I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 849 British, please watch carefully
The day after the surrender ceremony, the Duke of Brunswick returned to Prussia with 400 soldiers - including dozens of cavalry and two cannons to demonstrate the "integrity of the organization" - with the courtesy of the French army.

At the same time, Joseph also left Diekirch and returned to Paris.

There was no longer anything in the war in the Rhineland that required his attention.

Under Massena's heavy siege, it was only a matter of time before the Cologne fortress was captured by the French army.

After taking control of Cologne, the entire Rhineland region will be completely cut off from Germany. Without the reinforcement of the coalition forces, Gelden, Aachen, Cleves and other places will have no choice but to surrender.

What Joseph is thinking about now is how to end this war and then start digesting the results.

From Clervaux and Cologne in the north to Mannheim in the south, France gained a lot from this battle.

The west bank of the Rhine, including the entire Rhineland, was now in French hands.

In other words, the "natural border" that the French have long dreamed of has been achieved.

If managed well, France will be able to defend the Rhine River in the future, and the country's strategic security will be increased exponentially.

This is a great achievement that will benefit future generations in France!

In the future, if a powerful country emerges around France and wants to launch an attack on France, it will first have to face the natural barrier of the Rhine River.

France no longer had to waste time and money on building the Maginot Line.

The enemy should not even think of attacking France via Belgium - Brussels is now also French territory.

Of course, it is not easy to truly take over the west bank of the Rhine...

Just as Joseph was staring out the window in a daze, Lefebvre, who was sitting opposite the carriage with a bandage on his forehead, said, "Your Highness, are you really going to release those Prussian surrendered soldiers?"

Lefebvre was injured during the siege of Rodeshausen—a cannonball overturned his horse and he hit his head on a rock when he fell off the horse—so Joseph allowed him to return to France with his convoy to recover. After all, his "Jewel XI" was much more comfortable and faster than the army's standard carriages.

Joseph nodded: “If the Duke of Brunswick can persuade Prussia to withdraw from the anti-French alliance, this is completely acceptable.

“In fact, I had originally intended to send Mr. Talleyrand to Potsdam to release the prisoners in exchange for Prussia’s neutrality.

Lefebvre considered, “Your Highness, if Prussia breaks its promise and once again deploys these troops to war against our country…”

Joseph smiled and said, "You don't need to worry. For Prussia, France is currently just a distant and difficult opponent.

“And Austria is a threat right under their noses.

"If Prussia had any remaining troops left, they would have used them against Austria.

"In fact, even if William II didn't want these 4 prisoners, I would still have to send them back to him by force."

Lefebvre was good at fighting wars, but not so good at international politics. He immediately wondered, "Why is that?"

Joseph said: "Before we completely defeat the British, we must continue to maintain the balance between Prussia and Austria.

"Prussia lost more than half of its troops in Luxembourg, and most of them were elite troops." "If Austria joins forces with Saxony, Bavaria and other countries to siege Prussia, Prussia is likely to be devastated. Then Austria will truly control the entire Germany."

Lefebvre clenched his fist and shouted, "Your Highness, why don't we just attack Vienna? Let Austria lose the ability to unify Germany forever!"

Joseph smiled and shook his head: "Believe me, occupying Austria will not benefit France in any way. Instead, it will create a powerful enemy for us."

He knew very well that historically Napoleon had done just as Lefebvre had said.

The French army swept across the German states, conquered Prussia in the north, and destroyed Austria in the east. It seemed very powerful and indeed gained a lot of war dividends in a short period of time.

But what about the results?

In the 19th century when the nation was awakening, it was almost a pipe dream to truly annex the vast German region. The Germans would surely unite against the enemy and drive France out of the German region.

During this process, the originally divided German states no longer distinguished whether you were a Prussian or a Bavarian. Everyone would fight the French occupying forces under the banner of the German nation.

Eventually, Germany moved towards great integration, and a powerful Germany was born.

Perhaps there will be an "Iron Chancellor" or a failure from the Academy of Fine Arts who will challenge France and crush an entire generation of young French people on the battlefield.

Even if France is lucky and can suppress the resistance in Germany time and time again, a huge France stretching from the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean to the Balkans will inevitably arouse Russia's vigilance.

Russia would immediately put aside its grievances with the Ottoman Empire and join forces to "help" the Germans restore their country.

Therefore, the international situation that Napoleon faced at that time was already determined when he decided to sweep across the German region.

Some people always say that Napoleon's attack on Russia was a strategic failure, which ultimately led to his total defeat. If he had stopped while he was ahead, consolidated the occupied German territories, and lived in peace with Russia, things would have been different.

But in reality, that is impossible.

Even if Napoleon did not march to Moscow, Russia would definitely attack Germany after it had recovered - the Russians would never sit idly by and watch the emergence of a France that unified Western and Central Europe.

Therefore, the best strategy for France is to keep the German region fragmented and increase the rifts between the states.

In their constant infighting, France used "mediation" to gain benefits.

Then, focus all your energy on dealing with the troublemaker Britain.

Without the support of Britain outside the European continent, France would no longer have any rivals on the European continent. After a long period of steady operation, it might be possible for it to restore the glory of Rome!
When Joseph's convoy arrived in Verdun, the local postal official brought him a letter sent from the Palace of Versailles via the Chapé signal tower.

The letter was written by Archbishop Briand, and the core content was only one sentence - the preparations for the "Iberian-Apennine Summit" have been completed, and it can be opened immediately after His Royal Highness the Crown Prince returns to Paris.

A smile appeared on Joseph's face.

This summit was the "starting gun" he used to build his own camp.

Yes, this is the best way to gain war dividends, rather than plundering a little wealth in the occupied territories and making people hate you!
The British could rely on their own financial resources and control over maritime trade to form an anti-French alliance.

Then France can also use the victory of this war to build an anti-British alliance!
(End of this chapter)