I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 367 Battle of Brussels
The Marquis of Wellesley sat down on the chair opposite, recalling the news he had just heard in Parliament: "According to Fox, nearly two months ago, Mysore sent out 6000 troops to attack Cannanore. The defending East India Company soldiers only resisted for three days before being completely defeated."

Kannur was an important stronghold of the East India Company in the southwest of the Indian peninsula. If it was lost, the trade in southwest India would be greatly affected.

Although the East India Company was a company, it was actually the British administrative agency in India. Almost everyone in the UK, from the government to parliamentarians, from officials to businessmen, bought shares in the East India Company. It can be said that the company's interests were damaged, and the impact on Britain was even greater than the government's financial loss.

Little Peter frowned: "You mean, those Indian natives only invested 5 people..."

Although the East India Company's garrison in Cannanore had less than 600 people, they were basically all experienced regular army soldiers, and their combat effectiveness was absolutely overwhelming that of the Indian natives. In addition, there were thousands of vassal troops recruited from the local area, and according to past experience, they could at least resist the fierce attack of tens of thousands of Mysore troops for one or two months.

This time, it was captured after only three days of defense.

Marquis Wellesley said solemnly, "It is said that this group of Mysore troops is extremely powerful. They are all equipped with European-made flintlock rifles and more than ten sophisticated cannons. They have blasted holes in the East India Company's bastions."

These sophisticated weapons were naturally brought to Mysore by Lafayette.

Moreover, Princess Amira of Tunisia had arrived in Mysore and had a secret engagement ceremony with Tipu Sultan's son Nawaz. Although the marriage had not been officially completed, her dowry had been shipped to India in advance.

That was a complete set of artillery production equipment, 30 artillery casting technicians, and enough raw materials to produce 50 cannons. This meant that Tipu Sultan would have a steady supply of cannons.

Although the British navy controlled shipping in the Indian Ocean, it could not do anything to take away the smugglers. However, the gunsmiths could land safely on French merchant ships. France also had a small colony in Pondicherry, India, which maintained a negligible trade.

Most importantly, Mysore had Lafayette, a general who was good at commanding rookies in battle.

For a country like India which is still in the middle stage of feudal society, only a small part of the factors that restrict the army's combat effectiveness come from weapons and equipment, while more of them come from various backward systems and the quality of the soldiers.

Lafayette, as the protector of Princess Amira and the official of Umda, led the military reform of Mysore. He made strict regulations on everything from the payment of military pay to the appointment and dismissal of officers, from military discipline to the coordination between soldiers of different faiths, and even on the arrangement of tents when setting up camp and the number of laps in which direction when patrolling.

After nearly three months of rigorous training with whips and sticks, the Indian army, which originally had a certain foundation in European drill, was almost completely transformed. Although its combat effectiveness was still far inferior to that of the British army, at least it would not be easily defeated by ten people on one side as before.

Of course, with Lafayette's energy, he only managed to train 5 new Mysore troops by sleeping only 4000 hours a day. The rest had to be trained by the Tunisian officers he brought with him.

In the raid on Cannanore, he personally led 3000 new troops, plus 3000 ordinary Indian soldiers, and easily captured the East India Company's camp.

However, there were also factors that the British did not expect. At that time, only half of the soldiers, about 300 people, were on duty in the bastion, while the others were doing business or having fun in nearby cities. The vassal army was not officially called up.

After Lafayette launched the attack, the British vassal troops, who had no loyalty at all, saw that the Mysores seemed extremely fierce - Tipu's reputation as the Tiger of Mysore also played a big role - so they defected one after another. These people were very familiar with the defense of Cannanore, which further accelerated the collapse of the British defenders.

Lord Wellesley continued, "The last news from India was that more than 1 Mysore troops were approaching North Kannada."

Little Pitt's face was gloomy. North Kannada was an important base of the East India Company in western India, and the port of Malabar was located there. If this place was occupied by Mysore, Britain would not have a single trading base available on the entire west coast of India. India was a long way from Britain, and this news was at least a month and a half ago.

He looked at the Marquis of Wellesley thoughtfully: "It seems that the Royal Navy should give full support to India."

"And we will need an expeditionary force of several thousand people." Marquis Wellesley nodded, and suddenly remembered something, and added, "Your Excellency the Prime Minister, the Governor-General of India Cornwallis once mentioned that a group of French people have been active in Mysore recently.

"There was a wave of anti-British sentiment in Mysore a while ago, and it is very likely that the French were behind it. The weapons in the hands of the Indians should also have been provided by them."

Little Pete was greatly surprised. France’s financial situation should have been very serious, but it could still squeeze out funds to aid the Indians!
Little did he know that France actually only contributed Lafayette and the Tunisian princess. The rest of the investment had long been compensated by the betrothal gift from Tipu Sultan, and even made a small profit.

Little Pitt sighed silently. He had invested a lot of money in Africa before, but the French had not withdrawn from Tunisia. Then the Hanoverian army suffered a disastrous defeat in the Southern Netherlands. And now India needed a large investment again.

In addition, Britain's textile exports in Europe have declined recently, and the French are using cheap fabrics to impact Britain's markets in Germany and Spain. If the unfavorable situation cannot be reversed, the Whigs will definitely take the opportunity to make trouble, and His Majesty the King may also doubt his ability.

He calculated the cost of aiding India and the complicated situation of war with Mysore, and finally said to the Marquis of Wellesley tiredly: "Please go to Paris as soon as possible. We can't make greater losses in India."

……

Southern Netherlands.

Brussels.

Charles II looked at the officers in front of him angrily and shouted, "What on earth are you doing? The French only have 3 men in Lully, and you have nearly three times the force and still haven't been able to capture it!"

Several Hanoverian officers kept their heads down and said nothing, but they were complaining in their hearts.

Those French troops were truly terrifying. Before their troops even approached the town of Lully, the outnumbered French army took the initiative to attack, splitting their ranks in two.

If they had not reacted quickly and retreated in time, the loss would probably not have been just 300 soldiers.

In fact, it was Joseph who strictly ordered not to annihilate the enemy on a large scale, otherwise how could they escape from the Guards?

The battle line south of Brussels had been in a stalemate for more than a month. Charles II mobilized more than 7000 troops from Hanover, but he was unable to shake the French army at all, and instead suffered losses himself.

(End of this chapter)