Descending On France 1780
Chapter 237 - 230 The Eve of the Expedition

Chapter 237: 230 The Eve of the Expedition

On the evening when the strategy was decided, Anning’s troops were all making preparations to move out, with Bertier displaying a workaholic spirit and still handling issues related to the troop mobilization, such as supplies and the like.

Countless vanguards were sent to key nodes on the march route to pave the way for the main army’s deployment.

Although this main army only comprised over twenty thousand men.

And the various units that received the mobilization orders were also making preparations throughout the night for departure.

The 66th Infantry Brigade was among those deployed this evening, and Brigade Commander Ju Zhongma took a group of people to the royal forest near Paris to hunt a few animals, providing the brigade with fresh meat.

The primary function of the royal forest was for the King to hunt, and ordinary citizens would be hanged for hunting there without special permission.

But now that the King had been exiled and the forest rangers had all joined the National Guard, this rule was naturally no longer in effect.

That is, due to geographical reasons, there weren’t many hunters in Paris City; otherwise, Parisians would have long enjoyed a sufficient source of meat, greatly improving their health.

While organizing a brigade barbecue, Ju Zhongma also called over two friends he had made on the day he became brigade commander from his own brigade.

Upon seeing the scale of the barbecue, Moro asked with confusion, "Aren’t we setting off tomorrow? How come you are still..."

"It’s precisely because we’re setting off that we’re supplementing a bit of meat. Once the march begins, the dried meat in the supplies is all for senior officers; ordinary soldiers can’t get any and can only eat things like dry bread."

Clay Bell remarked, "Is that so? Can you spare some meat for our brigade?"

"It should be possible, but we probably won’t have time to bring it back for your brigade to share. Don’t worry, once the march begins, ordinary soldiers will also have the chance to eat meat. That’ll be when the situation turns dire, and logistics are cut off; then you can slaughter the horses for meat."

Moro retorted, "Is that supposed to be comforting? Hearing this makes us even more worried, okay!"

Clay Bell reassured, "No need to worry, I’ve heard that General Frost is personally commanding this march. The General has always been victorious in the past; there shouldn’t be any problems. The only difference this time would be by how much we win."

Ju Zhongma nodded, "Indeed, I’ve chatted with the soldiers, and they are also generally very optimistic. This gives me some peace of mind. Damn it, these men can’t even sing a loading song!"

Loading a flintlock is very complicated, and the French Army had already adopted paper-wrapped pre-made cartridges, which simplified the loading process to some extent, but it was still tedious.

Hence in the French military manual, loading was broken down into several parts and turned into a song. While actually performing the task, singing this song would help complete each step just as a phrase ends.

Corresponding to this song, a rhythm would be played with a drum.

But most of the newly recruited National Guard had no military experience; they were ordinary citizens, sans-culottes who didn’t know anything about a loading song.

Ju Zhongma said anxiously, "When the battle starts, our firing will definitely be quite chaotic. Such troops, apart from the first volley, won’t be able to form a file at all and can only fire at will."

Clay Bell shrugged, "At least the sustainability of fire won’t be an issue."

Moro added, "Don’t worry about it. Think about who’s commanding our troops—lawyers, writers, and architects; nobody expects us to perform any earth-shattering feats on the battlefield. I bet the General will just assign us to some insignificant spot."

Ju Zhongma protested, "I’m not a writer!"

Although the half-black man corrected this very seriously, the other two did not pay much attention to it.

Clay Bell inquired, "I heard the destination of this march is the Marne River, any thoughts on that?"

He looked at Ju Zhongma, the only one with military experience.

The black man replied, "It might be a defensive battle; the enemy should be coming from the north of Alsace. That place can’t supply a large army, so it should only be a relatively small enemy force."

Moro deduced, "So, the General has decided to take on the enemy’s smaller forces first, but why not deploy the experienced troops he brought from the Southern region? I mean, the ones stationed outside the city in the Versailles Palace."

"It might be to get us greenhorns used to war," Clay Bell shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, General always has his reasons."

**

Anning sneezed.

There’s a saying in China that you sneeze when someone is talking about you.

Anning rubbed his nose, thinking there must be plenty of people talking about him at the moment.

He was currently in the Jacobin Club, laying out his plans to his friends, when suddenly Dan Dong said, "Could you delay your departure by a few days? We could organize a departure ceremony to lift the spirits of the people of Paris City..."

Anning looked at Anton with an expression reserved for idiots: "My friend, haven’t you heard that in war, speed is of the essence? Once the enemy crosses the Marne River, there will be nothing obstructing their way to Paris."

Dan Dong: "Aren’t there two fortresses?"

Anning held his forehead: "Both fortresses are in the direction of Belgium and Luxembourg, exactly blocking the two main roads into France from the Duchy of Burgundy."

Robespierre: "The Duchy of Burgundy... You are still so well-versed in history. I’m starting to think more and more that you’re the illegitimate child of some noble, fostered by a leatherworker."

By this time, the Duchy of Burgundy had disappeared for many years, and Anning’s clear understanding of this event was because players who have played as France and Austria in "Continental Europe" all know of an event called the Cranium Crack Fiasco.

The content of the event is that the Grand Duke of Burgundy literally cracked his head open – he died, and then his territory was divided up among the major powers.

Through this event, players of France or Austria could effortlessly gain a large, wealthy region.

It might not be very important for Austria, as Austria is the Holy Roman, which has plenty of wealthy regions.

For French players, it is quite important though. At the start of Continental Europe, France is far from its current complete state, with places like Normandy and Aquitaine still under the control of the UK. Through the Cranium Crack, they can have a feast on these territories. Delicious madness.

So, every French player will strive to trigger this event.

As a seasoned French player, Anning is intimately familiar with this chain of events and now casually mentioned it.

Unexpectedly, this offhand comment earned him a heap of respect from his friends.

Marat raised his glass: "Let’s toast to the clever and knowledgeable Andy!"

And so, everyone raised their glasses.

Anning also took a sip before continuing the topic initiated by Dan Dong, "We can’t wait any longer. We must depart tomorrow. You all just wait for my good news."

Robespierre asked seriously, "Are you confident?"

Anning laughed: "Of course."

Actually, he wasn’t.

Though there were two battles of the Marne in the history of World War I, the battlefields were different. The first Battle of the Marne was primarily about stopping the Germans who were making a big flanking movement from the north of Paris.

Now, the coalition army is coming from the direction of Alsace.

So, the historical Battle of the Marne wouldn’t be much help to Anning.

However, as a Commander, Anning couldn’t show weakness, so he firmly answered his friends’ question.

Robespierre: "Then I wish you success! We await the news of your victory!"