"It seems that Elector Karl Theodor of Palatinate-Sulzbach is not close to us, so we don't need to be polite to him. I suggest that we wait until spring and send a small team to sneak into Bavaria in the name of attending the funeral of the Bavarian Count, capture Elector Theodor, and force him to declare his severance of relations with the Austrians," William said loudly.
After listening to William's words, Frederick thought for a while and said worriedly:
"Will this work? If not, we will create the impression that we are invaders in the eyes of the Bavarians, and European countries will also send people to mourn. This is a bit of a loss."
"We are not sending troops to Bavaria. We are just controlling Elector Theodore and forbidding the Austrians to pass through Bavaria in his name. Then we can deal with the Austrians without any worries," William replied.
"What if Elector Theodore doesn't listen to us?"
"Choose a child in our country and say he is the Count Bern's child. Let Elector Theodore give up his throne to him and then forge a will of Count Berne. Your Majesty should be able to do this. At the same time, let the Bavarian nobles we have won over question Elector Theodore. In this way, they will start haggling over the Bavarian issue first, and we will have enough time to prepare for war," William explained his ideas to Frederick.
"That's a good idea, but William, you have to understand that war is not as simple as you think. A war is full of variables, and it is impossible to predict the outcome of anything 100% in advance."
"But your majesty, how do you know that you will succeed if you don't try? Even if there is only a one percent chance, we should try our best, even if there is only a little reward," William retorted.
"Okay, I will consider your suggestion. Although Old Hans praised you a lot, I am surprised by your recent contacts. Let's put it this way. If you have time, go to Marshal Zieten's more often. I will say hello to Zieten's," Frederick said calmly.
"Okay, Your Majesty, as you wish," William said, bowed to Frederick and walked out.
"This kid..." Frederick shook his head and laughed.
In Brandenburg, our respected Crown Prince is spending time with his mistress, Wilhelmine von Lichtenau.
"Your Highness, look at that little William. He never greets me when he sees me. Besides, he is so rude to you," Lichtenberg said in a tender voice, leaning in the arms of His Highness the Crown Prince.
"Hmph, you don't have to worry about so many things. Just take care of yourself," said His Royal Highness the Crown Prince with a pale face when he heard Lichtnau mention little William.
"Your Highness, you see, His Majesty has named little William the Prince of Brandenburg. You didn't even get the title of Prince of Brandenburg when you were not crowned the Crown Prince," Lichtenberg said subconsciously when he saw the Crown Prince's face turn pale.
"These are none of your business. Look at what you usually do. Can't you be more respectful to Rocks and the others? Do you know how much trouble you have caused me? The uniforms of the soldiers in Lower Silesia were provided by your brother, right? Look at what they are. Do you know how many times Rocks has come to Your Majesty for this matter? Why did old Zieten's jump up and down and curse at me last time? It was all because of the mess you caused." His Royal Highness the Crown Prince became more and more angry and slapped Lichtnau.
"Your Highness, this is not my fault. There is absolutely no problem with my brother's materials. Didn't you inspect them last time? It must be old Qi Teng and the others who teamed up to bully us. We didn't get much profit from the soldiers' uniforms. My brother even paid for the renovation of the villa for you out of his own pocket. Tell me, do we two siblings have any resentment?" Lichtenaau cried to the Crown Prince after being slapped.
"Okay, I'll take care of this matter. Don't cause me trouble next time, hum." After saying that, the Crown Prince straightened his collar and walked out. However, the Crown Prince did not see the resentful eyes of Lichtenaus behind him.
After His Royal Highness the Crown Prince left, a man in a black robe came into Lichtenau's room and whispered:
"How is it? Have you learned about the deployment of the Prussian army?"
"No, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince never told me these things, but they purchased a large amount of military supplies and stored them on the Saxony border, and Prince Henry also led four regiments there. I guess that will be the starting point of the Prussians' attack." Lichtenberg changed his weak demeanor in front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and said calmly while sitting on the bed.
"Find out the movement of the Prussian army as soon as possible. Her Majesty the Queen also hopes that you can get their strategic plan from Frederick William II."
"No problem, I will work hard to get the information as soon as possible, please rest assured, Your Majesty," Lichtnau replied.
"That's good, Lichtenau, don't forget that you are an Austrian. You must put Austria's interests first."
"Long live the Queen, long live the Emperor," Lichtenau said firmly.
"Long live the Queen, long live the Emperor!" The man in black also shouted a slogan and left.
It turns out that Lichtenau was a pawn placed by the Austrians next to the Crown Prince. Poor Crown Prince.
On December 23, 1777, the future Russian Tsar Alexander I was born.
In the spring of 1778, the earth was still recovering. In order to prevent Prussia from interfering in his Bavaria attack, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor of the Habsburg-Lorraine Dynasty of Austria, ordered 10,000 Austrian troops to enter Bavaria at the beginning of the year.
When Frederick heard the news, he ordered the Prussian army to prepare for war, and at the same time tried to win over the small German states in the Holy Roman Empire. He also launched an impeachment against Joseph II within the empire.
In Bavaria, Charles, a candidate who also had the right of inheritance of the Wittelsbach family, was supported. With the support of Prussia, Charles announced to the people of Bavaria that the transaction between Elector Karl Theodor and the Austrians was an act of treason, and called on the people of Bavaria to attack Elector Karl Theodor.
When the Austrians entered Lower Bavaria, they found that rebels had sprung up like weeds overnight in Bavaria. These rebels used simple weapons to attack everywhere when the Austrians were relaxed. Austria's supply lines were riddled with holes. At this time, Elector Karl Theodor was forced by the domestic situation to declare the agreement with the Austrians invalid and would not accept any form of territorial exchange.
When Joseph II of Austria heard the news, he flew into a rage in the Austrian palace. He gritted his teeth and told his generals that he would turn the whole of Bavaria into ruins. Subsequently, the Austrians sent a large number of troops to Bavaria, and the Austrian Bavarian Front Army reached 60,000.
In early April 1778, Frederick the Great personally led the Prussian main force of 80,000 troops to Brandenburg to swear an oath of war. During the military parade, Frederick announced his edict to the entire army:
"We must do our best in this battle to avenge the Seven Years' War. The rise and fall of the kingdom depends on this one move. Soldiers should bravely move forward and kill all the enemies." The entire army shouted "Long live the king."