Chapter 1874: A Protracted War

"General, the Dragon Flame Army led by Li He is a fly to us, a fly that cannot be killed; since it is a fly, it should of course be swatted to death."

"But we are currently short-handed; the most urgent matter is not attacking, but establishing a stable supply line for the soldiers."

"A Protracted War—we cannot outlast Xie Fang's troops."

Huo En sneered, took out a cigarette to light it, and said indifferently: "You speak lightly; right now, America is fighting against both Britain and Dragon Flame simultaneously."

"Who else can provide us with troops?"

Delu walked up to the map; this was a drawn World Map, and his finger landed on another continent near Australia.

Africa!

Africa is quite backward due to its geographical environment.

The Egypt region near Europe has developed rapidly and has already mastered iron smelting and the manufacture of explosives.

In the past period of time, this place of Egypt was once exceptionally powerful.

But at the southern tip of Africa, the Africans in the Cape of Good Hope area actually still maintain traditional hunting methods.

Since entering the Industrial Revolution, the whole world has been shifting toward thermal weapons.

Yet the Africans in this place are still surviving in a very backward way, using arrows made of primitive wooden sticks and stones as hammers.

Perhaps because of Africa's backwardness, their land possesses almost inexhaustible mineral resources.

That place is also a key area for plunder by European powers.

France is naturally no exception; they possess a large colony in Africa.

Delu said: "Perhaps we can let those African natives help us defeat the Dragon Flame Army; they possess robust physiques."

"Having sufficient loyalty, they are the most suitable troops to serve as cannon fodder."

General Huo En narrowed his eyes slightly, took a puff, and then blew it away: "This is a good idea."

"Those useless slaves are indeed suitable to be cannon fodder."

"Go do this quickly, Delu; we cannot hold on for much longer."

Delu leaned his body slightly forward and backed out.

Meanwhile, on Li He's side...

"General, in this surprise attack, we captured two Cannons and a ship; we've made a profit this time!" Ge Dazhuang said excitedly.

Li He gave a hum, nodded, and instructed: "Those people who have attended school that I asked you to find, have you found them?"

Ge Dazhuang scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed, and said: "General, you are making things difficult for me; there is fighting everywhere now, and as for the people you mentioned, I can't say they don't exist, but I can only say they are impossible to find."

Li He glanced at Ge Dazhuang without blaming him, and could only sigh: "Fine, let's put this matter aside for now; I need you to help me find some workers who know how to repair ships."

Ge Dazhuang was stunned and glanced at the ship they had captured.

The ship was not big, but it was not small either; it was a fishing boat.

When they captured it, this ship was still relatively well-preserved, and no part of it had sustained damage.

Precisely because of this medium-sized ship, there was no need to build any deep-water port; a simple pier was enough.

They happened to control just such a small pier right now.

"General, why are you looking for ship repairmen? We can use this ship directly; we can catch more fish with this."

Li He shook his head: "I told you to go, so go!"

Ge Dazhuang agreed repeatedly and hurried off to find ship repairmen.

On Tasmania, there is a tradition of fishing, so there are quite a few ship repairmen; it didn't take long for Ge Dazhuang to find two of them.

He watched as Li He was writing and drawing on a blueprint, and couldn't help but look over curiously.

But he saw that Li He was drawing a ship, and two Cannons were mounted on this ship.

Ge Dazhuang clicked his tongue and said: "General, you wouldn't be wanting a warship, would you? We don't have that capability right now."

Li He looked up at Ge Dazhuang: "Who says we don't have that capability now? We have a ship, we have Cannons; won't we have one if we mount the Cannons on the ship?"

Ge Dazhuang was stunned for a moment: "Ah!"

He did not understand where this idea of Li He's came from, but he, who did not know many characters, also knew that this would not work.

When a Cannon is fired on the ground, the recoil at most makes it move back a few times.

But if it were on a ship, and that fishing boat at that, firing a shot would mean the recoil would capsize the ship.

"General, isn't this a bit unrealistic?"

Li He glanced at him and ignored him.

Instead, he called over the ship repairmen and told them: "We are going to mount these two Cannons on the fishing boat; I need help."

The ship repairmen were also stunned for a moment.

Before they could refuse, Li He took out the blueprint he had drawn and said: "I have already finished the drawings; that fishing boat can be completely refitted into a small Destroyer. Take a look; if there are no problems, let's act quickly."

The ship repairmen looked at the blueprint, and the values marked on it made them dizzy.

But seeing the drawing Li He had made, they discussed it and said: "Sir, according to your idea, such a refit is indeed feasible, but we cannot guarantee that it will definitely succeed; this is too crazy."

Li He laughed and said: "Rest assured, even if it fails, no one will blame you. Alright, are you coming with me?"

The few people looked at each other, exchanged a few words, and finally said: "As you wish."

Under Ge Dazhuang's astonished gaze, Li He took them away.

Ge Dazhuang scratched his head, still not understanding what they were going to do, or why they would waste energy on such an impossible thing.

At this time, Egypt.

Ever since Nashadier left, Marina had set out on a journey to find her.

It didn't take long for Marina to hear news about Nashadier.

They had engaged in a battle with French troops near the Shawn Tribe, and no one knew the outcome of the battle.

Marina's heart skipped a beat after hearing this; this was the French home turf, and even though the Egypt tribes had united, there was still a massive gap in strength when confronting the French troops.

Marina was extremely worried about Nashadier's safety.

She immediately rushed to the place where the battle had broken out, hoping to find something.

……

On the perimeter of the granary, there were guards stationed by Nashadier, and they saw a woman riding a fast horse approaching rapidly through their Telescope.

They frowned; this woman looked like an Arab, not French.

What was an Arab woman doing coming here?

"Should we open fire?"

"No, she might have just wandered in by mistake."

"Then what should we do?"

"Take her back first; if there are no issues, we'll let her go."

The guards decided to intercept Marina, and Marina's body trembled as the soldiers suddenly appeared.

But seeing that their attire looked like the Egypt Insurgent Army, she asked anxiously: "Is there a person named Nashadier here?"

The guards were stunned; Nashadier was their general, so how could this woman possibly know him?

One guard lowered his voice and said: "What do we do now?"

Another thought for a long while before saying: "Forget it, take her back first; our general might know who she is."

……