And so Charles Duchatelet received his first "angel investment," while Ticino suffered an unprecedented calamity.
In fact, Charles Duchatelet had another reason for staying put in Ticino: he had never received orders from Louis Philippe.
In the latter's eyes, the volunteer plan had long since failed, and he had already forgotten all about the former.
At that moment, Louis Philippe was considering whether to go to Vienna in person.
France and Austria had interests in common, and dividing up Switzerland should benefit both countries. Still, having the monarch attend in person would be giving Austria far too much deference.
But Louis Philippe thought it over again. If he refused to show Austria that much respect, might they really let Switzerland remain as it was?
After all, the route through Ticino had already been opened, yet Austria had still taken no action. Could it be that Austria had reached some sort of agreement with the League of Orthodoxy in Switzerland?
Would they establish a pro-Austrian government?
The more Louis Philippe thought about it, the more frightened he became. In the end, he decided to go to Vienna. Surely, since he was showing Austria so much respect, they wouldn't make things difficult for him.
Switzerland, on the banks of the Reuss River.
Dufour rallied himself once more and delivered an impassioned speech. He truly wanted to preserve the peace of this peaceful country, but the war had grown beyond his control.
Dufour sincerely wanted to end this pointless war, and the officers below him were stirred by his words.
But the soldiers had no desire to go to the battlefield and die. It was true that the ice had frozen solid, and could easily bear both men and horses. Even a hammer couldn't break it.
But who knew what would happen when