I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 848: Fragile Alliance

1793 10 Month 16 Day.

The Luxembourg surrender ceremony, which had been prepared for many days, was officially held in Diekirch.

This place is more than 20 kilometers away from Rodeshausen, the actual surrender site of the Allied forces. However, the town of Rodeshausen is too desolate, so the General Staff decided to hold it in Diekirch, the second largest city in Luxembourg.

Invited journalists from various countries had already occupied the best positions on both sides of the road. Art dealers smelled business opportunities and sent a large number of painters to prepare to record this historic moment.

Behind them, there were more than 5 people who came to watch. You have to know that Diekirch has less than residents in total, and the streets in the city were almost empty at this time.

At ten o'clock in the morning, to the mixed sound of organ, cornet, recorder and military drum, several Prussian black eagle flags appeared in people's field of vision.

Although the blue-grey uniforms of the Prussian soldiers were tattered, they carried flintlock rifles and marching backpacks on their backs. Their ranks were very neat, and they even maintained a parade-like spacing. They did not look like a defeated army at all.

This is partly because the Prussians overemphasized queue training - more than 70% of daily training was queue training, and the soldiers formed a very deep muscle memory of queueing.

On the other hand, it was Joseph's request. He wanted to show the "mightiness" of the Prussian army. The more powerful the enemy appeared, the stronger the contrast would be when surrendering.

The surrender queue was very long, and it took more than an hour before everyone arrived at the surrender ceremony site under the "escort" of more than a thousand French cavalry.

In fact, there were only more than 7 coalition soldiers here. The others had long been dispersed and detained in prisoner camps in various places. Otherwise, with more than 4 people crowded here, chaos would easily occur.

Then, Joseph, dressed in a neat hussar uniform and a dark blue tricorn hat, walked onto the oak platform in the middle of the venue, surrounded by a group of French officers.

The music all around suddenly became louder, and the tune changed to the solemn and majestic "Long Live Henry IV".

The crowd burst into cheers like a tsunami, "Long live His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"Glory to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"God blesses the son of God..."

"France is unrivaled!"

In fact, most of the people here are Luxembourgers, who were still under Austrian rule three or four years ago, but this does not prevent them from fully assuming the role of French at this time.

Because France is really too powerful, and it’s really great to be a Frenchman!
Fortunately, the people of Luxembourg have outstanding "language talent". They need to be proficient in German, French and Luxembourgish from an early age, so there is no hesitation when they shout at this time.

Joseph raised his hand to signal for the military music to stop.

Just when everyone thought he was going to give a speech about "the glory and power of France", they heard the prince say loudly: "Let us observe three minutes of silence for the French warriors who died in this battle. It was they who defeated the enemy with supreme courage and perseverance. May their souls rest in peace in heaven forever."

The surroundings suddenly became quiet, and everyone followed Joseph in crossing their fingers and bowing their heads in a prayer posture.

The eyes of the French soldiers present were all red. They were remembering their dead comrades, and at the same time they were moved that France had not forgotten their contributions.

After the moment of silence, Joseph did not make any other speeches, but nodded to Berthier beside him.

The latter immediately shouted loudly: "Begin the 'Sword Surrender Ceremony'!"

A Prussian brigadier general walked up to the wooden platform with a solemn expression, took off the brass sword with an eagle head engraved on the hilt from his waist, and handed the hilt to the French crown prince. The French officers in the audience immediately whispered, "Who is the one who went up to surrender the sword?"

"No, but it's obviously not Ferdinand."

"It seems to be Baron Meren, the commander of the Uckermark Corps."

"Where is Ferdinand? I am sure General Massena has him captured."

"Maybe he was seriously injured..."

At this time, the Duke of Brunswick, who was standing under the wooden platform, wearing an ordinary black suit and with the brim of his hat pulled down very low, looked at Joseph gratefully and breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

The touching words that the French Prince had said to him three days ago could not help but emerge in his mind.

Joseph said righteously, "The failure of this war is not your fault at all. On the contrary, you have demonstrated the excellent military ability of the heir of Frederick the Great with your excellent command and fearless courage.

"If it weren't for the fact that Francis II suddenly transferred Count Clefalt's 3 troops to the Southern Netherlands, our army would have faced an extremely difficult war - at that time your army was still in an absolute advantage, and I didn't have much of a chance.

"It was the selfish and short-sighted behavior of the Austrians that cost you the victory you might have achieved.

"I have always had due respect for you and the brave Prussian army. Therefore, I think you should not be humiliated by the surrender ceremony."

At this time, the French prince really fulfilled his promise and saved his reputation.

Of course, Joseph did this not out of respect for the Prussian veteran, but to divide the Prussian-Austrian alliance to the greatest extent possible - the two countries had a fundamental conflict of interest in their struggle to become the hegemon of Germany. This time, they were also forced together by Britain to declare war on France.

As long as we can seize the opportunity, it is not difficult to break up their alliance.

Historically, Prussia was also one of the most active countries in withdrawing from the anti-French alliance.

In addition, the Duke of Brunswick had a long career in the Prussian military, but his abilities were relatively ineffective. If he were allowed to return to Prussia in an honorable manner, he might still continue to control the Prussian army.

In this way, Blücher, the mad dog and paranoid who "will not let go once he bites", will have no chance to rise to power - Joseph had already received the news last week that Blücher had miraculously shaken off the pursuit of the French army and escaped back to Prussia.

On the oak stage covered with a red carpet, Joseph took the sword handed to him by Brigadier General Merlen and tapped the latter's right shoulder three times with the broken tip of the sword.

This was a customary ritual that represented the Prussian army's complete abandonment of resistance and handing over control of the army to the victor.

The broken sword tip is the dignity left to them by the victor, meaning "the honor is intact, only the blade is broken."

Dense drumbeats sounded again, and the crowd cheered even more fiercely than before.

In the open space in front of the wooden platform, Prussian soldiers began to throw their weapons and equipment into the wooden fence one by one, making rhythmic "bang bang" sounds.

Soon, flintlock rifles and backpacks were piled up like a small mountain. The black barrels reflected the sunlight, and the atmosphere was full of solemnity.

The reporters and the public present at the scene fully realized at this moment that the mighty Prussian army before them had been completely defeated by the French, by the Crown Prince holding the enemy's sword on the stage!
(End of this chapter)