Chapter 203: Driving away wolves and devouring tigers

Chapter 204: Driving away wolves and devouring tigers

Russia.

Petersburg.

Crown Prince Paul Petrovich came out of Catherine's palace, reluctantly looked back twice, and finally strode towards the other end of the corridor.

He did not want to be close to his mother, on the contrary, he was full of disgust for Ekaterina, just as his mother hated him.

He couldn't bear to part with his lovely little angel, Alexandra.

Ekaterina never cared about his feelings. Ever since she discovered that Alexandra looked more and more like her, she kept the little guy by her side.

Paul rarely sees his daughter even once a month.

Previously, he took the little one to attend the French King's birthday, and finally reunited with his daughter for two months. But now when he returned to Petersburg, he had to be separated again.

As he turned around the stairs full of melancholy, a figure suddenly appeared, hugged his shoulders forcefully, and a familiar voice came:

"When did you come back? My dear brother, how are the ladies of Paris? Have they kept you entertained?"

Paul suddenly smiled, pushed his brother hard, and said with a serious face:

"I don't have as much money as you to spend on women, especially French women. I can't afford it."

"Haha, otherwise what will the money be used for?" Alexei came over again, "Are you still going to train today? Do you want us to go fishing? I have prepared the fishing gear and wine."

Paul still walked forward with his chest held high and his head raised:

"Spare me, I don't want to be drunk and be washed away by the river like mud."

He was talking about the winter a few years ago when Alexei was fishing and insisted on making a bet with him on who could drink a whole bottle of vodka first. Finally, Alexei fell into the cold river water drunk. If the guards hadn't fought to save him, he might have been swept away.

"Don't worry, I'm going to sea tomorrow, so I won't drink too much."

Paul glanced at his younger brother, who was obviously much more mature, and patted him hard on the back:

"Let's go fishing!"

In the Winter Palace, Ekaterina looked at her granddaughter lovingly, without the majesty of a heroic figure at all, and said softly:

"Little one, is Paris fun?"

Alexandra sat up straight, with a happy smile on her face after hearing this:

"Well, it was very interesting there. People were wearing very beautiful clothes, and I even rode the merry-go-round. Did you know that wooden horse can really run?"

"Okay, okay." Ekaterina smiled and nodded, then asked, "Then have you completed the task I assigned you?"

"Yes, grandma."

"Then tell me, what kind of person is the French Crown Prince?"

The little girl tilted her head, thought for a while, and replied:

"Well, he has beautiful blue eyes and is very handsome, especially when he wears that dark blue long coat. However, he seems to be always busy. I have only seen him two or three times. By the way, he is special He is very popular, and his name can be heard everywhere in the Palace of Versailles. It seems that he has done some very powerful things... However, I don't understand what they are talking about, such as building a bank..."

Ekaterina stroked the little girl's hair, listened to her talking for a long time, and suddenly said:

"It seems that you have a good impression of him?"

Alexandra nodded seriously.

Ekaterina also nodded, and then asked:

"Honey, do you want to live in Paris? I mean for a long time."

The little girl thought about being able to play the merry-go-round every day, and her eyes widened with joy:

"Is it really possible? That would be great!" She suddenly thought of something and looked down at the Tsar. "Are you going too? If you don't go, I will miss you very much."

…

North Africa.

The port of Sfax in southeastern Tunisia.

In a tall beige building, Younis was wearing a bright red robe, a white turban with a dark gray feather, a scimitar on his waist, and gray European-style tights on his legs, and he was pointing energetically. The sand table in front of him was talking to his officers.

I don't know what was said, and several people burst into laughter. Eunice looked through the arched window and caught a glimpse of a large group of coolies unloading packages of goods from a large ship on the dock in the distance.

He knew that the ship was loaded with flintlock muskets just shipped from France, as well as matching gunpowder and lead bullets.

The guards standing outside the door had already carried Charleville muskets on their backs, looking very powerful.

A sedan was parked downstairs. A man in his fifties, armed with a gorgeous waist knife, got out of the sedan, signaled to the guard, then quickly ran upstairs, saluted Younis excitedly, caressing his chest, and said loudly:

"Pasha, I have convinced that old guy Deolu, and he brought 600 soldiers to join you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the middle-aged man with a beard next to him frowned and said:

"Imanzad, Deoglu's people are not the Guards, why did you let them come?"

