Chapter 178: The Second Alliance

In the waters near Ireland, the British had several frigates lost in succession. After a few ships were lost, the British finally understood what they were up against. However, they couldn't replicate the "Greek fire" yet, so they had to temporarily suspend their interception of these French frigates.

On the other hand, British diplomats began traveling across Europe once more, attempting to organize a new anti-French alliance.

Their first target for recruitment was, of course, Austria. At this point, Austria was also dissatisfied with the previous peace negotiations, which had not been in their favor. Furthermore, the areas that the French had occupied still had poor security, and the nobility had a hard time collecting rents, receiving only half of what they used to.

If it were just this region, Austria might have endured, but trouble was brewing elsewhere too. Other regions were following suit, demanding reduced rents and interest rates. This situation was becoming intolerable.

So, even though the British were persecuting Catholics and the Pope had called on all European Catholics to support the "Irish brothers," in the eyes of the self-proclaimed Emperor of the counterfeit Roman Empire, the French were worse than the British.

Of course, if the Austrian army couldn't defeat the French, the Emperor had no choice but to bear with it. But now, the Austrians had just made significant progress in military technology. In the previous war, Austria had successfully replicated the Minié rifles and revolvers, which had previously caused chaos in their ranks. So when the Emperor asked Archduke Karl, "Can our army now stand against the French?" The Archduke replied:

"Your Majesty, the situation is much better than before. However, our infantry still can't compare to the French. Their infantry, especially their skirmishers, are superior to ours. And I believe that, after all this time, their line infantry won't be as untrained as they were at the beginning of the last war. So, while we have similar weapons now, overall, our infantry is still inferior to the French infantry.

Of course, we have some advantages. With our cavalry, equipped with these new weapons, we should be able to regain our edge against the French. But, Your Majesty, even with these improvements, France remains stronger overall. Austria cannot win against France in the short term."

"What if Prussia joins us?"

"Even that won't be enough," Archduke Karl said. "Unless Russia also joins. Without both Prussia and Russia, Austria will not be able to join the war against France. Moreover, Russia must send its troops openly, not like the last time when they claimed to be at war with the French but the French soldiers didn't even know the color of their uniforms until the peace talks."

So the British went to find the Russians and the Prussians.

The Russians were quite willing to teach the French a lesson this time. This was because the great Empress had passed away, and her successor was not as cunning. It was also because the French had been ungrateful. They forgot how Russia had helped them in the past, delaying Prussia and Austria significantly. Without Russian support, Paris would have fallen long ago.

However, the French were ungrateful and sold dangerous goods to the Poles. The Poles used these to carry out assassinations daily. Although there weren't that many assassinations in reality, it frightened the Russian nobility in Poland. They were afraid to hold parties as they used to, which was intolerable.

Furthermore, Russia and France did not share a border, so if they sent troops and the war went badly, they could simply withdraw. The risk was limited. They could also use this opportunity to ask the British and their other allies for money and technology.

Persuading Prussia, on the other hand, was not as easy. The Russians were not concerned about their safety, but the Prussians were. After all, unlike the previous time, after occupying the Rhine region, the French were at Prussia's doorstep. If they got into a war and didn't win – and that was a real possibility – what would Prussia do then?

So, the Russians asked for money and technology, and the Prussians initially said they loved peace and suggested that the British should retake Hanover before they would consider joining. However, the British didn't have the forces to do that with their hands full in Ireland.

At this time, Duke of Norfolk's second major sweep had been prepared for a while and was officially underway. This time, he used 40,000 British troops and an equal number of "Irish Security Forces." The Duke believed that these people, although poorly trained for battle, still had their uses. They could clear mines and set off explosives while advancing. They could also be sent to deal with rebel forces that were not well-trained or fully armed, including women and children. They had their uses.

Of course, using them came with problems. Secrecy decreased due to their involvement, and the military's speed of movement dropped significantly. The "Irish Security Forces" couldn't match the training of the British troops.

However, considering that the Irish United Federation had learned its lesson after the first major sweep, there was no way they'd make the same mistake twice. So, this time, even without the 40,000 "Irish Security Forces," it wouldn't be easy for the British to achieve the same surprise attack as before. But, for the tasks these people were assigned, it didn't require high levels of training. As for capturing guerrilla forces that might evade due to slower movement, the clergy had donkeys, and the church didn't have legs. The guerrillas couldn't run away forever. Even if the villagers had hidden and run, their villages couldn't move. Although the British army didn't have time or energy to destroy crops, they had brought 40,000 pigs. Was there a more efficient way to ruin crops than letting those pigs loose?

However, pigs were not good at keeping secrets. Especially after the recent attacks by the guerrillas on the "Irish Security Forces," many of them had started to cooperate secretly with the guerrillas. They claimed to be Irish themselves, only doing this for a meal, and they didn't really want to harm their fellow Irish. Some even openly said, "We're Irish at heart, even though we're with the English." This made the upcoming sweep almost an open secret. The Irish United Federation had already gathered information about the British forces' timing, numbers, and targets.

Still, this didn't alleviate the pressure of the impending sweep. It was like playing poker, and the opponent had an excellent hand. Even if the cards were face up, there wasn't necessarily a way to counter them. Of course, the United Federation had prepared over time, improvising as necessary for moving the population. For example, they dug hiding holes in hilly villages, created safe passages and temporary shelters in marshy areas, and utilized intelligence.

Although these efforts helped, they didn't ease everyone's worries because the primary target of the British sweep wasn't people but the agricultural production in the United Federation. The potato harvest season was approaching, and if the British wreaked havoc at this critical time, it would lead to significant agricultural damage, possibly plunging the entire Federation into an artificial famine.

This grim prospect weighed heavily on the minds of most United Federation members. Some comrades hoped that our comrades in France could send us more food to ensure there would be no famine in the Federation. But when we calculated the amount of food needed, we quickly realized that this hope was unrealistic.

Others hoped that our comrades in France could organize a large army to land in Ireland and fight alongside us on the main battlefield against the British. However, when we were in Toulon, we knew that the shipping capacity from France to Ireland couldn't support a large army for regular warfare.

So, some comrades suggested that we fight the British head-on, even if it meant risking our lives, which would be better than starving. But that was not a solution. We were fighting for the betterment of the Irish people, not to lead them to their deaths.

At a time when everyone felt hopeless, our friend, Mr. Joseph Bonaparte, after understanding the current situation, sent us a letter. His letter was like a gust of wind that blew away the dark clouds and fog that blocked our path to victory, revealing a golden road to success."