He Became Napoleon’S Genius Son [EN]: Chapter 91

Napoleon Became the Master of Lombardy (91)

After the Battle of Lodi, the medics’ time began.

“Aaaagh!”

40,000 enemy troops annihilated.

However, not everyone in the French-Italian army was unscathed.

Although the number of deaths was relatively much lower, casualties are inevitable in a battle involving such firepower.

The screams of wounded soldiers echoed from everywhere.

Those who rushed through the chaos were the medics.

Officers who dedicated themselves to the army as doctors.

“Hold him down, and cut!”

“Wait, just a moment! I’m still fine! There’s no need to cut!”

“Shut up! If we don’t cut it off, the wound will rot anyway!”

Suddenly, a medic named ‘Larrey’ shouted.

“Alright, here we go!”

In an instant, a knife flashed and an arm was severed.

“Uwaaaaaaagh!”

The soldier screamed and fainted.

Surgery performed without any anesthesia.

But in this era without antibiotics, deep wounds easily fester, and legs shattered by cannonballs are impossible to repair.

Therefore, a swift amputation was often the best course of treatment.

Larrey was a medic famous for his amputation skills.

Soldiers around him watched with pale faces, but Larrey instead urged the soldiers on.

“Quickly, bandage him up! Stop the bleeding! Speed saves lives!”

“Ah, yes! Hey! Stop the bleeding quickly!”

“Next!”

After confirming that the bandages were being applied quickly, Larrey looked around.

“Still, there are fewer to cut today.”

Larrey was a medic who had already been on the battlefield three times.

In that time, there had been countless cases where he had to perform amputation surgery at a moment’s notice.

But today, despite being an unprecedented large-scale battle, surprisingly few needed surgery.

Quite a few could be saved with simple bandage and hemostasis [the process of stopping bleeding] measures.

This was because, despite the fierce battle, it proceeded unilaterally.

Perhaps it was because the skills of the general who commanded this battle were completely different from previous battlefields.

Just then.

“Major Larrey! You need to come this way!”

“What is it? There are still many wounded.”

“That’s not the problem. The Commander has been injured!”

Commander, the one who commanded this battlefield.

Napoleon.

Instantly, Larrey frowned and hurriedly started running.

He remembered the commander leading from the front during the height of the battle.

“I might have to cut off the general too.”

If he had to cut, it would be best to cut quickly with one swift stroke.

In fact, Larrey’s famous field was surgery.

Among them, rapid amputation surgery was Larrey’s famous specialty.

Today, if necessary, he would demonstrate his skills without reservation.

For Napoleon.

***

Of course, Napoleon was a lucky man throughout his life.

At least on the battlefield, except for one time.

“Commander is fine.”

Jean-Dominique Larrey, the best medic in the Revolutionary Army, declared.

In the late 18th century, doctors were the best profession for commoners.

Of course, they were just commoners, members of the bourgeoisie [the middle class] who were nothing compared to the nobility.

So, from the start of the revolution, many doctors, like lawyers, devoted themselves to the revolution.

Larrey was one of them, but he had a unique trait among many doctors.

He had devoted himself to the military very early on.

He was a naval medical officer dispatched to the New World, an emergency doctor in the Bastille [a prison in Paris], and created the [ambulance] in Mainz.

Prioritizing duty over glory, and further dedicating himself to patriotism on the battlefield, he was the best in battlefield life-saving.

Later, in the original history, Napoleon recorded that Larrey was the best doctor.

He came to Italy to fulfill his duty.

But Eugene was looking at Larrey with a pale face.

Because he had just seen Larrey’s surgery.

“Wow, the general won’t have his leg cut off.”

Ippolito whispered next to Eugene.

Eugene nodded, thinking about the historical records.

The skill to amputate necrotic [dead] areas that must be cut off within a minute on the battlefield.

Once, he had amputated 200 soldiers in a single day.

Even though the Italian army had won a complete victory, casualties were bound to occur.

-Uwaaagh!

The screams echoed like background music from all over the military camp.

Napoleon, who had been lying in the tent, suddenly got up.

Because he had just been diagnosed by Larrey for the injury he sustained on the Lodi bridge.

“Of course. I was just grazed by a bullet. Did you know? Once in Toulon, I was almost stabbed in the leg by a bayonet!”

“Ah, yes. It’s fortunate you weren’t stabbed.”

“Hehe, thanks to our ‘son’ blowing up the powder magazine at that time, the soldier who was trying to stab me was surprised and fell off. Hahaha!”

All the adjutants are now gathered in the headquarters tent.

To confirm the commander’s injury, report the victory, and discuss future measures.

In short, everyone heard Napoleon’s words.

About Napoleon calling Eugene [son].

While everyone was just watching, Ippolito boldly, but very quietly, whispered to Eugene.

“By the way, why has the commander been talking about a son since the battlefield?”

“Look at the letter on that desk. You’ll know what I mean, right?”

“Where.”

Ippolito glanced at the letter on the commander’s desk with hawk eyes.

-〈Dear Josephine. I am finally going to Milan. But why don’t you reply? I hope you reply quickly. I’m still having sleepless nights. When I think of your terrible scent…〉

Ippolito’s eyes widened.

So, it’s a letter Napoleon wrote to Josephine.

He wrote about 100 letters in Nice, and it seems he hasn’t stopped writing them even on the battlefield.

But the content is unusual.

Eugene stepped on Ippolito’s foot, who was imagining what kind of scent it would be.

“Stop looking, Ippolito.”

“Ugh! Ouch. Well, is that a love letter or an erotic novel?”

“Well, there’s a saying that the revolution started with an erotic novel. The main character is Queen Marie Antoinette.”

This situation is actually ironic when you think about the original history.

