I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 973 Arresting the "Emperor"

three days later.

Fortress of Mantua.

Napoleon glanced at Desaix's personal seal on the letter in his hand, and then looked at Desaix's herald: "Let me guess, there was a battle, right?"

He was familiar with the herald, having seen him several times during the battle at Trento.

The latter was obviously a little nervous, but the "follower" standing behind him was actually an agent of the Security Bureau, so he dared only to follow Lefebvre's instructions and say:
"Yes, General. We were attacked by the Austrians and many soldiers died. We later chased them to the Klagenfurt Fortress and unexpectedly captured it."

Napoleon immediately smiled and opened the "letter from Desaix".

It was the handwriting of Desai's aide-de-camp. He did not doubt it, for it was common for officers to ask their aides to write for them when they were busy.

In the letter, Desai said that everything was going well, but more than 2,000 people from the Leo Corps had retreated to Graz and asked what to do next. He also mentioned that the ammunition reserves might not be enough to launch a large-scale offensive and needed to be replenished as soon as possible.

Napoleon put away the letter and mentally denounced Desaix for his indecision and for hesitating because of a mere 2,000 Austrian troops.

He immediately said to the messenger: "Let Major Desaix attack Graz as quickly as possible. If the Austrians react, we will face an enemy several times our number."

"Yes, yes, General."

After Desaix's messenger left in a hurry, Napoleon summoned the logistics officer of the Mantua fortress and told him that Oudinot had been attacked by the Austrians and that all the ammunition in the fortress should be transported there immediately.

That afternoon, Napoleon and his guards rushed to Klagenfurt.

This battle, which is destined to go down in history, naturally needs to be commanded by him personally!

After 4 days.

When Napoleon saw the fleur-de-lis flag flying on the Klagenfurt Fortress from afar, a smug smile appeared on his face.

After walking forward for several hundred meters, he saw a large number of French soldiers stationed in front of the fortress, which seemed to be thousands of people.

He frowned immediately, urged his horse forward, and shouted angrily: "Why are you still here? Where is Desai? I said we would attack Graz immediately!"

A man's voice came from his side: "General, why are you attacking Graz?"

"Of course it's for Vienna, you idiot..." Napoleon turned his head and saw the appearance of the person who came, and the second half of the sentence stopped abruptly.

That man was Lefebvre.

"You, why are you here?"

Lefebvre raised his hat to him and said, "General Bonaparte, you are suspected of violating military orders, abusing your power, concealing military information, and deliberately murdering soldiers. I am arresting you now."

Napoleon's pupils shrank immediately, and he took a few steps back, but shook his head and said, "Colonel Lefebvre, I don't know what you are talking about."

"I have a lot of evidence." Lefebvre gestured to the soldiers around him, "They all heard it just now. I'll tell you the details when you return to Paris."

Napoleon suddenly said in a deep voice: "I order you, Colonel, to get out of the way immediately."

Then he waved to the guards beside him and pointed at Lefebvre: "Control him!"

He made the decision in an instant - to stabilize the situation here first, and then capture Vienna in the shortest time possible.

Even if Paris wants to punish him, he will have to deduct this huge achievement first. The more likely result is that he will become a hero of France and be exempt from punishment.

At this moment, a blond man in his thirties came out from behind Lefebvre and said to Napoleon and others: "I suggest you don't do this."

As he spoke, he took out a document and unfolded it: "This is an order signed by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince himself." Not only Napoleon, but even his guards were stunned.

There was no way they didn't know this man - the Prince's valet, Count d'Ement.

His Royal Highness the Dauphin often inspected the army and dined with the soldiers, and Emmanuel was usually at his side.

Even the soldiers behind Eman had familiar faces; they were the personal guards of the Crown Prince.

More than a hundred of Napoleon's guards looked at each other, put down their weapons, lowered their heads and retreated to the side.

As Napoleon's confidants, they did not take Colonel Lefebvre seriously at all and even dared to disobey the General Staff, but they definitely did not have the courage to disobey His Royal Highness the Dauphin.

It can be said that the current French army was created by the Crown Prince.

He is the faith of all French soldiers!

If they had to choose between their general and the crown prince, they would definitely listen to the latter without hesitation.

The Dauphin's Guards marched forward and seized the weapons of Napoleon's guards.

Lefebvre gestured to the carriage in the distance, then bowed to Napoleon and said, "General Bonaparte, we have to return to Paris. His Royal Highness the Dauphin is still waiting for my report."

The next day.

Klagenfurt Commander Leo escorted Lefebvre all the way to the Austrian border, and before saying goodbye he thanked him profusely:
"I am glad you reminded me this time, otherwise I would be in big trouble. When the war is over, I will definitely go to Paris to visit you."

Yes, if it weren't for Lefebvre, he would probably have been captured by Desaix by now.

Even if he miraculously defended the Klagenfurt Fortress, Vienna would later hold him accountable for the fact that hundreds of people in his army were bribed by French spies.

Lefebvre hugged him and asked in a low voice: "Have those people been dealt with?"

He was referring, of course, to the Austrian soldiers who were being paid to attack the French.

Leo nodded. "Yes, I have basically found out. The leader is an artillery captain named Lemanler, who received 4 florins. There are also more than 120 soldiers under his command. I sent them all to the mountains of Transylvania.

"Oh, I promise that those guys who bribed them to sabotage will all be sent to Paris within a month."

Lefebvre actually didn't care much. Lieutenant Meister and several other core members of the Intelligence Bureau had been identified by Austrian soldiers, so the Intelligence Bureau was definitely not free from involvement. The others were just icing on the cake.

From the Intelligence Agency to the Udine garrison, the chain of evidence is complete, so a direct trial by the military court will suffice.

After a few more pleasantries, Lefebvre was about to turn around and get on the carriage. Leo hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Don't forget about the exercise."

"Of course, my dear Franz."

With such a big commotion at Klagenfurt Fortress, Vienna would definitely notice it.

So Leo and Lefebvre agreed that the French and Austrian armies should conduct an "anti-smuggling exercise" on the border, so that the matter could be covered up satisfactorily.

……

Paris.

Palace of Versailles.

The new Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, Nicolas Corvisat, stood respectfully in front of the Crown Prince, waiting for the latter to finish reading the first draft of the "Prospective Doctors' Operation Manual" in his hand.

(End of this chapter)