I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1217 Russia's Entry
Joseph raised his hand to signal the generals to calm down, then walked to the front of the conference table and said loudly:

"Please have confidence that France possesses the power to defeat any enemy!"
"I can assure you that by February next year, the front lines will be reinforced with at least 150,000 troops, along with their weapons and equipment, and more than 35,000 mules and horses."

"We will crush all our opponents with our inexhaustible and powerful mobilization capabilities!"

All the officers were utterly shocked and began to whisper among themselves.

It's almost November now, which means the Crown Prince has to recruit 150,000 troops in just over three months!
It's important to know that basic training for new recruits takes three months. Even the General Staff's "rapid training" plan requires nearly two months.

The conscription period is only about a month.

Berthier cautiously said, "Your Highness, if too many local troops are conscripted, it will create gaps in the country's defenses. For example, the British might launch a landing on the western coast."

According to his plan, the Crown Prince would mobilize 7 local troops and recruit 8 new soldiers. Although it would be difficult to complete such a large-scale recruitment within three months, this was probably the only solution.

“No, you misunderstand,” Joseph shook his head and said, “The number of troops stationed domestically will not be reduced. These 15 troops will all be newly recruited.”

Berthier frowned: "Your Highness, I'm afraid this is not quite right..."

Joseph interrupted him firmly, saying, "Please have the General Staff make the defense arrangements for the end of the year. I will handle the rest."

"Next February, we will launch a full-scale counterattack."

That afternoon, Joseph left Mantua and returned to Paris by car.

……

Verona.

Austrian military command headquarters.

Archduke Karl had Blücher's plea for help laid out before him—it was originally intended for the Freiburg garrison, but after several reports, it finally ended up in his hands.

Verother cautiously said, "Marshal, judging from the current situation, if we don't send reinforcements, the Prussian army may very well be annihilated..."

Although the French army surrounding Blücher numbered only about 55,000, while the Prussian army numbered nearly 70,000, all the officers in the conference room had no doubt that the Prussian army would be defeated in the event of a decisive battle.

Putting aside the difference in combat strength, Blücher's army must have been in a very low morale after failing to break out of the Gotthard Pass twice in a row.

The distress letter also mentioned that they were running out of food.

Archduke Karl's face was ashen. Losing Blücher's large army would not only significantly weaken the Allied forces' numerical advantage but also severely damage their morale and even shake Berlin's resolve to enter the war.

He remained silent for a while before finally speaking: "Send General Pickton to Switzerland as reinforcements. Duke Castellanza's army is to Stuttgart."

He knew that the 7 new recruits under Duke Castellanza were far less effective than the Hesse and Thuringian troops under Pickton.

"Yes, Marshal."

Verother accepted the order and left, but soon returned with a document: "Marshal, this is the Russian army's report requesting increased logistical supplies in Klagenfurt."

Archduke Karl turned his head: "They've reached Klagenfurt? Their marching speed isn't slow."

He suddenly thought of something: "Wait, we can send the Russians to reinforce Switzerland."

The journey from Klagenfurt to Zurich would take several days longer than Picton's southward journey from Württemberg, but Archduke Karl was reluctant to let the Russian come to northern Italy to compete with him for command—Franz II admired Suvorov and had even awarded him the rank of Imperial Marshal last month.

Furthermore, fighting in such a remote and impoverished place as Switzerland would certainly result in significant casualties. He didn't care at all about losing Russian soldiers. Archduke Karl immediately signed an order and handed it to the messenger.

Klagenfurt, a major town on the southwestern border of Austria.

An Austrian officer glanced at the old, rough-skinned Russian soldiers beside him and arrogantly handed the transfer order to Suvorov: "Marshal, this is from the General Staff of the Allied Forces."

Suvorov lazily looked him up and down, and smiled, "I heard that Grand Duke Karl lost some soldiers in the 'attack' on Venice?"

The Austrian officer's face immediately turned red: "I...we almost captured the French crown prince."

He was referring to the Royal Guard grenadier battalion on the "Ten Days" tour of Trento—where the Austrian military still believes they repelled the attack by the French Dauphin.

“That means we didn’t catch them.” Suvorov waved his hand calmly, then tore open the seal on the transfer order.

He frowned and handed the document to the staff officer beside him: "It's in German, please read it to me."

In fact, he was extremely fluent in German, but the Austrians' attitude of considering themselves "commander-in-chief of the coalition" displeased him.

The staff officer quickly read in French: "His Excellency Marshal Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov. Due to the latest developments on the battlefield, the General Staff requires you to proceed to Switzerland to provide reinforcements..."

Suvorov frowned and said angrily, "The most important thing to do now is to concentrate our forces to conquer Mantua, and the besieged army should just abandon it!"

"The Duke of Castellanza will be heading to Verona, Your Excellency," the Austrian officer said. "Please follow the overall deployment of the Allied forces."

“I must write a letter to Archduke Karl,” Suvorov said to the messenger with a dark expression. “Order the entire force to turn west.”

……

Port of Genoa.

Joseph boarded the steam cruiser "Mica".

To save time, he will take a boat from here to Marseille, and then a steam paddle steamer northward, a journey that will take about a week to reach Paris.

In the captain's cabin, he looked at the newly delivered manuscript denouncing the inside story of Alexander I's patricide and made some simple revisions.

This manuscript was written by Baron Scheller, and it is so vivid and detailed that it is as if he had witnessed the entire assassination attempt at the Gatchina Palace that day.

The latter half is extremely sentimental, portraying Paul I as the most tragic emperor and father, and calling on all Europeans to denounce the devil of St. Petersburg.

As requested by Joseph, there will be several more installments, starting with the conspiracy between Alexander and his henchmen.

In any case, no one can disprove it.

Joseph has instructed the Paris Handelsblatt to spearhead the dissemination of these "insider tips" throughout Europe.

Since Alexander I has chosen to get involved, he shouldn't expect to get out easily.

After revising the manuscript, Joseph handed it to Emmanuel and asked him to send it back to Paris. Then, remembering something, he asked, "Has the letter to Viscount Olivier been sent out?"

“Yes, Your Highness. It was sent out yesterday at noon,” Emmanuel said, bowing slightly. “It will be transported to Constantinople by a steam paddle steamer and will arrive in Kursk in about a month.”

(End of this chapter)