――――――――――――――――――――――――

In the wilderness outside Paris, an angry train sped eastward, its scarlet locomotive galloping, and the black smoke dragged through the air for a kilometer. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

The 26 blue carriages were loaded with 700 elite infantry from the 3rd Infantry Mixed Brigade of the Fran Empire. At the behest of the Paris Command, they carried the latest modified breech-loading firing modern rifles, endured the roar of the train, and rushed violently towards the neighboring province of Lorraine, the neighboring province of the HRE Empire.

"Within three days, Chen soldiers will be on the border, and at the cost of declaring war, we must also curb the wave of nationalism in the HRE Empire!" this is the command's categorical order.

And this is only the vanguard. Behind this train, there were tens of thousands of newly mobilized expeditionary forces, which were fully organized into four infantry divisions. These well-armed troops, after bidding farewell to their relatives and lovers, were quickly sent by the powerful railway system to assemble in the border province of Lorraine, to show off their unstoppable force to the tired HRE Empire and to show the German inhabitants of Paris's determination to intervene in internal affairs.

Isaac, on the other hand, sat in the first luxury car with his face strained, leaning against the train window and staggering. The trees on both sides of the railroad flew like ribbons across his field of vision, giving him a splitting headache.

"Father, after three months of traveling, I finally came back with steel and gunpowder, you hold on!" he closed his eyes vigorously, and when he was concerned about his father, Sir Barton next to him carefully handed over a handkerchief and tried his best to curry favor: "Lord Isaac, you are sweating." ”

Isaac, as a young German banker, was once ridiculed by Barton in every way. Today, however, he has become the leader of the World Clearing Bank, and has received the full support of Fran the Great, and he has been in command as an adviser. Barton was terrified at the thought of his previous death.

Isaac wiped his sweat, turned his head and asked Barton, "How many days will the train get to Lorraine?"

Sir Patton rubbed his hands and smiled flatteringly, eager to wag his long tail: "His Majesty's improved steam engine is extremely powerful, and it is said that the thermal efficiency has reached fifteen percent. The military train uses the latest steam locomotives and can reach Lorraine in three days. ”

Isaac slammed the table suddenly, the teacup jumped, and there was a "bang".

Barton jumped back in fright, and almost bowed to the guilt.

Then Isaac gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, his heart dripping blood: "It only takes three days to transport troops to Lorraine...... But it took three months to mobilize the four infantry divisions! The civilian system in Paris is so inefficient that no matter how fast the train runs, what is the use! The time saved by the advanced vehicles is all delayed by the bloated system!"

Barton hurriedly exclaimed, "This, I can't be blamed for this, Lord Isaac...... The recruitment process is inherently cumbersome......"

"Cumbersome?" Isaac muttered angrily as he threw his teacup at the expense of his teacup: "You go to Germany to take a look, and see how many days it takes Frederick to assemble a division! Is it so difficult to unify the conscription system? My army is a day late, and my father is a little more dangerous--why didn't he think about streamlining his army and streamlining his administration all day long...... Why is that man so stupid......"

Isaac's eyes were bloodshot, his fists pressed against the short table, and he muttered nervously.

He regretted that if Paris could establish a national conscription system like Frederick, with the unparalleled railway transportation capacity, it was estimated that it would not take more than a month to march with mobilization, and he might have led a large army to the city at this moment. So he had a lot of criticism about Frank the Great, who abandoned Wenzhi.

During the three months he spent in Paris, Isaac was busy with military mobilization and anxious to get by. And as a time-traveler, he knew that Fran the Great had optimized the steam engine to an appalling degree: he had raised the energy combustion efficiency of the condensing steam engine to 15 percent, and its design was so high that it could be used almost as an inefficient internal combustion engine.

It can almost be used as an inefficient internal combustion engine. Note that it can be used as an internal combustion engine, and it is the kind that burns gasoline.

Now that the continent is chaotic and the technology is backward, what did Fran the Great do, he used the love and justice of the polytechnic man to advance the level of engine technology for a whole century. The thermal efficiency of the steam engine was changed by him to catch up with the internal combustion engine, and the boiling water crushed the gasoline burning, and this technological breakthrough was simply outrageous.

Only Isaac, who is a time-traveler, understands the meaning of this steam engine.

Due to the limitations of the industrial structure, there was no reason for Paris to explore for oil, let alone extract it, so the internal combustion engine could not have appeared a hundred years earlier. And expensive kerosene as a lighting resource is inflated in price, and it is simply impossible to hoard it for military use.

In an environment where the internal combustion engine was basically hopeless, Fran the Great concentrated on optimizing the steam engine to the extent that it is unprecedented. In this way, even if the mainland cannot extract a drop of oil, he can still realize the ideal of building a modern mechanized mixed army.

Note that it is a mechanized mixed army, a half-day off-road for hundreds of miles, a lightning assault under the capital, the kind of troops that are invulnerable.

Although those tanks may be steam tanks that boil water...... Maybe it's bigger, the cabin is hotter, and the cross-country ability is worse, but at least there are wheels, cannons, and iron shells, at least it can tear the musket phalanx of the classical troops, and at least it can break the heads of the cavalry.

And it's environmentally friendly.

This is why Fran the Great was obsessed with steam engines. Based on this consideration, Fran the Great is very sure that his black technology will be a blockbuster, and it will crush the natives of various countries, making people exclaim that Fran technology is the first in the world. That being the case, the work of reforming the system is a thankless task.

If the civilian system is bloated, it should be bloated, as long as you are willing to allocate funds to the military industry. You embezzle yours, I develop mine, there is a clear distinction, and there is nothing to do.

As a result, it took three months for Isaac to mobilize an army.

Isaac thought that if my father died the day before I arrived, the pot would have to be carried by Fran the Great.

――――――――――――――――――――――――――――

At the end of July 1736, the last emperor abdicated at St. Stephen's Cathedral, and the imperial system was overthrown. However, in the name of royalists, the diehards, mainly bureaucratic capital, still stubbornly defended the Hofburg Imperial Palace, which was known as the "fortress in the city", pinning their hopes for a turnaround on the military intervention of the foreign powers.

In the midst of a desperate situation, Braischroeder showed an amazing leadership of the officers, and he made his daily rounds of the city defenses, sketching victories with great skill, and at the same time scattering his wealth to reward his troops, so that the 5,000 garrison would be convinced that it was the night before dawn, and that he would enjoy the riches of the world until the arrival of the Anglo-French army. So the defenders were still isolated and helpless for 14 days in the dilemma of being cut off from water and water.

Due to the extremely fierce suppression of the towers, even if the walls were bombarded in pieces, the dragoons still did not find a good opportunity to capture the fortress. In order to preserve their forces, the stormtroopers stopped their tentative offensive and relied on water cuts and artillery bombardment to besiege the isolated city.

The stream in the Hofburg Palace dried up, the fountain went out, and the water source was completely cut off. The scorching sun made the bottom of the pool sticky with dried fish.

Fifteen days later, Frederick drove all the family members of the defenders to Heroes' Square and shouted for surrender. On that day, the cry shook the sky, and the clouds changed color. The 5,000 National Guard were already thirsty, and a few were showing symptoms of dehydration. Coupled with the persuasion of relatives to surrender, the defenders gradually changed their minds.