I Became A Genius Of The French Royal Family [EN]: Chapter 285

< Time of Decision >

The glory days of the Ottoman Empire were long gone, but it still reigned as the strongest nation in the Middle East.

They weren’t fools, and they had been preparing in their own way after their crushing naval defeat in the last war.

However, the Ottomans’ misfortune was that their last opponent was the British Empire’s fleet, which mainly used wooden ships.

The Ottoman response system was designed to target the British Empire from the previous war.

According to the naval textbooks of the time, the British mainly fired at the hull, while the French and Spanish fired at the masts.

Both had their reasons, but for less skilled soldiers, it was easier to aim at the masts, which appeared larger than the hull.

Therefore, the Ottomans referred to the French and Spanish textbooks.

Since France was also training to target the British Empire, they thought it would be most efficient to imitate them.

In addition, the Janissaries [elite Ottoman infantry] in command had no intention of engaging in a naval battle with France using only their own warships.

They had already prepared artillery batteries with nearly 200 cannons in key locations targeted by the French forces.

They also planned to use dozens of new warships to attack the French warships from both sides.

Thus, they had a plausible plan of their own.

Until they got their asses kicked.

“They’re coming! The French bastards’ black ships!”

“They’re firing! Let’s respond!”

“Fire!”

콰앙!

“Ah… they’re not hitting us?”

“We’re out of range! Shoot further! They can do it, there’s no way we can’t!”

“Reload complete!”

“Fire!”

쉬이잉! 펑!

“Ah, no! It’s not hitting!”

“으아아악! They’re coming!”

“Don’t panic! Our warships will drive them…”

콰콰콰쾅!

As if mocking the desperate resistance of the artillery batteries, the French black steamships devastated the coastline.

The Ottoman wooden ships tried to hold back the French steamships, but they were all sunk by a weapon they had never seen before: rocket launchers.

“What the hell! Where did those monster ships come from!”

It’s not that the Ottomans had no information about steamships.

France had openly used these warships when attacking Qing China [the last imperial dynasty of China].

At that time, Qing’s junks [traditional Chinese sailing ships] were swept away by the French steamships without even putting up a proper resistance.

However, experts believed that it was impossible to make an accurate judgment because Qing China had shown so many unsightly 모습 [Korean word for ‘appearances’ or ‘forms,’ implying incompetence].

Even Qing China’s junks were brutally torn apart by the British Empire’s wooden warships.

Even France, which had actually operated battleships, said it was difficult to gauge their true strength.

There was no way the other side would know a power they themselves didn’t know.

As a result, the Ottomans had to become the sacrificial lamb, showing Europe for the first time that the paradigm of naval warfare had changed.

“Shoot, shoot! Fire the cannons!”

“They’re not hitting even if we shoot!”

“What is our navy doing!”

“The vanguard has been annihilated by the enemy’s bombardment!”

“What nonsense! Only three of their ships have come forward!”

The perception still held by European countries was divided into France on land and England at sea.

France was introducing many new technologies, but their power was mostly limited to the army.

This was because they had shown such shocking power on land, and England roamed the seas around the world as if it were their own backyard.

Therefore, the Ottomans secretly thought they might be able to stop them.

What the French army was aiming for was definitely an amphibious landing, so they just had to prevent them from approaching the coast.

With this line of thought, the Janissaries in command made stopping the landing their top priority.

This was not because they were stupid or lacked strategic insight.

In fact, France had been trying to land in England and was trying to do so in this war as well.

However, even the French themselves did not expect that the enemy would be swept away by the bombardment of the battleships without being able to do anything.

“…What is this? Why are we winning so easily?”

Admiral Pierre Villeneuve, who had been extremely cautious, was amazed by the power of his own forces, which were so easily defeating the Ottoman army.

When the enemy ships came out to intercept them, they blocked the route with three ships and tried to turn the other ships to the side to bombard the enemy.

But what was this?

The warships that were supposed to act as a shield to block the opponent had annihilated the enemy’s ranks.

In terms of a battle, it was as if the troops that were supposed to be used as an anvil had charged and defeated the opponent’s troops.

“…Is the enemy weak, or are we too strong?”

“Maybe both?”

“Really? This is embarrassing. Haven’t we become complete idiots for coming here so nervous?”

They had come with a large force, determined to crush them in the early stages, but when they opened the lid, it was an overinvestment like no other.

Even if they had brought only half… no, a third of the force, they could have neutralized the enemy’s coastline without any damage.

“…Well, anyway, I did what I was told to do from above… so I won’t be blamed, right?”

“…Of course. Doesn’t the lion use all its strength even when catching a rabbit? It’s better to be fully prepared like this than to be careless and allow the enemy to strike!”

Yes, yes. They were only considering the worst-case scenario that might happen.

With that reassurance, they turned the remaining Ottoman warships into fish food.

※※※

London, the capital of the British Empire, which had regained some vitality after confidently declaring war.

The parliament, where the key figures leading the country gathered, was suffering from a flood of negative reports.

“The fall of Prussia! The defeat of the Ottoman Empire! Both allies, whom we confidently brought in, were crushed by France without even putting up a fight.”

“Even if we couldn’t help Prussia, isn’t the Ottoman Empire our failure to be vigilant! No, at least they should have inflicted damage on Spain while the Ottomans were being defeated. If they had only recaptured Gibraltar, we wouldn’t have regretted giving up the Ottomans at all!”

“Admiral Collingwood! Say something!”

