Talleyrand's tour of Europe

Cornwallis stared at the distant, dilapidated fortress with a dark expression. After a full half-minute, he finally raised his hand to signal to his advisor beside him:

"Order one battalion to remain and continue the siege; the rest of the troops, bypass this damned thing!"

Reorganizing the team and taking a detour might take a day or two, but it's better than being disgusted by that shabby "barn".

However, just an hour and a half later, several Hussars reported that two similar buildings had been discovered less than three miles south of the "granary".

And further away, there seemed to be even more...

These fortifications, densely packed together, guarded almost all major transportation routes, with three even overlapping at important strategic locations!

In a strategy game, one might be able to micromanage their troops to squeeze between two fortresses, since the cannons on those fortresses couldn't possibly cover a range of two or three miles. But in actual combat, this is completely impossible.

When tens of thousands of troops march, the column may be more than ten kilometers long. The enemy may occasionally rush out of the fortress to launch a surprise attack. A marching column is completely defenseless.

While an enemy attack might not kill many of your men, the stampede caused by the chaos in the ranks could result in serious casualties and severely damage morale.

Therefore, at least several defensive points must be eliminated, and a road at least seven or eight miles wide must be cleared. Only by deploying some troops to defend along both sides can others dare to pass through the middle.

Even so, safety cannot be guaranteed, since a long marching column could easily create defensive loopholes.

Cornwallis stared at the red circle his advisor had marked on the map, desperately suppressing his anger, and gritted his teeth as he roared:

"Bring me all the cannons! Blast that 'barn' to pieces!"

The staff officer was taken aback. "The barn?"

"That thing on the high ground! Damn it, call it whatever you want! Take it at all costs!"

"Yes, General!"

Maratha and Hyderabad's vassal armies were pulled up and began to surge toward the "Pa" on the mound in waves, but were repeatedly repelled.

After nine days of anxious waiting, a English Army 12-pound Cannon accurately struck the defensive artillery atop "Pa"—a probability that, in the era of smoothbore cannons, was roughly equivalent to winning the lottery jackpot.

Cornwallis ' elite Grenadier, disregarding casualties, finally breached the last wall and poured into the tower in the middle of "Pa".

Cornwallis felt incredibly relieved, as if he had finally relieved himself after being constipated for nine days. Pointing at "Pa" with his cane, he said to the staff officer:

"Bring the commander of the garrison; their tenacity deserves my praise."

Before the staff officer had left, the tower on "Pa" shook, and a large amount of black smoke billowed out, followed by a loud "boom".

Soon, Messenger brought news from the front: the Mysore had planted Gunpowder in the fortress, killing more than 30 Grenadier and capturing only 5 wounded prisoners.

Cornwallis stared at the ruins on the mound, his face ashen, then looked south, knowing that several more of these "barns" awaited him there. A sudden wave of nausea washed over him, and he nearly vomited...

In fact, Magnus had already led the Mysore Serfs to build more than 70 "pa" throughout Mangalore, and construction was still ongoing. Each "pa" was only stocked with 25 days' worth of food and drinking water—that was the required length of time for their defense, after which the garrison could retreat.

The United Kingdom would have to remove at least a quarter of it to get through the Mangalore region.

Even if they were to have incredible luck every time and hit the defenders' cannons directly, it would still take them nine days. Therefore, it would take them 160 days to take Mangalore...

This is only a small province in northwestern Mysore. The areas of Seringapatam and Mysore City behind it are much larger. It would be virtually impossible to break through Mysore in less than two or three years.

This is the defensive strategy Joseph tailored for Mysore.

In Europe, where human resources are scarce and construction technology is advanced, "pa" (fortified bastions) are practically worthless; it would be more cost-effective to invest in building bastions. However, in India, where large numbers of Serfs could be conscripted for Corvée free of charge, "pa" were extremely suitable.

While it wasn't as "zero cost" as Fernand claimed—construction itself was indeed inexpensive—cannons, Gunpowder, grain reserves, and transportation still cost money. A single "Pa" only required Tipu Sultan to invest about 400 Pound Sterling, or 10,000 Livre, a large portion of which was shared by local Nobility. For Mysore, this meant it could be built almost indefinitely.

At the same time, this thing requires very little construction skill; even primitive tribes on small Pacific Ocean islands can handle it, let alone mature feudal countries.

Most importantly, in other places, the attacking side could slowly chip away at the earthen and wooden structure of the "Pa" (a type of fortified structure), eventually wearing it down. But for the United Kingdom, this was a costly and arduous expedition, and dragging it out for several years would have resulted in huge financial losses for them.

Moreover, the "Tiger of Mysore" are no pushovers; they won't just sit idly by and wait for the United Kingdom to come and attack.

Just as Cornwallis launched his attack on the second "Pa", Tipu Sultan had already led an army of 17,000 into Travancore.

Travancore was no match for them and had no choice but to hurriedly ask the United Kingdom for help.

Cornwallis hastily dispatched 3,000 English Army and over 10,000 auxiliary troops, which were transported by the Royal Navy to Travancore. Just three days after the ships left the port, news arrived that the Raja of Travancore had surrendered to Mysore.

At this point, there were no more hostile forces in the South Mysore.

Tipu Sultan, on Lafayette's advice, immediately led his main force to Carnatic in the east. The northwestern battlefield was defended by 20,000 Mysore troops under Lafayette's command, relying on the "Pa" defense, so he did not need to be distracted.

If Carnatic falls, the entire the South part of the Indian Peninsula will fall into Mysore's hands, and United Kingdom's strategic situation will become extremely unfavorable.

Meanwhile, Salah, the France consul in Mysore, and Shah, a senior official in Mysore, were quietly en route to Hyderabad. His Crown Prince had said that India very opportunistic and have no integrity whatsoever.

If we could win over Hyderabad with incentives—they even joined forces with Mysore against the United Kingdom decades ago—that would be ideal. Even if that's not possible, we could still make United Kingdom spend more resources to keep Hyderabad in check.

Western suburbs of Munich.

Talleyrand straightened his clothes, stepped down from the Carriage, and then turned back to signal to his accompanying Guard:

"Make sure you keep a close eye on that guy. Come with me."

Three soldiers escorted a middle-aged man who was bound like a dumpling, following behind the France Minister of Foreign Affairs, towards the Munich Palace.

Music filled the air. Archduke Karl Ottodor Grand Duke of Bavaria stood at the palace gate, separated from the Honor Guard, smiling at the visiting France.