Chapter 2346 Great Illusionist (Part 1)

On June 18, 1798, the French expedition to Egypt set sail from Marseilles and arrived in Alexandria on July 1. They were lucky and did not encounter the calm weather like the Mycenaeans who conquered Troy. It was quite large, which allowed the fleet to set sail at the fastest speed, and on June 22 and 23, there was a heavy fog, which caused Nelson's fleet to pass by and almost collide.

But it was also the strong wind that caused the sea to stir up waves like boiling water in a pot. Napoleon became seasick in this situation.

He was not alone, and by the time they reached Alexandria on the tide of the sea, things were no better, although they took the city easily. The scorching sun, lack of water and hot sand all made them feel strange and daunting.

But this is not the worst, the military rations are collected locally, and Egypt is a desert, not the fertile Po River plain. Having enough to eat is the first problem an army must solve. A qualified commander regards this as common sense in commanding an army, but wars are cruel and changeable, and seemingly simple things are often not satisfied due to many variables. Compared with the team led by Du Gao who landed in Rosetta with sufficient water and food, Desai's team only found abandoned villages and wells filled with stones. To the Mirage, while the Bedouins harassed the stragglers. Even in Du Gao's army, there was not enough bread, and the locals would use fruits to supplement the food shortage, which made many people unaccustomed to it, causing soldiers to generally suffer from diarrhea. Ordering a march across the desert to Cairo at this time is undoubtedly a hellish journey. Some people collapsed on the march, others were overwhelmed by the heat and lack of water, and their woolen uniforms made everyone miserable.

It can be seen on the sculptures and portraits of ancient Egypt that both pharaohs and slaves wore thick eyeliner. It is not only for aesthetics, but also can drive away some small insects and protect the eyes from eye infections caused by flies. eye disease. These unfamiliar French people didn't know all this. Many people were infected with eye diseases and fell ill. Faced with this situation, the military doctors were helpless.

Everyone was very depressed, some people finally chose to commit suicide, all this until July 20th.

As Homer wrote, the sky is rose red, the pyramids of Giza stand on the west bank of the Nile, and to the east is Cairo, a city of over 250,000 people, larger than most cities in Europe except Paris, London, but there are no Giza pyramids on the outskirts of Paris and London.

In addition, there are minarets of more than 300 mosques in the city, as well as Mamluk light cavalry in formation, waiting for work. They played drums to boost their morale, and they didn't pay attention to these outsiders who were in disorganized formation due to heat and exhaustion, and were on the verge of collapse.

They wear a full suit of gold armor, an ancient tradition that can be used to pay a ransom for their armor when they are defeated. In addition, there are gorgeous harnesses with muskets hanging on them. When they rode their horses and moved in front of the phalanx, they made a very pleasant sound. At this time, the main force of the French army formed several huge phalanxes. Formation seen.

Compared with the Mamluks, which have a large number of people, the square formation has only a few thin lines in each direction. It seems that only a team of cavalry can penetrate and then completely collapse. However, the battle lasted for two hours, and it was not the French who collapsed first. Instead, the main force of the Mamluk cavalry fled the Nile Valley and fled to the southern countryside, which is not easily accessible.

In fact, the square array also has weaknesses. Because it moves slowly and is densely populated, it is very suitable for artillery bombardment. However, the accuracy and rate of fire of Mamluks are very poor, and there is no standard tractor for French artillery, making it difficult to quickly adjust deployment and project firepower. In this case, the Mamluks lacked an effective solution to the formation, although these nobles were more numerous than the French in terms of numbers and musket holdings.

Cairo was powerless to resist at this time, and at the same time there was a Frenchman in a bad state. Bonaparte lived in the Governor's Palace on the west bank of the Nile. From the balcony he could see the magnificent Piazza Esbikia, which turns into a lake when the Nile overflows.

However, there is another Cairo. There are close to 60,000 unemployed people in Cairo’s total population. Their lives often need to rely on the relief of the mosque. Long before the arrival of the French army, this class often started riots and then hid in ordinary residential areas. Among those crowded and messy, maze-like streets and alleys.

