Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

"Really?!" Marshal Lacy was instantly overjoyed. According to the Crown Prince of France, they could break through the Lignitz Defensive Line with almost no losses.

"Do you have a plan?"

Joseph immediately said, "Mobilize all the Allied Forces within the territory of Lignitz as quickly as possible. This time we are going to take the initiative to strike, so gather all the corps responsible for the defense line."

Upon hearing this, Marshal Lacy blinked, feeling that these words sounded somewhat familiar. Oh, that's right, when the Crown Prince of France arrived at Lignitz, he had suggested attacking in this manner, but Lacy had rejected it.

At the end, after going around in circles, they still had to execute his tactics. Could it be that he, himself, was wrong?

Joseph looked inscrutable and continued, "And I can guarantee that within one week, a large portion of the Prussian Army on the defense line will move north, and the defense forces will be reduced by about 40%.

"At the same time, 50,000 enemy troops on the west side of the defense line will also leave for Gwozdziec.

"Then we can launch a fierce attack on the enemy's defensive line on the south side. With a vast superiority in troops, quickly achieve a breakthrough, and then invade deep into the territory of Liegnitz."

He looked around at the Austrian officers in the room, "The things Ferdinand did to us before, we will return to him double!"

All the officers exchanged excited glances, each clenching their fists. Just two days ago, they were being chased down by the Prussians; now they could bite back, and the mere thought was exhilarating!

In his heart, Joseph said to the Duke of Brunswick: I only agreed to let your men go, but I never said I wouldn't take the opportunity to attack your defense line, so absolutely no breach of the trade agreement has occurred. Those 2 million florins cannot be refunded.

Lacy immediately started studying the map with his officers; in just a moment, they confirmed the tactics were very feasible.

He turned to Joseph and gave a bow across the chest, "Your Highness, we will implement your plan. You truly are Austria's most steadfast ally!"

Joseph also smiled and returned the gesture.

He had been somewhat concerned that Marshal Lacy would stubbornly insist on annihilating those 50,000 enemy troops first, which would make his plan more complicated—he could only claim the enemy's onslaught was too fierce to hold, and have the Guard Corps at Zary open the way. If the encirclement battle failed to materialize, Lacy would have to consider his own assault plan. Find your next read on My Virtual Library Empire

However, Marshal Lacy apparently did not understand the saying, "Preserve the people, and the land will be preserved; preserve both the people and the land." Eager to swiftly capture Liegnitz and then march into all of Silesia, he agreed without hesitation.

...

Near Debar Village, 9 kilometers north of Wolfenstein Town.

Lieutenant General Andreas, the temporary commander of the more than 50,000 Prussian Allied Forces being intercepted here, examined the sealed letter in his hands carefully before passing it to the staff officer beside him.

After the latter also confirmed the seal on the letter was authentic, Andreas finally addressed the courier sent by the Duke of Brunswick: "So, you managed to get through the French defensive line to reach here?"

"Yes, General," the courier nodded earnestly, "The Marshal and the French people have reached some agreement; it was they who let me through. The Marshal insists that you must act quickly to avoid the Austrians noticing anything abnormal."

"Thank you for taking the risk to deliver the message."

Andreas ordered the attendant to take the courier to rest, then immediately summoned all the officers and showed them the sealed letter, "According to the Marshal's orders—the entire army will march toward Gwozdziec immediately."

The next morning, those 50,000 plus Prussian soldiers moved quickly northward, and indeed, as the Duke of Brunswick had said, the troops at Zary did not attack them.

Meanwhile, on the other side, the Duke of Brunswick had ordered the newly assembled army of 40,000 to hurry towards the northwest of Liegnitz, so they could meet up with Andreas and his men by the upper reaches of the Bober River.

A week later, both sides successfully joined forces at the border of Gwozdziec Province, but the Duke of Brunswick did not encounter the tens of thousands of Austrian pursuers he had anticipated.

A few hundred French cavalry, who had been "supervising" Andreas, merely glanced at them from a distance before they promptly turned their horses and left.

Although the Duke of Brunswick was somewhat surprised, he breathed a sigh of relief and instructed the courier to go back and inform his men that the 2 million florins could be handed over to the French.

The following day, two couriers rushed into the Duke of Brunswick's camp as if they were out of their minds and anxiously reported to him, "Marshal, the Austrians attacked our southern defensive line three days ago."

"What?!" exclaimed the Duke of Brunswick, who quickly asked, "How are things? "

"The enemy has amassed an army of more than 80,000, as well as a significant number of heavy artillery. When we left, the defensive line had not been breached, but it was already difficult to hold."

The Duke of Brunswick's face turned ashen. He had left fewer than 30,000 men on the southern defenses, which also had to cover more than ten kilometers, and they would definitely not be able to stop such a large enemy force.

Moreover, this news was already three days old.

He immediately gathered his officers to discuss the situation and eventually decided to abandon the defensive line and retreat with the whole army towards the City of Liegnitz to continue the defense.

At this time, they were about half the distance to the City of Liegnitz compared to the Austrian Allied Forces, and if they hurried now, they should have enough time to prepare defenses.

To the southwest of Liegnitz, near Fordham Town.

Joseph was listening to the distant rumble of artillery, leisurely commanding the staff responsible for military pay to distribute the 2 million florins they had received the day before.

Four full wagons of gold coins, amounting to a vast sum of 5 million francs, made him sigh inwardly that war was indeed a quick way to make money.

He pointed to a small chest of gold coins, "Additionally, take out 30,000... ah, no, make that 20,000 florins instead, to reward the unit that is first to breach the enemy's defenses."

This time, the Austrians were in charge of the main attack, and the Guard Corps only provided some artillery support; the rest of the soldiers were resting.

After all, they had a significant numerical advantage this time, and if the Guard Corps were needed to win the battle, the Austrian forces might as well just buy a block of tofu and smash their heads with it.

Marshal Lacy also agreed with this arrangement because so far, the war achievements had mostly been credited to the French, and he needed to seize more glory for himself.

Nevertheless, Joseph, to avoid any unforeseen delays, decided to offer a substantial monetary incentive to motivate the Austrian soldiers.

"Is there about 400,000 florins left in this wagon?"

When he saw the military pay staff nod, Joseph continued, "Allocate all of it as bonus money for the soldiers of the Guard Corps who have received medals, as well as extra grants for the wounded. Oh, and make sure to deliver it directly to their homes."

The 400,000 florins, equating to 1 million francs, were to be divided among no more than a hundred medal recipients from the Silesian campaign and about three hundred wounded soldiers.

That is to say, a recipient of the Golden Irish Medal could get close to 10,000 francs in bonus! Additionally, the wounded could receive an extra 1,500 francs on top of the regular pension.

Such a large sum of money being delivered to a soldier's home would be a very impressive scene indeed and far more direct and effective than any flamboyant recruitment propaganda.