Chapter 333: Wedge and Means of Disintegration
Under the encouragement of Speaker Vonck, the Southern Netherlands rebels launched a fierce assault on the French forces encircling General Wit.
Contrary to their expectations, the French army crumbled at the first blow. In less than twenty minutes, a gaping breach appeared in the encirclement.
Wit also clearly noticed something was amiss. When he vaguely spotted the flags of the Southern Netherlands National Army through his telescope, he was ecstatic, ordering the officers by his side to rally their spirits and break out with him.
Caught between two fronts, Major Masson's Guards Corps was increasingly "overwhelmed," and soldiers near the Netherlandish forces scattered in panic.
In less than an hour, Wit joined forces with Major Acht, who had arrived as reinforcement.
General Wit glanced at the French retreating in disarray, then stepped forward and embraced Acht tightly, patting his back as he exclaimed excitedly, "You came just in time, my dear friend! You are like the first ray of dawn suddenly appearing on a cold, snowy night..."
Acht withdrew from his embrace and gestured towards Speaker Vonck, who was not far away. "General, in truth, Speaker Vonck is the real dawn. It was he who bravely overcame all objections to lead us here to save you."
"Vonck?" General Wit froze, finding it hard to connect that greedy and irresponsible politician with bravery.
But Acht wouldn't deceive him. 'Perhaps all the discrediting rumors about Vonck were just that—rumors.' With that thought, Wit quickly straightened his uniform and approached Vonck, offering a solemn salute with a hand over his chest. "You have saved me and thousands of revolutionaries with your supreme courage. Please allow me to express my highest respect and sincere gratitude."
"You're right, preserving these revolutionaries is paramount," Wit said as he mounted his horse. He then located his chief of staff in the crowd and instructed him to gather the troops and immediately retreat towards Liège.
However, the French quickly regrouped and gave chase.
The soldiers of Wit's army, whose morale had been shattered by the Guards Corps' cavalry artillery earlier, dared not engage. They fled faster than the next, and coupled with their extremely poor training, their marching formation quickly showed signs of breaking apart.
As Wit anxiously shouted commands to reassure his soldiers, Vonck stepped forward again, declaring his willingness to lead a battalion to cover the retreat.
Over twenty minutes later, Major Masson's regiment of the pursuing Guards Corps exchanged fire with the over 500 Netherlandish soldiers before them.
After approximately half an hour of sporadic gunfire, one of Vonck's confidants slipped away to a small grove not far from the battlefield, where he met a French officer.
"Mr. Vonck says this is enough," the confidant said in French, as if greeting an old acquaintance. "The next battlefield is near Ailiviko village. Please retreat first."
The French officer nodded. "Understood. See you at Ailiviko village."
He was about to turn away but stopped, his sharp gaze fixed on the other man. "His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, asked me to remind Mr. Vonck not to forget the agreement."
"Yes, yes. How could he forget? Mr. Vonck's reputation for keeping his word is known to everyone in Brussels."
"Good."
Immediately afterward, the French pursuers "could not withstand" the valiant Southern Netherlandish soldiers under Vonck's command and began to retreat.
Amidst the thunderous cheers of his soldiers, Vonck began to accelerate his pursuit of Wit's main army, catching up with him before nightfall.
Over the next two days, Vonck covered the retreat twice more, each time miraculously repelling the pursuers despite their inferior numbers, allowing Wit's army to reach Liège safely.
When Wit's soldiers met up with the Southern Netherlanders who had come to greet them, Vonck's name immediately spread throughout Liège.
The Netherlandish soldiers, whom he had rescued from peril multiple times, even gave him a nickname—Vonck, the Miracle-Worker.
As injured soldiers returned to Brussels to recuperate, this nickname, along with Vonck's deeds, quickly became known to all Southern Netherlandish rebels.
In the Southern Netherlands Parliament convened the next day, the Conservative delegates, who previously had almost no say, were visibly invigorated and spoke with noticeably louder voices. Their opinions were also clearly given more weight by the other delegates.
All this was the political effect of Conservative leader Henri Vonck's miraculous military performance, which had won him immense support among the revolutionaries.
...
Winceler town, northwestern Luxembourg.
When the Guards Corps arrived, Blücher's army had already left a day and a half prior.
Inside the town's trade center building, Joseph was dictating a letter to his uncle, Joseph II, while a scribe recorded it.
Suddenly, Eman walked over briskly and whispered, "Your Highness, Major Masson has returned."
Joseph gestured for the scribe to pause and said to Eman, "Please, invite him in immediately."
A moment later, the Major, who had been promoted from the Crown Prince's personal guard to the Guards Corps, entered the room, led by Eman. He saluted Joseph with a hand over his chest. "Your Highness, the mission has been successfully completed."
Joseph smiled and nodded. "You have done very well."
"Thank you for your praise," Masson replied. "Your Highness, Henri Vonck stated that the main Southern Netherlandish forces will gradually withdraw from south of Brussels within three months at the earliest. However, he said he needs to convince some delegates, so he will require you to provide a budget of 500,000 Livre."
"He certainly has some nerve," Joseph chuckled, then instructed Eman, "Tell the Intelligence Bureau to take 50,000 Livre to Vonck. Inform him to withdraw from Wallonia within two months."
The area south of Brussels roughly encompassed Wallonia.
Masson cautiously remarked, "Your Highness, what if Vonck doesn't keep his word..."
"He wouldn't dare." Joseph shook his head calmly. "He knows what the consequences would be if Vander Noot learned of his cooperation with us."
Vander Noot was the leader of the Southern Netherlandish Liberals, Vonck's political rival. Historically, the Liberals soon after pushed Vonck and other Conservatives out of parliament and began to monopolize power.
Joseph continued, "Even if Vonck truly breaks his promise, it won't matter much. As long as he remains in the Southern Netherlands Parliament, my objective will be achieved.
"This is the greatest weakness of the so-called electoral system."
He knew full well that given the fervor of the current Southern Netherlandish rebels and the nascent stirrings of national awakening, it would be difficult for France to secure Wallonia.
Even if occupied by force, it would face rebellions sparked by revolutionaries everywhere.
In that scenario, Wallonia would not only fail to bring profit to France but would instead become a significant drain.
Therefore, it was essential to dismantle the Southern Netherlandish rebel parliament, cause them to fall into internal strife, and thereby divert all revolutionaries' attention to political struggles.
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