The Crown Prince's Strategic Vision

The enormous fountain refracted delightful rainbow hues beneath the sun.

Before Joseph could speak, Andre could no longer hold himself back. "Your Highness, I truly want to know—how did you make the Prussians retreat?"

Over the past few days, the scene had often surfaced in his mind: just as he had resolutely marched toward death that day, the Prussian Army had suddenly withdrawn.

Diboa had been about to rebuke him for his breach of etiquette, but upon hearing the words "make the Prussians retreat," he asked in surprise, "The arrangements in the Netherlands really were Your Highness's doing?"

He did not have the Davout family's connections. Though he had heard rumors that the events in the Netherlands were related to the Crown Prince, this was the first time he had received definite confirmation.

Andre nodded, then looked expectantly at the Crown Prince.

Joseph smiled. "It would not be convenient to reveal the details. Broadly speaking, I handed Wilhelmina over to the Southern Netherlands Police and had them send her back to Prussia. Then I had the Patriot Party bring the Prince of Orange back to Amsterdam. Naturally, William II no longer had an excuse to keep interfering in the Netherlands."

Though he had explained it in only a few simple sentences, the amount of information contained within them was enormous—how had he found Wilhelmina, how had he gotten her to the Southern Netherlands, how had he finally sent her back to Prussia at precisely the right moment on the battlefield, all without making William II suspect France...

Andre and Diboa exchanged a glance. Both saw the other's astonishment and admiration. The Crown Prince's move was simply peerless! Yet the matter involved secrets, and though curiosity gnawed at their hearts, they could not press further.

The two then began describing the bloody, brutal fighting on the Dutch Battlefield. Especially on the final day, the Prussian Army's offensive had been extraordinarily fierce, and more than forty of France's three hundred volunteers had been killed or wounded.

At this point, Andre sighed with a grave expression. "The Prussian Army's discipline is strict, and its training standards are very high. If the fighting had continued then, I estimate the Dutchmen would never have held out until nightfall."

Diboa nodded. "Alexander is currently studying intelligence on the Prussian Army's military system and training. According to him..."

He glanced at Joseph and said cautiously, "The Prussian Army's combat capability exceeds that of the French Army by a third."

Joseph knew he was not exaggerating. Prussia had once been known as Europe's foremost land army. The Junker Nobles' military training system was exceptionally complete and extremely strict; combined with German resilience and obedience, though it had declined somewhat now, its combat strength was still not to be underestimated.

He said solemnly, "France's military system is far too antiquated. It should have undergone comprehensive reform long ago."

In history, the outdated French Army had suffered repeated disastrous losses on the battlefield. Only when Napoleon burst onto the scene did he stabilize the situation. Under Napoleon's direction, military reforms were completed, and France ultimately became a mighty army of the European Continent.

Diboa immediately agreed. "Indeed. Alexander and I have discussed this many times. We must comprehensively learn from Prussia in order to meet every challenge the future may bring!"

Learn from Prussia? Joseph looked at him and shook his head slightly. "What we need to do is surpass the Prussian Army, not blindly imitate them."

Andre and Diboa exchanged another glance. "Then how does Your Highness believe the army should be reformed?"

Joseph had considered these matters before. He said at once, "The French Army's greatest problem is that it is fragmented. There is no unified command, no unified training, and the equipment and quality of the troops vary as widely as heaven and earth. When a major campaign arises, the force cobbled together may look enormous, but in truth, there are very few units within it that can actually fight..."

Since military reform had come up, he followed the thread of the discussion and explained everything: abolishing the Local Forces, placing the entire army under unified management, increasing the number and training of noncommissioned officers, organizing and drilling new tactics, and more.

Andre and Diboa listened with their eyes growing wider and wider. The Crown Prince was only thirteen, yet he already possessed such strategic foresight. After all their years at Military Academy, they only knew how to repeat the experiences of those who came before them—as if they had never brought their brains at all...