Greek Fire

Five days after the Britain first major sweep, the renowned Paris "Science and Truth" published a very long news report. The report was titled, "Experiencing Hell – A Report from the Ireland Battlefield."

This was a news article with over 30,000 words, which was unprecedented at the time. Newspapers were just starting out then, and due to limitations in printing technology, the paper used was often only A4 size, so the articles that could be printed could not be very long. In order to publish this long article, "Science and Truth" had to make this issue of the newspaper as thick as a book.

In this article, the author, Villefort, describes what he witnessed firsthand in Ireland, especially the Britain sweeps through the Ireland countryside and the horrific atrocities committed during them.

Generally speaking, the France dislike the Britain and are more likely to believe negative news about Britain. However, even so, the brutality of the Britain depicted in this report far exceeded the France's expectations.

But soon, more evidence emerged, namely the British Army's own battle reports. In order to boast of their "military prowess" and to intimidate the Ireland so that they would not dare to resist again, the Britain army made no attempt to conceal, and even went to great lengths to boast about, their "achievements" in "Operation Noose Gallows." These "achievements" also proved the seemingly exaggerated report in the "Science and Truth" newspaper earlier.

Two days later, the Directory held an emergency meeting and announced that it would further increase aid to the Ireland people's struggle. At the same time, His Holiness the Pope generously donated one million francs to help the "suffering Ireland brothers," while also condemning the Britain atrocities and calling on Catholicism throughout Europe to extend a helping hand to the "suffering Ireland brothers."

Joseph understood that the Ireland Revolution was at a critical juncture; if the Ireland couldn't hold on, there would be no money left to earn! So this time, after receiving the funds, he surprisingly refrained from large-scale "drifting" and instead diligently loaded everything the money could buy onto ships and transported them to Ireland. Of course, "drifting" was unnecessary, but the "lubricant" was indispensable—not a single franc could be missing.

In addition to weapons, more advisors will also be traveling by ship to Ireland. Ireland, they will experiment with new weapons and tactics, using the blood of Britain and the Ireland.

Military advisor Arnodie de Villefort boarded a clipper ship bound for Ireland at this time. He was a tall young man in his twenties with very long arms and hands that seemed a bit too big. In later years, he would most likely have been the most prominent player on the college basketball court. He came from a declining noble family but devoted himself to the revolution, and his brother Victor was the author of the long article that had just been published in "Science and Truth".

"Mr. Villefort, the situation at sea has changed slightly recently, and perhaps I should inform you so that you may be prepared," Captain Morel said to Villefort and several others as they boarded the ship.

"What's wrong? Has anything changed?" Villefort asked.

"The Britain have recently built some ships specifically to intercept us," Morel replied.

"Used to intercept us? With those warships that can barely reach 6 knots?" a young man named Leclerc said dismissively.

"No, not warships, but clipper ships like ours. The Britain made some copies of clipper ships," Morel said.

"A clipper ship? But clipper ships are unarmed!" Villefort asked.

Clipper ships are too low-slung and sway too much to accommodate cannons. Otherwise, Joseph would not have used them solely for shipping, but rather for those low-risk businesses.

"It's not that we didn't have cannons, but that we didn't have weapons," Morel corrected. "But, back in the days before cannons were invented, were there no pirates at sea? You know, those Vikings, rowing their dragon-headed ships and carrying only axes, were able to raid the seas."

"You mean those Britain are like the Vikings, using boarding maneuvers to intercept us?"

"It wasn't boarding action. They approached us and threw 'Little Melon' at us, and we naturally retaliated with 'Little Melon'. However, if it really escalated to boarding action, it would be very disadvantageous for us. Because our ships are mainly for cargo, with few people on board. But their ships have no cargo, only soldiers."

"Have we already suffered losses?" Villefort asked.

"Yes, Daken, that Netherlands Dutchman, his 'Flying' encountered a Britain clipper ship a few days ago. At the time, he thought it was one of their own, because the ship looked exactly like ours, even flying the tricolor flag. The ship approached them, and the people on board waved at them, as if they wanted to talk to them."

