I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 786 The Emperor's Courage

The staff officer cautiously confirmed again: "You mean, including the reserve army?"

Napoleon pointed with his whip towards the open area opposite the wooden bridge and said, "Yes, all the reserve troops and even the engineering company should gather there."

"Yes, Commander."

Half an hour later, nearly 10,000 French soldiers lined up in three neat rows on the banks of the Po River.

On their left wing, the 14 cannons of the artillery company began to pour shells towards the opposite bank, but because the distance was too far, many shells fell into the river.

But the Austrian troops on the east bank of the river could only see the flickering flames under the thick smoke and the rumbling of cannons in their ears. The murderous atmosphere on the battlefield was absolutely at its peak.

Soon, Victor and Captain Grouchy, the acting commander of the cavalry battalion, came to Napoleon one after another.

"Commander, the grenadiers and cavalry battalions have assembled." Victor stood at attention and saluted, then glanced at the battle on the river bank. "Are we going to launch a general attack?"

Grouchy added nervously: "We haven't got all the boats to cross the river yet. If we attack now, it will be..."

"No, no one said we should cross the river and attack." Napoleon waved his hand to interrupt him and looked at Victor again.
"Major Victor, prepare the cavalry and grenadiers for a forced march.

"Well, perhaps we should pay enough attention to General Melas. You can select another 1 veterans from the infantry regiment to accompany him."

"Ah? Forced march?" Victor was stunned for a moment, but immediately shouted, "Yes, I'll go right away!"

Napoleon watched the two men leave, then turned to look at the civilian officers beside him and quickly selected one of them: "Lieutenant Marcelin, I remember you seemed to have been a lawyer before?"

"Yes, Commander."

"Then you must be very good at speaking, right?"

"This... can't be called outstanding, but I did receive professional public speaking training."

"Very good. Now I appoint you as the negotiator. Go to the other side and urge the Austrians to surrender." Napoleon glanced at his military uniform and said, "Remember to change into a colonel's uniform."

"Negotiation? Me?" Lieutenant Marcelin was a little at a loss. He was just an ordinary clerk.

He calmed himself down and took out a pen and paper to take notes: "Okay...Okay. Please tell me what conditions we should offer?"

Napoleon took the reins from his attendant and said without turning his head: "Whatever you say, just keep dragging out the negotiations."

"But……"

Marcellin, feeling embarrassed by the sudden responsibility, wanted to ask more questions, but he only saw Napoleon's receding back.

Four p.m.

Napoleon left Marmont to command the main force to confront the Austrian army, while he personally led 3 soldiers and rushed south along the Po River.

The six or seven thousand Austrian troops on the other side were in a depressed mood and had no intention of attacking. Marmont's main job was to make a big noise and show his presence.

Victor shook the reins lightly, letting his mount walk a few steps faster to keep parallel with Napoleon, and then lowered his voice and asked sideways: "Commander, what are we going to do?"

The latter said calmly: "Of course, we are going to capture Milan."

“Milan?” Victor looked back at the main force that was too far away to be seen clearly, and said in surprise, “With only such a small number of people…”

"That's enough." Napoleon smiled. "If I'm not mistaken, Melas must have transferred most of his troops to Genoa to besiege General Dimopin. The troops left in Milan should be very few.

"The officers in charge of defending Milan were obviously unwilling to engage in a head-on battle with us and pushed their defense line far to the Po River." In other words, Milan's limited military forces are now on the other side of the river, and the city is very empty.

"3 people. No, according to my original plan, 2 people would be enough to occupy the place."

Victor's eyes widened in shock: "Then where do we cross the river?"

"Lodi."

Victor understood immediately.

Lodi is on the south side of Milan, where the Ticino River joins the Po River. From there, you only need to cross the Po River, avoiding the trouble of crossing the Ticino River again.

But he immediately thought of another problem, and looked at Napoleon and said, "Commander, it's still nearly 70 kilometers from here to Lodi, and there are Austrians everywhere along the way. If they report our whereabouts to Milan, our trip will be a waste of time."

"No need to worry." Napoleon pointed his whip at the Po River. "Why did the Austrians set up a defense line along the river? They wanted to take advantage of the flood season. The water of the Po River is very turbulent, and it is difficult for our army to force a crossing.

“But he forgot that the fierce river water would also hinder the transmission of news.

“No one would be willing to risk being swept away by the current to report news that they themselves were not sure would be useful.

"So, as long as we are fast enough, Milan will never notice."

There was only admiration left in Victor's eyes.

He also thought of an advantage that Colonel Buvanaba did not mention, which is that the section of the Po River from Valencia to Lodi is an "L" shape. The river water will be greatly slowed down at the bend, and the water level will be relatively gentle by the time it reaches Lodi.

This greatly reduced the difficulty of crossing the river. By simply building a floating bridge, soldiers, horses and cannons could be transported across.

This would be absolutely impossible with the current in Valencia.

Napoleon turned his head to look at the troops beside him. He was a little dissatisfied with the marching speed. He frowned and thought about it, then gave a few instructions to the staff officer beside him.

The latter immediately turned his horse's head and shouted to the soldiers: "Hurry up! The commander asked me to promise everyone that if we arrive in Lodi within 4 days, all soldiers will receive a subsidy of 20 francs. If we arrive within 3 days, each person will receive 35 francs. If it takes no more than two and a half days to reach Lodi, each person will receive 50 francs!"

The soldiers were immediately excited.

The marching column seemed to be pushed hard by an invisible giant hand from behind, and its speed instantly increased significantly.

You know, the soldiers of the Montpellier Legion only received 11 francs a month, and 50 francs was equivalent to four and a half months of net income.

Even the cavalry of the Moulins Legion only had a monthly salary of 28 francs. This subsidy was quite attractive to them. And generally speaking, the allowance of cavalry would be increased by several percent on the basis of infantry.

Stimulated by the huge bonus, Napoleon's raiding force arrived at the place where the Po River turns east at dusk the next day.

Only 35 kms are left to Lodi.

Who says the old army’s marching ability is poor?

That's just because we didn't give enough francs.

As long as the bonus is in place, the soldiers would wish they could grow donkey hooves, and walking 30 kilometers a day is not a problem at all!

Two and a half days after Napoleon left Valenza, his 3 troops successfully crossed the Po River, captured Lodi without bloodshed, and aimed at the nearby Milan.

(End of this chapter)