The Fox of France

"General, you are free to think of us as you wish. We Quebecois have always respected freedom of thought, and while we may not agree with your views, we believe that it is your natural right," said the Quebecois man, dressing General Arthur Wellesley up as a civilized man as he departed.

Indeed, every word he uttered was filled with provocation, fully laced with sarcasm. It was only when this man was being sent away that General Arthur Wellesley first realized that he possessed an immunity to sarcasm, although on several occasions he had been tempted to throw his glove in the man's face.

General Arthur Wellesley did issue a threat of war, but that was all it was—a threat. The Quebecois were not easy to provoke. And in the current situation, it was beneficial to avoid a direct rebellion by the Quebecois. Even maintaining a grudging or somewhat unfriendly neutrality was preferable to outright conflict. However, the demands of the Quebecois were simply unacceptable; it was almost like asking them to surrender their arms.

"I hope they can be more rational, to avoid a battle at the end," General Arthur Wellesley thought.

The Quebecois, indeed, sent another messenger to General Arthur Wellesley two hours before the deadline the next day, saying, "The Quebec Parliament needs more time to discuss, so we cannot provide a formal response to you, General, before the last deadline you set. We hope you can extend the deadline a bit more."n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

General Arthur Wellesley felt that the Quebecois had actually softened up but were just saving face, so he stated he could grant them an extension of half a day.

When he mentioned extending "half a day," he could clearly see the Quebecois man breathe a sigh of relief. However, the Quebecois man still insisted that half a day was not enough and that they needed to extend it by another half day.

From the Quebecois man's weak tone, General Arthur Wellesley felt he need not entertain his request any further, so he told him, "Our patience is not limitless; I can only give you half a day more. Once the time is up, we will attack."

Thus, the Quebecois envoy returned. Half a day later, cavalry reported observing the Quebecois beginning to remove the barbed wire in front of their positions and leaving the area.

However, after the Quebecois militia retreated, General Arthur Wellesley's subordinates reported that the mines laid by the Quebecois had not been removed. Just clearing the mines took another half day. By the time they had dealt with the mines, it was nearly dark.

General Arthur Wellesley vaguely felt that the Quebecois accepting the extension of half a day was largely because they knew that half a day and a whole day made little difference.

After clearing the minefield, their troubles were not over, as the Quebecois militia had dug up the roads. They left trenches everywhere, and they had constructed wooden bridges over them to facilitate the movement of carts and artillery. But in their retreat, they had taken these structures with them.

So, General Arthur Wellesley's British forces had to fill these trenches themselves to make them solid enough for their artillery to pass. Although the Quebecois militia had cleared the way, the British still could not advance a step that whole day.

By the second day, the British were finally able to proceed normally, though they were constantly annoyed by a Quebec militia, who followed them at a close but safe distance, like flies chasing carrion. However, this was merely a nuisance and did not pose an immediate threat to the British forces.

Yet, everything they encountered along the way only served to infuriate the British. Every small village they passed through was deserted, and at the entrance of each village was a sign in both English and French:

"Passersby, take note. For the safety of our village residents and their property, our people and assets have been relocated. Mines have been laid within the village and its private territories. We are not responsible for any accidents that occur to those who enter without invitation."

Clearly, General Arthur Wellesley's previous incursions had left a deep impression on the local people. Later, a regional councilor's words were quoted in the history textbooks of Quebec Province:

"General Arthur Wellesley's army served as both propagandists and sowers. They spread the necessity of resisting tyranny everywhere they went, planting seeds of the pursuit of freedom in the hearts of the vast Quebecois population..."

In short, the Quebecois had begun a scorched earth policy against the British. However, General Arthur Wellesley decided that it was best not to entangle with these damned Quebecois at this time. Quickly passing through Quebec was the best option now.

Meanwhile, across the ocean in Ireland, the siege of Dublin was still underway. In a sense,

this battle had come to mean more than just Dublin itself. Everyone in Europe, except for the Russians and Turks, was focused here because the city's situation was actually very favorable to the British—with secure supply lines, prepared defenses, and ample troops. If the British could not hold a place like this, it would mean they could hardly hold anywhere else.

The Irish, supported by French artillery, had launched several attacks on Dublin, and the British had proven their resolve and capabilities more than once. In just over a month, about fifteen thousand Irish and slightly more than half that number of British had died in the fighting around the city.

In terms of exchange rates, the British undoubtedly had the upper hand, and in terms of total population, Britain far surpassed Ireland. It seemed that Britain could afford more losses. However, Britain was not just fighting Ireland; they were also battling the French, Americans, Spanish, and Dutch. So from a global perspective, British manpower was simply insufficient unless they could bring Indians back to Britain.

But with maritime control no longer in British hands, that was not a feasible thought. Moreover, even if it were possible to transport them, it was doubtful that these Indians would willingly die for the British.

Despite the heavy sacrifices, the Irish had not gained nothing. With the support of French artillery, the Irish had pushed forward about a kilometer—a modest distance, but it brought them just a step away from downtown Dublin.