Chapter 781: Overlooking Lombardy
Chapter 782: Overlooking Lombardy
Napoleon looked at the white mountaintop in the distance, kicked his horse's belly without hesitation, walked towards the hillside, and said to the quartermaster:
"Don't worry about supplies. Have you forgotten that there is the benevolent St. Bernard Abbey on the mountain?"
He was talking about a monastery built by the monk St. Bernard de Meun [Note 1] in the 11th century on the hillside of the Alps. In the following hundreds of years, after many expansions, it has become quite large, enough to provide supplies for thousands of soldiers.
The quartermaster was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly caught up and said:
"Commander, that, I must remind you that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince strictly prohibits us from "privately collecting supplies" in Italian towns."
The so-called "collecting supplies" is actually a civilized way of saying that soldiers are allowed to rob.
Napoleon smiled slyly:
"Yes, we are not collecting supplies in Italy, but His Highness did not say that we cannot accept the gifts from the monastery.
"Besides, Major Odoric is not here either, so some things can be more flexible, right?"
Odoric was the military supervisor sent by Joseph to be in charge of logistics dispatch, and he was fighting in the Diego area with Dimobin at this time.
The quartermaster staff was still trying to dissuade: "You see, even if we can get the help of the priests, there will still be a shortage of supplies. The supplies in the monastery are enough for the army to consume for a week at most, and after we arrive at the Bad Fortress, I am afraid we will have to fight a long battle, so we should wait for the supplies from Bresse to arrive..."
"You don't have to worry about the fortress." Napoleon seemed confident, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has helped me "solve" this.
"And leaving two days earlier will give us more strategic initiative."
Historically, after crossing the Great Saint Bernard Pass, the French army failed to make progress in attacking the Bad Fortress for half a month. Finally, some soldiers heard from nearby herdsmen that there was a path on the side of the fortress, so they were able to sneak through at night.
However, because the previous battle to attack the fortress had kept the defenders on high alert, only the infantry of the French army successfully passed through the path at that time, and they were discovered by the defenders when they were transporting cannons later.
The Austrian defenders began to block the path with artillery fire. The French army eventually had to give up the cannons behind, and only 6 cannons were able to enter the Italian region.
This time, Joseph told Napoleon in advance that there was a path near the Bad Fortress. The French army could pass quietly without alerting the defenders from the beginning, so there was a high probability that the cannons could be transported through the fortress.
As for the specific location of the path, Napoleon would naturally find the locals to ask.
Two days later.
Accompanied by the sound of military drums, the French artillerymen shouted neat slogans and drove donkeys and mules to drag huge tree trunks halfway up the mountain.
This was the idea of the artillery battalion commander Marmont.
Hollow out the tree trunk, then insert the gun barrel and tie it up so that it can be dragged on the snow.
Without his invention, all the 12-pound guns would have to stay at the foot of the mountain - it is impossible to get these nearly two-ton gun carriages up the steep slope on the snow.
Near dusk, the cavalry battalion of the Moulins Corps arrived at the Abbey of St. Bernard first.
Without their reminder, the monks hurriedly took out food and wine from the cellar to "welcome the king's army".
The abbot also personally sent Napoleon a "big red envelope" of 200,000 francs, which can be said to be fully fulfilling the landlord's friendship.
The next day, Napoleon said goodbye to the abbot, and under the kindness of the abbey, he asked the soldiers to take 8 carts of grain and dried meat from the abbey and continue their journey.
Amid the enthusiastic barking of dozens of St. Bernard dogs behind him, Napoleon said to Marmont beside him:
"You see, if Mr. Hannibal had served God, his soldiers might not have to cross the Alps hungry. Oh, there are even extra allowances to be taken." [Note 2]
The latter wondered: "You mean... allowances?"
"Yes, 10 francs per soldier, and officers are paid according to their ranks." Napoleon nodded.
He took out 150,000 francs from the dean's red envelope and distributed it to the soldiers as allowances. After entering Italy, they became an isolated army in a dangerous situation, so it was necessary to properly motivate morale.
A week later, Napoleon looked back at the Bad Fortress behind him and smiled proudly.
He took a deep breath and said to himself:
"Praise Your Highness the Crown Prince! You have given me a vast battlefield, and I will repay you with a glorious victory."
Just last night, he ordered the soldiers to spread hay mixed with feces on the path on the west side of the fortress to eliminate the sound of footsteps. Then, after more than 3 hours, all the soldiers, artillery and vehicles of the army successfully bypassed this sturdy fortress.
At this time, what appeared in front of Napoleon was the endless Lombardy Plain.
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[Map of Northern Italy]
…
Just as Napoleon was about to step into the Great St. Bernard Pass, outside the town of Diego on the west side of Genoa, Roberto Vanoni looked back at the French army winding to the end of his vision, nervously holding the reins, and whispered to Dimopin beside him: "Respected General, that, I have no intention of offending, I just want to confirm it again. When you arrive in Voltri, you will sign an agreement with our country."
He was a secret envoy sent by Michelangelo Ebiaso, the governor of Genoa.
Two days ago, an Austrian army brutally invaded Genoa and took control of the local administration and all defense.
After failing to negotiate with his commander, General Argentau, Abiaso sent an envoy to contact the French army that entered the Italian peninsula at the suggestion of several parliamentarians.
What he didn't expect was that the French agreed without hesitation to help Genoa drive the Austrians away, and repeatedly reiterated that they would withdraw from Genoa immediately after the battle.
Dimobin smiled and nodded: "Wait for the Governor to send someone to deliver your authorization, and we can sign the agreement immediately.
"In fact, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has repeatedly reiterated that Genoa's neutral port status must be respected. And France will never intend to destroy this situation. "
The Genoese envoy was overjoyed, with a respectful and flattering smile on his face, and said: "Praise the kind and great His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He is really the spokesperson of God's order in the world, and he has brought fairness and justice to Italy! I swear that every citizen of Genoa will always remember His Royal Highness's selfless help! ”
[Note 1] Saint Bernard de Meung: Bishop of Aosta and administrator of the Alps. To facilitate the rescue of travelers, he established a monastery and hospice at the high point of the Alps Pass. With the help of well-trained search and rescue dogs, his monks rescued many people trapped in the mountains due to bad weather and provided food and clothing.
(Saint Bernard search and rescue dog)
[Note 2] Hannibal Barca: Ancient Carthaginian military strategist, who led a large army across the Alps to attack the Roman Republic in 218 BC. Due to the backward logistics and transportation capabilities at the time, tens of thousands of soldiers froze to death or starved to death in the process, but he finally arrived in Italy with difficulty and gave the Roman army an unexpected blow.
