From Corsica to the Fourth Rome

Genoa City, the commercial pearl of the Mediterranean alongside Venice, has been synonymous with wealth and prosperity for the past thousand years.

During the Crusade era, almost all the armies participating in the Holy War departed from the city of Genoa and traveled by sea to the eastern lands they dreamed of. As a result, Genoa earned huge profits and influence, becoming a major commercial center in the Mediterranean.

Even the Lion-Hearted King of England, Charles, took advantage of the situation and adopted the flag of Genoa, the red cross on a white background, as his personal flag. This flag later became the national flag of the entire Kingdom of England.

In the following hundreds of years, Genoese businessmen also demonstrated their shrewd pursuit of profit to the fullest.

In the thirteenth century, they defeated their old trade enemy, the Republic of Pisa, and gained the island of Corsica. They dominated the entire Mediterranean trade and captured the astonishingly profitable spice trade route.

They took advantage of the Sicilian Vespers War and devoted all their energy to trying to control Sicily's economy; they provided loans to the ruling class, thereby monopolizing the production of grain, silk, and sugar in Sicily, and then used that ship to Shiploads of wheat and beans were exchanged for shiploads of gold and silver from Morocco.

When Philip II of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty declared the country bankrupt, and financiers all over Germany suffered heavy losses and wailed everywhere, they took the opportunity to provide Spain with a large amount of economic aid, in exchange for almost all of the Spanish Mexico. Endless silver flows to the port of Genoa.

In countless medieval ballads and stories, Genoese merchants were wealthier than Venetian merchants and were synonymous with gold, silver and spices.

Of course, there is no eternal feast in the world, and no country enjoys prosperity forever.

With the rise of the Ottoman Turks, Genoa lost trade control over Crimea and the Eastern Mediterranean, and Venice's victory in the Fourth Uige War also declared the Venetian Republic's leading position in Mediterranean trade.

Coupled with the Corsican rebellion that had continued since the early eighteenth century, the Republic of Genoa had fallen into inevitable decline.

But even so, Genoa City is still a rich and golden city in the eyes of many Europeans. After all, even at the end of the 18th century, Genoa, which was in decline, was still more prosperous and wealthy than Venice at the same time.

In the early morning of October 5, 1771, the Corsican army was less than forty miles away from this golden city.

The salty morning sea breeze was blowing on the marching road. Looking to the sea not far away to the east, one could vaguely see the endless flow of merchant ships going to and from the port of Genoa in the distance.

Even if it has lost its glory a hundred years ago, the prosperity of the Republic of Genoa cannot be underestimated. The merchant ships that can be seen everywhere on the sea are enough to get a glimpse of it. The number of merchant ships plying to and from the port of Ajaccio is not even ten percent of that here. one.

Chief of Staff Berthier followed Lawrence in small steps on his horse. He looked at the faintly visible building outlines in the distance and the towering Genoa Lighthouse on the sea, with a very excited expression:

"Ahead is the port of Genoa, a city rich in gold and silver. Legend has it that every citizen of Genoa has gold accessories weighing three ounces."

Lawrence laughed dumbly when he heard this, shook his head and said:

"It's just a legend. The wealth of the Republic of Genoa is concentrated in a very small number of financial families and wealthy families. Although the ordinary citizens there are better off than people in other places, they probably only have enough food and clothing."

"That's true."

Berthier scratched his head. He had collected information about the Republic of Genoa beforehand and knew that the gap between the rich and the poor in this commercial republic was even more serious than in other countries:

"How much does the wealth of Genoa have to do with the people at the bottom? Singing, dancing, and living in extravagance are destined to be the privileges of a few people no matter where they are."

Lawrence stared at the ships passing by on the sea, and suddenly said in a deep voice:

"The Kingdom of France is not like this. The kingdom itself is so rich and powerful, but there are so many hungry and cold people trembling in the countryside. The country is strong but the people are weak, the country is rich but the people are poor. Everyone knows this strange phenomenon What is the root cause, but no one can make any changes? A Versailles Palace can burn a quarter of the entire country's fiscal revenue in a year, and there are so many castles and manors, so many bureaucrats and clergy, every year How much of the public’s silver coins will it cost?”

