"Leuven has been occupied?" Davout was the first to react, and he was instantly delighted. "Excellent! Prussia and Austria will no longer be able to send troops directly into Southern Netherlands."
Lefebvre immediately agreed. "They have only one route left—going around through 's-Hertogenbosch on the north side to reach Brussels."
Davout considered what the Crown Prince had just said, then added, "That also means the Duke of York cannot retreat eastward to Geldern. He has practically become an isolated force!"
Well, yes. Although the Duke of York still had the Netherlands behind him, everyone had automatically dismissed it.
The Dutch could at most provide supplies to the Allied Forces; their army was scarcely worth mentioning—the Netherlands' finest soldiers were all in Davidovich's hands, and they had been among the most pathetic performers in the previous battles. At present, those ten thousand-odd men were still huddled in Ghent to the west, cut off from the Duke of York.
Joseph nodded. "And we can replenish our forces from Wallonia and Flanders.
"Then we will keep advancing north, all the way to The Hague, perhaps even Amsterdam.
"At the very least, we must carve out the Flemish Republic's northern territory, so that Brussels can be secure in the future."
The officers immediately grew excited. His Highness was actually planning to strike directly into the Netherlands! That would be a feat worthy of recreating the age of the Sun King!
Yet they were also somewhat uneasy.
After all, their own forces were at a disadvantage, especially with so few French Soldiers. Launching an offensive would still be extremely dangerous.
Lefebvre was the most cautious of them all. He advised, "Your Highness, perhaps we should wait until Paris's New Barracks complete their basic training and send another five thousand or so troops here. That would