The Fox of France

Chapter 167: Peace and Business (5)

When the British troops stationed in Dublin arrived at the Governor's Mansion, the despicable attackers had already disappeared. The mansion was in ruins, littered with bodies in all directions. As the soldiers began to clear the bodies, several explosions occurred - the attackers had planted booby traps near the corpses. For instance, there were fine wires attached to the belts of the bodies, connected to landmines. There were also several such devices behind doors and windows.

As a result, the arriving British troops were killed or injured by a dozen or so more explosions, causing everyone to become terrified while they continued to search the area.

The British soldiers cautiously approached the entrance to the Governor's office. The office's mahogany door was slightly ajar, and it seemed like the owner was still inside. They exchanged uneasy glances, afraid to push the door open, not knowing if it would explode upon doing so.

"Um, does anyone have something long?" an officer asked.

"I remember there's a half of a flagpole over there," a soldier shouted, "I'll go fetch it."

The soldier went outside and, moments later - "Boom!"

"Captain, Captain, Jim's dead!"

"Damn it!" The captain angrily threw his hat to the ground. "Harry, go to the neighboring houses and requisition a clothesline pole."

A small soldier quickly complied and returned with several clothesline poles.

"Lieutenant, we have a few clothesline poles here. Let's connect them; it'll be safer."

"Good idea! Sharp lad!" the captain praised.

A group of them skillfully connected the clothesline poles, and the captain waved his hand. Everyone silently stepped back. The captain lay on the ground and extended the nearly ten-meter-long pole, carefully pushing the door open. The door opened quietly without any explosion.

The captain angrily rose to his feet, suddenly experiencing the painful and infuriating feeling of his intelligence being trampled, thinking of Jim, who had been killed earlier for fetching the broken flagpole.

However, despite his anger, the captain reminded himself to remain calm; otherwise, they might fall into a trap.

He carefully approached the door, peered inside, and saw a naked, obese corpse hanging under the crystal chandelier in the middle of the office. The captain recognized this body as the Duke of Bedford, the governor!

"This is a big problem!" the captain thought, "I wonder how many people will lose their heads over this incident..."

At this moment, other soldiers started to enter the office.

"Don't wander around, don't touch anything! Don't lower the body, there might be explosives," the captain quickly warned.

"Lieutenant, there's writing on the governor's body!" a soldier shouted.

The captain, who had been focused on looking for mines, was now drawn to this information. He hurried to the body of the Duke and saw that the rebels had inscribed the words "The fate of invaders!" on his chest with a knife.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew in, causing the hanged corpse to rotate, revealing more writing on its back, "This is your future!" Between the buttocks was a long knife.

The British people were shaken by this attack on their empire, and it reverberated throughout the entire United Kingdom and even Europe. After all, it had been many years since such a high-ranking figure in the British Empire had been killed in one fell swoop.

Prime Minister Pitt addressed the members of Parliament in the House of Commons, condemning the crime of "shocking terrorism" committed by the French and local insurgents and vowing to "fight fire with fire." He also proposed additional funds to conscript and train more troops to suppress the rebellion in Ireland.

"We will make those rebels regret their actions, and they, as well as their descendants, will never dare to look us in the eye or entertain thoughts of rebellion again!"

Pitt made these strong statements.

As for European nations, Prussia expressed its deep regret over the incident and urged restraint, warning against actions that could worsen the situation. Austria suggested that French merchants should control the export of dangerous weapons, especially to unstable regions, and consider the moral implications of arms trade. The Russian government sympathized with the British, suggesting that the French should stop exporting dangerous weapons, especially those easy to conceal. However, the new Tsar also called for a reflection on the British government's actions in Ireland.

Even the Pope issued a statement, hoping that in these tragic times, Irish Catholics would not suffer unfair treatment and calling on the British government to learn from the incident and stop the persecution of Irish Catholics.

As for the French, Lucien Robespierre, in the National Assembly, stated, "What happened in Ireland is not a rebellion but a desperate cry from oppressed and enslaved people. The great French people will forever stand with those oppressed and enslaved around the world, with truth and justice. We are not afraid of the British's loud and empty threats; we will continue to support the Irish people in their struggle for freedom and liberation."

Of course, after leaving the National Assembly, Lucien Robespierre visited the Minister of Public Safety, Joseph Fouch, under heavy protection, to discuss how to combat the possible destructive actions of British terrorists.

In Ireland, the British army had already set out to subdue the areas where the rebels were most likely hiding...

A squadron of British cavalry charged into a remote Irish village. Lieutenant William Tarleton was ordered to clear out the insurgents here. Of course, the insurgents would never admit to being insurgents. So, he told the soldiers that any Irishman who ran upon seeing them was surely a frightened insurgent. Any Irishman who didn't run was a trained and elite insurgent. Any Irishman who claimed to be an insurgent was undoubtedly lawless. Any Irishman who denied being an insurgent was the most dangerous and cunning insurgent. In short, behead them all, burn down their village.

However, as the cavalry charged into the village, they found that not a single person was left. All the doors were securely shut.

"Where are the people? Where did they all go?" Lieutenant Tarleton looked around in confusion.

"I can't believe they all managed to hide underground!" Lieutenant Tarleton muttered. "Dismount, and let's find those scoundrels!"

The cavalry dismounted, and a soldier kicked open a door of a dilapidated house, then - "Boom!"

"Don't enter the house! Set it on fire, burn down the buildings!" Lieutenant Tarleton shouted.

Someone went to the woodpile to prepare to burn the houses, and then they stepped on something - "Boom!" They suddenly had a boot with a foot still inside right in front of them.

At that moment, a gunshot rang out from the distance, and a soldier fell to the ground.

"Insurgents! Insurgents over there!" Lieutenant Tarleton drew his command sword and pointed to the left. Everyone turned to look, and they saw a figure holding a rifle, running toward them.

The cavalrymen began to shoot at the figure, but their guns were ineffective at a distance and their aim was off. So, several of them mounted their horses, drew their sabers, and galloped after the person, and then - "Boom!"

At the same time, several gunshots rang out from another direction.

"Insurgents, insurgents over there!"

A soldier rushed to a corner to avoid the insurgents' gunfire, but then - "Boom!"

Bullets were coming from all directions. However, the insurgents had limited firepower, but their shots caused "Boom" after "Boom." This inflicted significant casualties on the British troops as they tried to evade the gunfire or chase after the insurgents. This continuous "Boom" led to more casualties.

Lieutenant Tarleton realized that if they continued like this, he would only suffer further losses. Additionally, it was getting dark, and with nightfall, who knew how many insurgents would...

Suddenly, an unidentified individual took the initiative, and everyone joined in singing a rhythmic, uplifting song they had learned in their training camp in Toulon:

"Bury the landmines, take up your guns,

Lay out a battlefield far and wide.

Definitely eliminate the invaders,

Arm ourselves to defend our homeland..."

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