Little George was so amused he burst out laughing, looking at Justin as if he were an idiot.
Your father is the keeper of England's treasury, so you think your army is formidable? My father is the King of England, so shouldn't I be able to unite Europe, you scoundrel!
After a silent internal rant, Little George decided to ignore the absent-minded Justin and directly addressed the English officers: "I don't want to hear any excuses or reasons from you. I also don't want to know how much matériel you've resold or how much money you've pocketed."
Hearing Little George's words, the assembled English officers were instantly dumbfounded.
For Edward and Richard, who were of noble birth, they weren't worried about George III or Little George making examples of them. After all, Edward and Richard had very strong backgrounds. Furthermore, it was a critical juncture in the ongoing war. As long as George III had a shred of sense, he wouldn't risk instability in England by taking action against Edward and Richard.
However, Edward and Richard were psychologically prepared to be recalled to England and were also ready to sacrifice a few lower-ranking officers. With Napoleon's French army counterattacking, the English army's initial advantage was gone. Coupled with the sudden dismissal and reassignment of Toujou Nijuhachi, someone had to take the blame for this war.
But Edward and Richard hadn't expected Little George to directly declare that he would not pursue any past issues.
Had this fellow lost his mind?
After pondering for a long time without finding any explanation, Edward tentatively asked, "Does Your Highness mean we should immediately halt this battlefield engagement?"
The other officers also looked expectantly at Little George. For these officers, who were all English nobles, halting the war now was undoubtedly the best option.
Firstly, through their combined "efforts," the English army had achieved remarkably brilliant results in the early stages of the war, occupying a large portion of France and engaging in widespread looting and destruction. This had, in essence, avenged the humiliation left by Richard the Lionheart and King John.
Secondly, these officers themselves understood that the war was no longer sustainable. At the very least, England had no further potential to continue fighting. Ending the war early would not only maintain their dignity but also potentially secure some benefits in negotiations with France.
Thirdly, even if no benefits were gained from the negotiations with France, the responsibility would fall on Toujou Nijuhachi, while these officers, of English noble descent, would emerge as heroes in the eyes of the public.
However, to the disappointment of all the English noble officers, Little George let out a cold laugh and refuted Edward's statement: "Halt this war now? No, I will not halt this war immediately. Instead, I intend to fight another battle with Napoleon."
The English officers present were once again caught in a state of bewildered silence. Justin sneered and asked, "Your Highness George, how many troops did you bring to France this time? And how much matériel?"
"Also, did you study at the Imperial Military Academy of Da Ming? Or at the Changshan Army Command Academy of Da Ming? Or perhaps the Jimou Naval Command Academy of Da Ming? Or maybe at the National Defense University of Da Ming?"
Little George glanced coldly at Justin and retorted, "What? If one hasn't studied at a military academy in Da Ming, can they not lead the English army to fight? Have you forgotten that I am now the highest military commander here?"
Justin shrugged, appearing indifferent, and said, "Apologies, I had no intention of challenging your authority. I merely wished to remind you that the French military commander on the other side, Napoleon, is an outstanding graduate of the Changshan Army Command Academy of Da Ming."
Little George's teeth itched with anger.
In previous years, very few people in all of Europe knew who Napoleon was. Let alone a prince like Little George, even some ordinary dukes wouldn't have given a second glance to an unknown nobody who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
However, as Napoleon led the French army to trounce the Habsburg family several times, Napoleon gained the reputation of a God of War in Europe. Every king of every country, big or small, wished for a renowned general like him to emerge in their nation.
For this reason, the kings of these countries were willing to offer high salaries, grant authority, and bestow noble titles to win over Napoleon.
Unfortunately, no matter what conditions these kings offered, Napoleon remained unswayed. He even repeatedly and humbly stated that he was French by birth and would die a Frenchman, and would never betray France under any circumstances.
The result of repeated failed attempts to recruit him was that Napoleon's fame in Europe grew even louder, and his standing in society became increasingly elevated, far beyond what Prince George of Wales could compare to.
To put it this way, if Napoleon agreed to defect to England under the condition of eliminating Little George, the Prince of Wales, Little George suspected that George III would unhesitatingly act against him and replace him with another prince as the Prince of Wales and the next heir to the throne.
It was precisely because of this that Little George found Justin's statement so repulsive.
After a long silence, Little George let out a cold snort and ordered the English officers, "Gentlemen, if you are willing to obey my command, then stay. If you are unwilling to obey my command, then please leave immediately. You can take a ship back to England now, and no one will ever pursue responsibility for your actions."
Edward and Richard exchanged a look, neither of them taking Little George's nonsense seriously.
Leave now, and no responsibility will be pursued later?
Such empty words were to be heard and dismissed. Whoever believed them would be a true fool!
Seeing that none of the officers stood up to leave, and even the obnoxious Justin remained obediently, Little George's expression softened slightly.
Little George raised his hand and adjusted the lapel knot on his collar, stating gravely, "Gentlemen, I now order you to sort out the serviceable cannonballs you have in hand, and then fire half of them at the positions of those French frogs opposite us."
After a slight pause, Little George added, "Furthermore, fire out those cannonballs mixed with sand. Do not keep them to disgust us."
This time, there was no need for Justin to jump out and annoy Little George, as Edward had already voiced his objection: "Your Highness, we do not have many serviceable cannonballs. At most, we have around two thousand. If we fire half, the remaining half will not last for a few days."
