An awkward situation

Southern Netherlands.

The Hanover Expeditionary Force's base in the Southern Suburbs of Brussels.

"Finally, right here!" Karl II declared triumphantly, tapping on a small town southeast of Brussels on a military map. "We will encircle the France and ultimately annihilate them. After that, we will march south to support General Blücher..."

The officers in front of him exchanged awkward glances. Finally, an older general cautiously spoke:

"Marshal, your deployment is flawless. However... the Corporal condition is probably not suitable for launching a full-scale counterattack."

The other officers immediately nodded in agreement.

Just two weeks ago, Karl II amassed 30,000 troops and a large amount of logistical supplies and launched a thunderous attack on the French Army positions.

However, no sooner had Hanover Army left its garrison than the France appeared like ghosts near Antwerp.

Although the Southern Netherlands National Guard defending Antwerp numbered nearly 4,000, they were completely routed in less than half a day. It wasn't that the French Army was particularly strong, but rather that the Southern Netherlands Army there were newly conscripted and had been trained for less than two months. When faced with a regular army, they were bound to collapse at the first contact.

Karl II was greatly alarmed and hastily halted the offensive on the South Line, recalling troops to reinforce Antwerp. If Antorf fell, the French Army could advance into Brussels from the north without any hindrance.

Once Hanover's main force moved north, the Netherlands Army and Southern Netherlands Army south of Brussels were immediately attacked by the France, losing two strategically important villages.

After more than ten days of battling France artillery fire and suffering over a thousand casualties, Karl II finally recaptured the two villages and stabilized the defenses.

After all this turmoil, the morale of the Hanover Army was low, and without two or three months of rest, they were simply unable to organize a decent offensive.

But their Marshal wants to launch a "full-scale counter-offensive" at this crucial moment.

Karl II did not reprimand the officer who raised the objection; instead, he smiled and looked around at everyone, saying smugly:

"If nothing unexpected happens, the France will be transferring a large number of troops back home in about two weeks. We must prepare for this opportune moment in advance."

Ignoring the officers' astonished looks, he pointed back at the map:

"Now I will arrange the operation to support the Prussian Army."

He had barely uttered a word when he heard a servant's voice coming from the doorway:

"Marshal, Speaker Van der Noot has arrived."

Karl II's smile widened even more, and he waved his hand in acknowledgment:

"Please invite the Speaker in quickly. My generals need his good news."

Yes, Van der Noot had informed him of the riots instigated by the "Committee of Freedom Allies" in France, which was why he began preparing to counterattack the French Army.

Moreover, he learned from his intelligence channels that the Southern Netherlands were doing a good job, and the French Royal Family was already overwhelmed by the riots in the northwestern provinces.

Van der Noot's arrival at this time was most likely to tell him the good news that the France had decided to recall their frontline troops.

As the door to the war Meeting Room was pushed open, Van der Noot rushed in. He was about to say something when he saw a room full of Hanover's senior officers.

He paused for a moment, bowed to Karl II with his hand on his chest, and stammered:

"Marshal, I... um, there's something I'd like to discuss with you privately."

"Oh, there's nothing I can't tell my loyal men," Karl II smiled and gestured to the officers. "And I've already explained the situation to them."

"Ah? You know what happened?!" Van der Noot was taken aback.

Seeing his strange expression, Karl II hesitated and said:

What do you mean by "situation"?

Van der Noot was extremely anxious and immediately stepped forward, saying in a deep voice:

"Our people were arrested in large numbers in France, France held public trials on them. The rioting peasants all went to watch the trials..."

In short, our plan failed.

"What? It failed?!" Karl II grabbed his arms and shouted, "Didn't you say the operation was foolproof and the France would withdraw within half a month?"

He was very clear about the situation of his troops; if the French Army did not return home, his counterattack would be suicidal.

Van der Noot nodded with difficulty. "I swear to God, we were indeed well prepared, who knows why it turned out like this..."

It's not that his plan was poorly thought out; it's just that he lacked understanding of the new France Police System and acted according to the old Police's methods.

Without Police Reform, Reims farmers, armed with thousands of Flintlock Gun and led by a large number of Southern Netherlands "revolutionaries," could have destroyed the City Hall during the first riot. The riot would then have spread rapidly, plunging the entire province into chaos. The situation in Lille and other places would have been much the same.

Adding to the chaos, the clashes between young Nobility incited to "defend the interests of the Nobility" and rioting peasants could spread to half of France.

Van der Noot dispatched over 200 revolutionary elites and invested substantial funds, so he must have been confident that he could cripple France.

However, his men encountered Joseph's new-style Police.

More than 500 Police in Reims Dreadnought faced the rioters' stones and bullets, forcing their way into the rioters' ranks, separating them into several groups, and using Riot-Control Fork to disperse them.

In the first two riots in Reims, more than 70 Police were killed or wounded, but the well-established Police training system allowed the Reims Police Department to immediately recruit hundreds of the Police Academy students to supplement the force, and maintain the highest level of alert for more than half a month.

Their sense of responsibility for maintaining public order, their loyalty to the government, and their high morale surpassed even that of some military units, let alone the old-style Police.

It was thanks to the outstanding performance of the Police in the northwestern provinces that a huge storm was averted. It can be said that a similar situation, whether in Austria or Prussia, would have caused ten or even a hundred times more damage than in France.

Karl II, unwilling to give up, repeatedly confirmed with Van der Noot, and after the latter provided more details, he finally waved his hand, his face ashen, to the officers in the Meeting Room:

"Get out, all of you. Oh, and don't tell anyone what you just heard."

"Yes, Marshal."

Paris.

The day after the public trial of the Southern Netherlands Spy concluded, Joseph received a report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that the United Kingdom Minister of Foreign Affairs had requested a five-day postponement of the talks scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

Joseph looked at the documents in his hand, a smile creeping onto his face, "He'll need some time to figure out how to handle this awkward situation."