Life of Being a Crown Prince in France-Chapter 908 - 816: The New "Big Brother" of Northern Italy

Chapter 908: Chapter 816: The New "Big Brother" of Northern Italy

Joseph did this not because of any "admiration for General Meiras’s courageous performance on the battlefield," but because Meiras was incompetent.

If he returns to Austria and is reused, then next time on the battlefield he will deliver great gifts to France.

This is more advantageous than detaining him and letting more capable officers command the Austrian Army.

At the same time, it can also show France’s "respect for the spirit of knightly tradition," which means that the nobles have the right to use ransom to regain their freedom.

Firstly, it can undermine the determination of enemy generals to fight to the death in future wars.

Secondly, if an important French general is captured, he can be ransomed back in this way.

Of course, if it were to capture figures like the Duke of Wellington, Archduke Karl, or Kutuzov, Joseph would not hesitate to throw "knightly spirit" into the trash.

Alexandria.

Representatives of seven or eight Italian states, including Genoa, Parma, and Sardinia, were invited to watch the French Army’s surrender ceremony at Fountain Square.

In fact, even Tuscany and the Pope State received invitations, but neither responded.

Sardinian citizens crowded the roads on both sides of the square, peering as over a thousand Austrian captives passed by, their faces somewhat tense.

After all, two months ago they were still allies of the Austrians. If His Majesty the King hadn’t switched sides in time, many Sardinians would likely be among these prisoners.

Meanwhile, Italian girls watched the imposing French Hussars escorting the captives with either shy or infatuated smiles. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ

Behind the column of captives was a convoy of over ten carriages.

At the front of the convoy, a French officer held up Meiras’s signed treaty of surrender to display it to those around.

The carriages behind had their curtains drawn, concealing the people inside, but well-informed sources revealed that Meiras and twelve other Austrian officers were inside.

These people, after the surrender ceremony, would be "ceremoniously escorted" back to Vienna, paying a "travel fare" amounting to a total of 3.9 million francs.

Behind the captives were hundreds of tall French Hussars, followed by artillery battalions and grenadier battalions, all handsome soldiers, each tall and dignified.

This grand surrender ceremony shocked all of Northern Italy.

As the details of the ceremony and related battles began to be covered extensively by various national newspapers, the influence Austria had accumulated over a hundred years in Northern Italy vanished almost overnight.

In its place was recognition from various states for France’s power.

Parma and Modena even sent representatives to the Palace of Versailles, expressing intentions to increase bilateral trade and repeatedly congratulated the King and Queen of France on the French Army’s great victory in private.

Half a month after the surrender ceremony ended, the French Royal Third Infantry Division, two Royal mounted artillery companies, and over four thousand new recruits newly trained also arrived in Milan.

A total of 16,000 soldiers.

After receiving these troops, the Italian Front Army expanded to over 39,000 personnel.

Amadeo III, after consulting with ministers, decided to send Admiral Ta Weng, leading 15,000 Sardinian troops, to join the ranks of the French Army.

Napoleon also recruited over 3,000 Lombard Legion members based on the Milan City Guard, commanded by Sailu Li’er.

In mid-September, a grand French and Sardinian allied force of 57,000 left Milan, following Napoleon to the Mantua Fortress.

...

Just as Napoleon defeated Meiras’s army, the British Mediterranean Fleet ended its pursuit of the French Toulon Fleet, returning to Gibraltar Military Port.

However, the return of the Royal Navy was somewhat embarrassing.

In the command room of the fleet’s flagship "Victory," the faint sound of cannon fire echoed in Lord Hood’s ears as he shook his head irritably and shouted at the attendant by the door, "How far is it?"

The attendant knew he was asking how far it was to Gibraltar, quickly ran to the pilothouse to inquire, and swiftly returned: "Admiral, there are only 60 nautical miles left."

Lord Hood glanced at his pocket watch; it was already one thirty in the afternoon, and it seemed impossible to enter the port today, meaning another day of torture by those damn steamships tomorrow.

Yes, ever since French merchant ships completed resupply at Genoa, Quasi-General Di Chaiya has directed the "Mediterranean Rapid Task Force" to the Barbary Sea, where they met up with the Toulon Fleet’s main force.

However, they did not directly combine; the Toulon Fleet continued to lead the British fleet on a chase, with Di Chaiya trailing behind the British.

It seemed the French fleet was chased like a pack of lost dogs, not daring to enter the port for over a month, fearing being trapped inside.

But in reality, only the British fleet knew their own frustration.

Those French steamships were like hyenas that smelled the scent of carrion, ceaselessly following behind, occasionally using their speed advantage to rush forward and fire a few shots at the rear of the last battleship, then rapidly turning to flee.

After a while, another steamsuit would come up, fire a few shots, and slip away...

Initially, Lord Hood dispatched ships to chase away these "hyenas," but soon realized it was futile.

Sending third-level or fourth-level warships, the French steamships simply circled the main fleet, and the heavy battleships couldn’t catch up.

Moreover, after being teased, these battleships also faced difficulties returning to the main fleet.

Hood had to slow the main fleet to wait for them.

This, in turn, gave the French Toulon Fleet a chance to catch their breath.

They managed to use such an opportunity to successfully resupply once at Tripoli Port.

If the warships dispersed to chase off the "hyenas" were poorly coordinated, they might even get bitten hard!

Over 20 days ago, the third-level battleship "Audacious" was enticed by what appeared to be a great opportunity to sink a French escort ship—later it seemed likely that the "opportunity" was deliberately set by the French—so it failed to approach the other warships on time and was surrounded by numerous steamships.

Ultimately, it survived thanks to its sturdy hull, but was battered, with the rear half of its side barely having any intact planks, rendering it nearly unfit for combat.

Afterward Lord Hood attempted to chase French warships using faster oar-and-sail ships, but the consequence was two oar-and-sail ships sunk.

The French steamships were far more durable than the oar-and-sail ships, after 20 minutes of maneuvering, the latter’s speed began to falter, entering a beating rhythm.

Since then, Hood has no longer sent warships to chase those steamships.

Instead, they continued to follow and harass his main Mediterranean Fleet.

These small ships might not pack strong firepower, but after over a month of repeated "gnawing," nearly all of Hood’s main battleships carried some form of injury.