I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 368: Treasure House of Coal

What Charles II didn't know was that Joseph had implemented a rotation system in order to keep the Guards Corps strong and morale high. Two regiments of troops were stationed in two important towns south of Brussels, with 1 men on guard in the middle. Together with the hussars sent out for reconnaissance, only half of the troops were in combat readiness, while the other half were undergoing daily training in the north of Namun.

The two sides rotate every one and a half months.

In addition, he recruited 5 locals in Wallonia to form the "Wallonia Guard" to assist in the war in Brussels. In the French-speaking area of ​​the Southern Netherlands, there were many people willing to serve the French crown prince as long as they were given some military pay.

In other words, under the current stalemate, 7 soldiers of the Guards Corps, plus 5 temporarily recruited miscellaneous troops, can deal with the 4 demoralized enemies on the other side.

Charles II remembered the shame of being captured and angrily ordered several officers in front of him to go back and reorganize the troops and launch an attack on the French army three days later.

After the Hanoverian generals left in silence, Charles II gradually calmed down. The French army south of Brussels was extremely powerful, and he himself had experienced it. At that time, the two sides did not even have a direct confrontation, and he was defeated.

The battle situation over the past month has also proved that it is difficult to win this battle relying solely on the limited forces in their hands, coupled with the "peasants" of the Southern Netherlands who can't even stand in a straight line.

He sighed deeply, sat down behind his desk, and wrote a letter for help to his brother-in-law, King George III of England.

Originally, he sent troops to intervene in the situation in the Southern Netherlands at the request of George III, but now it has become his own war.

After putting the letter into the envelope, he felt that it was not safe enough, so he picked up the pen again and wrote a letter to British Prime Minister Pitt the Younger. The core content of the two letters was basically the same, both asking Britain to send troops to reinforce Brussels.

While Charles II was anxious about the war situation, Joseph was reviewing the recruitment examination results of the "Southern Netherlands Military Supplies Preparation Committee" that had just been submitted.

Yes, Joseph II agreed to France's request for logistical supplies in the southern Netherlands almost without hesitation, and ordered Austrian officials in the Southern Netherlands to cooperate fully.

At the same time, he also wrote back to highly praise the decisive role played by the French army in suppressing the rebellion in the Southern Netherlands and fighting against the invading forces of Prussia, Hanover, etc. At the end of the letter, the Holy Roman Emperor mentioned that Luxembourg would be used as a thank you for France's military deployment.

Joseph then ordered the establishment of the "Military Supplies Preparatory Committee", which actually took over the taxation, finance and commercial trade of Wallonia. After monopolizing the financial power, the administrative management of Wallonia was basically decided by the Preparatory Committee - if any local official did not obey, you would not be able to think about your salary next month.

The senior officials of the committee were all transferred from France, while the middle and lower-level officials were all locals from Wallonia.

Joseph borrowed the experience of the previous "civil servant recruitment examination" in Tunisia and organized a recruitment examination in Wallonia. Naturally, he claimed to the outside world that it was for the purpose of "selecting capable people to raise urgently needed supplies for the front line as quickly as possible", but in fact he used it to win over the elite class in Wallonia.

Just as he expected, the nobles and capitalists in Wallonia flocked to the examination and completed it in less than three weeks with extremely high efficiency.

Joseph looked at the names of the 103 selected candidates and the positions recommended for them by the chairman of the committee, Foley, the former assistant municipal commissioner of the French city of Le Telère, and shook his head slightly.

Fulie's heart tightened when he saw this, and he hurried forward and asked, "Your Highness, are there any inappropriate things about these positions?"

Joseph raised the document in his hand and said, "Can 103 people ensure the supply of materials to the front line? Once there is a problem with logistics supply, we may lose the war at any time!"

Fu Lie was stunned: "What do you mean?" "At least 300 positions responsible for collecting supplies will be safer."

Although President Fulie looked confused, he had no objection since the Crown Prince was willing to pay his salary: "Ah, yes, Your Highness, I will start to make the adjustments right away."

It's not that Joseph has too much salary and has no place to distribute it, but the people recruited in this exam will basically be the team that will manage the bureaucratic system of Wallonia in the future, and 300 people are far from enough.

He then looked at Viscount Flott, the "elite" who had personally delivered intelligence and oats to the Guards. "There are another 30 positions. Please discuss with the other 'coordinators' and recommend some talented people to me."

Viscount Flotte is currently the coordinator of the committee in Mons, which is basically equivalent to the deputy mayor. As a representative of the noble forces in Wallonia, the people he nominated must be influential in Wallonia.

This is equivalent to France and the local people of Wallonia forming a community of interests. Even if Austria does not want to let go of Wallonia in the future, these people will be the first to oppose it.

"Thank you for your trust!" Viscount Flott touched his chest and saluted, saying excitedly, "I will do my best to select the best talents for you!"

"Then I'll trouble you." Joseph smiled and nodded, then continued, "Oh, regarding the establishment of the Walloon Coal Industry Company, I would also like to ask you to cooperate with President Foley."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The Walloon Coal Company is a company funded by the French Reserve Bank to acquire or control coal mines in Wallonia. Affected by the war, the price of coal has also experienced a cliff-like drop in recent months, which is the best time to invest.

However, unlike the small Luxembourg, the French Reserve Bank was unable to buy all the coal mines, so Joseph brought in investors from France and Wallonia to invest in the company.

Of course, the decision-making power must be in the hands of the French Reserve Bank. As the largest investor, and with the support of the Military Supplies Preparatory Committee, the French Reserve Bank was elected as the "only veto director" without much effort.

It won't be long before Wallonia's huge coal reserves, comparable to those of Germany's Ruhr region, will become a strong support for the French Industrial Revolution.

And when the Coal Corporation receives a steady stream of orders from France, the profitable Walloon investors, sellers and workers will become more dependent on France.

……

British Foreign Secretary Lord Wellesley did not go directly to Paris as the Prime Minister requested to negotiate with France on India's interests. Instead, he boarded a ship and prepared to go to Brussels via the port of Amsterdam, braving the war.

He was well aware that the bargaining chips he had were far from enough to trade India with the French, so he hoped to find some bargaining chips on the southern Netherlands front.

However, as soon as he got off the ship, he received news that Charles II was asking for help from Britain.

(End of this chapter)