Chapter 841: Chapter 749: The Warning from the Walloon Chamber of Commerce

Count Radetsky glanced at the sky, frowned slightly, and said to his staff officer: “Order the troops to speed up. We must enter Wavre before nightfall.”

His orders were to seize control of the Walloon Region’s transportation hub–Namur–as quickly as possible.

Given the possibility of France interfering in the Walloon Region’s situation, the sooner he arrived, the more time he would have for preparations.

However, just as his order was issued, a short bugle call suddenly rang out from the front of the column–a signal indicating an issue ahead and instructing those behind to halt.

Count Radetsky didn’t have to wait long. A cavalry captain rode swiftly from the vanguard, saluted him, and reported: “General, there’s a group of people blocking the road. Among them appear to be Walloon Chamber of Commerce officials and reporters.”

Radetsky frowned and sneered coldly: “Do these fools think they can block us the same way they stopped the Brussels security force?”

Just a day earlier, the security force sent by the Flemish Region’s government to “quell the unrest” in the Walloon Region was intercepted by Walloon Police. Ashamed, they retreated to Brussels, with over ten members even being arrested by the Walloon Police.

Count Radetsky spurred his horse forward along the road to the front of the column, where he saw dozens of Walloon Region officials linking arms to block the road. Flanking them stood more than a dozen individuals who appeared to be reporters.

He turned his head slightly to signal his attendant.

The attendant immediately stepped forward and declared loudly: “General Radetsky, acting under the orders of His Majesty the Emperor, has come to resolve the unrest in the Walloon Region. You must disperse at once, or you will be considered defying His Majesty the Emperor.”

One of the officials blocking the road stepped forward, walked up to Count Radetsky’s horse, and handed a document to the attendant. His expression was solemn as he stated: “On behalf of the Walloon Chamber of Commerce, I formally protest the Austrian Army’s violation of the Walloon demilitarized zone!

“Leave immediately, or the Chamber will authorize the Walloon Police to detain you.”

Count Radetsky exchanged glances with the officers beside him, then suddenly burst into uproarious laughter. “Haha! Did you hear what he said? Detain us?”

“He dares to threaten the Emperor’s army? Truly laughable!”

“I think he must have lost his mind.”

Count Radetsky tore the document into pieces and tossed it to the ground, impatiently waving to the officer beside him. “Disperse them.”

“Yes, General!”

The officer quickly issued a string of commands. Hundreds of soldiers immediately surrounded the area, their muzzles aimed diagonally into the air.

The next moment, a deafening volley of gunfire erupted, causing the Walloon Chamber of Commerce representatives to flinch backward in alarm.

The officer pointed forward again, and the soldiers behind him leveled their guns horizontally, aiming at the crowd blocking the road.

“Thieves! You’re nothing but thieves!”

“You will be punished!”

The Chamber representatives protested angrily as they reluctantly scattered to clear the road.

The reporters, meanwhile, thrilled, scribbled furiously in their notebooks, eager to return and break this massive story.

With that, the Austrian Army continued its advance. Count Radetsky, on the other hand, discussed with his officers whether His Majesty would order an invasion of French territory after Namur was secured.

But the Austrian vanguard didn’t travel another five kilometers before coming to another halt.

“What now?” Count Radetsky asked irritably, looking ahead.

Soon, the same cavalry officer returned in haste, though his expression was no longer as composed as before. “General, the hussars have spotted a significant number of Walloon Police 1,500 yards to the south.”

Count Radetsky smirked disdainfully. In his mind, police were nothing more than government-controlled rabble.

“Police? How many?”

“More than 2,000, General,” the captain replied.

“Quite the crowd,” Count Radetsky scoffed, turning to his staff officer. “Androshch, which unit is in charge of advance security?”

After a moment’s thought, the latter replied: “It’s Lieutenant Colonel Busek’s Delna Independent Group.”

Count Radetsky nodded and ordered, “Have Busek drive away those pests. He has two hours to complete the task.”

“Yes, General!”

An independent group had over 1,400 soldiers, more than enough to handle 2,000 police officers.

Moreover, the skirmishers’ ability to spread out quickly minimized disruption to the march, making them ideal for this kind of “easy cleanup.”

One hour later.

Lieutenant Colonel Busek peered through his binoculars at the neat gray-and-white infantry line–or more accurately, a police line–drawn up near the treeline to the south. He frowned slightly.

“Why are those police officers practicing line formation drills?”

But his attention was soon drawn to the taut ropes strung in front of the police officers. He relaxed.

They were tools meant to help new recruits maintain alignment and also to prevent them from scattering.

Clearly, these police officers were just posturing with a show of unity.

Lowering his binoculars, he turned to his group’s staff officer and asked, “Are we ready?”

“Yes, Colonel, we can attack at any time.”

“What are we waiting for? Teach these ignorant fools a proper lesson.”

Immediately, the rhythmic beat of drums filled the air as the soldiers of the Delna Independent Group spread into a wedge formation 1.5 kilometers wide and began pressing southward.

…

Wafuer North Suburb.

Bourget licked his lips nervously as he heard the distant, steady drumbeat. Beads of sweat trickled incessantly down his temple.

In his training days at the Paris Police Academy, his instructors would always emphasize, “You must always be prepared to tackle any dangerous situation and defeat any enemy.”

But the most formidable foes he had ever faced were gangs of some 30 armed thugs.

Now, however, what was marching toward him was an entire regiment of professional soldiers!

“Hey, Aloys, do you think we’re going to die here?”

The round-faced young policeman to his left wiped the sweat from his palms and gritted his teeth. “Have you forgotten? These guys are here to seize the whole Walloon Region. We have to drive them back!”

A broad-foreheaded officer in the rear nodded emphatically. “I’m not going back to how life was three years ago. Damn Austrians.”

His words drew nods of agreement from the surrounding officers.

Indeed, under Austrian rule, the Walloon Region had almost no meaningful industry. Heavy taxes had left people impoverished.

To the Flemish, who had access to the prosperous Antwerp Port, the Walloons were nothing but poor bumpkins.

That changed three years ago when France and Austria signed the Walloon Region Demilitarized Zone Agreement. A flood of French merchants had come to the Walloon Region to develop coal mines and invest in factories, sparking rapid prosperity.

Even people from the Flemish Region started flocking to the Walloon Region for work.

Most of these policemen had family and friends whose livelihoods now depended on the newly built coal mines and ironworks.

They knew full well that the Austrian incursion wasn’t to help develop the Walloon Region.

No, Austria was here to take everything by force!

They had to protect this new life for the Walloon people.