Drive Fish into the Deep

"These bastards! Trash! What are they doing!" The Duke of Norfolk angrily threw the report on the battle situation to the ground, then chased after it without any manners and kicked it.

"Governor, Governor, although our army has suffered some losses... but... the losses don't seem to be too great... Governor..." the adjutant Olgin, said somewhat flusteredly from the side.

"This isn't about losses; it's a long-term struggle, at least until the France withdraw their dirty hands! Losses like this are entirely expected. Even ten times greater losses would have been within the United Kingdom's expectations. Tony, do you think I'd be this angry over the deaths of a mere forty-odd people?"

"Then, Governor..."

The Duke of Norfolk had calmed down by this time. He said, "Because the commander of this force, after suffering such losses, in order to vent his anger, actually... what was that village called?"

"Blackstone Village," Olgin added.

"Yes, it was Blackstone Village. That idiot, just to vent his anger, slaughtered all the villagers who remained in Blackstone Village, claiming it was a warning to those who colluded with the bandits. Doesn't that idiot understand that at this time, after he arrived several hours late, the villagers who were willing to stay were at least not directly rebelling against our rule? What was he doing? Was he trying to drive all the Ireland to the rebels' side? Who was he working for? Us, or those rebels!" At this point, the Duke of Norfolk, who had calmed down, became angry again.

"Tony, I came to Ireland and got things done so well, so very well, but this idiot, this piece of trash, just like that, he ruined all that effort in one fell swoop..." At this point, the Duke of Norfolk slumped weakly into his chair, reached for his monocle, tossed it onto the table, and closed his eyes. After a long while, he waved his hand and said:

"Hey Tony, what's that idiot's name? Help me find out, and then get him retired. Otherwise, who knows what other stupid things he might do!"

Olgin walked over, picked up the document, glanced through it briefly, and then said with a troubled expression, "Governor, um..."

"What's wrong?" The Duke of Norfolk opened his eyes.

"That battalion commander, his surname is Tahuidun, and if I'm not mistaken, he's the son of Earl Ta Huidun," Olgin replied.

"Tahuidun's son?" The Duke of Norfolk sat up straight. Earl Ta Huidun was a Tory Party member of the House of Lords and wielded considerable influence. Moreover, he was also Tory Party and had a good relationship with the Duke of Norfolk.

"Damn it! How could that old fox Tahuidun have such a stupid son! This is truly... However, we shouldn't condemn young people so easily, Tony, don't you think? Young people need to be allowed to make mistakes... But we should also give them some guidance..."

Tahuidun —no, he's now a battalion commander. He'd been promoted for his outstanding performance in Operation "The Noose." Of course, many officers had done just as well, eliminating those unarmed "untrained rebels," but few had earned such a promotion. After all, not everyone has a member of the House of Lords as a father.

Becoming a battalion commander filled Tahuidun with a sense of pride, but the incident two days ago dealt him a heavy blow.

That night, shortly after darkness fell, a guard came to tell him that a beacon fire had been spotted to the west, and judging from the recorded location, it should be Blackstone Village. If it were Tahuidun, who had just arrived in Ireland, he would most likely have immediately led his troops to rush there. But Tahuidun, only thought for a moment, and then said, "The Ireland rebels are very cunning; a night attack would easily give them an advantage. Everyone be vigilant and don't give those rebels any opportunity."

Of course, there was one more thing that Tahuidun didn't say, "Anyway, there are only some worthless Ireland policemen in Blackstone Village. To send United Kingdom soldiers to risk their lives for these worthless things is simply out of their minds!"

So they waited until it was completely light, and the sun was high in the sky, before Tahuidun led about two hundred men along the main road toward Blackstone Village.

To avoid potential ambushes, the Britain cut down the trees growing near the roads for cover. This made it more difficult for the guerrillas to ambush the British Army.

However, what Tahuidun didn't expect was that, due to the influence of certain behind-the-scenes forces, ambushes no longer required large numbers of people lying in wait.

