Flowers, Swords and France

Accompanied by the drizzle in late summer and early autumn, the Crimean Peninsula ushered in a new sunny day.

After being nourished and washed by the rain, the air became moist and clean, and the originally scorching sun in the sky became much softer.

Looking around, the earth is a green field, and there are refreshing rural scenes everywhere.

In the farms deep inland, the branches of the grapevines are full of large grapes, and the wheat has also produced full ears. Everything is so beautiful, indicating that a harvest season has arrived.

For the farmers here, this would have been a golden period, and they would have the best harvest in recent years. However... a sudden disaster fell from the sky and fell on this land, turning all their hopes into bubbles.

The village was terribly quiet at this time, with only the rustling sound of the wind sweeping through the branches. No one was walking in the village. Although the houses were still intact, there was no sign of life, as if the village was suddenly shrouded by some mysterious power.

Suddenly, the rustling sound coming from the fields became louder and louder, as if a strong wind began to sweep through, but there was no evidence of a storm around, and at this moment, among the golden wheat ears, some figures wearing blue tops and red pants suddenly appeared.

These people walked forward in groups of three or five, trampling on the wheat under their feet. Large pieces of wheat ears were trampled under their feet. If a farmer saw this scene, he would probably be very sad. And they walked forward with laughter, and soon stepped into the village. The fences and fences that the villagers had carefully built and maintained at the border of the farmland were all destroyed by these soldiers.

These people had a look of indifference, as if they were used to seeing life and death, and they talked and laughed without mercy. They were also very strong and had been trained for a long time. They all held a rifle in their hands, clearly showing their identity as soldiers.

The whole way was full of traces of destruction left by them, but this destruction was just the beginning. After entering the village, the original silence was broken by the noise of these soldiers. They shouted everywhere and kicked open the closed doors of various houses. All kinds of noises were heard everywhere, even mixed with sporadic gunshots.

They took the village without encountering any resistance, and they also made it their trophy with peace of mind. They walked directly into the houses with guns, and then caught all the remaining villagers in the village amidst the crying and shouting.

The male villagers had already taken most of the women and children away to avoid the sudden disaster. Only some old people and peasant women who could not run were left. They did not want to embark on the road of escape at this age, nor could they leave the harvest on the land. They could only stay and hope that the two warring armies would not let their village suffer a catastrophic disaster.

However, their luck was not very good. After the war entered the early autumn stage, the British and French coalition forces had expanded their occupied area to this area, so this village was inevitably looted.

The villagers were gathered by these soldiers in the open space next to the village. They looked at these ferocious soldiers and were almost scared to death. They muttered something in their mouths, as if they wanted to beg the soldiers to let them go.

"Bang!" Seeing this, an officer picked up his pistol and fired a shot into the sky, which frightened the villagers into silence. Then, the officer said a few words to the group of villagers loudly.

He spoke in French, which the villagers certainly didn't understand, but it certainly didn't bother the French soldiers. After another gunshot, a man who knew a little about the local dialect stood up and shouted at the villagers.

"Listen to me! We are the French army, and now this place has fallen into our occupation, but don't worry! Our French soldiers are well-disciplined soldiers and will not harm civilians. As long as you obey honestly, your life will not be in danger! However, anyone who dares to resist or dares to tip off the Russian army will be shot on the spot. Do you understand? Now, the village chief, stand up! I want him to accept the orders of the French officers on behalf of your village!"

Under his declaration mixed with comfort and intimidation, the villagers' emotions stabilized a little, and they were no longer as frightened as before, but they also looked at each other because the village chief had run away.

After discussing for a while, the group of French soldiers impatiently forced the oldest villager to be the village chief.

Then, they ordered the temporary village chief to hand over the current grain reserves in the village and to hand over most of the grain in the village to the French army for use after the harvest this season.

The poor village chief immediately complained to the soldiers that the village’s grain reserves were insufficient and could not meet the needs of the French army. Moreover, the village was suffering from such a disaster, and most of the laborers had fled. How could they organize the autumn harvest?

However, his defense was ignored by the French officers and soldiers. The French officers told him directly and rudely that the army’s requirements were unquestionable. He must hand over the materials requisitioned by the French army at that time, otherwise the French army would hold him accountable.

For these French officers and soldiers, it is a good thing that the villagers have fled in large numbers, because it will reduce the difficulty of defending the local area, and will also prevent their actions from being exposed to the Russians. As for how to ensure that the remaining villagers Sufficient supply of materials is not an issue they need to consider.

While the officers were lecturing the villagers, a large number of French soldiers began to search every corner of the village. They carefully searched every house, fence and orchard, even the cellars of each house. Soon they discovered the food accumulated by the villagers, even honey and jam.

