "Follow me, I’ll take you to the barracks."

Then Cano walked over to the hitching post, unhooked his horse, mounted, and left the monastery.

The Cavalrymen saluted Anning one by one, then also departed.

Anning watched this magnificent troop rumbling away, sighing deeply.

Lasalle was an outstanding cavalry officer, probably unmatched throughout the entire period of the Great Revolution if he were to command a cavalry brigade.

Even Moura couldn’t compare to him.

But the problem is, Moura had the talent of a Marshal, while Lasalle did not possess such skill. His command would falter if it exceeded a division.

Thus, in real history, although he met Napoleon quite early and achieved remarkable feats under his command — during the battle at Rivoli, Lasalle led two battalions of six to seven hundred Cavalry in a charge against six thousand Austrian soldiers who had just left the Adige River Valley, and with the cooperation of Napoleon’s personally commanded Artillery, forced the enemy to retreat back into the valley.

However, such a fierce warrior never attained the rank of Marshal; he remained a Major General at most.

Hence, Napoleon also realized that this man was only fit to be a Cavalry unit commander.

Knowing all this, Anning certainly knew how to utilize Lasalle.

However, among all the famous French cavalry generals, Anning hoped to acquire Moura rather than Lasalle.

Anning thought about these things, watching the Cavalry disappear beyond the monastery gates, then turned around only to see the artist David sketching something.

Anning: "What are you drawing?"

David: "I’m recording history. ’General Frost and his future Cavalry Commander meet.’ What do you think?"

Anning: "How are you so sure he is my Cavalry Commander?"

"Because he looks just like a typical Cavalryman, crude, reckless, and gallant." David chuckled, "Don’t you think?"

Anning also smiled: "Yes. But the Cavalry Commander of my dreams hasn’t arrived yet. When I find him, I’ll let you know."

David: "I’m looking forward to it!"

Anning: "Let’s go back and continue with your painting!"

"Alright!" David was full of enthusiasm.

Just then, Beethoven rode into the monastery on a horse.

"General Frost! I’ve completed that piece of music! Please, you must listen to it!"

Anning looked at Beethoven: "Alright, come on in. Nobody’s using the piano here anyway."