Let me add fuel to the fire

General Leo, who was being used as a bargaining chip, was now on the verge of tears.

Back in the Southern Netherlands, he had consistently achieved victories alongside General Lefebvre, which gave him the illusion that "I could do it too."

At this moment, looking at the Prussia to the west, north, and east—with the Sudetes Mountains to the south—he had regained a clear self-awareness.

The enemy did not rush to attack, but instead set up Infantry Line along all the key transportation routes, with artillery positioned on both sides and cavalry providing mobile support between the defensive lines.

In the past five days, Leo has launched more than ten attacks, but all of them have been repelled.

At this moment, a deep sense of pessimism permeated his legions. If it weren't for his reputation as the "Spear of Southern Netherlands," their morale would probably have collapsed long ago.

Seeing through the Telescope that the cannons attempting to stealthily approach the enemy lines were driven back by the Prussia cavalry, Leo slumped into his chair, utterly bewildered. He couldn't understand why Lefebvre Legion's cannons could fire right up to the enemy's face and then calmly retreat, while he himself couldn't do the same.

"If only we hadn't left so many soldiers in Wałbrzych..."

Leo was secretly grieving when his advisor suddenly rushed over and shouted:

"General, it appears that an army has appeared on the western side of the Prussia defenses."

"That's great!" Leo jumped up, rubbing his hands excitedly. "It must have been Lieutenant Colonel Lefebvre who saved me."

"Quickly, tell the soldiers this good news and encourage them to hold on a little longer!"

However, more than three hours passed, and the "France reinforcements" still hadn't made a move.

Leo immediately tensed up and kept asking his advisor:

"Could that be Prussia reinforcements, gathering and preparing to attack us?"

"This... I don't know either..." the staff officer pondered. "The enemy's line formation hasn't moved at all; they're probably not about to launch an attack."

If reinforcements arrive, the original Infantry Line will have to make room for the extra troops.

Leo breathed a slight sigh of relief, and then heard the sound of cannons coming from the northwest.

He was immediately jolted awake and rushed to the highest point of his command post—which was located on a low hill—and looked through his Telescope in the direction from which the artillery fire was coming. He saw Powder Smoke rising in the far distance.

"Not the Prussia surrounding us?" He looked at his staff officer in surprise. "Who are they fighting?"

About ten kilometers from Elwin's encirclement, where the Powder Smoke had risen, Blücher was roaring at the Cavalry Battalion:

"Idiot! You can't even tell the difference between Military Uniform and you don't even look at the flags carefully!"

Just over an hour ago, he led his army to the west of Ratibor, preparing to join forces with Elwin, when he unexpectedly discovered that an Austrian Army was quietly deploying its forces less than 3 kilometers away.

He was so angry he almost killed the Hussars commander.

Actually, it can't be entirely blamed on his scouts—military Military Uniform in this era were a mess, and some officers would even customize uniforms for their soldiers according to their personal preferences. Since they were paying for it themselves, their superiors mostly turned a blind eye.

The Prussia Hussars did indeed spot the Austrian Army, but seeing their green uniforms, they mistook them for Hanover —there was indeed a Hanover Army stationed in Ratibor. So, they didn't bother to talk to them and hurried past.

Fortunately, the messenger Blücher sent to contact Elwin was killed on his return, which made him aware of the presence of the Austrian Army; otherwise, he would have almost fallen into their ambush.

He hurriedly found a suitable area nearby and ordered his troops to deploy in defensive formation.

Meanwhile, on Würmser's side, seeing that the Prussian Army had suddenly stopped moving, they immediately guessed that the enemy had discovered them, and so they immediately ordered a surprise attack.

Blücher's cavalry saved his legion—probably to make up for the mistakes in their previous reconnaissance—they harassed and tied down the Austria with great ferocity, and although they suffered considerable casualties, they managed to hold out until the Infantry completed their formation.

Immediately, tens of thousands of Prussian and Austrian soldiers began exchanging fire across the battlefield. The roar of cannons and the cries of soldiers mingled together as night fell.

Blücher and Würmser, old rivals who had clashed in the Southern Netherlands not long ago, didn't figure out whose troops they were facing until the next morning.

The two immediately realized that it was impossible to defeat the other in a short time—a fact they had confirmed multiple times in the Southern Netherlands —so they both immediately sent Messenger from the Commander-in-Chief.

Austria Silesian Front Army Command.

Joseph flicked the Bulletproof Insert that had just arrived in his hand, carefully stuffing it into the "pocket" on the front of his uniform, and said to the Chief of Staff with some dissatisfaction:

"Only 5,000 men? Lacy is being too stingy!"

Berthier said, "Your Highness, Prussia hasn't mobilized many troops either, so Marshal Lacy believes that 5,000 reinforcements should be enough to resolve the Ratibor problem."

He had just attended the war council in Lacy and learned that, as His Crown Prince had predicted, the reinforcements from both Prussia and Austria were engaged in fierce fighting at Ratibor, and General Würmser had requested reinforcements.

Joseph stood up and jumped around. Hmm, four inserts; the weight barely affects movement. Judging by this, an adult's stamina should be sufficient to carry five inserts.

He tapped the insert on his chest and said to Berthier, "Please distribute these inserts to the soldiers as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Highness. Actually, they were already assigned to the various companies at noon."

"You're always so meticulous in your work," Joseph nodded in praise, then walked out of the tent. "Now, I need to add fuel to the fire in Ratibor's situation; otherwise, with Marshal Lacy being so stingy, I don't know when the opportunity I need will appear."

20 minutes later.

Marshal Lacy stared wide-eyed at the young Crown Prince of France and exclaimed in surprise:

"Your Highness, you really don't need to do this. Deploying so many troops to Ratibor is pointless..."

"No, Your Marshal, General Leo is an old friend of mine. We have a deep friendship," Joseph said earnestly. "The possibility of him being killed by the Prussia at any moment keeps me awake at night."

"But there's no need to mobilize General Kellermann, Your Highness! This could very well affect the situation in Liegnitz."

Kellermann was the Commander-in-Chief of 30,000 old-style French Army in Silesia.

Joseph thought to himself, "I'm here to break the deadlock in Liegnitz."

He looked at Marshal Lacy and said firmly:

"General Kellermann can rescue General Leo with 20,000 troops in about a week. In the meantime, you should focus all your efforts on defense, and Liegnitz will certainly be fine."