For nearly a week, William followed Dessau's army to the front line. Along the way, Dessau admired His Majesty William with admiration.
When a normal child is nine years old, his personality is in the formative stage and it is impossible for him to concentrate on anything. And except for children from poor families, it is impossible for other children to endure hardship and stand hard work at the age of nine.
But William was different. William was riding a warm-blooded horse. Although the little man and the big horse looked a bit funny, no one in the army could laugh.
Although it was only a week, the feeling of riding a horse was not pleasant. Maybe it would be better after just riding for a while, but everyone who rides a horse knows that even though there is a saddle, the constant friction on the inner thighs of a person riding on a horse for a long time will cause damage.
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Marshal Dessau persuaded William to sit in the carriage, but William refused his advice. Every day William would ride his horse back and forth to inspect the marching team. There was blood on his legs, but William still remained silent.
He rode on his horse in silence. Only when the team stopped to rest, William would take out the cotton pads in his trousers and change them.
The soldiers looked at William who was patrolling back and forth on horseback. They seemed to see the shadow of Frederick the Great in William. Frederick the Great also went back and forth like this to boost morale when he was marching.
William sometimes addressed the marching ranks:
"My soldiers, you are about to embark on the road to fight for Prussia. Think about your families and your children. Can you tolerate those despicable Austrians riding on us and domineering?
Soldiers, maybe some of you will die in the war, but you must remember that your sacrifice is for the future of Prussia and for your families. I, William, your king will be with you, the man of Prussia
You can only die standing up, never live on your knees.”
When William arrived at Prince Ferdinand's camp a week later, he could no longer get off his horse. He directly asked everyone except Ferdinand and Dessau to avoid it, and then asked Dessau to help him get off his horse.
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"Your Majesty, thank you for your hard work," Ferdinand said looking at William's pale face and trembling legs.
"It's not hard, Your Highness, we are all for Prussia," William said after Dessau helped William get off his horse.
"Your Majesty, I must be Prussia and defeat Austria for Your Majesty," Ferdinand and Dessau said loudly together.
"Dessau, please go to the big tent first. Prince Ferdinand asks you to report to me the situation of the Austrians on the other side." After saying that, Dessau helped William into Ferdinand's marching tent.
"Your Majesty, please see that our army has been confronting the Austrians here for a month. The Austrian army on the opposite side is led by our old rival Marshal Lacy, with a total strength of 100,000. During this time, the Austrians have been cutting down trees.
Trees and dug soil, I guess they are about to start attacking us." Ferdinand pointed to the map on the table in the big tent and said to William, and William motioned for him to continue.
"Our army now has 110,000 people, and we have a slight advantage for the time being, but there are only two hundred kilometers between the Austrian Leopold Army and Marshal Lacy. If the situation goes wrong, Leopold can come up with reinforcements in just two days.
"All our troops have only two choices, one is to quickly defeat Marshal Lacy, and the other is to fight a war of attrition with the Austrians. I personally think that we should fight a war of attrition with the Austrians, Your Majesty," Ferdinand said to him.
William asked for instructions
"We can't compete with the Austrians. The Habsburg family has hundreds of years of wealth and we can't compete with them. But now is really not a good time for a decisive battle. Leopold's army has 50,000 people. As time goes by, Austria
There will be more and more human armies, which is indeed a headache." William rubbed his forehead and said with a frown.
"Your Majesty, His Royal Highness Prince Ferdinand, I have an idea, I don't know whether to mention it or not," Dessau said hesitantly at the side.
"If you have any ideas, just tell me," William said
"How about we reveal to Marshal Lacy that His Majesty is in our army at this time, and also tell him His Majesty's location, lure him to attack, and then take the opportunity to severely damage the Austrians," Dessau said hesitantly.
"Marshal Dessau, you have gone too far. How can you use His Majesty as bait?" Before William could speak, Ferdinand scolded him first.
"No, His Highness Ferdinand, I think this is a good idea. Use myself as bait. Yes, Dessau, you have a good idea," William said with appreciation.
"Your Majesty, I am scared," Dessau quickly asked William to apologize.
"However, you have to choose this location carefully," William said while looking at the map.
When Marshal Lacy of Austria learned that William had arrived at the front line, he frowned and said to his officers:
"What's that kid doing here at the King's Road? Does he think he's traveling?"
The Austrian officer burst out laughing after hearing this.
"But that's okay. As long as we catch this little guy, Prussia will be defeated. Someone comes and orders us to find out the location of the King of Prussia. I'm going to capture him alive." Lacy thought for a while and said happily.
William took Ferdinand and Dessau to the forefront of the confrontation between the Prussian and Austrian armies. He saw that the Austrians on the opposite side were making wooden shields out of wood, and piles of sand and stones were piled outside the Austrian tents. He suddenly thought
One question, he asked Ferdinand:
“How far is it from the Elbe River?”
"A hundred kilometers, Your Majesty," Ferdinand replied.
"What's the water level in the Elbe?" William asked again
"There has been a lot of rain this year, and there is a lot of water in the Elbe River. Fortunately, your Majesty built a lot of dams upstream before, so the river did not flood," Ferdinand said respectfully.
"Is our location high?" William suddenly asked Ferdinand.
"This area is lowland, and only the terrain fifty miles away is slightly higher." After hearing Ferdinand's answer, William laughed happily, and he ordered:
"Dessau, take some people to the dike upstream and wait for my order. Ferdinand, send some troops to dig a ditch at night from the Elbe River to this area. Remember to dig it at night.
Don’t let those Austrians find out”
"Your Majesty, do you want to divert the water of the Elbe River here?" Ferdinand asked in surprise.
"Well, I have this idea. In addition, my tent will be placed on the hill over there." William went to a small hill only three miles away from the Prussian front line.
Without waiting for Ferdinand and Dessau to persuade, William had already ordered the royal attendants to plant his flag on the hill. Ferdinand and Dessau had no choice but to obey William's order.
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