I am the Crown Prince of France

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!" "Silesia will always belong to Austria!" "Destroy the Prussian thugs, and the glory of His Majesty will shine upon Silesia!" "Crown him King of Silesia!"

Outside Schönbrunn Palace, waves of excited cheers echoed into the conference room on the second floor.

Leopold II, who was discussing the ceasefire plan with Count Frentz and Baron Thugut, frowned and walked over to the window. From there, he saw a large crowd surging towards the palace.

He turned to one of his attendants and asked, "What are they shouting? What's going on out there?"

The attendant quickly stepped out to inquire and soon returned with a palace guard officer, who bowed and reported, "Your Majesty, it seems the people are celebrating a great victory."

"A great victory? What victory?" Leopold II asked with a hint of skepticism.

The officer quickly responded, "Your Majesty, there are rumors that Field Marshal Lacy defeated the Prussians at Legnica and pushed the front line to the southwest of Breslau..."

Baron Thugut almost burst out laughing but quickly stifled it, lowering his head. Breslau, the capital of Silesia, lay deep within the region. Currently, the Austrian army was stuck at the Legnica border, unable to advance further. Whoever spread these rumors clearly hadn't thought it through and had just gifted Lacy an entire province.

Leopold II shot a glare at his Foreign Minister and said angrily, "I hadn't paid much attention to those rumors, but I didn't expect people would actually believe them."

As the cheers outside grew louder, he irritably ordered the officer, "What are you standing around for? Send someone to refute these rumors and disperse the crowd."

Of course, the rumor of the "Great Victory at Legnica" was deliberately spread by Joseph under the direction of the French ambassador, Baron Alphonse. But this was just an appetizer.

Inside Schönbrunn Palace, Baron Ferrari, a staunch anti-Prussian, was waving a copy of The Vienna Daily and shouting from the staircase, "A great victory! Silesia has never been closer to returning home!"

He handed out copies of the newspaper to the dozens of nobles around him. "Look at this! It's all written in the papers."

"Oh, and I suggest we all donate to Field Marshal Lacy's army. I'll start with 300 florins."

The nobles eagerly flipped through the papers, excitedly discussing the news. "Field Marshal Lacy is incredible, killing 4,000 Prussian dogs!"

"This really is a victory! Fantastic!"

Those who had already seen the morning news were now instructing their servants to fetch money. "For Silesia, I'll donate 300 florins too."

"I'll donate 500 florins to the brave soldiers at Legnica..."

In this era without the internet, newspapers were the most authoritative source of information. For significant events like this, no one would doubt the reports—after all, every word was strictly censored by the secret police.

In fact, even in the early 20th century, courts would sometimes use newspaper content as evidence in trials.

With Baron Ferrari's enthusiastic promotion, the palace quickly became a buzz of excitement. Even those nobles with military backgrounds, who were skeptical of the news, didn't dare voice their doubts—doing so would likely result in being beaten by the fervent crowd.

As the officer prepared to leave to dispel the rumors, Baron Thugut suddenly stopped him, a thought crossing his mind. He then whispered to Leopold II, "Your Majesty, it might not be wise to directly refute these rumors right now."

"Oh? Why not?" Leopold II asked, puzzled.

"Think about it, Your Majesty. How exactly is Baron Duden supposed to address the crowd?"

Leopold II paused, his frown deepening. Indeed, how should they explain it? Should they say the victory was all a lie, that Austria wasn't nearly as strong as the rumors claimed? Should they admit that Lacy, with his 100,000-strong army, had been stuck at Legnica for nearly a year without significant progress? Should they tell the people to go home because Silesia isn't coming back anytime soon?

Austria was already in a state of unrest due to the emperor's reforms, with various factions harboring resentment. If the government openly admitted to such incompetence now, it could trigger a major crisis. Especially with the Hungarian nobles, who had long harbored separatist tendencies, this could inspire them to start a rebellion.

Human nature is such that when a country is consistently underperforming, people become desensitized. But if suddenly someone claims that Austria is rising, that its forces are invincible, people's expectations immediately soar. Trying to bring them back down to reality afterward would only lead to anger and despair.

"Wait!" Leopold II wiped the cold sweat from his brow, quickly calling back the officer, then instructed his attendant, "Summon the ministers. We need to seriously discuss this matter."

Count Frentz, a supporter of the pro-English faction, became visibly anxious. "Your Majesty, but if we don't dispel the rumors, how can we proceed with the ceasefire negotiations with Prussia?"

He knew all too well that if Austria's populace believed that Field Marshal Lacy had indeed retaken Legnica, the only logical course for Austria would be to seize Breslau while they had the momentum.

At such a time, anyone who suggested peace would undoubtedly be branded a traitor.

Even if they argued that Austria's finances were too strained to continue the war, once both armies had withdrawn, what would happen to the Legnica that Lacy had supposedly captured?

They couldn't possibly say it was handed back to those damned Prussians, could they?

Leopold II waved his hand irritably. "We'll discuss the ceasefire in the council meeting as well."

With that, he stormed out of the room.

Shortly after noon, Viscount Marquette, the "culprit" behind the fake news scandal, was dragged before Leopold II by the head of the Austrian secret police, Marquis Hartmann.

The unfortunate head of media censorship knew only that a merchant named Kugel had treated him to a day at "The Red Boot" to persuade him to help get his nephew off the hook for smuggling banned books.

Soon after, Marquette's aide and the assistant media censor, Harper, were also interrogated. The former claimed he had been mugged and tied up in an alley until rescued that morning.

The latter explained that he had seen a note with Viscount Marquette's signature, which had led him to approve the "victory" news.

Under Leopold II's pressing orders, the Austrian secret police worked with remarkable efficiency, presenting him with a preliminary investigation report by the next day at noon.

"Kugel's hometown is Szolnok, and he came to Vienna three years ago," reported Marquis Hartmann. "A week ago, he purchased Life and Truth, and it was from this newspaper that the false news first emerged."

"According to Viscount Marquette's aide, one of the robbers who assaulted him had a slight Hungarian accent."

"The forgery of Viscount Marquette's signature appears to be the work of these individuals."

Leopold II's face darkened as he stared at the report on his desk. "So, this matter is connected to the Hungarians?"

"It seems so, Your Majesty."

(End of Chapter)

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