I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 455 Politics and Transactions

On the east side of the Liegnitz front, the Duke of Brunswick looked at the map with a grim face - at this time, more than 4 Prussian soldiers and more than 1 Saxon troops were separated on the west side of the front and had lost contact with him.

He glanced at the staff officer beside him with gratitude - if the latter had not urged him yesterday, he would have personally gone to the other side of the defense line to command the troops. In that case, even he, the commander-in-chief, would have been trapped there.

After a brief discussion, the Duke of Brunswick looked around at the officers in the tent and said in a hoarse voice:

"That's it. Gather all the troops that can be mobilized in Liegnitz. We must rescue our people."

The Prussian coalition forces had few troops to begin with. If those 5 or so were eaten up by Austria, there would be no need to fight the subsequent battles.

After the battle mission was arranged, the officers hurried away to carry out the order. As soon as the door of the tent was closed, the Duke of Brunswick immediately swung his cane and smashed the table in front of him, while roaring in a low voice:

"Damn the French! Damn! Damn! Damn! Where did they come from?
"Andreas and August are two idiots. They had such a superior force, but they were defeated in just half a day!"

Yesterday he sent out his reserve troops to try to break through the blockade of 1 French troops on the Liegnitz Line, but it only took two hours before they were driven back by the French.

He knew that Austria would continue to send more troops to prevent the 5 people from withdrawing. He had to concentrate all his strength to launch an attack in order to reverse the defeat...

three days later.

More than 4 Prussian troops have concentrated at the gap in the Liegnitz Line of Defense.

The Duke of Brunswick looked at the cannons on the Austrian position through the telescope, and he was also very nervous. He knew very well that on the other side of the defense line, Lacy must be arranging to encircle his more than 5 people.

If they cannot break through the defenses of the Austrian and French coalition forces in this battle, the situation in Silesia will be completely out of control.

Just as he was about to go all out and order a general attack, a staff officer hurried over and, without even bothering to salute, whispered something in his ear.

"What?!" The Duke of Brunswick's eyes widened. "Have you confirmed his identity?"

"Yes, Marshal." The staff officer signaled the guards to step back and continued, "The letter he brought has the seal and signature of the French Crown Prince."

"All troops, stay where you are!" The Duke of Brunswick waved to the officer next to him, then mounted his horse and followed his staff back to his own camp.

In an officer's tent, the Duke of Brunswick saw the envoy of the French Prince.

The latter raised his hat to him and said with a smile:
"Your Excellency the Duke, I salute you on behalf of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

The Prussian commander-in-chief nodded in return and said with some hesitation:
"You told my subordinates before that you wanted to prevent the situation from escalating further?"

"This is what your Highness meant." The envoy looked to the west and continued, "Currently, the French soldiers are at the gap in the defense line, and your tens of thousands of troops are eagerly preparing to launch an attack there.

"It is obvious that after this battle, our army will suffer heavy casualties. Of course, the casualties on your side will also be shocking. In fact, this is completely unnecessary."

The Duke of Brunswick narrowed his eyes immediately. It seemed that the French did not want to make too many sacrifices for the Holy Roman Emperor. This was simply a gift from God to Prussia!

He hurriedly said calmly: "So, what suggestions does your Royal Highness the Crown Prince have?"

The envoy bowed slightly and said, "You are going to attack the Liegnitz Line in order to rescue the troops blocked on the west side." The Duke of Brunswick did not comment.

The envoy continued, "If we can do something to help your 5 soldiers escape, then this war can be avoided."

The Duke of Brunswick could no longer hold back and asked in surprise, "What is your highness going to do?"

"You know, the defense of Zare is currently being handled by your Highness's three infantry regiments. If the garrison here is suddenly transferred to other places, then your people can go north to the Gvogow area."

Zhare is located on the main road northwest of Liegnitz. As long as you can pass through here, you can continue northward and enter the Głogów Province in northern Silesia.

The Duke of Brunswick looked at the French envoy in disbelief: "Are you telling the truth?"

"You don't have to doubt your highness's sincerity." The latter nodded and said, "But even if your people can pass through Zare, Marshal Laxi will definitely lead his troops to pursue them.

"Your Highness advises that if you want them to escape successfully, you'd better send troops to the north side of the defense line to carry out some support, such as pretending to attack the defense line to attract the attention of the Austrian army."

"Ah! Thank you very much, Your Highness." The Duke of Brunswick said happily, "I will definitely consider his suggestion seriously."

Joseph knew very well that if the 5 Prussian troops that broke into the Austrian-controlled area were eliminated, the situation in Silesia would be completely in the hands of Austria.

His strategic goal from the beginning was to use the conflict in Silesia to prevent Prussia and Austria from joining forces, rather than to help Austria dominate the German region.

Therefore, the Prussian army had to get out in order to maintain the military balance between Prussia and Austria. But at the same time, he also had to allow Austria to make a substantial breakthrough in Silesia in order to further escalate the Silesian War.

It's like walking on a tightrope. If you lean a little to the left or a little to the right, you'll fall.

The Duke of Brunswick said, with a "businessman's" smile: "Then, Your Excellency, what can I do for Your Highness in return?"

"Oh, that's easy," the envoy smiled. "Your Highness needs a little money, two million florins. That's a great bargain in exchange for your army."

The Duke of Brunswick was stunned for a moment.

He guessed that the French prince might want Prussia to give up some political interests, or even to reach some military understanding in secret, but he never expected that he would directly ask for money!

This is a bit too... tacky.

He despised the mercenary French in his heart and nodded, "That is indeed reasonable. So how do I give the money to His Highness?"

The Prussian army's pay for next month has just arrived, and is almost enough to cover this amount.

The envoy said without hesitation: "Send the cavalry to carry the money to the breach in the defense line, and give it to our people after you receive the news that the troops have escaped."

Of course, Joseph also wanted to take this opportunity to gain some political benefits, but he knew that Prussia and Britain were deeply tied together. Even if they agreed to his political conditions, they would most likely default later due to British interference.

So it would be better to take some cash. So he asked someone to roughly estimate the monthly military pay of the Prussians, and finally came up with a figure of 200 million florins.

(End of this chapter)