Heroes of France
The Austria Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Netherlands Army Group, Leo, looked even more distressed.
Along with the reinforcements, a secret letter from Joseph II arrived in Luxembourg. The letter instructed him to try to drag the French Army into battles with Prussia and Hanover, and if necessary, to lure the enemy into the Luxembourg region.
However, through his time in contact with the French Army, Leo knew better than anyone how cunning the France were.
They constantly urged themselves to fight a decisive battle with Blücher, while setting up their Military Camp behind the Austrian Army's lines and beginning to build breastworks—simple defensive fortifications—along the border between Luxembourg and Liège, as if they were prepared to defend Luxembourg to the death.
Previously, Leo had used the excuse of insufficient troops to delay for nearly half a month. With the arrival of Joseph II's 8,000 reinforcements, he had been forced into a corner by the emperor and the France.
He then looked at Lefebvre, his tone pleading. "My dearest friend, you will surely come to my aid while I am fighting the Prussia, won't you?"
He had witnessed the fighting prowess of Lefebvre Regiment, especially during the pursuit battle, where over 2,000 French Army routed nearly 5,000 men of the Altman Legion. With his help, perhaps he could have a chance against Blücher's 14,000-strong army.
Lefebvre had been waiting for this, but instead feigned great difficulty. "I would be very happy to help you, General, we forged our friendship in blood on the battlefield. But you know, I cannot move troops without authorization. To be honest, my orders are to garrison along the Mount Defraitier."
"But..."
Before Leo could continue pleading, Lefebvre very considerately leaned closer to his old friend and whispered, "His Crown Prince is in Clervaux Town. Perhaps you could go and ask him. His Highness is kind-hearted and easy to talk to."
Clervaux Town, northern Luxembourg.
The scene along the road was quite desolate. When the Prussian Army retreated from here, they took away all the supplies they could scavenge. Not only were all kinds of livestock "requisitioned," but even some people's bed sheets and blankets were taken to be used as bandages.
Joseph watched the Luxembourg farmers rush past the car window, but his mind was preoccupied with the issue of military spending.
This morning he received a report from Brienne in Paris, which detailed the expenses incurred by the French Army in various regions during this period.
The Tunisia troops have been stationed there the longest, having already spent 4.5 Livre.
Although the French Army in Silesia and Luxembourg were only mobilized for about a month, the total expenditure had already reached tens of millions of Livre due to the intensity of the fighting.
This is without taking into account the Pension for wounded and killed soldiers, and the large amount of supplies that Joseph II provided to the French Army in Silesia.
If Pension are included, military spending during this period has been approximately 17 Livre.
It's only been a little over a month.
Joseph frowned slightly. He knew very well that to achieve his strategic plan for the Southern Netherlands, the war might last for six months or even a year.
The required military expenditure will definitely exceed 100 million Livre.
It's important to know that France spent a whopping 1.3 billion Livre over eight years to support the American War of Independence! And in the early years, it was just small-scale fighting by "volunteer troops." The real large-scale intervention began in 1780 when Count Rochambeau led 6,000 French Army into America, and continued until United States independence in 1783, with annual military expenditures exceeding 300 million Livre.
War is a money-devouring monster in any era.
Although victory in the war would bring enormous benefits, France would need to invest a huge amount of money upfront.
If not handled properly, France's Finance, which have just narrowly escaped disaster, may fall back into Abyss.
How can we raise military funds?
According to the usual practice of this era, loans were typically obtained from banks or private lenders, or War Bonds were issued, and War Tax were levied.
Joseph couldn't help but sigh; these were all traps.
The first two methods would impose a heavy interest burden on the State Finances —these extremely risky wartime loans could have interest rates as high as 40% or more.
Raising taxes would be even more detrimental. He had just painstakingly suppressed the enthusiasm of the people in the old districts for Bastille, and he didn't want to ruin everything because of high tax rates. Besides, Louis XV had already imposed Military Service Tax, which had never been abolished after the war.
He mentally reviewed all the methods used in later generations to raise large sums of money in a short period of time.
The first thing that came to mind was Paper Money.
Since the French Reserve Bank's "Bank Notes" have not yet been officially announced as the sole legal tender in France, this opportunity can be used to issue more.
Moreover, this is beneficial to France's current economic situation— France industry is in a phase of rapid development, and at this time, appropriate Inflation can stimulate consumption and benefit the sales of goods.
He then thought of the French Commercial Insurance Company, whose insurance industry later became an important pillar of the financial system.
However, at the end of the 18th century, the insurance industry had not yet developed; apart from Marine Insurance, there were only Fire Insurance and home insurance.
The market is too small...
Joseph thought of this, but suddenly laughed and shook his head.
Isn't your thinking rigid?
A small market means a large market gap! If users don't have a need, then we should guide them to generate that need.
If the insurance industry can be developed, then military spending for one or two years will not be a problem at all. There will even be surplus funds to invest in industrial construction.
He immediately took out paper and pen and quickly wrote on the small wooden table in the Carriage: Health insurance...
Commercial insurance...
Investment-linked insurance...
Before long, Joseph's entourage stopped near the Royal Guard Legion Camp north of the town, and a squad of soldiers on guard duty immediately ran up to line up in front of the Crown Prince's Carriage to greet him.
The soldiers' high heads and straight backs revealed just how high their morale was.
Joseph smiled and nodded to the soldiers, then had a Major who had come to greet him lead him directly to the wounded soldiers' camp.
A Farmhouse in the suburbs has been temporarily rented out as Battlefield Hospital, and with the tents erected between the buildings, there are more than 300 wounded soldiers receiving treatment here.
Perna was busy leading the nurses back and forth when she heard someone say that His Crown Prince had arrived. She quickly curtsied to Joseph from a distance, but was then called away by the shouts of the wounded.
A large number of Luxembourg locals were hired to help. Luxembourg is located at the border of France, Germany, and Nigeria, and its people are language experts, generally mastering three foreign languages from a young age, so there are no obstacles for them to come here to work.
They also didn't have much opinion on who should rule the country.
When the wounded soldiers saw the Crown Prince arrive, they struggled to rise and pay their respects, but were stopped by the accompanying officers. Joseph, however, first solemnly raised his hat in salute to them, and sincerely said, "You are heroes of France. France is glorious because of your sacrifice and dedication!"
(End of this chapter)