"Char!" Berthier was startled. He subconsciously turned his head and glanced at the other members of the Knights. After making sure that no one heard, he lowered his voice and said:

"Be careful, it is not good for someone to hear such rebellious words. No matter how serious the kingdom's financial crisis is, you cannot point the finger at His Majesty the King."

Lawrence sighed lightly, his expression was not as heavy as before, he just shrugged and ended the topic with a smile:

"It doesn't matter, everyone here is our own people."

Berthier nodded hesitantly. He didn't know when he had acquiesced that the Privy Knights, which should be directly subordinate to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, were now directly subordinate to His Excellency Laurence Bonaparte.

While Lawrence and Berthier were chatting and laughing, the expressions of the Corsican sergeants on the march were not so relaxed.

When they learned that they were marching towards Genoa City, the Corsican soldiers suddenly felt an indescribable complex emotion in their hearts.

For the children and young people on Corsica, the word Genoese seems to be nothing special. They have only heard it from their elders. It seems that they are a group of bad people who ruled the island before.

And those Corsicans who have personally experienced the reign of Genoa will never forget how much pain and hatred, how much blood and tears that time was filled with.

As a prosperous and wealthy commercial port, Genoa City always has a large population staying in the city. The amount of food consumed by such a huge population every day is naturally not a small number.

The scope of Genoa is only this narrow Ligurian coast. This coast itself has almost no agricultural output, let alone meeting the food needs of the citizens in Genoa City.

Therefore, the Genoese government was forced to import a large amount of food from overseas to meet local needs. In the past, when Genoese merchants controlled the economy of Sicily, this granary of the Roman Empire could perfectly meet the needs of Genoese merchants.

But since Sicily broke away from the control of Genoese merchants, this extremely heavy agricultural tax has all fallen on Corsica, the only overseas colony left by Genoa.

Genoese merchants don't care about this island and its people at all. They prohibit Corsicans from participating in politics and strongly suppress the island's handicrafts and commerce, forcing Corsicans to invest all their efforts in agricultural production and contribute to their great and rich city of Genoa.

The older generation of Corsican tenants have said that when they work under Corsican landlords, their status is the same as that of pigs and dogs, while when they work under Genoese, their status is worse than that of pigs and dogs.

After all, Corsican landlords will regard tenants as their own private property, just like cattle and sheep. Even if they are beaten and scolded, they will not kill them at will.

And the cold-blooded Genoese merchants don't care about the life and death of these mud legs at all.

Tenants who could not pay taxes were stripped naked and hanged in public in the center of the town. Even after the body rotted for several months, his relatives did not dare to go to collect the body. His wife and daughter were taken away by the guards and never heard from again. The taxes and debts during his lifetime also fell directly on the head of his youngest son who was less than twelve years old, and he had a one-year deadline to repay them.

Such stories were not even news in Corsica in the past.

Under such cruel exploitation and rule, Corsicans began to rise up in the 1920s and launched an independence movement under the leadership of Giacinto Paoli.

This independence movement eventually reached its climax under the leadership of Pasquale Paoli, the son of Giacinto Paoli. It took three decades for the two generations of father and son to finally make Corsica achieve de facto independence and liberation.

Although the Corsicans today are no longer afraid of the threats from Genoa, for the islanders who experienced that period of terror, this blood feud is definitely a pain that they will never forget in their hearts.

Especially at this moment, the Corsican soldiers who are marching, many of them are soldiers who have followed three generations of Corsican leaders since Giacinto Paoli.

These nearly fifty-year-old soldiers and officers have forgotten many things in their lives, but they will never forget why they risked their blood to join the resistance army when they were young:

"Anti-tooth for tooth, blood for blood, end the feud, and recover my homeland"

Let the Genoese drown in their own blood, this is the only purpose of the Corsican National Defense Force when it was first established.

Now, the city of Genoa is within reach.

Almost at the same time, in the great council hall of the Governor's Palace, the power center of the Republic of Genoa.

