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The Fox of France - Chapter 174

Published at 28th of June 2024 06:29:23 AM


Chapter 174: Regrouping

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Chapter 174: Regrouping


Verlaine and others rowed the boat, towing a series of boxes, silently approaching the shore. In the glow of the fire beneath the cliffs, they saw several people approaching.

"Cut off one head," someone over there said.

"Two heads will grow in its place," Verlaine replied.

The code was confirmed, and both sides quickened their pace to meet each other, hands tightly clasped.

"Comrades, we've finally been waiting for you!"

"Comrades, we're late, and we apologize for the hardship you've endured!"

"Not late, not late, we're glad you're here!"

After exchanging a few words, they together dragged the floating crates ashore.

"What's the situation now? How's the team's morale?" Verlaine asked while dragging a heavy crate with a slender resistance fighter beside him.

"Morale is not a problem; we all want revenge and can't sleep at night just thinking about it. The only issue is that most of the experienced comrades sacrificed themselves in previous battles, and many people don't even know how to handle a rifle."

The voice of the resistance fighter was clear, almost like a child's.

Verlaine asked, "Can you handle this? It's quite heavy." At the same time, he added some extra strength.

The little guy seemed to feel doubted and belittled, so he also exerted more effort. Together, they dragged the crate next to the bonfire. In the firelight, Verlaine saw the appearance of the "comrade" who had just helped him with the crate a thin, small figure with a hint of peach fuzz on the lips, looking no more than twelve or thirteen.

At that moment, another larger figure arrived at the bonfire, dragging an even bigger crate. In the firelight, Verlaine recognized his Irish friend from his time in Toulon.

"Kevin!" Verlaine exclaimed.

"Arnold! I didn't expect it to be you! When I was dragging the crate just now, I saw your back, and I felt like... It's great to work with you again!" Kevin gave Verlaine a bear hug, almost leaving him breathless.This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

For instance, when one fool accidentally reversed the fuse on a landmine, Verlaine was about to scold him but realized a significant problem: he didn't know how to swear in Irish. So, he yelled in French and then looked at West.

West shrugged and said, "Sorry, Arnold, you spoke too fast. There were parts I didn't catch clearly, and some phrases I don't know how to translate. Well, anyway..."

West turned to the guy who made the mistake and said, "Verlaine instructor thinks you're a fool!"

So, with this brief and concise sentence, West translated Verlaine's one-minute-plus tirade and insults.

However, these new recruits were genuinely committed to learning. Their grasp of the skills taught by Verlaine on the first day was indeed quite poor, but by the second day, their understanding had noticeably improved. They devoted all available time to practicing. Soon, Verlaine discovered another problem: he lacked vocabulary not only for swearing but also for praising people.

During this month, these new fighters learned from Verlaine the art of pistol and rifle shooting, landmine placement, setting various traps, as well as various fieldwork, demolitions, and explosive techniques.

After about a month, the emergency training of the county brigade concluded, and it was time to put what they had learned into practice.

During this period, the British were not idle. They had largely enforced the "loyalty certificates" in the cities, organized a tight neighborhood watch system, and set up garrisons and strongholds in areas close to the cities.

In an era without radios or machine guns, controlling a large area with just a guard tower and a platoon of soldiers was quite impossible. So, every garrison required a significant number of British troops, at least a company. However, if every stronghold had to be manned by that many soldiers, it would consume too many resources. Therefore, the British devised a solution by combining authentic British troops with Irish police.

The British stationed the Irish police, dubbed the "Irish Constabulary," in villages near the garrisons, forming neighborhood watch posts and maintaining order and safety committees. These Irish police officers were responsible for conveying British orders and collecting various fees.

The British knew very well that putting the power to collect fees into the hands of these "Irish police" meant that they would take advantage of the situation to exploit the population and line their own pockets. This might lead to widespread dissatisfaction, but, as the Duke of Norfolk, the Viceroy of Ireland, asked, "If these 'Irish police' don't act like this, can they be trusted?"

The Duke's meaning was quite clear: if an Irish person cannot gain unreasonable benefits from the English, why should they serve the English? If they are not foolish, they must be up to something. Fools are not worth considering because they will only mess things up and have no value; as for those who have ulterior motives or, to be more explicit, spies for the guerrilla side, shouldn't they be quickly found and hanged?

Therefore, if any Irish police officer did not exploit the population, did not embezzle and extort, they were better off being arrested and hanged. The worst case would be mistakenly killing a few Irish fools, but what's the big deal? The main drawback would be that it would raise the average intelligence of the Irish people slightly.

On the contrary, if the Irish police officers exploited the people and were corrupt, what would it matter? This meant that they would become enemies with most Irish people, which, in turn, meant that everything they did depended on the English. So, these were the ones to trust.

With such reasoning in place, one could easily imagine the kind of individuals in the new "Irish Constabulary." The resistance, on the other hand, believed that to break the British strategy of sweeps, imprisonments, and consolidation, they had to target these Irish turncoats.

Additionally, these "Irish Constabulary" members were relatively poorly equipped and trained, and their combat spirit couldn't compare to genuine British troops. First, striking against them would disrupt British plans, deter the turncoats, and help train the guerrilla force.

In a relatively short time, a "Irish Constabulary" post became the first target of the newly revitalized Kilken County Brigade.



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