Chapter 477: Chapter 471 Lagren and Saint Arno
As the Baron Raglan who "replaced" the Duke of Cambridge naturally understood, the Duke of Cambridge participated in this war to gain the honor matching his title, something Baron Raglan was happy to see.
After all, having intervened midway to seize someone else’s position, Baron Raglan naturally needed to offer some appropriate compensation, as long as the Duke of Cambridge was willing to carry out his orders.
At present, the Duke of Cambridge was relatively respectful of his superior.
"Hearing you say that eases my tension quite a bit! I hope that in the upcoming battle with the Russian Empire, our soldiers won’t make any significant mistakes!" The Duke of Cambridge spoke in a relaxed tone about a serious topic.
"What? Are you blaming me for forcibly dragging the British Army onto the battlefield?" Baron Raglan was not at all angry with the Duke of Cambridge’s words and asked him in a cheerful tone.
"I dare not!" The Duke of Cambridge put away his smile and responded to Baron Raglan.
"Don’t worry! For the time being, we won’t directly face the Russian Empire!" Baron Raglan replied to the Duke of Cambridge.
"Hmm?" The Duke of Cambridge looked at Baron Raglan in confusion and asked, "Does that mean our troops no longer need to go to Silistra?"
"Come here!" Baron Raglan beckoned to the Duke of Cambridge.
The Duke of Cambridge entered the room and closed the door.
Baron Raglan, lowering his voice, shared his conspiracy with Canning to the Duke of Cambridge.
Upon hearing Baron Raglan’s plot, the Duke of Cambridge looked at him with a mix of fear and excitement and also lowered his voice to say to Baron Raglan, "Commander, do you realize you are defying the government’s orders!"
"I am only doing what I think is right!" Baron Raglan showed a cunning smile and said meaningfully, "Besides, in a war with the Russian Empire, there’s no need to fuss over temporary gains and losses! We must consider the bigger picture! Since we are allied with the French Empire, we must also respect their opinions!"
"Indeed!" The Duke of Cambridge echoed, "We must respect the opinions of the French Army!"
Just like that, both young and old reached a consensus on the issue of the British Army.
"However!" The Duke of Cambridge shifted the conversation, shrugged, and said to Baron Raglan, "This method will only fool the people of London temporarily. My brother-in-law is not someone who can be easily fooled. His tricks are numerous!"
"I hope Your Royal Highness can bear with us more on that front! I believe His Royal Highness can understand our intentions!" Baron Raglan replied to the Duke of Cambridge.
Shaking his head, the Duke of Cambridge sighed at Baron Raglan, "Commander, have you always planned to drag me down with you!"
"No!" Baron Raglan shook his head and responded, and then sincerely said, "If it weren’t for your reminder, I might have already forgotten about His Royal Highness!"
The Duke of Cambridge was somewhat incredulous at Baron Raglan’s response.
However, in this matter, he was still willing to lend Baron Raglan a hand. After all, his honor depended on this army.
...
Following the encounter of the French-dispatched gunships and the British steam sailing battleships, the British Fleet approached Varna Port under the guidance of the French gunships.
Upon entering the port, the British Fleet anchored in the central open area of the harbor, one small boat after another was launched, and soldiers began disembarking under the officers’ command.
Baron Raglan and his adjutant were also in the first wave of landing troops.
The small boats rippled with the paddle strokes, and standing at the bow, Baron Raglan saw through the faint starlight reflected on the sea the two rows of guards and the crowd standing between them on the dock.
"Commander, it seems they were prepared. Who exactly leaked our intelligence?" The Duke of Cambridge quietly remarked, pointing at the silhouettes on the dock.
Baron Raglan looked at the distant dock and calmly replied, "I’m afraid there’s a telegraph leading to Rhodes Island inside this camp!"
"To Rhodes Island?!" The Duke of Cambridge couldn’t help but click his tongue in amazement, "I never expected the French Army to be so wealthy!"
...
As the small boats approached the dock, the originally dark figures gradually became clearer.
Standing on the dock was none other than the Commander of the French Expeditionary Army, the Chief of Staff of France, French Marshal Saint Arno, and surrounding him were commanders including the First Division’s General Canrobert, Second Division’s General Bosskey, Third Division (Guard Division) General Pellissier, as well as Brigadier General MacMahon, Brigadier General Bazan...
"What a grand lineup!" Baron Raglan muttered softly.
"Indeed!" The Duke of Cambridge was equally amazed by the French Army’s formation.
