War Palace and Knee Pillow, Austria’s Destiny

In the west of Namur City, an unknown amount of time passed, and a French infantry regiment responsible for supporting the northern city gate was almost wiped out. Only less than 600 people of this 2,500-person siege team survived. Those who survived either thought they were just A dream, or you will be seriously injured and unable to fight again.

This battle was Jean Durde's first defeat since breaking through the Franco-Belgian border, and the defeat was so disastrous that he lost nearly one-third of his troops.

Ironically, after suffering such heavy losses, his officers could not effectively distinguish the number of the opponent. They only roughly knew that it was a large-scale cavalry group.

As for what weapons were used and what tactics were used, no one knew which German army belonged to them.

Enraged, Jean Durde immediately shot his two regiment leaders. Although he did not have the right, he could not control so much at this time.

The top priority is to return to the Hainaut Province, which is located on the French-Belgian border, to replenish the supplies of the soldiers and wait for reinforcements. Although he was reluctant to give up the opportunity to be a hero, the fact before him was that a powerful enemy army was already targeting him.

After finishing his thinking, Jean Durde ordered his men to quickly gather the remaining troops who had survived the siege of Namur and take away everything they could, and destroy everything they could not take away. No items could be left to the enemy. .

Senior officials from the Hainaut Province and the Bratban Province all said that they would not go to France together, but Jean Durde's lips curved.

"We are heroes who are here to save you. Do you want to betray us and become the lackeys of the German Confederacy?"

Facing the black hole of gunfire, the two senior officials said in succession.

"Don't dare, don't dare, long live France, long live General Dourde."

Jean Duld nodded with great satisfaction, and just as he was about to go out, a messenger stumbled in.

"Report! The general has discovered the German Confederate Army, the First Army of Austria."

"You've come at the right time! I'm fighting the elites. Brothers, follow me and break through the encirclement head-on!"

On January 5, 1843, General Jean Tourde died. 7,000 French troops were killed and 8,000 were captured.

In the city of Namur, Albrecht finally met Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig, deputy commander-in-chief of the coalition forces, who had been besieged for several days.

"Grand Duke Albrecht, you are our savior, you are quite like a father."

"You also have the style of your ancestors. The capital was captured in 18 days. But now you are blocked in the city with twice the superior force of your opponent." Albrecht muttered in a low voice.

"What did you just say?"

"Nothing, I meant to shock you. These damn French people did not abide by the covenant and actually attacked their allies privately. How about leaving them to your army to deal with?"

Albrecht didn't care about these prisoners. It was better to say that they were hot potatoes. Franz said that the prisoners should be treated preferentially, but at this time, the princes of the German Confederation obviously resented them deeply, and the local people also said that they would be punished.

Albrecht simply threw the pot to Prussia and was able to do it as a favor.

Prince Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig's attitude immediately changed from gratitude for being rescued to reverence at this moment.

Because from the latter's perspective, the former gave himself the credit, which was the key to saving Prussia's face. So, he asked with concern.

"What about you?"

"Haha, I'm afraid I have to rush back to China immediately to prove that I'm still alive. After all, Vienna is in chaos right now."

Indeed, as Albrecht said, Friedrich was clamoring to attack the French mainland from Toulon to avenge his eldest brother. Franz was also prepared to go to the front and named Julius Jacob von Hainau as his deputy.

This Hainau is also known as the Executioner of Arad, the Hyena of Brescia and the Tiger of Habsburg. In short, he is a ruthless character. If he is allowed to fight such a war with a revenge nature, I am afraid that the lives of all people will really be destroyed. It's inevitable.

Fortunately, Albrecht returned safely and unscathed, and also took care of the arrogant French army.

The dramatic and repeated reversals of the war situation have left the ruling classes of various countries somewhat confused. King William II of the Netherlands finally breathed a sigh of relief after learning the result. Fortunately, he did not follow the British advice to pursue the Austrian army in the rear, otherwise he would have hit the wall.

Nearly a week into 1843, the total strength of the German Confederate Volunteers in Wallonia and Luxembourg was close to 200,000.

The 20,000 French troops before had been completely eaten up, and all the French troops who tried to invade the Franco-Belgian border later were rejected. It seemed that all this was just a ploy by the German Confederacy to lure the enemy in. Fortunately, his lover persuaded him.

William II's secret lover, Miss Caroline, also breathed a sigh of relief. She never expected that the German Confederate army would be so desolate. Prussia was truly a shame to the great powers.

So the question is, how did this kind of waste destroy his motherland, Poland, in the first place.

Franz was also a little confused by the battle situation. How could hundreds of thousands of German Confederate troops be scattered and fled by a mere 20,000 French troops? Could it be that Prussia did this deliberately?

But the possibility seemed unlikely. Franz suddenly thought of another possibility. Could it be like Captain Chang's micro-management during the counter-encirclement and suppression campaign?

After several reversals, the Austrian War Ministry was angered. They felt that the French were treacherous and did not deserve the land agreed in advance.

Metternich, the master of balance, naturally wanted to smooth things over, present facts and reason, and explain the strength of the French army and the importance of France in this crisis.

Count Korolav, the financial steward, admitted that Austria needed France, but this time the loss was so great that the French had to pay a price.

Albrecht, who returned victoriously, gave his own opinion. He felt that the French army's robbery in the Walloon region had made it lose its support.

It is now entirely possible to decide the ownership of the Wallonia region by voting. At least in comparison, most local people miss the days of the Austrian Netherlands rather than the civilized France that plundered them crazily.

However, this proposal was immediately strongly opposed by Franz. Once Louis Philippe failed to obtain benefits, this local conflict would evolve into a large-scale war.

What's more, Russia has not expressed its position yet. Austria, which is located in the center of the European continent, cannot afford to take this risk, but its intention to claim Namur or neutralize it can be considered.

And the local people who have just experienced the war will definitely agree with this approach. In addition Austria could provide land and other types of help to Belgians who did not want to be French.

They can choose to settle in the empire's overseas colonies or other undeveloped lands at will, and the church will go all out to provide relevant conveniences.

Although most Belgians in Wallonia speak French, many people actually understand a little German or Dutch. What's more important is that they can be dispersed and distributed to various places. After ten or twenty years, they will automatically become Austrians.

At the same time, the French atrocities in Wallonia can be used to make a good article. After all, Britain and France are the so-called beacons of the world at this time, and Franz does not want to be reversely attracted by other countries to immigrate.

This series of reversals also made the people on the other side of the strait feel numb. They first heard that France had a new Napoleon, and then died on the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

Paris first claimed to avenge him, but the next day it turned into accusing him of deliberately provoking war and destroying the friendship between France and the German Confederation.