I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 336 Louis XVI’s Reward

Leopold II continued: "According to the latest news sent back from the Southern Netherlands, General Leo is launching a counterattack against Liege with the assistance of the French.

"At this time when the morale of Blücher's army is low, General Leo is likely to achieve good results."

Joseph II nodded happily: "Help me draft an order to commend Franz Sigmund Leo, and also allocate an additional 4,000 troops to him. Maybe another military genius is about to appear in Austria."

Austria's military strength is currently very tight, and the deployment of so many people shows His Majesty the Emperor's appreciation for Leo.

While the two were talking, they saw Count Kaunitz, the Minister of State, knocking on the door in a hurry and entering with a document in his hand.

Leopold II saw his serious expression and asked in a deep voice: "What happened to Silesia?"

"No, Your Majesty, the war situation in Silesia is still at a stalemate." Kaunitz handed him the document. "The international situation has changed. Hannova has increased its troops by 30,000, and it is said that there will be more troops in the future."

Leopold II's heart suddenly tightened. Hannova had previously sent more than 10,000 troops to Silesia. Adding these 30,000 troops was almost Hannova's entire force.

If they want to continue to increase their troops, they will have to recruit on a large scale, which will inevitably have a considerable impact on their domestic farming and commerce.

As Hanover was so "desperate", there was only one possibility - the British decided to fully support Prussia.

Kaunitz continued from the side: "The only good thing at the moment is that our spies in Hanover confirmed that only 10,000 Hanover troops are to reinforce Silesia, and the rest will go to the Southern Netherlands. At the same time, Prussia is also preparing to send 10,000 soldiers to Blücher."

After William II met with Hanover's special envoy, he discussed with Prince Heinrich and decided to send additional troops to the Southern Netherlands. Since he could not convince the British, it was better to cooperate with them and quickly eliminate the lowland areas. Austrian and French forces. At the same time, it can also prevent Fao from taking advantage of the previous victory to recapture the Southern Netherlands.

According to their assumptions, there were 20,000 Hannovian troops plus Blücher's 14,000 troops, as well as several thousand Southern Netherlands troops. If Blücher was sent an additional 10,000 troops, then they would There are nearly 50,000 troops in the direction of Southern Netherlands.

And Faao didn't even have 25,000 soldiers there.

With such a huge strength advantage, Luxembourg's French and Austrian armies can be defeated in at least one month. Then these 50,000 Hamburg troops will march to Silesia to establish victory in one fell swoop.

Joseph II struggled to sit up straighter with pillows, and said in a hoarse voice: "Fortunately, the British are very worried about the expansion of French power in the Southern Netherlands..."

Leopold II continued: "Perhaps you can give General Leo more rewards. His victory greatly reduced our pressure in Silesia."

Joseph II nodded slightly: "We should send more troops to General Leo. France will probably increase its troops after the battle with Hanover. In this case, the Southern Netherlands will be able to attract a large number of Prussian soldiers."

Leopold II believed deeply and said: "And we will use this opportunity to recruit troops from across the country and achieve a decisive victory in Silesia!"

…

On the streets of Paris, countless citizens are taking to the streets spontaneously to celebrate the victory of the Royal Guards in Luxembourg.

Since the failure of the Seven Years' War, the French have not won a victory against a European power for a long time.

As for the American Revolutionary War, first of all, it was only France's "civilian volunteer army", and the main force that won was the American Continental Army, and the French people didn't care much about it.

But this time it was the French regular army that defeated the Prussian army head-on with inferior strength. This made the French feel that the Sun King of that year was coming back.

You must know that the French at this time did not have the "white flag skills" of later generations, but were extremely martial.

Victory in the war can even make them forget the trouble of not having bread for their next meal. At this point, only the Russians can compete with them.

This is also the reason why Nahuang can easily seize power in a coup, regain power after being exiled, and easily gain the support of the whole country - he can win battles!

Of course, there is also the element of Joseph letting the news media guide public opinion.

Recently, major newspapers have been publishing the content of the Battle of Luxembourg, from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's personal visit to the battlefield to command the army, to the performance of outstanding officers, to the heroic performance of specific soldiers.

The topic quickly became full and people completely ignored the food shortage still hanging over France.

At noon, the crowd celebrating the victory had arrived near the Palace of Versailles, and the Versailles Commercial Street ushered in another batch of hot sales.

Queen Mary did not complain about her son going to a dangerous battlefield this time - she had become accustomed to it. Anyway, according to Archbishop Briand, the Crown Prince was just tens of kilometers away from the battlefield to boost morale, and nothing unexpected would happen.

She heard the noise coming from the square and signaled to her maid, Count de Berninac: "Please open the window."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The huge arched floor-to-ceiling windows were pushed open, and the cheers outside immediately reached Queen Mary's ears.

"Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"The Son of God has brought us victory!"

"Long live His Majesty the King, God bless France!"

"March into the Southern Netherlands and regain Wallonia!"

"The Royal Guards Corps is invincible, and the glory belongs to you..."

Queen Marie's face suddenly showed joy. Since she came to France, she had never seen such high public support for the royal family.

And this was all brought about by her son's great victory.

She hurriedly ordered the maid: "Order the guards to open the gate of the square and let people come in to celebrate. Oh, prepare some food for everyone, and a band. There must be music and dancing at this time."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The cheers of tens of thousands of people soon drowned the entire Versailles Palace. Queen Marie took Louis XVI's arm, who came to the window after hearing the news, and asked loudly: "Should we give Joseph some rewards?"

Louis XVI also shouted loudly to drown out the shouts in the square: "Yes, then what do you think is a suitable reward?"

"I hope it is a beautiful and kind wife..."

"You are rewarding the lucky princess." Louis XVI laughed, thought for a while, and said loudly, "Why not build a statue for our son of God in the square of Versailles."

...

Just as the Hanoverian and Prussian coalition forces rushed to Luxembourg, Tipu Sultan, the leader of Mysore, was also reviewing his army in the distant southern part of the Indian peninsula.

It was a powerful army of 60,000 people equipped with Charleville or Brown Bess flintlock rifles, lined up in neat European-style formations.