By the time Lucien Leflair hurried back to General de Treville's headquarters, it was already dawn, and a thin white line had already appeared in the eastern sky.

It was an exquisite villa with a small garden that had been carefully tended, and was originally the property of a wealthy merchant, but after the arrival of the French army, it was requisitioned as the general's resting place and headquarters "of his own volition".

Between the morning dew and the fragrance of flowers, the rising sun is particularly beautiful, and the faint sound of guns and cannons in the distance is more like playing a movement for this early morning. However, Lucien did not pay any attention to this summer beauty, and he walked through the garden, and with the salute of the guards, he went directly to the small building where the general lived.

"The general is still resting," said the general's personal attendant in the living room downstairs, stopping him and whispering. "Wait a minute."

"It's good." He sat down obediently.

"How's the front line?" The manservant asked with some concern.

"All the best."

"Great!" The old servant smiled happily, "When the old man wakes up, he will hear the good news!" ”

"I've heard it! Who can sleep with such a loud gunshot? Suddenly, the two of them heard a hearty shout at the same time, and the door to the general's bedroom on the second floor opened, and an old man in pajamas walked out.

The old man was already showing his old age, and his face was covered with the marks of time. Because I just got up, my hair is still a little messy. And it's all white. However, there is still a fire of ambition burning in his eyes, which does not make people doubt his exuberant energy. He was the commander-in-chief of the French Expeditionary Force. Marquis de Treville.

He leaned against the railing and looked excitedly at the two men downstairs. "Lucien? What, has the front line broken through? ”

"Yes, General!" Lucien replied loudly, "Our plan has been successful!" We've breached those strongholds! ”

"Great!" The Marquis slapped the teak railing hard, "Call them all to me, and celebrate!" ”

Then he looked at his manservant. "Go get some bottles of wine from the cellar!"

"Yes!"

………………

Moments later, in the living room of the villa, General de Treville and his staff and adjutants were already gathered. The morning dishes are already on the table. The morning sun casts through the glass window, making the bright red wine in the glass even more vivid.

"They've already taken there?" The Marquis de Treville gently picked up a piece of bread, spread it on cheese and ate it, then took a sip of wine. "Then we can think about how to march into Rome."

Although the shouts of killing in the distance have been heard endlessly. But it did not affect the general's appetite at all. On the contrary, it seemed to stimulate his appetite even more.

"General, under your superior command, those rabble in the city of Rome are completely unable to resist us......" one of the officers complimented the general with a smile, "the victory of our army is already at hand!" ”

"Don't laugh too early, leave these words for after the victory." The general waved his hand and stopped the compliments of his subordinates, "Only a victory that is actually won can be called a victory, and anything can happen until the enemy is destroyed." We should always remember the lessons of 1811 for a thousand years, and we must no longer be complacent......"

As soon as I heard this old soldier of the imperial era, a participant in the campaign against Russia, mention 1811. The lightness on the faces of the others was instantly replaced by seriousness.

"You're right, General, we should always be cautious." Lucien chimed in convincingly, he had great respect for the general. "Never be complacent until you have defeated the enemy."

"That's good." The Marquis of Treville smiled and nodded, very satisfied with the performance of his subordinates, "You are all excellent talents in the army, and you will play an important role in defending the country in the future, so I expect a lot from you, don't let me down." ”

"Yes!"

"However, it is a good thing that such an important victory has been achieved now......," the Marquis took another sip of wine, "the war has dragged on for so long, and the pressure on the president on the side of the parliament is increasing, and we must always give the president a little good news, so that he will have more strength to hold on." ”

As he expected, he had ulterior motives to provoke a wave of anger among the group of officers.

"Parliament? Parliament! Bah! What are those people! just climbed into the Palace of Bourbon by showing off his mouth, but he still dared not take us seriously? Bah! An officer snorted disdainfully, "I don't care about any parliament, only the president, only the emperor's nephew, really knows how to lead the country!" ”

"The soldiers at the front fought bravely, and these old councilors only knew that Lu Dao was dragging us back in the rear, and if they had the courage to criticize us, did they not have the courage to carry their guns to the front line? Come and eat the same sins as us! These scumbags! Another officer also shouted, "I think the only thing that can destroy the country is the pigs in the parliament!" ”

"We only support the president, whatever parliament he is! it! ”

Seeing that his provocation was so useful, the Marquis of Treville couldn't help but feel relieved and took another sip of wine.

