Chapter 833: Chapter 741 General Staff Expansion Meeting

As for Corsica, although it is relatively barren, it holds significant strategic importance for Sardinia.

Sardinia’s territory consists of two major parts: the Savoy and Piedmont regions on the Apennine Peninsula, and the island of Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea. Corsica lies right between the two.

This situation makes Turin’s rule and trade with Sardinia somewhat awkward.

If Sardinia were to acquire Corsica, it could form a cohesive region in Northwest Italy, making the nation more unified in political governance and military defense.

This proposition is undeniably tempting for Amadeo III.

The next day.

The Austrian diplomat’s carriage exited the Turin Palace.

Inside the carriage, Austria’s envoy to Sardinia organized the diplomatic documents in his hand and glanced at Count Rheinphels, saying, “My lord count, perhaps we could be more assertive. I believe Sardinia might be willing to deploy an army to assist us, rather than merely provide military passage and logistical support.”

After repeated deliberations with his ministers, Amadeo III ultimately agreed only to allow Austrian troops passage through Sardinian territory and to provide logistical supplies for 30,000 Austrian soldiers. At the conclusion of the war, Sardinia would gain Genoa and Corsica.

Count Rheinphels chuckled, “That’s sufficient. Once the war begins, Sardinia will send out an army without us needing to press them.”

Seeing the envoy’s puzzled expression, Count Rheinphels took advantage of his good mood to explain, “First, we won’t send troops to protect Sardinian supply convoys; they’ll be forced to dispatch troops for protection.

“Second, General Bolieu can ‘unintentionally’ leave the passage between the French Army and Chambery open, and Sardinian troops will immediately rush to the frontlines to prevent the French from advancing on Turin.

“Once Sardinian troops engage the French, what happens next will be entirely up to General Bolieu.”

…

Southern suburb of Paris.

A black, military-style carriage glided smoothly along wooden rail tracks.

Inside the carriage, Napoleon, pointing at the small wooden table with his finger, looked at the young second lieutenant sitting opposite him and said, “Lucien, you must come to the frontlines with me. Understand this–this war is a tremendous opportunity for us. We’ll use it to escape that insignificant place, Corsica.”

The young officer was none other than his brother, Lucien Buonaparte. Despite his mediocre grades at Brienne Military Academy, he had managed to graduate.

At this time, Napoleon had taken on the role of acting commander of the Corsican Legion, and had thus transferred his brother to serve under him as an order officer.

Lucien frowned and retorted, “I believe this war will be extremely dangerous. Reports say that England, Prussia, and Austria have deployed more than 300,000 troops, while France has only half that number.

“Perhaps before your so-called opportunity arises, we’ll already be torn apart by cannon fire.”

A fleeting look of disdain crossed Napoleon’s eyes as he responded in a slightly scolding tone, “If you saw how our Crown Prince conducts warfare, you wouldn’t say something so naive.

“The troops of the Evil Alliance are far inferior to the Crown Prince’s forces and rarely have unified command.

“Mark my words–they’re destined to lose this war.”

“Moreover,” he continued, not leaving Lucien time to respond, pointing at the ground beneath them, “these wooden rail tracks are another key to our victory.”

“What do wooden rail tracks have to do with anything?”

“The speed of troop and supply movement is the most potent weapon in warfare, even more so than cannons,” Napoleon imparted to his academically challenged brother. “On wooden rail tracks, our troops and supplies can arrive days ahead of the enemy, allowing us to easily position our tactics and formations.

“I suppose you’re aware of how many wooden rail tracks have been built across the country in recent years?”

Lucien pursed his lips.

He wanted to say, “Wooden rail tracks have been laid from Artuwa to Strasbourg,” but ultimately chose silence, fearing his brother would continue discussing logistics and supplies.

He had long forgotten most of his military academy coursework.

Napoleon decided to spare him and shifted to discussing his grand ambitions: “My hope is to be sent to fight in the Southern Netherlands this time. You know I’ve fought in Namur and Brussels before; I’m very familiar with the terrain there. The General Staff will likely assign me to that area…”

Two hours later, Napoleon’s carriage arrived at the General Staff office building southeast of the Palace of Versailles.

Napoleon instructed his brother to wait outside, then turned and briskly entered the General Staff headquarters.

On the second floor, outside the operations conference room, a few guards inspected Napoleon’s credentials before standing at attention and opening the door for him.

The critical expanded meeting of the General Staff had already been underway for some time. General Bertier was speaking at the map table. Upon seeing Napoleon enter, he merely gestured for him to take the seat on the far west side.

Considering Napoleon’s station was very far from Paris, second only to the North African province, no one reproached him for arriving late.

In fact, he had traveled day and night to get there swiftly.

Napoleon scanned the conference room. Apart from the Crown Prince and the military’s senior leadership, the Chief Minister, the Foreign Minister, the Intelligence Director, and even the Minister of Industry were present at the meeting.

Spotting his old acquaintance Lefevre, the man courteously slid the previous meeting minutes towards Napoleon.

“Thank you very much.”

Napoleon whispered his gratitude before swiftly skimming through the documents in front of him.

The earlier discussions had predominantly revolved around material logistics. At this moment, the Chief of Staff was elaborating on the enemy’s strategic deployments.

“Apart from the line from Gaelden to Verdun likely being the main battlefield, the northern Southern Netherlands region also requires substantial troop reinforcement for defense.”

Bertier, while speaking, glanced at Fouche seated in the second row.

Fouche stood up and nodded, “Recently, there’s been a significant influx of suspicious individuals from the Flemish Region into the Walloon Region. The Intelligence Department secretly detained several such individuals and confirmed they are affiliated with the Austrian Intelligence Agency, though their specific mission remains unclear.

“However, I suspect their aim is to incite chaos in the Walloon Region.”

The Flemish Region, located in the northern Southern Netherlands, is a Dutch-speaking area. The rapid development of coal and iron industries in the Walloon Region has demanded a considerable workforce, prompting Flemish Region residents to regularly migrate southward for work.

This also makes it relatively easy for the Austrian government to infiltrate the Walloon Region with operatives.

An elderly general officer looked at the Crown Prince and remarked, “Your Highness, perhaps we should deploy troops to stabilize the situation in the Walloon Region ahead of time.”

Joseph deliberated briefly but lightly shook his head.

“General Demoblin, do you know how many French reside in the Walloon Region?”

“Approximately 200,000, Your Highness.”

“Correct, which means there are over a million Southern Netherlanders living there.”

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