Encirclement (5)

General Arthur Wellesley began the withdrawal of troops from New York. Withdrawals are always incredibly complex, especially when faced with an army intending to pursue. General Andrew Jackson, who succeeded Wellesley as commander of New York's defenses, while not as militarily capable as the more experienced Wellesley, was no pushover. After confirming the Britain withdrawal, he began relentlessly harassing the British Army, slowing their retreat.

The United States did this with a purpose, of course. While United States battlefield tactics weren't particularly sophisticated, their off-field maneuvering was quite adept. So, when General Arthur Wellesley began his retreat, the United States immediately understood his intentions and what he feared. Therefore, while doing their best to stall him, the United States spread rumors that the France in Quebec were in contact with the United States, preparing to launch a pincer attack and annihilate General Wellesley's Britain army.

Because the organization and mobilization of the Quebec National Guard required more time, the United States. military had to hold off General Arthur Wellesley to buy time for its allies.

The way this rumor was released was also quite interesting; it was spread directly through a speech given by General Andrew Jackson to the soldiers.

In addressing his troops and boosting their morale, General Andrew Jackson told them, "We must keep attacking, hold them off, and bite them like a vicious dog, biting down and never letting go. Because once we've got the Britain in our grasp, they're doomed. Behind them, our allies are preparing; they're tamping their gunpowder with their ramrods and loading their bullets—this takes time. The Britain boar in front of us is trying to use this time to escape back into the woods. Now, all we have to do is hold onto its retreating legs and not let it get away. When our comrades have loaded their bullets, 'bang!' and we'll have meat to eat..."

The soldiers were naturally invigorated by this news, and they gave chase, engaging the Britain army in battle. Then, the inevitable happened – some soldiers were captured by the Britain.

Although United States soldiers were generally patriotic, they were also generally untrained in counter-interrogation, so under Britain questioning, they quickly revealed the big secret that General Andrew Jackson had told them.

General Arthur Wellesley knew perfectly well that this was all United States conspiracy. But the problem was, those "French-speaking Britain" in Quebec seemed to be making some unusual moves.

Frankly, initially, out of fear of "revolution," the French-speaking Britain in Quebec were quite afraid of France. So at that time, they weren't too keen on becoming France again. But as France grew stronger and more stable, becoming France again became attractive to the French-speaking Britain in Quebec. Especially after they learned about Louisiana's various tax policies and economic development, post-revolutionary France became more and more appealing.

Moreover, in recent years, taking advantage of the fact that everyone speaks French, some Quebec businessmen have also made a lot of money in business with Louisiana. (Although they might enviously mock those "France citizens abroad" in Louisiana as "German-speaking France," and those guys do indeed frequently use German or French mixed with German in their daily lives, but in Louisiana's official and media circles, only one language is used—French. So, the "German-speaking France" might eventually create a Louisiana French.) Many of them have also been infiltrated by the "Ministry of Truth" and become France's spokespeople in Quebec.

After the outbreak of the War of 1898, the French-speaking Britain in Quebec were very active. They actively organized a self-defense force and took the initiative to participate in the war. Religious reasons certainly played a major role, but taking this opportunity to strengthen themselves and prepare for future changes was also an important consideration.

Because the France used cruisers as temporary intermediaries to establish radio communication between the Atlantic Ocean and the Europe continent, those in Quebec who were already serving the Ministry of Truth knew about France's declaration of war against Britain and the annihilation of the Britain fleet in the Battle of the North Atlantic even before the Governor General of Canada.

Upon receiving this news, those in Quebec who were eager to transform themselves from "French-speaking Britain" back into "French-speaking France" immediately sprang into action. Under the guise of supporting the war, they trained more troops and simultaneously undertook extensive construction in Quebec, building numerous fortifications—ostensibly to counter those English-speaking... well, English-speaking United States.

Now that the allied forces are retreating, the French-speaking Britain in Quebec have moved directly into the fortifications and are ready to defend themselves.

This posture could be interpreted as preparing to defend against a possible United States attack, or as preparing to defend against an attack by pure English-speaking Britain troops under General Arthur Wellesley, or even as preparing to join forces with the English-speaking United States to attack the English-speaking Britain.

Upon seeing the actions of the "French-speaking Britain" behind them, the genuine Britain immediately became nervous. General Arthur Wellesley promptly dispatched a cavalry unit to inquire with the "Quebec Volunteer Army" about their intentions.

Meanwhile, the Quebec Volunteer Army, without any regard for consequences, opened fire on the Britain cavalry. A barrage of cannon fire and rifle fire wiped out half the cavalry, and the rest, of course, fled back as fast as they could. Upon their return, they immediately reported that the Quebec had revolted.

However, not long after, several British Army cavalrymen who had been captured by the "Quebec" returned. Accompanying them was a member of the "Quebec Volunteer Army," who told General Arthur Wellesley, "It was a complete misunderstanding. Our men thought they were United States, you know, they all spoke English! And their accents were a bit off! You know, United States often wear our clothes to attack us. So we got nervous..."