Although the Catholic priests and some conservatives strongly agreed with the president and the government's decision to save the pope, many people stood up and expressed fierce opposition.

As soon as the French Republic was founded, in order to defend the churches that were "vicious, reactionary, terrorous, cruel, and insidious" in the eyes of the republicans, they attacked and exterminated another republic that had risen in response to the revolution. Because he knew what the Dao army wanted, and he was willing to do all this in order to curry favor with the army.

He even deliberately maintained this posture of "working against the parliament for the sake of the army" in order to win the heartfelt support of the army.

On the other hand, the Marquis of Treville has been trying to cultivate in the hearts of these soldiers a nostalgia for the former glory of the Empire, as well as a contempt and disgust for the Parliament and the status quo of the Republic. Judging from the performance of the soldiers now, he has done a very effective job.

Just as the group of soldiers were still angrily denouncing the council, the marquis's personal valet suddenly walked in and reported to the marquis.

"What? The Pope's emissary is coming to me? The general frowned. At this time? ”

"He said that the matter was urgent, and that he had come to see you by order of the Pope, so please be sure to see him."

After hearing his words, the others immediately fell silent, waiting for the general's decision.

How? Do you really think we're here for the Pope?

Soon, the general's brows widened, and he sneered, "Tell the messenger to tell him to wait first, I will go to the front line to inspect it first, and when I come back, I will come back to meet him when I have time!" ”

Then, he pushed away the plate in front of him, stood up directly, and glanced around his subordinates.

"Gentlemen, breakfast is over, isn't it? Let's go to the front line together! ”

………………

In the morning, when the commander of the expeditionary force, the Marquis de Treville, came to the front, he was immediately greeted with cheers from the soldiers at the front. He rode on a gray Arabian horse, wore a two-horned hat, and the medallion on his chest shone brightly. Although he is already dying, he is in good spirits, and his spirit is not inferior to that of young people.

Accompanied by the front-line officers, the general and his party came to a place not far from the place of battle, which happened to be the place where Lucien was staying in the early morning, and the villas in the distance had been captured by the French army and became the defensive stronghold of the French army.

He had just arrived, and the Italians had just launched a counter-attack on the positions they had accidentally lost.

Amid a shrill roar, a large group of soldiers rushed towards the French position. The sound of gunfire roared from time to time, taking away lives.

Even in such a noisy environment, the Marquis of Trevil remained composed, calmly picking up his binoculars and looking at the distant positions of his men

The battlefield ahead was full of artillery fire, and from time to time soldiers fell, but the marquis was unaware. A small group of Roman soldiers stormed the villa and fought fiercely with the French soldiers, and the two uniforms were twisted together, and for a time it was impossible to distinguish between them.

"Did Garibaldi personally lead someone to launch a counterattack?" He muttered to himself, looking at the bright red cloak in the telescope, which was Garibaldi's emblematic dress, "Ah, what a great man! ”

In the general's telescope, Garibaldi's red cloak appeared there, and the Italians rushed there, almost unbelievably brave, and the French front was becoming more and more compressed.

"General, I'll bring people to reinforce them immediately!" Seeing that the situation was not quite right, the officer hurriedly asked for battle, "I will drive these puppies away!" ”

The general remained silent, watching the battle in the distance.

"General!" Seeing that the French army was gradually showing signs of exhaustion, the officer was a little anxious and urged again.

"Nope. There is no point in such reinforcements, the battlefield is too small, our men cannot use it, and we cannot give full play to the advantage of having more troops. His voice was as cold as ever, and then he called his adjutant and issued his order, "Let the cavalry attack from the flanks and cut off their reinforcements!" ”

The adjutant hurriedly took the order and left.

Then he turned to look at the officer.

"Your 17th regiment is then outflanking them! Just go!

"But the people in front ......"

"They must go to the last moment to give our army a chance to outflank the enemy." The general replied calmly. "If they are going to die, they have to die there."

"Yes!"

After the officer took the order, the general picked up the binoculars again and looked at the battlefield in the distance.

"Victory is in sight." He thought to himself. (To be continued......)