Descending On France 1780
Chapter 216 - 209 Paris Security Commander, Lieutenant Frost

Chapter 216: 209 Paris Security Commander, Lieutenant Frost

Anning arrived in Marseilles on the first night, and the Royalists in Marseilles launched a large-scale rebellion.

Then Anning took the French Army to the streets.

Besides the French Army, a large number of Patriots also spontaneously took to the streets.

One of the sequelae of the Great Revolution was that there were a large number of weapons and ammunition among the civilians, and both the Royalists and the Blues could pull out a large group of armed civilians at any time.

The French Army in Marseilles was well-prepared, so the rebellion of the Royalists was immediately suppressed, and the surrounding Royalists were also purged.

In January 1793, the blood of the Royalists around Marseilles flowed like rivers.

The latest order from Paris came, and the National Assembly issued a new decree, deciding to introduce a new type of execution machinery, to execute traitors efficiently and economically.

When Anning received the order, he sighed and muttered, "As expected, the guillotine has indeed stepped onto the stage of history."

Originally in history, the guillotine was widely used only after improvements by Louis XVI.

In this timeline, Louis XVI fled, but the guillotine was still put into use.

This is also a kind of return to the world line.

On January 20th, after handling the matters in Marseilles, Anning led the Southern Army to start moving north.

Just at this time, the National Assembly of Paris issued the call "All patriots of France, Paris needs you," and patriots from all places were rushing to Paris.

Anning’s troops marched forward, singing the song known in this timeline as the "Hymn of Rome," which was the Marseillaise, restoring history once again.

At a station one day’s journey from Paris, Anning met the Special Commissioner of the National Assembly, Marat, who came to greet him.

"My friend!" Marat shouted enthusiastically as he embraced Anning, "You’re finally back!"

Anning smiled: "Yes, I’m back, completely back. How come you became a Special Commissioner?"

"Because I don’t have the status of a parliament member, I can only attend the Parliament as an observer," Marat shrugged, "After all, I belong to the last term. Then Robespierre sent me to come and meet you."

"How is Maximilien?" Anning asked.

Marat shrugged: "He’s doing great, busy fighting against the Royalists. But the opposition is also resisting fiercely, and the Royalists have surrounded the Palais des Tuileries, defending His Majesty."

Anning frowned: "Isn’t the National Assembly right next to the Palais des Tuileries? How do you hold meetings then?"

"Of course, the meetings are held under the protection of the National Guard and some armed civilians who support the Parliament. But because of the conscription law, there’s a lot of backlash from various places, which is strange, some people always wear the liberty cap and carry the tricolor emblem, shouting louder than anyone, but when they are asked to join the French Army to defend the country, they refuse."

Marat spoke and cursed a few rude words, and spat.

Marat: "You know, Paris is still alright, but it’s a mess in Vendée, the suppressed rebellion has resurged, and the British even brought over some Marquis, seemingly a descendant of some major nobility from Vendée."

Anning’s eyebrows were tightly furrowed, thinking this was just the plot of Victor Hugo’s "Ninety-Three", where the British brought over a descendant of the Marquis, stirring up chaos throughout western France.

Napoleon said: "How did I hear in Marseilles that the British are going to start supporting France against Austria?"

Marat: "To hell with that, how could the British possibly ally with us, France?"

No, they actually did unite later on.

Marat continued, "In any case, the situation in Paris is terrible, the traitors have even started to establish another Parliament, just like we did at the tennis court back then! Maximilien has always advocated for a hardline approach to purge everything, but there are continuous objections in the Parliament.

"Damn it, these people should all be sent to the guillotine!"

It seems that the Jacobins do not yet have strong military support, so they cannot fully implement their policies of terror.

That is to say, Anning has now become like timely rain for the Jacobins.

Marat: "So, now that you are here, everything will be alright. The Parliament has just passed a resolution, you are now the Paris Security Commander, responsible for maintaining the security of Paris. We are all counting on you to make a strong move!"

Anning smirked, thinking well, I am now a Major General and then became the Paris Security Commander, it totally matches, right?

So, the knights under my command are just empty titles now?

Now I really have to make a strong move.

Is there going to be a Jin Zaigui, who will eliminate Robespierre?

Marat: "Frost! What’s wrong with you?"

Anning then snapped out of his reverie: "Nothing, I am just thinking about how to quickly restore order in Paris."

Napoleon spoke up: "Why even ask, my cavalry guns unit is very suitable for deployment in the districts of Paris City, and canister shots can deal with all kinds of traitors!"

In history, Napoleon really did use canister shots at close range on the streets of Paris against the Royalists, now history is repeating itself.

Anning glanced at Napoleon: "Then it will be up to you at that time. But we have come from afar, let’s rest first and observe the situation."

Marat: "Do we still need to rest? The situation in Paris is extremely urgent! People have been threatening to assassinate Robespierre, and someone previously rushed in front of him intending to shoot, but the gunpowder in the medicine pool was spilled, so the firing failed!"

In this era, guns use a little gunpowder in the medicine pool to ignite, with the flint on the hammer striking sparks to ignite the gunpowder in the medicine pool, which then ignites the gunpowder in the barrel.

So, guns of this era lack concealment, as gunpowder must be carefully handled in the medicine pool to prevent it from spilling. Typically, gunpowder is poured into the medicine pool just before firing, which also lacks stealth. If gunpowder is filled beforehand and the gun is concealed approaching the target to be revealed later, problems can easily arise, and it is far less convenient than electronic ignition firearms.

Anning: "Maximilien faced an assassination attempt?"

"Yes!" Marat nodded seriously, "So now you know how critical the situation is, right?"

Anning suddenly recalled that in real history, Marat also faced assassination, and the female assassin was proclaimed a Saintess by the Royalist.

So Anning said to Marat: "You should be careful too, maybe later you can stay in my military camp, you and Maximilien."

Marat categorically refused: "No, I am the editor-in-chief of the newspaper ’Friend of the People,’ I naturally need to be with the people! If the people can’t see their editor-in-chief, what kind of ’Friend of the People’ would that be?"

Anning looked at Marat’s ugly face: "At least let me assign you a few bodyguards."

Marat hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, if you insist on sending them, I won’t object. But the key issue is the situation in Paris! With this current predicament, we would be finished even before Austria and Prussia attack!"

Anning: "I will handle the situation in Paris."

He glanced at Napoleon, saying meaningfully: "It will be handled."