Your next journey awaits at empire
“`
France also had to be extremely cautious about taking part in something as serious as a war between Austria and Prussia.
Therefore, after receiving affirmative answers from several key ministers, Queen Mary immediately called an “expanded Cabinet meeting” to discuss sending troops to Silesia.
Except for the Minister of Commerce, who was still negotiating a trade agreement in Munich, all Cabinet ministers and military high officials, including the Count of Provence and the Count of Artuwa, were seated.
The meeting, which appeared serious and grand, actually had little suspense, as the Cabinet Ministers, under Brian’s leadership, unanimously agreed to join the war.
Especially the Minister of War, Duke of Broglie, who even declared it a “historic opportunity” for France to expand its influence on the European Continent. Of course, his enthusiasm was due to the Crown Prince promising him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Afterward, he had Bertier conduct a military analysis to prove that supporting Austria had a very good chance of success and that even if Prussia won, the loss to France would be minimal.
The Count of Provence, who was not very familiar with the situation and also Louis XVI’s younger brother, looked at the impassioned Minister of War and raised a critical question:
“Duke of Broglie, may I ask how many troops we are planning to deploy, and whether there will be any financial problems?”
After all, France was still shouldering several billion livres of debt.
This was also Queen Mary’s primary concern, and she immediately turned her gaze to the Duke of Broglie.
Before the Minister of War could speak, Talleyrand stood up and bowed slightly to the Count of Provence:
“Your Excellency, our country’s participation in this war is very cost-effective financially.
“Because His Majesty Joseph II has already promised, as a reward for joining the war, he will promote a trade agreement between France, Austria, and the German states of Southern Germany. You might have already heard of it; it’s the Seine-Rhine Trade Agreement.
“In fact, when I left Munich, the negotiations were nearing an end.
“Which means, in the future, our commodities can be sold in large quantities to the market of Southern Germany, and the expenses of this war can be earned back from there.”
The Duke of Broglie immediately continued:
“Moreover, we will strictly control the scale of our involvement in the war. We will not deploy more than 50,000 men initially, so the expenses will not be too high.”
Queen Mary blinked and turned towards the Finance Minister.
Brian, who had also made preparations, immediately responded:
“Your Majesty, the current financial situation is relatively stable. By issuing some bonds, we can support the expenses of 50,000 troops for a year or two.”
In fact, if it weren’t for Joseph’s plans to use a large amount of funds for tax reform, just the 50 to 60 million livres confiscated from the Duke of Orleans would be enough to support the French Army’s campaign.
The biggest worry in Queen Mary’s heart finally settled, and after discussing the pros and cons of joining the war with her ministers, seeing the surprising unanimity in their opinions, she no longer hesitated.
At 5 p.m., she looked at Brian and commanded solemnly:
“Then, please draft the document. France will officially ally with Austria and declare war on Prussia.”
Joseph, who had been sitting in the corner without saying much, almost choked on his own saliva when he heard this. He thought to himself, my mother is really going all out. Taking advantage of the conflict between Austria and Prussia for our own benefit is one thing, but forming an alliance and declaring war?
With all these actions, isn’t she making Austria’s problem France’s problem? In the future, we won’t be able to shake it off even if we want to.
He quickly cleared his throat and stood up, bowing to Queen Mary:
“Your Majesty, I believe there is no need to declare war on Prussia for the time being.”
Seeing the surprised looks from Queen Mary and everyone else, Joseph explained:
“The current situation of the war is still unclear, and we should be cautious about declaring war.”
“`
“But our army is about to go to war with the Prussians in Silesia, isn’t that essentially a declaration of war?”
“No, no, we’re merely accepting Austria’s invitation to maintain order in the area.”
“But…”
“We will send the troops as planned, and fight as necessary, there’s just no need to declare war. The Prussians should not take the initiative to declare war on us either.”
If the Prussians weren’t foolish, they would certainly pretend not to see the French forces joining the conflict—declaring war would mean tying France firmly to Austria’s side.
Duke of Broglie frowned and said,
“Your Highness, I fear that Austria might strongly demand that we declare war on Prussia.”
A crafty smile flashed in Joseph’s eyes,
“If we must declare war, then let’s declare it on the Southern Netherlands Rebels.
“Last month they brazenly robbed our trade convoy; that’s an open provocation that we absolutely cannot swallow in silence!”
“Ah? The Southern Netherlands robbed a French trade convoy?” A multitude of question marks suddenly popped up in the council hall.
Bertier was the first to catch on,
“Your Highness, are you referring to that time when the Netherlands Rebels attacked our logistics supplies prepared for Austria?”
“What supplies prepared for Austria?” Joseph feigned a serious frown, “Those were foodstuffs and iron goods purchased by Luxembourg, a normal commercial transaction!”
“Yes, Your Highness. I misspoke, indeed it was Luxembourg that ordered the goods.”
Ministers like Brian and Duke of Broglie immediately agreed with the Crown Prince’s view, and in the end, Queen Mary had no choice but to yield to advice and decide to first declare war on the Southern Netherlands Rebels. If, in the future, Austria gains the upper hand on the battlefield, then they would officially announce the France-Austria alliance and declare war on Prussia.
However, what she did not know was that Joseph had long been prepared and would never let either side in the Prussia-Austria conflict gain a clear advantage.
As long as Prussia and Austria remained in conflict, even if the warfare was not very intense, they would not be able to join forces to partition Poland. They might even seek to curry favor with Poland for military support.
Even if Russia later wished to make a move on Poland, Poland would be able to avoid being attacked from both front and rear, focusing its efforts on dealing with the Russian Army. Even if Poland was ultimately unable to withstand the pressure, it could still hold out for several years longer than it did historically.
And while the rest of the European Continent was embroiled in heated warfare, it would be France’s opportunity to develop quietly and stealthily supply the warring nations with materials.
By six in the evening, the Cabinet meeting had concluded, and France took the crucial step of joining the Prussian-Austrian war in alliance with Austria.
Of course, getting involved in the massive matter of the Prussia-Austria war was not something that could be discussed in just one day—today they merely set the tone. The specific details of participation in the war would require lengthy discussions in subsequent Cabinet meetings.
But the real plans for France’s participation in the war were actually drafted in the Crown Prince’s study, later to be simply “formalized” at the Cabinet meeting.
Eman pushed open the door to the study and stood by, head bowed.
Joseph stepped into the room and turned to ask Talleyrand, who was beside him,
“Everything’s ready with the Southern Netherlands, right?”
The latter immediately nodded, his voice lowered,
“Yes, Your Highness. As soon as the time comes, Ferdinand will immediately receive the message.”
The Ferdinand he referred to was Duke of Brunswick, the Commander of the Prussian Army.