Chapter 1700 - 1606: Rome in Chaos

Chapter 1700: Chapter 1606: Rome in Chaos

On the southeastern side of the city, more than 150 Neapolitan cavalry arrived as planned, only to see their infantry fleeing in all directions like lambs being chased by wolves, screaming miserably.

The cavalry captain hesitated, and just a street away, Denibol’s guards noticed them.

A French Army lieutenant raised the Auguste 1798 rifled gun, slightly adjusted the sight, and pulled the trigger.

With a loud bang, the high-speed spinning lead bullet flew over 120 meters and pierced the right chest of the Neapolitan cavalry captain with a "thud."

The cavalry following him froze for a moment, then panicked and shouted, quickly surrounding the severely injured captain and retreating to the street corner.

Lieutenant Denibol put away his binoculars and said to the Order Officer, "Order everyone to stop pursuing; we’re not here to fight."

This was a light surprise attack, without any logistical supplies, and by now the morning’s battle had already consumed more than half of the ammunition. He had to reserve ammunition to cover Prince Charles when they left the city.

He looked at Kamas and asked, "Which route should we take now?"

The latter frowned and replied, "The rebels have set up many barricades along Ostia Avenue, well, taught by His Highness. We must avoid conflict with them, so it’s better to detour through the vineyards on the west side..."

He was speaking when he suddenly heard applause faintly coming from the buildings across the street.

Soon, the church on the other side also started applause, the sound gradually spreading, and within half a minute, the applause around was continuous, with Italian cheers, "Thank Jesus, it’s reinforcements!"

"They defeated the Neapolitan dogs instantly!"

"Those cavalry didn’t even dare to look them in the eye!"

"That’s the flag of Milan; they must be Milan volunteers..."

"Long live Milan!"

"Long live the volunteers!"

Kamas raised his eyebrows and said to Denibol, "Did you hear that? Looks like we don’t need to detour; we can march straight to the Cathedral."

Saint Sabina Temple Cathedral, the rebel army headquarters.

Charles looked solemnly at the map of Rome City before him, feeling that the Neapolitan defense line was as solid as granite.

He sighed heavily, secretly resolved that he must confront Josiah this afternoon and take her away from Rome.

At that moment, chaos broke out around him, and outside on the open ground, people were running and shouting to the crowd.

Sorendino and several senior members of the rebel army burst in, out of breath, and shouted, "Mr. Charlie, news from the south of the city; the Neapolitan Army was ambushed, and Saint Paul Gate has been recaptured!"

Charles stood up in surprise: "I don’t remember planning an attack in the south; did someone act on their own?"

"No, sir, the Citizen Guard hasn’t moved," Severino said excitedly, "Someone saw the flags of Milan and Genoa, probably volunteers."

"Volunteers?" Charles frowned.

Since when could the Milan people fight like this?

"Send cavalry to establish contact with them immediately and confirm their identity. Beware that it’s the enemy’s trap."

He had not finished speaking when Josiah, wearing a man’s coat, ran in: "Good news! Volunteers from Milan and Genoa defeated the Galliard Legion!

"At least a thousand Neapolitans surrendered, and someone said Galliard was hit as well. The enemy cavalry launched a surprise attack and were utterly defeated."

Charles’ eyes widened: "How many volunteers are there?"

He knew Galliard was the commander of the Neapolitan left wing, with over 1300 soldiers under him. What kind of volunteers could defeat him so quickly?

Josiah said, "Some say there are more than 3,000, others say nearly 4,000. They also brought cannons."

Well, Roman citizens are almost all rebel army informants, providing information at an incredibly fast speed, but the accuracy of this information from non-professionals wasn’t reliable.

Many see a lineup the length of half a street and dare to say there are several thousand people.

If we wait until tomorrow, the "Milan volunteers" might be rumored to be tens of thousands.

Charles frowned: "This sounds more like a regular army. Could it be the enemy’s conspiracy?"

"You’re probably being too cautious. They did kill quite a few Neapolitans..."

A staff officer knocked and entered, glanced at Sorendino, and stood before Charles: "Mr. Charlie, someone just reported, the Neapolitan Army at the Holy Trinity Church is moving south, at least a thousand of them."

Charles was a bit confused.

The Holy Trinity Church was the most important Neapolitan stronghold in the north of the city, and moving a thousand soldiers from there would leave it almost empty.

Yes, the Neapolitan commander-in-chief also received reports that the Galliard Legion was defeated, but concluded that the rebels had launched a general attack there—Galliard, seeking to lessen his responsibility, claimed to have encountered at least 2,000 enemies—thus immediately redeploying his right-wing troops for reinforcement.

Just as Charles hesitated, the rebel army had already acted on their own.

Since the defeat at the Colosseum, Charles fell into a state of self-doubt, shut in his room planning barricade layouts, completely ignoring frontline command.

Before noon, another messenger rushed in to report: "Mr. Charlie, Major Damiano has captured the Flaminia Gate and is heading to Milvian Bridge."

The Flaminia Gate is the north gate of Rome City, originally guarded by the Holy Trinity Cathedral along the road there.

The rebel army didn’t understand military theory; seeing the Neapolitans leave the Cathedral, they charged forward to try, and found themselves at the city gate without encountering strong resistance.

As for the Milvian Bridge, it is a stone bridge on the north side of Rome City.

Clearly, Major Damiano was heading toward Castel Sant’Angelo. The Ponte Sant’Angelo is within the fire range of Castel Sant’Angelo, making it difficult to pass here, but when crossing the Tiber River from Milvian Bridge, they could surround Castel Sant’Angelo.

In the rebel army’s view, with thousands of volunteers guarding the south of the city, they could boldly head to Castel Sant’Angelo to settle accounts with the Pope.

...

At 1:30 in the afternoon.

Pope Pius VI saw Archbishop Consavir coming in and anxiously asked, "How’s the situation?"

The latter, clutching his chest, replied, "Holy Father, Baron Cherso has returned; four of his attendants are dead, and he is wounded...

"Oh, he said General Federico seems to have abandoned the Holy Trinity Church; people in the city say Saint Paul Gate has been occupied by the rebels. And there are rumors that Milan and Genoa have sent armies, likely three to four thousand people."

Federico is the Neapolitan Army commander-in-chief.

Pope Pius VI’s face turned pale, carefully glancing out the window, seeing nothing but rebels, their noise incessant.

Yes, upon hearing that "Neapolitans were defeated," the citizens of Rome, followed Major Damiano’s rebel army to Castel Sant’Angelo.

Nearly three thousand people had gathered here, with more on their way.

Suddenly a cannon’s roar came, and Pope Pius VI felt the stone tower he was in shake a little.

Major Damiano had brought along the twelve-pounder cannons granted by Mr. Charlie. Even if the rebel army’s artillery skills were poor, facing such a massive Castel Sant’Angelo, they were bound to hit something.

Pope Pius VI looked again at the Cardinals in the room, his voice trembling, "Now, what should we do?"

Archbishop Consalvi immediately said, "Holy Father, the Neapolitan forces are likely defeated; it won’t be long before this place is surrounded by rioters..."

Archbishop Consavir nodded in agreement: "Castel Sant’Angelo is no longer safe, the safest course is to go to Naples first. Then call upon Austria and France to send armies to quash the rioters."