Chapter 373 Liege Fortress

Four days ago.

December 27, 1842.

Liege Fortress, Belgium.

This barracks is located at the confluence of the Meuse River and the Ourthe River, bordering the Dutch border to the north and the Ardennes Forest to the south. It is a major transportation route and a natural pass, and a place that must be fought for by 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 don't have to participate in training.

The soldiers rushed to the river on their rare "holiday", because if the news is true, they may not have the opportunity to take a bath for several weeks or even months.

The soldiers were still taking a bath, and several workers in charge of cleaning up the area dumped a cart of feces and filth into the river.

"Fuck you, what are you doing! Don't you see we are still taking a bath? This water is not drinkable, let alone taking a bath!"

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

"This is what General Jurgen ordered. It's a gift to Austria and Prussia."

"This is too disgusting!" A soldier said, covering his nose.

"This is the effect we want. What do you think those guys will do if the river water is no longer drinkable?" asked the foreman.

"Dig a well?" A soldier asked tentatively.

"No, those officers who are too bothered will always let the soldiers drink directly. They don't care about the lives of their subordinates. Then dysentery and typhoid will break out in their army. At that time, they will surrender without us fighting."

The foreman looked admiring. Although the soldiers thought this trick was a bit hurtful, 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 startled out of the forest.

"Something is coming! Put on your clothes quickly!"

"What is it? Grizzly bear? Wolf pack?"

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

"Are you soldiers from the Liege Fortress?" The leading officer said it in stiff Dutch, and then he said it again in French for fear that these people would not understand.

The besieged Belgians nodded like crazy. They were not sure whether the other side 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. A total of 2,100 people."

"Why are you not in the barracks?"

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

"In addition to you 150 people, how many others ran out?"

"The war will start in a while, so the officers have gone to the Moonlight Castle in the city to relax these days. There is no one to supervise us, so there is naturally no need to stick to our posts."

The Belgian soldiers said with some resentment and self-blame.

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

The speaker was Archduke Albrecht himself. He knew very well that speed is of the essence. At this time, the troops in the Liege Fortress were empty, and it was a good time to make a concerted effort.

Once the Liege Fortress was conquered, the road to Brussels would be smooth. The 5,000 people led by Albrecht were Franz's Royal Dragoon Regiment and his family's guards, as well as 1,000 elite soldiers drawn from various troops in Vienna.

The weapon he carried was the latest siege-type M42 rocket developed by the Austrian Empire. The explosive power of this rocket may not be enough, but it is a good hand at destroying cities.

Austria's chief weapons designer, General Vincent, called it a "city destroyer" because the explosion range of this rocket is large, and a lot of combustibles are added inside, so the fire caused is difficult to extinguish and it is easy to burn down large wooden buildings.

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

In fact, there were some high-performance bombs in the baggage carts of Albrecht's team, which were dozens of times more powerful than black powder, but the technology of this picric acid explosive was not mature, and he did not want to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers unless it was absolutely necessary.

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

But before they had time to persuade their comrades to surrender, the defenders of the fortress surrendered.

The advance team continued to advance, and Albrecht had to wait for follow-up reinforcements to consolidate the defense of the Liege Fortress. After all, this is the lifeline of the German Confederation Volunteer Army.

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

Albrecht was usually a generous man, but he was 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, but when he saw a large amount of filth floating from upstream, he immediately became furious and led the advance team to track down the source of the filth.

The Belgian prisoners pointed at the foreman.

"Have him eat all the filth in the river and tell the nearby residents that it was this man who polluted the water source."

Albrecht ordered.

"Grand Duke, spare me! General Jurgen asked me to do it. I was forced to do it."

The foreman immediately begged for mercy.

"Where is General Jurgen?" Albrecht asked.

"In Moonlight Castle, he and the officers in the fortress are all there."

The foreman betrayed the general without thinking.

"Take him with us, we will go find General Jurgen. You all listen carefully, it was General Jurgen who ordered the water source to be polluted, you have to explain it clearly to the residents here. Did you hear it clearly?"

Albrecht roared.

"I heard it clearly." The captured Belgian soldiers nodded one after another.

So the advance team began to act separately, one part continued to advance to Brussels, and the other part went to Liege to capture General Jurgen.

Albrecht still remembered the trial meeting model mentioned by Franz.

When they found General Jurgen and his men, they were still immersed in the land of tenderness.

Soon, these guys who polluted the water were sent to the square in the center of the city, and then more black materials were exposed. General Jurgen was a disease lover. He liked to see people get sick and then record his observations for fun.

This kind of person made Albrecht feel sick, but he also knew that there were many such people in the world. So after the trial, Albrecht left him in the square in the center of the city.

Soon, along the railway line inside the German Confederation, more volunteers were sent to the front line. More than 10,000 people were transported in just three days, which was a number that was not even dared to be thought of before.

After receiving reinforcements, Albrecht continued to move forward, but he soon received a piece of news that made him unbelievable.

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