In war, never forget your original purpose

Berthier took the compiled data from a staff officer and continued, "According to the statistics, our army killed more than 1,200 enemy soldiers and captured nearly 3,000."

He said, a rather smug smile on his face, "Of course, our gains will certainly go far beyond this."

Joseph nodded. There were still quite a few kills and prisoners that hadn't been reported yet. In addition, many Prussia soldiers who had escaped were still free for the time being, but they could basically be counted in the Royal Guard Legion ' prisoner count—it would be very easy for the cavalry to catch up with and capture them.

The Chief of Staff continued, "Your Highness, we plan to rest in Kehelun Town tonight and continue our pursuit tomorrow at noon."

Joseph shook his head and said, "General, we fought a very good battle, but now I need you to order the entire legion to withdraw. Tomorrow we will head towards Ratibor."

Berthier's eyes widened immediately. "Your Highness, these past few days have been the best time for us to reap the rewards, why...?"

During the enemy's rout phase, constant harassment is necessary to prevent them from regrouping and reorganizing. This usually yields far greater results than direct combat.

Joseph smiled and said, "Please keep our strategic objectives in mind. Even if we completely annihilate the Derrison Corps, it would only amount to 30,000 men, and as you know, that's practically impossible."

In a situation where a force is defeated on its own territory, the retreating troops can obtain supplies at any time and can disperse and escape. The pursuing forces would be considered very lucky if they could eliminate half of the enemy army.

"Strategic objective?" Berthier nodded thoughtfully. "You mean to mobilize both Putin and Austria as much as possible?"

"That's right," Joseph said. "We must make the Prussia believe that today's battle was just an accident, and that our goal has always been to rescue General Leo."

"So, we need to show that we're willing to abandon the gains we're already making to rush to Ratibor?"

"Yes." Joseph walked to the map and pointed to the lower reaches of the Bur River. "We'll do it like this first, and then..."

The following day at noon, after a brief rest, the Royal Guard Legion began its grand southward march, deliberately choosing to pass through villages and towns along the way, with military music accompanying the song "Glory and Victory" soaring into the sky.

A day and a half later, when they reached the vicinity of the lower reaches of the Bur River, they immediately made a sharp turn west, greatly increasing their marching speed, and traversing only wasteland along the way...

Liegnitz.

In the Prussia Silesian Front Army headquarters, the Duke of Brunswick looked at the officer sent by Derrison to plead for help, his face as black as the bottom of a pot.

Fortunately, the France pursuit was inefficient, and Derrison's losses are not too great so far; his key players are still intact.

He planned the deployment of his troops and finally had his attendant summon an officer, instructing him. "General Andreas, you must immediately take your men, along with 10 cavalry squadrons, to Oberon to meet Derrison."

Andreas Legion had more than 8,000 men, and with the cavalry, the total number was nearly 10,000.

The Duke of Brunswick maintained that Derrison's defeat was due to an ambush, not to the superior fighting strength of the French Army. Therefore, he believed that these 10,000 men, working in conjunction with Derrison's forces, should have no problem stopping more than 10,000 French Army.

After Andreas left, the Duke of Brunswick hurriedly summoned his high-ranking officers and began to rearrange the troops along the Liegnitz Defense Line. In order to capture Leo, he had already diverted too many troops to Ratibor, which made him worry that there would be a shortage of troops on the main battlefield against Austria.

However, his military meeting had barely ended when a staff officer in charge of battlefield intelligence entered the tent and handed him a report, "Duke Grace, a French Army has been spotted heading south from Oberon's side; it is very likely the same force that fought General Drissen."

The Duke of Brunswick quickly glanced at the report and narrowed his eyes.

No wonder Derrison wasn't pursued; the France had headed south, and the only strategically valuable target in the south was Ratibor.

He handed the report to the officer beside him, "The fact that the France are willing to risk abandoning the Derrison Corps in their desperate rush to Ratibor shows that the Austria value Leo far more than we imagined."

The officer looked at the report and nodded, saying, "It seems that if Leo dies or is captured, it will be a very serious blow to Austria morale."

Someone nearby immediately suggested, "Duke Grace, should we continue to send reinforcements to Ratibor?"

The Duke of Brunswick frowned upon hearing this.

To be honest, he is also very interested in Leo now, but the Prussia army is smaller than the Austria army to begin with. If this is an Austria conspiracy, it would be bad if he committed too many troops to Ratibor and that old man Lacy launched a fierce attack on him on the main battlefield.

at the same time.

In the Austria command post across the street, Marshal Lacy, pale-faced, handed a letter to the officer beside him.

The latter glanced at the letter and was immediately horrified. "The Crown Prince of France...!"

As if afraid of being overheard, he glanced towards the tent entrance and lowered his voice, saying, "Why did he go to Oberon?"

He then looked at Lacy and said urgently, "Marshal, he's surrounded by Prussia. We must do something!"

Marshal Lacy gazed at the pointed top of the tent, his hands trembling slightly.

He had learned from his Prussia informant that the Prussia Derrison Corps had recently engaged in a fierce battle with a French Army at Oberon.

Now, considering this letter of distress, the French Army in question should be the troops of the Crown Prince of France.

Yes, after the battle with Derrison, Joseph sent someone to Marshal Lacy for help, saying that he was surrounded by 30,000 Prussian Army and could be captured at any time.

After a long silence, Lacy sighed and said to the officer, "General Davydov, you and General Conrad must immediately proceed to Oberon to rescue the Crown Prince of France..."

These two legions were his main forces, totaling over 30,000 men. Sending them to Oberon would severely impact the strength of the troops on the Liegnitz front, but he had no other choice.

If the Crown Prince of France were to meet with some mishap in Silesia —if he were to die, all would be fine— France might launch a full-scale war against Prussia.

However, if he was captured, France would most likely exchange his crown Crown Prince for the withdrawal from Silesia.

He would bear the wrath of France for failing to take good care of that reckless young man, and might even become a scapegoat for the defeat in Silesia.

After General Davydov left, Marshal Lacy immediately gestured wearily to his attendant:

"Bring me paper and a pen, I need to write a letter to His Majesty the Emperor..."