I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 827 Munich Conference

Bavaria.

Munich Palace.

In front of the spacious and elegantly decorated hall, Austrian State Minister Baron Thugut raised his arms and said loudly and passionately:
"This is a war that will determine the future of the great Holy Roman Empire, and there is only one outcome we can accept, and that is the complete defeat of the barbaric French.

“It won’t be long before the Empire surrounds Paris, and we will accept the French king’s surrender in the Palace of Versailles!
"The Empire's 100,000-strong army is advancing smoothly in Luxembourg..."

Prince Heinrich of Prussia, who was sitting in the front row, immediately nodded and agreed: "The Duke of Brunswick will occupy Luxembourg City within a week."

He seemed to be supporting Thugut, but in fact he was emphasizing that "the main force fighting in Luxembourg is us Prussians, not the 'Imperial Army' as you call it."

"The Duke of Brunswick is indeed the best commander in Europe." Turgut could only praise him and pointed to the south, "In Freiburg, Count Latour's army has also assembled and will soon launch an attack on Alsace.

"Victory will belong to the Holy Roman Empire!"

The representatives of various states in the hall gave a listless cheer, but the loudest voice came from the British representative, Lord Grenville.

Baron Turgut saw that the atmosphere was about right and quickly got to the point:
"At this critical moment of the war, all German states have an obligation to do their part for the Empire!"

He gestured to the west side of the hall and bowed slightly. "The 7 troops sent by Count Augustus arrived at Gelden last week. Please allow me to express my sincere gratitude to you on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor."

Count August was the King of Thuringia and had always fully supported the Holy Roman Emperor militarily.

"Hanover and Mainz will also send troops to the west bank of the Rhine." Turgut said, looking around at the representatives of various states in the hall, "His Majesty the Emperor is eagerly awaiting your troops."

Representatives from Württemberg, Trier and other countries were exchanging glances when they heard the somewhat harsh voice of Baron Waldeck, assistant to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Baden: "Dear Baron Turgut, you know that this war is too terrible for small countries like us. At the same time, the outcome of the war has little to do with us."

As a small country with a long history of "French savvy", Baden did not send any royal family members, let alone a foreign minister. Instead, it only asked the second-in-command of the diplomatic system to deal with the meeting convened by the Holy Roman Emperor.

Turgut immediately said righteously: "No, of course it matters! If we cannot defeat the French on the battlefield, the first countries they will invade will be you, the Rhineland countries."

Baron Waldeck lowered his head, as if talking to himself, but his voice was loud enough for representatives of all countries to hear: "The French government has promised many times that they will never invade German states that are not involved in the war..."

"Lies! Those are all lies of the French!" Baron Turgut was a little angry, but he quickly calmed down and continued, "His Majesty the Emperor has decided to re-sign the South German Trade Agreement after the war. The trade subsidies and tariff coefficients will be adjusted according to the contributions of each country in this war. At the same time, the UK will also open part of its market to the contracting parties."

He glanced at Waldeck. "Those nations that fail to fulfill their obligations to the Empire will be excluded from the agreement."

Waldeck grinned indifferently and looked away. Baden was now connected to the French economic system. With its size, it could just eat its fill by rubbing off France, and it didn't care about the threat from Austria at all.

But representatives from Mainz, Württemberg and other countries looked nervous.

In the past two years, they have become accustomed to the Seine-Rhine trade system. If they are suddenly kicked out, the domestic economy will definitely be in chaos. At the same time, being able to enter the British market is also a temptation they can hardly resist. Trier State Minister stood up first, with an embarrassed look on his face, saying: "Baron Thugut, our national strength is weak and we can't afford the losses caused by the war."

Bavarian State Minister Pomenthal immediately nodded: "Indeed, if the French army invades our country, it will cause great damage..."

Thugut was so angry that his teeth were itching, thinking that you, Bavaria, have been obsessed with restoring the glory of the Burgundian dynasty, but now that you are allowed to send troops, you have become a small country?
Fortunately, Vienna had anticipated that similar situations might occur. He took a deep breath, took out the imperial edict of Francis II, and said aloud: "His Majesty the Emperor solemnly promises everyone that the losses of various countries in this war against France will be compensated by Austria after the war."

He looked at Pomenthal: "So, what is Bavaria's answer?"

The latter was stunned for a moment. He did not expect Austria to bet so much this time. He had no choice but to bite the bullet and said, "We will send 1 soldiers."

Seeing that Tugut was still looking at him, he gritted his teeth and continued:

"And provide logistical support for 5 troops."

"Very good." Turgut looked at the Trier representative again.

The latter stammered, "Our country can send 4 troops."

Tugut nodded and turned to the Mainz representative.

Just like that, under his pressure, almost all the southern German countries, except Baden, sent some troops. Even a tiny country like Rothenburg sent out a transport convoy to ensure logistics.

At noon, the grand joint meeting of the German states came to an end, and more than a dozen representatives from various countries walked towards the banquet hall under the guidance of Bavarian court officials.

Turgut, Prince Heinrich, Lord Grenville and a few others lagged behind the crowd, whispering about something.

"The countries have sent a total of 4 troops. This is better than I thought." Prince Heinrich said this, but his brows were still furrowed. "We must win a big victory in Luxembourg this time."

Tugut nodded: "His Majesty the Emperor is considering temporarily abandoning the Southern Netherlands. Let the Duke of York transfer the troops to the Rhineland to fight."

Grenville smiled and said, "Your Majesty has made a rare correct decision! In this way, we will have more than 15 troops on the Luxembourg front. The French troops there are only 6."

Heinrich's expression finally relaxed a little: "As long as we can capture Verdun and reach Paris within two months, all other losses can be made up."

He looked at Thugut again: "What worries me most is the situation in northern Italy. You have suffered several defeats there. If Mantua..."

Turgut immediately said confidently: "General Wilmser will arrive in Mantua by the end of the month. It is an extremely strong fortress and there will be no accidents."

Lord Grenville continued, "We only need to hold out in northern Italy for two months. After two months, the 3 new troops trained by the Marquis of Wellesley will be able to be deployed on the battlefield."

(End of this chapter)