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Chapter 633: France's Rapid Response Force

Led by the officer, Lutzke ascended the small hill, where representatives from Austria, Britain, Bavaria, and other nations had already gathered. A Major in a Baden uniform stood pointing down the slope, addressing the crowd loudly.

"Gentlemen, this joint military exercise, code-named 'Steadfast Will,' is being held to practice how France and Bavaria would defend against attacks on trade routes within our borders. It is not directed at any specific nation."

This explanation was, naturally, drafted by Joseph. The Baden officer was merely reciting from a script.

The officer motioned for guards to distribute telescopes to the negotiation representatives, then continued: "This exercise integrates 1,800 soldiers from the Baden Royal Guard with 48,000 soldiers from the French Royal Guard Legion.

"The exercise forces will be divided into Blue and White armies, engaging in a week-long offensive and defensive drill around Karlsruhe. The exercise subjects include: urban defense, outflanking counterattacks, pursuit, and counter-offensives..."

Lutzke's expression darkened. With 50,000 French troops suddenly appearing here for an exercise, who could fail to see their true intentions?

Coupled with the exercise's name – 'Steadfast Will' – it was practically like hanging a sign in the trade negotiation hall that read, 'France is displeased, France is angry.'

From below the hill, a barrage of cannon fire erupted again, stinging Lutzke's eardrums.

He raised the telescope he had just received and looked down the slope. Amid swirling dust and gunsmoke, large contingents of soldiers in blue or white uniforms moved back and forth in incredibly neat formations, occasionally pausing for several volleys of coordinated fire.

These artillerymen moved with extreme speed, in a flash reaching the right flank of the "Blue Army's" infantry line. They skillfully set up artillery positions while their officers simultaneously began measuring and calculating.

In just three or four minutes, the cannons had completed all preparations, swiftly loaded, and aimed at the "Blue Army" infantry, now within close range.

In that instant, Lutzke's heart clenched for those infantrymen, as if he would witness flesh and blood torn apart by terrifying artillery fire in the next moment.

However, over a thousand "Blue Army" Hussars suddenly burst forth from behind the infantry. With incredible speed, they formed neat arrowhead formations and charged, whistling, toward the enemy's artillery positions.

Simultaneously, the "Blue Army's" artillery appeared near a nearby high ground, and more than a dozen cannons simultaneously spewed flames, tearing a gap in the "White Army's" infantry formation.

But the "White Army" infantry proved incredibly tenacious – the rear ranks swiftly moved aside their comrades' "corpses" and took the places of the "fallen" soldiers, then, at their officers' command, raised their rifles and counterattacked...

Tens of thousands of soldiers, cannons, and warhorses tangled together on the open ground before them. The roar and shouts were incessant. The breathtaking, murderous scene made Lutzke's scalp tingle and his heart pound uncontrollably.

In truth, he didn't know much about military matters, but the French army's swift movements, neat formations, and orderly command made it clear to him at a glance that this was an extremely powerful elite force.

This spectacle was precisely what Berthier had arranged for laymen like Lutzke – most of the negotiation representatives were military novices. Cramming 50,000 troops into a narrow area only four kilometers across, with the two sides of the exercise locked in direct, face-to-face combat, made it appear exceptionally fierce. Furthermore, there was no need for complex tactics; they simply did whatever looked most thrilling, instantly overwhelming the negotiation representatives.

After an unknown amount of time, the Salzburg negotiation representative suddenly exclaimed angrily, "These swaggering Frenchmen, with merely a few tens of thousands of troops, think they can scare us with this..."

Baron Heinemann, the Augsburg negotiation representative, lowered his telescope, cast a meaningful glance at him, and shook his head. "Viscount Schoen, haven't you noticed the most terrifying aspect of this exercise?"

"What do you mean?"

Baron Heinemann exhaled. "Do you recall when the proposal for Britain to join the Rhine-Seine River Treaty was put forward?"

"A month ago, Count Friedrichs proposed it," Viscount Schoen replied without hesitation.

Heinemann nodded. "This French military exercise is clearly aimed at the vote for that proposal. In other words, France took only a little over 20 days to assemble 50,000 troops and reach the south bank of the Rhine River."

Upon hearing this, Schoen's expression stiffened, his face darkened, and he remained silent.

Lutzke also frowned.

One had to consider that when Salzburg proposed the motion, it would take about a week for the news to reach France. Even if France had immediately decided to conduct the exercise...

He murmured unconsciously, "So, they completed troop mobilization in just over 20 days..."

Baron Heinemann sighed again. "No, Monsieur Lutzke, if the French Royal Guard Legion was indeed performing the exercise, then they likely only took three or four days to complete mobilization."

"What? How is that possible?!"

"The French Royal Guard Legion is usually stationed near Paris," Heinemann explained. "A march from Paris to Karlsruhe would take at least 20 days. Therefore, they would only have three or four days for mobilization."

All the negotiation representatives simultaneously turned to look at him, their eyes filled with shock.

Mobilizing 50,000 troops in three or four days, complete with cavalry and artillery, meant the French army's mobilization capability, speed of action, and efficiency in gathering logistical supplies were simply staggeringly high!

For comparison, when Austria initiated the Silesian War, it took them a full month and a half to barely complete the mobilization of 60,000 vanguard troops.

Of course, no matter how successful Joseph's military reforms were, it would still be impossible for the Royal Guard Legion to mobilize 50,000 troops within four days.

He had merely employed a few clever tricks.

In reality, only 25,000 Royal Guard Legion soldiers had come to Baden. After receiving their orders, they took a week to mobilize, carrying almost no baggage train, and performed a rapid march for 14 days to reach Baden.

Meanwhile, 23,000 men were drawn from older army units stationed near Lorraine and Verdun, and they hurried to Baden with logistical supplies.

Since these locations were very close to Baden, they had over half a month to mobilize and prepare.

During the exercise, the older army units merely had to form infantry lines and stand as scenery, while all the substantial "performance" was carried out by the Royal Guard Legion.

But the negotiation representatives on the hillside could not discern the difference; they only believed that France had dispatched 50,000 elites from Paris in just over 20 days, sending them straight to the south bank of the Rhine River.

Over an hour later, the 'Steadfast Will' military exercise entered a pause for rest.

The negotiation representatives on the hillside solemnly returned to the Karlsruhe Royal Palace. However, the thunderous cannon fire from earlier still seemed to echo in their ears, making it impossible for them to calm down and consider matters of the trade agreement.