Four days ago.

December 27, 1842.

Fortress of Liège, Belgium.

Located at the confluence of the Meuse and Ouert rivers, bordering the Dutch border to the north and the Ardennes Forest to the south, this barracks is a major transportation route and a natural pass.

News of the German Confederation's declaration of war had reached the fortress, but the Belgian soldiers were still doing the same as usual, except that they did not have to participate in training.

The soldiers flocked to the river during the rare "holiday", because if the news was true, they would not have a chance to bathe for weeks, if not months.

While the soldiers were bathing, a few clean-up workers poured truckloads of feces into the river.

"What are you doing! Don't you see we're still taking a shower? Now this water can't be drunk, let alone bathing! ”

The soldiers were annoyed when they saw the workers doing so inauthentically, but the latter did not hurry.

"This was ordered by General Jörgen, and it was a gift to Austria and Prussia."

"It's disgusting!" A soldier said, covering his nose.

"That's what you want, what do you think those guys are going to do if the river can't be drunk?" The foreman asked.

"Dig a well?" A soldier asked tentatively.

"No, those troublesome officers will always let the soldiers drink directly, so they don't care about the lives and deaths of the people under them. Then there will be an outbreak of dysentery and typhoid fever in their army, and when the time comes, they will surrender without us fighting. ”

The foreman looked admiring, and although the soldiers felt that this trick was a bit detrimental, it seemed to be very practical and effective. They weren't the ones who died anyway, so they laughed.

Then the earth trembled, and the birds were startled out of the forest.

"Something's coming! Get dressed! ”

"What the hell? Grizzly bear? Wolves? ”

The workers and soldiers immediately prepared to retreat in the direction of the barracks, but they were soon overtaken by a cavalry unit, which did not embarrass them, although they were wearing Belgian uniforms, but without weapons.

"You are soldiers of the fortress of Liège?" The officer at the head spoke again in stiff Dutch, and fearing that the people would not understand, spoke again in French.

The besieged Belgians nodded their heads with garlic, and it was not clear whether the other party was German, Dutch, or French. But without weapons, they had no chance of winning in the face of so many well-armed cavalry.

"How many of you are there?"

"Two regiments. A total of 2,100 people. ”

"Why aren't you in the barracks?"

"Today the general said that there is no need to train, so we will sneak out and take a bath"

"In addition to the 150 of you, how many others have escaped?"

"There will be a war in a while, so the chiefs have gone to the Moonlight Castle in the city to relax in the past few days, and we have no one to control them, so naturally there is no need to stick to our posts."

The Belgian soldiers said with a little resentment and a little reproach.

"We are the advance team of the First Army of the German Confederate Volunteer Army, and you can go and persuade the defenders in the barracks to surrender. If you do, you can not only avoid unnecessary casualties, but also get a reward of 10,000 florins. Otherwise, we will attack in two hours, and it will be too late for you to surrender. ”

It was Archduke Albrecht himself who spoke, and he knew one thing very well, that is, the speed of soldiers. At this time, the troops in the fortress of Liege were empty, and it was a good time to make a move.

Once the fortress of Liège was conquered, the road to Brussels was a smooth one. Albrecht's 5,000 men were Franz's Royal Dragoon Regiment and his own family's guards, as well as 1,000 elite drawn from the various units in Vienna.

The weapon he was carrying was the Austrian Empire's newest siege rocket M42, which may not have enough explosive power but was a good tool for destroying cities.

General Vincentz, Austria's chief weapons designer, called it the "destroyer of the city" because of the large explosion range of this rocket and the fact that a lot of combustibles were added to the inside, causing fires that were difficult to extinguish and could easily burn down large wooden buildings.

Of course, this thing was actually used to burn ships, but during the test, it was found that because it was too heavy, the hit rate was pitifully low, and it could not be used for sea combat at all, so it became a siege rocket.

In fact, there are still some high-performance bombs in the baggage cart of Albrech's team, which are dozens of times more powerful than black powder, but the technology of this picric acid explosive is not mature, and he does not want to sacrifice the lives of his soldiers unless he has to.

The soldiers of the fortress of Liège were still excited to hear about 10,000 florins, because this money was enough for them to spend the rest of their lives in other countries.

However, before they could persuade their comrades to surrender, the defenders of the fortress surrendered.

The advance party continued to advance, and Albrecht was to wait for follow-up reinforcements to consolidate the defense of the fortress of Liège. After all, it was the lifeblood of the German Confederation volunteers.

"I have one last question, who poured dirty water into the river?"

Albrecht was usually a very generous man, but he was unexpectedly cautious in some places.

Albrecht was just about to let his horse drink some water so that he could continue on his way, but when he saw a large amount of filth floating upstream, he immediately became angry and led the leading team to trace the source of the filth.

The Belgian captives pointed to the foreman.

"Let him eat all the filth in the river and tell the nearby residents that this person is polluting the water source."

Albrecht ordered.

"Spare your life! It was General Jorgen who asked me to do it, and I was forced to do it. ”

The foreman immediately begged for mercy.

"Where's General Jorgen?" Albrecht asked.

"At Moonlight Castle, he and the officers in the fortress went."

The foreman betrayed the general without even thinking about it.

"Take him with you, and we'll go to General Jørgen. Listen, it's a polluted water source ordered by General Jorgen, and you have to explain it to the inhabitants here. Did you hear it all? ”

Albrecht roared.

"Hear me." The captured Belgian servicemen nodded their heads.

So the advance party began to split up, some of them continued to advance towards Brussels, and the other part went to the city of Liège to capture General Jorgen.

Albrecht remembered what Franz called the model of the trial assembly.

When General Jorgen and his men were found, they were still immersed in the gentle countryside.

Soon the polluted guys were sent to the square in the center of the city, and then more black material was exposed, and General Jorgen was a disease lover who liked to watch people get sick and then record and observe for fun.

This kind of person made Albrecht feel disgusted, but he also knew very well that there were many such people in this world. So Albrecht, after the trial was completed, left it in the square in the center of the city.

Soon along the railway lines within the German Confederation, more volunteers were sent to the front. More than 10,000 people arrived in just three days, a number that was unimaginable before.

After receiving reinforcements, Albrecht moved on, but he soon received news that made him unbelievable.

King Leopold I of Belgium was captured, and the city of Brussels was captured.

(End of chapter)