Novel Full Chapter 454 Politics and Trade
On the eastern side of the Legnica battle line, the Duke of Brunswick looked at the map with an ashen face—by now, more than 40,000 Prussian soldiers and over 14,000 men of the Saxon Army had been cut off on the western side of the front, and he had lost contact with them.
He glanced appreciatively at the staff officer beside him, grateful for the latter’s advice the day before. Otherwise, he himself would have gone to the other side of the defensive line to command the troops. In that case, even he, the commander-in-chief, would be trapped there now.
After a brief discussion, the Duke of Brunswick looked up and swept his gaze across the tent filled with officers, his voice hoarse as he said:
“Let’s do that, gather all the troops from Legnica that can be mobilized. We must rescue our men.”
The Prussian Allied Forces were already short on manpower. If those more than 50,000 were consumed by Austria, there would be no point in fighting the battles that lay ahead.
Once the combat tasks had been arranged, the officers hurriedly left to execute their orders. As soon as the tent flap closed, the Duke of Brunswick immediately grabbed his cane and ferociously smashed it against the table in front of him, while a low growl emanated from his throat:
“Damn the French! Damned! Damned! Damned! Where did they spring from?
“Andreas and Auguste, those two fools, with such advantageous forces, were routed in less than half a day!”
The day before, he had sent out the reserve troops to try to break the blockage by the 10,000 French soldiers on the Legnica defensive line, only to be forced back by the French in two hours.
He knew that Austria would continuously reinforce their side to prevent those 50,000 plus men from retreating, and he would need to concentrate all his strength for a strike to reverse the defeat…
Three days later.
More than 40,000 of the Prussian Army had now gathered at the breach in the Legnica defensive line.
The Duke of Brunswick, looking through his telescope at the cannons on the Austrian positions, was also full of trepidation. He was well aware that, on the other side of the line, Lacy was surely arranging to encircle his more than 50,000 men.
If he couldn’t break through the defense of the Austro-French forces in this battle, the situation in Silesia would become completely uncontrollable.
Just as he was about to take a desperate gamble and order a total assault, a staff officer rushed over. Without even bothering to salute, he bent down and whispered a few words into his ear.
“What?!” The Duke of Brunswick immediately widened his eyes, “Have you confirmed his identity?”
“Yes, Marshal,” the staff officer indicated for the guards to step back before continuing, “The letter he brought bears the seal and signature of the Crown Prince of France.”
“All troops, stand by in place!” the Duke of Brunswick waved to an officer nearby and then mounted his horse to follow the staff officer back to their own camp.
In an officer’s tent, the Duke of Brunswick saw the special envoy of the Crown Prince of France.
The latter lifted his hat in salute, smiling as he said:
“Honored Duke, on behalf of His Highness the Crown Prince, I pay my respects to you.”
The Prussian Army’s commander-in-chief nodded in return and said with slight hesitation:
“You mentioned to my subordinate earlier that you wish to prevent the situation from escalating further?”
“These are His Highness’s intentions,” the envoy glanced westward and continued, “Right now, France’s soldiers are all positioned at the gap in the defensive line, while your tens of thousands are eagerly preparing to attack there.
“Clearly, after this battle, our forces will suffer severe casualties. Of course, the number of casualties on your side will certainly be staggering as well. In reality, it’s all completely unnecessary.”
The Duke of Brunswick’s eyes narrowed immediately. It appeared that the French did not wish to make too many sacrifices for the Emperor of Sanctum; this was nothing short of a gift to Prussia from France!
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He kept his composure and said, “So, what suggestions does His Highness the Crown Prince have?”
The envoy bowed slightly, “If you want to launch a fierce attack on the Lignitz Defensive Line, it’s to rescue the troops that have been blocked on the western side.”
The Duke of Brunswick remained noncommittal.
The envoy continued, “If we could do something to help your 56,000 soldiers break free, then the current great battle could be avoided.”
The Duke of Brunswick could no longer contain his excitement, “How does His Highness the Crown Prince plan to do that?”
“You know, the defense of Zary is currently in charge of three of His Highness’s infantry regiments. If the garrison here were suddenly redeployed elsewhere, then your men could head north into the Gwozdziec area.”
Zary is situated northwest of Lignitz on a crucial path. Once through here, one can continue north into the province of Gwozdziec, in the northern part of Silesia.
The Duke of Brunswick looked incredulously at the French envoy, “Are you serious?”
“You need not doubt His Highness’s sincerity,” the latter nodded, “But even if your men could get through Zary, Marshal Lacy would surely lead his troops in pursuit.”
“His Highness suggests that if you want them to break free successfully, you had better send troops to perform some feints on the north side of the defensive line, like pretending to launch a strong attack on it, to draw the Austrian army’s attention.”
“Ah! I am extremely grateful His Highness.” said the Duke of Brunswick joyfully, “I will seriously consider his suggestion.”
Joseph was well aware that should the 50,000 Prussian troops who had breached the Austrian-controlled territory be wiped out, the situation in Silesia would fully fall into Austria’s hands.
His strategic goal from the beginning had been to use the Silesian conflict to prevent Prussia and Austria from joining forces, not to help Austria dominate Germany.
Therefore, those large Prussian forces must escape, only then could the military balance between Prussia and Austria be maintained. But at the same time, he also needed Austria to achieve a substantial breakthrough in Silesia, to further escalate the Silesian war.
This was indeed like walking a tightrope, where tilting a little to the left or right could result in a fall.
The Duke of Brunswick said this, and then revealed a “businessman’s” smile, “So, Your Excellency the envoy, what can I do for His Highness in return?”
“Oh, it’s quite simple,” the envoy smiled, “His Highness needs a bit of money, 2 million florins will do. It’s an excellent deal in exchange for your large army.” Enjoy exclusive content from My Virtual Library Empire
The Duke of Brunswick was instantly stunned.
He had guessed that the Crown Prince of France might want Prussia to cede some political interests, or even to secretly agree to some military understanding, but he never expected it to be a direct demand for money!
That was just too… tacky.
He inwardly despised the mercantile French people and nodded, “That is indeed reasonable. How shall I deliver the money to His Highness?”
The Prussian army’s pay for the next month had just been delivered, which was just about enough to allocate for this sum.
Without hesitation, the envoy said, “Send the money on horseback to the vicinity of the breach in the defensive line. After you receive the news that the troops have escaped, you can hand it over to our people.”
Joseph, of course, wanted to exchange it for some political benefits as well, but he knew that since Prussia was deeply bound to England, even if they agreed to his political conditions, they would likely renege on them later under British interference.
So, it was better to take some solid cash. Thus, he had people roughly estimate the monthly military pay of the Prussians and finally came up with the figure of 2 million florins.
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