Descending On France 1780
Chapter 210: Paris is in danger again

Chapter 210: Paris is in danger again

Anning met Lana two days later in Brescia.

"My Undying Grenadier!" he exclaimed with great joy and then gave Lana a hug.

Lana was a bit shy: "Not a Grenadier, they call me Undying."

Anning: "I know."

I’m referring to the nickname you have in another spacetime.

Unfortunately, the Undying Grenadier still became the first Marshal under Napoleon to die in battle.

In his lifetime, Lana kept urging Napoleon to stop the endless campaigning, but the Emperor did not heed his advice.

As for Lana’s current title of Undying, as a transmigrator, Anning always has this eerie feeling that he’s about to carry a torch.

So Anning still calls him the Undying Grenadier. Given his high prestige now, everyone will soon follow suit when he calls Lana that.

Hearing Anning’s appellation, Napoleon complained: "Grenadier? I don’t recall our troops having Grenadiers, do we?"

Indeed, in Anning’s troupe, there are no Grenadiers.

Anning: "I say this because Grenadiers have the attributes of elite troops."

The most important aspect of Grenadiers is their physical strength, as the hand grenades of this era are very heavy; they’re basically lead balls. Grenadiers have to carry a bag of these things to the front line and throw them a sufficient distance, so all Grenadiers are brawny fellows.

Although this era has entered the age of firearms, the killing efficiency of these weapons is quite low, and brawny Grenadiers still have a huge advantage in hand-to-hand combat.

Therefore, the grenadier units of all countries are basically elite infantry.

Some Grenadier units are just honorary titles, effectively elite infantry units.

Hence, calling Lana a Grenadier, in Anning’s view, is just a play on historical terms, but to others, it’s akin to saying Lana is his bodyguard.

That’s why Napoleon chimed in with a tease, perhaps a bit jealous.

Bertier watched Napoleon with a meaningful glance.

However, Anning did not know about these complex rivalries; he’s just indulging in historical references.

A fun pastime for a military history buff, you get it!

After hugging Lana, Anning finally noticed the bandage on Lana’s head: "Injured?"

"Yes, grazed by a bullet," Lana replied. "Not a big problem."

Anning laughed: "Now we’re the same, I’ve had a bullet graze my forehead too!"

But because of Anning’s cheats, within a few days, the graze was healed.

Lana might have to keep the bandage on for a few days.

Lana: "By the way, General, the method you recommended for washing wounds with wine, it’s really effective. We had enough wine the day before yesterday, and on the third day, we ran out, and the casualty rate visibly increased!

"The Austrians’ assault was somewhat weaker on the third day."

Lasalle jokingly said: "What, you faced an attack by enemies three to four times your number and still you can say ’the Austrian’s offensive got weaker’! My heavens, that’s the best mockery of the Austrians!"

Lana: "I’m merely stating the facts."

Davout shrugged: "Stating facts. Do you even know such complex terms?"

Normally, a dyehouse apprentice wouldn’t use such a literary phrase as "stating facts," as the education of civilians was mainly through Sunday schools, which didn’t teach such words.

Anning teased: "Don’t mind him, our Undying Dyeworker, our Undying Baldy here missed out on a fight this time, and he’s got quite the grievance!"

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Davout touched his bald head with a somewhat embarrassed expression.

Napoleon: "Only you, Andy, can call Davout ’Baldy’ and he won’t react. If we called him that, he would be blushing and arguing, ’I just have less hair’!"

Davout spread his hands and then shifted the conversation to the recent battle: "To be honest, it was a minor victory. The Austrians’ main forces were not damaged at all, and our forces, Lana’s were decimated, needing time to reorganize."

Lana: "I can still fight."

Anning: "No, you can’t. Your troops have performed well and deserve time to recuperate. After the victory banquet, take your troops back to Milan. I’ll give you exchange coupons, and you can redeem them for silver coins at the money exchange in Milan, or use them directly.

"Enjoy yourselves in Milan for a while. As soon as we get the reinforcements from home, your troops will be prioritized."

Lana: "But the battle isn’t over; Davout just said the Austrian main force is still there."

Anning: "He’s just venting. He led his troops climbing mountains for several days, and by the time they arrived at Trent, the Austrian main force had already returned. He made an assault, suffered great losses, and then withdrew."

Lasalle interjected: "Our General Davout isn’t used to taking such blows!"

Davout: "In truth, if we continued the attack, I probably could have taken Trent. Our morale was high, and the Austrians had just retreated back from the Adige River Valley, extremely exhausted."

Anning interrupted Davout: "What nonsense are you talking? What about your logistics?"

Davout’s path of attack was mountainous, making it difficult for supply wagons to pass through, meaning Davout could only rely on the provisions carried by his troops for a day or two before he had to withdraw.

Trent had been a stronghold cultivated by the Austrians for many years. Though the terrain prevented the construction of bastions, it was still no easy feat to conquer.

Consequently, Anning’s decision to order a retreat was undoubtedly correct.

After a few seconds of silence, Davout let out a long sigh: "Yes, your counsel is right."

"That’s not like you," said Anning, "I thought you’d be as precise and rational as a machine."

Davout: "I was actually looking forward to a resounding victory, one that would rival Lafayette’s."

"The desire for victory is good, but you cannot afford to neglect everything else in pursuit of it. Sometimes, not losing is more important than a great victory," Anning instructed.

After finishing, he felt a bit smug. My God, I’m actually educating Davout, a legend of France like a god of war!

This is the real pleasure of transmigration.

Davout nodded: "Not losing is more important than a great victory, I will bear that in mind."

Anning: "Alright, let’s celebrate our victory. The Austrians have fled, we’ve taken the Mincio River line, and surrounded Mantua Fortress. The situation in Italy is steadily improving; we have abundant military and tax resources. Next spring, we will surely win a great battle..."

At this moment, a staff officer hurriedly opened the door and whispered a few words in Bertier’s ear.

Napoleon noticed this and asked, "What’s wrong, Bertier, you look very serious."

Bertier nodded: "Yes, we’ve just received news, the French Army has suffered a great defeat at the Rhein front, and the Austrian forces are directly threatening Paris."

Anning’s mouth dropped open: "What the hell?"

Is Paris in peril again?