Chapter 383: An Awkward Situation
The Southern Netherlands.
Southern suburbs of Brussels, Hanoverian Expeditionary Force encampment.
"Finally, here!" Karl II enthusiastically tapped a small town southeast of Brussels on the military map, proclaiming, "We will encircle the French and ultimately annihilate them. Afterward, we will march south to support General Blücher..."
The officers facing him exchanged awkward glances. Finally, an older general cautiously ventured:
"Marshal, your deployment is perfect. However... given the current state of our soldiers, it's probably not suitable for a full-scale counter-offensive."
The other officers immediately nodded in agreement.
Just two weeks prior, Karl II had mobilized 30,000 troops and ample supplies for a lightning strike against the French positions.
However, as soon as the Hanoverian army left its encampment, the French appeared like ghosts near Antwerp.
Although the Southern Netherlands National Guard defending Antwerp numbered nearly 4,000, they held out for less than half a day before being completely routed. It wasn't necessarily because the French army was so formidable, but rather that the Southern Netherlands troops there had only been conscripted less than two months ago, and they were destined to Collapse at the First Blow when facing a regular army.
As the main Hanoverian force moved north, the Dutch and Southern Netherlands armies south of Brussels were immediately ambushed by the French, losing two strategically crucial villages.
Karl II then spent over ten days, enduring French artillery bombardment and suffering more than a thousand casualties, to finally retake those two villages and stabilize the front line.
After this ordeal, the Hanoverian army's morale plummeted. Without two or three months of rest, they couldn't possibly mount a decent attack.
Yet, their Marshal wanted to launch a "full-scale counter-offensive" at this very moment.
Karl II didn't blame the dissenting officer. Instead, he smiled and surveyed the room, his tone triumphant:
"If all goes as planned, within two weeks at most, the French will recall a large number of troops back to their country. We must prepare in advance for such a golden opportunity."
Ignoring the officers' astonished expressions, he pointed back to the map:
"Now, I will arrange the operation to support the Prussian army."
He had barely spoken a sentence when he heard a chamberlain's voice from the doorway:
"Marshal, Speaker Vander Noot has arrived."
A wider smile instantly spread across Karl II's face, and he gestured:
"Please, usher Speaker Vander Noot in quickly. My officers are in need of his good news."
Indeed, Vander Noot had already informed him about the riots stirred up in France by the Committee of Free Allies, and it was precisely for this reason that he had begun preparing for a counter-offensive against the French army.
Moreover, he had learned through his own intelligence channels that the Southern Netherlands agents had done a good job, and the French monarchy was To Be in a Terrible Fix due to the unrest in the northwestern provinces.
Vander Noot's visit now was likely to deliver the good news that the French had decided to recall their front-line troops back home.
As the door to the war room opened, Vander Noot rushed in. Just as he was about to speak, he spotted a room full of high-ranking Hanoverian officers.
He paused abruptly, bowed with a hand to his chest to Karl II, and stammered:
"Marshal, I, that is, there are some matters I wish to discuss with you alone."
"Oh, there's nothing that cannot be said in front of my loyal subordinates," Karl II replied with a smile, gesturing to the officers. "Besides, I've already told them the situation."
"Ah? You know the situation?!" Vander Noot was taken aback.
Noticing the change in his expression, Karl II asked, somewhat hesitantly:
"What 'situation' are you referring to?"
Vander Noot was already consumed with anxiety. He stepped forward and stated in a grave tone:
"Our people in France have been subjected to mass arrests, the French have put them on public trial, and the rioting farmers have all gathered to watch the trials...
"In short, our plan has failed."
"What? Failed?!" Karl II seized his arms, exclaiming, "Didn't you say the operation was foolproof, and the French would retreat within two weeks?"
He was very clear about the state of his own troops; if the French army didn't withdraw, his counter-offensive would be suicide.
Vander Noot nodded grimly: "I swear to God, we made ample preparations. Who knows why it turned out this way..."
In truth, it wasn't his plan that was flawed; it was simply that he lacked understanding of France's new police system, still operating under assumptions about the capabilities of the old police force.
Had it not been for the Police Reform, under the leadership of numerous Southern Netherlands "revolutionaries" and armed with thousands of Flintlock Muskets, the farmers of Reims could have stormed the town hall during the first riot. Subsequently, the unrest would have spread rapidly, plunging the entire province into chaos. The situation in Lille and other areas would have been much the same.
Coupled with young nobles incited to "defend aristocratic interests" clashing with rioting farmers, the chaos could have swept across half of France.
Vander Noot had dispatched over 200 revolutionary elites and invested significant funds, undoubtedly having full confidence in his ability to cripple France.
However, his people encountered Joseph's new police force.
The more than 500 police officers in Reims fearlessly withstood the rioters' stones and gunfire, forming ranks to push through the chaotic crowds, splitting the rioters into several groups, and dispersing them with Riot Control Forks.
During the first two riots in Reims, police casualties soared to over 70. However, the comprehensive police training system allowed the Reims Police Bureau to immediately mobilize a hundred police cadets as reinforcements, maintaining the highest level of alert for the better part of a month.
This sense of responsibility for public order, loyalty to the government, and high morale surpassed not only the old-style police but even some military units.
It was thanks to the outstanding performance of the police in the northwestern provinces that a massive storm was averted. It could be said that a similar situation, whether occurring in Austria or Prussia, would have caused ten or a hundred times more destruction than it did in France.
Karl II, still unconvinced, repeatedly pressed Vander Noot for confirmation. After the latter divulged more details, he finally waved his hand, his face etched with fury, at the officers in the meeting room:
"All of you, leave. Oh, and you are forbidden to speak of what you just heard to anyone."
"Yes, Marshal."
...
Paris.
The day after the public trials of the Southern Netherlands spies concluded, Joseph received a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stating that the British Foreign Secretary had requested to postpone a scheduled meeting, set for two days later, by five days.
Joseph looked at the document in his hand, a smile playing on his lips: 'He'll need some time to figure out how to handle this awkward situation.'
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