Mr. Balas, after resting for a day, once again earnestly implored Anning to return to Paris.
Anning, without demurring, directly reported the military intelligence on Austria and the Sardinian Kingdom that he had personally scouted and then countered, "Tell me, who could replace me to command the Italian legions?"
Remembering, Balas’s military capability was actually decent, having quelled rebellions in places like Nice and established the Coastal Province, and later discovering Napoleon.
However, expecting Balas to suddenly become capable of withstanding the Sardinian Kingdom and the Holy Roman in Italy was practically impossible.
As expected, Balas hemmed and hawed for a long time without producing a reasonable answer.
Suddenly, he had an idea and retorted, "Could General Frost possibly handle an enemy force that is more than double his own?"
Anning glanced at his subordinates, then Napoleon kindly reminded, "We’ve fought enemies thrice our number before, at Conte, achieving a complete victory, and even beheaded a surrendering enemy commander."
Anning: "Although the enemy forces are numerous, they are divided onto two battlefields. Our forces still hold several mountain passes. The Massena division defending these passes has ten thousand men, which should obstruct the Sardinian Kingdom’s troops for a significant period. During this time, we need to crush the Austrian forces in front and force them to retreat to their strongholds in the Alpine Mountains."
Davout added, "Mainly Trent, which is one of the Holy Roman’s most important strongholds at the southern foothills of the Alps."
"As long as we force the enemy back towards Trent," Anning resumed, "we only need to leave a small force surrounding Mantua Fortress and can then march west to attack the Sardinian Kingdom. Our troops can perform a forceful crossing at Valenza over the Po River, then flank to attack the Sardinian Kingdom’s troops from the rear in the coastal hill areas."
Paul Balas questioningly asked, "How many troops do you plan to use to surround Mantua? If too few, they might be broken out. I suggest we immediately retreat back within the French border while the enemy hasn’t unified in action yet, and then organize the defenses at Nice.
"After all, outside of Nice, the French territories in Italy are basically the former commercial republics’ territories, almost like picking up something for free.
"Just defending Nice, with your troops, would surely be entirely feasible, without the need for top-notch command skills. You could take the opportunity to go to Paris!"
Anning: "With me abandoning such a vast stretch of territory, how would I still qualify to hold the role of the Garrison Commander of Paris?"
Balas: "Whoever controls the newspapers can turn black into white; all we need is to spin it a bit and pin the blame on the Austrians."
"Wouldn’t the Royalist newspapers propagate?" Anning countered.
Balas: "Of course they would propagate, but our Jacobin papers are more popular among the people. It’s just a game of who can shout louder."
Anning: "Yes, perhaps you could indeed fool the populace, but what about the reality? What do we do about the vast swaths of territory lost for no reason?"
Most importantly, what about my difficultly initiated Milan blood-sucking plan? I’ve only just gotten a little taste, and I’m far from satiated.
Balas: "All those things don’t matter, Paris needs you!"
Anning: "You should give up, I will never abandon my soldiers."
Balas smirked: "I’m not asking you to abandon your soldiers; in fact, we still need you to lead the troops to defend Paris..."
Anning: "Mr. Balas, you surely haven’t tried the chrysanthemum cream parboiled rice in Milan, it’s truly delicious, I’ll immediately have Milan’s most famous chef prepare some for you."
Balas shook his head: "No, I don’t like cream..."
"No no, although this dish is called creamed rice, it actually does not use cream. It is made with Gorgonzola cheese and oil to mimic the texture of cream. Besides the texture of cream, it also has the unique aroma of Gorgonzola cheese..."
Balas continued to shake his head: "No no, I’m actually not that interested in food, just drinking some Marseilles fish soup or eating some Provence stew is fine for me..."
Anning: "This is Italy! You’re in Italy and you still want to eat French food, the Italians will hate you!"
Balas: "Italian food is nothing special, just various variations of frying onions with olive oil! Let’s talk about Paris instead!"
Before Anning could respond, Lasalle interjected: "Hey, now that I think about it, it seems that Italian cuisine really does start with frying onions in olive oil!"
Napoleon asserted resolutely: "That’s a prejudice!"
Anning couldn’t help but remind Napoleon: "You are Corsican, not Italian, Corsica belongs to France. You don’t need to get so worked up over the dignity of Italian cuisine."
Napoleon: "Alright, my mistake, but Italian cuisine is really delicious, the kind of deliciousness that can enlighten one’s life!"
Frenchman Napoleon continued to reluctantly uphold the dignity of Italian cuisine.
Balas: "All these are fine! You could even bring a few Italian chefs to Paris, and when the time comes you can host a grand banquet, and I will come to taste the creamed rice you so ardently recommend!"
Anning: "Mr. Balas, I think I’ve made myself very clear, I won’t leave my soldiers at this time."
Balas clenched his teeth and played his trump card: "If you return to Paris now, you will surely become the most prestigious man in the entire Paris! At that time, all the armies of France will be under your command!"
Anning: "It does sound a bit appealing, but I am quite satisfied with the number of troops I am currently commanding, and my officers are barely enough to manage this many people."
Balas: "You will lead the whole of France, and achieve victory after victory, just like the historic conqueror Alexander (or Iskander)!"
Anning: "I don’t need to go to Paris to keep achieving victories, keep conquering."
Anyway, Anning had already made up his mind. Paris, so complicated and full of undercurrents, let those who want to go, go. I’d rather stay far away.
Balas, facing the unyieldable Anning, sighed deeply.
He stepped back and said: "Then, I hope to mobilize an army of about a hundred thousand from the Southern Region to the capital."
Anning glanced at Lazar Kano, who silently shook his head.
So Anning decisively vetoed the request: "No, for now my army has no intention of going to Paris. Of course, if the situation in Paris really becomes very dangerous in the future, my army will go to Paris.
"But the timing will be determined by us."
Balas: "Alright! Alright! I will truthfully report your stance to your friends in Paris!"
Anning laughed outright. His friends in Paris were truly likeminded buddies, and even if they heard Balas’s report, they probably wouldn’t say much.
Anning: "Go ahead and tell them, and by the way, give my regards to Maximilien (referring to Robespierre), and tell him that when I reach the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, I’ll bring him some local specialties."
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