Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Bertier took the summary data from a staff officer and continued, "According to the statistics, our army has killed over 1,200 enemy soldiers and captured nearly 3,000."

He said with a rather proud smile, "Of course, our gains are definitely far more than that."

Joseph nodded. There were still many numbers of killed and captured enemy that hadn't been reported back; moreover, many scattered Prussian soldiers, though still free for the time being, could essentially be counted among the captives of the Guard Corps—the cavalry would have an easy time catching them.

The Chief of General Staff then said, "Your Highness, we plan to rest in Kehlendorf tonight and continue the pursuit tomorrow at noon."

But Joseph shook his head, "General, we fought this battle very well, but now I must ask you to withdraw all your corps. Tomorrow we will advance towards Ratibor."

Bertier immediately widened his eyes in surprise, "Your Highness, these days are the best opportunity to harvest the fruits of victory, why..."

During the enemy's rout, it's necessary to keep harrying them, preventing them from regrouping or reorganizing. Typically, this could yield several times more results than in direct combat.

Joseph smiled and said, "Please remember our strategic objective. Even if we completely annihilate Delrisen's corps, it's just 30,000 men at most, and you know that this is basically impossible to achieve."

In such circumstances of defeat on their own territory, the retreating troops could get resupplied anytime, anywhere, and could escape in all directions. It would be quite fortunate for the pursuers to be able to eliminate half of the enemy forces.

"Strategic objective?" Bertier pondered and nodded, "You mean to engage the Prussians and Austrians as much as possible?"

"Exactly," said Joseph, "We must make the Prussians believe that today's battle was just an accident and that our real objective has always been to rescue General Leao."

"So, we must appear to be willing to abandon the imminent fruits of victory in haste in order to rush to Ratibor?"

"Yes." Joseph approached the map and pointed to a location downstream of the Bober River, "We start like this, and then..."

The next day at noon, after a brief rest, the Guard Corps began to advance southward with great fanfare, purposely passing through areas with villages and towns, their military music accompanied by the soaring voices of "Glory and Victory."

A day and a half later, when they reached an area near the lower reaches of the Bober River, they immediately turned westward with increased speed, and along the way, they kept to the wastelands...

Legnica.

In the Prussian Silesian command post, Duke of Brunswick was looking at the officer sent by Delrisen for help, his face dark as the bottom of a pot.

Fortunately, the French were inefficient in their pursuit, and Delrisen's losses were not significant, the main force was still intact.

He pondered over the troops at his disposal and finally had an attendant call an officer, instructing, "General Andreas, take your men immediately, along with ten squadrons of cavalry, to Oberon to join Delrisen."

The Andreas Corps had over 8,000 men, and along with the cavalry, nearly 10,000 in total.

The Duke of Brunswick consistently believed that Delrisen had been defeated due to an ambush, not because of the French Army's combat strength. Thus, these 10,000 men, in coordination with Delrisen's forces, should have no problem in blocking over 10,000 of the French Army.

After Andreas had left, the Duke of Brunswick hurriedly summoned all the senior officers to rearrange the troop deployments of the Lignitz Defensive Line. He had already drawn too many troops towards Ratibor to capture Leao, which made him worry that this would leave him with insufficient forces on the main front against Austria.

However, just as his military council had ended, a staff officer responsible for battlefield intelligence entered the tent and handed him a report: "Marshal, a French force has been spotted moving south from Oberon. It is very likely the same one that fought General Delrisen."

Duke of Brunswick quickly skimmed through the report, and involuntarily narrowed his eyes.

No wonder Delrisen did not encounter a pursuit. It turned out the French had headed south, and the only strategically valuable target in the south was Ratibor.

He handed the report to an officer beside him, "The fact that the French were willing to bypass the Delrisen Corps to rush to Ratibor indicates that Austria's regard for Leao far exceeds our expectations."

The officer looked at the report and nodded, "It appears that if Leao were to die or be captured, it would deal a severe blow to the Austrian morale."

Immediately, someone suggested, "Marshal, should we continue to send reinforcements to Ratibor?"

Upon hearing this, Duke of Brunswick furrowed his brows.

To be honest, he was also very interested in Leao, but the Prussian forces were already outnumbered by the Austrians. If this were an Austrian trap, and he committed too many forces to Ratibor, it would be disastrous if that old fox Lacy launched a fierce attack on the frontlines.

At the same time.

Inside the Austrian headquarters, Marshal Lacy was passing a letter to an officer beside him, his face pale.

The latter glanced at the letter and was immediately shocked, "The Crown Prince of France, he..."

He looked as if he was afraid of being overheard, glanced towards the entrance of the tent, and lowered his voice, "Why would he go to Oberon?"

He then looked back at Lacy, urgently saying, "Marshal, he is now surrounded by the Prussians, we must do something!"

Marshal Lacy gazed at the pointed top of the tent, his hands unable to stop trembling slightly.

He had already learned from the Prussian informant that the Delrisen Corps had recently engaged in a fierce battle with a French force near Oberon.

Now, in light of this plea for help, that French force must be the Crown Prince of France's troops.

Yes, Joseph, after the fight with Delrisen concluded, had sent someone to plead with Marshal Lacy for help, claiming he was surrounded by 30,000 Prussian troops and might be captured at any moment.

After a long time, Lacy heaved a deep sigh and said to the officer, "General Davydov, you and General Conrad immediately rush to Oberon to rescue the Crown Prince of France..."

These two corps were his main forces, totaling over 30,000 men. Sending them to Oberon would inevitably severely affect the strength of the forces at the Lignitz front, but he had no other choice.

If something untoward happened to the Crown Prince of France in Silesia—if he died, it might be better, as France could thus declare full-scale war against Prussia.

But if he were captured, France would most likely withdraw from Silesia in exchange for their Crown Prince.

And he would bear the brunt of France's anger for not taking proper care of the young man and could even become the scapegoat for the defeat in Silesia.

Once General Davydov had departed, Marshal Lacy immediately motioned wearily to an attendant, "Bring paper and pen, I need to write a letter to His Majesty the Emperor..."