Descending On France 1780
Chapter 182: General Frost requests your support for the cause of Italy’s independence.

Chapter 182: General Frost requests your support for the cause of Italy’s independence.

Diego City is small but looks quite prosperous.

After all, this city in Northern Italy has accumulated so much wealth over the years.

In real history, after Massena took Diego City, he immediately allowed his troops to plunder it. The impoverished Italian Legion’s soldiers were so envious when they entered Diego City that they looted food, money, and women.

However, Anning’s Italian Legion was different; his troops were nurtured with the Church’s wealth, were relatively more disciplined, and due to Anning’s strict control over his troops and prohibition against looting, they did not commit any offenses when they entered the city.

When Anning arrived at the city gate, he even saw several Italians wearing liberty caps and waving tricolor flags, welcoming the French Army.

These people shouted to the entering French Army: "Long live freedom! Hello liberators!"

Anning reined in his horse when he reached these people and curiously asked, "Gentlemen, hello!"

"Hello, General!" The Italian leading them took off his hat to Anning in salute, "Salute to the free France!"

Anning: "Salute to you. May I ask who you are?"

"I am an Italian who has struggled for Italian independence my whole life!"

It turns out they were Italian independents, the Italian Legions dispatched by the National Assembly in Paris under the banner of liberating Italy and advocating for Italian independence.

Anning smiled and said: "So you are Italian revolutionaries, that’s wonderful. We are here to liberate you! Once my Chief of Staff arrives, he will sell you Italian Independence Bonds, which you can purchase with any type of silver coin! Gold Coins are also acceptable!"

The expression of the Italian independence movement member froze.

"Bonds?"

"Yes! Bonds! The French military will fight for your independence! All you need to do is purchase Independence Bonds! Of course, if you don’t have money, you can also join us in the war for Italian independence personally! We will establish a Free Italian Army and assist the French Army in combat!"

Anning said with a smile all over his face.

He had planned this fundraising for the next phase of development before he departed.

Local gentry who support Italian independence must buy Italian Independence Bonds to demonstrate their support for the cause of Italian independence.

To give them this channel to express their support for Italian independence, Anning had specifically used valuable transportation resources to transport these bonds, which were printed on heavy parchment paper!

The local gentry who do not support Italian independence, well, do we even need to ask? For such betrayers, lampposts are their destination!

The French military has an obligation to punish these betrayers on behalf of the Italians!

And their wealth, naturally, is used to support the cause of Italian independence!

Anning is very serious about promoting the cause of Italian independence!

**

The news of Marshal Boliue’s disastrous defeat in the Battle of Diego quickly spread to Vienna.

At this time, the main front had not engaged in any major battles yet, just some minor skirmishes, so people’s attention was drawn to this secondary battlefield’s news.

In Vienna, Queen Mary, upon hearing the news, immediately smashed a precious cup she had brought from Paris.

"Why is it Frost again!" Watching the maid clean up the broken pieces, Queen Mary cursed, "When will I ever get rid of this leatherworker!"

Today, Louis XVI, unusually, wasn’t fussing with his lock picks but joining his wife for tea, and he seemed to not care too much, "This shows that our French military is still superior to the Austrian military!"

Marie glared at her husband: "At a time like this, you still take pride in the French Army! The French Army is no longer your army! The one fighting for you now is the Austrian Army!"

Louis XVI’s face tightened: "Fine, it’s the Austrian Army. My mistake. But why are you so angry? Italy is a secondary battlefield; having Frost in Italy is better than having him on the main front, right?"

Marie bit her lip: "You’re right, him winning in Italy is better than him winning at the main front. But I just find the news of his victory irritating! It’s because of this Frost that we’ve ended up in this situation! Think about it!

"He was the one who stormed the Bastille, the one who was shamelessly direct in refusing to let the Third Estate hold group discussions at Versailles, it was also he who forced us to move from the Versailles Palace to Paris! Living so close to those damned commoners!

"I think we should send someone to his hometown to capture his family, and then make him come to Vienna to redeem them!"

Louis XVI frowned: "No, no, doing that wouldn’t be noble-like..."

"Noble-like behavior is for nobles, he’s just a leatherworker!"

Louis XVI tried to soothe his wife: "Don’t be like that, the newspapers will get a hold of it, and we already have enough scandals as it is."

"Hmph, when my nephew puts us back on the throne of France, we need to take firm action, sending all those journalists, newspaper publishers to the guillotine! And Parliament, that damned Parliament! I’m sick of Parliament!

"With my nephew, I really feel like that’s how things should be!"

Marie said furiously.

**

In the neighboring room of the room where Marie and Louis XVI were drinking tea at Belvedere Palace, Franz II was having tea with his brother, Grand Duke Carl.

"Boileau can’t even defeat a leatherworker!" the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire shook his head, "He’s really grown old!"

Grand Duke Carl: "Brother Emperor, send me to Italy, I want to confront this Frost!"

"No no no!" Franz II shook his head repeatedly, looking down on his sickly brother.

After all, he wasn’t a transmigrator from the future, how could he know that his brother was a military genius almost on par with Napoleon?

Franz II said: "You better stay in Bohemia, that role is also very important! After all, it relates to how much of Poland we can divide!

"As for Italy, well, Boileau himself wrote to me that he can set up a defense at the Po River, I think sending about twenty thousand troops from the country to support him will be enough. Let this old marshal regain his honor in the defensive battle at the Po River."

Grand Duke Carl frowned: "Brother, please believe me..."

"My dear brother, I of course trust your abilities, but you see, you’re frail and sickly, and the climate in Bohemia is better for your health."

Grand Duke Carl: "I’ve heard that the climate in Italy is also quite good, and Milan not only has pleasant weather, but also great Italian cuisine."

Franz: "Still, let’s leave it to Marshal Boileau, if we replace that old general now, he will forever live in the shame of being defeated by a leatherworker."

Grand Duke Carl wanted to say more but eventually remained silent.

**

In Paris, the news arrived a bit later than in Vienna.

After all, the journey was long and the news had to be relayed through Nice, taking a detour.

On the day the news arrived, Marat passionately argued in the Parliament that Frost should be called back to the Rhein front to take charge of the main battleground.

However, this proposal was decisively rejected by the Parliament controlled by the Girondists.

Then, in a panic, Parliament urgently sent a letter to Demure at the front line, requesting him to engage in a decisive battle with Austria immediately.