Descending On France 1780
Chapter 218 - 211 ’Long live Henry IV’ and ’Hymn of Rome

Chapter 218: 211 ’Long live Henry IV’ and ’Hymn of Rome

Napoleon’s artillery troops had seen much and knew wide.

This bunch had been led by Napoleon, maneuvering beneath the enemy’s eyes in Nema, almost firing directly at the Austrians’ faces, and had long since built up their courage.

What did royalist rioters at a stone’s throw amount to, could they be more terrifying than the murderous Austrians?

As the artillerymen methodically loaded their guns, someone amidst the rioters shouted, "Charge them, don’t let them finish loading!"

Consequently, the disorderly crowd, initially cowed by the cannons, advanced once again.

Just then, atop a neighboring roof, appeared the precision shooters arranged by Anning.

Lying on the rooftops, the sharpshooters dropped a small cluster of men at the forefront with their first volley.

The sudden turn of events threw the rioters in the square into disarray, with some turning their guns towards the roof and opening fire.

However, the sharpshooters were all prone, presenting a small target to begin with; coupled with the darkness and heavy snow, the scattered shooting was entirely ineffective.

The sharpshooters’ rear-loading rifles were quickly reloaded, and a second volley followed.

Because it was dark, this round of shooting was basically aimed at those holding torches, and many torches were dropped to the ground in response, then, as the crowd was pressed together, the torches fell directly onto others.

The square was temporarily ensnared in the screams and chaos of the royalist crowd.

At this instant, the cannons were loaded.

Napoleon excitedly ordered, "Fire!"

This barrage of cannon fire directly shattered the royalists’ morale—they didn’t truly have any morale to speak of, but had taken to the streets in a blind frenzy for the royal family.

They began to flee backward, dropping their torches along the way.

The screams of those scalded by the "friendly" torches echoed across the entire square.

The pounding of hooves like a downpour came from the other side of the square, and Lasalle’s cavalry formed a moving wall that appeared on the opposite side of the square.

The thunderous noise of the hooves swept across the entire square.

Anning shouted loudly, "Cease fire! Cease fire! Those on the roof, cease fire! Don’t accidentally wound our own!"

The sound of gunfire gradually subsided, but this only made the groans and wails of the square stand out even more.

Anning called out, "Lasalle!"

Lasalle answered loudly, "Just drive them away, don’t kill them, I know! I’ve told my boys not to even draw their sabers!"

Anning nodded and then ordered Napoleon, "Leave this place to the supply corps, let them rescue the injured. We need to move our position immediately."

Napoleon asked, "To where?"

"Clearly to the Palais des Tuileries. Today, we will take down the ringleader."

Napoleon hesitated, "Maybe you should command the situation, and I’ll go on your behalf."

"No need, no need, I must go, and I’ll bring Christina with me."

Christina looked extremely weary; Anning had sent her on a surveillance mission near the Palais des Tuileries, as her court knight uniform was very conspicuous at night and would prevent attacks from the rioters.

Christina asked Anning, "How did things turn out like this?"

Anning replied, "I wrote a letter of warning to Mr. Equality; he should have already returned to the Royal Palace for refuge by now."

Christina: "I know. I mean His Majesty... my brother. What will happen to him in the future?"

Anning remained silent.

The truth is, he was somewhat suspicious that the history here also required the death of a French king. Since the Locksmith had already fled to his wife’s parental home, the one probably supposed to die was Louis XVII.

Although he was now the Paris Security Commander and could probably save Louis XVII’s head if he really insisted, Anning didn’t have much of an impression of Louis XVII. He only remembered that twelve years ago, when he had just crossed over and saved Christina, the Duke of Orleans had invited him to dinner, and there was a half-grown boy at the table.

In the five years that followed, Anning was making friends with Napoleon at the Officer School, and after that, he entered the Paris Military Academy. After graduating, he worked as a math teacher at the academy and barely had any contact with the Duke of Orleans’s son.

Whether he should use his own reputation to save the boy, Anning hadn’t decided yet.

He would see how the boy behaved when he entered the Palais des Tuileries later.

Christina: "So, what do you plan to do? The Royalists are surrounding the Palais des Tuileries. They have weapons..."

Napoleon: "Don’t worry, we have this."

With that, he pointed at the Cavalry Guns beside him.

The gunners had already unloaded the cannons, aiming them at the Palais des Tuileries.

Christina: "Are you really planning to use cannons in the city?"

Napoleon shrugged: "Didn’t you hear the cannon fire just now? It was close by, in the Revolution Square."

"Cannon fire?" Christina exclaimed with her mouth agape, "I thought it was thunder! I wondered how it could thunder with such heavy snow today!"

Anning: "Christina, using cannons is actually to reduce the casualties of the populace, because the majesty of the cannons can effectively destroy their determination and will."

Napoleon: "Exactly! The enemy crumbles in an instant, and it actually results in fewer casualties. If we were to suppress them with flintlocks and bayonets, I fear many more people would die!"

Christina was about to speak when Lana rode up on a horse.

Napoleon joked: "Our dyer’s apprentice looks quite decent riding a horse now!"

Lana: "I’m still not used to riding horses, but damn, having to rush around commanding troops in the dark, it would be difficult without this thing. We’ve surrounded the Palais des Tuileries. There are a few hundred or perhaps a thousand Royalists in the palace. They’ve sworn to live and die with the King. What should we do?"

Lana, who came from commoners, probably couldn’t bear to attack the Royalists, who were also commoners.

Anning: "I will go in and attempt to persuade them to surrender..."

Before he could finish speaking, a soldier nearby shouted, "Who goes there?"

Anning turned to look in the direction of the shout, only to see a massive crowd of Parisians holding torches and raising the tricolor flag, surging forward impressively.

Someone in the crowd was shouting: "Long live the Republic! Long live Robespierre! Long live the Jacobins! Long live General Frost!"

Anning was speechless.

Although these people were carrying the tricolor flag and wearing the red Phrygian caps, it was so dark and snowing that it was impossible to tell them apart!

From a distance, they looked just like the Royalists.

Anning suddenly remembered that the Royalists had sung "Long live Henry IV" when they attacked, so he shouted loudly: "I am Paris Security Commander Frost. We cannot recognize each other in the dark. I order you to sing the Hymn of Rome to prevent accidental harm!"

Without waiting for the crowd to respond, Anning turned his head and ordered his own troops: "All troops, sing the Hymn of Rome!"

The Hymn of Rome—also known as the melody of the Marseillaise—immediately resonated through the night sky.

At that moment, somewhere caught fire, and the night sky over Paris was illuminated by flames.

The swirling snowflakes were tinged with a layer of blood by the firelight.