Hidden in the grass ahead were two 9-inch long and 4-inch wide rectangular blocks painted in alternating light green and dark green camouflage. Because of the colors, they were completely invisible from a distance. However, upon closer inspection, a small line of black French text could be seen at the bottom of the side of the blocks facing the road. "This side faces the enemy."

This is one of the latest weapons France recently supplied to the Ireland guerrillas— the Claymore Directional Mine. This weapon is, of course, a later imitation of Joseph's work.

These landmines were attached to two long copper wires buried in the ground, extending to a weed-covered ridge about a hundred meters away. Behind that ridge, a man was closely watching the British Army approaching the detonation point through a periscope.

Beside the road stood two unremarkable stones. Such stones were common throughout Ireland. But at this moment, these two stones held a unique significance: the area between them lay within the range of two Claymore Directional Mine.

Tahuidun rode at the head of the column with a few other cavalrymen, while the infantry lagged slightly behind. Therefore, if they were to be included in the coverage area, the number of people entering the coverage area would be significantly less. Consequently, the guerrillas hiding behind the earthen ridges let him pass.

The infantrymen behind them gradually entered the Claymore's coverage area. The man looking through the periscope raised his hand and then gently waved it downwards. Another guerrilla next to him then vigorously cranked the handle of a small hand-cranked generator. Immediately afterwards, the sound of Claymore directional mine exploding could be heard in the distance.

Bonaparte's version of the Claymore a similar structure to later versions. Its back was a curved iron plate, and in front of the plate were evenly placed Nitrated Starch explosives. Because the explosive power of Nitrated Starch was unstable, the amount of explosives was much greater than in later versions of the Claymore. In front of the explosives were eight hundred iron balls, and outside the iron balls was a thin wooden shell.

After the explosion, eight hundred iron balls swept across the British Army marching column like a giant broom.

Tahuidun was leading the way, was startled by the explosion. He jumped off his horse and hid behind it, then poked his head out from the saddle and looked around, but he saw nothing. He then turned back to look at his own troops and was stunned.

The ground was littered with the corpses of Britain soldiers, many of them barely recognizable as human. Many more lay on the ground, groaning loudly in all sorts of strange, inhuman sounds.

Such a thunderous blow left Tahuidun stunned for a moment. He counted his men and found that of the two hundred he had brought, apart from the cavalrymen who had been walking with him at the front and the rest who had fallen behind, the rest were either wounded or simply dead. Just those two Claymore had rendered two hundred British Army incapable of fighting.

Going back to Blackstone Village was obviously impossible, so Tahuidun could only lead the dead and wounded back the way they came.

Back at the base, Tahuidun grew increasingly enraged. Upon taking inventory, he discovered that forty-two men were dead and over eighty others were injured to varying degrees. His fury became uncontrollable. Losing his temper, Tahuidun immediately led the remaining men and charged straight at Blackstone Village once more.

This time, he encountered no obstacles, and the British Army arrived directly at Blackstone Village.

At this time, although there were no more black dogs in Blackstone Village, the villagers, who were quite worried about the future, still obediently returned to the village at the appointed time. So when Tahuidun arrived in Blackstone Village, all the villagers were there.

When the villagers saw the British Army arrive, they thought they would only be questioned. Some were even thinking about how to clear their names. Who knew that after the British Army arrived, they would start killing people without saying a word.

"Kill them! Kill them all! Kill all these Ireland bastards!" Tahuidun roared.

And so a massacre began...

The devastating consequences of the Tahuidun massacre quickly became apparent, with villagers fleeing the area. The guerrillas, through these refugees, gained more information and intensified their attacks on villages controlled by the Black Dogs. With their help, within a month alone, over a thousand Ireland farmers in Kilkenny County fled the quasi-security zone to the guerrilla-controlled non-security zone.

Faced with the current situation, the Duke of Norfolk, after careful consideration, devised two plans.

First, it is recommended that the navy build and equip more clipper ships to intercept France smuggling vessels.

Second, mobilize manpower and resources to prepare for a second large-scale mopping-up operation against the guerrilla-controlled areas.

Third, British Army military officers should be trained in batches to understand the interests and policies of the United Kingdom and avoid hindering the United Kingdom's efforts.