Admiral Collingwood, who was in charge of the Royal Navy in the Atlantic instead of Nelson, looked at the parliamentarians who were ridiculing him with an absurd look.

No, was it his fault?

“Honorable members of parliament. I clearly argued that we should take advantage of France’s attack on Turkey to recapture Gibraltar. Spain will resist, but we should be able to defeat Spain if they fight alone.”

“So we accepted the admiral’s opinion and told you to carry it out! But why didn’t you recapture Gibraltar!”

“Occupying another country’s territory is not a problem that can be solved in a day or two. And I clearly requested that you send me a prediction of how long Turkey could withstand France. But the results were drastically different from the previous predictions.”

Collingwood’s fleet, which was preparing to set sail with the aim of recapturing Gibraltar, ultimately did not fire a single cannon.

That’s because the urgent news that the Ottoman Empire had been crushed arrived just as they were heading out into the ocean.

“If you want to hold someone accountable, you should hold accountable those who failed to make accurate predictions, not me. And I didn’t suffer any damage as a result, but the unit that was dispatched to Prussia suffered as many as 10,000 casualties, didn’t it?”

“…That’s true. Then, according to Admiral Collingwood’s opinion, I will ask Marshal Henry Paget! Was this really the best you could do? Prime Minister, please say something too.”

“……”

Unlike Percival, who was fiercely asserting his presence by criticizing the defeated generals, Pitt maintained his silence and remained neutral.

This was because, in his view, Collingwood and Paget were not at fault.

As expected, Paget confidently explained the reasons for his actions, as if he had no shame.

“…That’s all. If I hadn’t made that decision, we would have lost not only Prussia but also our valuable army, which would have suffered irreparable damage. I think I have made a contribution worthy of a medal.”

“…But wasn’t it too much to destroy the Prussian port while retreating? Have you considered how much this rumor will tarnish the image of our country?”

“We didn’t leave any evidence that we did it. And I judged that if we were going to abandon Prussia, it would be better to cut off the buds to prevent future problems.”

“Hmm……”

Paget’s logic was perfect.

Unlike the confident declaration of war, if they did not achieve tangible results, public sentiment would be shaken.

Percival tried to set up the two generals as scapegoats to appease this, but the two men, who knew this well, were not easily fooled.

“Rather, I think the honorable members of parliament are being too optimistic and showing a lenient attitude towards the situation. I dare to add that it is necessary to push forward more strongly and quickly.”

“Are you saying that this situation is our fault!”

“Now, now. Let’s stop there. What’s important now is not to figure out who’s to blame. If you want to play politics, do it in the next election.”

Eventually, Pitt intervened to mediate when the hearing showed signs of escalating into a protracted blame game.

“First of all, we have to accept that Turkey and Prussia have been defeated. We must also admit that we made a complacent judgment. Fortunately, we have not suffered irreparable damage.”

“…That’s right. Turkey and Prussia were originally only intended to make up the numbers.”

“Even if Prussia had joined France with its forces intact, they would have been finished by now. Rather, what we should pay attention to is the French naval power that crushed Turkey in the shortest amount of time. I think we should ask Admiral Collingwood for his opinion on this……”

As soon as Pitt’s question was over, Admiral Collingwood rose from his seat.

Yes. We should have had this constructive discussion a long time ago. What’s the point of figuring out who’s to blame when the war isn’t even over?

“I was also shocked by this. But in fact, it was something we should have expected. We have also been deploying warships that use steam engines recently.”

“Does that mean that the difference in power between a fleet using steamships and a fleet operating traditional wooden ships is that significant?”

“Of course, steamships are stronger, but the fact that the Ottoman Empire was defeated was also due to the fact that the basic performance of their cannons was not up to par. From that point of view, when we actually fight France, our wooden warships will not become useless baggage.”

The biggest concern for Britain right now was that.

What if their warships were swept away by French steamships, just like the Ottoman warships were?

They might witness the shocking reality that their long-confident maritime superiority never existed in the first place.

However, Admiral Collingwood did not expect the gap to be that significant.

Rather, the problem was from now on.

“However, from a long-term perspective, it is true that we are 불안한 [Korean word meaning ‘uneasy’ or ‘anxious’]. Currently, there are reports that France is producing a huge number of steamships not only in France but also in the New World. If years pass and steamships from Nouvelle-France [New France, a former French colony in North America] cross the Atlantic… or cross the Pacific and reach Asia, our advantage may collapse in an instant.”

“Time is not on our side.”

Britain also had India, but unfortunately, the level of technological maturity in India and Nouvelle-France was on a different level.

It is true that India is a huge market, but that is only in terms of market size.

Nouvelle-France was more industrialized than mainland France, and it was also a land with more abundant resources than Britain and France combined.

Even God could not predict how the situation would unfold if they were determined to produce warships in such a place.

Until now, it was judged that the existing forces were sufficient to suppress them, but the Ottoman Empire’s defeat, which was decided in an instant, brought about a change in this perception.

And it is not only Britain that has come to this conclusion.

France must be making similar predictions.

“We tried to starve France’s forces in Asia, but now that this has not been a definite success, I think it’s time to make a decision.”

At Collingwood’s suggestion, Pitt’s wrinkled forehead deepened even further.

To make a bet before it’s too late.

A true all-or-nothing fight where the winner takes all and the loser loses all.

Should we really bet the fate of the nation on this?

Or something.

Isn’t there a better way?

Pitt’s complexion, who was being forced to choose, was getting darker and darker.

< Time of Decision > End