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Chapter 749: The Walloon Chamber of Commerce's Warning

Earl Radetzky glanced up at the sky, a slight frown on his face, and instructed his staff officer:

"Order them to speed up. We must reach Wavre before nightfall."

His orders were to seize Namur, Wallonia's transportation hub, as quickly as possible.

With France potentially interfering in Wallonia, the sooner he arrived, the more time he would have to prepare for battle.

However, no sooner had his command been relayed than a short horn blast echoed from the front of the column, signaling trouble ahead and ordering a halt.

Earl Radetzky didn't have to wait long. A cavalry Captain galloped back from the vanguard and saluted him.

"General, a group of people is blocking the road. It appears there are officials from the Walloon Chamber of Commerce among them, along with reporters."

Radetzky frowned, then scoffed.

"Hmph, do these fools think they can stop us the same way they stopped the Brussels security forces?"

Just a day earlier, security forces dispatched by the Flanders Region government to Wallonia to "quell unrest" had been intercepted by the Walloon Police. They were forced to retreat to Brussels in disgrace, with over a dozen of their men arrested by the Walloon Police.

Earl Radetzky spurred his horse along the road to the front of the column, where he saw dozens of Walloon officials, arms linked, blocking the way. On either side stood more than ten individuals who looked like reporters.

He gestured to his aide.

The aide immediately stepped forward and declared loudly,

"General Radetzky, acting on His Imperial Majesty's command, has come to resolve the chaotic situation in Wallonia. You must clear the road immediately, or you will be deemed to be defying His Imperial Majesty."

One of the blocking officials walked up to Earl Radetzky's horse, handed a document to the aide, and stated gravely,

"On behalf of the Walloon Chamber of Commerce, I formally protest the invasion of the Walloon demilitarized zone by the Austrian army!

"We demand that you leave at once, or the Chamber of Commerce will authorize the Walloon Police to arrest you."

Earl Radetzky exchanged glances with the officers beside him, then burst into laughter.

"Haha, did you hear what he said? Arrest?"

"He dares to threaten His Imperial Majesty's army? That's hilarious."

"I think there's something wrong with his head."

Earl Radetzky tore the document to shreds, tossed it to the ground, and impatiently waved his hand at the officer beside him. "Disperse them."

"Yes, General!"

The officer quickly issued a series of commands, and hundreds of soldiers instantly surrounded the group, pointing their rifles diagonally into the air.

The next moment, a deafening volley of gunfire erupted, making the Walloon Chamber of Commerce members flinch back.

The officer then pointed forward, and the soldiers behind him leveled their rifles, aiming at the crowd blocking the road.

"Brigands, you thugs!"

"You will be punished for this!"

The Chamber of Commerce representatives protested furiously as they dispersed, clearing the road.

The reporters, meanwhile, excitedly scribbled notes in their pads, ready to break the huge news story.

The Austrian army was then able to continue its advance. Earl Radetzky and several officers discussed whether His Imperial Majesty would order an attack on French territory after occupying Namur.

But the Austrian vanguard advanced less than 5 kilometers before stopping again.

"What's happened now?" Earl Radetzky irritably gazed ahead.

Moments later, the same cavalry officer rushed back, but his expression was no longer as relaxed as before.

"General, the Hussars have spotted a large number of Walloon Police about 1500 yards to the south."

Earl Radetzky sneered. In his mind, police were essentially just government-managed hooligans.

"Police? How many of them?"

The Captain replied, "Over 2,000, General."

"A decent number, I suppose." Earl Radetzky hummed softly, turning to his staff officer. "Androsch, which unit is responsible for the advance guard?"

The latter thought for a moment, then said, "Lieutenant Colonel Buseck's Dorner Skirmisher Regiment."

Earl Radetzky nodded and ordered, "Have Buseck drive off those annoying fellows. He has two hours to complete this task."

"Yes, General!"

A skirmisher regiment, with over 1,400 soldiers, should be more than enough to deal with 2,000 police officers.

Moreover, skirmishers deploy quickly, minimizing disruption to the march, making them ideal for such 'easy' tasks.

An hour later.

Lieutenant Colonel Buseck looked through his Telescope at the neat grey-and-white infantry Line Formation — or, more accurately, police Line Formation — in front of the southern thicket, a slight frown on his brow.

'Why are those police training in Line Formation?'

But then he noticed the perfectly taut ropes in front of the police, and he relaxed.

Those were tools used to help new recruits form neat ranks and prevent them from breaking formation.

Clearly, these police were just lining up to put on a show of strength.

He lowered his Telescope and turned to his regimental staff officer. "Are we ready?"

"Yes, Colonel, we can launch the attack at any time."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's give these ignorant fellows a good lesson."

Immediately, the rhythmic beat of military drums echoed from all directions, and the soldiers of the Dorner Skirmisher Regiment spread out into a 1.5-kilometer-wide fan-shaped attack formation, beginning their push south.

...

Northern outskirts of Wavre.

Bourget heard the dense drumming in the distance, nervously licked his lips, sweat constantly trickling down his temples.

Although during his training at the Paris Police Academy, his instructors constantly told him, "You must always be prepared to face any dangerous situation and defeat any enemy,"

The toughest opponents he had ever faced were just over 30 armed gang members.

But now, a full-fledged army was attacking them!

"Hey, Alois, we're not going to die here, are we?"

The round-faced young police officer to his left wiped the sweat from his palms and gritted his teeth.

"Have you forgotten? These guys want to seize all of Wallonia. We have to drive them away!"

A broad-browed soldier in the back row nodded vigorously.

"I don't want to go back to how things were three years ago. Damn Austrians."

His words caused the surrounding soldiers to nod in agreement.

Indeed, under Austrian rule, Wallonia had no decent industries, taxes were extremely heavy, and life was impoverished.

In the eyes of the Flemings, who possessed the Port of Antwerp, they were nothing but destitute country bumpkins.

It wasn't until three years ago, when France and Austria signed the "Demilitarized Zone Agreement" for Wallonia, that large numbers of French merchants began pouring into the region to develop coal mines and invest in factories. Only then did it rapidly prosper.

Even people from the Flanders Region flocked to Wallonia for work.

Most of these police officers' families and friends had only achieved a good life thanks to the newly established coal mines and ironworks.

They understood very well that the Austrian military's sudden deployment was not to help build Wallonia.

It was to seize everything here!

They had to protect this new life for the Walloons.