They quickly moved these supplies out of the house. Although the villagers cried and cursed the actions of these officers and soldiers, the soldiers turned a deaf ear. The order given to them was to recruit supplies. As long as they could complete the order, they would Not interested in anything else.

Just as the French army began to loot the village in an orderly manner, the sound of intensive horse hooves suddenly sounded in the surrounding area. The soldiers immediately began to be on guard, and then discovered that a group of Guards cavalry was approaching the village. Seeing that it was one of their own, they immediately relaxed and started their own actions again.

The cavalry first patrolled the outside of the village. After confirming that there was no danger, they began to enter the village along the path. Because the infantry who came first destroyed the surrounding fences, they moved more freely than normal. Duo quickly arrived at the place where the villagers were concentrated.

They were all cuirassiers, riding tall horses. They were also wearing bright armor and helmets with manes on their heads. They all looked so majestic that even this group of infantrymen seemed to be envious.

"Damn it, are these guys here to fight or seduce girls?" A soldier whispered to the surrounding people, which caused a group of people to laugh.

The cavalrymen who came from afar did not notice their laughter. They rode straight to the place where the soldiers gathered, and then one of the knights who looked like an officer shouted.

"Who is the officer here?"

"It's me." The officer lazily raised his head and asked in an impatient and guarded tone, "I am Captain Selevy of the Fourth Division, and I am their company commander. What are you?" people?"

"I am Lieutenant Jérôme Bonaparte of the Guards Cavalry Division." The cavalry officer replied in a low voice, "What are you doing?"

"Huh?" After he announced his name, the soldiers on the opposite side made a small commotion, and even the officers looked at each other.

The salary of the Guards is very generous. The salary of a lieutenant can be compared with that of a captain in the ordinary army. However, this is not the point. The key is that the surname reported by this officer surprised them a little.

"Lieutenant Bonaparte?" Captain Selevy repeated in a low voice, and then looked suspiciously at the mounted cavalry officer.

This is a tall young man with a square appearance. He looks energetic because he is wearing Cheng Liang's uniform. The enthusiasm and ambition can be seen from his body. All in all, he is not the kind of person who likes to joke.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

"We do have a Prince Bonaparte here..." After a moment, the captain asked slightly suspiciously. "But it must not be you, right? Or maybe you just have the same pronunciation? That's a good blessing!"

Not long ago, in compliance with the decree of His Majesty the Emperor, the Guards began to land to participate in the war, and Prince Joseph Bonaparte came to Crimea as the commander-in-chief of the Guards. This is of course a fact known to the entire army.

"No, I am Lieutenant Bonaparte." The young man answered him seriously, "And I don't think there is much to talk about. What are you doing here?"

Although he didn't solve his doubts, the officers and soldiers didn't ask any more questions. After all, these cavalry didn't look fake. There was no need for them to make up stories to lie to themselves.

"We are requisitioning supplies, didn't you see?" the captain replied angrily, "What are you doing here? Are you here to help us move things? Then I really have to thank you!"

"We are performing a reconnaissance mission." The young man replied, and then he increased his voice, "How can you do this? We cannot use violence against civilians!"

"Okay, okay, sir, don't tell me this nonsense. Go talk to the superiors. They want us to collect supplies. How can we kindly ask others to donate supplies?" The captain was a little unhappy. He waved his hands patiently and said, "You are performing a task, and I am also performing a task. Everyone should do their own thing, and don't hinder us from doing things!"

After finishing speaking, he didn't bother to explain to Lieutenant Bonaparte anymore. He turned around and looked at his subordinates, "Hey! What are you doing standing around? Move things quickly?! Don't waste time!"

At his urging, the soldiers resumed their work and moved the collected supplies onto the carts accompanying the army. These supplies would be sent to the French garrison camps to serve as their supplies. , alleviating local transportation difficulties.

The lieutenant on the horse did not obey his words and walk away, but looked at everything in front of him in astonishment. Obviously he did not expect to see this scene here, and he didn't know what to do.

"Okay, friend, why don't you take a rest?" Because he didn't want to get into trouble with the Guardsmen, and at the same time he was afraid that Lieutenant Bonaparte really had some background, the captain walked up to him again, and then asked his horse He handed over a jar. "Come on, this is what we just found from here, great stuff!"

Lieutenant Bonaparte took the jar and found that it was actually fruit wine. At this time, the fragrance inside was coming to his nose, which seemed to be refreshing.

As if to demonstrate, the captain himself picked up a can of fruit wine, drank it, and then let out a long breath.

"Hey..." He closed his eyes and seemed to be enjoying it, "It tastes really good, please try some!"

Then, the young man's face turned red and white, as if he was about to get angry.

Just when he was about to say something, a cavalryman next to him reached out and held his shoulder. "Friends, let's go, stop drinking!"