But Younis raised his hand to stop him, turned to Imanza with a smile and nodded:

"As long as they are loyal to me, I can give them high-ranking officials and generous salaries. No matter their origin."

Imanza was overjoyed and saluted again, saying:

"Thank you Pasha! I am confident that I can still convince several forces in the Kafu area. They can provide at least 4,000 troops."

Younis raised his hand generously: "Just do it, I will remember your contribution."

"Yes, my most noble Pasha."

Imanza left, and the middle-aged man with a beard immediately caressed Younis's chest and said:

"Pasha, are you going to disregard the traditions of the Praetorian Guard?"

Younis smiled and said: "Nizamiddin, there are too few Guardsmen who still retain the glorious tradition. We must use everyone we can.

"If Imanza can really bring back 4,000 people from Kraft, I will have 12,000 people."

He pointed to the continuous flow of carriages transporting arms: "With these sophisticated weapons, it won't take long to defeat that guy Ali. When I become Bey, I will naturally revive the glory of the Guards."

Currently, Tunisia as a whole has a population of less than 2 million. The army that Ali could mobilize was only about 25,000, and now a large part of them have defected to Yunis.

Moreover, due to the serious corruption of the Imperial Guards, their combat effectiveness is not as good as before. On the contrary, some local forces are more capable of fighting.

Since Imanzad and other old subordinates had already been running around in Tunisia, Younis had already gathered an army of thousands of people in just three or four days after returning to Sfax.

Younis turned to look at the sand table. According to the combat deployment he had previously agreed with his men, after raising enough logistical supplies, he could send his troops north and capture the Kairouan Fortress, creating a situation where he could compete with Hamoud Ali. .

He knew very well that Ali was good at improving people's livelihood, but he was no match for him in war.

At most, in a year or two, he can besiege the city of Tunisia and then unify Tunisia!

…

Tunisia city, Kahir Palace.

Hafsa's slender fingers caressed the strings, and the melodious music lingered in every corner of the palace.

The fat middle-aged man leaning on the cushions with slightly narrowed eyes and wearing only a cool shirt is the current ruler of Tunisia - Hamoud Ali.

He held a chess piece in his hand, looked impatiently at the officials standing aside with their heads bowed, and said:

"Speak slowly, what's wrong with Sfax?"

The official said hurriedly: "Great Bey, news just came back from over there that some local forces have blocked the border and people are not allowed to leave Sfax."

Hamoud Ali threw the chess piece to the servant aside and frowned:

"Did they have another tariff dispute with Lin Province?"

Various forces in Tunisia are mixed, and local tribes often prohibit people from other places from entering or leaving the country due to tax or business issues.

"This is not clear yet," the official said. "The Imperial Guards sent to investigate the situation have not returned."

"Oh? Do these bastards want to rebel?" Hamoud Ali waved his hand, "Send more people with my instructions to stop them from causing trouble."

"Yes, great Bey!"

When the official who reported the news left, the music in the palace suddenly stopped.

Hamoud Ali turned to look at his beloved concubine and said softly:

"Hafsa, why don't you play anymore?"

A young woman in a dark green dress stood up and walked to his side, saying with a worried look on her face:

"Pasha, I feel there is something I must tell you."

"Oh?" Ali smiled, "Why is it so serious?"

Hafsa signaled the servants around her to move away, and then said:

"The day before yesterday, at a party I held, I heard the wives of Rum, Ishakpa and several other Guards officers saying that their husbands were going to the south to meet a 'big man'."

"What's so strange about this?"

"Do you remember that Mr. Khalil reported to you a few days ago that someone in the southern provinces was purchasing large quantities of grain and oats?"

Ali nodded: "That's what happened."

Hafsa looked solemn and said:

"Pasha, I think there is probably a rebellion brewing in the southern provinces! Perhaps... in Sfax."

"Rebellion?" Ali waved his hands carelessly and laughed, "What are you talking about?"

Hafsa said: "Do you still remember the rebellion in the Gafsa area seven years ago? I remember that the Berber tribes there first hoarded food and then banned local people from entering and exiting."