"And then?" Villefort asked.

"And then? Then One-Eyed fell for the trap, letting the enemy get closer. If the other guys hadn't been so impatient and thrown an unexploded Little Melon first, One-Eyed would definitely be done for. After the ship was exposed, they raised the Britain flag and started throwing Little Melon at One-Eyed and his crew. One-Eyed was lucky; his ship was returning home at the time, and there wasn't much on board, so he was a little faster. In the end, he made it back. However, four men on his ship died, and One-Eyed himself was wounded," Captain Morel replied.

"So, gentlemen, if any Britain ships appear, I expect you to be prepared for battle," Captain Morel added.

"We understand," several passengers replied.

This news filled Villefort with both excitement and nervousness. Although he wasn't a novice on the battlefield—he had fought in numerous battles with Napoleon's Italian Legion and even won two medals—those were all on land, while this time it was at sea.

However, perhaps because the Britain had a limited number of clipper ships and the sea was vast enough, Villefort and his party did not encounter any other ships.

Joseph was naturally aware of the intelligence regarding the Britain clipper ships. Although the Britain clipper ships had not yet caused them significant losses, Joseph knew that this matter should not be taken lightly.

The losses are currently small because the Britain themselves are unsure of the effectiveness of this tactic. Once they discover its effectiveness, given Britain shipbuilding capacity and manpower reserves, they should be able to quickly produce a large number of clipper ships. Moreover, as Morel has stated, the Britain clipper ships do not need to carry cargo, giving them a significant advantage in combat.

"Perhaps I really should prepare a dedicated weapon for clipper ships?" Joseph thought to himself.

Joseph originally didn't plan to invest too much research effort in clipper ships—they would eventually be replaced by steamships, and it wouldn't be worthwhile to waste points on this technology. However, it now seems that steamships won't appear anytime soon, but clipper ships have become strategically important, so he has no choice but to continue investing more time in them.

"Obviously, clipper ships can't be equipped with cannons or ballistae (because clipper ships are subject to severe waves, and bows and crossbows become unusable when damp). What else can be used besides Little Melon?"

Joseph ruled out several options before finally coming up with a weapon that seemed perfect for a clipper ship to fight another clipper ship – "Greek Fire".

Greek Fire was a liquid incendiary agent that could burn on water, invented by the Eastern Roman Empire and primarily used in naval warfare. The Eastern Roman Empire used this weapon to defeat its opponents on both land and sea on numerous occasions. It was, in fact, the world's earliest flamethrower.

"As long as we can extend the range of our flamethrowers beyond that of the Little Melon, our clipper ships will once again gain a combat advantage over the Britain. Then, the situation will become one where those who can defeat us can't catch us, and those who can catch us can't defeat us." Thinking this, Joseph summoned Lavoisier, presented him with this task, and told him he would give him one hundred francs for every ship at sea equipped with this device. However, Joseph specifically emphasized that the device couldn't be too large and shouldn't take up too much space that could be used for cargo.

Lavoisier thought for a moment, and as usual, began to bargain with Joseph. Finally, the two sides reached a new agreement: if Lavoisier could develop 'Greek Fire' that could be used in actual combat within a month, he would receive two hundred francs for each ship; if he completed all the work within a month and a half, the reward for each ship would be one hundred francs; if he failed to complete the task after a month and a half, the reward for each ship would be reduced to fifty francs; if he failed to complete the task within two and a half months, the reward would be cancelled, and a fine of 10 francs would be imposed for each day of delay thereafter.

After signing the agreement, Lavoisier went to work full of enthusiasm. Lavoisier believed he had secured better treatment for himself, but he didn't realize that the "Greek Fire" used on the ship could be easily modified for land warfare. His earlier emphasis on the system's size was largely to facilitate future modifications. And the modified land version, naturally, wouldn't require further payment from Lavoisier.