In the Battle of Lodi, 153 of the Austrian soldiers died, and thousands were injured and captured. In comparison, the French suffered even more losses. However, Lodi was now in the hands of the French army, and the Austrian army had fled. The road to Milan had been opened. They had not yet seen anything. Napoleon shouted excitedly at Colonel Marmond. That night, for the first time, I felt that I was no longer an ordinary general, but a person who decided the fate of the people. Napoleon said later.
At this time, he received an order from the five-member council in Paris, informing him that General Kellermann would be transferred from Germany to command the Italian army with him. Faced with the removal of his power, Napoleon was furious and wrote back to the Governor on the same day: I am convinced that letting Kellermann and I command operations in Italy would be destructive for both of us. I can't work with a commander who thinks he's Europe's number one... And in war, unity of command is of the utmost importance. For this ambitious Corsican, it was absolutely unacceptable to arrange an opponent beside him. The Governor conceded: it was an eternal glory to conquer Lodi. In the end, your plan is the only feasible plan! Kellerman would never be able to replace him.
On May 15, the gates of Milan were opened to welcome their liberator, Napoleon, as the hero who had rescued them from Austria's long slavery. However, Napoleon ignored the goodwill of the prosperous capital of Lombardy and allowed his officers-including Salicetti and thousands of hungry, tired, and lustful victorious soldiers-to rape, plunder, and slaughter the unsuspecting people of Milan. Napoleon had promised his soldiers to return home in glory, and now they were going to fulfill his promise.
After extorting the citizens of Milan for contributing to the war, the French army extorted 10 million vuchs from the nobles of the Duchy of Parma and the Duchy of Modena. Vast quantities of booty-gold and silver jewelry and art treasures-were being transported over the Alps to Paris. At this time, the French treasury, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, naturally welcomed the actions of the savior, Napoleon. On May 22, after the departure of Napoleon's army, the large-scale rebellion in Milan and Pavia was the price of these spoils. Napoleon ordered a brutal suppression, followed by threats, imprisonment, execution, rape, and even more wanton looting. He even ordered Lana to set fire to the village near Biansko and kill all the men and children. (Lana had always faithfully carried out Napoleon's orders, and this time was no exception.）As a result, Napoleon and France became the names of the scorched land. The whole of Italy was trembling. Salicetti wrote enthusiastically to Ballas that we had succeeded everywhere, and that the bravery of the army, the courage and actions of Napoleon had frightened them. I think you should be happy that this army, which was once considered useless by everyone, has now achieved such great things in a short period of time.
However, Napoleon did not sleep under the laurel tree. On May 28, he led 30,000 troops from Brescia, determined to completely defeat the Austrian army. Of course, this was not an easy task. On June 1st, he was almost captured by an Austrian cavalry, but only by the superb swordsmanship of his personal adjutant did he escape. For this reason, Napoleon decided to set up his own guard (the famous Imperial Guard, later commanded by Bessier) to protect his safety at all times.
The French army continued to advance, taking over Pasquila, Castellano, and Verona. They were going to push into their next main target, Mantua. Having suffered repeated defeats, Bollier fled and repeatedly expressed to his superiors that he was no longer able to resist the French army. He left a garrison of 12,000 men in Mantua and marched north through Roverreto to Trento. At this time, Napoleon launched a siege on the last important town of Lombardy, Mantua. The terrain of this sturdy fortress was dangerous. It was surrounded and protected by two large lakes and a smoky swamp, which was a fatal factor for both sides. As for Genaya, it was now occupied by Murat, who was bluffing.
Napoleon also received orders from Paris: Conquering the Pope in order to send more tributes to the parched French treasury. In June, Napoleon's primus Augero and Vaubois successfully conquered the papal territory and Tuscany, forcing the 23-year-old Pope Pius VI to cede territory and sue for peace. The treaty stipulated that the pope would use a large amount of gold and famous paintings from the Vatican as compensation and cede Ancona. Frightened and defenseless, Florence, Frara, and Rivona opened their gates for the French. The cannons captured in these cities were dragged to Mantua by the French army.
Ever since Napoleon left Nice, he had been begging Joseph to come and meet him as soon as possible. After occupying Milan, he insisted that she come, and Joseph repeatedly avoided this matter with various excuses. I beseech you, you must set off today with Murat (whom he sent to Paris)! He had written after the signing of the Kylasco Armistice,"Knowing that you are happy is my happiness, that you are happy is my happiness, and that my only pleasure is knowing that you are happy." Then he wrote more passionately: No woman has ever been loved so single-mindedly, passionately, and tenderly. He said: Without your love, your heart, your beloved, I would feel that everything in the world is overshadowed and unworthy.
Napoleon wrote at least one letter to Joseph every day for 127 consecutive days! Sometimes, she didn't even want to read his letters. As she read the letters, she often read aloud the most affectionate passages of his letters to her friends, male or female. Napoleon is ridiculous! She often said of him that she wrote only once a week or two, sometimes not even once in two weeks. "You didn't write to me, Joseph," he reproached her in Milan on May 24th."My good friend has gone missing!" Has she forgotten about me? .. my dearest... it is clear that your vow of love to me is not true... You have made your choice, and you know who should replace me. Depressed and jealous, Napoleon believed that the old relationship between Joseph and Ballas had been rekindled. I am too sad, the words in the letter may be too harsh... He wrote again from Tortona on June 14th, but his wife refused to come again on the pretext that she was pregnant and could not move (she was not). His heart was tormented by her. I'll wait for you in Tortona. I've been waiting every day, but you never came. He climbed up a hill miles away, waiting for her carriage to appear.
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