I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 789 My last name is Bonaparte!

Giuseppela continued nodding: "Yes, the painting is currently in the Basilica of San Lorenzo. If you like it..."

After Napoleon listed eight or nine top-notch works of art and received Giuseppela's promise of "giving them away", he finally smiled brightly and raised his glass to the nobles of Milan, saying: "To the brave French soldiers!"

Everyone raised their glasses and said in unison: "Cheers to the brave French soldiers!"

Napoleon suddenly thought of something and said in a higher voice: "Hail to His Majesty the Great King! Hail to the Son of God!"

The hundreds of nobles in the hall repeated it and then drank the wine in their glasses.

When Napoleon sat down, a nobleman with a dimpled face on his left leaned toward him and said flatteringly, "Colonel Buvanaba, I guess you must be of Italian descent, so Milan is destined to be liberated by you!"

Napoleon frowned. "Italian ancestry? Why do you say that?"

The nobleman obviously didn't notice the change in his expression and continued to try to get closer to him: "'Buvanaba', you see, this is such a typical Italian surname. Anyone from the Apennine Peninsula will know you are one of them as soon as they hear it."

He even said to the people around him with a self-satisfied look on his face: "Everyone, is this true?"

There was a burst of agreement from all around. The Milanese nobles believed that calling someone "one of their own" was a very intimate and flattering statement.

However, Napoleon's face darkened and he shook his head very stiffly: "No, I am French and have no Italian blood at all."

Yes, he is no longer the Corsican nationalist.

He now has only one identity, that is, a senior French general. He once followed His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to fight in the Southern Netherlands, and led the French army to sweep across Lombardy, gaining supreme glory as a Frenchman!

What Italian ancestry?
He was just a weakling who was conquered by himself, allowed himself to be taken away for money and property, and dared not even fart.

How could I have anything to do with these weaklings?

The nobleman with the sequelae of smallpox on his face had not yet reacted, and said with a smile: "How could it be? Your last name sounds like..."

Napoleon slammed his glass on the table with a bang: "I don't want to repeat it a second time! I am French."

The Milanese nobles looked at each other in bewilderment, lowered their heads and dared not speak again. Even the band stopped their movements out of fear, and the hall fell silent in an instant.

Giuseppela stepped in to smooth things over: "Colonel Buonaba, please don't be angry. Count Gonella has no intention of offending you. Oh, he also donated 10 francs to your army, which is enough to show his sincerity."

Gonella was so frightened that his forehead was covered with cold sweat. He nodded hurriedly: "I... I apologize for my recklessness. Oh, 10 francs, yes, I donated 10..."

He actually only donated 8 francs, but at this time he didn't dare to say anything more. 10 is 10, as long as it can calm Colonel Buvanaba's anger.

Napoleon's expression then eased a little, and he picked up the wine glass and gestured to Giuseppela.

Then soothing music sounded in the hall again.

After the banquet, Napoleon did not attend the subsequent ball. He used the excuse of being busy with military affairs and returned to his command post in Baron Tremeloni's villa.

He entered the office and immediately began to write an application to change his last name from "Bouwannabe" to the more French-sounding "Bonaparte".

He is now the most senior person in the Buwannaba family, and his brothers all depend on him for their future, so as long as he decides to change his surname, no one dares to object.

After Napoleon finished writing the application, he gave it to the clerk for revision and polishing, then he made two copies himself and instructed his attendants to hand one copy to the Royal Committee of the Palace of Versailles, the agency that manages aristocratic status, and the other to the Minister of Population.

After finishing all this, he breathed a sigh of relief. From now on, he was a real Frenchman!
The next day, the main generals of the corps gathered at the headquarters to hold a combat meeting.

Victor first reported on the situation of clearing out the remnants of the Austrian army in the city of Milan. At present, more than 200 people have been arrested. Basically, all Austrians with a certain status have been thrown into prison, and the arrests are still ongoing.

After he finished speaking, Marmont immediately reminded him: "Commander, we must go to Genoa as soon as possible. General Dimopin has been besieged by the enemy for more than a month..."

Napoleon just listened without making any comment.

In fact, he had already received two letters from Dimobin asking for help, indicating that the situation in Genoa had become extremely urgent.

"Commander?"

Marmont was about to say something else, but Napoleon raised his hand to interrupt him: "Our most important task right now should be to eliminate the remaining enemies in Lombardy as soon as possible, otherwise once we go south, our retreat may be cut off by them at any time."

Well, after Beaulieu escaped, the entire Lombardy region had less than two thousand Austrian troops in several cities combined, and they were all troops responsible for local security and had basically no field combat capabilities.

However, these troops posed a serious threat when Napoleon was reluctant to rescue Genoa.

Marmont: “But…”

Napoleon continued: “General Dimopin is an experienced commander and it is impossible for the Austrians to defeat him so quickly.

"As long as we completely control Lombardy, we can set up a defense line along the Po River and cut off the connection between western Italy and Austria."

Melas' main forces are currently around Genoa, which means that Napoleon is using Lombardy and the Alps to encircle them from a larger area.

"And Melas will definitely give up Genoa and choose to fight a decisive battle with us. Then the pressure on General Dimobin will naturally disappear."

Napoleon did not give his men a chance to question him and ordered: "Captain Grouchy, lead two cavalry squadrons to Varese immediately.

“Major Marmont, with the 3rd Infantry Regiment, took Como and Bergamo.

"Melas' reinforcements will arrive in Milan in a week at the earliest. You must end the battle and return before then."

"Yes, Commander!"

……

While Napoleon was preparing to attack Milan, Genoa was in the midst of a tough battle.

In the French front-line headquarters, Dimopin rubbed his ears which were numbed by the sound of the artillery fire and shouted to the staff officer beside him:
"No news yet from Colonel Buwanaba?"

The latter shouted just as loudly:
"Not yet, General. I have sent three groups of people to sneak out of the enemy's encirclement, but there has been no response."

The ground suddenly trembled. It must be a heavy artillery shell that fell near the command post. The British brought several 24-pound cannons to Melas by sea. They had a very long range and posed a huge threat to the Genoa defense line.

Dimobin seemed to be used to it and asked loudly: "How long can our food and ammunition last?"

"We still have enough shells and gunpowder for half a month, but we only have less than a week's worth of food left."

(End of this chapter)