The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 280

Chapter 280: Opening the South Asian Front

When Joseph saw the logistics list and the troop deployment expenses, he felt an immediate headache.

Just for the first batch of 10,000 soldiers, the mobilization costs exceeded 500,000 livres. This amount only covered transporting the troops from France to Tunis. Once there, a continuous supply of food, fodder, and other consumables would be required, costing at least 400,000 livres per month.

If combat were to break out, the expenses would be incalculable—monthly costs of 1 million livres might not even suffice.

Joseph furrowed his brow. Adding the second batch of 10,000 soldiers and the Moulin Corps to the equation, simply stationing these forces in Tunis would consume over 10 million livres annually!

He slammed the document forcefully onto the small desk. The British tactics were insidious beyond belief! After painstakingly securing Tunis, he now had to pour in money to maintain stability.

In the long term, stability could be achieved by cultivating a local Tunisian military and handing defense duties over to them. However, that would take at least three to five years.

Not to mention, during this period, French settlers, wary of potential conflicts in Tunis, might hesitate to develop the region, significantly slowing down his plans for the area’s development.

Was there a way to break this impasse? Joseph frowned and pondered deeply.

Offering benefits to Morocco to make them withdraw their troops?
He immediately shook his head. That would only embolden Morocco, and the British would likely increase their support. In that case, should France respond or not?
Encouraging Russia to pressure the Ottomans into relinquishing Tripoli?
That didn’t seem feasible either...

Russia was currently engaged in the Seventh Russo-Swedish War, which wouldn’t conclude until mid-next year. In the meantime, Russia, having just signed a truce with the Ottomans and gained substantial benefits, was unlikely to provoke them again.

Failing to come up with an effective solution, Joseph rubbed his temples and sighed deeply:

“Why does the world have to have Britain as such a meddlesome force?”

“Meddlesome force?” Sitting opposite him, Eymond paused, then broke into a knowing smile. “Your metaphor is spot-on, Your Highness. This is indeed what the British excel at.”

“So, every ambitious French king in history has dreamed of giving them a good thrashing.”

Joseph thought to himself, I’d like nothing more than to thrash the British right now...

Thrash the British? A sudden thought struck him.

Yes! He had been fixated on defending Tunis just now, falling into a mental trap. Instead, he should go on the offensive and hit the British!

A great strategist once said: “You fight your way, and I’ll fight mine.”

Instead of dueling on the battlefield dictated by the British, he should identify their weaknesses and strike them where it hurt.

If the British could be severely hit, leaving them too preoccupied to interfere in Algiers and Tripoli, wouldn’t dealing with those smaller nations become much easier?

Having found his way forward, Joseph immediately took out a map, spreading it across the small desk and leaning over it to search.

North America?

There wasn’t much leverage to be found there. The United States was small, weak, and far too cozy with the British to be reliable.

The Caribbean?

Forget it. Any arena involving naval battles was still firmly under British control for the time being.

Australia?

Britain had hardly invested there yet. Even if it were entirely ruined, it wouldn’t cause them much harm.

India?

When his eyes fell upon the triangular subcontinent, Joseph’s vision lit up.

The largest jewel in the British crown?

I’m going to shatter it!

If memory served, the Third Mysore War would break out at the end of this year.

Historically, Tipu Sultan had fought alone, ultimately defeated by the British, who had allied with the Indian princely states.

But now, he would have the support of his French friends!

The Kingdom of Mysore in southwestern India was the most powerful force on the subcontinent and had long been at odds with the British. Indeed, any Indian ruler with a trace of backbone would resent Britain’s policy of encroaching upon India.

Of course, rulers with no backbone were in the majority.

In 1789, the Dutch East India Company, preparing to withdraw from India, sold two fortresses to the southern Indian prince of Travancore. However, these fortresses were located on Mysore’s territory.

Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, was enraged upon hearing this—he and the Prince of Travancore had long been adversaries.

After failed negotiations, Tipu Sultan led his army to attack Travancore, quickly occupying portions of their adjacent territories. Interestingly, Travancore had maintained good relations with France, and this conflict also cost the French some soldiers.

Unable to defeat Mysore, the Prince of Travancore sought help from the British.

The British East India Company’s Governor-General, Lord Cornwallis, declared that India’s princely states were under British protection. Mysore’s declaration of war against Travancore was thus a declaration of war against the East India Company.

Cornwallis then rallied the Marathas, the Madras Army, and the Nizam of Hyderabad to jointly besiege Mysore.

Tipu Sultan led the Mysore forces in a two-and-a-half-year struggle against the British, achieving some victories along the way. However, he ultimately fell to the overwhelming strength of the British and their allies.

From then on, no force on the subcontinent could threaten the British, and India became Britain’s backyard.

In truth, Tipu Sultan had some chances in this conflict.

His father, Hyder Ali, had begun modernizing Mysore’s army thirty years earlier by hiring European officers to train a Western-style military force, complete with cavalry and artillery.

If not for the British, no other Indian state could have matched them.

However, Tipu Sultan had a serious flaw: his lack of tolerance toward Hindus alienated other Hindu princely states.

Additionally, his desire to decisively defeat the British led to overly aggressive strategies, neglecting his greatest advantage—home-ground warfare, where he could fight a war of attrition.

This led to his failure to consolidate his early victories, leaving him vulnerable to British counterattacks and ultimately resulting in his defeat.

If France could provide Mysore with some support and send officers to help him avoid these mistakes, it might be possible to teach the British a harsh lesson!

As Joseph pondered, he wrote. By the time the carriage reached southeast Montpellier, his thoughts were mostly in order.

He set down his pen, exhaled with a slight smile, and wondered whether the British would still have the energy to meddle in Tunis once India was “set ablaze.”

He then picked up the General Staff report and continued flipping through it.

Following the troop reinforcements in Tunis were updates from Berthier on the General Staff’s development.

In short, the department was beginning to function. Recruiting new soldiers and initiating training were the first priorities. Additionally, the Paris Police Academy was being expanded, and other military academies were being consolidated.

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