Chapter 364: The Situation Joseph Needed
Joseph looked over the report of the captured supplies and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction. The battle had hardly faced any serious resistance from the Hanoverians—mainly because the previous flanking maneuvers had thrown their deployment into chaos, making it impossible for them to organize a proper defense. As a result, nearly half of their logistical supplies were left behind, saving the Imperial Guard at least a million livres in expenses.
Those English-style cannons were also treasures, perfect for aiding certain forces quietly, like the Polish, without anyone linking it back to France. Additionally, several Hanoverian officers were captured, and Joseph calculated that he could potentially extract two to three million livres in ransom. Of course, that was his asking price—whether those North German nobles could actually afford it was another matter.
"Your Highness, good news!" came a voice from behind him.
Joseph and Berthier turned around to see a staff officer and a messenger approaching with beaming smiles. As they walked, the staff officer shouted, "Major Masson unexpectedly encountered Prince Carl's guards and successfully captured Prince Carl!"
The group immediately erupted in cheers and applause, but Joseph stood there as if struck by lightning, unable to speak for a long time.
My dear Major Masson, do you have to be so aggressive...?
I went through all that trouble to let the Hanoverian main force escape, and now you've gone and captured their commander. Prince Carl is also the Governor of Hanover. This practically guarantees that Hanover will withdraw from the war in the Southern Netherlands. The Austrians must be thrilled—Blücher won't be able to hold on alone, and the Southern Netherlands will quickly fall back under Austrian control...
While it's true that as the Hanoverian Governor and the British King's brother-in-law, Prince Carl's ransom would be sky-high, the Walloon region is ultimately more valuable.
Joseph quickly made up his mind and called his personal guard captain, Cossade, over. He whispered a few instructions to him.
Cossade stepped back, giving the prince a surprised look, but he didn't ask any questions. He simply bowed and said, "Yes, Your Highness!"
...
In Major Masson's camp, Cossade first read out the prince's commendation for the entire battalion and the promotion orders for several soldiers who had distinguished themselves. Then he pulled Masson into a tent.
"What? How is that possible?" came Masson's startled voice from inside the tent. But after seeing the prince's handwritten letter, he fell silent and then whispered, "I understand."
That night, a group of rebels from the Walloon region sneaked into Masson's camp. After quietly "killing" a dozen French guards, they "unexpectedly" found and rescued Prince Carl. Speaking French, the rebels helped the Hanoverian governor and his men onto stolen horses and heroically stayed behind to fend off the pursuing soldiers.
As Prince Carl heard the gunfire echoing through the night sky, he couldn't bear to look back. He kept repeating the rebels' last words to him in his mind, "Please, you must help us drive the Austrians out! We'll be watching from heaven..."
...
Brussels.
In the first-floor hall of the Southern Netherlands Parliament building, dozens of deputies sat or stood around, their faces blank as if their souls had been sucked out by demons. Every so often, someone would sigh anxiously.
Suddenly, a soldier burst through the door, shouting, "Prince Carl and General Bronckhorst have returned!"
A glimmer of hope sparked in the deputies' eyes. Vandernot rushed to the door, eagerly asking, "Really? Where are they?"
"They're just south of the city."
Prince Carl, his uniform torn in several places, headed straight to his army's encampment without even changing.
When Vandernot and the other deputies arrived, they found him passionately addressing the Hanoverian soldiers.
"We do not fear defeat! We will show the French and Austrians that they only won by luck this time..."
"Prussia and Britain will send more reinforcements, and our army will crush Luxembourg and march into France!"
Beside him, General Bronckhorst echoed, "The Dutch will also send more troops. The Southern Netherlands will be independent!"
Although the soldiers below didn't seem particularly moved by their speeches, Vandernot and the other deputies were thrilled. They immediately pledged to recruit more people from the Southern Netherlands to join the fight.
Soon after, Prince Carl gathered the senior officers from Hanover, the Netherlands, and the Southern Netherlands to quickly organize Brussels's defenses.
The Franco-Austrian coalition was sure to seize the opportunity to attack Brussels. They had to hold out.
By afternoon, over 13,000 Hanoverian soldiers who had escaped, along with 3,000 Dutch soldiers and more than 18,000 Southern Netherlands National Guard troops, quickly constructed several lines of defense south of the city, bracing for the assault.
However, the French didn't launch their first lazy attack on Brussels until three days later. After encountering resistance, they promptly withdrew.
In the following days, the two sides established a standoff, with their armies spread across a seven- to eight-kilometer-wide area south of Brussels. The French army would fire a few rounds of artillery at the defenders daily, and sometimes their cavalry would make a few rounds, keeping the defenders on edge.
...
On the Brussels front line, in the Imperial Guard camp, Joseph frowned slightly as he looked at the map, observing Blücher's army's movements. "It seems the Prussians are planning to retreat?"
"We believe so too, Your Highness," Berthier nodded. "Their position in Liège is very unfavorable. If we abandon Brussels and head south, we could encircle them with General Léo."
Joseph immediately pointed to the Meuse River north of Liège and ordered, "Have Colonel Lefebvre block the Prussians here. We must keep them in Liège, but avoid engaging them in a decisive battle."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
After the messenger left, Joseph pondered for a moment before asking Berthier, "Do you know who the most aggressive among the Prussian high command is?"
Berthier thought for a moment and then replied, "Your Highness, that would likely be Möllendorf and Derlissen."
Joseph nodded, making a mental note. He then had the staff work out the detailed plans for intercepting the Prussian army, while he went to the officers' tent to write a letter to the French diplomats in Prussia.
Blücher's army had an important role: to keep the Austrian forces in the Southern Netherlands occupied. If the Prussians retreated, General Léo would likely move to join the standoff around Brussels. This would mean that the military presence in the Walloon region would no longer be solely French, which would negatively impact Joseph's subsequent strategies.
After handing the letter to the courier, Joseph picked up the half-written letter to Emperor Joseph II of the Holy Roman Empire, his uncle, and continued writing:
"My dear uncle, you should now be aware of the situation here in the Southern Netherlands. The brave soldiers of France, after suffering heavy casualties and enduring extremely tough battles, have finally managed to hold the rebels at bay around Brussels. You know that over 35,000 enemies, including Hanoverians and Dutch, have gathered before our army, placing immense pressure on us."
(End of Chapter)
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