Napoleon had three outstanding teachers: Louis Monge, Laplace, and Louis Domairon. The first two taught him mathematics and mechanics, while Domairon taught Napoleon the value of haranguing the troops before battle.
The English word "harangue" carried the sense of roaring on and on, but the French "harangue" did not. It could refer to an inspiring speech; Shakespeare's Henry V and Thucydides' Pericles had both delivered such speeches.
In his study, Georgiana had seen the textbooks he used to read. Count Jacques de Guibert, a French general, had written in General Essay on Tactics: "Active forces burden the people, yet cannot win decisive victories in war. Meanwhile, the populace is largely negligent in military training and grows ever weaker... If a nation possessed manliness and established a national army, it would dominate Europe."
At the mention of Rome, few European men could keep their blood from boiling. As for the aristocrats before the French Revolution... tch.
In any case, Georgiana did not believe there was any cannon in the world capable of shelling Rome from Rimini, unless it used missiles.
For no apparent reason, a person came to mind: Giovanni, the vampire who had taken part in the interior decoration of Neuschwanstein Castle. How would he have designed the place if he had been the decorator?
Her brief distraction was accompanied by a rumble, and then her ears began to ring, as though a shell had just exploded beside her.
She instinctively turned around and saw someone standing in the doorway. It was Lord Cornwallis's son, Captain Nightingale, glaring at her furiously.
The last time he had asked her for a "favor," she had learned what it meant to be given the cold shoulder...
"How about a set of reliefs?" Bonaparte said in her ear.
She slowly turned her head, and