Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 449: Chapter 363: The Situation Joseph Needs

Joseph looked at the report of captured supplies and couldn’t help but reveal a satisfied smile.

This battle had hardly met with any significant resistance from the Hanoverians—chiefly because the previous flanking maneuvers had completely disrupted their deployment, making it impossible for them to organize any substantial fight—and they had left behind nearly half of their logistical supplies, saving the Guard Corps well over ten million livres.

And those English cannons were treasures, perfect for aiding forces that should remain unadvertised, such as Poland—without leading anyone to associate them with France.

Moreover, several Hanoverian officers had been captured, and Joseph was contemplating if he could extract a ransom of two to three million livres from them. Of course, this was his asking price; those North German nobles might not be able to produce that amount.

"Your Highness, good news!” a voice came from a staff member behind him.

Joseph turned around with Bertier and the others, only to see a corps staff officer approaching with a smiling messenger, who eagerly reported as they walked, “Major Mason unexpectedly encountered Charles II’s Guard and successfully captured Charles II!”

The crowd immediately burst into admiration and cheers, while Joseph stood thunderstruck on the spot, unable to utter a word for a long time.

My dear Captain Mason, must you be so valiant…

I’ve gone to all this trouble to let the Hanoverian main force escape, and here you are capturing their commander. Charles II is also the Governor of Hanover. With this, it’s very likely that Hanover will drop out of the war in the Southern Netherlands.

The Austrians must be rejoicing—without support, Blucher isn’t enough; the Southern Netherlands will soon return to Austrian rule…

Though as Governor of Hanover and the King of England’s brother-in-law, Charles II’s ransom will surely reach sky-high, the Walloon Region is ultimately more valuable.

Joseph quickly made up his mind and called over the Guard Corps Commander Kesode to his side, whispering a few instructions.

The latter took a half step back, surprised, and glanced at the Crown Prince but asked nothing, merely bowing and responding, “Yes, Your Highness!”

…

The camp of Mason’s corps.

Kesode first announced the Crown Prince’s commendation for the whole camp and the promotion decisions for several people who had merited recognition; then he took Mason into the tent.

"What are you saying? This cannot be!”

A cry of alarm came from the tent, but upon seeing the handwritten letter from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, Mason quieted down and then said in a low voice, “Yes, I understand.”

At night, a troop from the Walloon Region of the Southern Netherlands Insurgent Army sneaked into Mason’s camp, and after quietly “killing” a dozen French guards, “accidentally” discovered the imprisoned Charles II.

The Dutch-speaking Rebel Army freed the Governor of Hanover and others from the enemy camp, helped them onto stolen horses, and heroically stayed behind to snipe at the pursuers.

As Charles II heard gunshots echo through the night sky, he couldn’t bear to look back and kept silently reciting the brave words of those who had spoken to him last, “Please, you must help the Rebel Army drive out the Austrians! We will be watching from heaven

Brussels.

In the hall on the first floor of the South Netherlands Parliamentary Building, dozens of congressmen sat or stood lifelessly, as if their souls had been sucked out by the devil, occasionally letting out anxious sighs.

Suddenly, a soldier burst through the door, loudly announcing, “Marshal Charles II has returned! And General Bronckhorst too!”

All the congressmen’s eyes immediately sparkled. Vandernoot rushed to the door, eagerly asking, “Really? Where are they?”

"Just south of the city.”

Without even changing out of his battle-torn uniform, Charles II hurried straight to his troops’ encampment.

When Vandernoot and other members arrived, he was passionately addressing the Hanoverian soldiers.

"We fear no defeat! We must show the French and Austrians that they merely got lucky once

"Prussia and England will send us more reinforcements, and our army will steamroll Luxembourg, straight into France!”

Bronckhorst also loudly concurred, “The Netherlands will send additional troops too. The Southern Netherlands will be independent!”

Though the soldiers below were not moved by their fervor, Vandernoot and the others were exceptionally excited and immediately expressed their intentions to recruit more South Netherlanders to join the fight.

Subsequently, Charles II summoned the senior military officers from Hanover, the Netherlands, and the Southern Netherlands and swiftly organized Brussels’ defense deployment.

It was certain that the French-Austrian allied forces would take advantage of their victory to attack Brussels. They had to hold them off.

In the afternoon, the 13,000 plus Hanoverian soldiers who had fled back, along with 3,000 Dutch soldiers, and more than 18,000 men of the Southern Netherlands National Guard rapidly constructed several defensive lines to the south of the city, ready for the impending battle.

However, the French Army didn’t lazily launch an attack on Brussels until three days later, and they immediately retreated after being repelled.

In the time that followed, both sides formed a standoff situation, deploying their armies over a seven to eight kilometer wide area south of the Brussels suburb as the dividing line.

Every day, the French would fire a round of cannon at the defenders, and sometimes the cavalry would also make a few distant circles around, making the defenders tense.

…

The front lines of Brussels.

The Guard Corps camp.

Joseph looked at the map showing the movements of Blucher’s Army and slightly furrowed his brow, “Do the Prussians seem like they want to retreat?”

"We think so too, Your Highness,” Bertier nodded, “after all, their position in Liege is quite unfavorable. If our army abandons Brussels and heads south, we could pincer the Prussian Army with General Leao.”

Joseph immediately pointed to the Meuse River north of Liege and commanded, “Have Colonel Lefebvre block the Prussians here, we must keep them in Liege, but avoid a decisive battle.”

"Yes, Your Highness!”

After the messenger left, Joseph pondered a moment and looked at Bertier, “Do you know who among the Prussian high command is the most aggressive?”

After some thought, the latter responded, “Your Highness, it should be Morendo and Delrisen.”

Joseph nodded, taking note, and instructed his staff to discuss the detailed plans for intercepting the Prussian Army, while he turned to the officers’ tent to write a letter to the French diplomat in Prussia.

The role of Blucher’s Army was also crucial; it was to tie down the Austrian forces in the Southern Netherlands. Once the Prussians retreated, Rennes would surely come to join the confrontation in Brussels. If that were to happen, military presence in the Walloon Region would no longer be only the French Army’s domain, which would have a very unfavorable effect on Joseph’s subsequent strategies.

After handing over the letter to the messenger, Joseph took out the half-finished letter to Emperor Joseph II of Holy Rome and began to write further:

Dear uncle, you should already be aware of the situation here in the Southern Netherlands.

After suffering heavy casualties and enduring extremely tough battles, the brave men of France have finally managed to keep the rebels at bay around Brussels.

You know, including Hanoverians and Dutch, there are over 35,000 enemy troops gathered in front of our forces, which puts immense pressure on us.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!