"I didn’t do it on purpose!"
At the family dinner after the wedding, Pauline complained loudly.
"I rushed back from Briena, encountered the Rebel Army on the way, wasted a whole morning, and barely made it back to Paris this morning. Then I immediately rented a horse and rushed to Notre Dame, and finally made it before you took your vows!
"You should praise me! I completed such a challenging task!"
Anning: "Yes, you did a great job, it would have been even better if you could make a more dramatic entrance into Notre Dame."
Pauline: "I was just anxious! And what’s wrong with entering through the main door, it didn’t affect anything, did it?"
Anning: "I’m not saying it’s wrong to enter through the main door, but you could have made a more spectacular entrance, like breaking through the windows of Notre Dame, making an angel-like appearance amidst the scattered colored glass."
Pauline, clearly realizing Anning was teasing her, pouted, her cheeks puffing up: "I didn’t do anything bad, and I made it in time."
Anning: "Right, you didn’t do anything wrong."
"Then why are all of you mocking me!"
"Because what you did really makes people want to mock you." Anning spread her hands.
Christina interjected: "Mainly because such behavior is a bit too far from what one typically expects of a lady."
Pauline pouted: "A lady wouldn’t be wielding swords and guns anyway, I’m not ladylike, so it doesn’t matter."
Anning: "Christina also graduated from Briena, and she’s very ladylike."
"That... then it’s my brother’s fault!"
Napoleon was eating, but he looked up in surprise when he heard this: "Blaming me? How does this relate to me?"
"It’s because you taught me to climb trees and fight!"
"When you were climbing trees and fighting, I was busy earning money to support the family. How could you blame me for this?"
"I don’t care, I’m blaming you anyway."
Anning intervened to ease the situation: "Let’s leave it at that, it’s my fault for teasing you."
"That’s fine, someone has to take the blame. Let’s end this matter here," Pauline said cheerfully.
Anning heard Napoleon muttering, "Who does this girl’s temper resemble?"
Pauline heard Napoleon’s muttering and clearly was about to protest again, but Anning forcefully interrupted him, raising her glass and saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, to celebrate that today Napoleon and I both have entered a new phase in life, I propose a toast!"
Around the table sat Anning’s close confidants, including Bertier, Bernadotte, Moro, Lazarcano, and others who currently wielded real power in the Republic’s army.
Besides them, there were also people like the painter David and the music saint Beethoven, who had always been very close to Anning.
Everyone raised their glasses together.
Lasalle exclaimed loudly, "Here’s to our leader’s soaring success and even more glorious military achievements!"
Napoleon: "Here’s to Andy becoming the Caesar of France!"
"He already is," said Beethoven. "Caesar once conquered Gaul, and General here has conquered it again."
Anning: "I did not conquer France; I am fighting for France."
Napoleon: "You conquered France with your charm and bravery, not by force! You have won over France, just look at the grand scene at Notre Dame today, all the most honorable gentlemen of Paris are present."
Anning smiled and thought to himself, "You really know how to flatter."
Just then, Bernadotte suddenly said, "It might not be the best time to talk about this, but I think everyone here wants to know when we will march towards the Rhine?"
Before responding, Anning was struck with a fascinating thought.
There is a military song from the German Empire called "March on England," which almost every German knows, and its popularity is second only to the Panzerlied.
So Anning began to hum it spontaneously, only he substituted "England" with "Rhine."
Although this presented a rhyme issue, he believed the powerful translation tool would handle it.
Upon hearing Anning start to hum, Beethoven showed a delighted expression on his face.
After humming for a bit, Anning said, "I haven’t thought of the rest, but don’t be anxious, we will surely advance into the Rhine River basin. We aim not only for the Rhine River but also to move north into the Low Countries.
"When the Netherlands gained independence, we made a contribution. Now we should help them liberate from the rule of feudal nobles and bring them freedom, equality, and fraternity!"
Moro exclaimed excitedly, "Are we going to establish a Republic in the Low Countries?"
"Of course! We will establish a Republic in the Low Countries and a free Rhein Federation in the Rhine River basin. A free Europe will gradually materialize under our advances. We aim to shatter the crowns of European monarchs, just like we ended the monarchy in France!"
Several republican officers were visibly ecstatic, while Napoleon was interested in a different direction, "Re-establish the Roman Republic! We don’t want this so-called empire that is neither holy, nor Roman, nor an empire!"
Anning shook his head: "No, I don’t plan to establish a unified Republic. I believe that people in different regions should decide their own destiny. After gaining their freedom, they can choose whether or not to join the alliance of Republics we establish!"
This made Beethoven, a German, visibly pleased: "Deciding their own fate! That’s well said. I have many friends, and we have long been dissatisfied with Habsburg rule!"
Anning: "Is that so? Then when our army marches into your homeland, I will need you to reach out to your friends. After all, we can’t rule the conquered lands with a governor like those feudal countries.
"We’ll just help you establish your own Parliament, and the path you take afterwards will be up to you."
At this point, Bertier interjected, "It sounds like we almost gain no tangible benefits from waging war. Will the Parliament agree? The Parliament is counting on us to plunder a great deal of wealth from the Low Countries and the wealthy regions of the Rhine."
Anning: "Wealth, actually, can be obtained by innovating production technologies. Currently, our spinning factories are very profitable, it’s just that with the domestic turmoil, excessive issuance of scrip, and a plethora of other problems.
"Once we defeat Habsburg and have a stable external environment, we can focus on solving domestic issues.
"For example, completely abolishing scrip and switching to the use of paper money issued by my bank. This time, we will issue paper money in a controlled manner to ensure its value.
"Moreover, we need to carry out thorough land reforms, allowing farmers to afford our products,
"And in cities, we also need to possibly increase the income of working-class men, for the same reason!
"Gentlemen, I need to correct a perception: our stepping out of the country is not for plunder and glory, but to create a safe environment for the development of the Republic.
"This might sound awkward, but I still need to say it: we must use warfare, to avoid the continuation of war.
"Do you understand? Although we are all soldiers, we cannot love war! We fight because we want to stop wars!"
After Anning finished his spontaneous speech, the room fell silent, then Napoleon took the lead in applauding, "Well said! Very well said!"
Meanwhile, the painter David was furiously scribbling with a pencil, evidently eager to record Anning’s just-delivered speech to include in his ongoing biography of Frost.