Descending On France 1780
Chapter 249 - 242 The glory of victory belongs to the General

Chapter 249: 242 The glory of victory belongs to the General

Beethoven’s troops were among the last to cross the river.

He faintly knew that the troops were singing as they crossed the pontoon bridge, but the singing seemed to come from far away, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t hear it clearly.

For a moment, a wave of depression threatened to engulf him.

Yet Frost’s encouragement was like a guiding light, dispelling all the gloom.

Grasping fate by the throat—what invigorating words!

Beethoven silently strengthened his resolve, drumming even more vigorously.

Even though he could not hear his own drumming, he could infer the general melody from the soldiers’ singing, and then adjust his drumming to match the tempo of the melody.

At the end of the lengthy pontoon bridge, Beethoven stepped onto the land on the other side and then saw from a distance a group of people on horseback, standing by the river.

Although it was too dark for Beethoven to see the faces of the riders, he guessed that it was likely General Frost.

His spirits soared.

The general had won another victory! Indeed, he was the symbol of victory, the contemporary Caesar! He would surely bring change to France, no, to the whole of Europe!

In this exalted state, a melody suddenly emerged in Beethoven’s mind. It was undoubtedly a melody of praise.

In that moment, Beethoven decided on the name for this yet-to-be-born composition: Heroic Symphony!

It was to be an ode to the heroes of all Europe!

**

Anning suddenly sneezed.

Bertier immediately became alert: "Your Excellency? Perhaps you should return to the tent. It wouldn’t be good if you’ve caught a chill..."

Anning: "It’s nothing, I bet it’s some Austrian cursing me. Probably Prince Schwarzenberg."

With that, he laughed.

As he laughed, the entire military counsel, including Bertier, joined in.

Amongst the laughter, Lasalle came galloping over and saluted Anning: "I’ve had my lads heat things up for the Austrians. We’ve set the coalition campfires along the riverbank, and now the enemy is scurrying away in disarray!"

Anning: "Well done! But the night is too dark; it’s easy for the cavalry to suffer losses. Let’s wait until daylight to pursue and annihilate the enemy."

Cavalry maneuvers at night can lead to horses stumbling over things, and a stumble can easily ruin a horse.

The entire French nation was short on horses because most of the horse breeders had been nobles, who were now either killed or had fled, leaving hardly any proper stables operating normally.

So, the cavalry units in the hands of the Republic were non-renewable consumables; once lost, they were gone.

Such a shortage of horses had also occurred in actual history, compelling the Republican army to use large numbers of skirmishers to carry out the reconnaissance tasks that should have been performed by the cavalry.

There’s a link between the traditional preference for skirmishers within the French Army of the Revolutionary era and the shortage of horses.

Historically, the shortage of horses wasn’t relieved until the year 1796.

As for when there would be enough horses in Anning’s timeline, he had no idea. Anyway, being cautious with the cavalry units was undoubtedly the right decision.

However, Lasalle was somewhat dissatisfied with Anning’s orders: "Your Excellency, this is the time to capture prisoners and win glory. Are you asking my lads to give up the achievements that are within our grasp?"

Anning: "Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. There’s no point in injuring the horses’ legs in pursuit of glory. We are in great need of horses right now!"

Lasalle sighed: "Very well, I’ll go and issue the orders to my men to let the infantry brothers claim the achievements."

Lasalle turned his horse around and galloped away after he finished speaking.

Bertier: "Only you can command him."

Anning: "When I’m not here, you should command him if needed. Your military rank is higher than his, and your position in the command chain is above his. We shouldn’t change the hierarchy in the command chain because of our personal relationship."

Bertier: "I’m afraid he may need you to remind him of that."

Anning: "I will remind him!"

**

By the time it was nearly dawn, the chaos that had lasted all night finally came to an end.

Bertier reported to Anning the results of the previous night’s battle: "Our army completely routed the Austrian Fourth Army last night. The enemy commander was Prince Schwarzenberg. Currently, no one knows the whereabouts of the Prince.

"Our army took 17,000 Austrian prisoners, including about 800 officers..."

Anning: "That seems like a small number of officers."

Bertier: "Most higher-ranking officers had horses and most likely escaped. We didn’t count non-commissioned officers as officers."

Anning: "Understood. So, what do you plan to do with these prisoners? The same old way?"

Bertier frowned, looking puzzled at Anning.

In this era, enemy prisoners were generally released right away.

That’s why history saw Napoleon winning battle after battle, only for the enemy to spring up as if growing from the ground.

Bertier: "What do you mean?"

Anning: "We need a lot of labor to repair fortifications, as well as the Paris sewers. Let these prisoners provide corvée labor."

Bertier: "This... there’s never been such a precedent; this might give other European countries an excuse..."

"Then let them take their excuses. Let them paint the Republic as an evil state, and depict me as a damned tyrant. In any case, these prisoners must not be released lightly. We can’t let them turn around and fight us again."

Anning paused before continuing: "And amongst the captured officers, many are nobles. Hand them over to the People’s Court established by the Parliament; let them be prosecuted!

"We must completely weaken the anti-French coalition at its source!"

Bertier asked in confusion: "Anti-French coalition?"

This thing didn’t exist yet at this time; the coalition currently formed by Prussia, Austria, and the Sardinian Kingdom wasn’t called the anti-French coalition.

Anning: "Yes, the anti-French coalition. Prussia, Austria, and the Sardinian Kingdom have formed a de facto alliance against us. I call them the anti-French coalition!

"Due to our progress and revolution, all the reactionary forces of Europe have joined forces. Do not harbor any illusions about them!"

Anning paused again, then said resolutely: "So, we must weaken our enemies at their roots. All these prisoners, send them all to Paris, let them dig the Paris sewers under the supervision of bayonets!

"And the captured officers, the most suitable place for them is the guillotine!"

**

On a day in March 1793, Paris City was filled with joy.

Today, the commoners of the city had all poured out of their homes to witness the grand gift presented to the city by General Frost: a full 17,000 Austrian prisoners!

The citizens of Paris joyfully gathered around to watch General’s grand gift, praising the General’s renown.

Had it not been for all the musicians and minstrels in the city being conscripted as military bandsmen, they surely would have composed a few songs to extol the General.

Starting from this day, the people of Paris were convinced that General Frost would certainly eliminate the invading coalition and bring glory of victory to the Republic!