The Crown Prince of France - Chapter 202

Chapter 202: Target, Tunisia!

Admiral Jervis continued:

"Additionally, Algiers needs an army to respond to the possibility of the French successfully landing."

"As far as I know, their Imperial Guard is only good at drinking and chasing women. Their combat capability is not very strong."

"We could recruit Albanian mercenaries," Duke of Leeds said, sniffing the aroma of his tea, his expression relaxed. "Those people are very tough, and they speak Arabic. The most important part is, they're cheap."

Pitt nodded slightly, then turned to Jervis: "How many mercenaries do you estimate we need to defend Algiers?"

"At least 10,000, preferably 15,000."

"Your Grace, please be careful." The voice of Consul Stewart interrupted Duke Leeds' musings. The latter quickly focused, walking across the gangplank and stepping onto the port of Mitija.

After another two hours in a carriage, the Duke of Leeds and his group finally had a secret meeting with the current Dey of Algiers, Mansour. There were many French spies in the area, so they had to proceed covertly.

Mansour was extremely enthusiastic toward the British. After all, they were bringing benefits, who wouldn't welcome that? Last time, the Duke of Leeds had brought him almost free artillery and several dozen engineers. This time, he brought a mercenary contract.

Initially, Mansour was very resistant to allowing more than 10,000 Albanian mercenaries into Algiers, especially since he would have to shoulder one-third of the cost.

However, he quickly saw the decree from Sultan Hamid I, delivered by "Sultan's Advisor" Mr. Stewart, urging him to strengthen his defenses by using mercenaries to resist potential foreign invasions.

In fact, the document sent by Hamid I was less of a decree and more of a guarantee letter—the main point was to ensure that these mercenaries would obey the Algiers government, and once the threat disappeared, they would immediately withdraw.

The following day, a heated discussion took place at the Algiers Assembly.

The pirates, who represented the naval forces, and the local Berbers were more supportive of accepting mercenaries. After all, the intelligence brought by the British indicated that France might attack the Algiers navy base.

The Imperial Guard faction, however, was concerned about the mercenaries posing a threat to their own power and strongly opposed their entry into Algiers.

Ultimately, after Mansour promised to allocate 60% of the British aid to the Imperial Guard, and under the strong insistence of the navy, the Imperial Guard reluctantly agreed to allow the mercenaries to garrison the city.

When Duke Leeds received the news, he was overjoyed. He left Stewart to handle the matters in Algiers and boarded the ship heading back to Britain.

He had spent over two months in the Mediterranean on this mission, spending just over £400,000 to successfully prevent France's expansion into North Africa. This was undoubtedly a huge strategic success! Previously, the British had spent nearly ten million pounds in a war to achieve similar goals.

The world had now entered the industrial age. Only with a large number of colonies could a nation gain markets and raw materials to support its development. Over half of the Empire's revenue came from the colonies in the Far East and the Americas in recent years.

And a France without colonies? Ha, it would never have the strength to compete with the Empire!

...

France, Paris.

In an office on the second floor of the Tuileries Palace, Joseph carefully examined reports on strategic food reserves from various regions. Due to the rapid industrial expansion and the appointment of the Minister of Industry, the number of officials in the industrial system had increased significantly. The original Bureau of Industrial Planning was no longer sufficient. Therefore, Joseph decided to set up a new planning office in a small area of the Tuileries Palace. After all, there were many guest rooms here, and they were rarely occupied.

The data in the report made Joseph frown slightly—food reserves had only declined slightly in July and August, but starting in September, the reserves plummeted by tens of millions of pounds.

This accounted for 17% of the total reserves!

He knew this was due to the fact that the public still had some food reserves earlier, but with the crop failures caused by hail, many people's reserves had already been used up, and they had to rely on government food stocks to survive.

Fortunately, he had started purchasing food from abroad earlier in the year, or else France might have descended into chaos by now. Historically, it was around this time that the French government had been unable to handle the widespread uprisings and had to announce the convening of the Estates-General the following year, setting the stage for the Revolution.

Joseph exhaled softly, thinking of the current situation. Although the situation had been barely stabilized, he could not afford to relax his vigilance.