The people here use camel dung as fuel, and when they burn, they produce a very nasty brown smoke, which will float over the city every time they eat.

Before the French landed, Egypt had experienced 25 years of social turmoil, economic chaos, disorder, and rulers extortionate. In 1791, the plague swept the scarred country again. The political turmoil in Egypt was due to two reasons. The first was the increasing disintegration of the Mamluk class in the struggle for power and splintering into numerous rival factions, and the second was the futile attempts of the Turks to restore their rule over Egypt. Eventually this division spread throughout Egyptian society from top to bottom, and the ensuing social unrest disrupted Egyptian trade.

The victory was short-lived. Nelson learned that Napoleon had pursued the port of Aboukir on August 1 after landing in Egypt. The French army suffered heavy losses in this battle, including Napoleon's flagship "Orient", which was full of treasures. Originally used to buy off the Egyptian elite, others were used to mint new coins, but they all sank with the Vostok.

Rather than being disappointed in the future, it is better not to have any hope at the beginning, so that the drop will not be so huge when you are disappointed, just like falling from the top of the wave to the bottom of the wave in a "boiling" ocean, you will have a strong sense of weightlessness .

If it’s just once or twice, the key is to keep repeating. The sand dunes in the desert are also undulating like waves by the wind, but the people who step on it can decide whether they want to climb to the top of the dunes, or in what way. Walking down the sand dunes can be relatively smooth, unlike the straight up and down waves of the sea, which cannot be controlled by manpower at all.

In 1799, when Bonaparte returned to France by ship again, he chose the small port of Fréjus. Compared with the last time he led a huge fleet with a "smooth journey", this time his return home was not smooth. He had a gorilla with him, but died on the boat, and bandits robbed his luggage in Provence, which revealed the reality of how chaotic France was, although he was welcomed like a hero later on the road .

Religion tells you not to hate those who hurt you, but to be kind and use your patience to fight the hurt.

But not everyone is convinced.

Although not entirely smooth, in Egypt Napoleon did not need to live the humble life of a "first public servant", he could do what he wanted to do. He remained loyal to Josephine and did not get involved with the Mamluk women, so his attention turned to money, so that Bey's wife had to exchange a precious ring for half of the property.

It was a seemingly loss-making business, but Bonaparte recognized it at once, and it would bring him more than the Arabian horses.

"There is nothing wrong with being a nun. You can cultivate your body and mind." Bonaparte sat on the sofa, with his left arm around Georgiana's shoulder, his right hand pinching her hand, and playing with the fire opal ring on her hand "But if a child Living in a monastery from a young age was cruel."

She didn't dare to move.

She glanced into his eyes, like a money fan, both eyes were shining.

The desire to survive is an animal instinct. It is not only possessed by humans, but it is different from animals. Humans want to live only when they have desires. It is desire that allows some people to find a reason to live after experiencing too much misfortune. It is not enough to only feel the pain of asceticism, and feel that death is as easy as taking off your shoes and going to sleep.

After about three to five minutes, he let go of her hand, and she hesitated to take it back. When she touched the ring, it was as hot as a fire.

"Did you have meal?"

"not yet."

"What to eat?"

"I'll take care of it myself." She said softly, "Don't delay your afternoon business because of me."

"Why don't you tell others that I sent someone to Hamburg?"

"Why should I tell anyone?"

He looks at her.

"Isn't this a military secret?" she asked again.

"Are you really that good at keeping secrets?"

She looked at him inexplicably.

Immediately afterwards, he leaned close to his ear and said in a low voice, "I'll tell you a secret, those assassins are not robbers, their identities were forged by me."

Georgiana nodded in understanding, she always felt that the British spy on Bow Street was too efficient.

"Who are they?" she asked casually, just out of curiosity.

"The Legion of the Rhine, the former subordinates of Osh." Bonaparte said with a smile, "They thought killing me would stop me from sending troops to Santo Domingo."

Her eyes widened in shock.

He put his finger on her lips.

"Shh, don't tell anyone." He said softly, "Keep it a secret for me, okay?"

Georgiana nodded, and then he grabbed her hand, with her pinky hooking her little finger, as if the "contract" had been concluded.