War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

four days ago.

December 27, 1842.

Fortress of Liege, Belgium.

This barracks is located at the confluence of the Meuse and Ourte rivers, adjacent to the Dutch border to the north and the Ardennes Forest to the south. It is an important transportation route and a natural pass, making it a must-do battle for military strategists.

The news of the German Confederation's declaration of war has reached the fortress, but at this time the Belgian soldiers are still the same as usual, except that they no longer need to participate in training.

Soldiers flocked to the river during the rare "holiday" because if the news was true, they might not have a chance to take a bath for weeks or even months in the future.

The soldiers were still taking a bath, and several workers responsible for cleaning up nearby dumped truckloads of excrement and filth into the river.

"Hey, what are you doing! Didn't you see that we are still taking a bath? This water is not even suitable for drinking, let alone taking a bath!"

The soldiers immediately became angry when they saw the workers' unreasonable behavior, but the latter said calmly.

"This is what General Jorgen ordered. It is a meeting gift for Austria and Prussia."

"This is so disgusting!" one soldier said, covering his nose.

"This is what we want. What do you think those guys will do if the river water becomes undrinkable?" the foreman asked.

"Dig a well?" a soldier asked tentatively.

"No, those officers who find it troublesome always let the soldiers drink it directly. They don't care about the life and death of their subordinates. Then dysentery and typhoid will break out in their army. Then they will surrender without us fighting. "

The foreman had a look of admiration on his face. Although the soldiers thought this trick was a bit damaging, it seemed very practical and effective. Anyway, they were not the ones who died, so they laughed.

At this time, the earth trembled, and the birds were frightened out of the forest.

"Something's coming! Get dressed quickly!"

"What exactly? A grizzly bear? A wolf pack?"

The workers and soldiers immediately prepared to retreat in the direction of the military camp. However, they were soon overtaken by a cavalry unit. The other party saw that although they were wearing Belgian military uniforms, they had no weapons and did not embarrass them.

"Are you soldiers from the Liège Fortress?" the leading officer said in blunt Dutch. He was afraid that these people would not understand, so he said it again in French.

The surrounded Belgians nodded like garlic. They didn't know whether the other party was German, Dutch, or French. But without weapons, they had no chance of winning against so many well-equipped cavalry.

"How many of you are there?"

"Two regiments. 2,100 people in total."

"Why aren't you in the barracks?"

"Today the general said there was no need for training, so we sneaked out to take a shower."

"Besides the 150 of you, how many others ran out?"

"There will be a war in a while, so the officers have gone to the Moonlight Castle in the city to relax in the past few days. We people have no one to supervise us, so there is no need to stick to our posts."

The Belgian soldiers said with a bit of resentment and a bit of self-blame.

"We are the advance team of the First Army of the German Confederate Volunteers. You can go and persuade the defenders in the barracks to surrender. If you succeed, you will not only avoid unnecessary casualties, but also get a reward of 10,000 florins. Otherwise, we will be in two hours We will launch an attack later, and by then it will be too late for you to surrender."

The one who spoke was Archduke Albrecht himself. He knew one truth very well, that is, the speed of war is important. At this time, the troops in the Liege Fortress were empty, and it was a good time to make a big move.

Once the fortress of Liège was captured, the road to Brussels was smooth sailing. The five thousand men led by Albrecht were Franz's Royal Dragoons and his family's guard, as well as a thousand elite troops drawn from various Viennese forces.

The weapon he carries is the latest siege M42 rocket developed by the Austrian Empire. The explosive power of this rocket may not be enough, but it is an excellent tool for destroying cities.

General Vincenz, Austria's chief weapons designer, called it a "city destroyer" because the rocket has a large explosion range and contains a lot of combustibles inside, making the fire difficult to extinguish and easily destroying large wooden buildings. burn.

Of course, this thing was actually used to burn ships, but during the test, it was found that it was too heavy and had a pitifully low hit rate, so it could not be used in maritime operations, so it became a siege rocket.

In fact, there are some high-performance bombs in the baggage train of Albrecht's team, which are dozens of times more powerful than black powder. However, the technology of this kind of picric acid explosive is not mature, and he does not want to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers unless he has to. .

The soldiers at Liege Fortress were very excited when they heard 10,000 florins, because this money was enough for them to spend the rest of their lives in other countries.

However, before they could persuade their comrades to surrender, the garrison of the fortress surrendered.

The advance guard continued to advance, and Albrecht had to wait for subsequent reinforcements to consolidate the defense of Liege's fortress. After all, this is the lifeline of the German Confederate Volunteer Army.

"I have one last question, who poured the dirty water into the river?"

Albrecht is usually a very generous person, but he is unexpectedly petty in some places.

At that time, Albrecht was just about to let his beloved horse drink some water so that he could continue on his way. When he saw a large amount of filth floating upstream, he immediately became furious and led the advance team to trace the source of the filth.

The Belgian prisoners pointed to the foreman.

"Let him eat all the filth in the river and tell the nearby residents that this person is polluting the water source."

Albrecht ordered.

"Grand Duke, spare your life! General Jorgen asked me to do it, and I was forced to do it."

The foreman immediately begged for mercy.

"Where is General Jürgen?" Albrecht asked.

"At Moonlight Castle, he went with the officers in the fortress."

The foreman betrayed the general without a second thought.

"Take him with you and let's go find General Jorgen. You all listen carefully. General Jorgen ordered the water source to be polluted. You have to explain it clearly to the residents here. Do you hear me clearly?"

Albrecht shouted.

"Listen clearly." The captured Belgian soldiers nodded.

As a result, the advance team began to split up. Some of them continued to advance towards Brussels, while the other part went to capture General Jürgen in Liège.

Albrecht still remembered Franz’s model of the trial.

When they found General Jorgen and his men, they were still immersed in the gentle land.

Soon these guys who polluted the water source were sent to the square in the center of the city, and then more black information was revealed. General Jorgen was a disease enthusiast. He liked to see people getting sick, and then recorded his observations for fun.

This kind of person makes Albrecht feel disgusted, but he also knows very well that there are many such people in the world. So Albrecht left it in the square in the center of the city after the trial was completed.

Soon more volunteers were sent to the front along the railway lines within the German Confederacy. In just three days, more than 10,000 people were transported, a number that was unimaginable before.

After receiving reinforcements, Albrecht continued to advance, but he soon received news that he could not believe.

King Leopold I of Belgium was captured and the city of Brussels was captured.