What is the main conflict in Sharpe's Christmas by Bernard Cornwell?

"Sharpe's Christmas" by Bernard Cornwell is a collection of two stories about Major Richard Sharpe, both written for the Christmas editions of a newspaper. In "Sharpe's Christmas", Sharpe must defend Irati against a brigade of French soldiers on the north and a French garrison fleeing Spain from the south. In "Sharpe's Ransom", Sharpe attempts to rescue his woman and their child from French hussars seeking gold that they insist Sharpe possesses. Both stories in "Sharpe's Christmas" are very entertaining and reveal a level to Cornwell's hero beyond his expertise as a soldier.