I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1234 Containment
Wellesley looked at the map on the table: "I have to redeploy along the Rhine."

"Who will be sent to Switzerland? General Pickton?"

The Duke of York nodded again: "Yes, but the legion is mainly composed of Hessians and Thuringians."

The Picton Legion had 3 British soldiers, all of whom remained along the Rhine at the Duke of York's request.

Wellesley thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, please tell General Picton that it is best not to launch an attack first, as the terrain of Switzerland makes it easy to be ambushed."

"He only needs to set up a defensive line in Basel and block the French army as much as possible when they are ready to withdraw from Switzerland. If he can force Masséna to detour through Lausanne, it will delay their entry into the Baden battlefield by a month."

Basel is bordered by a river on one side and mountains on the other, and can also receive reinforcements from Freiburg nearby. It would be difficult for the French to break through there in a short time.

It would be more advantageous to hold Basel than to risk venturing deep into Switzerland to rescue the Prussians.

The Masséna Legion likely numbered between 5 and 6 soldiers. To trap this force in Switzerland would be a huge loss for France, which was already outnumbered.

The Duke of York had clearly thought of this as well, and nodded, saying, "I will write to him myself."

Wellesley complained again: "First Switzerland, now Hanover, the French diversionary tactics are always so effective."

“And look at what we’ve done here—Regent João has spent nearly four months and has only captured three small towns, while the Americans haven’t even sent troops yet!”

The Duke of York shrugged. "You know, João is unwilling to recruit the Caboclos. Of course, their threat to the regular Spanish army is also very limited."

"And those Creoles, even before they went to the battlefield, were already clamoring for tax cuts or increased opportunities for political participation."

Creoles are a general term for white people who grew up in Brazil. Before the war, they were restricted from holding high-ranking official positions—those were reserved for pure Portuguese nobles—and now, as the main force of the army, they naturally wanted to take the opportunity to fight for their rights.

What he didn't say was that if it weren't for the Spanish army's supply lines going wrong, João might have been driven back to Macappa by now, let alone captured three towns.

“As for the Americans,” the Duke of York continued, “the Marquess of Londonderry set off a month ago to urge those cunning fellows on.”

The Americans aren't actually being cunning; their organizational and mobilization capabilities are simply too poor, especially in the underdeveloped western regions.

Four months passed after the state legislatures of Tennessee and Kentucky issued mobilization orders, and it took them to organize fewer than 3,000 militiamen.

Finally, it was General Wayne who led the Virginia army to the West and personally counted them town by town, finally managing to gather the 6 troops needed for the expedition at the beginning of this year.

Then he began waiting for logistical supplies to be sent from the states, so the war has not officially started yet.

But the British saw it as a prelude to the war in Europe tying down the French army, so they could take advantage of the situation.

Marquis Wellesley frowned and said, “I think that if the Americans cannot launch an immediate attack on Louisiana, we should withdraw our aid to them.”

"Yes, Your Excellency the Prime Minister agrees with you."

……

months ago.

North America.

Oberluthus, west bank of the Mississippi River.

Napoleon gazed wearily at the vast, mottled white plain before him, instinctively tightening his collar; the initial excitement of his arrival had long since vanished.

To be honest, he somewhat regretted not heeding the governor's advice to stay in New Orleans and instead coming here to recruit troops himself.

This place is a hundred times more desolate than Elba Island.

He has been walking for more than three hours today and has not encountered a single living person.

Just then, a strange "Orororo" sound suddenly came from the surroundings, and immediately a dozen or so riders wearing leather coats, feathers in their hair, and with brownish-yellow skin rushed over and blocked his way. The leader pointed a flintlock pistol at him and said in a deep voice, "You're not from around here. Show me your identification."

Napoleon was somewhat surprised that the native was speaking French. Although the intonation was strange and there were three grammatical errors in just two sentences, he could still understand it with a sliver of understanding.

A servant leaned over and whispered, "They should be a patrol team in this area, sir."

He then pulled out a stamped document from his person and gestured to the Indians: “We are from the Louisiana General Staff. This is Major Bonaparte.”

Upon hearing fluent French, the dozen or so men opposite him immediately showed delight, put away their guns, and bowed to Napoleon.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Major."

What brings you here?

"It's cold. Would you like to go to town to warm up first?"

The leader stepped forward and smiled, "We are the patrol team from Geosai Town. My name is Rokar, and I am their captain."

Napoleon pointed his hat at him: "I'm here to recruit..."

He had barely finished speaking when someone on horseback approached from a distance and shouted, "Smugglers! Seven people, they should have guns!"

Rocalton immediately became serious, gesturing for his men to head in that direction, while nodding to Napoleon: "You see, we have important business to attend to. The town is just ahead. You can go ahead first."

Napoleon watched as these men skillfully controlled their horses, maintaining precise spacing as they galloped across the snow, and couldn't help but smile: "These are quite a few cavalrymen."

He waved to the guards: "Let's go take a look too."

The governor had given him a fine horse, so he quickly caught up with the patrol. After running for another ten minutes or so, he saw two carriages hurrying into the pine forest ahead.

Rocard fired a shot into the air and shouted in broken English, "Stop! Or I'll kill you all!"

The people in the carriage didn't dare resist and quickly got off, squatting in a row in the snow. There were 5 men and 3 women.

An Indian stepped forward and mumbled a few words in English before shouting, "This is Louisiana Territory of France. You are not legally qualified to enter here. Now, I am arresting you with the authorization of His Excellency the Governor."

A few minutes later, the eight Americans were tied together and followed behind Rocard's horse toward the town of Geausay.

The other Native Americans drove their wagons and found three flintlock muskets inside.

“This is quite common,” Rocard said to Napoleon, pointing to the tied-up Americans. “We catch some almost every day.”

Napoleon asked curiously, "What will happen to them? Will they be hanged?"

“Why would you think that, Major?” Rocard said seriously. “We are civilized people. These guys will be tried in court, and then most likely they will be deported to the east bank of the river. Oh, and probably pay some fines too.”

"A court?" Napoleon asked. "Are there French people in town?"

Rocard politely corrected, "We are also French, Major."

"You mean white people? No, the town is full of our Cherokee tribe."

Napoleon asked in surprise, "Then who will be the judge of the court you just mentioned?"

“It is our patriarch, Major,” the patrol captain said with a smile. “He obtained his judge’s qualification in New Orleans this September.”

　Because the author hasn't been feeling well lately, there's only this one chapter today. I'll try my best to update more once I've recovered. I hope everyone understands.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)