I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 866: Reminiscing about the Roman Era
As the finance minister, Brian did not show any concern about the huge expenditure, but instead seemed quite excited: “Military expenditure is indeed very high, Your Highness, but it is absolutely necessary.

“I have talked with Duke Broglie, and we both believe that if the war goes well, we may be able to completely conquer the German region in two years at most, or even one and a half years!

"Our troops will eventually reach the Vistula..."

Joseph immediately held his forehead with his hand. The Vistula River was already at the Polish border. Is the Prime Minister planning to swallow up Western Europe and Central Europe in one gulp? !
He looked inquiringly at Mirabeau and Vergniaud.

The two of them nodded immediately in agreement.

Joseph couldn't help but sigh.

He had been with the army before and thought that this war frenzy existed only in the military. Now it seems that even the French cabinet has been dazzled by the previous series of great victories.

Well, France is really a martial country.

From this perspective, historically, Napoleon's blood-thirsty behavior and his fight all the way to Moscow should have been the result of the joint efforts of the entire country.

But Joseph was well aware that this theory of military victory was a very dangerous idea.

He looked at Brian seriously and said, "Why should we occupy all of Germany?"

"Why?" Brian was stunned for a moment, and said as a matter of course, "Our army is invincible, Your Highness, now is the opportunity to let the glory of France shine throughout Europe!"

Joseph shook his head slightly: "Do you think our country's national strength is enough to support us to do this?"

"certainly……"

Joseph interrupted him: “No, Archbishop Brian, it is not enough.

"I believe that if we put all our national strength into it, our heroic army will be able to defeat all the major opponents on the European continent and capture Berlin and Vienna."

Brian and the others' eyes suddenly flashed with ecstasy, but they heard the crown prince change the subject:
“But that’s not what we need right now.

“Please always remember that in competition between nations, war is only one of the determining factors; politics, economy and culture jointly influence the final outcome.

"We want real territory, provinces that identify themselves as French and are loyal to the King of France, not a bunch of 'problem areas' that are constantly in turmoil.

"Occupying Germany will only cause our country's finances to continue to be consumed in maintaining public order in the occupied areas. Please don't forget that before that, we had almost exhausted our national strength due to large-scale wars.

"The ultimate outcome is that the riots will bankrupt our country's finances and we will eventually have to withdraw from those places."

There was one thing Joseph did not say, which was that this occupation would accelerate Germany's national awakening and ultimately lead to the unification of Germany.

History has proven that Germany will be France's nightmare for more than a century, interrupting France's extremely important development opportunities several times.

Brian, Mirabeau and others looked at each other, and asked in confusion and reluctance: "Your Highness, General Massena's troops are currently heading to Switzerland and will attack Bavaria from there.

"General Berthier's heavy troops are concentrated in Koblenz and can cross the Rhine at any time to occupy North Rhine. At the same time, Napoleon's army is also attacking Mantua...

"And these troops are advancing continuously according to your orders. Isn't this an all-out attack on Germany?"

Joseph couldn't help but laugh and waved his hand, saying, "I'm afraid you misunderstood my strategic intention."

He motioned to Hermand to bring the map and put it on the table, and moved his finger down along the Rhine: "Natural boundaries, gentlemen, this is our most pragmatic goal at the moment." The so-called "natural boundary theory" means that the most perfect border of France should be: no matter which direction it extends from, you can find a natural barrier.

To the south are the Pyrenees, to the east are the Alps, and to the west is a long coastline.

To the north is the long and narrow Rhine River.

The north of France is mainly plains, which is why it was difficult for France to effectively defend against enemies from the north in history.

Only by gaining control of the west bank of the Rhine can we defend the Rhine and solve the problem of the northern border.

So more than a hundred years ago, French politicians believed that the Rhine River was the border given to France by nature.

Mirabeau replied: "Sir, we have secured the west bank of the Rhine."

"Only occupied," Joseph corrected him, "not really acquired yet."

He looked at the ministers in front of him and said: “In the next few years, the most important task of our country is to integrate the Rhineland into France.

"The attack on Bavaria and the stationing of troops in Koblenz were all for the safety of the Rhineland.

“Oh, I will discuss this matter in detail with you at the cabinet meeting the day after tomorrow.

"As for northern Italy, our main goal is to increase our control over there and completely squeeze Austria out.

"Of course, before that, Mantua will serve as a trap, constantly consuming Austria's strength."

Brian was still struggling: "Your Highness, are we going to stop at the west bank of the Rhine forever?"

Joseph looked at the vast European continent on the map and smiled, "When the Rhineland can serve as our forward base, when Italy becomes our backyard, when we own the whole of North Africa, and when our national strength dominates all of Europe, maybe we can give it a try."

A thought suddenly occurred to him. If there really comes a day when the territory controlled by France, except for the Ottoman Empire, is close to the Roman era...

Northern Italy.

Fortress of Mantua.

Beaulieu was so excited that he almost burst into tears as he watched countless French troops retreat like a tide.

He was besieged by Napoleon in this hellhole for more than a month. Every day he could only eat the salted meat stored in the fortress and sour wine. He had to endure the incessant bombardment of the French artillery and almost abandoned the fortress and surrendered several times.

Fortunately, the Wilmser Corps finally broke through the French blockades and arrived here.

And that damn Napoleon was also very smart and did not dare to fight the army at all - the Wurmser Corps had more than 3 people, and then His Majesty the Emperor transferred 1 troops from Switzerland. Together with the Argentau Corps that retreated to the fortress, and the defeated soldiers he gradually gathered, the total strength had reached 7.

Napoleon only brought 5 troops and more than 1 Sardinian troops with low combat effectiveness. He had to send more than half of the troops to Verona in the north to block the reinforcements sent by the empire.

However, General Wurmser cleverly divided his troops into three routes, quickly bypassing Verona and rendering the French troops on the north useless.

The 2 French troops near Mantua also quickly retreated under the threat of the Wurmser Corps.

(End of this chapter)