Chapter 368 Treasure House of Coal
What Karl II didn't know was that Joseph had implemented a rotation model in order to keep the Guards strong in physical strength and morale. Two regiments of troops were stationed in two important towns in the south of Brussels each, and 1,000 men were left on guard in the middle area. In addition to the hussars scattered for reconnaissance, only half of the troops were in a state of combat readiness, and the other half were in Naples. Daily training in the north of Munn.
Every one and a half months, the two sides rotate.
In addition, he also recruited 5,000 locals in the Walloon region to form the "Wallonia Guard" to assist in the war in Brussels. In the French-speaking part of the Southern Netherlands, as long as they were given some military pay, there were a lot of people who were willing to serve the French crown prince.
In other words, under the current stalemate, 7,000 Guards Corps soldiers, plus 5,000 temporarily recruited miscellaneous troops, can cope with the 40,000 people on the opposite side who have low morale.
Karl II remembered the shame of being captured, and angrily ordered several officers in front of him to go back and organize the team, and launch an attack on the French army three days later.
After the Hanoverian generals left in silence, Karl II gradually calmed down. The French army south of Brussels was extremely powerful, and he himself had experienced it. At that time, the two sides did not even have a head-on confrontation, and he was defeated.
The battle situation in the past month or so has also proved that it is difficult to win this battle with only the few troops in hand, coupled with the "peasants" of the Southern Netherlands who cannot even stand in line.
He sighed deeply, sat down behind his desk, and wrote a letter of distress to his brother-in-law, King George III of England.
Originally, at the request of George III, he sent troops to intervene in the situation in the Southern Netherlands, but now it became his own war.
After putting the letter into the envelope, he was worried that it was not secure enough, so he picked up the pen again and wrote a letter to British Prime Minister Pitt. The core content of the two letters is basically the same, both asking Britain to send troops to reinforce Brussels.
While Karl II was anxious about the war situation, Joseph was reviewing the recruitment examination results of the "Southern Netherlands Military Supplies Preparatory Committee" that had just been submitted.
Yes, Joseph II agreed to France's request to collect logistical supplies in the southern Netherlands almost without hesitation, and ordered the Austrian officials in the Southern Netherlands to fully cooperate.
At the same time, he also wrote back, highly affirming the decisive role played by the French army in quelling the rebellion in the Southern Netherlands and fighting against the invading forces of Prussia, Hanover and others. At the end of the letter, Emperor Shinra mentioned that Luxembourg would be used as a reward for sending troops to France.
Afterwards, Joseph ordered the establishment of the "Military Material Preparatory Committee", which actually took over the taxation, finance and commercial trade of Wallonia. After monopolizing financial power, the administrative management of Wallonia is basically decided by the preparatory committee - if any local official is disobedient, you will not be able to think about next month's salary.
The high-ranking officials of the Commission were all transferred from France, while the middle- and lower-level officials were all locals from the Walloon region.
Joseph borrowed his previous experience in Tunisia's "civil service recruitment" and held a recruitment examination in Wallonia. Naturally, he claimed to the outside world that he was to "select capable people to raise urgently needed supplies for the front line as soon as possible." In fact, he used this to win over Wallonia. of the elite class.
Indeed, as he expected, the aristocracy and capitalist class in Wallonia gathered in large numbers for this examination. They completed the exam in less than three weeks with great efficiency.
Joseph looked at the names of the 103 selected people and the positions recommended by them by the chairman of the committee, the former assistant municipal commissioner of Le Taylor, France, Forelie, but he shook his head slightly.
Fulie's heart tightened when he saw this, and he hurriedly stepped forward and bowed:
"Your Highness, is there anything inappropriate about these positions?"
Joseph raised the document in his hand:
"Can 103 people ensure the supply of materials to the front line? Once there is a problem with logistics, we may lose the war at any time!" Forie was startled: "What do you mean? ?”
"It would be more secure to have at least 300 positions responsible for raising supplies."
Although President Fullie looked confused, since the Crown Prince was willing to pay the salary, he naturally had no objections:
“Ah, yes, Your Highness, I will start making adjustments immediately.”
Of course, it's not that Joseph's salary is too high and he has nowhere to send it, but the people hired in this exam are basically his team that will manage Wallonia's bureaucracy in the future, and 300 people are not enough.
He then looked at Viscount Flott, the "skilled man" who had personally delivered information and oats to the Guards Corps earlier: "There are also 30 positions. Please and a few others." The coordinator will discuss it and recommend some talented people to me.”
Viscount Flot is currently the committee's coordinator in Mons, basically equivalent to the deputy mayor. As a representative of the aristocratic forces in Wallonia, the people he recommended must be influential people in Wallonia.
This is equivalent to France and Walloon locals forming a community of interests. Even if Austria does not want to let go of Wallonia in the future, these people will be the first to oppose it.
"Ah! Thank you for your trust!" Viscount Flott said excitedly, stroking his chest and saluting, "I will do my best to select the best talents for you!"
"Then it's all up to you." Joseph smiled and nodded, then added, "Oh, I also ask for your cooperation with President Fullie regarding the establishment of the 'Walloon Coal United Company'."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The so-called Walloon Coal Joint Company is a company funded by the French Reserve Bank to acquire or control coal mines in Wallonia. Affected by the war, the price of coal mines has also experienced a steep decline in recent months, making it the best time to invest.
However, this place is different from the small Luxembourg, and the French Reserve Bank cannot afford to buy all the coal mines, so Joseph roped in investors from France and Wallonia to participate in the company.
Of course, the decision-making power must be in the hands of the French Reserve Bank. As the largest investor, and with the presence of the Military Materials Preparatory Committee, the Bank of France was elected as the "sole veto director" without much effort.
It won't be long before the Walloon region rivals the huge coal reserves of Germany's Ruhr region and will become a strong support for France's industrial revolution.
And when the Coal Industry Co., Ltd. receives a steady stream of orders from France, profitable investors, sellers and workers in Wallonia will also become more dependent on France.
…
The British Foreign Secretary, the Marquess Wellesley, did not go straight to Paris to reconcile India's interests with France as the Prime Minister requested. Instead, he took a ship to prepare to go to Brussels via the Port of Amsterdam and brave the war.
He knew very well that the chips in his hand were far from enough to trade with the French for India, so he hoped to find some chips on the Southern Netherlands front.
However, as soon as he got off the ship, he received news that Charles II asked Britain for help.
(End of chapter)