General Bonaparte had certainly been throwing her weight around, but now that the topic had come up, it had cast a little gloom over both their good moods.
In the end, Chief of Staff Li Ren managed to force a smile. "Whatever the case, we should prepare a detailed report on the power of these torpedo boats and ask the Defense Committee to build them in large numbers."
"Indeed. Compared with those large warships that take ages to build, these torpedo boats are much quicker to finish. And after giving it some thought, I suspect they'd be quite effective on defense even without carrier support."
"Yes, and even if the First Fleet really does take some of our capital ships, we can use these little vessels to make up the numbers."
"...Chief of Staff, you really are a genius at killing the mood!"
"My grandson says the same thing. So I can't figure out why my bedtime stories always make him cry by the end."
Of course, generals had their worries, while ordinary soldiers had their own pleasures. They were now completely hooked on the joys of demolishing things and beating the enemy while they were down. For the month before the war began, the Outer Ring Fleet had been penned in near Southern Heavenly Gate and the River of Three Crossings by the Combined Fleet's superior forces. The deeper the resentment they'd built up back then, the fiercer the fury they unleashed now.
Before long, reports of all kinds of capital ships being sunk began arriving aboard the Republic, one after another. Even the communications officer sounded cheerful as he delivered them.
The scene had a distinctly old-fashioned, pre-gunpowder feel to it. As a famous battle neared its conclusion, the victorious shogun would often receive a steady stream of