General Reo, who had become a bargaining chip in the ongoing battle, was on the verge of tears.

During his time in the Southern Netherlands, every time he followed General Lefebvre, they emerged victorious, giving him the illusion that "I can do it too." But now, seeing Prussian forces encircling him from the west, north, and east—while the south was blocked by the Sudetes Mountains—he had come to a harsh realization of his own limitations.

The enemy wasn't in any rush to attack. Instead, they set up infantry lines on all the main roads, positioned cannons on both flanks, and kept cavalry moving between the lines to support where needed.

In the five days since the encirclement, Reo had launched over a dozen charges, only to be repelled each time. His corps was now filled with an overwhelming sense of despair, and if it weren't for his reputation as the "Spear of the Southern Netherlands," morale would have already collapsed.

Through his telescope, Reo watched as his artillery attempted to edge closer to the enemy lines, only to be driven back by Prussian cavalry. He slumped back into his chair in despair. How could Lefebvre's corps position their cannons right in front of the enemy and bombard them with ease, yet he couldn't manage it at all?

"If only I hadn't left so many soldiers in Wałbrzych…"

As Reo wallowed in self-pity, his aide suddenly rushed over, shouting, "General, there seems to be a force approaching the Prussian lines from the west!"

"Great news!" Reo sprang to his feet, rubbing his hands in excitement. "It must be Colonel Lefebvre coming to rescue us. Quick, spread the word to the troops! Tell them to hold on a little longer!"

However, three hours passed, and there was still no sign of movement from the "French reinforcements."

Reo began to worry, repeatedly asking his aide, "Could it be Prussian reinforcements, preparing to attack us?"

"Well... I don't know…" the aide replied thoughtfully. "The enemy's lines haven't moved, so it doesn't seem like they're preparing to attack."

If reinforcements had arrived, the existing infantry lines would have had to shift to make room for the additional troops.

Reo felt a little relieved, but then the sound of cannon fire echoed from the northwest.

He jumped up and rushed to the highest point in his command post—a low hill—where he used his telescope to look towards the source of the cannon fire. He saw smoke rising in the distance.

"It's not the Prussians surrounding us?" he muttered in confusion, turning to his aide. "Who's fighting who out there?"

About ten kilometers from Erwin's encirclement, where the smoke was rising, Blücher was furiously yelling at his cavalry captain.

"Idiot! How could you mistake their uniforms and not even check their flags?"

Just over an hour earlier, Blücher had led his troops to the west of Ratibor, preparing to rendezvous with Erwin, when he unexpectedly discovered an Austrian army less than three kilometers away, quietly deploying in formation.

He was so furious he nearly shot the hussar commander on the spot.

In fairness, it wasn't entirely the hussars' fault—uniforms in this era were often confusing, with some officers even designing their own uniforms for their soldiers, using their personal funds, which their superiors generally overlooked. The Prussian hussars had indeed spotted the Austrian troops but, seeing their green uniforms, assumed they were from Hanover—there was, in fact, a Hanoverian unit stationed near Ratibor. So, they hadn't bothered to investigate further.

Luckily, when the messenger Blücher had sent to communicate with Erwin was killed on his way back, Blücher realized the presence of an Austrian force and quickly ordered his troops to form a defensive line in the nearest suitable location.

On the other side, when General Wilhelm saw the Prussians suddenly halt, he guessed that they had discovered his presence and immediately ordered a surprise attack.

Blücher's cavalry saved his corps from disaster—perhaps in an effort to make up for their earlier reconnaissance failure, they bravely harassed and stalled the Austrians, suffering significant casualties but buying enough time for the infantry to form their lines.

Soon, over ten thousand Prussian and Austrian soldiers clashed on the battlefield, with the thunder of cannons and the cries of the wounded filling the air as night fell.

It wasn't until the following morning that Blücher and Wilhelm, two old adversaries who had recently fought in the Southern Netherlands, finally realized who they were up against. Both immediately knew it would be impossible to defeat the other quickly—something they had confirmed multiple times in the Southern Netherlands—so they both sent messengers to their respective commanders to request reinforcements.

Austrian Silesian Army Command.

Joseph examined the bulletproof plates that had just arrived, carefully fitting them into the "pockets" on the front of his uniform. At the same time, he complained to the Chief of Staff, "Only 5,000 men? Lacy is being stingy."

Berthier replied, "Your Highness, the Prussians haven't moved too many troops either, so Marshal Lacy believes 5,000 reinforcements should be enough to resolve the situation at Ratibor."

He had just returned from Lacy's strategy meeting and learned that, as Prince Joseph had predicted, both Prussian and Austrian reinforcements had clashed at Ratibor, with General Wilhelm requesting additional support.

Joseph stood up and jumped up and down to test the weight—four plates weren't too cumbersome, barely affecting his movement. Based on this, he figured that an adult should have no problem carrying five plates.

He tapped the plate on his chest and said to Berthier, "Please distribute the plates to the soldiers as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Highness. In fact, they were distributed to each company by noon."

"You're always so thorough," Joseph nodded in approval before walking towards the tent's exit. "Now, I need to add fuel to the fire at Ratibor. If Marshal Lacy continues to be so tight-fisted, who knows how long it will take for the opportunity I'm waiting for to arise."

Twenty minutes later.

Marshal Lacy's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the young French prince. "Your Highness, there's no need for this. Deploying so many troops to Ratibor is meaningless…"

"No, Marshal, General Reo is an old friend of mine. We have a deep bond," Joseph said earnestly. "He could be killed by the Prussians at any moment, and it's making me lose sleep."

"But there's no need to involve General Kellermann! Your Highness, this could affect the situation at Liegnitz."

Kellermann was the commander of the 30,000-strong old French army stationed in Silesia.

Joseph thought to himself, That's exactly why I want to break the stalemate at Liegnitz.

He looked at Marshal Lacy and spoke with determination, "General Kellermann will lead 20,000 troops and rescue General Reo within a week. During this time, you just need to focus on defending, and Liegnitz will be secure."

(Chapter ends)

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