I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 648 Don't be nervous, I'm just passing by
Count Segur smiled slightly and said, "Thank you for your reminder, but I believe it is not too late. In fact, the soldiers of the Royal Guards will arrive here in three days."

Previously, the Guards Corps was halfway on its way to Baden for exercises. After receiving the order, it immediately headed south. After a continuous forced march, it had arrived near Turin in Sardinia.

Ercole III's eyes widened immediately: "So fast?! But..."

He fiddled with his cane and glanced at the ground. “I still need to gather the ministers for a discussion.”

Modena, a small country with a population of only 80 and an area less than one-fifth of Switzerland, has no intention of getting involved in the disputes between giants like France and Austria.

Segur said seriously: “Your Majesty, you should be very clear that Austria’s exercise is not just about the trade agreement.

"The 3-strong army is a huge threat to the entire Italian region."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip: “Especially since Modena has had issues with Parma and Lucca, and they all have close ties with Austria.

"If Parma asks Austria for support someday, it will not need 3 troops. Only one-fifth of the force will not be enough for your country to resist."

He glanced at Ercole III's thoughtful expression and continued, "In addition, Sardinia has always claimed sovereignty over central Italy.

"Your country is in danger, so to speak."

The Grand Duke of Modena looked at him in confusion: "What do you mean?"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince believes that France and Morocco can use this exercise as an opportunity to conduct some military cooperation," said Segur. "Specifically, our country can help you train your army, provide weapons, and even directly station troops there."

Ercole III could not help but feel moved - if Modena could get support from France, its safety would definitely be better guaranteed. But at the same time, France itself was a threat to Modena, especially the garrison...

Segur smiled and said, "If you think it is necessary, we can sign a military agreement, or even a secret agreement, which will allow you to avoid the threat from Austria."

Seeing that Ercole III was still hesitating, he took out the "bait" given to him by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince: "Oh, the sales of our country's composite board furniture in Italy are constantly increasing, so we plan to build a cutting and packaging factory here. If our two countries can achieve cooperation, I think Modena is the best place to build a factory."

Ercole III nodded almost immediately and said, "I am very much looking forward to Modena's cooperation with the great France. Let's sign the secret agreement at a later date."

You know, composite board furniture is selling like hot cakes in Italy. If I can take over the splitting and packaging work, it means that I can get a share of all the French furniture sold to Italy.

For a small country like Modena, this is enough income to significantly improve the country's financial situation.

Four days later.

After completing the exercise, the Austrian army, under the command of General Keim, set out from Pisa in Tuscany, passed through Lucca and headed north, preparing to return to southern Austria from Parma.

In fact, you can reach Austria directly from Tuscany by going north through Modena, but because Parma and Modena, who are close relatives, are not on good terms, the Austrians chose to take a detour.

Just as the 3 Austrian troops arrived near the town of Tersuco at the junction of Parma, Lucca and Modena, Modena's diplomats suddenly arrived and informed General Kem that France and Modena were going to conduct military exercises.

Kaim was a little surprised at first, but then he burst into laughter and said to the officer beside him, "The French are also holding exercises. Don't they think it's too late?"

The officers all laughed. Yesterday, Parma also said that it would increase tariffs on French goods. By the time the French army came for the exercise, the trade dispute would have been over.

The Modena official bowed and turned his horse away.

General Keim did not take this episode to heart at all, and continued to move forward while chatting leisurely with his staff, waving to the townspeople of Telsuco who were watching the excitement from a distance. However, when the Austrian army arrived near a narrow depression, they heard a loud bang from the side and rear.

"It's a cannon!"

An officer looked around in surprise: "Ranger, what happened?"

Then there was another round of heavy gunfire. Kem suddenly thought, "Could this be the French conducting a drill?"

The officer next to him was stunned: "Why are they here for training?"

Before they could think about it, intensive gunfire was heard again on the slope on the east side.

These experienced officers immediately realized that there were at least two or three thousand soldiers there.

Because Kem had not taken the French military exercise seriously, he had not informed the soldiers. Immediately, the entire Austrian army became nervous under the influence of the sound of gunfire.

With a "puff" sound, a large piece of mud was blown up on the grass hundreds of steps away, obviously a shell had landed there.

The Austrian army was in a panic, and a junior officer shouted: "Enemy attack, blow the horn!"

"Line up! The enemy is in the southeast!"

"All gather around me. Quick! Get your guns, you idiots!"

The next moment, the Austrian army heard drum sounds, trumpet sounds, and shouts mixed together. Some companies were preparing to line up on the spot to resist the enemy, while others were preparing to move closer to the regimental commander, and soon the situation became chaotic.

Keim's face turned pale, and he shouted to the messenger to tell his men that this was just a French exercise. But at this moment, the ground shook, and then a team of nearly a thousand cavalry appeared on the right wing of the Austrian army.

These cavalrymen were arranged in neat rows and galloped like the wind, almost passing close to the Austrian army, while raising their carbines and firing into the air.

The Austrian soldiers only knew that a large group of cavalry was attacking, and then they heard gunshots. They were already scared out of their wits, and subconsciously ran in the direction away from the cavalry.

The middle and rear part of the long and narrow Austrian army column was instantly missing a large piece, like an earthworm pecked by a bird.

About half an hour later, Kem's order finally reached the officers, and the officers of each regiment began to gather the soldiers in a hurry.

However, at this moment, several people holding notebooks quickly approached Kaim and shouted to him through the guards:

"General, we are reporters from the Genoa Commercial News. May I ask why your army was in chaos just now?"

Kaim sullenly ordered them to leave. When he looked up, he saw a dozen reporters asking questions to the soldiers in the chaotic army. In the distance, there seemed to be reporters interviewing people from Telsuco.

He suddenly felt something was wrong.

The next day, after washing up, General Keim picked up the newspaper that his servant had ironed for him. Suddenly, his eyes went dark and he saw the headline on the front page: "5 French soldiers conduct exercises southwest of Modena, causing 3 Austrian troops to flee in panic."

The following content describes in detail how the Austrian army fell into chaos after hearing the sound of gunfire, and fled as the French cavalry approached, with dozens of people even being trampled and injured by their own people.

(End of this chapter)