The secret weapon from New Zealand

Led by their leader Fernand Marion du Fresne, the Maori people boarded the dock and then rode in palanquins carried by locals to the city of Mangalore.

Several days later.

North of Mangalore lies the vanguard Camp of the Mysore Legion, garrisoned with over 5,000 Mysore soldiers and 100 elite Tunisia troops brought by Lafayette — Tunisia soldiers were considered exceptionally skilled here—and less than 15 kilometers to their north lies the United Kingdom defensive line set up in the South North Kanara.

After his usual inspection of the camp, Lafayette looked somewhat annoyed at the United Kingdom stronghold.

After repeated reconnaissance, he has basically confirmed that there are only 1,200 English Army and 3,000 to 5,000 Maratha soldiers there, who are United Kingdom's allies in India.

Based on previous battles, if the 12,000 troops concentrated here are fully committed to the offensive, they could potentially conquer North Kanara within a month.

However, in a letter sent from Paris just last week, the Crown Prince instructed him to focus all his efforts on defense and not to launch large-scale attacks, but at most to harass the United Kingdom supply lines.

This was as unbearable as watching his beloved mistress flirt with him naked, while he was bound hand and foot and unable to move an inch.

Just then, his Tunisia staff officer strode over, raised his hat in salute, and said:

"General, those Pacific Ocean natives are here."

Lafayette nodded and led a dozen officers out of the Camp to greet the Maori people— His Crown Prince seemed to value these natives highly, so he had no choice but to treat them with utmost courtesy.

In the small town at the northernmost edge of Mangalore, Lafayette and Fernand Marion du Fresne greeted each other politely:

"I've heard of your uncle's exploits. He led a colony of only a few hundred people and acquired a Colony almost the size of the United Kingdom for His Majesty the King."

This Fernand is the nephew of Marion du Fresne, the captain of the New Zealand Development Team.

Mr. Maori, the tour leader, hurriedly said:

"If my uncle knew that the Great Britain who dealt a heavy blow to the Englishman in the Far East praised him like this, he would be so happy that he would drink himself into a stupor."

As Lafayette spoke, he glanced at the group of dark-skinned Maori people with strange hairstyles behind Fernand, and subconsciously frowned slightly. The black lines tattooed on the faces of those natives unconsciously reminded him of ferocious wild beasts.

"Ahem," he coughed to cover his inappropriate expression, and said to Fernand, "What exactly are they going to do? His Crown Prince said in his letter to me that they possess excellent military skills, but to be honest, I don't think they might be able to integrate well into my army..."

Magnus, standing in the back row, suddenly waved and interjected, "You must be that very powerful general..."

He looked at Fernand and asked in a low voice, "Is it the word 'General'?"

After receiving an affirmative answer, he called out to Lafayette, "Mr. Fernand often speaks of you on the ship."

"Oh, by the way, we're here to help you repair 'Pa'."

He gestured to the thirty-odd strong Maori men behind him. "We are all experts in repairing 'pa' in our tribe."

Lafayette was clearly surprised that these natives could speak French, but he quickly noticed a word the Maori had just mentioned:

"Pa? What's that?"

Fernand quickly explained to him, "They're just simple Maori fortresses. Although they look a bit rudimentary, they're actually very effective at defense."

Upon hearing this, Nikau gestured excitedly, saying, "We need to first choose a high place, level the top, then cut down some thick tree trunks to enclose it. Then we'll build the tall tower in the middle..."

When the Engineer Battalion commander behind Lafayette heard "protect the tower with three rings of wooden fencing," he finally let out a disdainful laugh, and then said to Lafayette:

"General, I believe that this primitive... well, let's call it a fortress for now, is utterly ineffective against the English Army. You know, the United Kingdom don't use Pike and bows and arrows; they have cannons, and heavy cannons at that. I think if we need to build a defensive system, we should choose a bastion."

He was an old subordinate that Lafayette brought from France, a proper officer who graduated from the Valois Military Academy with a major in engineering, and was very familiar with repairing bastions.

Lafayette nodded and looked at Fernand:

"As you see, just as Major Gaston said, a bastion is more suitable for dealing with the United Kingdom. Perhaps your men can help him with the construction."

"Yes, General, the bastion is very effective." Fernand hesitated for a moment, but his adventurous nature led him to be direct. "However, 'Pa' is more suitable for Mysore's situation. This is His Highness the Crown Prince's opinion."

"How could that be?" Major Gaston waved his hand dismissively. "You must have misunderstood His Highness..."

Fernand turned his gaze over:

"Major, how long would it take you to build a bastion?"

"It depends on the scale," Gaston said. "In an emergency, a temporary bastion at the front can be built in just three months."

Fernand nodded, then gestured to the Maori behind him.

Magnus immediately replied, "If we have enough manpower, it will take one month to build a 'Pa'."

Fernand continued, "Major, aside from the speed of construction, building 'Pa' requires almost no investment, if you don't need to pay the wages of the India laborers."

When Gaston was delayed, Tipu Sultan conscripted Serfs to work, and they had to provide Serfs own food, not to mention wages. Building a bastion would cost at least 30,000 to Livre, and that was for the simplest bastion. To build a sturdy and durable one, the cost would increase tenfold.

"As for its defensive effectiveness," Fernand looked at the Major, "'Pa' is far inferior to the Bastion, but it can significantly delay the English Army advance."

"Given enough quantity, this thing will become a nightmare for the United Kingdom!"

"But..."

Gaston was about to say something more when Lafayette interrupted him:

"Alright, let the Mangalore local officials fully assist Mr. Marion du Fresne. However, some bastions also need to be built at key junctures."

He had previously received instructions from the French General Staff Headquarters to cooperate with the Maori in strengthening the defenses of Mysore.

Although he didn't really believe in the natives' "fortress," he couldn't forcefully stop Fernand because he saw how insistent Fernand was.

In the days that followed, both England and Mai were busy with their own things, and time flew by in this monotonous silence.

Two weeks later.

When Lafayette saw the first completed "Pa" in northwestern Mangalore, he stared in astonishment.

As an experienced officer, he realized the moment he saw it—it was absolutely useful!