Chapter 308: Chapter 304 Hawaii’s Ambition
"You said your minister is not in the office?"
Jerome Bonaparte looked at the Secretary of State for the Ministry of the Navy standing in front of him with a face full of surprise. He never thought he would hear in his "lifetime" that Minister Dico was not working at the Ministry of the Navy.
This is like the sun rising from the west!
"That’s right!" The Secretary of State for the Ministry of the Navy replied to Jerome Bonaparte.
"It’s really a miracle!" Jerome Bonaparte turned to joke with Valerovsky: "Our busy minister has actually learned work-life balance, it is really something to be happy about!"
Valerovsky, who did not hear any aversion in Jerome Bonaparte’s tone, also nodded. Among all the departments in present-day France, Dico is undoubtedly the king of busyness. With his own efforts, he has driven the entire French Navy into high-efficiency internal competition, becoming the most efficient department of all, to the extent that its efficiency even surpassed the Ministry of War personally overseen by Jerome Bonaparte.
"No... The minister is not resting!" The Secretary of State for the Ministry of the Navy immediately explained to the governor who misunderstood his intentions.
"Then where is he now?" Jerome Bonaparte asked the Secretary of State in confusion.
After the Secretary of State’s explanation, Jerome Bonaparte finally understood.
To complete the task Jerome Bonaparte casually assigned at the time, the then Minister of the Navy Dico, along with Assistant Minister Marquis Alet, have now headed to the Vincennes District in the eastern part of Paris, where there is a testing ground specifically built by Dico for testing compliant armor plates.
"So it turns out our minister just changed his workplace!" Jerome Bonaparte felt sincere admiration for Dico’s dedication to overtime. There had never been anyone who served the Navy so wholeheartedly like Dico; he had every reason to believe that Dico could make the French Navy great once again: "Since that’s the case, let’s go to Vincent as well!"
Jerome Bonaparte and Valerovsky called upon the Secretary of State for the Ministry of the Navy and went to Vincent together.
After some time of bumpy carriage ride, they finally arrived at the Vincennes District in the eastern suburbs of Paris by 9 p.m.
On this boundless wilderness, a deafening cannon shot rang from afar.
Upon hearing the sudden cannon shot, the horses went into a brief panic, raising their heads in an attempt to flee. The coachman tightened the reins with his strong arms and then used the whip to harshly discipline the frightened horses.
The horses, suffering physical pain, finally calmed down. Jerome Bonaparte, with a gloomy face, pointed at the source of the noise and questioned, "What exactly is going on?"
The Secretary of State awkwardly explained, "Perhaps the experiment has started!"
"Experiment?" Jerome Bonaparte seemed puzzled. What kind of experiment would require cannons? Just from hearing the cannon’s sound, it can be judged that this is a 50-pound cannon.
Such cannons are mostly used as siege guns or ship cannons unless Dico has dismantled naval cannons for the experiment.
This absurd thought spread in Jerome Bonaparte’s mind like it took root and grew.
Considering Dico’s stubborn nature, it’s possible he might really do such a thing.
Due to the cannon blasts being overly loud, Jerome Bonaparte and the others had to walk to the testing ground.
When Jerome Bonaparte and the others covered their ears and arrived at the testing ground, the cannon sounds ceased.
Under the guidance of soldiers, Jerome Bonaparte arrived in front of Minister of the Navy Dico and Assistant Minister Marquis Alet. At this moment, Dico, Marquis Alet, and another fellow unknown to Jerome Bonaparte, all had smiles on their faces.
If one didn’t scrutinize the dark circles around their eyes, they looked like energetic individuals.
Jerome Bonaparte’s arrival surprised Dico and the others; they hurriedly saluted Jerome Bonaparte with a questioning gesture.
"Who is this..." Jerome Bonaparte asked, pointing to the person standing next to Dico.
"Sir!" The middle-aged man, pointed at by Jerome Bonaparte, hurriedly saluted Jerome Bonaparte!
"Sir, this is Pierre Armand Gies, currently serving as an armored floating battery designer!" Minister Dico promptly explained to Jerome Bonaparte.
Jerome Bonaparte scrutinized the designer in front of him; he was tall, with black hair and black eyes, an expression of determination and sharpness, as if nothing in the world could defeat him. This is the aura of someone who has battled with the waves since childhood.
"Are you a Maasai?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Pierre Armand.
"I am!" Pierre Armand responded briefly but proudly: "I grew up in Maasai, we all grew up battling the waves!"
