I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 748 Chaos in the Southern Netherlands

At the same time that Napoleon left Paris and headed south, in a coal crushing plant in the Wallonia region in the southernmost part of Brussels, several Dutch-speaking workers were huddled in a corner during lunch time, whispering something.

A middle-aged man with large pores glanced nervously at the supervisor in the distance and said with his head down:

"Why do you need a gun? You didn't say it would be so serious..."

"Are you scared?" The tall young man next to him gestured around with the bread in his hand.

"Do you still want to be oppressed by those French lackeys just for your pitiful wages?
"If our plan succeeds, I promise you will get this factory!"

Including the middle-aged man, the people nearby swallowed subconsciously when they heard this.

This coal crushing plant is worth hundreds of thousands of francs. For such a large sum of money, countless people are willing to risk their lives.

After a moment, a little old man with a pointed face asked cautiously: "Mr. Malseven, can this really work?"

"Of course, no doubt. There will be thousands of brothers responding to us all over Wallonia!"

The rough-skinned middle-aged man frowned and said, "But there are also several thousand police officers in Wallonia."

"What are you afraid of? We have guns." The tall young man clenched his fists, "Besides, the Austrian government will send troops to support us.

"The Southern Netherlands belongs to us, and those French-speaking guys will be driven out of the Lowlands completely!"

He was a mid-level leader of the previous Southern Netherlands uprising. After spending several years in prison, he chose to cooperate with the Austrian government.

This kind of inciting confrontation and riots is exactly what he is good at.

The six or seven workers around him finally stopped hesitating and said that they would contact other Flemish workers after returning and join the action together.

The same scene is happening in factories and streets across Wallonia.

More than 12 people from the Flemish region live here.

They used to look down on the poorer Walloons because of the income they received from the port of Antwerp.

At present, the industry in Wallonia is developing very rapidly, and the overall economic situation has crushed the Flemish region. The Flemish people who come here to work are discriminated against by the Walloons.

Their wages are also lower than those of the French-speaking Walloons, and their mentality is easily unbalanced. If they are slightly instigated, they will cause trouble.

Of course, the fact that such a large-scale operation could take place and that weapons could flow in was mainly due to the support of the Austrian intelligence organization.

More than ten days later.

Early in the morning, Marseven led sixty or seventy thugs to surround the Chamber of Commerce building in Halle and demanded that the town administrative committee come out and surrender immediately.

Behind them, many Flemish people came one after another to join the riots.

However, they did not encounter any resistance until they rushed into the Chamber of Commerce building. There were only some low-level clerks here, and the Chamber of Commerce's top leaders seemed to be scared and hid.

At the same time, large-scale riots broke out in Wavre, Landen, At and other places in the north of Wallonia.

The mob quickly took control of the Chamber of Commerce, the administrative body, and declared the area part of the Flemish region.

It was not until two days later that the Wallonia police, who were rumored to be very powerful, appeared in the riot area. However, they only confronted the rioters from a distance and had no intention of taking back the Chamber of Commerce building.

……

Southwest Netherlands. Middelburg.

In the headquarters of the Allied Lowland Front, the Allied Commander-in-Chief, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, held a cup of tea and calmly looked at the officer who was reporting the news: "In other words, the Walloon police are helpless just because of those riots?"

"Yes, Marshal." The officer nodded. "Currently, with Wavre as the center, the four cities in the north have been controlled by Corinthians. They are currently trying to plan a riot in Namur... Ahem, I mean an uprising."

Henriques Collins was the man responsible for inciting the riots in Wallonia.

Prince Coburg then gestured to the staff officer beside him: "What are the recent movements of the French army?"

The latter immediately said: "A week ago, the Terrell Legion arrived in Lille. Currently, there should be 7 infantry regiments and some artillery there, with a total strength of about 1."

Prince Coburg nodded, took a deep breath of tea, and smiled: "It's too late for the French to rescue Wallonia."

The main force of the Allied Forces, more than 2 people, were already on standby in Antwerp in the northern part of the Southern Netherlands, and it would take less than two days to reach Brussels.

It only takes about 5 days to get to Namur.

The distance from Lille to Brussels for the French army is more than 65 miles, or about 105 kilometers. If the preparation time is added, it will take about a week to arrive.

Baron Paul Davidovich, commander of the Dutch corps, who was sitting on the sofa opposite, reminded: "Your Highness, if I were French, I would definitely choose to abandon Brussels and rush directly to Namur for defense."

"It doesn't matter." Prince Coburg waved his hand, looking very confident. "Our army is still closer to Namur. Moreover, if the French really arrive in Namur before us, we will immediately turn to attack Mons."

Baron Davidovich thought for a moment and then nodded repeatedly.

Mons is located on the west side of the Wallonia region and borders Lille, France. If the coalition forces pass through Mons, they will be able to launch an attack on Lille, an important city in northwestern France.

Therefore, even if the French reached Namur ahead of time, they would have to rush back immediately to rescue.

The coalition forces can then carry out sniping in the Charleroi area.

At that time, the French army could only be supplied from Luxembourg in the east. The logistics route was hundreds of miles long and was under the threat of being cut off by the Allied Rhine Front at any time.

He looked at Prince Coburg and smiled: "It is indeed as you said. The French can only choose to give up the Southern Netherlands."

"In fact, giving up the lowlands is a very reasonable tactical choice for them." Prince Coburg said, "With their military strength, they can only defend the Lille Fortress to ensure that the northwest defense line will not collapse quickly."

He said this with full confidence.

The Austrian Southern Netherlands Army had about 2 men, the Dutch Army had more than 5 men, and a British cavalry battalion was under his command.

The French army on the opposite side has not yet been able to gather 20,000 soldiers.

If the French dared to enter the Southern Netherlands to fight, they would soon be wiped out by his superior forces.

Prince Coburg put down his teacup, stood up and said to the staff officer beside him: "Let the Brussels security team enter Wallonia to quell the riots.

"If the Walloon Chamber of Commerce dares to expel them, General Radesky will immediately go to reinforce them."

Count Radetzky was the vanguard commander of the Austrian army.

Prince Coburg then turned to the Dutch and said, "General Davidovich, General Radetzky will rush to Namur immediately after entering Wallonia, so you need to control the cities in northern Wallonia as soon as possible and be ready to attack Mons in the south at any time."

"Yes, Marshal."

(End of this chapter)