On weekdays, this magnificent and spacious council hall will only be used for major events such as the change of governor and the reception of envoys from major countries.

Now, the crowded scene in the Great Council Hall only shows one thing - the Republic of Genoa is suffering from the biggest crisis in decades, or even a hundred years:

The sharp blade of the Corsican army has already stabbed the nose of the city of Genoa.

Since the Corsican army landed in Vadolidore, the Genoese military has been paying attention to the actions of this army. After all, Vadolidore is only three days away from Genoa.

But many parliamentarians and political commentators have said that there is no need to pay too much attention to the Corsican barbarians. This group of arrogant children of noble families still maintain the stereotype of Corsica thirty years ago, believing that such an army is simply heading for the Kingdom of Sardinia, and it will not be long before the whole army will be destroyed in Piedmont.

Such remarks were quickly supported by the corrupt and conservative noble families in the country. They did not want to be frightened by the Corsicans landing in Liguria, which would affect the prestige of the Republic and the trade in the Port of Genoa, thus reducing the gold flowing into their pockets.

After all, merchants are the best at seeking benefits and avoiding harm. Once the Port of Genoa begins to deploy defenses, those merchant ship captains with a keen sense of smell will inevitably doubt whether the Republic of Genoa is involved in the turmoil of the Italian War. In this way, the Republic's trade income will inevitably decline sharply.

Giovanni Battista Cambiaso, the governor, did not support this argument. The sixty-year-old man believed that they should be wary of any army approaching the Republic's homeland. After all, Genoa, with its small territory and sparse population, is not known for its military strength, and the defense focus of the entire country is still on the sea, and the investment in the army is very scarce.

Over the past hundreds of years, the Republic of Genoa has been more accustomed to protecting itself with flexible diplomacy and a powerful navy, rather than relying on an expensive and usually useless army to maintain its independence.

However, Governor Batista's argument did not receive much support in the previous Congress.

As a merchant republic under an oligarchy, the power of the Republic of Genoa is basically in the hands of the aristocratic wealthy and financial families. Although the Governor of Genoa nominally rules the entire country, the short two-year term of each term still limits the power of the Governor. Great constraints, many times this position is just a puppet and representative supported by major families and even other countries.

It was not until dawn today, when the top leaders of the Republic learned that an unknown number of troops were approaching Genoa City in a rapid march, that the rich and nobles who had been comfortable for a long time rushed to the Governor's Palace in chaos.

At this moment, not only the famous families of the Republic, but also the middle-class citizens have sent their representatives. Dozens or hundreds of people gathered in the conference hall to discuss the next countermeasures:

"The Corsicans are coming? What should we do?"

"I don't believe it! It's impossible for the Corsicans to defeat the army of the Kingdom of Sardinia. How could they still have the energy to take care of Genoa at this time? It must be a false alarm!"

"Ask Spain for help, Carlos III still owes us a favor!"

"Are you kidding? The Corsicans are about to raze this place to the ground. Can the Spaniards catch up?"

"Army, where are our Republican Guards! Are there any mercenary groups on standby in the port?"

"How should the expenses of the mercenaries in the mercenary group be divided?"

"Stupid pig! At this time, you still care about this fee?!"

"Do you have the guts to say it again?!"

Hundreds of deputies argued and chattered endlessly, and those who disagreed almost even fought with each other, as if this was not a large conference hall symbolizing the highest authority of the Republic, but a vegetable market next to a stinking ditch in a slum.

"Quiet! Quiet!"

Governor Batista finally couldn't stand it anymore. Although he didn't have much real power, as the nominal supreme leader, his powerful roar still shook the chaos in the chamber:

"General Tiro Belrain has led the Republican Guard to stop the Corsicans. I gave him instructions to find out the other party's intentions, and at the same time, I tried my best to avoid conflict with the Corsican army."

The chamber became a little quieter. When they heard that the Republican Guard had been dispatched to negotiate with the Corsican Army, the representatives finally breathed a sigh of relief, but then they took a stab at Governor Batista's resolution:

"Hmph, it seems that all the tax money spent on the Army is not used to support a bunch of losers."

