The "North American Three Sisters" at the banquet—corn, beans, squash, and charcoal-grilled bison made Lafayette frown. Only the taste of grilled salmon was somewhat acceptable.
It was said the chef had retired from the Palace of Versailles, but Lafayette doubted this.
Early the next morning, Napoleon couldn’t wait to gather all the senior officers of the colony and convene a battle meeting.
Before everyone had arrived, he saw a figure he least wanted to encounter.
Napoleon rose to greet him, saying softly, "Your Excellency Marquis, I remember you said you came for colonial construction."
Lafayette gestured for his attendant to open the leather box, respectfully taking out a piece of parchment with gilded edges: "Here is a handwritten letter from His Highness the Regent for you, General Bonaparte. Yesterday’s banquet’s theme was wine and food, which was truly unsuitable for discussing such matters."
Napoleon hurriedly took the letter and saw written on it: I am waiting for the news of your decisive victory, General Bonaparte. The signature read Louis Joseph...
Yes, Joseph knew well that for someone as stubborn as Napoleon, this single sentence was enough.
Sure enough, a gleam of pride and excitement flashed in Napoleon’s eyes.
He carefully put away the parchment, stood tall, and said, "I certainly won’t disappoint His Highness!"
He looked at Lafayette again and said, "I guess it won’t be long before my name appears in the Paris newspapers once more."
"I look forward to that day," Lafayette nodded with a smile, "Then, I shall head to the Governor’s Palace. Good luck to you."
Seeing that Lafayette had no intention of attending the meeting, Napoleon finally felt at ease and returned to the main seat of the meeting table, looking at the officers: "Let’s begin."
The colony’s Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Brasser, first gave a general overview of the current situation.
Napoleon finally added, "According to the intelligence sent by the Security Bureau last month, there are 1,200 to 1,500 soldiers gathered in the Ontario direction.
"They are very likely to cooperate with the Americans to launch a surprise attack on us."
Ontario belongs to the Upper Canada Colony of Britain, with residents predominantly of British descent. Currently, there are only tens of thousands of people, so putting together over 1,000 troops is already the limit.
Lower Canada, meanwhile, is primarily French-speaking, with a population of 400,000—this area was a French colony before the Seven Years’ War, just over 30 years ago. Although the French-speaking colonists have accepted British rule, they are not very willing to fight for it.
Of course, historically, when the Americans impulsively invaded Canada, it directly fostered unity between the British and French, who jointly defeated the American Army resoundingly.
The officers exchanged glances with worry in their eyes.
Currently, Louisiana has 2,000 white soldiers and 4,500 native soldiers, a total of 6,500. If mobilized, they could possibly add another 2,000 native soldiers at most.
The military force of the Iroquois Duchy is just over 1,000, and their fighting capability is relatively weak.
While the United States has over 7,000 regular troops in plain sight. Wilkinson has been recruiting militia across various places over the past year, so it’s not surprising if the American Army doubles in size.
If the British Army is added, the force disadvantage of Louisiana would become very clear.
Major Marcal looked at Napoleon and said, "Commander, I suggest setting up defenses along the Missouri River at Saint Louis.
"The water flows very fast here; just five to six hundred soldiers should be able to stop the British."
Lieutenant Colonel Brasser frowned, disagreeing: "If the British Army doesn’t attack Saint Louis but instead continues south along the Mississippi River, they can cross from Sainte Genevieve or Pakaha along the way."
"We could have tribes patrol the banks of the Mississippi River..."
Major Oto, also known as Little Turtle of the Shawnee Tribe, immediately replied, "Most of the men in the tribe have joined the army; there aren’t nearly enough people."
After some debate, they suddenly noticed Napoleon’s consistently calm expression and fell silent.
Napoleon then sat up straight and said unhurriedly, "I want to remind everyone, this is a war between the Florida Colony and the United States.
"According to the agreement between Louisiana and Florida, we are obliged to ensure Florida is not attacked.
"In other words, besides defending Saint Louis, Arkansas, Baton Rouge, and other places, we must also allocate a significant number of soldiers to Frederick."
The officers present immediately became tense. Yes, they had too many places to defend, but their significant disadvantage in numbers was their biggest problem.
Napoleon smiled, stood up, and came to the map: "Thus, we will make no defenses."
He pointed to the east bank of the Mississippi River on the map: "We will concentrate our forces to take Memphis as quickly as possible."
Major Marcal instinctively asked, "But what if the Americans take the opportunity to attack the west bank?"
Napoleon’s lips curled into a mysterious smile: "No, they won’t do that. Because they’ll remember Huntsville."
The officers immediately grasped the idea.
Several years ago, Napoleon had suddenly advanced to Huntsville, crossed the Cumberland Pass, and launched a surprise attack on the American East Coast, eventually forcing the United States to sign the Pittsburgh Treaty.
From Memphis, following the Tennessee River eastward, Huntsville could be reached in just over ten days.
Then the Americans would surely marshal all their forces to stop the French Army to prevent them from surrounding Richmond once more.
Of course, Napoleon was considering far more than just this.
After capturing Memphis, the American army might be desperate enough to launch a counterattack.
In such a scenario, the Americans would have two choices—
First, to strike south at New Orleans, requiring them to cross the Yazoo River. Napoleon would immediately return and launch a surprise assault from behind them.
Second, to strike north at Saint Louis or Burlington, potentially joining forces with the Canadian Army.
In this case, he would have even more room to maneuver. The American supply line would be threatened as it lay on the south side of the Iroquois Duchy, at risk of his attack at any time. He could choose to engage the American Army decisively in the broad area between Springfield and Louisville, where they would be sandwiched between the Mississippi River and his forces.
However, the Americans are most likely to choose to retreat and reinforce, turning the scenario into a repeat of years ago.
Just as Napoleon began the deployment for his surprise attack on Memphis, Jourdan, who had been silent, suddenly stood up and said, "General Bonaparte, His Highness the Regent has already promised to dispatch troops to Florida.
"You see, which corps should I lead to Frederick?"
Only then did Napoleon recall there was a Florida Front Army commander he hadn’t yet appeased.
Reluctantly, he said, "The Arkansas Infantry Second Battalion will come under your command."
"Infantry battalion?" Jourdan frowned, "How many soldiers? 500?"
"550 soldiers, General."
"No, you must give me at least 1,500 men. We must demonstrate a proactive attitude to the Governor of Florida."
"At most, another two infantry companies."
"1,200 soldiers, no less!"
"Two infantry battalions. You must understand, this is the main battlefield here."
"Alright," Jourdan begrudgingly agreed, "but at least there should be one French battalion."