Chapter 24 In Orleans (Part 1)
To eliminate the harassment of assassinators, I ordered the officers and soldiers of the guard battalion to rest for a few more days on the hills of the central plain, one to treat the injured soldiers, and the other to wait for the convoy to wait for the special commissioner.
Three days later, most of the wounded soldiers were well, and the remaining few more severe ones were left to the local Republican army to continue treatment. However, my commissioner had not yet fallen and sent several groups of people to run back with frustration. It seemed that Fred had given them a lot of faces. As a last resort, on the fourth night, I personally rushed to the town of Brieude and ordered the soldiers to break open the door, drag Mr. Fred off the woman's bed, almost carried to his own carriage, and continued his trip to Paris.
Along the way, the convoy crossed the Central Plateau, threw the cities of Rillon, Vichy, Mullan, Gion and other cities behind, crossed the calm Loire River. At the strong request of the special commissioner, he transferred to the city of Orleans, an important town in central France. The distance from Paris is only 2 days away. The National Convention requires us to reach Paris within 15 days, and now there are only two days left. Seeing that the people were exhausted, he couldn't bear it and ordered a short rest in the city.
The guards and soldiers set up camp tents on the banks of the Loire River, and I dragged Fred and took a walk by the river. Because there were outsiders, the old housekeeper Sandro took Juliss to the side. After a few words, a group of people came from Orleans City, all of whom were members of the local commune and provincial councillors. Without thinking, I knew that it was the special commissioner instructing his confidants to do good things. At the warm invitation of the hosts, under Fred's threatening gaze, I accepted the invitation to participate in the revolutionary masses' party in the city square.
The commissioner was very happy. He had already polished his military boots and tidied up his outfit. He even took the sabers he rarely wore. On the way to the square, he began to brag about the Toulon Legion. General Andrew had his own great achievements. He kept satisfying his vanity amid the "tsk" of everyone's "tsk" and I was so miserable. Although I was mentally prepared, as soon as I entered the city center, I was "pulled" by the crowd of people who were welcomed by the streets. Everyone shouted the slogan "Long live Andrew", and countless hands raised themselves, threw them into the sky, caught them, and then threw them...
Seeing this situation, the members and congressmen who were still in front of the city hall were stunned by the sight; the guards were anxious and could not squeeze out the crowd to "rescue" the general; and I was most unlucky. I originally wanted to have a good meal and just pay attention to the statue of Joan of Arc in my mind, but were "ravaged" by countless big hands, and the triangular hat on my head disappeared, and the buttons on the general's uniform fell off one after another. Fortunately, I tried my best to maintain it with both hands, otherwise my whole body would be stripped away, just like when I first arrived in France.
I don’t know how long I came here, but I was finally put down by the men and returned to the ground safely. Unexpectedly, something even more tragic happened. First, the pretty girl in front of me gave me an Orleans-style kiss. Then almost all the female members in the square rushed over, the old, the young, the beautiful, and the ugly were all on their faces, countless lips and saliva on their heads and clothes.
Just as I was about to be suffocated by this kind of warm welcome ceremony, the guards finally arrived in time. A dozen powerful men of Kong Wu were staggering in the crowd, struggling to help the general get rid of the entanglement of the women. More than ten minutes later, I finally found the city hall opposite the square. Seeing General Andrew's extremely embarrassed appearance, the faces of officials from Orleans were flushed at first, but then they couldn't help laughing. The laughter in the city hall was thunderous. As my temper was trained, I was so angry that I still didn't get angry, but just ignored everyone coldly until the laughter gradually subsided.
The guards were still concerned about their general's image, so they immediately borrowed a suit of a man without a trousers to help me change it, and there was also a revolutionary "Little Red Riding Hood". I was re-dressed and shook hands and hugged the local officials of Orleans with a natural expression, but refused to touch my face. After the ceremony was finished, I just sat down and wanted to have some drinks when I was interrupted by a earnest greeting.
"General Andrew, I'm so sorry, the reaction of the masses was too enthusiastic, just like the scene when Joan of Arc entered Orleans, we were caught off guard, hoping not to mind, in fact, all the men present were envious and jealous of you." The speaker was Ebert, a member of the Orleans Revolutionary Commune, and the chairman of the Jacobins in the Orleans area, sitting on my left hand. He was the first to laugh just now, explaining the emergencies just now in a very "sincere" tone. (Note: Joan of Arc was canonized by the Pope in the 1920s, but from the year when Joan of Arc died, some people in the French people called her Joan of Arc)
Words are good words, but they feel different in my ears. Damn it, I dare to tease me, you can try it, it’s okay if you are a beauty, even the 60-year-old woman came to harass me. Although she was unhappy in her heart, it was an extremely honor to show it on her face and language.
"Where, where, the comrade of the committee joked, it was Andrew who finally understood the enthusiasm and unrestrainedness of the people of Orleans, and who could enjoy the same treatment as Joan of Arc. That was his supreme honor and pride."
"That's good, General, please allow me to send you a request on behalf of all Orleans citizens." Ebert said, feeling a little "conspiracy" in his smile.
"Oh, request, and any request, Andrew will do his best to satisfy the hospitality of the citizens of Orleans." I was still scared and gritted my teeth and said something insincere, but the expression on my face was a little dull.
"Haha, I just ask the general to say a few words to the revolutionary citizens present, that's all, that's all." Ebert said with a smile after appreciating my expression.
I was so fainted that it was a speech again. Starting from Marseille, every time I passed a village along the way, the town would be pulled by local officials to the municipal square to shout. This time, it came again. According to what Chairman Mao said, it was a propaganda car and a seedler. Alas, the propaganda car was accused, but the seedler...
Chapter completed!