In the evening, when our little William and Prince Henry were sitting together for dinner, they couldn't help but think of the legend of His Royal Highness during the Seven Years' War described by Count Hans:
In the Battle of Rossbach, Prince Henry personally led 7 infantry battalions into the chaotic French army, laying the foundation for the final victory of the battle.
In October 1758, Henry and Frederick the Great met in Dresden, the capital of Saxony, and participated in the Battle of Hochsch, making great contributions.
In early 1759, Henry successfully burned down the Austrian army's grain and grass storage area with a surprise attack. In the subsequent Battle of Küllersdorf, he used 40,000 Prussian troops to attack behind the Austrian army, destroying its lines of communication and forcing the Austrian army to retreat back to defense.
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What really made Henry famous in Europe was that in 1761, Henry used only 28,000 men to deal with Daun's 60,000 troops in Saxony. Not only did he not lose an inch of ground, but he tightly suppressed Marshal Daun's main Austrian force.
Prussia gained the most precious time.
Later in the Seven Years' War, Henry led the Prussian army to a great victory at the Battle of Freiburg, forcing Austria to retreat.
It can be said that Henry was a member of the Hohenzollern family and the most famous general in Prussia after His Majesty King Frederick.
At this time, Prussia was slowly recovering with the end of the Seven Years' War. The young faction in the military began to rise. These young factions believed that Prussia did not lose the Seven Years' War. They believed that there could only be one between Austria and Prussia.
survived, and they firmly believed that Prussia would have the last laugh.
Since Frederick the Great had no heirs, he chose his nephew Frederick William II as the crown prince. However, when the emperor asked Frederick William II to handle political affairs, domestic politicians discovered that Frederick
Wilhelm II was weak-willed and lacked independent opinions. His interests were more focused on literature and art. Moreover, Frederick William II obeyed his mistress Wilhelmine von Lichtnau. What is even more unacceptable is that
The mistress was an Austrian. This made the nobles who had followed Frederick the Great through the Seven Years' War doubt whether Frederick William II could lead Prussia.
This year, the health of Count Bern of Bavaria of the Wittelsbach dynasty has deteriorated, and Duke Bern has no heirs. This has made Prussian insightful people realize that it may not be long before Prussia and Austria will meet at war again.
"Little William, you did well today. You are a good boy." Prince Henry praised William's performance today at the dinner table.
Today our little William shot eleven pheasants and seven rabbits. In the evening, he even seized the opportunity to kill a wild deer that got lost and left the herd. This made Prince Henry look at William differently.
"All of this was taught by Count Hans," William said modestly, picking up a handkerchief and wiping his mouth.
"Haha, William, your talent is the most important thing," Count Hans praised happily from the side.
"Hans, how is the harvest in your territory this year?" Henry asked Hans after hearing what Hans said.
"Not bad. Thanks to God's blessing these days, everyone's life is going well," Hans replied.
"Hey, Duke Bern's health is really worrying. If something goes wrong, we in Prussia will be pulled into the whirlpool again," Earl Henry said worriedly.
"Your Highness, have the Austrians started taking action again?" Hans asked doubtfully.
"Let's eat first. When you're finished, go to your study." Prince Henry said and lowered his head to eat again. Hans and William ignored it and started eating too.
After a while, after eating, the maids cleared the table, and William followed Henry and Hans into Hans' study. As for our Du Li and Carlo, they were led down by the attendants to wash up and go to bed.
In the study, Henry spoke first after the three of them sat down.
"The Austrians are actively wooing Elector Karl Theodor of Palatinate-Sulzbach in the hope of gaining the Lower Bavaria region. The elector responded positively to the Austrians' overtures, but Bavaria has always supported us.
Prussia, His Majesty will not tolerate a pro-Austrian person in charge of Bavaria, let alone allow the Austrians to occupy the Lower Bavaria region. So the situation is not optimistic." Henry said and put his hand on his forehead
"So what do you think, Your Highness?" Old Hans asked from the side.
"We have not recovered from the losses of the Seven Years' War. At this time, we are going to war with Austria. It's okay if everything goes well. If things don't go well, France and Russia will definitely pounce on us and bite us. And the Polish region has not been stable recently. It can be said that all sides
They are all enemies, it will be a disaster if the powder keg is detonated," Henry replied
When our little William heard this, he couldn't help but think of the historical War of Bavarian Succession. In this war, neither side took any major combat operations. Both sides were content to confront each other and were busy harvesting potatoes in Bohemia.
The War of the Bavarian Succession was quite representative in the era of cordon strategy. At that time, the goal of strategic operations was not to destroy the enemy's army, but to occupy its territory, supply bases and fortresses.
Although 10 months passed between the declaration of war and the signing of the peace treaty, no fighting occurred during this period. Both sides avoided taking decisive action and only carried out complex maneuvers in an attempt to cut off the enemy's supply base through troop maneuvers.
contact to force the enemy to retreat.
In the end, the Austrian army achieved this. They gradually drove the Prussian army out of their own territory, and occupied several areas of Bavaria, winning the war.
Facts have proved that Henry's worries were reasonable, but it was precisely because of Henry's negative attitude during this war that Frederick the Great asked Henry to resign in anger and leave the political core of Prussia.
"Your Highness, I think that although Prussia has not yet recovered from the damage caused by the Seven Years' War, it must be certain that Austria has not fully recovered either. Coupled with Austria's ethnic diversity and the aging and stiffness of the nobility, we have to
There is some chance of winning against the Austrians. According to His Majesty's character, it is impossible to tolerate the misbehavior of the Austrians, so I think you should not face this matter passively, but should behave in the usual way as men of our Hohenzollern family.
Face the upcoming challenges with perseverance and courage." William, who was sitting aside, advised Henry in order to prevent Henry from angering Frederick the Great.
"Oh, is that how you see it? Little William." Henry looked at William with shining eyes after hearing William's words.
"Yes, Your Highness, today's Europe is not the Europe during the Seven Years' War. Russia's Empress Catherine II is eyeing Turkey.
Although the new emperor of France, Louis XVI, inherited his grandfather's empire, there are many conflicts among the various factions in France. I heard that France has an empty treasury and high debts, but our French Emperor and his wife often hold dances, renovate villas, and decorate gardens.
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In this way, even if we have a conflict with the Austrians, Russia will not take action against us in order to concentrate its power on Turkey. As for the French, I don’t think they have the ability to intervene until their Majesty Louis XVI pacifies the country." William is confident