First of all, due to the severe drought, the food production in the second half of this year would definitely be far below the usual levels. According to estimates from the Church, the harvest would likely only be 70% of the usual yield, or even lower.

After all, France was still an agricultural country—reducing the harvest by 30% was essentially a 30% loss in the nation's capacity to survive!

Moreover, after last year's large-scale purchases from abroad and the droughts suffered by other countries, international food prices had already risen by 60% compared to last year, and they were continuing to climb.

Countries like Britain, Prussia, and the German states had all passed decrees to strictly limit food exports. Now, even with money, it was hard to obtain food.

What's more, France had little money right now...

Joseph had just reviewed the financial system's report. Thanks to his previous actions, France's debt crisis had been greatly alleviated, at least preventing the country from collapsing at any moment. However, the reality was that the nation was still running a deficit.

Annual expenditures exceeded income by 20.7 million livres.

While this was a significant improvement compared to last year's deficit of 130 million livres, it was still a terrifying figure!

Especially with the potential of food reserves running out next year, a lot of money would be required to buy food. If things went wrong, the fragile financial recovery could collapse again.

Historically, from 1787 to 1789, during the three years of famine and uprisings, France's national debt nearly doubled!

Joseph knew that the drought would not ease until the second half of next year, so he could not afford to be complacent before then.

To deal with the food crisis, he first needed money.

Whether for purchasing food or, if necessary, seizing it, a large amount of funds would be required.

Currently, France had two main ways of raising money: The first was the recently improving industrial sector. Although paper manufacturing, winemaking, and carriage manufacturing had made decent progress, bringing in over 8 million livres in revenue, it was still not enough to sustain the national finances.

As for other sectors, they were mostly small-scale profits. The major industries—steam engines, textiles, and steel—still required investment and were far from profitable.

The other source of income was North Africa.

Tunisia itself was a very wealthy trading hub with several important ports. Furthermore, almost all of Tunisia's land was arable, and large-scale cultivation there could greatly alleviate France's food crisis.

In extreme cases, starving citizens could even be sent there, given land to farm and feed themselves.

In Joseph's strategic planning, Tunisia was the key to ensuring France's stability.

At this moment, Eymond lightly knocked on the door:

"Your Highness, Consul Joan is here, along with that person."

Joseph immediately perked up and ordered, "Please, let them in."

Since receiving the intelligence report on North Africa a few days ago, Joseph had been waiting for this individual. Today, the wait was finally over.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Before long, Consul Bernard Arnault de Joan, a tall, dark-skinned man, entered the office accompanied by two others. When he saw the Crown Prince looking in his direction, he quickly bowed with his hand over his chest.

"It is an honor to meet you, Your Royal Highness! I am Bernard Arnault de Joan, Consul to Tunisia."

The woman beside him, wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a veil and a fitted, modern dress, was evidently taken aback by Joseph's youth. She whispered a few questions to Joan. After receiving affirmative answers, she removed her hat, curtsied to Joseph, and rapidly spoke in Arabic.

Joan quickly gestured toward her and translated for the Crown Prince:

"Ah, Your Highness, this is Lady Aïcha Rabia, the eldest daughter of Pasha Younes. Much of Younes’ business is managed by her, and she is here as his plenipotentiary representative.

"She has just praised your demeanor and illustrious reputation, offering her sincere greetings and wishes for your long life."

Joseph smiled in return to the exotic-featured Rabia. "Welcome to Paris after your long journey," he said, gesturing to the sofa adorned with a fine woolen carpet. "Please, have a seat."

Rabia spoke again, pointing toward the door. Her words were translated by Isaac:

"Your Highness, she says her father has sent some gifts for you, which she hopes you will like."

Isaac lowered his voice slightly:
"Ah, some of them are outside, mainly jewelry. The rest are at the port of Marseille—five or six dozen slaves… mostly French, with a few Italians. They were purchased by her and sent here."

Joseph’s eyes narrowed slightly. He understood that these were "white slaves"—Europeans captured by Barbary pirates and sold into slavery in North Africa. It seemed Younes intended to curry favor by repatriating these French citizens.

Turning to Rabia, Joseph offered a faint smile:
"Please convey my gratitude to Pasha Younes. This marks the beginning of a fruitful collaboration between us."

