I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 334: The Wedge and the Means of Disintegration

Under the encouragement of Deputy Speaker Onck, the Southern Netherlands rebel forces launched a fierce attack on the French troops surrounding General Witt. Contrary to their expectations, the French forces almost immediately collapsed. In less than 20 minutes, a large gap appeared in the encirclement.

Witt quickly noticed something was off. When he vaguely saw the flag of the Southern Netherlands militia through his binoculars, he was overjoyed and ordered his officers to rally the troops and break out.

With an attack from both inside and out, the Imperial Guard led by Masson seemed increasingly "unable to hold on," and the soldiers near the Dutch forces began to flee.

In less than an hour, General Witt had joined forces with Major Achter, who had come to his aid.

General Witt glanced at the retreating French soldiers and stepped forward to embrace Achter, clapping him on the back with excitement. "You arrived just in time, my dear friend! You're like the first ray of light on a cold, snowy night..."

Achter pulled away from the embrace and gestured toward Onck, who was not far away. "General, it was actually Deputy Speaker Onck who is the true ray of light. He bravely insisted on bringing us to rescue you."

"Onck?" General Witt was taken aback, finding it hard to associate the money-loving, timid politician with bravery.

But Achter wouldn't lie to him, so perhaps all the negative things he had heard about Onck were just rumors. With this thought, Witt quickly straightened his uniform, walked over to Onck, and gave him a serious salute. "With unparalleled courage, you have saved me and thousands of revolutionaries. Please allow me to express my highest respect and deepest gratitude."

Onck smiled and returned the salute, accepting the horse brought by a guard and signaling General Witt to mount it. "Now is not the time for idle chatter. I've heard the French have defeated General Blücher, and they might reinforce this position at any moment. Let's retreat to Liège first."

"You're right. Preserving these revolutionaries is what matters most." Witt mounted the horse and quickly found his aide among the crowd, ordering him to gather the troops and head to Liège immediately.

However, the French quickly regrouped and pursued them.

The soldiers of Witt's corps, whose morale had already been shattered by the Imperial Guard's mounted artillery, were too scared to fight back, running even faster than before. With their lack of training, the marching formation soon began to fall apart.

As Witt anxiously tried to calm his men, Onck once again stepped forward, volunteering to lead a battalion to cover the retreat.

About 20 minutes later, the Masson regiment of the Imperial Guard, which had been in hot pursuit, engaged in a firefight with the 500-man Dutch force.

The two sides exchanged fire for a good half hour until one of Onck's close aides slipped away to a small wooded area near the battlefield, where he met with a French officer.

"Mr. Onck says this should be enough," the aide said in fluent French, as if speaking to an old acquaintance. "The next battle will be near Elivico village. Please withdraw now."

The French officer nodded. "Understood, we'll meet at Elivico village."

He was about to turn away but then stopped, fixing a sharp gaze on the aide. "The Prince reminds Mr. Onck not to forget our agreement."

"Of course, of course. Mr. Onck's reputation for keeping his word is well-known throughout Brussels."

"Good."

Shortly after, the French pursuers, unable to "withstand" the valiant Southern Netherlands soldiers led by Onck, began to retreat.

Amid the thunderous cheers of the soldiers, Onck led his forces to catch up with Witt's main force before nightfall.

Over the next two days, Onck volunteered twice more to cover the rear, each time miraculously driving off the pursuing French forces with his inferior numbers, allowing Witt's corps to safely reach Liège.

When Witt's soldiers joined up with the Southern Netherlands forces waiting to receive them, Onck's name quickly spread throughout Liège.

The Dutch soldiers, whom Onck had saved from peril multiple times, even gave him a nickname—"The Miracle Maker, Onck."

As wounded soldiers returned to Brussels to recover, this nickname, along with Onck's exploits, quickly became known to the entire Southern Netherlands rebel army.

At the next meeting of the Southern Netherlands parliament, the previously almost voiceless conservative members appeared reinvigorated, speaking louder and more assertively. Their opinions were noticeably more respected by the other members.

This was the political effect brought about by Henry Onck's miraculous military performance, which had earned him significant support among the revolutionaries.

...

Northwest of Luxembourg, in the town of Winsel.

By the time the Imperial Guard arrived, Blücher's army had already left a day and a half earlier.

Inside the town's trade center building, Joseph was dictating a letter to his uncle, Joseph II, while a scribe took notes.

Suddenly, Éman walked in quickly and whispered, "Your Highness, Major Masson has returned."

Joseph signaled the scribe to pause and said to Éman, "Please, bring him in."

Moments later, the major, who had been promoted from the Prince's personal guard to the Imperial Guard, entered the room with Éman and bowed to Joseph. "Your Highness, the mission has been successfully completed."

Joseph smiled and nodded. "You did an excellent job."

"Thank you for your praise," Masson replied, then added, "Your Highness, Henry Onck says that within three months, the main Southern Netherlands forces will begin to withdraw from south of Brussels. However, he said this requires persuading some members of parliament, so he'll need you to provide 500,000 livres in funding."

"He's certainly bold in his requests," Joseph chuckled and then turned to Éman. "Tell the intelligence bureau to give him 50,000 livres and tell him he has two months to withdraw from the Walloon region."

The area south of Brussels roughly corresponds to the Walloon region.

Masson cautiously asked, "Your Highness, what if Onck doesn't keep his word?"

"He wouldn't dare," Joseph replied calmly, shaking his head. "He knows what will happen if Vandernoot finds out about his cooperation with us."

Vandernoot was the leader of the Southern Netherlands' liberal faction and Onck's political rival. Historically, the liberals soon pushed Onck and other conservatives out of parliament, seizing power for themselves.

Joseph continued, "Even if Onck does go back on his word, it won't matter. As long as he remains in the Southern Netherlands parliament, my objective will be achieved.

"This is the greatest weakness of the electoral system."

Joseph was well aware that given the current fervor of the Southern Netherlands revolutionaries and the budding sense of national awakening, it would be difficult for France to maintain control over the Walloon region.

Even if they used military force to occupy it, they would face constant uprisings from the revolutionaries, turning the Walloon region into a liability rather than a benefit.

Therefore, it was crucial to dismantle the unity of the Southern Netherlands' rebel parliament, plunging them into internal conflict and shifting the revolutionaries' focus to political struggles.

(End of Chapter)

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