Chapter 941: New Winds Over Europe (IV)
Dutch Prime Minister Schimmelpenninck, who was in the middle of a meeting with key cabinet members, jolted upright from his chair in shock. "Tell me exactly what happened."
the military officer placed the battlefield report on his desk and said, "General Bronckhorst was crushed by the noble rebel army to the west of Utrecht.
"Currently, the rebels have surrounded the Utrecht fortress. The General requests that the assembly dispatch reinforcements as soon as possible, otherwise... he can hold out for two months at most."
Utrecht was the southern gateway to Amsterdam. Once it fell, Amsterdam would be in immediate peril.
Cold sweat began to bead on Schimmelpenninck’s forehead.
Since taking office as Prime Minister, he had faced one crisis after another. Now, it seemed even the capital was about to be lost. The previous Prime Minister, Gaugel, had been ousted shortly after surrendering to the Flemish Republic. Schimmelpenninck’s Dutch People's Party had subsequently won the election.
However, no sooner had he taken office than the former Dutch Stadtholder, William V, rallied the old nobility in The Hague and launched a rebellion.
Of course, William V’s own phrasing was that he was "expelling the rebels."
This time, the aristocratic army fought under the banner of "reclaiming national territory occupied by foreign invaders," which garnered them considerable support. As a result, they had been dealing the parliamentary forces blow after blow.
The latter lowered his head and replied, "Approximately one thousand men, Prime Minister."
"That is far from enough," the Dutch Prime Minister said, shaking his head. "Commence a draft immediately..."
He stopped mid-sentence. Amsterdam had already undergone three rounds of conscription. If they drafted more men, he feared it would incite a popular uprising.
Silence filled the room for a while until Finance Minister Gogel said cautiously, "If we could redeploy General Daendels’ troops to Utrecht, we would have a chance at defeating the rebels."
Schimmelpenninck glared at him irritably. "You know that's impossible!"
The Daendels Legion was stationed along the Var River to guard against a Flemish invasion. The latter had been massing heavy troops in Nijmegen.
Gogel continued, "Perhaps we could ask France for assistance.
"Versailles holds immense influence over the Flemish. As long as we can get a guarantee from them, we won't have to worry about the Flemish army..."
"Beg the French? God, we were at war with them not long ago."
"That was the work of the Patriot Party," Gogel argued. "And they fell from power long ago. We have to at least try."
Seeing that the others could not offer a better solution, Schimmelpenninck let out a long sigh. "Very well, I will go to Paris. For now, we need to discuss how to persuade the French."
...
Paris.
The Palace of Versailles.
Fouché was somewhat clumsily marking a map while reporting to Joseph. "Your Highness, according to the latest intelligence we’ve obtained, the Prussian army is massing in large numbers toward Silesia.
"The garrison at the Breslau fortress has been increased to approximately forty thousand men.
"There are also over thirty thousand troops in Glogau to the north.
"Furthermore, they have begun requisitioning grain and horses in the Poznan region.
"It is confirmed that the Prussians are preparing to launch a war near Liegnitz."
Although Joseph felt a bit surprised, he simply nodded.
'Prussia does indeed need a war right now to alleviate its domestic issues. However, I thought they would make a move near Westphalia; I didn't expect them to choose Silesia directly.'
Fouché added, "William II likely believes that Austria, being trapped by internal rebellions, will choose to retreat."
Joseph asked, "So, how many troops does Austria have in Liegnitz?"
"No more than six thousand men, Your Highness."
Joseph frowned slightly.
With six thousand defenders facing seventy thousand Prussian soldiers, they likely wouldn't last a week.
Austria was already quite weak at the moment. If they suffered another defeat in Silesia, there was no guarantee they wouldn't collapse completely.
This did not align with France's interests.
Such an outcome might cause the Austro-Prussian War to erupt half a century early.
In history, after that war, Prussia became the sole hegemon of the German region, rapidly integrating twenty-one small states and solidifying the foundation for German unification.
And after that came the Franco-Prussian War. Napoleon III had fallen in disgrace, and France's rapid upward momentum had been severed.
Given the current European situation, maintaining a strategic balance between Prussia and Austria was what France desired most.
With the two giants repeatedly biting at each other, France could take advantage of the chaos to win over the small German states. By the time the wave of national awakening passed, it would be difficult for Germany to achieve a grand unification.
After Fouché finished reporting on the Silesian matter, he bowed and took his leave.
Joseph stared at the map, lost in thought.
It was indeed difficult for Austria to mobilize a large number of troops in a short time. Did France have to send troops to help them?
Leaving aside the massive military expenditure this would waste, the French soldiers, who had just fought a grueling war against Austria, would likely be extremely resistant to the idea.
This was truly a bit troublesome.
He pondered for a long time without finding a solution. Suddenly, he noticed the highly irregular military symbols drawn on the map and couldn't help but shake his head. 'This level is truly worse than my own.'
After all, Fouché had not undergone formal military training, so he was bound to have deficiencies in military intelligence.
Moreover, as France's sphere of influence in Europe grew, the pressure of intelligence work would increase accordingly. Relying solely on the Intelligence Bureau would likely lead to a situation where they would attend to one thing and lose another.
It seemed he should establish a specialized agency for military intelligence outside of the Intelligence Bureau.
In the future, the Intelligence Bureau would focus on domestic affairs, while the "Military Intelligence Bureau" would primarily deal with foreign matters. It would be similar to the division of labor between the FBI and CIA in the later United States.
This was also a perfect opportunity to fulfill the promise he had previously made to the head of the secret police, the Comte de Robert. The man had been waiting for his department to be upgraded to an independent intelligence agency.
Afterward, the Intelligence Bureau would directly integrate the secret police—using the opportunity to weed out the vast majority of the useless personnel within the department.
The Comte de Robert would serve as the Director of the "Military Intelligence Bureau," though with his capabilities, he could only hold the title. Someone else would have to be chosen as a deputy to handle the actual details.
Speaking of "clear authority and responsibility," Joseph thought further. Currently, the French government institutions were still the old "King-Minister" system from over a century ago. It was no longer capable of meeting the increasingly complex and refined management needs of the industrial age.
For instance, the Minister of Finance had one assistant and a large crowd of scribes, secretaries, and consultants under him.
The specific functions of each person depended entirely on the Minister’s word. Their specific responsibilities overlapped significantly, yet many important matters were left unattended.
In contrast, a future Ministry of Finance would have departments for fiscal policy management, budget management, debt management, international financial management, accounting management, and even departments for security and propaganda.
Responsibilities would be clearly divided, and management would be scientific and efficient.
Right now, France had secured a relatively stable situation through war, and the prestige of the royal family was at an all-time high. It was the perfect moment to implement a comprehensive reform of the government's administrative apparatus.
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