Chapter 741: Enlarged Meeting of the General Staff
Chapter 742 Enlarged General Staff Meeting
As for Corsica, although it is relatively barren, it is of great strategic significance to Sardinia.
Sardinia's territory consists of two parts, one is the Savoy and Piedmont regions on the Apennine Peninsula, and the other is Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea. The two are separated by Corsica.
This made Turin's rule and trade with Sardinia somewhat awkward.
If Corsica can be obtained, Sardinia can form a complete region in northwest Italy, making the country more cohesive from political management to military defense.
This condition is definitely very tempting for Amedeo III.
The next day.
The Austrian diplomat's carriage leaves the Royal Palace in Turin.
In the car, the Austrian minister to Sardinia sorted out the diplomatic documents in his hand, looked at Count Rheinfels and said: "Your Majesty, maybe we can be tougher. I believe that Sardinia will be willing to send an army to assist us. , not just military access and logistical support.”
After repeated weighings with his ministers, Amedeo III finally only agreed to the passage of Austrian troops in Sardinia and provided logistical support for 30,000 Austrian troops. At the end of the war, Sardinia would gain Genoa and Corsica.
Count Rheinfels smiled: "These are enough. Once the war begins, Sardinia will send troops without our urging."
Seeing the confused expression on Mr. Minister's face, he took advantage of his good mood and explained to the latter: "First of all, we will not send troops to protect Sardinia's baggage convoy; they can only send troops to protect it.
“Secondly, General Beaulieu could ‘inadvertently’ make way between the French army and Chambery, and the Sardinian army would immediately rush to the front to prevent the French from taking the opportunity to attack Turin.
"And as long as there is a battle between the Sardinian army and the French, General Beaulieu will have the final say on what happens next."
…
Southern suburbs of Paris.
A black military-style carriage was speeding smoothly on the wooden track.
In the carriage, Napoleon looked at the young second lieutenant opposite, poked the small wooden table with his index finger and said: "Lucien, you must go to the front line with me. You must understand that this war is a very good opportunity. We will use this to get rid of Cologne." That little place in Sijia.”
The young officer was his younger brother, Lucien Bouwanaba. Although Lucien's military school results were average, he at least graduated from Brienne Military Academy.
At this time, Napoleon began to serve as the acting commander of the Corsican Army, so he transferred his brother to his staff as a herald.
Lucien frowned and retorted: "I think this war will be very dangerous. It is said that Britain, Prussia and Austria and other countries sent more than 300,000 troops, while France only had half of this number.
"Perhaps we have been torn apart by shells before the opportunity you mentioned has come."
Napoleon's eyes flashed with disdain, and he said in a slightly scolding tone: "If you had seen how our Crown Prince fought, you would not have said such childish words.
“The quality of the Evil Alliance’s army is much worse than that of the Crown Prince’s army, and it is difficult to have unified command.
"Just watch, they will lose this war."
"Also." He pointed to his feet before his brother could say anything else, "These wooden tracks are also the guarantee of our victory."
“What does this have to do with wooden tracks?”
"The speed of mobilization of troops and logistics is the most powerful weapon in war, even more important than cannon." Napoleon taught his scumbag brother, "Where there are wooden tracks, our troops and supplies can be ahead of the enemy." The build-up was completed over several days, allowing for easy deployment of tactics and formations.
"I think you know how many wooden tracks have been built in China over the years, right?"
Lucien curled his lips.
He wanted to say, "The wooden track has been built from Artois to Strasbourg," but in the end he chose to remain silent because he was worried that his brother would continue the topic and ask him about logistics and supplies.
He had almost forgotten the military school courses.
Napoleon did not give him any more trouble, and instead talked about his own ambitions: "This time it is best for me to go to fight in the Southern Netherlands. You know, I have fought in Namun and Brussels and other places, and I have no doubts about the people there. The terrain is very familiar. The General Staff will probably transfer me there..."
Two hours later, Napoleon's carriage stopped in front of the General Staff Office Building southeast of the Palace of Versailles.
Napoleon told his brother to wait outside, while he turned and quickly entered the General Staff.
Outside the war conference room on the second floor of the building, several guards checked Napoleon's credentials and then stood at attention and opened the door for him.
This important enlarged general staff meeting had obviously started for a while. General Berthier was talking in front of the map. When he saw Napoleon coming in, he just motioned for him to sit down at the farthest seat on the west side.
Since Napoleon's station was very far from Paris, second only to the provinces of North Africa, no one blamed Napoleon for arriving late.
In fact, he traveled day and night along the way, so he arrived very quickly.
Napoleon looked around the conference room. In addition to the crown prince and the top military officials, the chief minister, the foreign minister, the intelligence chief, and even the industry minister were also present.
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Lefebvre, who was standing by, saw an old acquaintance coming and thoughtfully pushed the minutes of the previous meeting in front of him.
"Thank you so much!"
Napoleon thanked him quietly, and then quickly looked through the documents in front of him.
The previous meeting mainly discussed the allocation of materials. At this time, the Chief of Staff was probably talking about the enemy's strategic deployment.
"In addition to the line from Gelden to Verdun, which is most likely the main battlefield, the southern Netherlands area on the north side must also be heavily defended."
Berthier said, looking at Fouché sitting in the second row.
The latter stood up and nodded: "Recently, a large number of suspicious people from the Flemish region have entered the Walloon region. The Intelligence Bureau secretly arrested some people, and it can be confirmed that they belong to the Austrian intelligence department, but the specific mission has not yet been determined.
"But I guess they should be preparing to create chaos in the Walloon region. "
Flemish is the Dutch-speaking area in the north of the Southern Netherlands. Due to the rapid development of the coal and iron industry in Wallonia, a large number of laborers are needed, so it has become the norm for residents of the nearby Flemish region to go south to work.
This also makes it very easy for the Austrian government to interfere in Wallonia.
An elderly general officer looked at the crown prince and said, "Your Highness, perhaps we should send troops to Wallonia in advance to stabilize the situation there."
Joseph thought for a moment, but shook his head slightly.
"General Dimobin, do you know how many French people there are in Wallonia?"
"About 200,000, Your Highness."
"Yes, that is to say, there are still millions of people in the Southern Netherlands."
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