Descending On France 1780
Chapter 248 - 241 Vast Ocean

Chapter 248: 241 Vast Ocean

The French Army, which had just returned to camp, was roused by the galloping Messenger Soldier.

In such a situation, ensuring smooth command is actually highly dependent on the abilities of the Chief of Staff. A less capable Chief of Staff could cause chaos within their own forces before even crossing the river.

But Bertier might be the strongest Chief of Staff in the French Revolution Era across Europe. He could instantly break down the operation of "crossing the river at night" into numerous detailed orders and had the Messenger Soldiers deliver these commands effectively.

Besides the initial Messenger Soldiers who called people out of their tents, Bertier sent out many more to deliver specific commands to each unit.

The units that received the orders began to move towards the riverbank.

The crossing point chosen by Bertier was the location where the coalition had crossed earlier today, and their actions had proven that the river was shallow enough in this area for wading through.

Bertier also arranged for shouters at the riverbank to loudly shout: "Throw down your backpacks, hold your guns and powder bags high above your heads!"

The firearms and bullets of this era weren’t waterproof. They wouldn’t just fail after being soaked in the river for a while; even rain could render them ineffective.

Thus, for wading through, it was necessary to hold high the rifles, ammunition packs, and the powder horns.

The backpacks were completely filled with paper cartridges that combined bullets with propellant, and during loading, one merely had to tear open the paper to pour both the propellant and bullets into the barrel.

The powder horn, on the other hand, mainly held the gunpowder to be poured into the firing pan.

Both were absolutely essential to keep dry.

Consequently, a large number of French troops, holding their rifles, ammunition packs, and powder horns, entered the water in a grand procession.

Due to it being night, the scene looked rather eerie, as if an army of zombies had learned some new trick.

Especially with the fire on the opposite bank turning half of the sky red, the scene appeared even more bizarre.

Anning watched this scene from the riverbank.

He originally wanted to be the first to cross the river, but Bertier strenuously stopped him, believing that it was not prudent for the commander to expose himself to danger.

If it was only Bertier obstructing him, Anning might have disregarded it and crossed the river to enjoy the thrill of the fight, but Vanni had also returned from Paris.

A single remark from the little maid made Anning give up on crossing the river himself.

She said, "The lady instructed me to keep a close eye on you and not let you recklessly take risks."

Thus, Anning could only relent and watch his troops cross the river from the bank.

While watching, Anning suddenly recalled something and asked Bertier, "After crossing the river, won’t night blindness become a hindrance? A few years ago, during the night raid on Lafayette, I had the night raid troops eat carrots several days in advance to solve the problem of night blindness."

Bertier replied somewhat helplessly, "Night blindness doesn’t mean that one can’t see at night; it means one can’t see in the absence of light. With such a big fire on the opposite side, it’s impossible not to see. If you really fear not being able to see, just pick up some burning wood to use as torches."

Anning: "I see. I’ve never had night blindness, so I didn’t know."

Since his transmigration, aside from the first few days when his diet wasn’t great, he had eaten fairly well all other times, being a guest of the Duke of Orleans after all.

Thus, he hadn’t experienced the taste of night blindness.

However, logically speaking, leatherworkers of this era would have no reason to be free from night blindness.

Night blindness was a common ailment among the common people of this era.

Anning did not realize this fact and made the remark offhandedly. However, Bertier seemingly noticed this discrepancy but said nothing, his face wearing an expression of profound inscrutability.

Who knows how many novels’ worth of hidden stories he might have imagined.

At this time, the first wave of troops who swam across had already crossed the river, and the sound of battle cries came from the opposite bank.

Anning: "Can I cross the river now?"

Bertier replied, "Once the engineer troops have set up the pontoon bridge, you can cross."

Anning: "You even had the engineers set up a pontoon bridge?"

"Of course, we can’t have all the troops swimming across, can we? Although they can hold their guns and ammunition above their heads, there are still risks of accidents. Moreover, not everyone knows how to swim. I ordered the troops from coastal areas to cross, as they are more comfortable with water."

Anning spoke with satisfaction, "You truly are my Chief of Staff, always thinking ahead."

What he really wanted to say was, "You are indeed the strongest Chief of Staff in Europe," but he decided not to flatter Bertier too much.

While they were talking, a Messenger Soldier ran up and loudly reported: "General, the pontoon bridge is ready!"

Anning: "Is that it? I see it."

As they spoke, torches were moving toward the center of the Marne River; obviously, it was the pontoon bridge.

Anning: "Let’s set off."

Saying this, he didn’t wait for Bertier to react and kicked his horse gently, making the horse trot swiftly towards the pontoon bridge outlined by torches in the night.

Bertier immediately followed.

A military engineer officer guarding near the pontoon bridge saw Anning coming and shouted loudly: "Long live the General!"

Anning nodded and spurred his horse onto the pontoon bridge.

The iron horseshoes clinked crisply against the pontoon bridge.

The pontoon bridge was brightly lit by engineers holding torches at intervals.

As Anning passed each soldier, they all shouted loudly, "Long live the General!"

After crossing the river, Anning closely observed the coalition army’s camp: "It’s burning well, order the troops, whoever captures Prince Schwarzenberg will be rewarded with twenty gold kroner!"

Bertier: "Probably no chance; the Prince has likely already fled amidst the chaos."

As soon as he finished speaking, a group of French Army soldiers came over, escorting a person dressed as a noble.

"General, this noble wishes to see you!" the escorting soldiers said loudly while staring suspiciously at the person dressed as a noble.

No wonder the soldiers were so wary; by now, most nobles were considered enemies, and even those who initially did not oppose the revolution had turned against it after the recent massacres by the Jacobins.

The noble immediately cried out, "I’m not a noble! This is just a disguise to deceive the coalition! I’m a barber! This wig is something I sell in my shop!"

Upon hearing the word "barber," Anning remembered John Fato, the hardcore fierce person Khan had talked about, the one who staged a fake kidnapping to avoid extradition to the UK.

Anning suppressed the sudden surge of pre-crossing memories and asked the barber in front of him, "Did you start this fire?"

"No, it should be said, my companions and I started it! We are patriots from Epernay!"

Anning: "You are the true heroes! Without this fire, we might have been stuck here fighting the coalition for many days!"

The barber was overjoyed: "You actually called us real heroes! To receive such praise from a hero like you, all our actions were worth it! I’ll go and tell my colleagues about your praise right now!"

Anning: "Go ahead, give everyone my best regards!"

After the exhilarated barber left, Anning said to Bertier: "Do you see? This is the cohesion of a national state, something those European nobles have never seen! They think they are only enemies with the National Assembly in Paris, but in reality, all of France is their enemy!

"They will be engulfed in a sea of people’s war!"