Good news kept coming

On a hill 2 kilometers away from the main force of the Hanover Army, there was a small wooden table with two cups of hot tea on it.

Joseph picked up the unadulterated glass, gestured to Berthier across the table, and then took a contented sip.

"So much good news today."

The latter smiled and nodded, saying:

"Yes, Your Highness. I didn't expect that the Hanover Artillery, in their haste, would even forget to destroy the cannons."

"We could even drag those 16 cannons directly to Hanover's defenses, doubling our firepower."

Just now, the Royal Guard Legion Cavalry Battalion reported that they easily annihilated the rear guard of the Hanover Army, which lacked Infantry cover.

The Hanover were clearly not prepared for the French Army to arrive so quickly, and with almost no decent resistance, they fled in disarray.

Of course, they couldn't possibly outrun the Hussars.

In just over two hours, the 3rd Cavalry Royal Guard Legion captured more than 800 Hanover soldiers, seized all 16 of their cannons, and a large amount of logistical supplies.

As Berthier said, the Hanover soldiers, in their panic, forgot even basic procedures such as setting fire to the supplies and nailing the gun ports shut.

The France cavalrymen drove the eighty-odd wagons, still harnessed to horses, back to their Camp in high spirits.

As the two were talking, a staff officer quickly walked over, raised his hat, and bowed, saying:

"Your Highness, General, our troops have broken through the enemy's left flank Infantry Line."

Berthier's face lit up with joy, and he turned to look through his Telescope, but he found nothing because of the thick Powder Smoke on the battlefield. He had no choice but to turn back and lie on the map to try and figure out where the breakthrough was.

"It's here," the staff officer quickly pointed to the north side of a small river.

"Excellent!" Berthier exclaimed excitedly. "If we can send the two Skirmishers on the right flank to join the 10th Infantry in a westward maneuver, we can encircle the enemy."

"Oh, send the Horse Artillery to the left flank of the enemy line and drive them south. That will ensure all the enemy is surrounded!"

Joseph peered at the map and saw that the Hanover Infantry Line, which stretched for two kilometers along the valley, was flanked by six regiments of the Royal Guard Legion Infantry on its front and northeast sides, while more than a dozen cannons were bombarding them from the high ground to the east.

If Berthier were to redeploy his troops as suggested, the Hanover Army would have no choice but to jump into the river to the south, and would almost certainly be annihilated.

The staff officer was about to give the order to the Orderly Officer when he heard His Crown Prince say:

"No, maintain the current situation. Order the troops to focus on eliminating the enemy cavalry, leaving them an opening to retreat to Brussels."

Berthier looked at Joseph in surprise:

"Your Highness, this is a golden opportunity to annihilate the enemy, why would you...?"

"This is based on political considerations, General. I will explain it to you later." Joseph smiled, but his tone left no room for argument. "Now, please do as I say."

Just kidding, this Hanover Army is a precious asset. As long as they are there, Austria, trapped in Silesia, can't do without France.

Now that the Hanover have lost all their cannons, and if their cavalry is also largely wiped out, coupled with the heavy blow this battle has dealt to their morale, they will be virtually unable to pose any threat to the Royal Guard Legion in the future.

Once all the "rewards" have been received, they can be eaten at any time.

Berthier confirmed with Joseph again whether the enemy should be released. After receiving an affirmative answer, although he was full of doubts, he still ordered the Orderly Officer to do so.

Today seems destined to be a day of receiving good news.

About an hour later, Messenger who had come from the front lines arrived at the temporary command post and excitedly reported to Joseph:

"Your Highness, General Dill, the enemy commander, just sent someone to express his willingness to surrender."

What?!

Joseph's face immediately darkened.

Are you guys really that useless?! I'm not even surrounding you anymore, there's such a big gap on the northwest side, don't you know how to run? You've completely disgraced King George III!

Actually, it can't be entirely blamed on General Dill. His main cavalry force had just been chased into a valley and was on the verge of not being able to return. Without cavalry cover, how could he know that turning around to run away would result in the French Army cavalry chasing after him and killing him?

Since he had been appointed to this position in a time of crisis, and Karl II would be held responsible if he surrendered, he chose the safest course of action—surrender.

Joseph looked at the Orderly Officer beside him and said in a deep voice:

How could the Dreadnought Hanover Army possibly surrender?

"This must be a plot by them to lure our troops into lowering their guard!"

"Send that bluffing guy back and tell him to tell his commander we won't fall for it!"

"This..." The officers exchanged bewildered glances upon hearing this.

Berthier was the first to react, and whispered in Joseph's ear:

"Your Highness, is this also a 'political consideration'?"

"That's right."

Soon, with no way to surrender, General Dill, under the relentless onslaught of the Royal Guard Legion, had no choice but to risk fleeing towards Brussels.

After receiving the latest battle report, Joseph finally breathed a sigh of relief and ordered the cavalry, who had worked hard all day, to rest in place, while the Infantry pursued cautiously and were not allowed to enter the outskirts of Brussels.

Brussels is already Flanders, which is not France's current strategic objective.

"Young men, do you still have the energy to teach the Dutch people a lesson?"

Mason smiled and called out loudly to the soldiers sitting on the ground.

His response was a resounding shout, "Yes!"

"Company Commander, this is much easier than the usual field training."

"Enough for Forced March to Amsterdam! Haha!"

Mason nodded in satisfaction, said a few more words to boost morale, and was about to order a final attack on Bronckhorst —in the past few days, he had cut the Dutch people into three pieces, with more than 1,400 killed or captured. At this time, Bronckhorst was desperately rushing towards Brussels, trying to get the Hanover ' protection, but their haste had made their ranks extremely disorganized and very easy to attack.

Just then, a Hussars rushed over and reported to Mason:

"Commander, we've spotted a small squad of the Hanover Army near the dense forest to the north. Judging from their clothing, there seem to be several high-ranking officers."

"Oh? Hanover?" Mason narrowed his eyes. According to the information sent by the General Staff, the main force of Hanover should be dozens of kilometers to the east. How come an officer has come here?

He hurriedly asked the Hussars, "How many of them are there?"

"No more than 400 men, Battalion Commander."

Mason glanced the South again, where nearly 2,000 Netherlands Military were stationed, and then looked north, where Hanover Army were inexplicably approaching.

Finally, his gaze settled on the north.