"Is General Tilo Belrain, is this candidate suitable? Why did you decide on the candidate without the consent of the parliament?"

"Instead of avoiding conflicts, we should go out and attack, defeat the enemy and take back Corsica!"

"Yes, I have read in books that the Corsicans are vulnerable."

In the eyes of this group of children from aristocratic families, Batista, as a governor without real power, even if he made the right decision in time, he would still be exceeding his authority without permission and would not be allowed.

The gray-haired Governor Batista sighed helplessly, looking exhausted.

Among the hundreds of representatives in front of him, who was not a hothouse kid who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and who really understood the Corsicans and their army. But just such a group of people gathered to decide the fate of the entire Republic of Genoa. Governor Batista suddenly felt ridiculous and funny.

He could only try his best to persuade:

"General Tilo Belrain is our most senior general. He has fought against the rebels on Corsica for more than ten years and has sufficient experience to face the Corsican army; in addition, although Our war with Corsica has not officially ended, but this is by no means a good time to actively provoke disputes. The Kingdom of Corsica has already joined the Sicilian War of Independence. If we take the initiative to attack it, it is likely to be regarded as Intervene in this war. I don’t think you want the Republic to join this war, especially against the Kingdom of Spain.”

The Republic of Genoa has always been on good terms with the Kingdom of Spain and relies heavily on this relationship to maintain Genoa's independence. Today, the Kingdom of Corsica is fighting side by side with the Kingdom of Spain. If the war rekindles at this moment, it will take the initiative to initiate a war against the Kingdom of Corsica. , will inevitably damage relations with Spain, which is definitely not a good idea for Genoa.

Seeing that all the representatives basically agreed with this statement and decision, Governor Batista sighed again and continued to chair the meeting:

"We have to wait for General Belair to send back news from the front before we can make further decisions. Before that, let's do some planning discussions on various possible situations."

However, what Governor Batista and the nobles and businessmen did not expect was:

General Tyro Belrain, who they had placed high hopes on, was currently dying and being supported by two of his subordinates, retreating away from the battlefield without looking back.

As for the Republican Guard, the only standing army force in the Republic of Genoa, it had completely collapsed and was running back like a frightened flock of sheep.

On the battlefield, countless bodies were lying on the ground, almost all of them were Genoese soldiers. Their blood could even form a stream flowing to the Tyrrhenian Sea.

The wounded soldiers used their muskets as crutches and desperately tried to escape from this hell. After witnessing this unprecedented tragedy, the healthy soldiers also lost all their fighting spirit and joined the fleeing team.

Not far away, the Corsican army slowly pursued the remnants of the Genoese. When the Corsican soldiers stepped over the bodies of the Genoese with indifference, their trouser legs were soaked with blood.

General Tiro Bellan turned his head and looked at the battlefield just now. There was only one expression on his face - confusion.

"What happened?"

The gunshot wounds on his left shoulder and right leg caused unbearable pain, but the old general's expression was still blank and ignorant, and he kept repeating:

"What happened?!"

But no one could answer his question, and no officer could understand why the Republican Guard was defeated by the Corsican Army in an instant.

Even General Tiro Berlan, who had more than ten years of experience in fighting the Corsican Defense Force, had no idea at all.

Victory and defeat are common in the military, but General Berlan could not accept it at all. He didn't even know how he lost the battle, nor how the elite Republican Guard was completely disintegrated. Everything seemed to happen in an instant.

Just two hours ago, General Berlan led the high-spirited Republican Guard to intercept the Corsican Army.

For this veteran, this mission in danger is both a burden and a great opportunity.

Three years ago, General Berlan, commander of the Corsica Corps, won a great victory over the Corsican Defense Army's Northern Corps, not only occupying the northern town of Bastia, but also advancing the front line hundreds of miles in one fell swoop.

At that time, General Berlan thought that he would soon be able to recapture Ajaccio and put down the independence rebellion that had lasted for thirty years in one fell swoop.

