Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

"Yes, General, it's a draw," said the staff officer, pushing his chair back as he too looked eastward, "just like this damned standoff."

After playing chess for most of the day, General Kellermann, who found the game quite dull, stood up and stretched lazily, "I heard from a Cavalry Scout that there's a nice river by the border of Gorlitz, teeming with plump trout. Let's go fishing there tomorrow."

"That would certainly be nice," the staff officer said, "but that area is close to Saxon, so it might not be very safe."

"No problem, we'll just bring more guards."

Kellermann donned his coat and sauntered out of the tent, as the distant roar of cannon fire was heard once more.

He had originally thought he could distinguish himself in Austria and boost the military's sagging spirits over the past six months—since the Marquis de Saint-Veran's rebellion, the military had been heavily suppressed by the Royal Family and was in dire need of a victory to regain prestige.

However, after the initial raid was ambushed by the Prussians, resulting in nearly a thousand men lost, he had not had another opportunity to participate in the action—

The Austrian Army and the Prussian Army had set up numerous artillery pieces on the hills of Legnica, more than 230 on the former and 190 on the latter, and then began a relentless day-and-night bombardment.

The dense lines of cannons made both sides' infantry hesitant to make any rash moves—they didn't have the boldness of the French Guard Corps to charge in columns, and would quickly draw back after a brief foray into the artillery range.

This had been the favored mode of warfare for the Prussian and Austrian forces in recent decades, using a massive number of fixed artillery positions to hold the ground, then seeking to break through by concentrating forces on the enemy's weak points.

But the commanders of both sides were well-versed in this tactic. After clashing in the Seven Years' War and the Bavarian War of Succession, they were very familiar with each other's military habits and took meticulous precautions against each other.

And so, for a month, the miles-long artillery line of both sides bombarded each other, and apart from the occasional unlucky soldier being "accidentally" hit by an enemy shell every few days, almost no results were achieved.

The minor losses of the cannons were immediately replenished by countries as large as Prussia and Austria, and thus the stalemate in Silesia persisted.

Neither country dared withdraw its troops casually, fearing that the other might suddenly reinforce and forcefully break through their artillery positions.

Hence, every day the combined armies of more than 200,000 men would routinely come to the front lines to witness the "fireworks show," and then it was time to eat and sleep, leading a rather comfortable and leisurely life.

The only ones not at ease were the treasuries of Prussia and Austria. Maintaining such large armies came with no small expense.

Leopold II finished his inspection of the Silesian front with a gloomy expression and returned to Vienna.

He was well aware that, although Prussia and Austria were currently in a deadlock, with Austria even having a slight advantage in troop numbers, strategically, Austria was moving towards failure.

As the one who had concentrated all its resources to launch the offensive, Austria still lingered only on the edges of Silesia without making any decisive progress.

Meanwhile, in financial terms, the Prussian endurance—fueled by its "militaristic" policies—proved to be far stronger than Austria's.

The Prussian serfs dared not harbour any dissatisfaction towards the Junker lords as long as they had potatoes to fill their bellies, while the Junker nobility were willing to go to the front lines to earn military distinction for little or even no pay.

But in Austria, due to the reforms of the older brother, taxation faced resistance from the nobility, and if the finances suffered because of the war, the entire nation could collapse.

Therefore, it was imperative to quickly shift the situation in Silesia, using the victory of war to stabilize the domestic state of affairs.

Leopold II fell into contemplation; by the time he snapped out of it, the carriage had stopped in the square of Schonbrunn Palace. He hurried to Joseph II's bedroom, collected his thoughts outside the door one last time, then knocked and entered.

After reporting on the situation in Silesia, he looked at his frail brother and said solemnly, "Your Majesty, we must mobilize on a large scale as soon as possible, or else by the end of this year at the latest, our finances will no longer be able to support the war."

He didn't need to remind the Emperor on the sickbed what kind of desperate situation Austria would face if they were defeated in Silesia.

"Based on what I've seen on the battlefield, we need to recruit at least another 80,000 troops to possibly achieve a rapid advance in Legnica," he said.

Joseph II, gazing out the window for a long time, finally spoke with difficulty, "You know the current situation of our country, we can't..."

Leopold II bit his lip, stepped forward, and said in a deep voice, "Brother, now is the time when we must temporarily halt the reforms.
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"If we restore the traditional rights of those nobles and stop paying the serfs their extra wages, the nobles of Hungary and Kyiv could immediately assemble an army of more than 100,000 and also raise a substantial amount of funds!"

"With that, not only could we retake Silesia, but we could even advance into Lusatia!"

Lusatia was already within Prussia's traditional territories, which also included some provinces in the eastern part of Saxony.

Not waiting for Joseph II to refuse, he continued, "Moreover, the Southern Netherlands Rebels would lose the support of the nobles, which would help to ease the unrest in the western part of the Empire.

"I know this is a difficult decision for you, but once we retake Silesia, with the prestige brought by a victorious war, you can re-implement the reforms, which will surely proceed more smoothly than now!"

Joseph II let out a wooden sigh; the reforms into which he had poured most of his life's efforts had become an obstacle to the nation's victory.

After a long silence, he finally shook his head dejectedly, "Let me think about it some more… after all, we are so close to success…"

Leopold II was about to persuade him further when Joseph II changed the subject, "Leao has made a comprehensive plan to attack the Southern Netherlands and needs 10,000 more troops. Can you allocate some?"

Leopold II took Leao's letter from his brother's attendant and quickly scanned it, then said with some hesitation, "He plans to have the French people deal with the Hanoverian Army?"

"Charles II has brought 20,000 troops, and there are several thousand Dutch as well. If the French Army engages them in the Southern Netherlands, it will likely result in a long stalemate."

After taking a break, Joseph II continued, "Archbishop Constantine has promised me that he will summon forces loyal to him to strike from the north side and encircle Brussels. Leao can surely achieve a breakthrough sooner and then capture Brussels. Oh, General Wilmze also highly approves of this plan."

Constantine was the Archbishop of the Diocese of Liege, which as an independent ecclesiastical territory, meant the Archbishop held tremendous power there.

Leopold II fell silent for a moment then lowered his head and said, "I will find a way to send additional reinforcements for General Leao, Your Majesty."

After he left Joseph II's bedroom, whispering to himself "It's time to make a decision," he returned to the carriage and ordered the driver to head to the residence of State Minister Kaunitz.

...

Luxembourg City.

Joseph took advantage of the brief rest of the Guard Corps before they headed to Brussels to preside over the ceremony for the French Steel Technology Association's acquisition of eleven iron mines in Luxembourg, as well as the two largest smelting workshops.