War and Military Expenditure

Besides its superior military strength, Mysore is also a very wealthy country.

Thanks to trade with the United Kingdom, Mysore exported large quantities of Cotton, Tea, spices, indigo, and sugar, bringing great wealth to the Nobility and providing ample supplies for the country's wars.

To paraphrase a line from a later era, Lafayette had never fought such a lucrative battle.

Of course, the opponents he would face were also much stronger—not to mention the United Kingdom, currently the world's most powerful nation. The East India Company had a standing army of more than 3,000 men in India, which could be mobilized to around 6,000 if necessary. If troops were transferred from the United Kingdom mainland, they could have 10,000 troops in three to four months.

In addition, the princely states under the United Kingdom control, as well as United Kingdom's India allies, could provide a large number of troops, up to 200,000. Although these India soldiers were far less combat-effective than those from Mysore, their sheer numbers were a formidable force, especially since these princely states could provide logistical support to the English Army, making them a crucial factor influencing the course of the war.

Therefore, one of Joseph's most important orders to Lafayette was to unite the local India states as much as possible, or at least to win them back from siding with the United Kingdom.

In the late 18th century, United Kingdom's control over India was far less than it had been in the 19th century. The Indian Princely States under its complete control accounted for no more than one-fifth of India's total area, and the vast majority of these states operated as alliances.

The princes of these princely states were extremely greedy and easily bribed for their own gain.

Lafayette and Salah discussed the recent ministerial meeting before boarding their Carriage.

Lafayette suddenly remembered something, took a colorful ribbon from her pocket, and showed it to Salah: "Oh, Tipu Sultan also bestowed upon me the title of ' Umdah.' There seems to be a investiture ceremony the day after tomorrow at noon. I wonder if you would be free to attend?"

Umdah is the highest-ranking military officer title in Mysore, demonstrating Tipu Sultan's high regard for Lafayette.

Salah smiled and nodded, "Congratulations, Your Excellency Marquis. I certainly wouldn't miss something like this."

Southern Netherlands.

Eastern Suburbs of Brussels.

Tens of thousands of soldiers, dressed in red Military Uniform and white leggings, marched in a long, narrow column across the lush green grass to the beat of drums.

The red procession stretched all the way to the distant hills, disappearing into the light mist.

Not far from a Twelve-Pound Cannon pulled by eight horses, two officers, surrounded by Guard, were riding side by side at a slow pace.

The man walking on the left, dressed in a gold double-breasted Military Uniform with two dark blue sashes on his chest, with thick black eyebrows, a high nose, and a rather handsome appearance, is none other than Karl II, the current Governor of Hanover.

He was muttering rapidly, "The Southern Netherlands Parliament guys are a bunch of idiots."

"The Austrian Army hasn't been completely driven out yet, and now the France are involved, and what are they doing? They're single-mindedly vying for control of Parliament..."

"This even affected the deployment of troops. More than 8,000 Netherlands soldiers were just sitting idly in Ghent, watching us go and fight the France."

"Especially that guy named Onck. Those soldiers have been resting for over a month, and he still wants them to rest until the end of the year... He might as well just let them retire in Ghent."

General Karel van Bronckhorst, the Dutch Volunteer Army commander standing to the side in a blue Military Uniform, nodded helplessly and said, "Who can argue with that? But right now, Onck enjoys extremely high prestige among the Southern Netherlands Army, and since their defeat at the hands of the France, their army has been very eager to rest and recuperate. Onck's order is exactly what they want."

Karl II glanced at the army beside him and sneered, "Once we defeat the Austria, I will certainly advise King Majesty to merge the Southern Netherlands Parliament with the Dutch Parliament."

Bronckhorst was overjoyed upon hearing this. Although United Kingdom had been secretly promising to facilitate the unification of the Netherlands and the Southern Netherlands, the fact that Commander Hanover, who was in charge of the United Kingdom lines, had said it himself gave him even more hope.

He quickly flattered Karl II, then hesitated before asking, "Your Marshal, do you think the France will continue to send more troops into the Low Countries after you defeated the French and Austrian Army?"

As a Dutch people, he was naturally worried about his behemoth neighbor, France, especially since Louis XIV had almost wiped out the Netherlands decades earlier.

Karl II smiled dismissively, "I remember you're a shareholder of the Bank of Amsterdam, aren't you? Then you should be well aware of France's current Finance situation."

As a long-established financial powerhouse in Europe, the Netherlands has banking operations throughout the Europe, particularly in France. More than 40% of France's foreign debt is owed to Dutch Bank.

General Bronckhorst nodded. "Yes, I do know some of that. France's debt is still over 2 billion Livre."

He was naturally unaware that although the total amount of Government Bonds had not changed much, Joseph had already replaced a large portion of it with low-interest debt through his actions during the previous banking tsunami, greatly reducing the Finance pressure compared to before.

Karl II looked at him and said, "As you know, France maintains an army of more than 20,000 men in North Africa to guard against possible attacks from Algiers and Tripoli."

"At the same time, they have 30,000 troops in Silesia and 20,000 in Luxembourg. These troops stationed overseas are extremely expensive. France can no longer afford to support the expenditure of more troops; otherwise, the State Finances will collapse before they even have a chance to determine the outcome on the battlefield."

Bronckhorst nodded in agreement. Karl II continued, "France's standing army is less than 120,000, and they currently have more than 70,000 stationed in various places. Unless there is a large-scale recruitment, they will not even have enough troops to maintain order at home."

He pointed the South: "So, once the French Army in Luxembourg is defeated, the fighting in the Low Countries will be completely over."

"And our superior forces will be able to complete this task very quickly."

While Hanover was engaged in lively conversation with the commanders of the Dutch and Netherlands armies, at the border between Luxembourg and Liège, Leo looked at Lefebvre with a troubled expression. "Lieutenant Colonel, my friend, perhaps it would be better to rest for a while longer."

After the last pursuit battle where he won against overwhelming odds, Lefebvre has been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.

"General, look, your reinforcements have all arrived." Lefebvre smiled and gestured towards the distant Austrian Army. "You cannot betray His Majesty the Emperor's trust, can you?"

To divert the attention of Prussia and Hanover to the Southern Netherlands, Joseph II sent 8,000 more soldiers to Leo, bringing his army to nearly 10,000.