I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1263: Taking sides
It should be noted that William III had already received eight injections of this drug, and with the subsequent five, the cost of this one drug alone amounted to 2.6 million thalers, or more than 7 million francs!

In addition, he needs to be injected several times a day with something called "energy fluid" or "electrolytes," which costs between 5 and 1 thalers. Well, it's basically just glucose and saline solution.

Joseph is going to take advantage of any opportunity to fleece his prey, hoping to recoup all the research and development costs of penicillin.

Compared to that, Dr. Carrière's exorbitant surgery and treatment fee of 5 thalers is almost negligible.

Of course, while William III was heartbroken, these medicines were truly life-saving, so he was willing to pay any price. He already owed the French a lot of money; a little more wouldn't matter.

A French "maid" skillfully picked up a glass syringe as thick as a baby's arm, curtsied to William III, who promptly adjusted his arm accordingly.

The nurse accurately inserted the needle into the king's vein, and then gently pushed the plunger of the syringe—intravenous injections were now entirely done manually, and she had to keep pushing like this for more than an hour.

As the potion continued to flow into William III's body, just over ten minutes later, he felt a significant improvement in his spirits, and couldn't help but marvel at how different the 20-dollar potion truly was.

Yes, intravenous glucose injections will certainly help him recover his strength quickly.

William III looked at Dr. Carrière: "This type I..."

"It's antibiotics, Your Majesty."

"Oh, right, type 1 antibiotics, can they treat other ailments besides gunshot wounds?"

“There are many,” the doctor said. “For example, fever, pneumonia, diphtheria, scarlet fever, oh, and syphilis.”

William III's eyes widened, and it took him a long time to exclaim, "French pharmaceutical technology truly surpasses that of all other countries. No wonder your army is so formidable."

In his view, since France possessed medicine that could easily heal gunshot wounds, all officers would be virtually "immortal," so how could their combat effectiveness not be strong?

Before Dr. Carrière could speak, his assistant Viskan interjected, "Your Majesty, in reality, type I antibiotics offer very little help to the army; you know, they are simply too expensive. However, we do indeed possess many advanced military technologies that can significantly enhance the army's strength."

Carrière did not blame him, because the assistant's true identity was a diplomat sent by His Highness the Crown Prince to "lecture" the King of Prussia.

William III immediately pressed on with great interest, "Could you tell me more?"

“Of course,” Viskan said. “Do you know why our cannons have such a high accuracy rate?”

"Generally speaking, this stems from the high level of training of the gunners."

Viskan nodded: "Yes, France has the best gunners, but they also need the assistance of hot air balloons. These things can help them correct deviations."

"I know that your army is also equipped with hot air balloons, but they haven't been very effective."

William III asked in bewilderment, "Why is that?"

"Because our hot air balloons can take off in just half an hour, thanks to a series of state-of-the-art auxiliary equipment."

William III was immediately startled.

He had witnessed his own hot air balloon battalion's drills, and it took them a full two and a half hours to get it airborne. This forced them to operate from a distance far from the front lines, otherwise they would easily be harassed by enemy cavalry, resulting in very poor observation capabilities.

Moreover, by the time their own hot air balloons slowly rise, the most intense artillery battles of the early stages of the battlefield have mostly ended.

Viskan glanced at his expression and continued, "Also, you may be wondering why the Allied forces, despite their numerical superiority, have been unable to break through the Baden defenses."
"That's because our country can use trains to continuously transport massive amounts of logistical supplies to the front lines. This allows our artillery to fire more than 500 shells every day."

William III had heard that France had developed a steam-powered vehicle, but due to the war, detailed information hadn't yet reached Prussia. Viskan kindly explained, "Each train can transport 3 soldiers, or 100 tons of cargo—oh, that's 23 pounds—from Paris to Strasbourg in a single day..."

At this moment, William III's face was filled with nothing but shock.

Viskan, however, continued to "knock" on his soul: "You should have heard about the fact that our army is equipped with a large number of rifled guns."

"Yes, but that thing's reload speed is too slow, so it's not suitable for equipping line infantry."

"We've solved this problem. The new rifled gun has the same rate of fire as the percussion cap gun, but its accuracy is several times higher. Our country can produce tens of thousands of these new guns every month..."

"And bulletproof inserts, hmm, completely different from the inferior products made by the British..."

“Oh, I almost forgot about the mobile Sharp signal vehicle. It can help our officers transmit orders 3 kilometers away in minutes…”

Viskan spoke with a smile on his face, going on and on.

William III, however, had gone from initial shock to numbness.

He suddenly realized that his decision to join Britain in declaring war on France was a complete joke.

The outcome of the war was predetermined from the very beginning: the French army was simply not going to be defeated...

He was also somewhat relieved that he was now on France's side, and that he could finally have a good laugh at the poor Austrians on the day of the surrender ceremony.

Immediately, he felt a pang of sadness at having such thoughts.

It wasn't until the nurse started removing the needle that the stinging pain brought him back to his senses.

Just then, Prince Heinrich's anxious voice came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, there is something very important that I need to report to you immediately."

William III looked at Dr. Carrière and said, "Thank you for your help."

“It is my duty, Your Majesty.” The latter bowed, then directed his assistant to help Prince Heinrich put on a white coat and a mask, and disinfect his entire body with phenol before letting him into the room.

The cost of this entire disinfection process is 300 thalers.

Prince Heinrich glanced at the King, whose complexion had improved considerably, and felt a slight sense of relief. He patted his chest and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, we just received a message from Kassel that the Joint General Staff intends to transfer the Duke of Brunswick's troops to Nuremberg."

William III sighed softly and nodded, saying, "Yes, I understand."

Prince Heinrich paused for a moment, thinking he hadn't understood, and quickly raised his voice: "Your Majesty, 4 soldiers of the Rhine Front are going to fight the Austrians."

“That’s good,” said William III. “Tell the Duke of Brunswick to do everything in his power to defeat the enemy.”

He has now decided that he must follow France closely in order to have a future, and this small army is the only thing he can offer.

Prince Heinrich immediately became anxious: "Your Majesty, but..."

William III raised his hand to interrupt him, and said calmly, "Do you know how long it takes for a French hot air balloon to travel from the march to takeoff?"

(End of this chapter)