At the port dock, Marshal Saint Arno, gripping the Marshal’s Staff tightly, watched the small boats gradually sailing towards them and couldn’t help but say to Conrobel beside him: "Conrobel, I bet the Commander of the British Expeditionary Army is definitely among these small boats!"
"Your Excellency Marshal, I wouldn’t bet on that!" General Conrobel said in a teasing tone.
"Why?" Saint Arno asked Conrobel.
"Because Baron Lagren is among them, and he is on the first boat to arrive at our place!" Conrobel told Saint Arno.
"You’ve met him?" Saint Arno looked at Conrobel in surprise.
"I once had a brief encounter with him!" Conrobel nodded to Saint Arno.
"Then that’s that!" Saint Arno said dejectedly.
Under Saint Arno’s gaze, the first small boat gradually docked at the pier where Saint Arno stood.
An elderly one-armed man and a relatively young middle-aged man jumped off the boat.
Seeing the elder’s empty sleeve, Marshal Saint Arno knew that the elderly man before him was Baron Lagren, so he hurried forward, extending his right hand to Baron Lagren: "Welcome to the British Army’s arrival at Varna Port, sir!"
"Your Excellency Saint Arno, thank you very much for coming to welcome us in person!" Baron Lagren extended his only left hand to shake with Saint Arno, refraining from calling him Marshal out of regard for his self-esteem, but addressing him as Your Excellency instead.
Regarding the little maneuver of Baron Lagren in his mode of address to maintain his self-esteem, Saint Arno didn’t mind at all.
Baron Lagren’s and Saint Arno’s hands were tightly clasped together, signifying the successful rendezvous of the French and British forces at Varna.
Then, Saint Arno proceeded to introduce his generals and brigadier generals one by one to Baron Lagren.
Baron Lagren shook hands with each of them in turn and then introduced the Duke of Cambridge and the next batch of accompanying aides to them.
General Saint Arno also shook hands with them.
After a brief mutual understanding, under the guidance of Saint Arno, Baron Lagren stepped onto the cement road soaked with melting snow (a road built after the arrival of the French Imperial Army) and entered the French camp.
Looking at the well-arranged tents scattered like countless stars, Baron Lagren couldn’t help but compare them to the British camp, which resembled pigsties in comparison.
With garbage and excrement scattered everywhere, the entire camp was chaotic at night, nothing like the current tranquil scene.
Subsequently, Marshal Saint Arno asked Baron Lagren if he would like to see the tents prepared for the British forces.
"Absolutely!" Lord Lagren nodded to Marshal Saint Arno in response.
Marshal Saint Arno led Baron Lagren westward for about 30 minutes before finally reaching an empty military camp.
"Look! This is the camp we’ve prepared for you!" Saint Arno responded to Baron Lagren.
"Thank the French Army for their help!" Baron Lagren expressed his gratitude to Marshal Saint Arno, then instructed his aides to organize the British forces into the tents.
By the time Saint Arno and Baron Lagren returned to the French camp, dawn had already broken.
Marshal Saint Arno once again invited Baron Lagren and the Duke of Cambridge to enjoy breakfast at the French camp.
Baron Lagren and the Duke of Cambridge did not decline and accepted Marshal Saint Arno’s invitation, entering a temporary wooden camp with the Near East commanders surrounded by a crowd of officers. The camp’s cooks had prepared the delicacies mentioned by the Marshal half a day in advance.
Even though it was still early morning, the dining table in the camp was already laden with various delicacies, including foie gras and snails from France, caviar from Britain, and chicken pilaf and almond soup from the Ottoman Empire...
Once everyone was seated, the cook poured fine Bordeaux red wine into each person’s glass. Marshal Saint Arno and Lord Lagren clinked their glasses, and the military officers surrounding them all spontaneously shouted in unison.
"To His Majesty the Emperor / Her Majesty the Queen!"
In an instant, the atmosphere inside the wooden house heated up; after downing a glass of wine, each person’s face was somewhat flushed, and a slightly tipsy feeling surged into their minds.
"Thanks to God’s blessing! Allowing our two armies to stand together here against the Russian Empire!" Baron Lagren said to Marshal Saint Arno.
"Indeed!" Marshal Saint Arno responded: "Every gentleman of the civilized world makes me duty-bound to fight against this greedy polar bear! To drive them out of this sacred land and back to their bear lairs!"
"Bears!" Baron Lagren was momentarily stunned, nodding as he stood: "Yes! They are indeed a pack of bears, a greedy pack of bears! So we must sever their bear paws and expel them from the Near East!"