Rabia immediately bowed and replied:
"My father and I are deeply honored, Your Highness."

Joan kept up a steady stream of translation.

Joseph nodded at Joan, then turned back to Rabia.
"I assume Baron Joan has explained my intentions to Pasha Younes. What is his response?"

A flicker of sharp determination appeared in Rabia’s eyes as she spoke loudly:
"Your esteemed Highness, my father greatly admires your proposal!
"Those lowly wretches, Muhammad and Ali, have stolen Tunisia for over two decades. It is time to return it to its rightful owner.

"If you can help my father reclaim the Kahil Palace, he will express his gratitude to the fullest extent possible!"

She was referring to the Kahil Palace, the royal residence of the Hafsid Dynasty in Tunisia, which had since become the seat of the ruling Beys.

Joseph nodded with satisfaction. He had anticipated that someone like Younes—a former powerbroker in Tunisia who had rebelled against his own father—would never be content to live out his days in exile in Algiers.

Thus, he had tasked the Security Bureau with contacting Younes via the Tunisian consul. The Bureau’s recent report confirmed that Younes was highly interested in reclaiming the Beyship and still had considerable support in Tunisia.

However, Younes clearly distrusted Joan and the operatives sent to negotiate. He had demanded a direct promise from the French royal family, leading to today’s meeting.

Joseph smiled:
"Pasha Younes possesses the purest lineage of the Beys. It is only fitting for him to reclaim Tunisia.

"Now, tell me how I can assist him."

Rabia leaned forward, her eagerness evident:
"Thank you, Your Highness. First, my father is under house arrest by the Algiers Imperial Guard. You will need to help him escape."

Joan interjected at once:
"Your Highness, regarding this matter, Mr. Peltz of Prussia has prepared a plan. His men will create a diversion to distract the Algiers Imperial Guard.

"From Pasha Younes’ residence to the coast is about an hour and a half by carriage, even faster on horseback. However, a naval ship will be required for extraction; otherwise, the Algiers navy… uh, pirates… will intercept us."

Joseph nodded.
"That won’t be an issue. The joint fleet can handle the extraction."

Rabia’s face lit up with delight as she continued:
"My father has already sent envoys to rally his supporters in Tunisia. With his reputation, he should be able to muster a large army quickly.

"However, the main forces of the Tunisian Imperial Guard will likely remain loyal to Hammoud Ali. You know their equipment is quite advanced, which will make the battle challenging."

Hammoud Ali was the current Bey of Tunisia.

Joseph understood what she meant. Younes’ old forces had likely been sidelined to secondary roles, leaving them ill-equipped to face the main Tunisian Imperial Guard.

He waved his hand decisively:
"I will provide you with 5,000 Charleville flintlock rifles and 10 cannons."

The so-called "advanced equipment" of the Tunisian Imperial Guard was only advanced by North African standards. Their forces still included a significant number of 17th-century matchlock muskets. Even the Ottoman Imperial Guard—whom they admired—was poorly equipped compared to Europe’s weakest armies.

Thus, supplying French-standard weaponry would easily tip the scales.

Rabia had not expected the young Crown Prince to be so generous. She stood up excitedly and bowed:
"Your Highness, your generosity is unparalleled! With these weapons, my father will surely crush those traitors!"

She was now fully convinced of France’s sincerity. With real weapons on offer, there was no longer any reason to doubt their intentions.

"And how can we repay you?" she asked.

Joseph thought to himself that the terms were obvious: full acceptance of French land purchases, factory establishments, negotiated taxation, and complete political and cultural alignment with France.

Tunisia had abundant farmland, and its grain production would be crucial for alleviating France’s food crisis.

Additionally, factories in Tunisia could produce goods for sale in nearby markets like Algiers, Tripoli, and Greece. Transporting these products to the Ottoman Empire was also relatively easy. This would significantly reduce transportation costs compared to importing goods from Britain. Despite Britain’s industrial superiority, French goods would still have the price advantage in these regions.

This would give France control of a vast market spanning from North Africa to the Balkans and Central Asia.

However, there was no need to discuss such details with the woman in front of him.

He simply smiled and said:
"I wish for the Tunisian navy to cease its raids on merchant ships, redirect all trade toward France, and hand over control of the Port of Bizerte to France."

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