The Crescent of the Sultan

Such divine flashes of wisdom are always associated with youth and creativity, and Napoleon was one of the most creative figures of all time. ‘6’ ‘9’ ‘s’ ‘h’ ‘u’ ‘x’ ‘.’ ‘c’ ‘o’ ‘m’

——Goethe

Above the bay, the snowy peaks of the Alps gleamed, looking down contemptuously at the swarming French soldiers.

The white cloud cliffs are jagged at the top, reaching straight into the blue sky in the early morning.

God built an insurmountable natural barrier here. He once protected the early Rome, enabling it to rise before Gaul. Perhaps it was not God at that time, but Jupiter.

Napoleon thought about the heroes of ancient Rome, and his heart arose with great pride. Caesar set out from Rome and conquered Gaul, so he would set out from Gaul to conquer Rome.

At this moment, the mountain seemed to be ordering the new commander-in-chief Bonaparte to stop advancing, warning him that this was God's pasture and no mortals were allowed to pry into it.

It's a pity that the French don't pay much attention to greetings. This can be seen clearly from the actions of French kings in the past, including Philip the Beauty, Louis XI, the Spider King, and Louis XII, the Father of the People.

Even in the Middle Ages when the Holy See was rampant, the King of France did not care about the Pope's prestige, so how could he expect that mere natural dangers could stop Bonaparte?

Napoleon was a man who never relied solely on force, but often put wisdom before force. In recent months, he had racked his brains over the age-old problem of how to cross the Alps, and finally his efforts were not in vain.

Hannibal had climbed this mountain range before, and he was preparing to go around it.

For this enemy, we must also seize its weakest link. At the junction of the Apennine Mountains and the Alps, there is a not very obvious ravine. Crossing the mountain from here is greatly reduced, and the troops do not have to wait for summer to come.

The earlier in the day, the firmer the snowpack and the smaller the risk of avalanches. Act quickly and enter the Po Plain, the richest place in Europe.

The Austrians were to the east of Lombardy, the Sardinians to the west of Lombardy, and the armies of many small kingdoms and principalities in Italy.

None of them expected the enemy to take action until the melting snow arrived.

However, the French soldiers lacked military pay, Lyon's output was not enough to supply so many troops, and Paris was facing destruction caused by currency devaluation. The government's finances were in chaos. Even if Robespierre was determined to rectify it, he was still under great pressure.

Just before Bonaparte's arrival, one general wrote home: "France would tremble if the number of people who died here of hunger and pestilence could be counted." If the new commander brought neither money nor What could he do to bring food?

Fortunately, Lyon's advance management allowed Napoleon to temporarily restore the supplies and pay of the troops, and the victory in the Battle of Toulon greatly increased the morale of the army.

“Soldiers! You are short of food and clothing, and the government has nothing to meet your demands.

The patience and courage you have shown in these barren mountains and mountains is admirable, but it can bring you neither honor nor bread.

I will lead you to the most fertile plains in the world, where wealth and prosperity await you, and you will receive honor, enjoyment, and riches. Soldiers, facing such a prospect, will you still lack courage and perseverance? "

The army responded to his call, but less than a month later, Italy, the promised land of God, was already lying at Napoleon's feet.

To this. Once Napoleon had settled the Lombardy region, he quickly issued a proclamation.

“Dear people of Milan, France is a nation that advocates freedom and values ​​fraternity.

The tyrant who ruled Lombardy was despotic and tyrannical, and at the same time endangered the security of France...

However, the army of the Republic will protect you from beginning to end and help you fight off the invaders!

Property, human rights, and religion will all be respected by us.

However, I believe that the Lombards will thank us for this and will take the initiative to repay us... Of course, Lombardy has a duty to support the French army.

In order to liberate you, we came here from far away France, but our supplies were in crisis.

I therefore decided to collect twenty million francs from Lombardy.

I think Lombardy, a country with a prosperous country and a strong people, will not have any difficulty in completing this matter. "

Immediately after Napoleon's proclamation, the levies began, and in fact, for Lombardy, the amount requested by Napoleon was not very large, and it was a perfectly acceptable number.

Therefore, they did not think about resisting. After all, the French dared to kill even the king, and they had no idea of ​​​​taking their own bodies with bullets. They just always had some resentment towards France in their hearts. After all, who wants to be paid?

But Napoleon didn't care about this. He was busy managing relations. Robespierre was upright and Roland had a rift with him. So what. Although these two were the leaders of the two factions, it didn't mean that the two factions completely listened to them.

With so many members in the entire parliament, there is always someone willing to accept Napoleon's gift. After all, not every hospital has a big house with gardens and fountains to live in, with exquisite Chinese porcelain, classical marble sculptures to play with, and cherished truffles. Enjoy the velvet and foie gras, and have endless francs to spend.

Napoleon sent famous paintings, statues and gold coins back to Paris. Although this did not help Paris' economy, it could satisfy the vanity of Parisians and earn the support of parliamentarians.

As a result, people's admiration for him gradually increased. Moreover, in this way, the storage capacity of art works in the Louvre has been greatly enriched, and its contribution may exceed that of the most glorious monarch.

At the same time, Napoleon would not show any mercy to his current motherland, France. He wrote in the document: "The actual consumption of the army is far greater than the original budget, and some logistics personnel even falsified accounts... squandering, embezzlement, bribery, and corruption are common.

To solve this problem, the army must be reorganized, military commissions must be set up, and they must be given absolute powers, including the power to shoot corrupt officials. "

In fact, there are countless official documents issued by him personally to clamp down on fraud.

At that time, many women were stationed with the French army, and he issued an order saying: "Within twenty-four hours from now, if there are any women who stay privately in the military camp, their faces will be painted with black ash and displayed in public for two hours."

At the same time, based on humanitarian considerations, he abolished some barbaric provisions prevalent in war, such as the use of whipping to extract confessions, which was strictly prohibited. He said: "Extorting confessions through torture can only yield false testimony. This is a method that goes against human nature."

Through a series of measures, Napoleon obtained military pay and supplies for the soldiers, wealth for the parliamentarians, power for himself, and a firm foothold in Lombardy. The next step is to see if the Pope is aware of it. .