Chapter 216: The Irish Crisis

Indeed, the British steamships were rather mediocre in terms of technology. In Joseph's words, they were, "technically complete garbage! Every aspect of them lags far behind us. I spent a whopping fifty thousand francs, and all I got was one piece of valuable information: British steamships are garbage!"

It was true that the paddlewheel steamship was a technical failure. As a warship, the exposed paddlewheel was its most glaring vulnerability, hampering the arrangement of cannons. In military terms, such vessels had limited utility. As civilian vessels, their propulsion efficiency was low, and their structural weight was astonishingly high. They not only added significant weight to the ships but also consumed a considerable amount of valuable space with their auxiliary transmission mechanisms. Moreover, paddlewheels were prone to single-side immersion in rough seas, causing them to spin freely and leading to various mechanical failures. In short, compared to propellers, paddlewheels had almost no advantages except for their intimidating appearance.

However, despite Joseph's criticism, these "outdated garbage" had caused some trouble for the French.

Within a single working cycle, four clipper ships failed to return from Ireland. Several other returning clipper ships lost all their cargo. According to these shaken captains, they had encountered British steamships billowing black smoke chasing them at sea.

At the same time, British newspapers published reports of the "heroic Royal Navy" capturing French clipper ships, boosting the morale of the downcast English.

The French, of course, immediately countered with the story of Captain Morel capturing British steamships. This story not only made its way into newspapers but was quickly adapted to the theater stage. On stage, Captain Morel appeared gallant, but the most notable aspect was the portrayal of the British, nearly on par with the portrayal of the Germans in the classic French film "Escape from the Jaws of Death."

However, this propaganda war did not change the situation at sea. As the British deployed more and more steamships, the supplies that the French could transport to Ireland decreased significantly. Eventually, French ships had to wait offshore, far from Ireland, only approaching when the weather conditions were relatively adverse. (After all, paddlewheels became useless in rough seas.)

Even with this approach, the lifeline to Ireland suffered a severe blockage. For the British, it was crucial to take advantage of this time and inflict heavy damage on the Irish, even if they couldn't completely eliminate the Irish insurgents. That would at least weaken them.

Thus, the Duke of Norfolk received orders to swiftly deal a heavy blow, or even eliminate the insurgents, along with a royal command: "Crack down harder on illegal religious organizations disloyal to the king."

The Duke of Norfolk stated that both tasks were challenging and required additional troops. He insisted on a force of at least one hundred thousand soldiers.

It was unprecedented in British history to mobilize such a large army. Such an excessive demand would naturally not be approved by the government. Nevertheless, the Duke of Norfolk made this request with his own intentions in mind.

First, it was a classic negotiation tactic – ask for a lot to get something reasonable. If he asked for just fifty thousand troops, the government would likely haggle down further, leaving him with only twenty-five thousand. So, he had to start with a big number, "I need one hundred thousand!"

Secondly, it was a way to prepare an escape route for the future. In case of failure (even though the Irish faced difficulties, completely eliminating them was not easy, and the probability of failure was far greater than one in a thousand), he would have a reason to shift responsibility.

The Duke of Norfolk's intentions were well understood by all. Bureaucratic institutions had operated this way for years. Only a fool would give subordinates everything they asked for, leaving no room for excuses, leading to a risky situation and ultimate disaster for all.

So, in keeping with tradition, after some back-and-forth negotiation, the government sent him over forty thousand troops, almost entirely composed of new recruits.

The Duke of Norfolk, on the surface, naturally expressed great dissatisfaction. In his letter to the Prime Minister, he even spoke quite disrespectfully. But everyone knew that the Duke of Norfolk was actually quite satisfied. His complaints were merely a way to secure his own retreat.

The Duke of Norfolk understood that the newly added troops were inexperienced and not adequately trained. However, even these fresh recruits were better than the "Irish Security Forces." At least, there hadn't been any reports of proper British troops switching sides so far.

In the upcoming major sweep, the Duke of Norfolk needed to leave enough troops to defend his own territory. He couldn't afford a situation where he sent troops to raid enemy bases while his own bases were stolen. The primary use of these over forty thousand fresh recruits was to secure vital locations and ensure the safety of their rear during the sweep.

As for the somewhat unreliable "Irish Security Forces," they were quite useful during the sweep. For activities like destroying potatoes in non-security areas, was it necessary for regular troops to handle them?

So, after deploying these fresh recruits to various garrisons and fortifying the defense of these locations, the Duke of Norfolk initiated another large-scale sweep against the Irish.

However, the timing of this sweep wasn't ideal. According to the Duke's original plan, the major sweep was supposed to wait until just before the potato harvest. But the government was eager for good news, and the Duke himself knew that the French supply lines weren't entirely cut off. Delaying for two months until the potato harvest would have dealt a more significant blow to the Irish insurgents. Right now, with the potatoes just planted, launching an attack and trampling over their fields would still allow the Irish some time to replant. Although this would inevitably reduce the final yield, it was better than being hit just before the harvest.

But postponing for such a long time would put more pressure on the government, which needed uplifting news at this time. Additionally, several months would give the insurgents more time to prepare. When the sweep was launched, the gains might be more substantial, but the losses would also be more significant.

Moreover, the British were currently enjoying a temporary advantage at sea with their "world-leading technology," but who knew if there would be changes in the future?

The Duke of Norfolk couldn't keep the preparation for another large-scale sweep a secret, and the United Irishmen's Association had already obtained intelligence. This was because there were many individuals within the "Irish Security Forces" who had conflicting loyalties.

So, even before the Duke of Norfolk could act, the United Irishmen's Association had already convened a meeting to discuss countering the sweep.

"What should we do? Of course, it's the same as last time – the enemy comes to our homes, and we go to theirs. Everyone fights on their own, let's see who gives in first."

"General Joyce, that old bastard has brought in over forty thousand people from the UK again, and he probably intends to keep them at home to guard. Those garrisons won't be as easy to hit as last time," warned President Russell.

"But President, we've grown much stronger. Especially our siege capabilities. In response to the shortcomings revealed in the previous anti-sweep operations, we requested support from our French comrades and enhanced our training. Now, our siege capabilities are not what they were last time. That old man probably thinks our forces can't handle his garrisons; we can give him a pleasant surprise," replied Joyce.

"I agree with General Joyce's view. But I think we should not only strike the enemy's garrisons but also concentrate our forces to strike the enemy entering our base. Our army has significantly expanded in size, and the British know this, but they don't know how much our strength has increased. So, if they still think they can rampage just like last time with a few hundred British soldiers and some black dogs, they're mistaken. I believe we can let them enter our base, and then we'll strike from behind, knocking out a few crucial garrisons, forcing them to retreat. Then, we can immediately shift back to our base and deal a severe blow to the retreating enemy," suggested General Shilan, head of the Second Division.

"Very well, everyone's morale is high. We've encountered some trouble recently, and our weapon supplies have decreased significantly. But comrades, we can't rely solely on our French comrades for everything. We should be self-reliant. No guns, no cannons? We can let the British make them for us! Besides, defending our homeland doesn't solely rely on regular troops. Every county brigade, district squadron, and village group should be mobilized. Don't underestimate village groups just because they are small in number and can't fight large battles. If we kill a few of them today and a few more tomorrow, little by little, it adds up and shouldn't be underestimated," President Russell emphasized.

"At the very least, we can take down some black dogs and confiscate a few guns from their hands," someone chimed in, "Do you think it's better for the British to issue guns to those black dogs, or for them not to issue guns?" Laughter erupted among everyone present.