I Am the Crown Prince in France

Chapter 357: On-site supplies and banknotes (please vote on the last day of May)

As the messenger asking for help from the Hanoverian Army set off, Van de Noort, the Speaker of the Parliament of the Southern Netherlands, still felt uneasy. He quickly wrote a letter and gave it to a member of Parliament who had good relations with the British, asking him to find it in person. Carl II.

Then he proposed a temporary motion, requiring General Wit to lead the main force of the Southern Netherlands National Guard to immediately return to defend Brussels, and temporarily recruit 6,000 soldiers.

The Parliament of the Southern Netherlands is in disarray. On the conservative side, members of the House of Representatives surrounded Onk and asked questions.

"President Onck, you said you would not let us interfere in the decisive battle between the French and the Prussian army, but now the French army suddenly ran to our rear?"

"Perhaps you should contact the French again to confirm your secret agreement?"

"It's all your suggestion, our troops are staying in Ghent!"

Weng Ke clutched his cane with a livid face, and after a long time, he whispered with trembling lips: "I will confirm it.

"But the French must have a reason... They may be heading for the Dutch, and Antolfo is right next to Breda in the Netherlands!"

He must not admit at this time that he was being used by France, otherwise the liberal congressmen would beat him to death on the spot.

"Yes, that must be the case!" He seemed to have found the answer, and his voice suddenly became louder. "This time the Netherlands turned its back on France and turned to Britain. It is not surprising that the French want to teach them a lesson."

He stood up as he spoke, his eyes shining: "In this case, we should cooperate with the French army's actions to take the opportunity to eliminate the Austrian forces in the territory, and also force the Netherlands to give up its plan to unite the Southern Netherlands..."

The conservative members of the Southern Netherlands were mainly large-capital aristocrats, as well as a small number of enlightened aristocrats. They only joined the uprising because Joseph II wanted to increase business taxes and weaken their privileges.

As long as they could get rid of the Austrian government's reform policy, they didn't care whether to introduce French influence or surrender to the British.

As for the "freedom", "human rights" and "independence" advocated by liberals, they have no interest at all and are even somewhat resistant to it.

Onk's words immediately aroused the approval of some conservative lawmakers, especially those from the south. It is said that France has recently introduced a series of laws that are conducive to the development of industry and commerce, and has opened up the South German market. They even have the idea that "even if it is merged with France, it is not impossible to consider."

…

Southern Netherlands, northern province of Namun.

Karl II sent away the members of the Southern Netherlands who came to ask for help, and said to the herald with a dark face: "Order the entire army to turn around immediately and return to Antolfo!"

General Bronkhorst, the commander of the Dutch army, frowned and said: "The French want to quickly eliminate the Southern Netherlands Army and restore Austria's rule here, so that we lose the reason to intervene."

"You are right, General." Karl II turned his horse's head and said in a cold voice, "But they made a fatal mistake!

"Antorff and Brussels are both in the hands of the Parliament of the Southern Netherlands. The French army is too deep and the supply line can easily be cut off by us.

"And as long as they can't break through Antolfo quickly, our army can attack their backs after they rescue them!"

He squeezed the horse's belly with his legs and said, "I want the French to pay for their recklessness!"

Soon, the Chinese and Dutch combined forces stopped advancing and began to turn under the orders of the officers running back and forth.

However, it was not easy for the 24,000-strong army to change its direction in a two-kilometer-long march.

It took the officers more than two hours to make every soldier understand Karl II's order, and what followed was chaotic coordination.

Some of the fast-moving legions completed the turn and began to move north, while the slow-moving legions were still forming their formation on the spot. They collided with the former, and both sides were immediately unable to move.

The artillerymen complained even more. Due to the tight connection between the cart and the horse, they had to first untie the cannon weighing several hundred kilograms from the horse, then use manpower to turn it 180 degrees, and at the same time drive the horse to the other side, and then re-hitch the cart. At the same time, the ammunition transport vehicle is also similar, but it is more difficult to turn. Sometimes a clear space had to be set aside for the horse to pull the ammunition cart in a large circle to complete the U-turn.

From the time when the members of the Southern Netherlands came to ask for help at noon, the army was busy until 5:30 in the afternoon, when they finally started marching north again. And after they walked for about an hour, they had to set up camp for the night...

…

Outskirts of Antolfo.

Joseph could already vaguely see the outline of the city. He was about to convene his staff to discuss the next course of action - if the Hanoverian army was slow to respond, he would not mind trying to attack Antolfo to stimulate Karl II.

At this moment, two dust-covered hussars rushed over and said in a tired voice: "Report! The Hanover and Dutch coalition forces have returned north and entered Brussels yesterday afternoon."

Upon hearing this, Joseph and Berthier looked at each other and both smiled.

The enemy's situation was exactly as they had expected. In this case, the strategic initiative fell into the hands of the Guards Corps.

To be honest, Joseph was really afraid that Karl II was a fool and went to join the Prussian army regardless. In that case, he would have to make a hasty march back to Liege to rescue Leo.

Although it is possible to launch a pincer attack, there are too many uncertainties. For example, if Leo collapses after two days, Luxembourg will be in danger.

Fortunately, the commander of Hanover is a mature and steady general, and he did not ignore political factors and decided to go back to rescue the Southern Netherlands uprising.

Without Joseph's order, Berthier immediately said to the herald: "Immediately let the detachment collecting supplies return."

The chief of staff looked at his pocket watch: "Others rest in place and set off for Ghent on time at 3 pm."

"Yes, General!"

Soon, the company collecting supplies drove the carriage to join the main force of the Guards Corps.

Unlike what Napoleon did back then, Joseph strictly ordered the supply detachment to pay the farmers, and it was slightly higher than the market price.

Of course, the payment method is mainly banknotes issued by the French Reserve Bank. After nearly half a year of promotion, this kind of paper money has been quite accepted in France. Most people would only exchange their large-denomination banknotes for silver coins or deposit them in banks every half a month. As for the "change" below 5 livres, it was basically a paper currency market.

In the Southern Netherlands, which is close to France, French banknotes also appeared, but they were not very popular.

Joseph also took advantage of the opportunity of "local supply" to expand the influence of paper currency.