Author: Seven Years Period

four days ago.

December 27, 1842.

Belgium, Fortress of Liege.

This barracks is located at the confluence of the Meuse and Ourte rivers, adjacent to the Dutch border to the north and the Ardennes Forest to the south. It is an important transportation route and a natural pass, making it a battleground for military strategists.

The news of the German Confederation's declaration of war has reached the fortress, but at this time the Belgian soldiers are still the same as usual, except that they do not need to participate in training.

During this rare "holiday", the soldiers rushed to the river one after another, because if the news was true, they might not have a chance to take a bath in the next few weeks or even months.

The soldiers were still taking a bath, and several workers responsible for cleaning up nearby dumped truckloads of excrement and filth into the river.

"Hey, what are you doing! Didn't you see that we are still taking a bath? This water is not even suitable for drinking, let alone taking a bath!"

The soldiers immediately became angry when they saw the unreasonable behavior of the workers, but the latter said calmly.

"This is what General Jorgen ordered. It is a meeting gift for Austria and Prussia."

"This is so disgusting!" a soldier said, covering his nose.

"This is what we want. What do you think those guys will do if the river water becomes undrinkable?" the foreman asked.

"Dig a well?" a soldier asked tentatively.

"No, those officers who find it troublesome always let the soldiers drink it directly, and they don't care about the life and death of their subordinates. Then dysentery and typhoid will break out in their army. Then they will surrender without us fighting.

"

The foreman had a look of admiration on his face. Although the soldiers thought this move was a bit damaging, it seemed very practical and effective. They were not the ones who died anyway, so they started laughing.

At this time, the earth trembled, and the birds were frightened out of the forest.

"Something's coming! Get dressed quickly!"

"What the hell? Grizzly bears? Wolves?"

The workers and soldiers immediately prepared to retreat in the direction of the military camp. However, they were soon overtaken by a cavalry unit. The other party saw that although they were wearing Belgian military uniforms, they had no weapons and did not trouble them.

"Are you soldiers from the Liège Fortress?" the leading officer said in blunt Dutch. He was afraid that these people would not understand, so he said it again in French.

The surrounded Belgians nodded like crazy. They didn't know whether the opponent was the Germans, the Dutch, or the French. But without weapons, they had no chance of winning against so many well-equipped cavalry.

"How many of you are there?"

"Two groups. A total of 2,100 people."

"Why aren't you in the barracks?"

"Today the general said there was no need for training, so we sneaked out to take a shower."

"Besides the 150 of you, how many others ran out?"

"There will be a war in a while, so the officers have gone to the Moonlight Castle in the city to relax in the past few days. We people have no one to supervise us, so there is no need to stick to our posts."

The Belgian soldiers said with a bit of resentment and a bit of self-blame.

"We are the advance team of the First Army of the German Confederate Volunteers. You can go and persuade the defenders in the barracks to surrender. If you succeed, you will not only avoid unnecessary casualties, but also get a reward of 10,000 florins. Otherwise, we will be in two hours

Then we launch an attack, and by then it will be too late for you to surrender."

The speaker was Archduke Albrecht himself, and he knew one thing very well, that is, the speed of troops counts. At this time, the troops in the Liege Fortress were empty, and it was a good time to make a big move.

Once the fortress of Liège is captured, the road to Brussels will be smooth sailing. The five thousand men led by Albrecht are Franz's Royal Dragoons and his family's bodyguards, as well as a thousand soldiers drawn from various units in Vienna.

Elite.

The weapon he carries is the siege-type M42 rocket newly developed by the Austrian Empire. The explosive power of this rocket may not be enough, but it is an excellent tool for destroying cities.

General Vincenz, Austria's chief weapons designer, called it a "city destroyer" because the rocket has a large explosion range and contains a lot of combustibles inside, making the fire difficult to extinguish and easily destroying large wooden buildings.

burn.

Of course, this thing was actually used to burn ships, but during the test, it was found that it was too heavy and had a pitifully low hit rate, so it could not be used in maritime operations, so it became a siege rocket.

In fact, there are some high-performance bombs in the baggage train of Albrecht's team, which are dozens of times more powerful than black powder. However, the technology of this kind of picric acid explosive is not mature, and he does not want to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers unless he has to.

.

The soldiers at Liege Fortress were very excited when they heard 10,000 florins, because this money was enough for them to spend the rest of their lives in other countries.

However, before they could persuade their comrades to surrender, the garrison of the fortress surrendered.

The advance team continued to advance, and Albrecht had to wait for follow-up reinforcements to consolidate the defense of the Liege Fortress. After all, this was the lifeline of the German Confederate Volunteers.

"I have one last question, who poured the dirty water into the river?"

Albrecht is usually a very generous person, but he is unexpectedly petty in some places.

At that time, Albrecht was just about to let his beloved horse drink some water so that he could continue on his way. When he saw a large amount of filth floating upstream, he immediately became furious and led the advance team to trace the source of the filth.

The Belgian prisoners pointed at the foreman.

"Let him eat all the filth in the river and tell the nearby residents that this person has polluted the water source."

Albrecht ordered.

"My lord, spare your life! General Jorgen asked me to do it, and I was forced to do it."

The foreman immediately begged for mercy.

"Where is General Jürgen?" Albrecht asked.

"At Moonlight Castle, he and the officers in the fortress went."

The foreman betrayed the general without a second thought.

"Take him with you and let's go find General Jorgen. You all listen carefully. General Jorgen ordered the water source to be polluted. You have to explain it clearly to the residents here. Do you hear me clearly?"

Albrecht shouted.

"Listen clearly." The captured Belgian soldiers nodded.

So the advance team began to split up. Some continued to advance towards Brussels, while the other went to capture General Jürgen in Liège.

Albrecht still remembered what Franz had said about the trial conference model.

When they found General Jorgen and his men, they were still immersed in the gentle countryside.

Soon these guys who polluted the water source were sent to the square in the center of the city, and then more black materials were exposed. General Jorgen was a disease enthusiast. He liked to see people getting sick, and then recorded and observed them for fun.

This kind of person made Albrecht feel disgusted, but he also knew very well that there were many such people in the world. So after the trial was completed, Albrecht left him in the square in the center of the city.

Soon, more volunteers were sent to the front along the railway lines within the German Confederation. In just three days, more than 10,000 volunteers were transported, which was a number that could not even be imagined before.

After receiving reinforcements, Albrecht continued to advance, but he soon received news that he couldn't believe.

King Leopold I of Belgium was captured and the city of Brussels was captured.
Chapter completed!