Because Ippolito is the one who is playing with Josephine when Napoleon sends letters mentioning Josephine’s secret scent.

Eugene was thinking that it was a good thing he brought Ippolito as an adjutant.

Ippolito asked with a sly face.

This time in a loud voice.

“Come to think of it, did you write a letter to Princess Marie?”

Again, everyone in the headquarters looked at Eugene.

Junot, Duroc, Marmont, Tournet, and even the medic Larrey.

Eugene, whose face turned pale again, smacked his lips.

“No.”

“Why don’t you write one now? It seems the commander sent dozens of letters when he was in Turin.”

“No wonder Armand is gone.”

Armand, who used to run with Eugene’s horse grenadier brigade, is gone.

He must be running to Paris with the letter Napoleon wrote.

Napoleon is said to have written so many letters in his life that 33,000 letters remain in modern history.

Eugene was wondering if most of the missing letters were love letters.

Suddenly, Captain Tournet replied with a strange smile.

“Thanks to that, I was able to be next to the colonel.”

“Well, that’s really fortunate.”

“Surely I don’t have to take Princess Marie’s letter from here to Paris, do I?”

Eugene snorted.

“What do you take me for? If there’s anything urgent, I’ll send a letter to Marie through the Beauharnais cartel [a network or alliance]. More than that.”

Although they won, there is little time to chat.

Napoleon’s health has also been confirmed.

Nevertheless, Eugene decided that he needed a day of rest.

“I think we should rest for a day. Don’t you think so, Commander?”

The Battle of Lodi was fought on a scale at least three times larger than in the original history.

The enemy’s scale alone is about 40,000, and the allied forces mobilized 45,000.

In addition, it was a terrible battle in which almost the entire Lombardy army was annihilated.

On the other hand, there are not many deaths in the French-Italian army.

At most, about 300 people.

It is truly a one-sided victory that would have been seen in ancient battles.

But the soldiers are very tired, and there are thousands of wounded.

Napoleon thought he was right and tilted his head for a moment.

Just then.

Massena, wrapped in bandages, entered the headquarters tent.

“What are you talking about!”

“Oh my, when did you get here, Division Commander Massena?”

“I’ve been in front of the headquarters since earlier! I don’t even have the strength to walk now!”

Massenna, who fortunately did not receive Larrey’s amputation surgery, shouted cheerfully.

“Shouldn’t we be running to Milan now? When I was smuggling in my younger days, I couldn’t succeed in a deal if I missed the opportunity!”

Milan, the capital of the duchy that governs the Lombardy region.

Furthermore, it is the governor-general’s office in northern Italy, where the Holy Roman Empire dispatches imperial family members to implement direct rule.

If this place is conquered, northern Italy will virtually be under French hegemony.

A city with a population of 140,000.

Although the Austrian army has been defeated, it may not be easy if the citizens gather a militia.

But what if we march right now?

No matter how many people live in a city of 140,000, it will be helplessly trampled under the bayonets.

Napoleon clapped his knees.

“Puhahaha! You’re just like a Nice thief! Okay, this Commander Napoleon orders. Everyone, cheer up again! Fix your boots and advance!”

Napoleon’s orders were simultaneously delivered to each unit through the adjutants.

“To Milan!”

Ippolito, who was rushing out to deliver the order, asked Eugene.

“Hey, is this okay? We’ve almost exhausted all our strength.”

“It’s okay. But tell Junot to put Laharpe’s division at the front. They fought the least.”

“Is that enough? Milan is the center of Lombardy? Maybe there are armed forces?”

Eugene smiled and shook his head.

“Not at all. To put it simply, it’s a city with a lot of gold and no army.”

Right now, Milan, the capital of Lombardy, is an empty city.

***

On May 15, 1795, Napoleon’s army entered Milan.

-Clatter, clatter, clatter!

The troops at the forefront are the cavalry, Lan’s Pyrenean cavalry from the Pyrenees [a mountain range].

Bessières and Charles Kilmaine follow.

Stengel, Ordener, and Beaumont are also with them.

All the cavalry commanders of the Italian army have stepped forward.

Dressed in formal attire, holding muskets that had been quickly dusted off, they entered like lancers.

This was thanks to Lan being recognized for his contribution to breaking through the Lodi bridge.

Of course, there is one more cavalry in Napoleon’s army.

Eugene’s horse grenadier brigade.

Right behind him, along with Napoleon, they served as the commander’s guard.

-Whirr! Whirr! Whirr!

Soldiers looked up and cheered as they saw something scattering in the air.

“Waaaaaah!”

It’s flowers.

It is a traditional ceremony for citizens to welcome the victorious army.

The citizens of Milan literally welcomed Napoleon’s army not as mere victors, but as [liberators].

Suddenly, a citizen shouted in Italian.

“Long live the revolution! Long live France! Long live Napole-o-ne!”

Napoleon held his head high, marched on horseback, and opened his mouth.

“They recognized us as victors.”

“Not just that, they see you as liberators. General. The fact that you are originally from Corsica also played a part.”

“They are the ones who will turn away the moment we lose, Eugene.”

But Napoleon’s face was full of smiles.

“But, I’m definitely in a good mood today. I’ve come to a city that even Louis XIV [King of France from 1643 to 1715] couldn’t conquer.”

Then, a group of people approached from the city hall on the opposite side.

“W, w, welcome. Commander!”

All of them were unarmed and dressed in splendid attire.

Judging by the fact that they are not riding horses, they are clearly surrender envoys.

Suddenly, Napoleon looked at the person at the front and asked.

“That’s not how he looked in the portrait. Where is Governor Ferdinand von Habsburg?”

The governor of Milan.

Ferdinand von Habsburg-Lorraine.

He was nowhere to be seen.

The day Napoleon entered Milan, the old master had disappeared.