I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 788 "Harvest"

In front of the Pavia position, Napoleon raised his hat to Marmont from a distance to show his approval: "Your outstanding performance simply surprises me, Auguste.

"I failed to contact you, but you chose the best interception position accurately and dealt a fatal blow to the enemy.

"I was preparing for a tough battle, and now, haha, we can sit down and have a cup of coffee."

Marmont seemed a little guilty, and urged his horse to move forward quickly: "I just did what I should do. Well, in fact, the enemy was vulnerable...

"By the way, I heard from the captured officers that you have successfully captured Milan?"

He was not being modest. In fact, his main forces were on their way to Milan.

He had previously discovered that Leptai had suddenly retreated, and guessed that the latter was going to reinforce Milan, so he ordered his troops to pursue eastward.

But he was also worried that Leptai was going to Lodi to intercept Colonel Buvanaba - if Napoleon's assault force moved slowly, it was possible that they had not yet crossed the Po River.

So, feeling uneasy, he led 2 soldiers along the east bank of the Po River to rescue Lodi.

As a result, he found that the Austrian army was gathering north of Pavia. At first, he thought he was ambushed, but he didn't expect that the enemy army would collapse at the first touch.

Then Marmont's 2 men captured more than 4 Austrian soldiers in a magnificent manner.

Little did he know that after seeing him, the Leptai Corps determined that it was the main French force coming from Milan to attack them.

This army had been severely beaten by Napoleon in Toulon before, and its morale was low. They were so scared that they immediately knelt down and surrendered, and Leptai could not stop them.

"Yes, I have successfully taken control of Milan."

Napoleon looked around and asked in confusion: "Why are there only so few soldiers? Where is our main force?"

"They are on their way to Milan, Commander."

When Napoleon found out the situation, he immediately said to Marmont:
"Send someone to catch up with them immediately and make them wait outside Milan."

"Yes, Commander. But why do you do this?"

Napoleon looked at the line of prisoners that was a kilometer long and smiled:
"We need a grand entry ceremony."

Two days later, rhythmic artillery fire was heard outside the city of Milan, followed by military music.

On this day, all shops and factories in Milan were ordered to close, and tens of thousands of citizens gathered on both sides of the roads in the south of the city, looking curiously into the distance.

Soon, a team of majestic French cavalry, holding the golden iris flag, the Montpellier Legion flag, and the Moulins Legion flag in turn, walked through the crowd in neat rows.

Behind them, a French infantry regiment carrying Auguste percussion rifles walked slowly into the city, loudly scolding a large number of dejected prisoners.

The prisoners were all wearing tattered Austrian uniforms, and some of them had blood on their bodies and faces - Napoleon had specifically ordered that they were not allowed to wash them.

Some onlookers began to throw dirt at the Austrian soldiers. God knows, this was not a prearranged trick by Napoleon - the Italians couldn't help themselves before the trick could take action.

Soon, dirt and even excrement were flying everywhere, hitting the prisoners and making them scream.

In the end, it was the French soldiers who stepped in to maintain order, and the citizens of Milan stopped, otherwise many prisoners would have been smashed to death.

The captured Austrian army numbered 4,000 to 5,000 men, and it took them an hour and a half to get into Milan. After someone quickly cleared the debris on the road, a loud trumpet sounded everywhere.

A short officer wearing a white hussar uniform and a three-cornered hat walked past the people with his head held high, surrounded by hundreds of guards cavalry and a large number of drummers and organists.

Someone took the lead and shouted: "Long live His Majesty the King of France!"

"Glory and victory belong to General Buwanaba!"

"Praise the great French army!"

"Welcome the liberators..."

Well, it’s true that this time it was Napoleon who arranged the babysitter.

The cheers soon resounded throughout Milan. People were so excited that they celebrated the victory by singing and dancing in the streets as if their own army had defeated the Austrians.

At this moment, all Milanese knew that the Habsburg rule over Milan had come to an end.

A grand banquet kicked off in Milan City Hall.

Napoleon and more than a dozen French officers sat at the top. All the prominent nobles and wealthy businessmen in Milan gathered here, hoping to become acquainted with the French.

Napoleon listened to the elegant music, his eyes swept across the paintings on the walls of the hall, and turned his head to the Vice President of the Milan Parliament and said: "I am really moved by the enthusiasm of my friends in Milan, especially the donations you provided for my soldiers, oh, a full 200 ​​million francs.

"You are truly the most generous people I have ever met! I swear, I will use my life to ensure Milan's safety."

Milan's Deputy Speaker Giuseppela was stunned when he heard this.

There were indeed donations to the French army - it was customary for new conquerors entering the city to make a little "tribute".

But the amount is wrong. He subconsciously said: "Well, are you remembering it wrong? It should be 40 francs..."

Napoleon's voice suddenly turned cold: "Oh? I clearly remember it was 300 million. Could it be that someone embezzled the donation? I guess I have to ask the Carabinieri to investigate in Milan."

Giuseppe's heart skipped a beat. The meaning was obvious. If there were no 300 million francs, many people would definitely be thrown into prison.

At present, the Governor of Milan, Ferdinand, and the Austrian speaker of the parliament had fled to Vienna, and Giuseppe was the highest executive of Milan. He knew that if he could not satisfy the French, they would definitely replace him with an obedient person, and he would most likely become the "corrupt criminal".

He hurriedly smiled and said, "Oh, I mean there are still a lot of donations being counted, and the total amount is indeed 300 million francs. The day after tomorrow... the day after tomorrow before noon, all donations will be delivered to your headquarters."

Napoleon nodded with satisfaction and continued, "You know, our army came from the far west of the Alps for the freedom of Milan, and now we are running short of logistical supplies.

"I want you to prepare a month's supply for my soldiers. Oh, about 1 men, including food, wine, oats, and gunpowder. Should be enough for a week?"

Giuseppela forced a smile. "A week, of course. I promise you'll see enough supplies by then."

Napoleon also smiled and leaned close to his ear and said, "By the way, I heard that Raphael's "The Marriage of the Virgin" is in the Governor's Palace?"

"Yes, yes." Giuseppela nodded and continued very politely, "It should belong to a collector with taste like you."

"Oh, and Michelangelo's..."

(End of this chapter)