Chapter 1884: The Fake General

General Astimo saw the fleeting stiffness on his face and said indifferently, "General, do you think the corpse of the soldier inside can deceive everyone?"

"Look at his hands; those are calluses left only by someone who has held a rifle in the military for years. Now, look at yours."

Astimo grabbed his palm and flipped it over; it was fair and chubby, and it wasn't hard to imagine that one could definitely rub grease off it.

"Do you need me to continue pointing out the other ways you differ from him?" Astimo stared at him and said.

The French general looked at Astimo in silence.

"You French have a saying that is quite right: if the shoe fits..."

The French general walked out expressionlessly, murmuring to himself, "Just accept it..."

The capture of the French general directly signaled that the British had achieved a decisive victory at Cariyongbao.

This entire area would fall under the jurisdiction of the British.

There would no longer be any obstacles to the communication between the British troops on both banks, and the situation began to reverse.

News of General Astimo's victory in battle quickly spread back to the British Colonial District.

News of the fall of Cariyongbao also spread rapidly back to the French Colonial Zone.

After the British Colonial District received the news.

Kelinxi felt both joy and worry.

The joy was simply because Cariyongbao had been occupied by the British, and from now on, counterattacking the French would no longer be a problem.

The worry was because he had received a letter.

Kelinxi looked at the other letter in his hand; it was already open, and Kelinxi proceeded to look at the contents inside.

"Dodge is selling military supplies, which is in fact Treason. The front line has been lost. If this continues to be ignored, it will cause irreparable consequences. I implore Your Excellency Kelinxi to make a decision as soon as possible..."

Kelinxi closed the letter with a silent expression.

In the cold, empty Great Hall, there was not a sound.

An attendant walked over, and after hearing Kelinxi's instructions, he scurried out, walking very hurriedly.

Not long after, the front-line commander, Dodge, and his accomplices were escorted to the British prison.

Dodge requested to see Kelinxi many times, but Kelinxi did not see him.

But Kelinxi bestowed one thing upon Dodge.

In the end, Dodge died in prison, and his accomplices were also executed by hanging for the crime of failing to supervise the battle!

Over these past few days, a great purge had occurred among the high-ranking officials of the British Colonial District.

But not many people knew about all of this.

After Dodge died, the Military Department, which originally belonged to the local forces of the British Colonial District, took the opportunity to seize the power of front-line command.

Kelinxi's military power, the power of this commander-in-chief of the three armies, was being hollowed out step by step.

Yet the person pushing all of this was a captain who had previously been cursed by Kelinxi for Treason.

If the British continued their investigation, they would find that there were more or less shadows of Longyan City behind this matter.

However, the whole affair ended because of Dodge's death.

Kelinxi would absolutely not let this matter be exposed; for him, this was absolutely impermissible.

A general he had appointed had sold British military supplies behind his back; this was called aiding the enemy and committing Treason. If the matter were exposed, it would have a great impact on Kelinxi's rule in the British Colonial District.

This matter would be submerged in the long river of history as time passed, and perhaps no one would ever know the truth again.

Meanwhile, on the other side, in the French Colonial Zone.

Upon receiving the news that Cariyongbao had fallen, Richard was stunned.

"How could the impregnable Cariyongbao be breached by that group of 'Lobsters'!"

'Lobsters' was a name derived from the red uniforms worn by the British Army, which looked like overcooked lobsters, combined with the British Army's overly incompetent combat performance.

"My lord, it was because our forces were insufficient and we fell into the enemy's trap, so..."

"Your Excellency Richard, the most urgent matter now is to rescue the general; he was captured alive by the British!"

Richard let out a cold snort and said indifferently, "Let him fend for himself."

The general who heard this felt a chill in his heart.

Although the battle was lost, he had fought until the very last moment; even if he had no merit, he had put in the hard work.

But he had not expected Richard to make such a choice.

Richard glanced at them and looked at the map of North America, finding the location of Cariyongbao. Once this place was lost, the British army would link up and counterattack them.

This would cause great trouble for the French.

But this was not the most troublesome thing.

Richard's gaze moved downward to the location of Longyan City.

The British war situation was unstable; if there was no gratifying intelligence from the Longyan City side, that would be the most fatal situation for them.

Richard pondered for a moment and said, "Increase troops to the Mississippi River Basin, but focus on defense to stabilize the war situation."

Richard's gaze swept over everyone present, his brow furrowed, and he called his attendant over to whisper, "Bring Wanshang and Fang Dalong here; I have things to ask them."

"Yes..."

After watching the attendant leave, Richard glanced at the generals present and sighed, "We cannot mobilize any more people now."

"As for the rescue plan, you all go and discuss it..."

Richard waved his hand, and the crowd dispersed. A French general being captured by the enemy was a very significant loss; they knew a lot of intelligence about the French.

In fact, once the identity of a prisoner of war of this level was exposed, they would never have a chance to be rescued.

The crowd glanced at Richard and dispersed one after another.

And not long after, Wanshang and Fang Dalong arrived one after the other.

Richard looked at the two people who had arrived and asked expressionlessly, "You are both now ministers of the Information Department; why did you not come to participate in such an important combat meeting?"

Wanshang replied, "It is not that the two of us did not want to participate, but our current identities are special, and it is not suitable for us to appear in front of them."

Fang Dalong continued, "Since we are ministers of the Information Department, we cannot show our faces in front of them anymore, lest our identities be exposed."

"Otherwise, the exposure of our identities to the Longyan would be a devastating blow."

Richard thought for a moment and felt that what the two of them said was correct.

Richard had never organized an intelligence organization before.

"Hmm, that makes sense. From now on, just hand the intelligence you collect directly to me."

"We urgently need to know the troop deployment map of Longyan City, or their topographical map; it would be best if we could also figure out their troop strength."

After hearing this, Wanshang and Fang Dalong were stunned; what did the French troops want to do?

These things would have a very large impact on the operations of the Longyan army.

Especially the topographical map and the troop deployment map, which would completely expose the weaknesses of the Longyan army.

Wanshang bowed and said, "My lord, we will obtain this information as quickly as possible; please give us some time."

Richard frowned and said, "Be quick; we do not have much time left."

"We have suffered a defeat on the battlefield of the Mississippi River, and the Britain troops are very likely to take this opportunity to counterattack."

"Therefore, our operation to fight against Longyan City must begin as soon as possible; strive to take Longyan City within the near future!"

Wanshang and Fang Dalong once again cupped their hands in a salute and said, "The two of us will complete this mission as soon as possible!"