Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Leopold II continued, "According to the latest news sent back from the Southern Netherlands, General Leao is counterattacking Liege with the assistance of the French people.

"With Blucher's forces currently suffering from low morale, General Leao is likely to achieve commendable results."

Joseph II nodded in relief, "Draft a commendation order for Franz Siegmund Leao for me, and also, dispatch another 4,000 troops to support him. Perhaps Austria is about to witness the rise of yet another military genius."

Austria was currently under significant troop pressure, so allocating so many soldiers clearly showed the Emperor's high regard for Leao.

As they were talking, State Minister Count Kaunitz hurriedly knocked and entered, holding a document in his hand.

Upon seeing his grave expression, Leopold II urgently inquired, "Did something happen in Silesia?"

"No, Your Majesty, the stalemate in Silesia persists," Kaunitz handed him the document, "It's the international situation that has changed. Hanover has increased its troops by 30,000, and it is said there will be more reinforcements."

Leopold II's heart immediately tightened. Hanover had previously sent over 10,000 troops to Silesia, and with an additional 30,000, that was almost the entirety of Hanover's armed forces.

If they were to increase their troops further, it would mean large-scale conscription, which would inevitably impact their domestic agriculture and trade.

For Hanover to be so "desperate," there was only one possibility—the British had decided to fully support Prussia.

Kaunitz added from the side, "The only solace at the moment is that our spy in Hanover confirmed that only 10,000 of their troops are reinforcements for Silesia, with the rest headed to the Southern Netherlands. Prussia also plans to allocate 10,000 soldiers to Blucher."

After meeting with the Hanoverian envoy, William II had consulted with Prince Henry and decided to also send reinforcements to the Southern Netherlands—since they could not convince the British, they might as well cooperate with them and quickly eliminate the Austrian and French forces in the lowland area. This would also prevent the Franco-Austrians from taking back the Southern Netherlands following their prior victory.

According to their plan, 20,000 Hanoverian soldiers plus Blucher's 14,000, along with several thousand troops from the Southern Netherlands Army, and if an additional 10,000 were allocated to Blucher, they would have nearly 50,000 troops in the Southern Netherlands.

Meanwhile, the Franco-Austrians did not even have 25,000 troops there.

With such a vast advantage in troop numbers, it would take at most a month to crush the French and Austrian forces in Luxembourg, and then, this 50,000-strong Hanoverian-Prussian army would march to Silesia to secure a decisive victory.

Joseph II struggled to sit up straighter, his voice hoarse, "Fortunately, the British are very worried about the expansion of French power in the Southern Netherlands..."

Leopold II continued, "Perhaps you could grant General Leao even greater rewards, his victory has greatly relieved our pressure in Silesia."

Joseph II nodded slightly, "We should allocate more troops to General Leao. After fighting with Hanover, France is likely to increase troops as well. In this case, the Southern Netherlands could draw a large number of Prussian forces."

Leopold II wholeheartedly agreed, "And we should take this opportunity to call up the nation's forces and achieve a decisive victory in Silesia!"

...

In the streets of Paris, countless citizens were spontaneously taking to the streets to celebrate the great triumph of the Royal Guards in Luxembourg.

Since their defeat in the Seven Years' War, it had been a long time since the French people had won a war against a major European power.

As for the American War of Independence, it was, first of all, merely "civilian volunteers" from France, and moreover, the main victory was won by the Continental Army, to which the French public did not pay much attention.

But this time, it was the regular French army that had faced off against the Prussian Army with inferior numbers and emerged victorious, making the French feel as if the Sun King had returned.

At that time, the French were not yet known for their future "white flag skills"; rather, they were exceedingly martial in spirit.

The joy of a military victory could even make them forget the worry of having no bread for their next meal. In this regard, only the Russians could match them.

This is also why Napoleon was able to easily stage a coup and regain power after being exiled, winning support from all over the country with ease—he could win battles!

Of course, this also involved Joseph manipulating public opinion through the news media.

Recent major newspapers have all been publishing content about the Battle of Luxembourg, from the Crown Prince personally going to the battlefield to command the troops, to the outstanding performances of various officers, and even to the heroic actions of the soldiers themselves.

The topic quickly reached a fever pitch, completely distracting people from the ongoing food shortages plaguing France.

By noon, crowds celebrating the victory had already arrived near the Palace of Versailles, and the commercial streets of Versailles welcomed another wave of brisk sales.

Queen Mary didn't complain this time about her son entering the dangerous battlefield—she had started to get used to it, after all, as Archbishop Brienne had said, the Crown Prince was just tens of kilometers away from the battlefield to boost morale and nothing untoward would happen.

She heard the noisy cheers from the square and signaled to her maid, Countess Debreninac, "Please open the window."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The huge arched French window was pushed open, and the cheers outside immediately reached Queen Mary's ears.

"Long live the Crown Prince!"

"The Son of Divine Favor has brought us victory!"

"Long live the King, God bless France!"

"March into the Southern Netherlands, reclaim the Walloon Region!"

"The Royal Guards are invincible, glory belongs to you..."

A look of joy instantly spread across Queen Mary's face; since coming to France, she had never seen such high support for the Royal Family from the populace.

And all this was brought about by her son's great military victory.

She hastily instructed her maid, "Order the guards to open the gates to the square, let the people come in to celebrate. Oh, prepare some food for everyone, and a band too, we must have music and dance at a time like this."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

The cheers of tens of thousands soon drowned out the entire Palace of Versailles, and Queen Mary, with Louis XVI rushing to her side at the news, clasped his arm at the window and asked loudly, "Shouldn't we give Joseph some reward?"

Louis XVI also raised his voice, to be heard above the shouts from the square, "Yes, what do you think would be a fitting reward?"

"I hope it's a beautiful and kind wife..."

"You're rewarding that lucky princess," Louis XVI laughed, then after a brief contemplation, called out loudly, "How about we erect a statue for our Son of Divine Favor in the Versailles Palace Square."

…

At the same time that the Hanoverian Army and Prussian Allied Forces were rushing to Luxembourg, on the far-off southern peninsula of India, Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, was also inspecting his massive army.

It was a formidable army of 60,000 men, equipped with Charleville or Brown Bess flintlock guns and marching in tidy European formations.