Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Chapter 1205: Chapter 1110: Relocation of the Capital

“Hmm, I will remember you,” the Marquis of Talavera nodded, but then noticed Blake was still standing there, “Do you have anything else?”

Joaquin Blake cautiously said, “Well, if you want to capture the towns of Alentejo, I might have a plan.”

The Marquis of Talavera showed a disdainful expression: “You? A sapper captain wants to meddle in combat deployment?”

Blake’s face reddened slightly, and he turned to leave.

The Marquis of Talavera thought for a moment and raised his hand to stop him: “Wait. Since there’s nothing else, let me hear your plan.”

Blake halted, took a deep breath, and said, “Commander, you actually don’t need to worry too much. Simply lead all the troops across the Mondego River and occupy Goish. Then it’s entirely up to you whether to continue south to Evora or directly attack Lisbon.”

The Marquis of Talavera burst into laughter: “It turns out you really are only good at building pontoon bridges.

“As soon as my troops leave here, the British will immediately pounce on Mortagua. Before we can reach Goish, the Anglo-Portuguese Army will already be attacking Gueda, and then even Salamanca will be threatened!”

Blake promptly said, “You’re right, which is why Colonel Juno will also notice this grave issue. This is why I suggest you withdraw all corps—it will make him decide faster.”

The Marquis of Talavera was momentarily stunned, his mind racing through possible scenarios—

Juno suddenly finds the Spanish Army in front of Coimbra disappeared, while 30,000 Anglo-Portuguese troops face the empty Mortagua, with Gouveia, Gueda, and other undefended towns behind.

At that point, he only has one choice: to send all the French Army to Coimbra to block the Anglo-Portuguese counterattack.

The Marquis of Talavera frowned. What if Juno indiscriminately retreats to Salamanca?

He immediately shook his head. That’s impossible.

The French strategy is clearly to let Spain exhaust the British as much as possible, which is why they haven’t been very active on the battlefield. But if the British break through the rear of the Franco-Spanish Alliance or even invade Spain, it will no longer be Franco-Spanish depleting the British; instead, it would be the Anglo-Portuguese depleting Spain’s resources.

Juno wouldn’t dare to let that happen.

So, there’s only one issue left.

The Marquis of Talavera looked at the sapper major: “Juno’s corps has only 7,000 men. What if they are defeated by the Anglo-Portuguese Army…”

Blake confidently said, “In the past six months, I’ve had multiple contacts with the French Army and have observed their training; they are undoubtedly the most formidable army in Europe. Two years ago in the lowlands, the French had the Duke of York, who had a manpower advantage, completely powerless.

“I believe they can certainly hold against the 30,000 enemy troops. You know, a third of them are Portuguese soldiers.”

Seeing the Marquis of Talavera still somewhat hesitant, he added, “You can quietly leave 8,000 troops on standby on the south bank of the Mondego River; if Juno’s situation is critical, immediately return to reinforce them.”

The Marquis of Talavera pondered for a moment, finally firmly pressing his sword and nodding: “Your plan is very feasible. It’s time to end the French vacation.”

Three days later.

The courier of the Marquis of Talavera arrived at the camp of the French Iberian Army and handed Juno a letter from his commander.

When Juno read that Talavera judged the main force of the Anglo-Portuguese Army was heading to reinforce Lisbon’s defense and decided to pursue them, his face turned livid.

He angrily asked that courier: “How many troops did your general take?”

“Three infantry divisions and all the cavalry and artillery, Colonel.”

“That fool…” Juno barely restrained himself from cursing.

The Spanish Army restructured last year mimicking the French, forming more than 30,000 men into three infantry divisions, plus cavalry and artillery, totaling close to 40,000.

The entire Spanish Army in Portugal had only 57,000 men to control a line over 200 kilometers long.

That means there couldn’t be many troops left near Coimbra.

Just then, two French hussars came to report: “Colonel, the Spanish troops along the Coimbra line suddenly moved south, leaving less than 1,000 soldiers on the front line.”

“Damn it!” Juno gritted his teeth and shouted to the order officer, “Assemble all the troops immediately! Have Lieutenant Colonel Gaspar lead the cavalry to Coimbra to hold back the enemy, quick!”

…

days later.

Capital of Portugal, Lisbon.

Gruez Palace.

Crown Prince Noan stared at the silent ministers before him for a while before saying dejectedly: “So, there are no troops left to stop the Spaniards?”

Chief Minister, the Marquis of Loris, nodded helplessly: “Your Highness, the Marquess of Wellesley has confirmed he will concentrate forces on the Torres Vedras line… While General Dos Santos’ troops have just arrived at Alvaiázere.”

The Foreign Minister, Duke Alcos, whispered: “It’s also unlikely that the Dos Santos Corps can stop the Spaniards…”

Indeed, the 40,000 troops of the Marquis of Talavera suddenly rushed south from Coimbra, and now they have reached the south bank of the Sulaya River, less than a week’s journey from Lisbon.

The Torres Vedras defenses had only completed the outermost circle and didn’t cover Lisbon to the south.

Meanwhile, the British Government had decided on a strategic withdrawal policy, recalling 10,000 British troops under Wellesley back home.

This resulted in the Marquis of Talavera’s risky move achieving great success. By now, he had occupied over 70% of Portugal’s territory, excluding the far southern and western coastal areas.

After a long pause, Noan spoke again: “What solutions do any of you propose?”

Finance Minister Akin Loreiro hesitated: “Your Highness, perhaps we could negotiate peace with the Spaniards. And offer some money to bribe the French, like we did over a hundred years ago.”

A century ago, during their resistance against Spanish domination, Portugal used bribes on France, Holland, and other major powers to exert diplomatic pressure, forcing Spain to accept Portugal’s independence.

The Marquis of Loris stepped forward, loudly asserting: “No! We must not surrender to the Spaniards!”

He was a staunch proponent of the pro-British faction and unwilling to let Portugal turn towards France.

Loreiro looked at him: “But we simply don’t have enough troops to defend Lisbon.”

“Lisbon is just the current capital of Portugal,” declared the Marquis of Loris, “Even if we abandon here, we can still fight the Spaniards.

“In South America, we have large tracts of land and the kingdom will re-root itself there!”

He turned to Noan and said, “Your Highness, I suggest we move the capital to Rio de Janeiro.”