I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 348 The Regret of Emperor Shinra

"Yes, General, it's a tie." The staff officer sitting across from the chessboard pushed his chair back and looked east, "It's just like this damn battle."

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After playing chess for most of the day, General Kellerman, who felt quite bored, stood up and stretched: "I heard from the hussar that there is a good river on the border of Görlitz, and the trout are very fat. Let's go there tomorrow. Let’s go fishing.”

"Of course that's good," the staff officer said, "It's just that it's close to Saxony and may not be safe."

"It doesn't matter, just bring more guards."

Kellerman put on his coat and lazily walked out of the tent. Another roar of cannons was heard in the distance.

He originally thought that he could establish meritorious service in Austria and boost the momentum of the military's decline in the past six months. Since the rebellion of the Marquis of Saint-Villan, the military has been severely suppressed by the royal family and is in urgent need of a big victory to regain its prestige. .

However, after the initial raid was ambushed by the Prussians and nearly a thousand people were lost, he never got any chance to participate in the battle——

The Austrian army and the Prussian army set up a large number of artillery pieces on the hills of Liegnitz. The former had more than 230 guns and the latter 190 guns. Then they began to bombard each other day and night.

The dense defense line formed by artillery prevented the infantry on both sides from showing up easily - they did not have the courage to charge in columns like the French Guards Corps. After entering the range of the artillery, they would immediately retreat after a brief attempt.

This is also the most popular combat mode used by the Prussian and Austrian armies in recent decades. They use a large number of fixed artillery positions to stabilize the position, and then find the enemy's weak links to break through with heavy troops.

It’s just that the commanders on both sides are well aware of this. After the Seven Years War and the battle for the Bavarian throne, they are also very familiar with the other party’s military habits, so they are all on guard.

In this way, the artillery lines of the two sides stretched for several kilometers for a month. Except for the unlucky ones who were "blinded" by the opposite artillery shells every now and then, almost no results were produced.

The loss of a small amount of artillery could be immediately replenished for big countries like Prussia and Austria, so the war situation in Silesia was so stagnant.

However, neither country dared to withdraw its troops easily. They were only worried that the other side would suddenly increase its troops and forcibly break through its own artillery positions.

So a total of more than 200,000 troops from both sides came to the front line every day, lined up to watch the "fireworks show", and then ate and slept. It was a very relaxed and comfortable life.

Only the treasuries of Prussia and Austria were not at ease. Maintaining such an army costs a lot of money.

Leopold II ended his inspection of the Silesian front and returned to Vienna with a gloomy face.

He knew very well that although Prussia and Austria were still in balance, and Austria even had a slight advantage in terms of military strength, from a strategic perspective, Austria was heading towards failure.

As the party concentrating all its forces to launch an offensive, Austria is still lingering on the edge of Silesia without making any decisive progress.

In terms of finance, Prussia, which implemented "militarism", was far more tolerant than Austria.

As long as the serfs of the former had potatoes to eat, they did not dare to have any dissatisfaction with the Junkers. At the same time, the Junkers nobles were willing to go to the front line to win military honors with little or no salary.

On the Austrian side, due to his brother's reforms, taxation faced resistance from the nobles. Once there were financial problems due to this war, the entire country would collapse.

Therefore, we must open up the situation in Silesia as soon as possible and use victory in the war to stabilize the domestic situation.

While Leopold II was deep in thought, the carriage stopped at the Schönbrunn Palace Square. He hurried to Joseph II's bedroom, gathered his thoughts outside the door, and then knocked on the door and entered.

After reporting on the situation in Silesia, he looked at his weak brother and said seriously: "Your Majesty, we must carry out large-scale mobilization as soon as possible, otherwise our finances will not be able to continue to support the war by the end of this year at most."

He did not need to remind the emperor on his bed of the desperate situation Austria would face once Silesia was defeated.

"Based on what I saw on the battlefield, at least 80,000 more troops would have to be recruited to make a rapid advance in Lignitz possible."

Joseph II looked out the window for a long time before speaking with difficulty: "You know, the current situation in our country cannot be done..."

Leopold II gritted his teeth, took a step forward, and said in a deep voice: "Brother, it's time to suspend reforms.

“As long as the traditional rights of those nobles are restored and extra wages are stopped being paid to serfs, the nobles of Hungary and Kiev will immediately be able to organize an army of more than 100,000 people, and at the same time, they can also raise a large amount of funds from them!

"In this case, not only Silesia, we can even advance to Lusatia!"

Lusatia is already the traditional territory of Prussia, and also includes some provinces in eastern Saxony.

He did not wait for Joseph II to refuse, and continued: "And the Southern Netherlands rebels will also lose the support of the nobles, which will ease the turmoil in the western part of the empire.

"I know this is a difficult decision for you, but as long as we can take back Silesia, you will use the prestige brought by the victory in the war to re-implement the reform, and it will definitely be smoother than now!"

Joseph II sighed woodenly. The reforms he devoted most of his energy to in his life became an obstacle to the country's victory.

After a long while, he shook his head dejectedly: "Let me think about it again... After all, it was just a little bit away from success..."

Leopold II was about to persuade him again, but heard Joseph II change the subject: "Leo has made a plan to attack the Southern Netherlands in an all-out manner, and he needs 10,000 troops. Can you transfer some of them?"

Leopold II took Leo's letter from his brother's attendant, quickly read it, and said hesitantly: "Does he plan to let the French deal with the Hanover Army?"

"Karl II brought 20,000 troops and several thousand Dutch. If the French army fights them in the Southern Netherlands, it should be a stalemate for a long time."

Joseph II paused for a while before continuing: "Archbishop Constantine promised me that he would gather forces loyal to him to attack Blücher from the north. Leo will definitely be able to break through earlier and then capture Brussels. Oh, General Wurmser also agrees with this plan."

Constantine is the archbishop of the Diocese of Liege. As an independent territory of the Holy See, the archbishop has great power here.

Leopold II was silent for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "I will find a way to send reinforcements to General Leo, Your Majesty."

After he left Joseph II's bedroom, he whispered "A decision must be made", then returned to the carriage and ordered to go to the residence of Minister of State Kaunitz.

...

Luxembourg City.

Joseph took advantage of the short break before the Guards went to Brussels to come to this historic city and presided over the ceremony for the French Iron and Steel Technical Association to acquire Luxembourg's eleven iron mines and the two largest smelting workshops.