Chapter 361: 800,000 Ransom
Joseph and Berthier exchanged glances again.
Though neither of them fully understood what was happening, they spoke almost simultaneously: "Your Royal Highness, I recommend an immediate attack!"
"I believe we should coordinate a strong assault with Major Lacoste."
Berthier bowed slightly. "Yes, Your Royal Highness!"
Soon, the Guards Corps skirmishers began to converge on Orxennes, while the cannons roared, tearing apart the thin Hanoverian infantry lines with their shells.
Berthier looked at Joseph with some concern, murmuring, "Your Royal Highness, could it be that the horse artillery didn't manage to flank them in time, and the enemy's reinforcements have already linked up with their rear guard?"
He frowned deeply. "Or perhaps they were routed by the enemy's reinforcements?"
Joseph pondered, shaking his head. "Certainly not the latter. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to launch such a fierce bombardment. You just said there were dozens of cannons firing at the enemy."
Berthier let out a sigh of relief. "You're right. At least they haven't suffered significant losses.
As they discussed with worried expressions, a guard led over a burly soldier, blackened all over with gunpowder smoke.
Berthier immediately recognized him. "Are you Matthew, the dispatch rider from the horse artillery battalion?"
"Yes, General. Matthew Dibble." The dispatch rider saluted, touching his hat. "The Major heard your cannons firing and sent me to report. The horse artillery battalion, coordinated with the dragoons, routed the Hanoverian reinforcements heading to their rear guard. Then, the Major learned from the captives that the enemy had fortified Orxennes, so he decided to rush here and attack the enemy."
Berthier paused for a second before a delighted smile spread across his face. "Major Lacoste is truly... ah, so brave! He has made an outstanding contribution to the corps' victory."
He then turned to Joseph and whispered, "He used to be a very steady officer."
Joseph immediately thought of a certain artillery captain, pursing his lips. "Perhaps it was one of his adventurous subordinates who gave him the idea."
The Hanoverian forces in Orxennes clearly hadn't anticipated an attack from their rear, and quickly fell into disarray.
Commander Lieutenant Colonel Schmidt desperately shouted, moving soldiers to the north side to intercept the enemy. However, he had previously deployed all his men on the rooftops. Issuing orders and reorganizing the troops took a full half-hour, with less than three companies reaching the north of the village.
With his efforts, the Hanoverian soldiers in the village became somewhat bewildered. They scrambled down from the rooftops, only to hear greater commotion from the south, then quickly rushed back to the rooftops...
From the north, the horse artillery, meeting almost no resistance, surged into the village first.
Major Lacoste ordered his men to drag the cannons to a position less than a hundred yards in front of several farmhouses where enemy soldiers were hidden, then shelled those houses into collapse.
The Hanoverian soldiers who witnessed this scene were instantly terrified out of their wits, frantically fleeing the farmhouses, fearing they would be buried in the ruins like their comrades.
On the south side of the village, Davout pointed towards the burning farmhouse ahead and yelled to his orderly, "The fire there has broken the enemy's defenses! Everyone, charge through with me!"
The drummers and standard-bearers executed their captain's orders without hesitation. Under the urgent drumbeat, hundreds of Guards Corps soldiers rapidly advanced past both sides of the burning farmhouse. Though tongues of flame licked away all their eyebrows and beards, and some even had their clothes catch fire, there were indeed no Hanoverian soldiers nearby.
Davout directed his soldiers to extinguish the flames on each other, quickly reformed their ranks, and immediately unleashed a volley against the enemy's infantry lines to their flank.
The breach rapidly widened, and more Guards Corps soldiers poured into the village, shouting.
Less than an hour later, the Guards Corps soldiers, attacking simultaneously from both north and south, met in the village.
Soon after, Lieutenant Colonel Schmidt, with singed hair and a large tear in his uniform, was brought before Joseph by a captain and his men.
Upon learning Joseph's identity, the Hanoverian officer politely saluted him by placing a hand over his chest. "I did not expect the commander of this great army to be the young Crown Prince of France. Your art of command has left a truly unforgettable impression on me."
Joseph nodded in acknowledgment. "Then, please tell me, how much longer until His Excellency Karl II completes his defensive preparations?"
"I apologize, Your Royal Highness. Out of loyalty to His Majesty the King, I cannot utter a single word to you."
Joseph waved a hand, then turned to Berthier, asking quietly, "What is this man's background?"
Berthier thought for a moment, then consulted an adjutant nearby before replying, "Your Royal Highness, Viscount Schmidt is from a prominent family in Verden. His grandfather was a Hanoverian lieutenant general since the time of George II."
Joseph nodded, a smile gracing his lips. 'It seems he comes from a rather wealthy family.'
He then gestured to a nearby guard. "Please first get Viscount Schmidt some clean clothes, then invite him to my tent for a cup of tea. Even for an enemy, a man of his standing deserves proper respect."
Lieutenant Colonel Schmidt was about to express his gratitude when he heard the French Crown Prince continue, "Let's set the ransom at 800,000 livres. That should appropriately reflect your noble status."
Schmidt nearly choked, almost spitting out a mouthful of blood. He had never heard of someone being "priced" for ransom right after capture.
800,000 livres! That was more than 300,000 florins!
'He couldn't possibly come up with that much money, even if he lost everything he owned!'
"Your Royal Highness, you can't..."
He was about to "haggle" when he heard the French Crown Prince whisper to a nearby general, "Oh? Is that too much? No, no, I've heard it's quite easy for high-ranking officers to get loans from British banks."
All his words instantly caught in his throat, until a French officer invited him to step into the military tent...
...
Karl II inquired of his adjutant almost every half hour, "How much longer until the army completes its assembly?"
This time, the adjutant did not report the positions of various units as before. Instead, with a dark expression, he whispered, "Marshal, we've just received news that Orxennes has been breached..."
Karl II felt his head spin. In less than four hours, Schmidt, who was so adept at defensive warfare, had actually been defeated?!
That meant there was now less than 3 miles of open ground between the French army and his own forces.
He looked at the map beside him. His furthest infantry regiment was still 1.5 miles away. By the time the French attacked, they might not even be fully assembled.
Most crucially, there had been no news from the cannons of the rear guard.
Without artillery, even if he were to directly confront the French, he would only end up being thoroughly beaten.
He hesitated for a long while, then summoned an officer nearby and declared loudly, "Sir Diehl, you are now in full command of the army's operations."
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