I am the Crown Prince of France

Cornwallis stared grimly at the distant, crude fort for a full half-minute before finally raising his hand toward his aide:

"Send orders: Leave a regiment to continue besieging that damn thing, and have the rest of the troops bypass it!"

Restructuring the formation and finding a new route might delay them by a day or two, but it was better than being bogged down by that ridiculous "grain silo."

However, just an hour and a half later, several cavalry units reported back that they had discovered two more similar structures less than three miles south of the first one. And further ahead, there seemed to be even more...

These defensive structures were densely scattered, blocking nearly all the key routes. At important strategic points, there were even clusters of three forts!

In a strategy game, you might be able to micro-manage your troops to squeeze between two forts since the cannons on them couldn't cover a two or three-mile-wide area. But in real warfare, that was impossible.

When a massive army is on the march, its formation can stretch for ten miles or more. If the enemy suddenly launches an attack from one of these forts, the marching troops, in their formation, would be nearly defenseless.

The attack might not kill many, but the ensuing chaos and potential for a stampede could cause severe casualties and seriously damage morale.

So, at the very least, a few of these defensive points would need to be taken out to clear a safe passage of seven or eight miles, with some troops positioned along the sides to defend while the rest march through the middle.

Even then, there was no guarantee of safety because the marching formation was so long that gaps in the defense were likely.

Cornwallis stared at the red circles on the map that his aide was marking, struggling to suppress his anger. Through gritted teeth, he ordered:

"Bring up all the cannons! Blast that 'grain silo' to pieces!"

The aide blinked in surprise. "Grain silo?"

"That thing on the hill! Damn it, call it whatever you want! Just take it down at any cost!"

"Yes, General!"

The Maratha and Hyderabad auxiliary troops were brought up and sent wave after wave against the "pā" on the hill, but each time, they were beaten back.

After an agonizing wait of nine days, one of the British 12-pounder cannons finally managed to land a direct hit on the defending cannon at the top of the "pā"—an occurrence as rare in the era of smoothbore cannons as winning the lottery.

Following this, Cornwallis's elite grenadiers pressed on, disregarding casualties, and finally breached the last wall, storming into the central tower of the "pā."

Cornwallis felt a wave of relief, like finally passing a painful obstruction after nine days. Pointing his cane at the "pā," he instructed his aide:

"Bring me the commander of the defenders. Their tenacity deserves my commendation."

The aide was about to leave when the tower in the "pā" suddenly shook, black smoke billowing out, followed by a loud explosion.

Soon, a messenger arrived with news that the Mysoreans had rigged the fort with gunpowder, killing over 30 grenadiers in the blast, and only five injured prisoners had been captured.

Cornwallis's face turned ashen as he stared at the ruins on the hill and then looked south, knowing that several more of these "grain silos" were waiting for him. His stomach churned, and he nearly retched.

In reality, Magnus and the Mysore serfs had constructed over 70 such "pā" throughout the Mangalore region, and they were still building more. Each "pā" was provisioned with just 25 days' worth of food and water—that was all the time the defenders were expected to hold out before retreating.

The British would need to destroy at least a quarter of these to safely pass through Mangalore.

Even if they were incredibly lucky and hit each defending cannon on the first try, it would still take them nine days per fort, which meant it would take 160 days to clear Mangalore.

And that was just a small province in northwest Mysore; the areas beyond, like Seringapatam and Mysore city, were much larger. It would take two or three years to push through all of Mysore at this rate.

This was the defensive strategy Joseph had devised specifically for Mysore.

In a region like Europe, where labor is valuable and construction techniques are advanced, a "pā" wouldn't be worth much. It would be more cost-effective to build proper bastions. But in India, where serfs could be conscripted for free labor, the "pā" was perfectly suited.

While it wasn't entirely "zero cost" as Fernand had suggested—the construction itself was cheap, but the cannons, gunpowder, provisions, and transport still cost money—each "pā" only required Tipu Sultan to invest about 400 pounds, or 10,000 livres, much of which was covered by local nobles. For Mysore, it was practically an unlimited resource.

Moreover, the "pā" required minimal construction skills. Primitive tribes on Pacific islands could build them, and a mature feudal state like Mysore had no trouble at all.

The most crucial aspect was that while these forts could eventually be worn down and destroyed in other regions, the British, on an expensive and distant campaign, would be bled dry if this dragged on for years.

And "The Tiger of Mysore," Tipu Sultan, wasn't one to sit idly by and wait for the British to attack.

As Cornwallis launched an assault on the second "pā," Tipu Sultan was already leading 17,000 troops to invade Travancore.

Travancore was no match for Mysore and hurriedly called on the British for help.

In response, Cornwallis scrambled to send 3,000 British soldiers and over 10,000 auxiliary troops, transported by the Royal Navy, to Travancore. But just three days after they set sail, news arrived that the Maharaja of Travancore had surrendered to Mysore.

With that, there were no more hostile forces in southern Mysore.

On Lafayette's advice, Tipu Sultan immediately led his main forces eastward to Carnatic—leaving the northwest front to Lafayette, who commanded 20,000 Mysore troops and relied on the "pā" defenses, needing no further attention from Tipu.

If Carnatic fell, the entire southern Indian peninsula would be under Mysore's control, and the British strategic situation would become dire.

Meanwhile, French Consul Salah and Mysore official Shah secretly made their way to Hyderabad. The Crown Prince had said that Indians love to take advantage but have no loyalty.

If they could bribe Hyderabad to switch sides—which had allied with Mysore against the British decades ago—that would be ideal. But even if they couldn't, it would still force the British to spend more resources securing Hyderabad.

...

On the western outskirts of Munich.

Talleyrand adjusted his coat as he stepped down from the carriage, then turned back to gesture to the escorting guards.

"Make sure to watch him closely. Come with me."

Three soldiers followed him, escorting a middle-aged man tied up tightly like a bundle, as they walked toward the Munich Palace.

Music filled the air as the Bavarian Duke Karl Theodor stood at the palace gates, smiling at the visiting Frenchman.

(End of Chapter)

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