Richard also objected: "Our fleet's cannonball reserves are also not abundant, and the range of the gunships is insufficient to reach the French positions opposite us, making it difficult to support the army. Without sufficient cannonball reserves, the subsequent battles cannot be fought!"
Justin seized the opportunity to mock Little George relentlessly: "Your Highness said earlier that you wanted to spar with Napoleon, but without cannonballs, what will you use to spar with Napoleon? Will you use heavy cavalry?"
There was a reason for Justin's animosity towards Little George. If George III had not married Queen Charlotte years ago, the most likely family to form a royal alliance would have been the Justin family. However, with George III's marriage to Queen Charlotte, the Justin family's dream of further advancement was dashed.
Even more infuriating was that a while ago, when George III coincidentally suffered a bout of madness, Queen Charlotte, under the guidance of that Chinese doctor, took control of the English court...
The Justin family was severely suppressed, and the interests they were forced to relinquish would make anyone's heart ache upon hearing about it.
Now that George III had finally recovered and Queen Charlotte had been ordered to be eliminated by George III, Justin naturally had the courage to mock Little George.
After all, Justin did not believe that George III would still allow Little George to inherit the throne.
Little George naturally understood this as well.
It was precisely for this reason that Little George decided to contend with Napoleon. If he didn't demonstrate his prowess soon, his position as heir apparent might become unstable!
Glancing coldly at Justin, Little George coolly ordered, "Gentlemen, I am not discussing operational plans with you now; I am issuing operational orders. As soldiers, even if you have doubts in your hearts, you can only raise them after the battle. For now, all you need to do is obey! Obey unconditionally!"
Seeing Little George finally adopt a firm stance, Edward and Richard shrugged and saluted together, declaring, "As you wish, Your Highness."
This time, Edward decided to execute Little George's orders thoroughly.
After all, the order was issued by Little George, and he would be the one to take the blame in the end. Edward, as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, was naturally indifferent.
As Little George ordered half of the cannonballs to be fired, Napoleon and the French artillery commander, Joseph Bonaparte, were caught completely off guard.
Just as the English army was stunned by the sudden barrage of cannonballs earlier, the French army was also unaccustomed to night fighting, especially night artillery duels. During the day, they could aim before firing, but at night, what was there to aim at!
Joseph Bonaparte looked at Napoleon with a conflicted expression, his tone full of hesitation: "Is our intelligence flawed somewhere? Weren't we told that many of the cannonballs held by those Rosebeefs were mixed with sand?"
Napoleon, puffing on his pipe, shook his head: "I don't know either. In fact, we can't get any intelligence on those Rosebeefs at the moment."
Saying this, Napoleon humorously shrugged and smiled, "Perhaps those Rosebeefs simply had a change of heart and wanted to fire all the serviceable cannonballs they had left, and then surrender with dignity?"
Joseph Bonaparte thought to himself, why would they surrender? Would they raise their arms like the French and sun their armpits?
Just as Joseph Bonaparte was inwardly grumbling, Napoleon waved his hand and said, "Whatever schemes or tricks those Rosebeefs have, we don't need to care about them. Don't forget, this is French territory."
Joseph Bonaparte suddenly felt even more like grumbling. You actually remember this is French territory! And you're letting those English Rosebeefs fire cannons on our French soil? Are you proud of that!
Napoleon, of course, was unaware of Joseph Bonaparte's internal monologue. He continued, "In terms of troop resupply and ammunition resupply, we have a far greater advantage than those Rosebeefs. And the essence of war is to use one's strengths to strike at the opponent's weaknesses."
Joseph Bonaparte nodded blankly and asked, "And then?"
Seeing the confused expression on Joseph Bonaparte's face, Napoleon wished he could beat this useless brother of his severely. "And then? What else is there? Of course, it's to use our advantage of ample supplies to strike at those Rosebeefs, you idiot!"
Forcing himself to calm down, Napoleon admonished with disappointment, "Listen carefully – from now on, you will fire a barrage every hour. I don't require you to achieve any specific results, nor do I require you to kill many Rosebeefs. As long as you can prevent them from sleeping soundly, that will suffice!"
"Also, be sure to protect your artillery positions. Retreat behind Louis Bonaparte's vanguard troops after dawn. Once Louis Bonaparte's army launches its attack, your artillery unit must provide fire support. Do you understand?"
Joseph Bonaparte immediately snapped to attention and saluted: "Understood!"
It must be admitted that neither Napoleon nor Little George expected someone on the opposing side to be like them. The French artillery fired for the entire night, and the English artillery retaliated all night as well. Both sides expended a large number of cannonballs without achieving any significant results.
If there was any difference to be made, it was that the English army had only half of its usable cannonballs left, while the French army would receive a large supply the next day.
In terms of firepower, the French army still held the advantage.
However, war has never been solely about firepower or troop numbers to determine victory or defeat. Back then, a certain rabbit, driven mad by battle, fought seventeen battles against a certain "Little Stick," defeating all five distinguished families of the "Little Broken Pot," a classic example of someone who would even beat themselves when things got fierce.
At that time, the rabbit had no advantage in troop numbers, nor in firepower. Otherwise, they wouldn't have developed "firepower deficiency syndrome."
Of course, the English army was incomparable to the "rabbit" of that era. But no one could have anticipated that Little George, the son of George III, the current Crown Prince of England, the Prince of Wales, would disregard martial ethics. As dawn was just breaking, Little George ordered the English army to assume a full-scale offensive posture.