Descending On France 1780
Chapter 263 - 256 quickly spur the horse

Chapter 263: 256 quickly spur the horse

North of Babi Village, lay an unnamed small village.

The Cavalry of the French Army visited here at dusk, knocking on the door of the town’s church.

The local Priest generally also served as the village doctor, likely the only person in such a small village who knew how to treat wounds.

The Cavalry brought in Lasalle with a shoulder injury for the Priest to treat.

Lasalle exclaimed, "Damn it! This really fucking hurts!"

The Cavalry pouring liquor on Lasalle’s arm immediately stopped.

Lasalle shouted angrily, "Don’t stop! Haven’t you heard what he said? Clean the wound thoroughly!"

Cavalry: "I haven’t heard it, actually I haven’t seen him many times. I haven’t been with the Revolutionary Army for long."

"Well now I’ve told you, so keep pouring, ignore whatever I’m shouting!"

The Cavalry continued to pour liquor onto Lasalle’s arm, thoroughly washing off the blood around the wound before stopping.

Then, with reluctance, he licked the clear liquid flowing down the bottle, his face expressing bliss, "This is good liquor, such strong drink is hard to come by!"

The technology of human brewing also progressed with the development of productive forces; in the year 1793, strong liquor was a rare commodity, and the usual taverns only sold drinks of ten to twenty degrees.

Lasalle glared at him and scolded, "Look at what little ambition you have, drinking it as if it were nothing big. Hand it over!"

Saying that, Lasalle grabbed the bottle with his uninjured hand and took a big gulp.

"Really invigorating, good liquor!"

"Boss, isn’t this meant for treating wounds?"

"It is for treating wounds, but who dares to complain if I want to take a sip?" Lasalle rolled his eyes.

By this time, the Priest had finished bandaging his wound. "All done."

"Thank you!" Lasalle stood up, turned to his troops filling the church, "The horses outside must have fed by now; let us go and play with the Austrian Cavalry!"

Aide: "It’s nightfall now, shouldn’t they have camped?"

"Them camping is even better, gives Bertier another night to react," Lasalle smirked, "The real fear is that he doesn’t react at all. Never mind, we have our duties. Even if Bertier retreats in defeat, we can still slip back to Paris. Before that, let’s fulfill our responsibilities. Move out!"

The roomful of Cavalry stood up.

They all looked miserable, their ornate Dolman uniforms stained with blood and dirt, just like their faces.

The Priest, watching them, asked, "Is France headed for defeat? If it is, does that mean Your Majesty will return?"

Lasalle turned sharply, glaring at the Priest, "Oh really, you’re a Royalist! Do you know whose troops we are? We are the saviors of France, creators of the Republic, one of the Jacobin’s top four leaders, the unbeaten General Andy Frost’s troops!"

The Priest nearly died of fright, from the beginning of Lasalle reciting Frost’s titles, he made the sign of the cross while exclaiming, "My God!"

Lasalle continued: "He issued the order to bomb the Palais des Tuileries, and personally invaded the palace to capture the then King Louis XVII! And you dare say in our presence that the King will return?

"Go to hell! As long as Frost is around, the King will never return! Absolutely not!"

After Lasalle finished, the old Priest fell to his knees, repeating constantly, "Right, you’re correct, he will not return, absolutely won’t return!"

Lasalle continued: "Not only will the King not return, Frost will also march to Austria, catch that chief culprit and send him to the guillotine at Revolution Square!"

Old Priest: "Oh my, that’s terrifying."

Some Cavalry jeered, "Kill him! Let him go to Heaven first to pave the way for Louis XVI and his Austrian Woman!"

Lasalle pursed his lips, stared at the Priest for a few seconds, shaking his head, "No, he did bandage me up after all, I won’t repay kindness with evil, even if he is a Royalist. Once we have finished the fight, the Special Commissioner will deal with these non-oath taking Priests."

After saying that, Lasalle turned and left the church.

Cavalrymen followed him and left one by one, leaving only the old priest still kneeling on the ground, shivering.

**

At dawn, after marching the entire night, the 66th Infantry Brigade finally saw the spire of the church in Babi Village on the horizon.

Commander Ju Zhongma shouted, "It’s right ahead! Looks like we’ll be there in about an hour! Hurry! Full speed ahead!"

The already exhausted soldiers of the French Army sped up once more.

Ju Zhongma: "Musicians! Give us some strong drumbeats! Quick, we’re almost there!"

In this era, to maintain the pace of the entire team during a march, musicians would continuously play music, which practically fulfilled the rhythmic role of "one-two-one."

But after a whole day and night of exertion, the musicians of the 66th brigade were terribly tired, barely able to lift their arms anymore.

Despite Ju Zhongma’s shouts, the marching music did not become more spirited.

Ju Zhongma: "Damn it! Never mind, I’ll sing myself!"

Then Ju Zhongma began to sing with a hoarse voice: "Forward, children of the fatherland, rise swiftly,

"Glorious day awaits you!

"Look, the tyrant raises against us

"The flag soaked in blood!"

Renamed as the "Hymn of Rome," the Marseillaise’s effect at inspiring was undoubtedly unquestionable.

As Ju Zhongma started to sing, it was clear that the spirit of the soldiers was uplifted.

Quite a few soldiers joined in the singing as well.

Even the drumbeats of the military musicians became vigorous.

The group picked up their pace, as if their previous fatigue was just a pointless lie.

Ju Zhongma sang the Marseillaise over and over, and when he could barely continue, the vanguard of the troop shouted: "We’ve arrived! No enemies!"

The troops entered Babi Village.

Some villagers, hearing the Marseillaise, opened their doors to see what was happening.

Shortly after, a few horsemen holding torches rushed along the village road towards the troops: "What unit are you?"

"We are the 66th Infantry Brigade, ordered to be stationed in Babi Village, who are you?" the voice of the army sergeant drifted with the wind.

Ju Zhongma kicked his horse’s belly and rode forward: "I am the commander of the 66th Infantry Brigade. Which unit are you part of?"

Seeing Ju Zhongma, the newcomers exclaimed: "Good heavens, how come you have no head?"

Ju Zhongma grinned, showing his white teeth: "You see my head now, right?"

"Damn, you really scared the heck out of us."

Ju Zhongma, impatiently said: "Which unit are you with?"

"We are with the transport station here in Babi Village; I am the station chief. We didn’t receive any orders about troops coming to be stationed. What happened?"

"About 20,000 enemy soldiers are heading towards Babi Village; it’s about to become a battlefield," Ju Zhongma paused, "My troops need to rest, get the station and the able-bodied in the village mobilized to build fortifications around the village!"

The people from the station looked at each other, the leader replied: "Well, we do not understand military engineering."

Ju Zhongma angrily said: "How can you not understand military engineering?"

"Because we are not soldiers; I’m a grain merchant, and he next to me is a dentist."

Ju Zhongma looked at the sky, suddenly slapped his forehead: "Right, someone at the back is an architect, knows how to build fortresses, must understand military engineering."