Chapter 344: The Hero of France
Chapter 345: The Hero of France
The expression on Leo's face, Commander-in-Chief of the Austrian forces in the Southern Netherlands, grew even more strained.
Accompanying the reinforcements to Luxembourg was a secret letter from Joseph II. The letter instructed him to draw the French forces into battle with Prussia and Hanover as much as possible, and if necessary, to lure the enemy into the Luxembourg region.
However, having dealt with the French forces for some time, Leo knew better than anyone just how cunning these Frenchmen were.
They constantly agitated for him to engage Blücher in a decisive battle, yet they kept their own camps behind the Austrian army's lines and had begun constructing breastworks along the Luxembourg and Liège borders—simple defensive fortifications—as if preparing to defend Luxembourg to the last man.
Previously, Leo had used the excuse of insufficient troops to delay for nearly half a month. But with Joseph II's 8,000 reinforcements now in place, he had been cornered by both the Emperor and the French.
He looked at Lefebvre again, a pleading tone in his voice. "My dearest friend, you will surely reinforce me when I engage the Prussians, won't you?"
He had witnessed the fighting prowess of Lefebvre's regiment, especially during the pursuit when over 2,000 French soldiers had sent nearly 5,000 men from Altmann's corps scrambling away in panic. With Lefebvre's assistance, he might stand a chance against Blücher's 14,000-strong army.
Lefebvre had been waiting for that very line, yet he put on a troubled expression. "I would be delighted to help you, General. After all, our friendship was forged in blood on the battlefield. But as you know, I cannot move my troops without orders. To be frank, my instructions are to hold positions along Mount DeVrytier."
Before Leo could plead further, Lefebvre considerately leaned closer to his old friend and whispered, "The Crown Prince is in the town of Cleves. Perhaps you could appeal to him. His Highness is warm-hearted and easy to persuade."
...
Northern Luxembourg, the town of Cleves.
The scenes along both sides of the road were quite desolate. When the Prussian army retreated from here, they took everything they could plunder. Not only were all sorts of livestock "requisitioned," but even some families' bedsheets and quilts were taken for bandages.
Joseph watched the Luxembourgian farmers flash past his carriage window, his mind preoccupied with military expenses.
This morning, he had received a report from Brienne in Paris, detailing the expenditures of French forces in various locations during this period.
The troops in Tunisia had been stationed the longest, and their expenses had already reached 4.5 million livres.
Although the French forces in Silesia and Luxembourg had only been deployed for about a month, the fierce fighting had driven their total expenditures to tens of millions of livres.
This figure didn't even include the pensions for wounded and deceased soldiers, nor did it account for the substantial supplies Joseph II had provided to the French forces in Silesia.
Including pensions, the military expenditures for this period were roughly 17 million livres.
And this was after just over a month of fighting.
Joseph frowned slightly. He knew full well that to achieve his strategic plan for the Southern Netherlands, the war might last for half a year or even a full year.
The required military funding would certainly exceed 100 million livres.
Bear in mind, back then France had spent a staggering 1.3 billion livres over eight years to support the American War of Independence! And for the first few years, it was just "volunteer forces" engaging in minor skirmishes. The true large-scale intervention began in 1780, when Count Rochambeau led 6,000 French soldiers into America. From then until American independence in 1783, annual military expenditures exceeded 300 million livres.
War, in any era, was a ravenous beast that devoured gold.
Although victory in war brought immense dividends, for now, France needed to make an enormous upfront investment.
If mishandled, the French treasury, which had just barely clawed its way back from the brink, would likely plunge back into the abyss.
How was he to raise these military funds?
According to the conventional methods of this era, funding was usually secured by borrowing from banks or private lenders, issuing war bonds, or increasing war taxes.
Joseph couldn't help but sigh softly. 'These were all pitfalls,' he mused.
The first two methods would burden the national treasury with heavy interest—extremely risky wartime loans often carried interest rates exceeding 40%.
Raising taxes was even more detrimental. He had just gone to great lengths to suppress the people's revolutionary fervor, and he certainly didn't want high tax rates to undo all his previous efforts. Besides, Louis XV had already increased the military tax, and it had never been abolished after the last war.
He mentally reviewed all the methods for rapidly raising large sums of money from later eras.
'First, paper currency,' he thought.
Conveniently, the French Reserve Bank's banknotes hadn't yet been officially declared as France's sole legal tender, so he could use this opportunity to issue more.
Moreover, doing so would be beneficial to France's current economic situation—French industry was in a phase of rapid development, and moderate inflation at such a time could stimulate consumption and boost sales of goods.
Then he remembered the French Commercial Insurance Company. 'In later eras, the insurance industry was a crucial pillar of the financial system,' he mused.
However, in the late 18th century, the insurance industry was still underdeveloped; aside from marine insurance, there was only fire and household insurance.
'The market is too small...'
Joseph chuckled and shook his head at this thought.
'My thinking has become rigid, hasn't it?'
'A small market just means there's a huge void in the market! If users don't have a demand, then guide them to create one.'
'If I could get the insurance industry off the ground, military expenses for one or two years would be no problem at all. There would even be surplus funds to invest in industrial development.'
He immediately took out paper and pen and quickly began to write on the carriage's small wooden table: health insurance...
commercial insurance...
wealth management insurance...
Before long, Joseph's convoy stopped near the Guards Corps camp north of the town. A squad of soldiers on guard duty immediately ran forward and lined up in front of the Crown Prince's carriage to greet him.
Their heads held high and backs ramrod straight, it was clear just how incredibly high their morale was at that moment.
Joseph smiled and nodded in acknowledgment to the soldiers, then instructed a Major who had come to greet him to take him directly to the infirmary area.
A cluster of farmhouses on the outskirts had been temporarily rented as a field hospital, and with tents erected between the buildings, there were over three hundred wounded soldiers receiving treatment there.
Perna was busy scurrying back and forth with her nurses. Having heard from someone that the Crown Prince had arrived, she curtsied to Joseph from a distance, then was immediately called away by the cries of the wounded.
Many local Luxembourgers had been hired to help. Luxembourg, situated at the junction of France, Germany, and the Netherlands, was home to masters of languages; most locals had mastered three foreign languages from a young age, so there were no language barriers for working here.
They also had little strong opinion on who ruled the country.
When the wounded soldiers saw the Crown Prince arrive, they struggled to rise and salute, but were stopped by the accompanying officers. Instead, Joseph was the first to sincerely salute them by raising his hat, declaring, "You are the heroes of France! France is honored by your sacrifice and dedication!"
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