Chapter 145 I’ll eat you, Barbary pirate!

"North Africa?" Talleyrand didn't seem to expect that the Crown Prince would suddenly mention this, and was slightly stunned. "You know something about the situation. Your Highness, what do you want to hear?"

"Anything will do, the more detailed the better."

Talleyrand lamely followed Joseph and considered: "North Africa is roughly located on the southern shore of the Mediterranean. From west to east there are Morocco, Algiers, Tunisia, Tripoli, Egypt and several other countries.

"Ah, what do you say about these places? Except for Morocco, the others may not be considered countries. They can change between Ottoman provinces and countries at any time according to the needs of different situations..."

He suddenly realized that the crown prince probably did not want him to talk about these basic geographical concepts, and quickly changed the perspective of political system: "Morocco is currently under the rule of the Allawi dynasty. However, in recent decades, rebellions have often broken out there, and the palace The struggle is also very fierce, and their sultans often die violently just a few years after coming to power. In short, Morocco is now very weak and has to rely on sending pirates to rob merchant ships in the Mediterranean to maintain its finances..."

Talleyrand quickly glanced at the crown prince and saw that he was very interested, and then continued: "On the east side of Morocco, there is Algiers - a city founded by pirates two hundred years ago, oh, maybe it can also be called They were built for the Ottoman navy, which was pretty much it anyway.

“Those pirates controlled the Berbers who originally lived in Algiers, but faced tremendous pressure from the Spanish navy, so they voluntarily became an Ottoman province in order to gain Ottoman support.

"After that, Ottoman sent an elite imperial army there. After hundreds of years, Ottoman has lost control of distant Algiers. The imperial army stationed there became the ruler. Currently, the imperial army in Algiers, The pirates and locals formed a parliament, which elected the governor of Algiers.

"Oh, by the way, their navy, what we think of as pirates, is very powerful in Algiers. There are several governors there who were pirates."

Joseph smiled and nodded: "You are very detailed, please continue."

"Oh, okay, Your Highness. Adjacent to the east of Algiers is Tunisia. Although it is not a large area, it is very rich. Almost the whole country is fertile land and rich in products.

"But Tunisia only ended its nearly half-century of repeated coups twenty years ago. Now the pasha there, oh, sort of governor, is Hamoud Bey.

"Due to the previous war, Tunisia has lost its former prosperity, and because Algiers participated in Tunisia's previous coup, the relationship between the two sides is extremely bad. Algiers often plunders the Tunisian border.

“But our textiles, glass, wine and other goods are very popular in Tunisia. That is our largest market in North Africa.

"Of course, Tunisia is also one of the home bases of Barbary pirates. Our merchant ships are robbed from time to time. The navy needs to go there frequently to clean up.

"Actually, we are pretty good. After all, Toulon has a powerful fleet stationed there. Merchant ships from Denmark, Sardinia, and the United States have been robbed more. Oh, you know, in order to protect themselves from pirates, the Americans Pay millions of livres in tribute to the pirates every year?”

Joseph frowned: "Why do I hear you always mention pirates?"

"Oh, yes, Your Highness." Talleyrand nodded, "The Mediterranean was originally a paradise for Barbary pirates.

"They used to be part of the Ottoman navy, responsible for attacking merchant ships in Catholic countries. But then the Ottomans were not as powerful as before, and they gradually lost control of the navy. Those navies also became pirates. They established strongholds all over North Africa, Or even rule directly as governor - as in Algiers.

"The Barbary pirates have received formal naval training, so they are far more powerful than ordinary pirates. They roam the Mediterranean and attack all merchant ships, unless the country where the ship is located has paid tribute to them. Every year, European countries have to Spend a lot of money to redeem the hostages taken by pirates.

"By the way, Barbary pirates would also attack the European areas in the northern Mediterranean, take the residents there as slaves, and sell them to North Africa, the Ottomans, or the Arab areas.

“The Spanish navy has repeatedly attacked Barbary pirates for hundreds of years, but the pirates are rooted in various North African countries—Tripoli is also one of their bases—so it is impossible to eliminate them.”

As Talleyrand repeatedly mentioned the "Barbary pirates", Joseph suddenly remembered that the famous Barbary War would break out more than ten years later. The Americans couldn't stand being plundered by the Barbary pirates, so they Almost all naval forces were sent to the Mediterranean to fight pirates.

However, it was not until decades later that the Barbary pirates were completely eliminated with the assistance of France. During this period, the United States once spent 20% of its national fiscal revenue to pay pirate ransoms!

Joseph's eyes suddenly lit up and he patted Talleyrand on the shoulder excitedly: "Thank you for the reminder, Dean Talleyrand! I think it's time for us to make up our minds to eliminate these scourges of the Mediterranean."

He had always adhered to the historical route of the emperor's march into North Africa, which was to start from Egypt. But currently France is not powerful enough to get involved in Egypt, and the Ottomans are still strong, so they will definitely reinforce Egypt - Egypt is still nominally an Ottoman operation. Province.

The Barbary pirates provided Joseph with new ideas.

You can definitely start with the Barbary pirates, attack the pirate strongholds in North Africa, and then turn the pirates' territory into trophies.

Moreover, eradicating pirates is something that everyone hopes for, especially Americans who have suffered deeply from it, and will definitely support it strongly. It is estimated that the Spaniards will also contribute.

In this case, if the British wanted to interfere, first of all, they would have no excuse. They couldn't say "I oppose the elimination of the Barbary pirates", right? Secondly, he will also offend the United States and Spain. If France and Russia join forces to deal with the Ottomans, Russia will definitely support France's actions in the Mediterranean.

If Britain really wants to go its own way, it might be able to form an "Anti-British Alliance" or something like that, which would make a lot of money.

In this way, France's North Africa strategy gradually took shape on the field path outside the Petit Trianon.

Talleyrand was very confused and said: "Your Highness, the Barbary pirates are huge, and it will take a lot of money to eradicate them. With France's current financial situation, I'm afraid..."

Joseph smiled and shook his head: "No, Dean Talleyrand, this attack on pirates will only make money, not much money."

He stopped and looked at Talleyrand: "Perhaps you are willing to accept a diplomatic position."