Chapter 807: Charles's First Pot of Gold
Nationalism can send those German monarchs here, but whether they are willing to contribute depends on Franz's ability
Lucerne, Switzerland.
After Dufour's troops were replenished, they reached 130,000. At the same time, he heard a good news, that is, the Orthodox Alliance disbanded tens of thousands of troops for some unknown reason.
According to the intelligence from Lucerne and other places, Dufour estimated that the total strength of the Orthodox Alliance should be between 60,000 and 70,000, so now there should be less than 50,000.
The disbanding of the Orthodox Alliance also revealed a message, that is, their material reserves are insufficient.
In addition, although the Orthodox Alliance opened up the channel of Ticino, the reinforcements from the Kingdom of Sardinia and Austria did not arrive, and the volunteers promoted by the French seemed to have no action after conquering Ticino.
There is also good news, that is, the surface of the Reuss River has been completely frozen, and soldiers and horses can pass on it, and he can finally launch a full-scale offensive.
The same news is a disaster for the Orthodox Alliance.
"How can there be so many people?"
Marshal Ulrich Saliss grabbed the intelligence and couldn't believe it, then turned to the state representative who strongly advocated the disbanding of the new recruits.
"Siegwart! Look at what you have done! The enemy's main attack force is more than three times ours, and there are more than 40,000 people in Zug! How can we win this war!"
Constantine Siegwart was also wronged. There was no large-scale war for several weeks, and tens of thousands of mouths needed to be fed.
And Archduke Karl either trained or used those new recruits as civilians, and it seemed that the front line didn't need them much.
Instead of letting those new recruits be combatants, it would be better to let them be logistics. As for the extra people, they can be returned to their hometowns and let them pay more taxes, using taxes instead of service.
"Sixty thousand people! That's sixty thousand mouths! They are not needed on the battlefield! Do you know how much money has been spent since the war started?"
Ulrich Saliss asked back indifferently.
"How do I know? At most, let everyone in Switzerland donate one franc, and the problem will be solved, right?"
Constantine Sigwart was speechless for a moment. It was not that the former's words could not be refuted, but as a professional, there were flaws in this sentence and he didn't know where to start.
A million francs as personal property is undoubtedly very amazing in this era, but it seems a little insignificant when it comes to the country.
In fact, Constantine Sigwart didn't say anything else. Carlo Alberto gave him a bribe of 10 million lire.
At that time, the coinage technology of the Kingdom of Sardinia was very poor, and the actual circulation range was not large, especially after Austria formed the Apennine Commercial Alliance, which was equivalent to 7.5 million francs.
However, the money did not reach the former's hands because the state of Ticino suddenly rebelled, but Constantine Sigwart dared not to make it public.
In fact, he didn't know whether there was really this money, and Carlo Alberto didn't dare to make it public either, because if this transaction was exposed, it would definitely cause dissatisfaction and even hostility from the Austrian side.
As a small country sandwiched between two powers, the monarchs in the history of the Kingdom of Sardinia all had the wisdom to survive, so they could only grit their teeth and swallow their blood.
Back to the point, Constantine Sigwart and Ulrich Salis were arguing, and soon they moved from war and politics to personal attacks.
"Sigwart! Don't think I don't know that since you became a state representative, not to mention your relatives and friends, even your neighbor's children have become officials!
The money was spent so quickly must have something to do with you!"
Ulrich Salis took the lead in tearing his face, and Constantine Sigwart was not to be outdone.
"What about you? Marshal Salis! How many generals in the army are your students and comrades now?"
After a while of back and forth between the two sides, Archduke Karl had to come out to help smooth things over.
"The current military force is sufficient to defend against foreign enemies, but a strong fortress is often breached from the inside.
We must unite and work together to resist the invasion of the Free State for the Orthodox Union."
"For the Orthodox Union!"
Slogans always make people feel excited, but Archduke Karl is a little helpless. It is hard for him to imagine that the top leaders of a country are all such people.
Afterwards, Archduke Karl specifically instructed that the fighting can be handed over to the soldiers on the front line, but supplies must keep up, and the dead and injured soldiers must also be given pensions, otherwise once there is a problem inside the fortress, it will not be solved by him alone.
Constantine Sigwart and Ulrich Salis still have great respect for this "military god" of the Austrian Empire.
Not only did he lead the Orthodox Union to a series of victories, but more importantly, Austria's attitude after the victory of the war will greatly affect the belonging of the new Prime Minister of the Swiss Confederation.
At least they think so. Archduke Karl felt very tired because he had a premonition that something bad might happen.
Before the second round of confrontation between Archduke Karl and General Dufour began, there was a small episode.
Charles Duchat's army invaded the Ticino Canton with almost no effort. The so-called tens of thousands of troops were distributed in more than a dozen fortresses of various sizes.
These defenders were not interested in war, were not well prepared, and were terribly isolated from the news.
The French army quickly captured several occupied nodes, but Charles Duchat discovered a problem at this time, that is, the defenders of Ticino were still standing still.
He brought more than a thousand people to Switzerland this time, and there was no way to occupy the territory he had conquered.
But this did not bother the French army, which had been fighting for many years. They followed the past practice of robbing, burning, and killing.
Seeing that the French army was so fierce, the Swiss gave up a lot of important intelligence in order to survive.
Charles Duchat finally understood why the army of Ticino was concentrated in several remote fortresses.
Before the war, the Kingdom of Sardinia had sent a batch of supplies to the Orthodox Alliance, which included weapons and equipment for 5,000 people, 100 carts of food, and 10 million lire.
At that time, Ticino was ready to rebel, so these money, goods, and weapons were naturally confiscated.
For 10 million lire, several fights broke out among the high-level officials of Ticino. In the end, the governor of the state won. He was afraid that others would get their hands on the money, so he concentrated his troops in his hometown to guard it at all times.
That's why the defense of Ticino was so poor. However, the officer who told the secret did not survive, and the governor and the currency he loved became the spoils of the French.
Charles Duchat has been working in the military and political affairs of France for several years. He knows that power is money and money can also become power.
And the 10 million lire in front of him can take him to a high position that he will never be able to climb in his lifetime. The elders and folks of Lyon are still waiting for him.