But not long after that, news came from Corsica that a new leader announced that he would lead Corsica to pledge allegiance to King Louis XV of France, and the French side actually bypassed Genoa and directly accepted Corsica's allegiance and stationed troops.

Genoa naturally did not dare to directly conflict with France, so it did not express any opinion on this incident. General Berlan's corps was naturally disbanded, and the general himself stayed in his native land in semi-retirement.

The old general always felt that if the cunning Corsicans had not obtained the protection of France through diplomatic means at that time, he would definitely be able to recapture the entire Corsica in one fell swoop.

Therefore, during the march, General Belland was somewhat excited. If the main force of the Corsican Defense Force could be defeated here, then it would be at least militarily feasible to take back Corsica.

With this idea in mind, the vanguard sentinels of the two armies soon came into contact with each other.

General Tiro Belland sent an envoy to warn the Corsican army to leave the territory of the Republic of Genoa, and at the same time made full preparations for the battle.

The response of the Corsican army made the experienced General Belland furious - they detained the envoy they sent, and at the same time expressed their intention to borrow the passage from Genoa City to march. If the Genoese army dared to stop them, it would be regarded as a signal of another war between the two countries. Anyway, the two countries have never reached a peace agreement.

Unlike those greenhouse children in Genoa City, General Belland believed that he knew the Corsicans very well after more than a decade of combat experience with the Corsican Defense Force. He was even fighting with the Corsicans three years ago. That poor island would not have undergone any qualitative changes in three years, right?

It was these experiences that made General Berlant feel that the Republican Guard he led was superior to the Corsican Defense Force in quality, and he was the one who had the upper hand in this battle.

Therefore, General Berlant issued a second warning symbolically, and then ordered the army to launch a full-scale attack on the Corsican army.

But from the moment the two sides officially exchanged fire, General Berlant had no idea what was happening.

He only remembered that the Corsican army had all formed a skirmisher formation, which was basically only a formation that only chasseurs would form.

So far, chasseurs equipped with rifled guns are also extremely rare in the armies of European countries.

First, rifled guns are expensive and costly. Second, the current rifled guns have a very low firing rate and it is difficult to form continuous firepower. Third, the use of rifled guns has high requirements for the shooting quality of soldiers. Only after long-term training can they accurately snipe and kill the enemy on the battlefield.

These shortcomings led to the fact that all European countries only equipped a very small number of chasseur regiments in their armies, and their role was only to provide fire support to the line infantry occasionally.

Even in the Napoleonic era, because Napoleon himself preferred line infantry, there were few chasseurs in his army, and Napoleon's preference continued to affect the French army later. Until the late 19th century, the French army still retained a large number of line infantry regiments.

Therefore, when General Berlan saw that the Corsican army was all in a skirmish formation, he had no idea what the enemy was up to.

While General Berlan was analyzing the situation in a panic, the two armies had already exchanged fire for several rounds.

Before the general's order was issued, a shocking news came from the front line:

The vanguard troops had been completely defeated.

Faced with this news, let alone the stunned adjutants, even General Berlan had never seen such a scene in his decades of military career.

Just a few rounds of exchange of fire could completely destroy six line infantry battalions? !

If he led a group of peasants who had never seen guns and cannons, it would be fine, but he led the most elite Republican Guard in the entire Republic of Genoa, how could he end up like this? !

General Berlan was unwilling to accept this reality at all. He rushed out of the command post like crazy, rode his warhorse to the front line, and tried to reorganize the troops and launch a counterattack with his prestige.

What the general didn't know was that the moment he appeared on the front battlefield, dozens of rifles were aimed directly at his head.

After a round of volleys, General Berlan was shot in the left shoulder and right leg, bleeding profusely. The horse under his crotch also became furious due to the gunshot wounds. It threw General Berlan to the ground with a leap and fled from the battlefield with a neigh.

Seeing General Berlan fall in a pool of blood without struggling, fear immediately spread rapidly among the Genoese soldiers. Even the troops who had not yet joined the battle rushed to drop their weapons and joined the fleeing queue.

Although the adjutants rushed forward in time to rescue General Berlan, the complete defeat of the Republican Guard was a foregone conclusion.