February 9, 1768, was the day after Lawrence led the 4th Battalion to evacuate from Creekwood Fort.
After returning to Bastia yesterday afternoon, Lawrence and Trifali also briefly reported the situation to General Nathan as soon as possible.
General Nathan was almost shocked when he learned that the Fourth Battalion had captured alive the highest commander of the Genoese Army in Corsica. This was something he had only dreamed of for so many years in charge of the Northern Army.
Unexpectedly, Lawrence led a force of only more than 200 people to accomplish this feat. Although he was not escorted back to Bastia in the end, as long as this incident spread, it would be enough to make Lawrence and the entire fourth battalion famous.
It was noisy.
Not to mention, Lawrence also captured a batch of Genoa's sophisticated equipment. These custom-made equipment from the German region were much better than those made in Corsica. Even General Nathan was a little jealous.
Of course, Lawrence had no plans to tell Nathan about General Belrain's notebook for the time being, but planned to hand it over to Governor Paoli after returning to Ajaccio. After all, this was the key item that led to Ciro's death.
Lawrence did not explain much about the matter that attracted the Genoese army to attack, which all three were most concerned about. He only said that the Genoese army would definitely launch an attack within two days.
On February 9, neither Lawrence nor Trefaire returned to the Fourth Battalion's camp, but stayed in General Nathan's longhouse to wait for changes in the battle situation.
At two o'clock in the afternoon, a scout hurriedly came to the longhouse to report. Judging from the dust and mud on his body, he must have just returned from the outpost.
"General, we observed that the garrison in Ximu Fortress began to gather. The target should be Bastia."
The scout gasped and said anxiously.
General Nathan glanced at Lawrence with a complicated expression. Unexpectedly, this young man really knew everything, as if everything was in his calculations.
Lawrence also noticed the strange look in General Nathan's eyes, looked at him with a smile, stood up and said:
"In this case, it's time for me and Major Cui Fali to return to the 4th Battalion and start commanding the evacuation."
General Nathan nodded silently and watched Lawrence and Trifali walk out of the longhouse. After sighing, he called the messenger and said:
"Notify all troops to assemble and prepare to evacuate. Only one battalion of troops will be left in Bastia to provide symbolic resistance."
...
On the evening of February 9, the Genoese army began to attack Bastia. They encountered almost no resistance. After a burst of scattered gunfire rang out in the city, General Belrain's troops successfully took over the city he had so desperately wanted.
Military strongholds and large surrounding areas.
Of course, residents in these areas have been evacuated to the rear in advance and given corresponding compensation.
"General Beleriand!"
Colonel Gino ran to General Belrain with a smile on his face and reported:
"Bastia is completely under our control."
But General Belrain was not happy at all, and sighed and asked:
"How is the supply situation in the city?"
Colonel Geno was stunned for a moment, then put away his flattering smile and replied bitterly:
"The Corsicans should have taken them all with them when they retreated. There is only five days' worth of food in the city."
"It was indeed intentional..."
General Belrain nodded slightly. If Bastia's garrison retreated in a hurry, it would be impossible to transport all the supplies in a short time.
However, for General Belrain, with the food in the city and the supplies in Ximu Fortress, if the amount of food consumed per meal is reduced, he can still last for half a month until a batch of supplies is sent from Genoa.
However, the question of why the Corsicans gave them a city for free has always troubled General Belrain.
At the same time, Bastia's garrison was marching south toward a new garrison, and their destination was a castle in the south.
Similar to the Fortress of Ximu, this castle was also built by a noble family in the Middle Ages. However, the Corsican government did not have the money to build and strengthen the castle, so the castle looked like it had been through the vicissitudes of life.
The fourth battalion burned down Sheephorn Bay a few days ago and captured General Belrain alive. The story has long spread throughout the Northern Army. General Nathan had to recognize their achievements and arranged it with the other three infantry battalions when allocating the garrison.
Together.
"Oh my god, those are the soldiers of the fourth battalion!"
"I didn't expect that they could return safely after carrying out such destruction behind Ximu Fortress."
"And their equipment should not be ordinary standard equipment."
"Yes, but it should be much better than the guy we have."
"I heard that each of them got a bottle of good wine."
"Damn it, we can't even drink ale with water!"
"I can't help it, I won it back by myself."
...
When Lawrence led the soldiers to the station, he instantly attracted the attention of the other three battalions of soldiers, and the whispers of discussion reached Lawrence's ears.
Even when the battalion commanders of the other three battalions came up to greet Lawrence, they looked at him with very complicated expressions, mixed with admiration, appreciation and jealousy.
When Lawrence first came to the Northern Army and was assigned to the Fourth Battalion, they were still waiting to see Lawrence's jokes. In their eyes, Lawrence's military position was completely to curry favor with General Pauley.
Within a week, Lawrence slapped them in the face with real achievements.
Every soldier of the Fourth Battalion also accepted these discussions with envy and jealousy with their heads held high. In just a few days, they had changed from cannon fodder that everyone despised to the focus of the entire army.
And all the soldiers of the four battalions knew deep down that all this happened only after the arrival of Laurence Bonaparte.
The glory and wealth that Lawrence had promised to the soldiers had been less than half completed. At least in the Northern Army, no one would roll their eyes at the soldiers of the Fourth Battalion anymore.
After settling down in his new station, Lawrence did not immediately leave to return to Ajaccio, but prepared to stay in the army for a while longer.
One is to observe the subsequent movements of the Genoese army. If the Genoese army does not intend to occupy Bastia, Lawrence will have to find a way to pull the front back. Of course, both Lawrence and General Nathan believe that this possibility is extremely low, and there is no such thing.
People will spit out the meat they eat in their mouths.
The second is to continue to consolidate his influence in the army. After all, Lawrence has only been in the army for about a week, and it is difficult to guarantee that he will still get the support of his soldiers after being away for a long time.
Lawrence, who is familiar with history, knows very well that in this turbulent era, especially in a country like Corsica that is surrounded by big countries and is at risk of being annexed at any time, holding on to the gun in your hand is definitely the first priority.
"After gathering the hearts, the force, and the wealth, it will be up to me to lead the Corsican people."