Chapter 363 The situation Joseph needs

Chapter 364 The Situation Joseph Needs

Joseph looked at the report on the seized supplies and couldn't help but smile with satisfaction.

This battle encountered almost no decent resistance from the Hanoverians - mainly because the previous detours had messed up their deployment and they couldn't organize a decent battle at all - and left nearly half of the logistical supplies, saving at least a million livres for the Guards Corps.

And those British cannons are also treasures, and they are very useful for assisting those forces that are not suitable for publicity, such as Poland. People will not associate it with France.

In addition, several Hanoverian officers were captured, and Joseph was thinking about whether he could squeeze out a ransom of two or three million livres. Of course, this was his asking price, and those nobles in North Germany might not be able to pay it.

"Your Highness, good news!" The voice of the staff came from behind.

Joseph, Berthier and others turned around and saw the corps staff officer rushing over with a messenger, smiling and shouting: "Major Masson accidentally encountered the guards of Charles II and successfully captured Charles II!"

Everyone immediately burst into admiration and cheers, only Joseph stood there like he was struck by lightning, unable to say a word for a long time.

My dear battalion commander Masson, are you so brave...

I tried my best to let the main force of Hanover run away, but you captured their commander. Charles II is still the governor of Hanover, so Hanover will most likely withdraw from the war in the Southern Netherlands.

The Austrians must be happy - Blücher can't do it alone, and the Southern Netherlands will soon restore Austrian rule...

Although Charles II is the governor of Hanover and the brother-in-law of the King of England, the ransom will definitely be sky-high, but after all, Wallonia is more valuable.

Joseph quickly made up his mind, called the captain of the guard, Csode, to his side, and whispered a few words.

The latter stepped back half a step and looked at the crown prince in surprise, but did not ask anything, just bowed and replied: "Yes, Your Highness!"

...

The camp of the Masson Corps.

Csode first read out the crown prince's commendation for the entire camp and the promotion decision of many meritorious personnel, and then pulled Masson into the military tent.

"What did you say? How can this be!"

Mason exclaimed in the tent. But he calmed down after seeing the handwritten letter from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, and then whispered: "Yes, I understand."

At night, a team of Southern Netherlands rebels from Wallonia sneaked into the camp of the Masson Corps. After quietly "killing" more than a dozen French guards, they "accidentally" discovered the imprisoned Charles II.

The French-speaking rebels rescued the governor of Hanover and others from the enemy camp, helped them onto the stolen horses, and bravely stayed behind to sniper the pursuers.

When Karl II heard the gunshots in the night sky, he couldn't bear to look back, and repeated in his heart the last words those warriors said to him, "Please help the rebels drive away the Austrians! We are watching you in heaven..."

Brussels.

In the hall on the first floor of the Southern Netherlands Parliament Building, dozens of parliamentarians sat or stood with wooden expressions, as if their souls had been taken away by the devil, and sighed anxiously from time to time.

Suddenly a soldier pushed the door open and shouted: "Marshal Karl II is back! And General Bronckhorst!"

All the parliamentarians' eyes suddenly lit up, and Van der Nott rushed to the door in a few steps and asked anxiously: "Really? Where are they?"

"In the south of the city."

Karl II didn't even change his military uniform that was torn in many places, and went straight to his army station.

When Van der Nott and other parliamentarians arrived, he was giving an excited speech to the Hanoverian soldiers.

"We are not afraid of failure! We want to let the French and Austrians know that they only won once by luck..."

"Prussia and Britain will send more reinforcements, and our army will roll over Luxembourg until they step into France!"

Bronckhorst on the side also echoed loudly: "The Netherlands will also increase its troops. The Southern Netherlands will be independent!"

Although the soldiers below were not moved by their enthusiasm, Van der Nott and others were extremely excited, and immediately followed suit and said that they would recruit more Southern Dutch people to join the battle.

Immediately, Karl II summoned senior officers from Hanover, the Netherlands and the Southern Netherlands, and deployed the defense of Brussels as quickly as possible.

The French and Austrian coalition forces will definitely take advantage of the victory to attack Brussels, and they must stop this wave.

In the afternoon, more than 13,000 Hanoverian soldiers who escaped, plus 3,000 Dutch soldiers, and more than 18,000 Southern Netherlands National Guards quickly built several lines of defense in the south of the city, ready for battle.

However, the French army did not lazily launch a round of attacks on Brussels until three days later, and immediately retreated after being blocked.

For a period of time afterwards, the two sides used the southern suburbs of Brussels as the dividing line, deployed their troops in a range of seven or eight kilometers wide, and formed a confrontation.

The French army would fire a burst of artillery at the defenders every day, and sometimes the cavalry would circle around a distance, making the defenders nervous.

...

Brussels front.

Guards Corps camp.

Joseph looked at the movement of Blücher's Corps on the map and couldn't help frowning slightly: "Do the Prussians seem to want to retreat?"

"We think so, too, Your Highness." Berthier nodded, "After all, their position in Liege is very unfavorable. If our army abandons Brussels and turns south, we can form a pincer attack on the Prussian army with General Leo."

Joseph immediately pointed to the Meuse River on the north side of Liege and ordered: "Let Lieutenant Colonel Lefebvre stop the Prussians here. They must be kept in Liege, but don't fight them."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

After the messenger left, Joseph thought for a while and looked at Berthier: "Do you know who is the most radical among the Prussian senior officials?"

The latter thought for a while and said: "Your Highness, it should be Morendorf and Driesen."

Joseph nodded and wrote it down, asking the staff to discuss the detailed plan to intercept the Prussian army. He went to the officers' tent and wrote a letter to the French diplomatic officials on the Prussian side.

Blücher's army also played an important role, which was to delay the Austrian army in the Southern Netherlands. Once the Prussians retreat, Rennes will certainly come to participate in the confrontation in Brussels. In that case, the military presence in Wallonia will not only be the French army, which will have a very adverse impact on Joseph's subsequent strategy.

After handing the letter to the messenger, Joseph took out the half-written letter to the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II and continued to write:

Dear uncle, you should have learned about the situation in the Southern Netherlands.

After suffering heavy casualties and extremely difficult battles, the French warriors finally stopped the rebels in the Brussels area.

You know, including the Hanoverians and the Dutch, there are more than 35,000 enemy troops gathered in front of our army, which has put us under great pressure.