Descending On France 1780
Chapter 230 - 223 If you want to sleep, come to the pillow.

Chapter 230: 223 If you want to sleep, come to the pillow.

At this time, Paris was filled with armies from all around, called to defend the city.

Of course, not all these troops came solely to protect Paris; some had fled to Paris due to chaos outside.

After all, just a few days’ journey west from Paris into the Vendée region, the situation would be completely reversed; in Paris, Royalists were tried daily, whereas in Vendée, Blues were executed daily.

Thus, the Blues from the towns of Vendée had all fled to Paris, claiming to be there to defend the city.

Originally, Paris was in constant chaos, a city that had expanded endlessly without any plan; its inner society was a jumble. Now, the chaos only intensified.

Amid this chaos, there was a group of volunteers who had hurried from the Upper Rhein region.

These volunteers had taken over an empty mansion of the nobility, barely getting by on the stipends provided by the Ministry of War.

The leader of the volunteers was a young lawyer from a small seaside town on the Brittany Peninsula, he was Jean Victor Marie More.

That day, More collected the stipend and two large baskets of French bread from the Ministry of War, riding his horse back to the mansion.

Upon entering, someone loudly asked, "More, when can we go fight those damned Austrians?"

More handed the bread to his orderly and replied, "I found out from the Ministry of War that the German-Austrian coalition is nearly at Sedan, but it’s been raining in the Rhein area these past few days, causing the roads to become extremely muddy, which has hindered the advance of the Prussia-Austrian forces."

A volunteer shouted, "Damn it, why hasn’t General Frost set out yet? The enemy is in our homeland! We came to Paris to fight those damned invaders till the end!"

More responded, "Be grateful; at least the bread is enough, and it’s baked quite well. General Frost will definitely make a move; he’s famous as one of the greatest military minds of our era, he won’t sit back and let the Kingdom’s army trample our land!"

Someone teased More immediately, "Oh, our lawyer becomes so animated the moment you mention General Frost!"

More didn’t hide his admiration, "Exactly! He’s a founder of the Republic; without him, we’d still be a damned Kingdom!"

"Is the Republic really that great?" someone asked. More perked up, "Of course! The Republic stands for equality for everyone! No more nobles or kings to rule over us! The future belongs to the Republic, and eventually, all countries will become republics!"

Anning certainly did not expect that he had become the sun in the hearts of the Republicans.

At that moment, suddenly someone outside the manor shouted, "I am a reorganization commissioner from the Ministry of War. Are you the volunteers from the Upper Rhein area? Who is your leader?"

More immediately stopped praising the Republic, turned, and ran to the door, raising his right hand: "Me! Me! They all elected me as their leader."

The commissioner wore an ill-fitting wig that seemed too big and kept slipping; he had to adjust the wig now and then.

From his attire, he seemed to have been just a minor bureaucrat somewhere; he certainly wasn’t meant to wear wigs.

But now, wearing the unsuitable wig, he strutted proudly like a haughty rooster.

"What was your previous profession?" asked the commissioner.

"I am a lawyer."

More answered, and a volunteer behind him teased, "He doesn’t even have a graduation certificate! He was always playing in college, a real playboy!"

Ignoring the soldiers’ catcalls, More firmly continued, "I am a lawyer. My father was one too, and he hoped I would carry on the family profession."

The commissioner nodded, "A lawyer. Now lawyers, painters, and musicians are all becoming soldiers? How many are in your troop?"

More replied, "One hundred eighty, all from the Upper Rhein area, the place now occupied by the coalition forces!"

The commissioner said, "One hundred eighty, then you’ll be a Lieutenant, but I’m out of lieutenant insignias. Here, take a captain’s instead; you get a bargain."

More thanked him, "Thank you, I..."

He was about to take the insignia when the commissioner held onto it and looked at him expectantly.

More uttered, "Oh," getting the hint.

"You actually expect me to pay?"

