Jerome Bonaparte immediately asked Louis Feldbu whether it was necessary to get closer to the hare for shooting. Although 300 meters was within the shooting range of the Mauser Rifle (the maximum range of the Mauser 3.0 rifle can reach 1200 meters), at this distance, there is a significant risk of missing for the average person.

Therefore, even though the maximum range of the rifle is still inferior to some front-loading guns, its performance is still far better than that of front-loading guns.

After all, apart from specialized soldiers designated in the army to assassinate opposing generals, no army shoots at the extreme range of the rifle.

The optimal shooting distance for the army is about 100—200 meters, where the shooting speed and quality of the soldiers become the key factors that determine victory or defeat.

Hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s suggestion, Louis Feldbu eyed the hare in the distance again and then pointed at it, replying, "Your Majesty, I bet that if we get any closer, that despicable creature will surely choose to flee!

Creatures like this have a far greater sense of danger than generally large animals!"

"But from here to there, it’s about 340 yards or so!

Even a slight deviation will waste all previous efforts!" Jerome Bonaparte roughly estimated the distance and said to Louis Feldbu.

Louis Feldbu first used his thumb to make a simple distance measurement towards the distant hare and then roughly calculated the current wind speed.

After a while, Louis Feldbu replied to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, I think there shouldn’t be a problem!

The current wind speed wouldn’t cause the bullet to veer off too far!"

"Since you’ve considered everything, then go ahead!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded in agreement with Louis Feldbu’s shooting request.

Upon receiving Jerome Bonaparte’s approval, Louis Feldbu immediately raised the Mauser rifle in his hand and aimed at the gray hare.

The hare in the distance, unaware of the impending disaster, still stood motionless in place.

After visually aligning through three points, Louis Feldbu quickly pulled the trigger. The second cam of the blocking iron inside the barrel, influenced by the trigger connected to it, slid down. Since the blocking iron and the spring inside the barrel are in the same system, when the resistance exerted on the blocking iron by the second cam disappears, the compressed spring rapidly pushes the firing pin forward, which precisely strikes the primer of the brass bullet, triggering the propellant’s expanding gases to accelerate the bullet forward.

Accompanied by a "bang," wisps of white smoke emerged from the Mauser rifle’s muzzle, and the hare in the distance collapsed beside a tree as if struck by lightning.

After a while, bright red blood began to flow from the hare’s wound continuously.

From the moment Louis Feldbu lifted the rifle to aim at the hare, Jerome Bonaparte held his breath in concentration to avoid disturbing him. After Louis Feldbu successfully killed the hare, he swiftly applauded.

"Great shooting!" Jerome Bonaparte praised.

"Your Majesty, you flatter me!" Louis Feldbu, satisfied with his "accomplishment" in the distance, responded humbly, "The reason I can shoot the hare so precisely is all thanks to your rifle!"

"General Feldbu, excessive humility is equivalent to arrogance!" Jerome Bonaparte half-jokingly replied to Louis Feldbu, "A rifle is dead; man is alive!

The excellence of a rifle depends not only on its performance but also on its user.

An excellent soldier can bring out its full potential, while a soldier who knows nothing can only harness less than half its capacity.

If both soldiers are equipped with the same rifle, who do you think can achieve ultimate victory?"

"Of course, the excellent soldier!" Louis Feldbu replied without hesitation to Jerome Bonaparte.

"See, there you have it!" Jerome Bonaparte spread his hands and said to Louis Feldbu, "General Feldbu, indeed your shooting skill is superb!

I bet that many soldiers in the Guard Army may not shoot as well as you!"

"Your Majesty, you overpraise me!" Louis Feldbu maintained a humble attitude.

"Could you tell me how you trained to achieve such excellent shooting skills?" Jerome Bonaparte asked Louis Feldbu again.

After thinking for a moment, Louis Feldbu shook his head and said to Jerome Bonaparte, "Your Majesty, I don’t have any special training methods!

If I must say, there’s only one method, which is diligent practice!

Only by practicing a lot can one naturally train to have excellent shooting skills!

In fact, in the Senegal Region under my jurisdiction, there are soldiers whose shooting is even more skillful than mine. They are excellent soldiers who have grown up on the land of Senegal!"

