Flowers, Swords and France

The retreat of the Russian army immediately relieved the French army that came from afar.

They know their own strength best, and they also know that the Turkish troops in the fortress are qualified to defend the city, but they have no ability to fight with the Russian army in the field, so they have no intention of pursuing them at all, and let the Russian army pass from Siliste La Fortress retreated calmly.

After the scout cavalry sent out confirmed that all the Russian troops had evacuated, Lucien led his troops all the way to the foot of the fortress.

It was not until they came to the fortress that Lucien and his men discovered how fiercely the Russians and Turks had fought. Under the city, the originally neat ditches have been filled with dirt, abandoned weapons, and even human bodies, and have become pitted. Most of the battlements and cannon holes of the fortress have been destroyed, and fragments of bricks and stones are scattered everywhere. The place was dyed black and red with gunpowder and blood, and there were corpses and mutilated limbs everywhere. The whole scene was like hell appearing on earth.

It was already dusk at this time, and the sun's shadow was slanting to the west. The dim sun burned half of the sky red, and the entire earth seemed to be stained with a layer of blood. A large group of thin, haggard, and filthy Turkish soldiers were walking on the bumpy ground. Passing through, collecting the bodies of comrades, and burying those Russian soldiers.

It's not that they pity the Russians, it's just that in such a hot summer weather, if the large number of dead humans and horses is not restrained, it may bring about a terrible plague and add more victims to this war.

With the efforts of the convergence team, the bodies of the dead Russian soldiers were piled up in large pits formed by several remaining trenches. These farmers who were recruited from distant Russian lands are now sleeping in the In a foreign land. Complete or incomplete bodies filled the trenches, forming gray hills. Their expressions may be calm or fearful, but they have all begun to rot to varying degrees. Maggots are rolling around in their eyeballs and skin, accompanied by the strong smell of blood. The scene is really horrifying.

Looking at this bloody scene, one can imagine how fiercely the Turks and Russian troops fought alone during this period.

After seeing this scene, Lucien finally understood why Russia lost confidence in continuing the attack after seeing reinforcements appearing outside the fortress, and chose to retreat in large strides. After all, they had been sieging the city for several months. They lost a lot of troops and their morale became low. They no longer wanted to continue fighting with the reinforced British and French forces here.

The Turkish army commanders in the fortress welcomed the French officers like heroes. Although they had tried hard to tidy up their appearance, these Turks still looked disheveled and smelled strongly of sweat and blood.

"Thank you, friend who came from afar!" As soon as he saw Lucien, the leader, a middle-aged man wearing a Turkish military cap and a big beard, hugged him. "I am Khalid, the commander of this fortress, and on behalf of all of us I am grateful to you for saving us."

He was speaking in Turkish, and of course Lucien couldn't understand it, but judging from the enthusiasm of the other party, he could understand what the other party meant. After the army's translator translated these words into French for himself, he resisted choking. The smell of people also embraces each other.

"What saves you is your own bravery and persistence, Commander." Lucien praised the other party with an unpretentious attitude, "It is you who have resisted here for so long, saved this fortress, and also saved your country. "

His words are of course an exaggeration. After all, as long as the British and French forces are in place, Turkey will not face the disaster of national subjugation no matter how it loses its troops and territory. However, these Turkish officers and soldiers persisted in the fortress for so long and delayed the Russian army for so long. , and it indeed delayed more time for the coalition forces to calmly mobilize their troops, and it also allowed their own troops to take fewer risks.

Lucien's sincere praise made the Turks even more excited. They were ready to celebrate their victory and invited Lucien and other French officers to participate.

Considering the alliance between the two armies, Lucien did not refuse their request, but he also knew that it was not the time to celebrate yet, so he asked his subordinates not to drink excessively and to return within the specified time. military camp.

That night, the remaining wine and food in the cellar of the fortress were taken out by the defenders, and the officers and soldiers of the two armies celebrated their victory together.

Soon, the siege of Silistra Fortress had been lifted, and the news that the Russian army had begun to abandon the offensive and retreat also reached the British and French Allied Forces Command at the Gallipoli Military Port.

They naturally cheered for this victory, but then they immediately started discussing what to do next.

"The Russians actually retreated like this, which is really disappointing!" Baron Raglan, commander of the British Expeditionary Force, sighed in disappointment, "The souls of Suvorov and Kutuzov will not be at ease! "

"Kutuzov can escape better than his current descendants. At least the current Russian army has not retreated to Moscow." Marshal Treville replied unceremoniously. "We still have to fight next."

Because he had suffered huge losses in Russia before, he had always been resentful of the Russians, so he spoke rudely.

"We have defeated the Russians, at least they have retreated now. We seem to have suddenly lost a reason to continue fighting them - because they have given up the attack." Baron Raglan suddenly said ambiguously, "Now We need to leave some time for diplomacy."

"Why should we give them time to breathe?" Marshal Treville was very curious. "We want to fight, which is a sufficient reason. Is there any other reason needed? Didn't you agree to continue when the Russian army retreated? Landing strikes in their hinterland? Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

"After all, Britain is a country that cannot act arbitrarily. Our military operations need the support of public opinion. Continuing diplomatic activities can fully expose the ambitions of the Russians and give our people more determination to continue fighting." Baron Raglan slyly He smiled and said, "Of course, this is not the main reason."

