A ransom of 800,000

Joseph and Berthier locked eyes again.

Although neither of them understood what was going on, they spoke almost simultaneously, "Your Highness, I suggest we launch an attack immediately!"

"I think we should coordinate with Major Lacoste for a strong attack."

Berthier immediately bowed slightly. "Yes, Your Highness!"

Soon, the Skirmishers of the Royal Guard Legion began to surround the village of Ogechina, while the cannons roared, tearing apart the thin Infantry Line of the Hanover defenders with their shells.

Berthier looked at Joseph with some worry and whispered, "Your Highness, could it be that the Horse Artillery didn't have time to break through, and the enemy reinforcements have already joined up with the rear guard?"

He frowned deeply again. "Or perhaps they were defeated by enemy reinforcements?"

Joseph for a moment and shook his head. "At least it's not the latter, otherwise it would be difficult for them to launch such a fierce artillery barrage. You just said that there are dozens of cannons firing at the enemy."

Berthier breathed a sigh of relief, "You're right, at least they didn't suffer very big losses."

"Even though they didn't manage to stop the Hanover reinforcements, they've now formed a pincer movement against the village of Ogechina, which is a pretty good situation."

Just as they were discussing this with great concern, a guard led over a burly soldier covered in Powder Smoke and blackened with gunpowder.

Berthier immediately recognized the man. "Are you Mathieu, the messenger from the cavalry artillery battalion?"

"Yes, General Matthew Deble." The Messenger saluted, raising his hat. "The battalion commander heard the cannon fire from your side and sent me to report. The Horse Artillery battalion, in coordination with the Dragoons, routed the reinforcements sent by Hanover to support the rear. Then, the battalion commander learned from prisoners that the enemy had fortified the village of Ogechina, and decided to come and attack the enemy there."

Berthier paused for a second before breaking into a delighted smile, "Major Lacoste is truly... ah, so valiant! He made an outstanding contribution to the Legion's victory."

He then looked at Joseph and whispered, "He used to be a very composed officer."

Joseph immediately thought of a certain Artillery Company, pursed his lips, and said, "Perhaps it was one of his adventurous subordinates who came up with the idea."

The Hanover Army in Ogechina village was clearly not expecting an attack from behind and quickly fell into chaos.

Commander Lieutenant Colonel Schmidt shouted frantically, mobilizing soldiers to the north to block the enemy. However, he had previously deployed his men on the rooftops, and it took him a full half hour to relay the orders and assemble the troops before less than three companies reached the north side of the village.

His commotion left the Hanover soldiers in the village somewhat bewildered. They scrambled down from the rooftops, only to hear an even louder commotion from the south, and quickly returned to their rooftops...

The Horse Artillery on the north side charged into the village with almost no resistance.

Battalion Commander Lacoste ordered his men to drag the cannons to within a hundred paces of several Farmhouse where enemy soldiers were hiding, and then bombarded those houses to the ground.

The Hanover soldiers who witnessed this scene were terrified and hurriedly left the Farmhouse, fearing that they, like their compatriots, would be buried in the ruins.

On the south side of the village, Davout pointed to the burning Farmhouse ahead and shouted to the Orderly Officer, "The fire there has breached the enemy's defenses! Everyone, follow me and charge!"

The drummers and Flag Bearer carried out their company commander's orders without hesitation. To the sound of rapid drumbeats, hundreds of the Royal Guard Legion soldiers quickly passed through both sides of the burning Farmhouse. Although their eyebrows and beards were licked off by the flames, and some even had their clothes Ignition, there were indeed no Hanover soldiers nearby.

Davout directed his soldiers to extinguish the fire on each other's bodies, quickly regrouped, and immediately launched a volley of fire at the enemy Infantry Line to their side.

Immediately, the breach widened, and more Royal Guard Legion soldiers poured into the village through it, shouting as they entered.

Less than an hour later, the Royal Guard Legion soldiers who had launched simultaneous attacks from the north and south met in the village.

Then, Schmidt Lieutenant Colonel, with his hair singed and his Military Uniform torn in a large hole, was escorted before Joseph by a company commander and his men.

Upon learning Joseph's identity, the Hanover Army politely saluted him, saying, "I never imagined that the commander of this large army would be the young Crown Prince of France. Your command skills have left a very unforgettable impression on me."

Joseph nodded to him. "Then, please tell me, how long will it take for His Excellency Karl II to complete the deployment of the defensive line?"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. Out of loyalty to His Majesty the King, I cannot say a word to you."

Joseph waved his hand, looked at Berthier, and asked in a low voice, "What is this man's family background?"

The latter thought for a moment, then consulted the staff officer beside him before replying, "Your Highness, Viscount Schmidt is from a prominent family in Verden. His grandfather was a lieutenant general in Hanover during the reign of George II."

Joseph nodded and smiled, indicating that the family must be quite wealthy.

He then gestured to a nearby Guard: "Please help Viscount Schmidt change into proper clothes first, then invite him to my tent for a cup of tea. Even an enemy deserves the respect due to a decent person."

Schmidt Lieutenant Colonel was about to express his gratitude when the Crown Prince of France continued, "Let's set the Ransom at 800,000 Livre; that should reflect your distinguished status."

Schmidt nearly coughed up blood; it was the first time he'd ever heard of someone being "priced" on the spot while being captured.

800,000 Livre, that's more than 300,000 Florin!

Even if he sold everything he owned, he couldn't come up with that much money!

"Your Highness, you can't..."

He was about to "bargain" when he heard the Crown Prince of France whisper to the general beside him, "Ah? Is it a lot? No, no, I heard that it's very easy for high-ranking military officers to get loans from Bank of England."

All his words caught in his throat until a France officer invited him to move to the military tent...

Karl II would ask his staff almost every half hour, "How much longer until the army is fully assembled?"

This time, the staff officer didn't report the positions of the various units as before. Instead, with a grim face, he whispered, "Marshal, we just received news that the village of Ogechina has fallen..."

Karl II felt dizzy and disoriented. In less than four hours, Schmidt was very skilled in defensive warfare, had been defeated?!

In other words, there was less than 3 miles of open road left between the French Army and themselves.

He glanced at the map beside him. At this moment, the furthest Infantry regiment on his side was still 1.5 miles away. By the time the France launched their attack, they might not even be able to complete their assembly.

The most critical issue was that there was still no news from the artillery in the rear.

Without cannons, even if they fought the French Army head-on, they would only end up getting beaten up.

He hesitated for a long time, then summoned an officer not far away and said loudly, "Sir Dill, you now have full command of the army in battle."