Ali's smile suddenly froze and he became serious.

Hafsa continued:

"Pasha, did Rum and Ishakpa also participate in rebellions before, and your brother pardoned them?"

Ali's face turned gloomy. He knew very well that these two men were once subordinates of Younis. The rebellion Hafsa mentioned was referring to the time when Younis led his troops to besiege his father Ibn al-Hassan more than 20 years ago.

Later, his father was defeated and died, but Younes turned to attack his own father Karamanle Ali, giving himself and his brother the opportunity to take back Tunisia.

At this moment, Younis's old troops suddenly left the Tunisian city and went south, and a series of unusual things happened in the south...

His eyes narrowed, maybe as Hafsa guessed, someone was planning a rebellion!

With the speed of information dissemination in this era, news of Younes' escape from Algiers had not yet reached the Tunisian city. In fact, the Algiers parliament is still debating whether to tell Bey in Tunisia about this.

Hamoud Ali thought for a moment and ordered to summon the Janissary Agha, the commander-in-chief Koca, and asked him to assemble his army and prepare to go to Sfax to investigate whether there was any rebellion. At the same time, let the Imperial Guard strictly inspect officers such as Lum and Ishakpa.

Soon, the investigators of Lum and Ishakpa returned to report that they had left the Tunisian city yesterday and had taken their sons with them.

Koca was very fast and led two thousand elite guardsmen to the south the next day. At the same time, he ordered his lieutenants to recruit more troops.

He was very lucky. Three days after the army left the city of Tunisia, they encountered an army heading from Kafu to Sfax.

The latter seemed to be very guilty, and before Koja could question them, they hurriedly attacked the Praetorian Guards.

Koca had already made preparations and immediately annihilated the Berber armed force of more than 800 people.

According to these people's confessions, it was an officer named Imanzad who encouraged them to go to Sfax and join the "real Bey" Younes.

When the news came back to the Tunisian city, Hamoud Ali was shocked and immediately ordered the janissaries to mobilize. A week later, tens of thousands of people gathered at the border between Kairouan and Sfax.

…

"Pasha, the French have written back." An officer ran into Younis's military tent with a sullen face, lowered his head and saluted, "They said they encountered a storm in the Western Mediterranean, and the remaining weapons would not be shipped until 10 days at the earliest. Arrived."

"Ah - Almighty Lord, why do you punish me like this?"

Younis spread his hands flat and looked up to the sky with a sigh.

Since the first shipment of two thousand flintlock muskets and three cannons arrived at the port of Sfax, no other arms had been sent.

The troops he gathered only had very crude weapons. After all, the most sophisticated equipment in Tunisia was in the hands of the Guards.

And what's worse is that Imanza reported before that several major tribes in Kafu decided to support him, but Hamoud Ali suddenly sent troops south for some unknown reason, blocking all the tribesmen in the way.

Now he has less than 7,000 men in his hands, and Koca has led tens of thousands of guardsmen to the Kairouan Fortress. The strategy of sneak attack on Kairouan has obviously come to nothing.

Younis turned to look at the sand table, suddenly clenched his fists, and said viciously:

"Rum, you immediately lead 1,500 people to the Chukri Valley."

"Ah?" Lum obviously didn't respond, "Pasha, but there is already an outpost of Koca there."

"Didn't you hear what I said?"

"Yes, Pasha!"

Eunice pointed to the beard again:

"Nizamiddin, you place the cannon in the dense forest on the east side of the valley."

"Yes!" Nizamiddin asked carefully, "Pasha, who is responsible for covering me?"

Artillery is indeed the emperor of the battlefield, but in the era of muzzleloaders, due to the limited range and slow movement of artillery, if there is no infantry to provide cover, it will easily be attacked by cavalry and have no ability to resist.

"Don't talk too much."

Younis shouted, turned around and poked his finger in the middle of the sand table, gritted his teeth and said: "Ishakpa led the cavalry to follow me.

“Rabia’s men were stationed west of the valley…

"Before dawn tomorrow, we must break through Koca's defenses! Taking advantage of the limited strength of the Kairouan Fortress, bypass the fortress and capture Susa!"

"Yes! Pasha!" Everyone in the military tent responded in unison with gloomy expressions.