However, the battle to snipe the Canadian army was much more difficult than Lefour had imagined.
It wasn’t because the British were too formidable in combat. In reality, they hadn’t exchanged a single shot with them, but rather because they simply couldn’t get close to the British.
On a pine-covered hill, Lefour gazed through binoculars at the British soldiers burying the corpses of army horses and frowned, saying, "’The Black Beast Spirit’ is even more furious. Yuge, go inform all the soldiers, especially the cavalry, that they must maintain a distance of at least 6 mu from the English-speaking guys... ah, maintain a distance of two kilometers.
"Yes, Commander Sir."
Ever since the Canadian army entered the Muskegon area—a dense forest region over 80 kilometers south of Fort Mackinac—it had begun to suffer from the "punishment of the Black Beast Spirit".
Initially, the horses would suddenly develop a high fever, and in less than a day, they would start convulsing and lose consciousness, dying within three or four days.
Those in frequent contact with the army horses would also exhibit similar symptoms, although usually, it would take five days for them to experience consciousness disorders and coma.
According to Indian Tribal lore, this was due to the Black Beast Spirit of the forest—a type of evil spirit—possessing the people it disliked.
Although Lefour and his soldiers had already converted to Catholicism, the "compatibility" of the Indian Gospel was very strong, accommodating the Black Beast Spirit with a position under Satan’s command.
Of course, there was actually no roaming "Black Beast Spirit," but rather, the Canadian army had contracted a relatively uncommon disease—Eastern Equine Encephalitis.
This is a severe infectious disease with birds and mosquitoes as intermediate hosts, peaking from July to November. The infection rate among horses is astonishingly high, with a mortality rate of over 70%. Humans can also contract it, and while the mortality rate is merely one-third, those who recover can suffer severe neurological damage, ranging from memory loss to dementia.
Indians, following ancestral traditions, would never approach places where the Black Beast Spirit appeared.
This prevented them from launching attacks on the British Army.
Thus, Lefour’s army followed the Canadian corps from afar for nearly a month, during which their main task was to warn nearby Indian Tribes of the Black Beast Spirit’s presence here.
While Lefour anxiously sent men to contact the Louisiana Governor to report his failure to intercept, the British suddenly turned back and returned to Fort Mackinac.
Yes, after losing a large number of horses, the British Army’s transport capability was devastatingly impacted.
A large quantity of supplies such as tents and shells were abandoned in the swamps, and soldiers, fearing infection from the horses, dared not approach them.
During this month, they had covered only less than 400 kilometers, barely reaching the southwestern side of Detroit.
The British Commander calculated that at their current speed, they wouldn’t reach Saint Louis until March next year—if the logistics camp could even find enough transport horses by then.
By then, either France and America would have resolved their conflict, or the main force of the French Army would have already retreated to Louisiana, making his presence there meaningless.
While Lefour waited for a response from Louisiana, he diligently tailed the British back to Fort Mackinac.
...
As the Canadian corps began to retreat, a mysterious lumber merchant stepped off a cargo ship docked at the quay at the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River.
Quebec City lay on the other end of the quay, and from there to Montreal, over 85% of the population were French. This was achieved even after the constant immigration of British descendants following the promulgation of the Constitutional Act of 1791 by England.
The lumber merchant pulled up the collar of his fur coat and stepped onto a carriage waiting by the roadside.
"This godforsaken place is even colder than Russia." He took the hot coffee handed to him by the middle-aged man sitting across from him and rubbed the cup with satisfaction. "Thank you so much, this practically saved my life."
As the carriage began to move, he pulled the curtains and turned to the middle-aged man: "Lieutenant Joel, regarding that Speaker..."
The latter immediately corrected him: "Please call me Karen, Baron Morin."
"Speaker Bedard has already been contacted, and you will meet him at a salon three days later."
"Oh, that’s excellent, Mr. Karen, your efficiency is indeed high!"
Lieutenant Joel reminded: "However, Mr. Bedard has always opposed using violence against the British Governor. A Member of Parliament named François Brown is quite radical in his anti-British stance, perhaps you could consider starting with him."
"Thank you for the suggestion." Baron Morin nodded. "However, I’m not here to incite them into a riot. I believe I’ll have a good conversation with Speaker Bedard."
The Security Bureau agent was taken aback: "I thought you came to advance Lower Canada’s independence."
"That’s indeed my purpose," Baron Morin took a sip of coffee. "But not everything has to be resolved by violence.
"Look, the Ottawa army is on its way to the Mississippi River, and they won’t be back until next summer if everything goes as expected.
"Therefore, the Quebec Congress doesn’t need to resort to violence to make the Canadian Governor compromise."
"What are you planning to do?"
"You see, establishing a nation isn’t an easy task," Baron Morin said, "but proposing constitutional amendments isn’t too difficult.
"Even though Speaker Bedard is a moderate, he wouldn’t refuse promoting constitutional reforms like ’devolving responsibility of the Executive Council to Congress rather than solely obeying the Governor,’ ’having the Legislative Congress control all public finance and taxes, with the Governor not being able to use government funds arbitrarily,’ and ’protecting the rights of the French language and the French-Canadians, including land rights and government positions.’
Lieutenant Joel nodded. These are indeed core political demands of the Canadian Party, and as its leader, Bedard is no exception.
The so-called "Canadian Party" is a political party organized by French Canadians, relying on the numerous French populace to continually control the Lower Canada Congress. The Patriot Party, which led the French uprising two decades later, developed from the Canadian Party.
He then frowned: "But that’s still not independence."
Baron Morin smiled: "Do you think, when the Ottawa army returns or when London sends an expeditionary force to Canada, will their Governor tolerate such provisions continuing to exist?"
"Of course not. Prescott would immediately veto them."
Robert Prescott is the current Governor of Lower Canada. According to colonial law, he has the power to veto any bill proposed by Congress.
Baron Morin nodded: "Exactly. And what will those who have become accustomed to controlling finance, fully taken over the Executive Council, or who have purchased large tracts of land in Quebec, the French populace, do?
"They will use every means possible to resist, due to unprecedented anger.
"That’s when it will be the perfect time for me to approach Member of Parliament Brown."