Chapter 391: Secret Weapon from New Zealand
Chapter 392 Secret Weapon from New Zealand
A group of Maoris boarded the pier under the leadership of the leader Fernan Dufresne, and then took a sedan carried by local people to the city of Mangalore.
A few days later.
North of Mangalore, here is the forward camp of the Mysore Army, stationed with more than 5,000 Mysore soldiers, as well as 100 Tunisian elites brought by Lafayette - Tunisian soldiers are absolutely here They are of superior quality - and less than 15 kilometers to the north of them is the British defense line set up in southern North Kannada.
After Lafayette inspected the camp as usual, he looked at the British stronghold with some boredom.
After his recent repeated reconnaissance, it was basically confirmed that there were only 1,200 British troops and 3,000 to 5,000 Maratha soldiers, the British allies in India.
Judging from the previous battles, as long as the 12,000 troops concentrated here are fully committed to the attack, it is possible to break through North Kannada within a month.
However, in the letter sent from Paris just last week, the Crown Prince asked him to prepare for defense with all his strength and not to attack on a large scale. At most, he could only disrupt the British supply line.
This made him feel as uncomfortable as watching his beloved mistress flirting with him without even a trace, while his hands and feet were tied and unable to move at all.
At this moment, his Tunisian staff officer came quickly, raised his hat and saluted him:
"General, those Pacific natives are coming."
Lafayette nodded and left the camp with more than a dozen officers to greet the Maoris. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince seemed to attach great importance to these natives, so he had to treat them with caution and courtesy.
In the northernmost town of Mangalore, Lafayette and Fernand Dufresne greeted each other and said politely:
"I have heard about your uncle's deeds. He only led a colonization team of a few hundred people and obtained a colony for His Majesty the King that is about the same size as the United Kingdom."
This Fernan is the nephew of Dufresne, the captain of the New Zealand development team.
The leader of the Maori team said hurriedly:
"If my uncle knew that the great hero who defeated the British in the Far East praised him so much, he would drink happily until he fell drunk."
Lafayette said as he looked at the group of dark-skinned Maoris with strange hairstyles behind Fernand, and frowned slightly subconsciously. The black lines tattooed on the face by the natives reminded him unconsciously of ferocious beasts.
"Ahem," he coughed dryly to cover up his inappropriate expression, and said to Fernando, "What exactly are they going to do? His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said in his letter to me that they have excellent military skills, but to be honest, I think they may not be able to integrate into my army..."
Magnus, who was standing in the back row, suddenly waved his hand and interrupted: "You are that very powerful general..."
He looked at Fernan and asked in a low voice: "Is it the word 'general'?"
After receiving a positive answer, he loudly said to Lafayette: "Mr. Fernand often talked about you on the ship.
"Oh, by the way, we are here to help you build 'Pa'."
He gestured to the more than thirty strong Maori men behind him: "We are all experts in repairing the 'Pa' in the tribe."
Lafayette was obviously a little surprised that these natives could speak French, but he quickly noticed a word just mentioned by the Maori:
"Pa? What is that?"
Fernan hurriedly explained to him: "It is a kind of Maori simple fortress. Although they look a bit crude, they can indeed play a very good defensive role."
After hearing this, Nikau danced and gestured: "We need to first choose a high ground, flatten the top, and then cut some thick tree trunks to surround it. Then build a tall tower in the middle..."
When the commander of the engineering battalion behind Lafayette heard "protect the tower with three circles of wooden fence", he finally laughed disdainfully, and then said to Lafayette:
"General, I think this primitive... ah, let's call it a fortress, can't defend the British army at all. You know, the British don't use spears and bows and arrows, they have cannons, and Heavy artillery. I think that if we need to build a defense system, we should also choose bastions.”
He is an old subordinate brought by Lafayette from France. He is a serious officer who graduated from the engineering major of the Valois Military Academy. He is very familiar with building forts.
Lafayette nodded and looked at Fernand:
"You see, as Major Gaston said, the bastion is more suitable when dealing with the British. Perhaps your people can help him build it."
"Yes, General, the bastion is very effective." Fernan considered the wording, and in the end the adventurer's character made him choose to be straightforward, "But 'Pa' is more suitable for the situation in Mysore. This is the crown prince Your Highness’s intention.”
"How is this possible?" Major Gaston waved his hand disdainfully, "You must have misunderstood His Highness..."
Fernan's eyes turned around:
"Mr. Major, how long will it take you to build a bastion?"
"It depends on the scale." Gaston said, "In an emergency, a temporary bastion on the front line can be built in only three months."
Fernan nodded, and then gestured to the Maori behind him.
Magnus immediately said: "If we have enough manpower, it will take one month to build a 'Pa'."
Fernan continued: "Mr. Major, apart from the speed of construction, there is almost no investment in building Pa, if there is no need to pay the salaries of Indian laborers."
Gaston paused, Tipu Sultan conscripted serfs to work, not to mention wages, even food had to be provided by the serfs themselves. And building a bastion by yourself would cost at least 30,000 to 40,000 livres, and this was the simplest bastion. If you want it to be strong and durable, the cost would increase tenfold.
"As for the defensive effect," Fernan looked at the major, "although the 'Pa' is far inferior to the bastion, it can greatly delay the British offensive.
"As long as there are enough, this thing will become a nightmare for the British!"
"But..."
Gaston wanted to say something else, but was interrupted by Lafayette:
"Okay, let the local officials of Mangalore fully assist Mr. Dufresne. But at important nodes, some bastions should also be built. "
He had received instructions from the French General Staff to cooperate with the Maori to strengthen the defense of Mysore.
Although he did not believe in the natives' "fortress", he saw that Fernando was very persistent and it was not easy to stop it by force.
In the days that followed, the British and Mysore sides were busy with their own things. In this boring silence, time passed quickly.
Half a month later.
When Lafayette saw the first "Pa" built in the northwest of Mangalore, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise.
As an experienced officer, he realized at the first sight of this thing that it was absolutely useful!
