Soult only felt that everything was as precise as his own pocket watch, except that the soldiers might have to suffer a little—they had originally been ready to eat dinner, but now they had to cross the river before they could rest.
The east bank of the Zel River was silent. Only in the distant villages did a few points of lamplight occasionally flicker, and for a dazed moment Soult felt as if he had returned to the vicinity of the Rhine River.
The next day, the 16,000 men of Soult and Oudinot's Allied Forces began advancing toward the city of Trier.
Even now, the entire Archbishopric of Trier had still not realized that France had launched a full counterattack, and that it was the first prey.
Soult lightly shook the reins and turned his head to look at Oudinot, his eyes filled with shock. "You mean His Highness the Crown Prince personally rode before the Prussian Army's positions and loudly mocked Ferdinand in order to lure the enemy deep?"
"Absolutely true. Colonel Massena's Orderly Officer told me himself." Oudinot brandished his riding crop, spittle flying as he spoke. "Ferdinand was so furious that he ordered more than three thousand Prussian Hussars to charge at His Highness, but His Highness led the Royal 3rd Cavalry Battalion in a countercharge on the spot and cut those Prussian bastards to pieces until they collapsed into utter rout..."
He himself had been on the West Bank of Sauer River at the time, and what he heard was already secondhand news.
In the minds of the French Soldiers, the Crown Prince had certainly done more than simply lure the enemy deep, so he casually added a bit of what he believed was "reasonable" content.
Soult's face was full of reverence. "His Highness the Crown