I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 782: Overlooking Lombardy

Napoleon looked at the white mountain top in the distance, and without hesitation, he kicked his horse and headed towards the hillside. He turned his head and said to the quartermaster:
"Don't worry about supplies. Have you forgotten that there is the merciful St. Bernard's Monastery on the mountain?"

He was referring to a monastery built by the monk Saint Bernard de Meun in the 1th century, halfway up the Alps. Over the next few hundred years, it was expanded many times and by this time had grown to a size large enough to provide supplies for thousands of soldiers.

The quartermaster staff was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly caught up and said:
"Commander, I must remind you that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince strictly forbids us from 'privately collecting supplies' in Italian towns."

The so-called "collecting supplies" is actually a civilized way of saying allowing soldiers to rob.

Napoleon gave a sly smile:

“Yes, we are not collecting supplies in Italy, but His Highness did not say that we cannot accept gifts from the monastery.

"Besides, Major Odoric is not here, so some things can be more flexible, right?"

Odoric was the military supervisor sent by Joseph to be in charge of logistics. At this time, he was fighting in the Diego area with Dimopin.

The quartermaster general was still trying to dissuade them: "Look, even if we can get the help of the priests, we will still be short of supplies. The supplies in the monastery will only last the army for a week at most. After we arrive at Fort Bad, I'm afraid we will have to fight a long battle, so we should wait for the supplies from Brays to arrive..."

"You don't have to worry about the fortress." Napoleon seemed confident, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has already helped me 'solve' this issue.

"Departing two days earlier would give us more strategic initiative."

Historically, after crossing the Great Saint Bernard Pass, the French army attacked the Bad Fortress for half a month without making any progress. Finally, a soldier heard from a nearby herdsman that there was a small path on the side of the fortress, so he was able to sneak through it under the cover of night.

However, due to the previous battle to attack the fortress, the defenders had been on high alert, so at that time only the French infantry passed through the small path smoothly. When they were transporting cannons from behind, they were discovered by the defenders.

The Austrian defenders began to block the path with artillery fire, and the French were eventually forced to abandon their rear guns, leaving only six guns to enter the Italian sector.

This time, Joseph told Napoleon in advance that there was a small path near the Bad Fortress. The French army could pass through quietly without alerting the defenders from the beginning, so there was a high probability that the cannon could be transported through the fortress.

As for the specific location of the path, Na Huang would naturally find the locals and ask.

Two days later.

Accompanied by the sound of military drums and shouting uniform slogans, the French artillerymen drove donkeys and mules to drag huge tree trunks up the mountainside.

This was an idea that came to Marmont, commander of the artillery battalion.

Hollow out the trunk, stuff the gun barrel in, tie it up, and then drag it across the snow.

Without his invention, all the 12-pounders would have been left at the foot of the mountain - it would have been impossible to get these nearly two-ton gun carriages up the steep slope in the snow.

Near dusk, the cavalry battalion of the Moulins Legion arrived at the Abbey of St. Bernard first.

Without being reminded, the monks hurriedly took out food and wine from the cellar - "to welcome the royal army."

The abbot of the monastery also personally gave Napoleon a "big red envelope" of 20 francs, which was a full display of hospitality.

The next day, Napoleon said goodbye to the abbot and, unable to refuse his kindness, asked the soldiers to take eight 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:

"You see, if Mr. Hannibal had served God, his soldiers might not have had to cross the Alps starving. Oh, and they might even have received extra allowances." [Note 2]

The latter wondered, "You mean... allowance?"

"That's right, 10 francs each for soldiers and officers according to their rank." Napoleon nodded.

He took out 15 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 triumphantly.

He took a deep breath and said to himself:

"Praise Your Highness! You have given me a vast battlefield, and I will repay you with a glorious victory."

Just last night, he ordered his soldiers to spread hay mixed with feces on the path on the west side of the fortress to eliminate the sound of footsteps. After more than three hours, all the soldiers, artillery and vehicles of the army successfully bypassed this strong fortress.

At this time, what appeared before Napoleon was the endless Lombardy Plain.

【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 the field of vision, nervously gripped the reins, and whispered to Dimopin beside him: "Respected General, I mean no offense, I just want to confirm it. 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 had stormed Genoa and seized control of the administration and all its defences.

After failing to negotiate with his commander, General Argentau, Abbiaso, on the advice of several senators, sent envoys to contact the French army that had entered the Italian peninsula.

What he didn't expect was that the French agreed without hesitation to help Genoa drive out the Austrians, and repeatedly reiterated that they would withdraw from Genoa immediately after the battle.

Dimobin smiled and nodded: "Once the Governor sends someone to deliver your authorization, we can sign the agreement immediately.

"In fact, His Royal Highness the Dauphin has repeatedly reiterated that Genoa's status as a neutral port must be respected. And France will never intend to undermine this situation."

The Genoese envoy was overjoyed, with a respectful and flattering smile on his face, and said: "Praise the kind and great Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He is truly the spokesperson for God's order in the world. He has brought fairness and justice to Italy! I swear that every citizen of Genoa will always remember His Highness's selfless help!"

[Note 1] Saint Bernard de Meung: Bishop of Aosta and administrator of the Alpine region. In order to facilitate the rescue of travelers, he established a monastery and hospice at the high point of the Alpine Pass. His monks, with the help of well-trained search and rescue dogs, rescued many people trapped in the mountains due to bad weather and provided them with food and clothing.

(Saint Bernard rescue dog)
[Note 2] Hannibal Barca: An ancient Carthaginian military strategist who led his 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 during the attack, but he eventually arrived in Italy with great difficulty and dealt a surprise blow to the Roman army.

(End of this chapter)