Jerome Bonaparte then realized that the man before him, Louis Feldbu, was undeniably a "war fanatic." The military presence that France maintained in the Senegal region was fewer than 3,000 men, equivalent to a reinforced regiment.

This force was not only incomparable to Algeria’s 80,000 troops, but even Jerome Patterson’s regular army surpassed Louis Feldbu’s by 1,000 men.

If Jerome Patterson included the Pioneer Regiment, then the army he led was roughly three times that of Louis Feldbu.

However, Louis Feldbu, with only around 3,000 troops, managed to carve out accomplishments in Senegal that matched those of Jerome Patterson.

The entire Senegal was already under Louis Feldbu’s control, with hundreds of tribal chiefs submitting to him, making him truly "the King of Senegal."

Of course, during the 19th-century era of rampant colonialism, Louis Feldbu’s methods of land expansion weren’t particularly gentle. Those tribal chiefs didn’t submit to Louis Feldbu because he wore flat glasses and seemed easy to bully.

What Louis Feldbu could rely on was naturally the more than 3,000 soldiers under his command, with their assistance, Feldbu was able to massacre cities and annihilate countries.

His shooting skills were probably developed during the aggressive campaigns against the tribes.

There’s nothing better than tribal armies as excellent targets!

Understanding the reason, Jerome Bonaparte once again praised Louis Feldbu, "Well done! You and your army are commendable!!

I will have the Ministry of War and the Colonial Department verify your accomplishments, then award the collective Grand Officer Medal to the Governor’s Mansion of Senegal!"

To Jerome Bonaparte, awarding medals was the cheapest and most effective way to win people’s hearts.

A medal’s value wouldn’t exceed a thousand francs, yet it could instill a sense of collective honor in the army.

For this honor, they were willing to dedicate themselves to the Empire and the Emperor without regard for their lives.

Is there a more profitable transaction in the world?

Hearing Jerome Bonaparte’s willingness to award the Second Level medal (First Level is the Grand Cross) to the Governor’s Mansion of Senegal, Louis Feldbu was naturally excited.

Having served as Governor for nearly 5 years at the Governor’s Mansion in Senegal, he had long considered it his second home, and all the soldiers under the Governor’s Mansion were like family with whom Louis Feldbu fought side by side.

Now, Jerome Bonaparte was willing to award the collective Second Class merit to the entire Governor’s Mansion of Senegal, how could Louis Feldbu not be excited?

A collective Second Class merit meant that the soldiers at the Governor’s Mansion could receive an extra 10 francs each month in pension after retirement, which amounted to an additional 120 francs annually.

This subsidy might be negligible for a common officer, but for soldiers leaving the army, it was a modest savings.

"Your Majesty, on behalf of the 3,000 soldiers in Senegal, I thank you for your generosity!" Louis Feldbu solemnly saluted Jerome Bonaparte, and then responded in a staunch tone.

"Your efforts should be rewarded accordingly!" Jerome Bonaparte responded to Louis Feldbu, "The Kingdom of Britain, with a homeland population of less than 21 million (including 4.5 million Scots and excluding 6 million Irish), occupies the world’s most prosperous regions, with these 21 million ruling a population thirty times their own.

Britain, through colonial exploitation, provided the Anglo-Saxons with abundant financial resources, allowing them to stand at the peak of the world.

In my view, your battles in Senegal are not a fight for yourselves; you are fighting for the survival space of the 35 million people of France!

Even though your hands inevitably become stained with the innocent blood of the tribes, please believe that all you have done is worth it.

The future of France will definitely not forget those who fought for it; the hope of the nation, the future of the Empire, is entrusted to you!

You need not feel saddened by the killing of other tribes; instead, feel happy!

For the spread of civilization always accompanies one bloody conflict after another!

..."

After Jerome Bonaparte’s speech filled with sanguinary and murderous sentiments ended, Louis Feldbu and Angelo von Beichu immediately applauded Jerome Bonaparte’s speech, as did the Guards standing behind them, who excitedly applauded Jerome Bonaparte.

In the 19th-century values context, Jerome Bonaparte’s theory of "expanding the survival space for one’s own nation" was not condemned like in the 21st century but was a concept everyone agreed with.

In this era where Social Darwinism prevailed, everyone cheered for the conquest of other nations for their own nation’s sake, regardless of the bloodshed on both sides.

As long as ultimate victory was attained, everything was worthwhile!