I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 357: Local Supplies and Banknotes

As the messenger set off to seek aid from the Hanoverian army, the Southern Netherlands Parliamentary President, Vandernoot, still felt uneasy. He quickly wrote another letter and handed it to a member of parliament who had good relations with the British, instructing him to personally deliver it to Carl II.

After that, Vandernoot proposed an emergency motion, requesting that General Witte lead the main forces of the Southern Netherlands National Guard back to defend Brussels and to temporarily recruit 6,000 soldiers.

The Southern Netherlands Parliament was in chaos. On the conservative side, the members were surrounding Unck, questioning him.

"Chairman Unck, you said not to interfere in the French and Prussian battle, but now the French army has suddenly moved to our rear?"

"Perhaps you should meet with the French again and confirm your secret agreement?"

"It was all your idea to keep our troops in Ghent!"

Unck gripped his cane tightly, his face pale. It took him a long time before he could stammer out a response, "I will go confirm it. But there must be a reason for the French... Perhaps they're targeting the Dutch; Antwerp is right next to the Dutch city of Breda!"

He couldn't possibly admit that he had been used by the French; otherwise, the liberal members of parliament might kill him on the spot.

"Yes, that must be it!" He suddenly seemed to find an answer, raising his voice a bit. "The Dutch betrayed the French and sided with the British. It's not surprising that the French want to teach them a lesson."

He stood up, his eyes brightening. "In that case, we should cooperate with the French, seizing the opportunity to eliminate Austrian influence within our borders and force the Dutch to abandon their plans to jointly rule the Southern Netherlands..."

The conservative members of the Southern Netherlands Parliament were mainly wealthy aristocrats, with a few enlightened nobles among them. They had joined the rebellion primarily because of Joseph II's attempts to raise commercial taxes and weaken their privileges. As long as they could escape the Austrian government's reform policies, they didn't really care whether they brought in French influence or sided with the British.

They had little interest in the liberal ideals of "freedom," "human rights," and "independence" and were even somewhat resistant to them.

Unck's words quickly garnered support from some conservative members, especially those from the southern regions. They had heard that France had recently introduced several laws favorable to commerce and industry and had opened up the southern German market. Some even began to think that "being annexed by France might not be so bad after all."

...

Northern Namur Province, Southern Netherlands.

Carl II dismissed the Southern Netherlands parliamentarian who had come seeking help and turned to his messenger with a grim face. "Order the entire army to turn back immediately and march to Antwerp!"

Dutch General Bronckhorst, who was standing nearby, frowned. "The French are trying to quickly destroy the Southern Netherlands army, restore Austrian control here, and take away our reason for intervention."

"You're absolutely right, General," Carl II said coldly as he turned his horse. "But they've made a fatal mistake! Antwerp and Brussels are both in the hands of the Southern Netherlands Parliament. The French have advanced too far, and their supply lines will be easy for us to cut off.

"And as long as they can't quickly take Antwerp, once our army returns, we can strike them from behind!"

He spurred his horse forward. "I'll make the French pay for their recklessness!"

Soon, the Hanoverian-Dutch coalition army began to halt its advance as officers ran back and forth issuing orders to change direction. However, turning an army of 24,000 troops stretched out in a two-kilometer-long column was no easy task.

It took the officers more than two hours just to get every soldier to understand Carl II's orders, followed by a chaotic period of reorganization.

Some units that turned quickly began marching northward, while slower units were still in the process of organizing and collided with the others, causing both sides to come to a standstill.

The artillerymen were particularly frustrated. The close arrangement of the vehicles and horses meant they had to unhitch the cannons, weighing hundreds of kilograms, and manually turn them 180 degrees. Then, they had to lead the horses to the other side and reattach them. Ammunition wagons had to go through a similar process, which was even more difficult, sometimes requiring an open space to allow the wagons to make a large loop to complete the turn.

From noon, when the Southern Netherlands parliamentarian arrived seeking aid, until 5:30 PM, the army was busy with this maneuver. Only then did they finally resume their march northward, but after just over an hour, they had to set up camp for the night.

...

In the outskirts of Antwerp.

Joseph could already make out the outline of the city in the distance. He was about to gather his staff to discuss the next steps—if the Hanoverian army was slow to react, he didn't mind attempting an attack on Antwerp to provoke Carl II.

At that moment, two dust-covered hussars rode up, their voices tired as they reported, "The Hanoverian-Dutch coalition has already turned north and entered the Brussels area yesterday afternoon."

Joseph exchanged a glance with Berthier, both of them smiling.

The enemy had reacted exactly as they had anticipated, putting the strategic initiative firmly in the hands of the Imperial Guard.

To be honest, Joseph had been worried that Carl II might stubbornly push on to link up with the Prussian army. If that had happened, Joseph would have had to make a forced march back to Liège to aid General Leo.

Although such a situation might have led to a pincer attack, the uncertainties were too great. For instance, if Leo couldn't hold out for even two days and collapsed, Luxembourg would be in grave danger.

Fortunately, the Hanoverian commander was a mature and steady general who hadn't ignored the political implications and chose to return to assist the Southern Netherlands rebels.

Without needing Joseph's orders, Berthier immediately instructed the messenger, "Order the supply-gathering units to return immediately."

The chief of staff checked his pocket watch. "The others should rest where they are. We'll march for Ghent at 3 PM sharp."

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, the supply units that had been gathering provisions returned to rejoin the main force of the Imperial Guard, driving their carts.

Unlike Napoleon's approach, Joseph strictly ordered the supply units to pay the farmers, and at slightly above market prices, too.

Of course, the payments were made primarily in banknotes issued by the National Treasury Bank. After nearly six months of promotion, these banknotes were already widely accepted in France. Most people only exchanged large-denomination notes for silver or deposited them in banks every two weeks, while smaller denominations of 5 livres or less had essentially become the standard currency.

In the Southern Netherlands, close to France, French banknotes had also begun to circulate, though they weren't yet widespread.

Joseph saw this "local supply" effort as an excellent opportunity to expand the influence of the banknotes.

(End of Chapter)

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