Napoleon arrived in Stuttgart in the afternoon, where he immediately occupied the city’s largest building to set up command center, and then he directly went to the original owner’s study.
"Place the map here!" Napoleon demanded, tapping on the study desk with his cane, "Throw away all the existing items. Draft an order that any nobles who have fled will be stripped of their noble titles, regardless of whether in the Republic or the original Kingdom dictionaries; those who abandon their people and lands do not deserve to be nobles!"
The Chief of Staff asked, "What about the items made of gold and silver, do we also dispose of them?"
"Of course not, those matters should be obvious to handle without saying—isn’t it! Confiscate all the gold and silver! Also, find the deeds and transfer them to the local administrative bodies once established. Alright, the map, place the map here!"
The map was quickly laid out on the table.
Napoleon spread his hands, pressing down on both ends of the map: "Has the reconnaissance cavalry returned?"
"Dispatch our direct guard to scout; now that the command center is established, having the infantry to guard suffices."
The Chief of Staff took the order to arrange, then Napoleon’s attendant entered.
"The nobles of Stuttgart are at the door," said the attendant.
Napoleon, always learning from Frost, chose a young boy as his attendant and groom just as he did.
Initially, Napoleon wanted to employ a young maid too, but after trying a few, none seemed to have the essence of Vanni, so he gave up.
Napoleon looked puzzled at his young attendant: "What nobles? What are they here for?"
"They probably want to meet the commanding officer of the occupying force?"
"Tell them, we are not an occupying force; we are here to liberate them. Once the battle is over, we will return to our own country."
The young attendant acknowledged and turned to leave.
Napoleon gazed at the map: "Come on, Austrians, I have now advanced—surround me, attack me, and then be encircled by the great army of His Excellency."
At that moment, the door opened, and the Chief of Staff who had left to give orders returned: "Uh, Your Excellency Commander, the entrance is packed with local nobles and local revolutionaries."
"Didn’t I say we are not an occupying force? Let them... wait, you said there are local revolutionaries as well?"
"Yes, and members from the local trade unions."
Napoleon smirked: "Alright, I will meet them."
Saying this, Napoleon straightened his military uniform, lifted his head high, and strode out of the study.
The hall was already crowded with German-speaking gentlemen, clearly divided into two groups; one group wore wigs, obviously nobles, while the others, also well-dressed, did not wear wigs.
In fact, some of the gentlemen who came in wearing wigs immediately took them off upon seeing this clear division.
Upon Napoleon’s arrival, someone loudly said: "Here he comes! The favorite of General Frost, Napoleon Bonaparte!"
Napoleon responded: "Indeed it’s me. In Paris, they always called me Frost’s lackey. Here, I am the spokesperson for Frost, speak if there’s anything."
The nobles looked at each other and eventually, all eyes fell on an elderly gentleman.
The elderly gentleman, leaning on a cane, stepped forward: "Please, that young lad earlier had said that you are not occupying, is that true?"
"Yes, it is true. We are here to liberate Stuttgart and the entirety of Bavaria from the rule of the Holy Roman Empire."
The nobles immediately became noisy.
Seeing this, the gentlemen without wigs quickly prompted a portly gentleman to ask: "Then, will you initiate a revolution in Stuttgart?"
"Of course, we will establish a revolutionary Parliament here, just like in France," Napoleon declared loudly.
The gentlemen without wigs immediately raised their voices.
The voices of the Nobles visibly diminished.
That old gentleman just asked, "Then will you... will you be here..."
"I know what you’re about to say, but this matter is not up to us, the French Army. Wait until your local National Assembly is established; they will naturally judge those they deem guilty."
The gentlemen without wigs’ voices grew even louder.
Meanwhile, the Nobles had completely lost their voices, and a few exchanged meaningful glances. Clearly, the moment they left this hall, they would take all valuables and head straight to the Holy Roman.
Napoleon: "Any more questions? If not, I need to continue attending to my military affairs."
"Do the French Army have confidence in victory?" one of the gentlemen without wigs asked worriedly.
Napoleon laughed heartily: "Of course, we will be victorious, and I can prophesize to you right here that we will achieve an unprecedented great victory, and it will resolve the military problems of Bavaria and even the whole of Southern Germany once and for all! Southern Germany will become the third free Republic after France and Northern Italy."
The room filled with cheers from the gentlemen without wigs.
Grand Duke Carl only arrived at Ulm that evening. Initially, he felt he was moving too slowly and planned to switch horses and continue, but soon realized there were quite a few Austrian troops here.
So he urgently grabbed a Captain from the patrol and asked, "Hello, I am Carl Ludwig Johann Lorenz, may I ask..."
"Who are you?" The Captain interrupted him, "Say it again, I didn’t catch your words just now."
"I’m Grand Duke Carl, the Emperor’s younger brother!" Carl said, annoyed.
"Oh, my goodness, the Grand Duke, sorry I really didn’t hear clearly. Oh, wait a moment, I need to salute first!" The Captain snapped a salute.
Carl, smelling the strong scent of alcohol, contorted his face.
He couldn’t care less about formalities and asked, "What troops are these?"
"There are several troops here, the First Army, the Second Army, the Third Army..."
"Could Alvizi’s headquarters be here?"
"Yes, you are sharp to notice. Indeed, Alvizi’s headquarters is here..."
Carl muttered, "I thought it was in Munich. You, take me to the headquarters now, I have urgent matters to discuss with Marshal Alvizi!"
"Very well, this way, Your Highness."
Marshal Alvizi was about to sleep, having a drink before bed, when suddenly a guard outside yelled, "Halt!"
"Get out of the way, do you see who is behind me? It’s the Emperor’s younger brother! Will you take the responsibility if you delay us?"
Marshal Alvizi frowned, calling out loudly, "Who is it?"
In that moment, the door opened, and the dusty Carl, the Grand Duke, entered.
"Are you going to bed now?" he exclaimed.
Alvizi replied, "Yes, I’m old and can’t stay up late."
"That won’t do, you need to act quickly. The French Army has already reached Stuttgart!"
Alvizi responded, "We know. Additionally, we are aware that in the direction of the Black Forest, there’s a large movement of French cavalry. Stuttgart is just a feint by the cunning Frost; the main force is in the direction of the Black Forest."
Grand Duke Carl was stunned, "Black Forest? I just came from there, there was no French Army."
"But our reconnaissance cavalry reported there was."