The Social Death Plan
Tens of thousands of Vienna people came to mourn the emperor, crowding several nearby streets.
Joseph, dressed in a long black coat, sat in a wheelchair, following closely behind Leopold II, pondering how to withdraw the French Army from Silesia in batches.
Well, although his legs are perfectly fine, the official explanation is that His Crown Prince was grazed in the leg by a bullet on the battlefield, and developed an infection on the way to Vienna, which is now affecting his mobility.
Currently, the fighting in Silesia has ceased, and Lacy has moved the cannons he used during the standoff in Liegnitz back to Breslau to build a new defensive line.
Two days ago, Leopold II officially announced the suspension of Joseph II's reforms, causing an uproar throughout Austria.
Joseph recalled that Leopold II had cancelled the reforms a few months later in history. It seemed that the war in Silesia had taken too much to the empire, forcing him to act sooner to gain more support from the Nobility, especially the Hungary Nobility.
However, this was also good news for them. Once the Hungary troops entered Silesia in large numbers, the French Army withdrawal would be even less noticeable.
Behind him, another man in a wheelchair was staring at him with venomous resentment; it was Baron Walter.
Walter's injury has healed a lot, but he still feels pain all over his body when he walks.
He no longer feared the Crown Prince of France — the French Army had previously been His Majesty the Emperor's hope for reclaiming Silesia, just like last time, whenever the France showed the slightest dissatisfaction, his brother-in-law would give him a severe lesson.
He even worried that the Crown Prince of France would send assassins to kill him again.
However, the situation is completely different now!
The reforms were over, and the Nobility were jubilant, all expressing their loyalty to the new emperor. The Hungary Nobility even assembled an army of nearly 40,000 men, which was about to march on to Silesia.
In Austria, Bohemia, Croatia, and even the Southern Netherlands, a large number of Nobility who had originally refused to fight due to the reforms will join the army, reportedly numbering over 30,000.
This means that Austria will no longer need the Army of France.
Baron Walter, in his wheelchair, looked down at his mutilated hand and secretly vowed: sooner or later, he would make that arrogant and despicable France pay the price!
In fact, he had already secretly contacted the anti-French minister in Austria and worked to get the French Army to withdraw from Austria. Although he had little political ability, his identity itself was a political symbol, so his efforts had already begun to have an impact.
Austria, an empire that was formed without bloodshed, is located in the center of Europe and borders many major powers, resulting in various factions within the country—pro-French, pro-British, pro-Russian, and even pro-Putin, as well as those who oppose these countries.
If Joseph knew about Baron Walter's actions, he could truly be awarded a medal.
Walter thought France was eager to ally with Austria and form Allied Forces with Austria, but in reality, Joseph was more than happy to slip away from Silesia, this troublesome place.
Thus, after the funeral of Joseph II, the Holy Roman Emperor whose ambitions remained unfulfilled, Joseph returned to Paris under the pretext of serious injuries, taking the 1st Guards Corps with him as his escort along the way.
Before leaving Vienna, Camellia hadn't found a moment to visit her teacher— the Crown Prince was injured, and she had to stay by his side to care for him at all times.
While everyone was focused on the emperor's funeral, news of Baron Walter's assassination remained completely unknown. The girl left a letter for her teacher and then returned to Paris with the Crown Prince.
Paris.
Although Joseph had repeatedly asked the media to downplay France's military victory in Silesia, nearly a thousand people still gathered on both sides of the road to welcome the Triumph army when he arrived in Paris.
Joseph had long since discarded his wheelchair—who says the Crown Prince couldn't recover in a week because of his robust health—and after giving a brief speech to the welcoming crowd, he handed over the responsibility of "uniting the military and the people" to Berthier and returned directly to the Versailles Palace.
After reporting his safety to Queen Mary and Louis XVI and having dinner with them, Joseph finally found some free time.
Is it easy to be Crown Prince? It's almost always 997 (working 9 am to 9 pm, 7 days a week) and you have to travel frequently.
He was preparing to return to his Bedchamber for a good night's sleep. During the past few months in Silesia, he had spent most of his time sleeping on a cot, which resulted in backaches and sore muscles upon waking. Today, he could finally enjoy his own velvet bed.
However, when he reached the corner of the corridor, he saw Fouche, Mirabeau, Bayei, and others standing at the door, eagerly waiting.
Joseph sighed deeply and walked over with heavy steps.
Several high-ranking officials bowed respectfully to him and, after showering him with praise for his victory in Silesia, exchanged glances. Fouche then led the way into the Reception Room.
"Your Highness, regarding the matter of Oscar Pauli that you previously instructed us to discuss," the Director of the Intelligence Bureau placed a document in front of the Crown Prince, "We have essentially ascertained all of his information and have deployed manpower around him. We are ready to act at any time."
Joseph's spirits lifted immediately upon hearing this. This Corsican Restorationist Faction leader was a major thorn in his side, causing considerable damage to Corsica and seriously misleading Napoleon. But Paoli had been hiding in the United Kingdom, and now he could finally make his move.
He looked at Fouche and asked, "What are your plans?"
"As you instructed, we've decided to use a mistress to achieve our goal."
Because the British Government forbade the assassination of Paoli, and Joseph could not kill him either—if he died now, Paoli would become a "martyr," which might embolden the Corsican Restorationist Faction to carry out their separatist activities even more resolutely, so he had to be "socially killed"!
Joseph frowned slightly, then asked, "Could you elaborate?"
"Yes, Your Highness," Fouche said. "Paoli has a wife, and we plan to have a lowly Bulgarian woman seduce him. Of course, he will think she is a France woman."
"After that woman succeeded, I arranged for my wife to catch her in the act and expose the mistress's true identity..."
Joseph sighed softly. It wasn't entirely the Intelligence Bureau's fault for being outdated; after all, they were from the 18th century and had never seen the complexities of later generations, so it was quite remarkable that they could come up with such old-fashioned methods.
Seeing that the Crown Prince seemed dissatisfied, Fouche quickly added, "Your Highness, shall I find another Caucasian woman, so that the two of us can seduce him?"
Joseph sighed and thought for a moment before randomly picking a "simple" case from later generations to instruct the Director of the Intelligence Bureau: "If you want to use a woman to deal with him, you can arrange for a Noblewoman to appear by his side and secretly seduce him, but on the surface, she should be indifferent to him. Then find an opportunity for them to have something happen, but keep it a secret."
"Once he lowers his guard, arrange for some people to pass near the room where they are being intimate; it would be best if there were Police in there."
"Then, the Noblewoman took out the torn clothes she had prepared beforehand, leaving some marks on her own body, and shouted 'Rape!' Only then did she go to inform his wife."