Siege (7)

"General, how you view us is your prerogative. We Quebec have always respected freedom of thought. Although we disagree with your views, we believe it is your inherent right." Before leaving, the Quebec actually put on a show of civility for General Arthur Wellesley.

Yes, every word this guy uttered was provocative and full of sarcasm. It wasn't until he kicked the guy out that General Arthur Wellesley discovered for the first time that he actually had a resistance to sarcasm. Although several times he wanted to throw his glove right up the guy's nose.

General Arthur Wellesley issued a threat of war, but it was just a threat. The Quebec were not to be trifled with. Moreover, in the current situation, it was always beneficial to avoid a direct rebellion by the Quebec. Even just keeping them in a benevolent, or even less benevolent, neutral stance was better than fighting them directly. However, the demands of the Quebec were simply impossible to meet; they were practically asking them to surrender.

"I hope they can be more rational and not end up fighting each other," General Arthur Wellesley thought.

Sure enough, two hours before the ultimatum deadline the following day, the Quebec sent another messenger to General Arthur Wellesley with the following message: "The Quebec Parliament needs more time to discuss this, so we cannot give you a formal reply before the deadline set by Your Excellency. We hope you can extend the deadline further."

General Arthur Wellesley felt that most of these Quebec had already given in and were just trying to save face, so he said he could grant them another half day.

When he offered to grant him another half-day, he could clearly see the Quebec man seem relieved. However, the Quebec man still insisted that half a day was not enough and that he must extend it by another half-day.

However, judging from the Quebec man's weak tone, General Arthur Wellesley felt that he didn't need to heed his request any longer, so he told him, "Our patience is not unlimited. I can only give you half a day. After that, we will launch our attack."

So the Quebec envoy returned. Half a day later, the cavalry came to report that they had observed the Quebec beginning to remove the barbed wire in front of their positions and leaving the area.

"Hmph, I knew French speakers were all cowards!" General Arthur Wellesley said with a hint of disdain after receiving the news.

However, after the Quebec Volunteer Army withdrew, General Arthur Wellesley received a report from his subordinates that although the Quebec Volunteer Army had retreated, they had not removed the landmines they had laid. As a result, it took another half a day just to clear the mines. By the time the mines were cleared, it was almost dark.

General Arthur Wellesley vaguely felt that a major reason why Quebec accepted this half-day extension was probably because they knew that there was little difference between half a day and a full day.

After clearing the minefield, the matter wasn't over yet, because the Quebec Volunteer Army had dug up the road. They had dug trenches all over the road, and they had their own wooden drawbridges on top of them to facilitate the movement of wagons and artillery. But during their retreat, they dragged all of these things away.

So General Arthur Wellesley's British Army had to fill in and compact these trenches themselves—otherwise their cannons wouldn't be able to get through. As a result, although the Quebec Volunteer Army cleared the way, the Britain still couldn't advance an inch all day.

By the next day, the Britain were finally able to set off normally. Although a group of Quebec militiamen followed them at a distance, like flies chasing after rotten meat, they were merely annoying and did not pose an immediate threat to the Britain army.

But what the Britain saw along the way only infuriated them. All the villages Britain passed were deserted, except for signs at the village entrances written in English and French:

"Attention all passersby: To protect the lives and property of our villagers, all personnel and wealth have been relocated. Land has been laid within the village and its attached private property. We will not be responsible for any accidents that occur to unauthorized trespassers."

Clearly, Arthur Wellesley's army had left a deep impression on the local people last time. So much so that later, Quebec history textbooks quoted a local councilor as saying:

"Arthur Wellesley's army was a propaganda machine, a seed-sowing machine. They spread the word about the necessity of resisting tyranny, and they planted the seeds of the pursuit of freedom in the hearts of the people of Quebec..."

In short, the Quebec had begun a scorched-earth policy against the Britain. However, General Arthur Wellesley decided that at this point, it was best not to get entangled with these damned Quebec and to get through Quebec quickly, as that was their best option.

Meanwhile, across the ocean in Ireland, the siege of Dublin continued. In a sense, the significance of this battle had transcended Dublin itself. All of Europe, except for the Russia and Turkey, was focused on this city. The situation there was extremely advantageous for Britain —a secure rear, well-prepared defenses, and ample manpower. If the Britain couldn't even hold such a place, it meant Britain were unlikely to be able to hold anything else.

Supported by France artillery, the Ireland had launched attacks on Dublin more than once, and the Britain had repeatedly demonstrated their resolve and capability. In just over a month, approximately 15,000 Ireland and slightly more than half that number of Britain had died in the fighting on the outskirts of the city.

In terms of exchange ratio, the Britain undoubtedly had the upper hand, and in terms of total population, Britain far exceeded Ireland. In terms of who could afford to lose more people, the Britain also seemed to have the upper hand. However, Britain wasn't just fighting the Ireland; it also had to fight the France, the United States, and even the Spain and the Netherlands. Therefore, from a global perspective, Britain's manpower was far from sufficient, unless they could drag all the India back to Britain.

But with naval supremacy no longer in Britain hands, such a plan is out of the question. Besides, even if they could be brought back, would these India really be willing to risk their lives for the Britain?

The Ireland, having made such a great sacrifice, certainly did not gain nothing. Supported by France artillery, Ireland retreated about a kilometer. Although a kilometer is insignificant, it meant they were now just a stone's throw from downtown Dublin.