At five o'clock in the afternoon of May 18, Bruise ordered six shots. This was the final signal to order all personnel on shore to return to the warship immediately. Napoleon informed General Desai at Civitaveccia: He hoped to be able to go out to sea the next morning. Following Napoleon's special instructions, Monge, who was helping Desai in Civitaveccia, replied," Here, I have become the hero of Argus! This is another miracle of our present Jason... He will bring the torch of enlightenment to the country that has been in darkness for many years, he will spread the philosophy of the Republic, and carry out the glory of our country in a foreign land far from home. Although he was already 53 years old, Monge, who was still full of energy, could not suppress his excitement and optimism. This was undoubtedly a great encouragement to Napoleon, especially because Monge was his most respected figure in France.
After a week of storms, the sky cleared up at 6 am on May 19th. Bruise raised the signal from the flagship Vostok, which had 118 cannons. The fleet set sail. Napoleon personally ordered the warships to sing the revolutionary hymn "March on England" every night.
Before setting sail, Napoleon gave a speech to the entire fleet on the flagship: Well, let me tell you, you haven't served your country loyally, and your country hasn't given you much in return. He brought up the topic of the Italian campaign again. He told his expeditionary force that he was going to lead them to a place where they could serve their country and receive all compensation. For this reason, he promised that every soldier would get five acres of land when they returned home (a promise he failed to keep). You will face a new adventure and share it with your brothers and sailors…Let the enemies of land and sea tremble before you! Follow the example of the ancient Roman soldiers who defeated the Carthaginian on the plains and at sea! When Napoleon stepped down from the rear deck, the soldiers gathered on the lower deck of the Vostok shouted,"Long live the eternal Republic! Long live Napoleon! They sang traditional revolutionary songs.
The French overcame the obstacles and difficulties encountered in their preparations. The naval fleet finally set out from the five major ports. The entire fleet formed three naval squadrons, each squadron had 56 ships and warships of different grades and 13,000 officers and soldiers.
Maintaining strict discipline, Napoleon, who was on the flagship, asked Bruesdo to prepare a good bed for me, just like you prepare for the sick. The commander-in-chief, who had once wanted to be a naval artillery officer, was actually not good at swimming. No matter if the sea was rough or calm, he would get seasick.
Both Napoleon and Bruise were well aware of the need for strict discipline, especially since the side of each transport ship was filled with military supplies and personnel. The Queen of the French Navy, Vostok, with three decks, was perhaps worse than other ships in this regard, because it carried many commanders and fleet commanders of the expeditionary force, including Napoleon's favorite adjutant and Bruise's deputy general. In addition, there were non-military personnel and medical officers of the medical team. The ship, which had originally carried a maximum of 1,000 people, now had more than 2,000 people. Almost all the corners and crevices were packed with people and items, including Napoleon's 4,800 bottles of wine.
In total, the expeditionary force had 31 generals, of which 16 had joined the army before 1789 and had received formal training in the Royal Army, but 11 were newly recruited officers who had not received formal training, and five had less than nine years of military service.
In addition to thousands of officers and soldiers, the expeditionary force also included various craftsmen who could make the army self-sufficient in the hostile country, such as blacksmiths, harness craftsmen, various carriage drivers, thousands of horse trainers, bakers, chefs, tailors, and gunners.
On the 365 naval ships and transport ships, in addition to tons of food, wine, Brandy, fresh water, clothing, and light weapons, there were 171 cannons, carriages, four-wheeled carriages, and 757 other vehicles, ladders, shovels, more than 10,000 hoes, and axes. Needless to say, there were also 45,000 tons of explosives and 12,000 tons of bullets. In addition, there were 1,330 warhorses, turning the warship into a temporary stable.
The expedition also had a theoretical academic mission. The mathematician Bertolet and his colleagues packed hundreds of boxes of instruments for astronomy, chemistry, physics, geological exploration, surgery, and medicine, as well as thousands of volumes of scientific, philosophical, historical, and geographical anthologies, as well as long-outdated maps of Egypt.
The fleet was escorted by 13 capital ships, with a total of 309 transport sailboats. They were spread out in three parallel formations like sheep grazing on the sea area of several square miles. The speed of the capital ships was only half of the usual speed. The three-masted ship was like a well-trained shepherd dog, guarding the fleet from the front and back, vigilant of enemies that might appear at any time. There were all kinds of flags hanging on the transport ship, including the flags of France, Spain, Liguria, Tuscany, Ragusa, Malta, Turkey, Venice, Denmark, and Switzerland. Captains and sailors came from all directions. Including sailors, soldiers, and non-military personnel, the fleet had a total of 54,000 people. In theory, they could provide for themselves in food and drinks, as well as feed for the horses. Of the total number of people who boarded the ship, 36,826 were expeditionary soldiers.
Bruise had drawn the safest and most direct route for this group of clumsy sheep on the sea map. After the transport ships of Toulon and Marseille met at sea, they sailed east to the entrance of the Genaya Bay and met up with the 72 transport ships of Genaya on May 21.
After the rendezvous at Genaya, Bruise turned around and headed south-southeast toward the Cape of Corsica. The expeditionary army still did not know the final destination of this trip. After bypassing the northernmost tip of Cape Corsica, they sailed south along the east coast of the island. On May 27th, they met up with the 22 transport ships of the Corsica Division led by Warbion.
Now, the heavily entrusted Vice Admiral Brues was carefully commanding a spectacular fleet that would not be seen in the Mediterranean for decades. His desperate cause could be said to be treading on thin ice, and he did not dare to slack off. This huge fleet had another mission: The next day, they met up with Desai's 56 transport ships that had arrived late from Civitaveccia. After this final meeting, Napoleon could finally report to the Directorate-General: We have all gathered and are advancing towards our goal.
As Brenner said, on the flagship of a floating city of 2,000 people, although there were no women, life was very fulfilling. In Bruise's cabin, as well as the commander-in-chief's large cabin at the stern with a porthole overlooking the blue sea, officers came and went. Napoleon's cabin naturally became the center of activity for the fleet. There, he changed his habit of getting up at dawn on land and only appeared at 10 o'clock every morning. Brenner took care of him as soon as he got up. Of course, there were adjutants, high-ranking officers, and selected servants beside him. Other than occasionally taking a walk on the rear deck with Bruise and the captain, usually discussing some special naval issues, he rarely left his cabin. During the meal, Bruise and Napoleon generously invited everyone to drink wine, but they had to discuss various philosophical and scientific issues with Napoleon for a long time. The debate often lasted until the early hours of the morning and was rarely interrupted by music, because Napoleon did not like music.
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