"This is the rule; you wouldn’t want to be branded a traitor, would you? Revolution Square is busy with the guillotine every day, haven’t you seen?" The commissioner revealed his yellow teeth, laughing.

Moro was furious: "I don’t believe that such a thing could happen under General Frost’s command! His troops are supposed to be highly disciplined!"

The commissioner nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, General Frost’s troops are highly disciplined, they even sing about discipline in their songs every day, like not taking a single needle or thread from the people, perhaps they really do that. But I am just a commissioner from the Ministry of War, I am not a member of General Frost’s troops."

Moro, inflamed with anger, questioned: "We have responded to the call of the Parliament to defend the country! And you dare to ask us for money! I don’t believe no one supervises you!"

The commissioner: "Then you can go and complain to General Frost, he is right outside the city in Versailles, yes, where His Majesty used to live. Go and tell him!"

Moro couldn’t suppress his anger: "Fine, I will go find him! I don’t believe that with General Frost’s wisdom, he would allow such a situation to exist!"

Having said that, he didn’t even take the Captain’s insignia and directly ran to the stables.

The commissioner sarcastically remarked: "With you gone, I shall have to register you as having a tendency towards treason! Clean your neck and wait, in a few days it will be your turn on the guillotine!"

Moro snorted and gave the commissioner a disdainful look: "I don’t believe it, now that we’re a Republic, we can’t deal with vermin like you!"

Having said this, Moro mounted his horse and galloped away.

The commissioner sneered: "Humph, country bumpkin!"

Then, at that time, he noticed the volunteer soldiers from Rhein glaring at him with murderous eyes, immediately he cowered, while spurring his horse to flee, he threw out a threat: "Just you wait! Wait until your lawyer leader has his bad luck, you’ll have yours too!

"Defending Paris also requires qualifications!"

**

Anning was preparing to send Lazar Kano back to Paris, when suddenly he heard a commotion near the palace gate.

So he said to the Sergeant beside him: "Go check out the situation."

The Sergeant went and soon returned: "Report to the General, there’s a person making a fuss wanting to see you, nothing serious."

Recently there were many people making a fuss to see General Frost, and almost everyone in the army was accustomed to it.

Anning just said "Oh," but today, having just drawn Lana in a good mood, he said: "I came out too, might as well meet him. It’ll be a chance to send Lazar back to Paris."

Lazar: "Such matters should be handled by the officers, setting this precedent would be inappropriate."

Anning waved his hand: "No matter, let’s go."

Moments later, he and Kano arrived at the palace gate.

A few burly soldiers were holding back a tall man, clearly already engaged in physical scuffle.

Anning: "Who wants to see me?"

The guards holding the tall man turned around, immediately let go, and snapped to attention like springs.

The tall man, seeing Anning, also quickly stood straight and fidgeted with his clothes.

Anning looked him over: "Judging by the attire, you’re not from the French Army, are you a volunteer soldier from somewhere?"

Tall man: "Yes, I am a volunteer soldier from Rhein, a lawyer. I am here to report that one of your commissioners has committed crimes of dereliction of duty and corruption!"

Lazar Kano stepped forward: "The commissioner you mentioned must be from the Ministry of War, many of the Ministry of War’s commissioners are former officials, it’s normal that they’re a mixed bunch."

Anning: "This gentleman is the boss of the Ministry of War, you can report to him, he will certainly give you a fair treatment. We must strike hard against the speculators and vermin within our system, do you understand, Kano!"

The tall man, upon hearing this, immediately broke into a smile: "I knew it, General would not ignore this kind of issue! General, I am Jean Victor Marie More, I will dedicate my life and die in service to the Republic!"

Anning was about to leave, but upon hearing this man’s introduction, he shuddered and took another look at him.

"Wait, what did you just say your name was?"

"Jean Victor Marie More, from Brittany!"

Anning’s jaw dropped: "Who the hell was it that wanted to make things difficult for you? I want to interrogate him myself!"