Chapter 1013: The Correct Way to Resist
"The English aristocracy stole our fields and slandered our faith as heresy!
"Our brothers have been driven out, our mothers weep in the face of famine, and our children are sold into slavery! And today, they seek to use the lie of a United Kingdom as a shackle to turn the island of Ireland into a mere colony!
"For the glory of the Celts, for the freedom of future generations, we will face the British flintlock muskets with our own blood and fight until our very last breath..."
Joseph took advantage of the moment McCracken stopped to catch his breath, raising Tone's letter to interrupt his impassioned rhetoric. "I admire the spirit of the Irish people in resisting oppression. So, are you preparing to launch a riot?"
Tone's letter mentioned that the Society of United Irishmen had secretly contacted thousands of freedom fighters and were prepared to hold an uprising against British rule at the appropriate time. Furthermore, he was confident that he could expand the scale of the resistance army to thirty or forty thousand men in a short period. Finally, he hoped to join forces with the great nation of France to deal with the brutal and wicked British.
Portier had already been taken to another room, but McCracken still habitually glanced around the surroundings before saying very seriously, "Your Highness, this is not some riot. It is a revolution for freedom!"
"Fine, a revolution," Joseph nodded. "Then please tell me, how long do you expect it will take to defeat the British army?"
"Defeat the British?" McCracken hesitated for a moment, then declared loudly, "Six months, perhaps even just a few months to drive them out of Ireland. They will face the collective fury of all Irishmen!"
Joseph sighed and spoke bluntly. "Forgive my directness, but you are no match for the British military.
"Most lethally, Ireland is an island. Under the blockade of the British Navy, you will not even be able to obtain aid from the outside world."
He knew very well that in history, the Irish would launch an uprising four years later. At the end of May, they would declare independence from the British government, and the British army would immediately land on the island. By October, every insurgent force had been annihilated. Afterward, the British carried out a massive purge, executing tens of thousands of rebels, which actually significantly strengthened their control over Ireland.
Essentially, the Irish revolutionary army was a ragtag bunch with incredibly low levels of training and poor leadership. Forget forty thousand men; even if they doubled that number, they could not possibly defeat the British regulars.
Moreover, the Irish populace was not as united as McCracken claimed. The core strength of the uprising mainly consisted of the nobility and the bourgeoisie, while the participation level of the lower-class farmers was not particularly high.
McCracken remained full of confidence, bowing slightly as he said:
"The issues you mention do indeed exist, which is why we humbly request that you provide some assistance. Britain is our common enemy. If Ireland successfully gains independence, it will surely become France's staunchest ally, posing a threat to Britain from close range!"
Joseph smiled and shook his head.
The memory of his father nearly bankrupting the country to sponsor American independence was still fresh. Back then, the Americans had also sworn oaths to ally with France to deal with Britain together.
But what was the result? For the sake of trade interests, the Americans had constantly colluded with Britain and occasionally even undermined France.
The economic dependence of Ireland on Britain was even more severe. There was no reason to expect they would truly remain enemies with Britain forever.
McCracken grew anxious and took a step forward. "Your Highness, you only need to send an army to land in Ireland when the revolution breaks out. Those smuggling ships know exactly how to avoid the British fleet's patrols. With the powerful French army joined with our forces, we can surely crush the British with ease!"
Joseph continued to shake his head.
In history, Napoleon had sent an expeditionary force to secretly land in Ireland, but their logistics were quickly cut off by the British Navy. The Irish were unable to provide the combat supplies the French army required. In the end, the French surrendered even faster than the Irish rebels.
If the French Navy had the strength to go toe-to-toe with the British Navy to transport supplies to Ireland, there would be no need to bother with an Irish uprising—they could just send the army to sweep through London directly.
McCracken fell silent for a moment, then sneered. "Fine, it seems I should not have come. You simply do not dare..."
Joseph interrupted his provocation. "Frankly speaking, you have no idea how to actually deal with the British."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Do you know what your greatest advantage is?"
"Courage, unity, and a thirst for freedom!"
Joseph shook his head. "No. Your greatest advantage is that you possess British identities."
"What?"
"You can freely enter and leave British cities, invest there, and speak there without raising any suspicion."
"How is that an advantage?"
"In other words, you can disrupt British finance, sabotage their production, and interfere with their public opinion," Joseph said persuasively. "The Society of United Irishmen has thousands of members. If you sent half of them to operate across Britain, the blow to the British would be far greater than launching one or two riots. Oh, pardon me, revolutions."
McCracken frowned. "But what use is that? What we need is Irish independence."
"Only when Britain is weakened to a certain point will you have the possibility of defeating them," Joseph explained. "And of course, you must simultaneously strengthen the power of your resistance."
"You mean, providing us with weapons?"
Joseph exhaled. "Weapons can be given to you, but that is not the main point.
"You need to incite more Irish people to participate in the movement against Britain."
"All of Ireland will do so!"
"No. Ireland has a population of nearly four million, and right now you cannot even mobilize one percent of them."
The Irishman's face turned red. "There... there are always some cowardly and foolish people..."
Joseph said bluntly, "Your strategy is flawed. What are you using to call upon the people right now?"
"Freedom, equality, rights, and hatred..."
Joseph chuckled. "You talk to farmers about those things? They only care about whether they can eat their fill and whether their children can survive to adulthood."
McCracken blinked, clearly not understanding.
Joseph continued, "Please tell Mr. Tone to have your people go to every village and town. Tell the people that as long as the British are driven out, they will no longer have to pay those damned taxes. They can use that money to buy bread and butter.
"Tell them that once Ireland gains independence, you can levy tariffs against the British. This way, your own industries will develop rapidly in a competition-free environment, and your products can be sold to the British for a profit later.
"Without the constraints of British law, the wheat and flax you sell to London will no longer have price caps. You will be able to sell them for a third more than you do now.
"If you do this well, within a few years, your membership could increase to over a million people."
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