The command cabin of the Glorious was now in a state of confusion. The unconvinced naval officers directed all their anger at the battlefield defeat on Hoff, but they were right. Hoff's command in this battle was completely is a failure.
But Hof himself didn't think so. He believed from the beginning to the end that the responsibility belonged to others. It was the incompetence of his subordinates, the inability of the army, and problems in all aspects of the empire.
What's even worse is that this queen's confidant is really too proud of herself and has an extremely willful personality!
Today, when he saw so many subordinates targeting him, his face turned red and he shouted, "Give me the order! I don't believe the army dares to disobey my order? I am the commander-in-chief, and I am the person in charge of the entire campaign!"
"The rights given to me by the empire, let me see who dares to disobey them!"
When the conflict reached this point, both sides were shaking with anger. After all, Hof was the commander. These senior officers could refute him, but the soldiers below did not dare.
Soon strongly worded flags were sent to Spike Island, and army and navy correspondents were always paying attention to the new orders from the commander-in-chief.
"Commander Hof has issued an order! We are required to attack the central town immediately..."
"The commander-in-chief requires us to use our overwhelming superior force to defeat the resisting Chinese people... life or death!"
The person who received Hof's order was the commander of the Fourth Division of the Guards. He was the most senior commander closest to the central town at the moment, and the other two division commanders had no idea where they were commanding the battle. It can be seen that The chaos of this battle.
"Notify Hof... There are more than 300 wounded soldiers of our army in the town. The enemy uses the wounded soldiers as hostages. We cannot launch an attack!"
"But..." The signal soldier wanted to say something else, but was scolded by everyone.
"But what? This is an order. You have no right to refute it. Get out..."
The correspondent himself was a member of the Navy. He was only temporarily assigned to the Army to exchange information. Today, the Army itself was very angry and felt that it did not have a good attitude towards him.
The angry correspondent ran out of the temporary headquarters and quickly came to the commanding heights of the beach to give the Army's embellished reply to the Glorious.
"The Army refused to accept the order. There were Army wounded in the town and they refused to attack..."
"If the commander orders an attack, just ask the commander to do it himself..."
He was really not afraid that something bad would happen, he was just afraid that there would be no good people. Hof was really out of his mind, why did he find such a petty and vindictive villain as his correspondent? This unfounded incident immediately angered Hof.
"You bastard going to hell! How dare you ignore my orders and how dare you mock me!"
"Cowards who have lost the soul of the Imperial Army! They are all cowards..."
"I don't need them anymore... I don't need them anymore... Fire my cannons and order all the warships to fire their cannons immediately! Blow up that town completely!"
Of course it is impossible for Hoff to go to the battlefield by himself, but don't forget that he has cannons in his hands, and they are large-caliber naval guns. These 140- and 150-caliber artillery are already the strongest firepower on the entire battlefield at this moment!
"No! No way... wounded soldiers of the Army are in a small town, how can you massacre friendly troops? You are treason!"
Hof's chaotic life completely angered those officers. These naval admirals were not rootless trees. These people were elites trained by the Imperial Naval Academy. Almost everyone had a rich family.
Some are descendants of nobles, and some are heirs of big capital families. These are the forces that Napoleon III relies on. These people are not afraid of Hoff.
"I am the commander! I have the authority to give orders!"
"I'm sorry, we will not execute your order, and our men will never execute it either!"
For a battleship, the captain is the well-deserved first person, but he alone cannot command the entire battleship!
His subordinates must be assisted by various people, such as the deputy captain, first mate, second mate, chief engineer, chief of communications, chief of gunnery, chief of interior... and other officers with different functions to jointly manage.
This is cooperation with the captain, and it is also a restriction on the captain's rights. After all, the navy is a very special service.
On the vast sea, warships carry deadly weapons and travel all over the world far away from home. Then the country's binding force on this warship will be relatively reduced.
Imagine a British warship sailing in the Pacific. How would London command it? What if the captain mutinies?
This requires checks and balances of power. For example, if the gunnery commander questions the captain's firing order, he can ask all the officers on the ship to discuss it, or even refuse to execute the order.
Although this situation is rare, it at least curbs the captain's dominance of power.
Even the chief of internal affairs has his own right to check and balance the captain, and that is money. He can stop the captain from spending money randomly!
Hoff had offended all these officials today. His orders were completely rejected by these officers. The gunner of the Glorious even blocked the brass horn used for communication with his hand. Hof's command chief The gunners on deck couldn't hear it at all.
"Sir... we will never accept such random deaths. Navy artillery shells cannot be used to kill friendly troops!"
"Without my order, the Glory's cannons cannot fire at the central town!"
"Are you going to rebel?" The veins on Hof's forehead were popping!
"Commander! Whether we are rebelling or not, you can plead your case in a military court after returning home! But now you want to massacre your own people, then we will never agree to it!"
Hof pointed at Spike Island and said with trembling fingers, "It's just a little bit close. It's just a little bit close to annihilating all these Chinese!"
"We have lost so much, how can we just watch the Prussians rescue these damn Chinese? You are committing a crime..."
"You are committing a crime...a crime...a crime..."
But no one was willing to listen to Hof's orders. Many officers in the command cabin looked at him coldly and said nothing. His orders could not be executed without the nods of these people.
Hof understood everything from the eyes of these people. He smelled the smell of conspiracy. He suddenly understood that these damn subordinates were preparing to use him as a victim!
This rebellion is just a chain of evidence in future military courts. These people do not really love the wounded soldiers of the Army, they are just pretending.
They put on pretense and staged such a "rebellion" drama. In the final analysis, they proved to the world that they were not of the same mind as themselves. Their judgment on this battle was completely opposite to theirs.
In other words, the responsibility for the failure of this battle lies entirely with him!
"Okay, okay... You are very good... Since you are willing to rebel and seize power, then take it... I will no longer direct this battle!"
Angrily, Hoff rushed out of the door!
At the same time, there was sudden chaos on Spike Island. Before these naval officers had time to stop Hof, they were attracted by the situation on the island.
