An Ning's team had just set off when someone on horseback came galloping from the direction of Paris.
"Mr. Frost!" came the cry from the visitor.
An Ning straightened his back on the horse and looked in that direction. He saw Beethoven sitting on the horse running along the road.
An Ning: "Are you here to see me off? That's so polite..."
"No, you misunderstood. I intend to go to Konta with you."
An Ning asked doubtfully: "What about your opera?"
"I am just a composer. I have completed all the creation work of the opera. Even without my troupe, it can continue to be performed in Paris. As a composer, I need the stimulation and insights that life gives me in order to produce works. I have already foreseen that
This trip to the army will bring me a lot of inspiration!
"Your Majesty General, please allow me to follow your army!"
An Ning raised his eyebrows. There was no problem in bringing Beethoven with him. From now on, it would be easy for his troops to ask for military songs.
So he nodded and said: "I agree. But this distance is very far. If you are not used to riding a horse, you may cause your thighs to bleed, which will be very painful."
Beethoven showed an embarrassed expression: "It's true that I don't ride horses very often. In fact, my butt started to hurt on the way out of Paris."
Beethoven probably rushed over as soon as he heard the news about An Ning Kairun. The horse jolted twice as hard as it ran, and it was very rough.
An Ning pointed to the army's baggage train: "You can ride in the baggage train, and the horses can be given to the cavalry girls to take with them."
In this era, cavalry sometimes brought replacement horses with them in order to maintain their impact.
Beethoven nodded and immediately turned towards the baggage train at the back of the procession.
When he passed the queue of soldiers, the soldiers were singing "Marseillaise" composed by Beethoven.
**
When Beethoven came to the baggage train, he was a little excited.
On his way to the baggage train, he happened to see the unique skill of An Ning's new army: playing songs.
This is one of the small improvements that An Ning made. Following his own experience in military training, he asked the soldiers to compete in singing regardless of anything. The competition was not about who could sing better, but only about how loud the song was.
After practice, An Ning confirmed one thing. The activity of playing songs can indeed greatly improve the cohesion of the troops.
When playing songs, each platoon forms a competitive relationship, and the appearance of "enemies" greatly strengthens the internal unity of each platoon.
Now, this act of singing obviously shocked Beethoven.
He thought very excitedly: "Your Majesty the General has turned music into a means of uniting the troops. I see in these soldiers a centripetal force that far exceeds that of ordinary troops - at least that's what it seems on the surface.
"I should compose this kind of light and happy song that can be used for 'fight singing' as soon as possible!"
Beethoven didn't know that the behavior An Ning taught the troops was called singing, so he made up a suitable vocabulary.
While he was thinking this, he sat down on the board of the baggage train and began to think about the music.
As a musical genius, Beethoven did not like to use paper to record the beautiful phrases he thought of at any time. He usually kept them in his mind.
So at this moment, Beethoven tapped his fingertips lightly on the board of the baggage train, beat the beat and began to weave a tune in his heart.
At this time, the driver driving the baggage cart turned to talk to Beethoven: "Sir, who are you?"
"Ah? I'm a musician, and the General personally allowed me to listen to music in his troops."
The groom looked solemn: "What is Cai Feng?"
Only then did Beethoven realize that he had just used a Latin word, so he quickly explained: "It's just to walk around and look around to inspire your own creation."
The groom raised his eyebrows: "Sounds like something a spy would do."
"I am definitely not a spy!" Beethoven quickly clarified. "I am really a musician. I composed the music they sang about 'Citizens Armed'."
The groom immediately exclaimed: "You...you are the creator of that song? That song seemed to be sung by everyone in the imperial capital at once! I often sing it too."
After that, the groom played a refrain from "La Marseillaise": "Forward, forward! Use the enemy's dirty blood to water our fields!"
Beethoven: "Yes, that's it."
The groom sighed: "What a good song. You did a great job!"
"No," Beethoven smiled awkwardly, "Actually, I didn't compose the song. I recorded the tune that the General hummed and then made some modifications. If it really counts, this song should belong to the General.
work."
The groom was shocked and said: "It's actually... the work of His Excellency the General? This is amazing. Why is there such a favored person? He can save the parliament many times, lead troops to fight, and can discuss with the gentlemen of the National Assembly.
Future policies can actually be composed now!”
"Well, to put it this way, it is true that Your Majesty the General is a bit too versatile..."
Groomman: "The general can also speak nine languages!"
Beethoven gasped: "Nine languages? This is amazing! I already have a hard time learning three languages, but he actually knows nine languages!"
Groom: "Yes, Your Majesty the General is so talented. I am a Parisian, and I have only been working as a groom in the General's army for a few weeks. I heard from veterans that the song "Song of the National Guard" was also taught by Your Majesty the General himself.
Everyone sang it. There was no music score at that time, so the general just sang one sentence and taught another, and he taught everyone how to sing."
"Is this happening?" Beethoven was so surprised that he couldn't open his mouth from ear to ear. "I thought a piece of music was just accidental, but now it seems..."
Just at this time, the troops in front of the baggage train began to sing the "Song of the National Guard" loudly.
Beethoven listened to the song carefully again, and then commented: "The melody itself does not have much technique, it can be said to be unremarkable. But the melody is catchy enough, and most people can roughly memorize the song after listening to it once."
"After listening carefully, I found that this is a very functional piece of music, and it should have been written so straightforwardly on purpose.
"Wonderful, music should also pay attention to practicality, and beauty should not be the first criterion!"
Beethoven nodded repeatedly: "Very good, great! I have just embarked on the journey, and I have gained a great insight! I should also write more songs that are easy to sing and remember, and fight songs for the soldiers.
Provide the tune!”
An Ning probably didn't even know that Beethoven's creative tendencies were so changed by him.
**
At the same time, at the National Guard Headquarters in Paris, Lafayette heard Berthier's words and couldn't believe his ears for a moment.
"What? He went to Konta?"
Berthier nodded: "Yes, let's go to Konta. I sent the cavalry to check the manor. Now there are only some servants who originally belonged to the Duke of Orleans, and even Mr. Frost's personal maid is missing.
"There are a lot of footprints and ruts in front of the manor. It seems that there is indeed a troop starting from the manor and heading away from Paris."
Lafayette seemed a little confused for a moment.
Just then a lieutenant shouted "report" at the door.
Lafayette said to him: "Come in."
The lieutenant walked in, saluted Lafayette and Berthier, and then said: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, the Parliament will discuss the selection of the Commander-in-Chief of the Paris National Guard again this afternoon. Please be present."
Lafayette let out a long sigh: "Gentlemen of the National Assembly, you probably don't know that the person on whom they place their hopes has left Paris?"
The lieutenant hesitated and said, "Well, as far as I know, the congressmen want to elect Justin to succeed you."
Lafayette jumped up: "What? It's that guy! I can't accept it!"
...It seems that the hero of the Revolutionary War and the founding father of the United States, Marquis de Lafayette, still has a lot to worry about.
I don’t know if he will be envious of Andy Frost who has already traveled to a remote area when he is freed from his busy schedule one day.