Life of Being a Crown Prince in France Chapter 478

Chapter 478: Chapter 391: The Secret Weapon from New Zealand

A delegation of Maori, led by Fernand Dufresne, boarded the dock, then took sedan chairs carried by locals to head for Mangalore City.

Several days later.

To the north of Mangalore, here lies the vanguard camp of the Mysore Corps, stationed with over 5,000 Mysore soldiers, as well as 100 elite Tunisians brought by Lafayette — the Tunisian soldiers are unquestionably considered exceptional here — and less than 15 kilometers to their north is the defense line set up by Britain in southern Karnataka.

Following his usual inspection of the camp, Lafayette looked towards the British stronghold with some irritation.

After his recent repeated reconnaissance, he had basically confirmed that there were only 1,200 British Army soldiers and between 3,000 to 5,000 Maratha soldiers, allies of the British in India.

Based on previous engagements, his concentrated force of 12,000 here could breach northern Karnataka within a month if they committed fully to the offensive.

However, a letter from Paris last week had the Crown Prince demanding that he prepare fully for defense, forbidding any large-scale offensive, with only minor raids allowed on the British supply lines.

This made him feel like watching a beloved mistress throwing coquettish glances at him completely undressed, yet he was tied up, unable to move even slightly.

At this moment, his Tunisian-born staff officer came up at a quick pace, saluted him with a tip of his hat, and said:

“General, those Pacific natives have arrived.”

Lafayette nodded, and together with over a dozen officers, he left the camp to welcome the Maori — it seemed the Crown Prince took a special interest in these natives, so he too had to receive them with due formality and respect.

In the northernmost small town of Mangalore, Lafayette and Fernand Dufresne exchanged courtesies, with polite remarks:

“I have heard of your uncle's exploits; with merely a few hundred colonists, he secured for His Majesty the King a colony nearly the size of Britain.”

This Fernand was indeed the nephew of the leader of the New Zealand development team, Dufresne.

The Maori leader hurriedly said:

“If my uncle knew that such a great hero, who has struck hard against the British in the Far East, spoke so highly of him, he would surely drink joyously until he fell to the ground.”

Lafayette said this while glancing at the group of Maori behind Fernand, with their dark skin and strange hairstyles, inadvertently frowning slightly. The black lines tattooed on the natives' faces made him unconsciously think of ferocious wild beasts.

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat to cover the inappropriate expression, and said to Fernand, “What exactly are they here to do? The Crown Prince's letter told me they possess excellent military skills, but honestly, I don't think they will fit in well with my troops…”

Standing in the back row, Magnus suddenly waved his hand and interjected, “You're the impressive General…”

He looked toward Fernand and asked in a whisper, “The word is 'General,' right?”

After receiving a confirming nod, he raised his voice to Lafayette, “Mr. Fernand often speaks of you onboard.

“Oh, yes, we are here to help you build 'pa.'”

He gestured to the thirty-plus Maori warriors behind him, “We are all experts in constructing 'pa' from our tribe.”

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

“Pa? What is that?”

Fernand hastened to explain, “It's a type of simple Maori fortress. Although they may seem rudimentary, they are actually very effective defensively.”

Upon hearing this, Nikau animatedly gestured, “We need to choose a high ground first, level the top off, then chop some sturdy tree trunks to enclose the area. After that, build the central tower…”

Chapter end

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