I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 645: Peaceful Wallonia in the Southern Netherlands
As Franz II opened the financial report, his brows immediately frowned.

He looked up at Baron Turgut and said, "Our debt has reached 1 million florins?"

According to Austrian propaganda, the total debt was only more than 7 million florins. Although Franz II knew the real data when he was crown prince, he did not care about it.

Baron Turgut nodded helplessly and said, "I'm afraid that's the case, Your Majesty. You know, His Majesty Joseph II's reforms were rejected by the nobles... ahem, which made the finances a little tight. After that, we invested a lot of military expenses in the Silesian War, and then there was the Serbian rebellion last year..."

Francis II added unhappily: "Then our trade encountered competition from the French."

"Indeed. Last year our trade revenues fell by more than seven million florins."

Franz II looked at the long string of zeros after the debt figure in the report, and suddenly felt guilty and said, "Given our country's dire financial situation, shouldn't we be too tough on the outside world? I mean, if we really have to go to war, our military expenditure may be unsustainable."

Baron Turgut recalled the emperor's domineering attitude at the meeting just now, and couldn't help but shake his head in his heart.

He took a deep breath and said:

"Sire, the finances of the French are even worse. Their debts are eight hundred million florins."

Franz immediately showed a confident smile again: "You are right, so we should never show weakness to the French!"

Baron Turgut took the opportunity to say, "Your Majesty, our country has been experimenting with paper money for several years. If it can be fully promoted, it will play a very important role in improving finances."

"Paper money? Yes, I know. The British and French are doing it." Franz II waved his hand. "I'm going to be busy with the coronation in the next few months. Let's talk about it after the coronation is over."

He turned to the third page of the financial report and suddenly asked in surprise: "Why do we have to pay so much to the Poles to quell the Serbian rebellion?"

The total military expenditure to suppress the rebellion was 900 million florins, of which more than 650 million were spent on the Poles.

Baron Turgut said: "Your Majesty, you know that the Hungarian nobles do not care about Slavonia. So the Polish army led by General Kosciuszko is actually the main force to eliminate the rebels."

He coughed dryly: "Well, in fact, we still owe 150 million florins of soldiers' salaries."

"For the Polish soldiers?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Francis II seemed a little unhappy: "Let these Poles go back and transfer the Royal German Corps to Slavonia to quell the rebellion."

Baron Turgut was stunned. The cost of dispatching troops from Vienna to quell the rebellion would be much higher than that of the Poles, otherwise he would not have hired the Polish army in the first place.

But he immediately thought that the rebellion had been reduced to a very small area and should be over soon, so he bowed and said, "Yes, Your Majesty. I will convey your wishes to the Military Committee."

Francis II added: "As for the soldiers' salaries, we have been protecting Poland from being annexed by the Russians, so they are also obliged to help our country eliminate the rebels."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Turgut didn't think it was a big deal. After all, for a weak country like Poland, what would it matter if they owed them a little money?

……

Southern Netherlands, Wallonia.

Several carriages with black cloth covering their carriages stopped in the northern suburbs of Mons.

The driver glanced at the setting sun and was about to tell the people on the cart to unload the goods when he heard a whistle nearby. More than 30 policemen emerged from the dilapidated farmhouse and bushes, blocking all the roads.

The driver and the dozen or so people who got off the carriage looked at each other, quickly pulled out the flintlock rifles from the carriage, hid behind the carriage and shot at the police.

But those policemen were obviously well-trained and did not panic at all. Instead, they gathered together and launched several rounds of volleys under the command of their superiors.

Wood chips flew everywhere on the carriage, and half of the people on the carriage were killed immediately.

Then, the police rushed up with their guns fixed with bayonets.

The battle was over in just a few minutes. Except for three people who knelt down and surrendered, all the people on the carriage were shot dead.

A policeman stepped forward and lifted the black cloth on the carriage, revealing neatly packed wooden boxes. Some of the boxes had holes in them from bullets, revealing the black flintlock rifles inside.

Soon, the two police officers reported to the officer in charge: "Sir, there are a total of 120 British Brown Bess flintlock rifles. No gunpowder or bullets were found."

The police officer's heart trembled. Fortunately, there was no gunpowder, otherwise the shooting just now might have caused an explosion.

He waved his hand and said, "Take him back for interrogation, and make sure to find the ammunition as well."

At the same time, in the small town south of Gant, police raided a secret meeting place and arrested more than 40 people who were plotting an armed uprising.

Outside the city of Namur, the police intercepted an armed group of more than 80 people who were sneaking into the city. After a fierce battle, they were all killed or arrested.

Similar situations occurred throughout the Wallonia region, where a large number of militants equipped with flintlock rifles intended to create chaos, but were beaten by the fierce Wallonia police without any chance of fighting back.

Southern Netherlands.

Middelburg.

A British intelligence officer put the loss report on George Kevin's desk with a grim face and said in a deep voice: "Almost all of the more than 200 people were lost. The plan can only be temporarily suspended."

The British Foreign Secretary's assistant frowned: "Captain Pickering, you have been making arrangements for half a year, and not a single place has been able to cause chaos as planned?"

The intelligence officer lowered his head and said, "Not only are the Walloon police extremely numerous, but their combat capabilities are no less than those of the army. We had more than 80 people in Namur fighting against 50 policemen, and we were defeated in just ten minutes."

Kevin's frown deepened.

According to Lord Grenville's plan, British intelligence recruited armed thugs in the Flemish region of the Southern Netherlands - there were many remnants of the Brabant riots there, and it was easy to recruit people - and then sneak into Wallonia to attack the Dutch-speaking residents there.

Yes, although Wallonia is dominated by French-speaking people, there are still many people who speak Dutch.

If the plan is successfully implemented, they will then spread the word in Flemish that "Walloon thugs are persecuting Dutch-speaking residents." Under their incitement, Flemish, which is dominated by Dutch, will inevitably flock to Walloon for revenge.

With the British secretly providing weapons and equipment, the conflict would be extremely brutal, plunging the entire Southern Netherlands into chaos.

However, what the British intelligence agencies did not expect was that the police in Wallonia, an "undefended" trading zone, would be so difficult to deal with.

(End of this chapter)