"What's the main reason?" the marshal asked quickly.

"I have just received news from home. The Austrians hope that we can give them some time to fully display their diplomatic activities." Baron Raglan replied in a low voice, "They are now putting pressure on the Russians to fully display their diplomatic activities." Promise that you will not act wantonly to undermine European peace..."

"No wonder the Russians retreated so happily." Marshal Treville suddenly realized. "So that's it."

It is conceivable that the Russians have already struggled to cope with the combined power of Britain, France and Turkey. When the Austrians also start to put pressure on them, they will definitely find it difficult to support them, so they will withdraw from the Balkans so quickly. Withdrew the troops.

"So, we can use the Austrian mediation to propose our peace conditions to the Russians." Baron Raglan said calmly, "Of course, we will put forward some conditions that are unacceptable to the Tsar, so that he can lose his Honor and continue to fight with us, and during this time, we can continue to deploy our troops calmly."

These British people!

Marshal Treville secretly admired the cunning of these British men.

Obviously, due to the secret agreement between Britain, France and Turkey, each country cannot make peace with the Russians alone. However, those smart diplomats in London obviously still have too much excess energy to vent, so they are preparing to use the Austrians to come Communicate with the Russians so that no matter what the outcome of the negotiations is, they will not have to bear the responsibility and the pressure will be on the Austrians.

He was not angry. The British were indeed sophisticated, but France was not serving the Allies sincerely. She also had her own thoughts, so he had no reason to blame the British, as long as they continued to be harmonious in general. Just cooperate with France.

"The Austrians will not be forgiven by the Russians, and their mediation will not help." After pondering for a moment, Marshal Treville expressed his opinion, "So our military preparations must be completed as soon as possible, and we cannot give the Russians peace of mind Time to mobilize forces.”

"You are right, I think so too." Baron Raglan nodded, "And this depends on our efforts. The UK is now doing its best to increase its military strength here, although recently due to the climate We have encountered some troubles due to illness and disease, but I think we will soon be able to reorganize and launch the next attack, and this time we will show His Majesty the Tsar how powerful we are!"

"I am very happy that you are so motivated to fight." Marshal Treville made a gesture, "We will also devote all our strength to the next military operations with the same enthusiasm."

Because the recent war has been quite smooth, the relationship between the British and French armies has become closer. The bad feelings left over from the past have also disappeared due to the joint operations. At least the marshal and the baron were a little more cordial when they met. , no longer as tense as before.

After a friendly exchange of information between the two parties, the private meeting between the two commanders ended. Baron Raglan left the temporarily requisitioned residence and returned to his headquarters, while Marshal Treville continued to stay here to listen to his officers. their report.

Read the original text in Liu#9@书/吧!

As the commander-in-chief, there are still too many matters that require his intervention.

The most important thing is of course the current situation of each army and the status of troop recruitment.

The former makes people a little worried. The French troops currently assembled in Gallipoli and Gallipoli have experienced varying degrees of attrition due to the attack of the disease. Some troops have even found it difficult to carry out military operations because of this; while the latter makes people optimistic. Under the strong organization of the imperial government, the French army is now continuing to gather in the east. The number of supplements far exceeds the number of attrition, so the strength of the French army is gradually increasing.

However, if the new troops are also tortured by the same diseases as the previous ones, I am afraid the situation will not be so optimistic.

Thinking of this, the marshal couldn't help but feel worried, and ordered his adjutant to continue reporting the current situation to the War Department in Paris, urging them to send more well-trained military doctors to help the expeditionary force reduce the attrition of diseases.

After several months of hard work by engineers, a telegraph line has been built from Gallipoli to Toulon, which is one of the endpoints of France's huge telegraph network. With this epoch-making invention, information can be transmitted from the east to the west of the European continent in an instant, allowing Paris to learn about the front line as quickly as possible.

Under the careful recording of the adjutants, Marshal Treville issued one order after another, which would be transmitted to the front and rear at the fastest speed, making the French army an organic whole.

By the evening, the marshal had finally finished dealing with today's affairs, and he was already very tired.

The voices of the adjutants seemed to be far away in the sky, vague and unclear. He stood up slightly shakily, feeling a little sore all over, and his almost endless energy seemed to have been consumed now.

He walked to the window and wanted to take a breath, but the weather was very hot and the hot wind blowing in his face made him feel even more uncomfortable.

This is a foreign country. Although he enjoys the best treatment in the entire French army as the commander-in-chief, he still has some acclimatization problems. In addition, the recent weather is too hot. In order to maintain the dignity of a marshal and an expeditionary commander, he has always been in a strict military appearance and put on the marshal's outfit, which makes his body feel more difficult to adapt.

He felt a little dizzy, and there seemed to be something buzzing in his ears, as if someone was whispering in his ear. Even though he knew it was an auditory hallucination, the old man still couldn't help but worry about it.

His eyelids were so heavy that it seemed so difficult to keep them open.

"Marshal, are you okay?" Seeing the old man so decadent, the marshal's adjutant, the young Lieutenant George de Diliyon, was shocked and hurried over to support him.

This question was like a stone thrown into a pond, waking the old man up from his dream.

He calmed down and regained some energy.

"I'm fine, don't worry." He replied calmly. "Go and convey my order."