"I can tell!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded at Pierre Armand affirmatively, then turned to inquire Deco, "How is your implementation going?"
"Sir, we succeeded!" Deco responded excitedly to Jerome Bonaparte, "Our armor plates can now withstand the attack of a 24-pound coastal defense cannon, which means..."
Before Deco could finish, Jerome Bonaparte immediately said, "Which means the French fleet can launch an attack on fortresses at close range!"
"Exactly!" Minister Deco nodded, saying spiritedly, "As long as qualified armor plates are installed on our gunships, we can attack fortresses at close range. Nelson’s words are destined to become history, as warships will also be capable of fortress combat!"
Jerome Bonaparte applauded and praised Minister Deco, "Minister, you have shown me a new era! You are pioneering an era, an era that belongs solely to you! All previous naval battle strategies will undergo a drastic change, and the former authorities will be completely overthrown! Seeing you, I see the hope and future of France! I see the era where France can grasp the trident just like its sisters!"
Jerome Bonaparte did not spare his praise. The ironclad transformation is indeed an important opportunity for France to overtake on curves. As long as they can close the gap with Britain, even if it means just catching a glimpse of Britain’s taillights, it will be considered a significant advancement.
Jerome Bonaparte’s commendation made the three present a bit at a loss. Pierre Armand immediately "honestly" responded to Jerome Bonaparte that these were just experimental data, and it would take nearly a year to achieve complete success.
"I can wait! France is willing to wait for you!" Jerome Bonaparte encouraged them with a gentle attitude, "I hope you can continue to strive harder to develop stronger and more powerful ships for France!"
"Yes!" Deco and the others responded in unison.
After the experiment ended, Jerome Bonaparte took Deco to the office alone.
In Deco’s office, Jerome Bonaparte first severely criticized Deco for not taking care of his health, to which Deco could only respond that he would definitely correct his behavior.
Jerome Bonaparte also knew that it was extremely difficult for Deco to make that change.
Then, Jerome Bonaparte began to address the main topic.
"Regarding the punitive action against the Kingdom of Hawaii, how do you plan to proceed?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Deco.
Deco looked at Jerome Bonaparte in astonishment. He had never imagined that a small island nation full of natives would attract Jerome Bonaparte’s interest.
According to the missionaries’ information, the entire island nation probably had a population of less than 80,000 people.
Even if it was a country recognized by both Britain and France, so what? (At this time, the United States of America was not considered.)
Many countries recognized by England and France ended up being destroyed anyway.
"I plan to use five third-class battleships in conjunction with the Far East Local Fleet to launch an attack on the Kingdom of Hawaii!" Minister Deco reported to Jerome Bonaparte while pointing at Hawaii on the Pacific Region map, "The battleships will encircle Honolulu Port and then launch a devastating strike!"
"How many people are you prepared to use to capture this place!" Jerome Bonaparte pointed at the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
"Attack?" Minister Deco hadn’t considered the problem of attacking the capital, as he thought symbolic punishment would suffice.
"We are deploying so many resources, naturally it should be an annihilation war!" Jerome Bonaparte said to Deco.
"But the Kingdom of Britain..." Deco wasn’t worried that the French Republic couldn’t defeat the Kingdom of Hawaii, but he had some concerns about the Kingdom of Britain’s stance.
"Don’t worry! The Kingdom of Britain, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will handle it!" Jerome Bonaparte assured Deco that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would be taken care of.
"In that case! I hope to lead two battalions of the ’Zouaf’ forces!" Deco made an exorbitant demand to Jerome Bonaparte.
The Zouaf Corps is said to be the pinnacle of light infantry in the whole of France and even in the whole of Europe. Every Zouaf soldier has the capability of one soldier being equal to ten, especially when combined with the Mini Gun, which offers greater accuracy and firing range.
"You really made quite a demand!" Jerome Bonaparte shook his head and replied, "France only has about 9 battalions of Zouaf soldiers; giving you a quarter at once is not feasible!"
"How about one battalion!" Deco lowered his request again.
"Let me think about it!" Jerome Bonaparte glanced at Deco, instantly seeing through Deco’s scheme. He wanted to use the officers of the Zouaf Battalion to help him train ship-based landing troops.
The combat strength of the ship-based landing troops, as the predecessor of the French Marine Corps, lags significantly behind that of the ’Zouaf’ Battalion, not to mention the Far East Fleet, which was still in its nascent stage.
"I can reassign two battalions of the ’Zouaf’ forces for you, but..."