Chapter 210 Traditional Arts of the Great Empire

Chapter 211 Traditional Arts of the Great Empire

"Oh, thank you for saving Great Britain a whopping £40,000!"

As the "strongest firepower" of the opposition party, the Whig Party, Charles James Fox snorted, stood up, and said in a sinister tone, "But this little 'contribution' is far from making up for the strategy of you and the Prime Minister. Mistakes led to the huge losses we suffered in North Africa.

He said, gesturing to the hundreds of MPs sitting behind him: "I think the Tories must give Parliament an explanation for this!"

The Tories are the current ruling party in the UK.

However, they did not have any advantage over the Whigs in terms of support. This was largely due to King George III's special preference for William Pitt Jr. and his use of the royal family's influence to push the latter into the position of prime minister. Bit.

The Whigs have always been dissatisfied with this, so since William Pitt came to power, they have seized every opportunity to attack the Tories.

The Duke of Leeds took a deep breath and thought that what was supposed to come had come. Fortunately, he had discussed countermeasures with the Prime Minister yesterday, and now it was up to him to watch his performance.

He glanced at the head of the intelligence department next to him without leaving any trace, and then raised his hand to interrupt Fox:

"Dear Congressman Fox, please understand the actual situation before rushing to accuse me."

"The actual situation?"

"Yes." The Duke of Leeds nodded confidently, "The current situation in North Africa is completely under the control of the Prime Minister and me. We have already received reports and are aware of the French's movements in Tunisia. Right, Butler gentlemen?"

The intelligence chief stood up immediately:

"That's right. The French operation was discovered months ago."

After hearing this, the council members started talking in low voices.

Of course, in fact, the Duke of Leeds and the others knew nothing about France's strategy in Tunisia, and they only learned about the drastic changes that had taken place there from recent French newspapers. However, as a politician, lying is a basic skill.

"Control?" Fox sneered disdainfully, "Do you mean to sit back and watch the French gain huge benefits in Tunisia?"

The Duke of Leeds immediately said loudly:

"No, why do you think the French have gained? On the contrary, the current situation in Tunisia is the opportunity I have been waiting for!"

Fox rolled his eyes at him:

"Did you drink before you came here? What nonsense are you talking about?"

The Duke of Leeds did not feel dissatisfied, raised his fists, and made an impassioned speech: "Now, we have the opportunity to repay the French for everything they have done to us in North America!

“No one in the world knows better than us the serious dangers of colonial unrest. Tunisia is like a dangerous swamp with countless crocodiles, and the French have entered it like an inexperienced hunter.

"They only have 3,000 troops there. As long as we alert those beasts, we can kill them!"

The congressman named James subconsciously asked: "What do you want to do?"

The Duke of Leeds spread his hands: "The details of the operation cannot be announced for the time being. You can apply for permission from the Prime Minister to learn more."

This is normal operation. The British were able to get the inside story of French cabinet meetings attended by only a few ministers, and it was even easier for France to obtain information from hundreds of British MPs. Therefore, the specific plan will not be revealed during the parliamentary inquiry.

Fox shouted: "I am not interested in the content of the plan. I just want to know how long your great Tunisia plan will take and what results it will give us."

"In one year, no, even in just a few months, the French will get out of Tunisia." The Duke of Leeds said confidently, "Or the French government will invest huge amounts of money there, which will eventually completely bring them down. finances.”

The British parliamentarians generally understood it - managing the colony was very costly, especially if it was caught in a security war, there was no profit, and money had to be added continuously. When the Americans were seeking independence, Britain was in this predicament, and now the French are going to have to experience similar hardships.

The Whigs finally paused their criticism, and Fox finally threatened:

"I look forward to your success. But if the Tunisian problem still cannot be solved, I think you should take the blame and resign."

The Duke of Leeds smiled lightly and said: "Of course, but it depends on Mr. Hollis' execution."

George Hollis was the British consul in Tunisia and a Whig.

The Duke of Leeds didn't wait for Fox to say anything, and immediately added: "Oh, and in order to better deal with the French in Tunisia, we still need some funding. About 300,000 pounds..."

…

Southwest Tunisia, Gafsa.

"Those bastards!" Hollis, wearing a white turban and a light yellow arabesque, could not help but curse in a low voice as he faced the scorching sun. "You are fighting for power in London, but you are risking my future." Come in!”

"Your Excellency, Consul, what did you say?" Across from the open carriage, a tall, middle-aged British man dressed similarly leaned forward and asked.

"Ah...I mean, fortunately Tunisians are wary of Europeans, so it shouldn't be difficult for us to convince them to turn against the French."

"Yes, it is indeed the case." The tall middle-aged man nodded, "And their Guardsmen have just been beaten by the French, so they will definitely be dissatisfied."

"There is also the new Tunisian Bey, who obviously has no dominance. This is good news for us."

The two of them chatted casually and bumped along the rugged path for more than half an hour. The carriage finally stopped in front of a dome mansion in the south of the town.

The Berber servants who came out received the silver coins handed over by Hollis and immediately introduced them into the villa diligently.

Then, Hollis met the top commander of the Tunisian Guards here, who was equivalent to the mayor-Equz.

Sitting on the fine wool carpet in the living room, Hollis exchanged greetings with Erquz in proficient Arabic for a while, and then went directly to the topic: "Pasha, the French have nearly 10,000 Janissary warriors outside Tunisia. Disarming, this is completely humiliating the entire Tunisian Guards! We must not tolerate this tone!"

Urquz nodded indifferently, and for the sake of the thousands of silver coins he brought, he echoed: "The navy provoked them, but they attacked the Guards. It's really too much!"

"That's right! So we must take revenge on those French people!"

Erquz immediately shook his head: "How can a person like me defeat them?"

Hollis said hurriedly: "Don't worry, you don't have to confront them head-on. You only need to rob and kill French caravans every now and then, and burn down French factories, houses, etc. while it's dark.

"If the French send troops, you say you don't know anything about it and pretend that you will help catch the bandits. They will leave soon. They only have 3,000 people in Tunisia and they can't cope with these things."

He directly copied all the attacks that Britain had encountered in the United States.

Urquz still showed no interest: "However, this still involves great risks..."

Seeing this, Hollis had no choice but to use his trump card: "In order to support the revenge of the Guards, I can provide you with 2,000 rials."

The rial is a gold coin slightly smaller than the pound. 2,000 rial is equivalent to about 44,000 livres.

Hollis saw that the Guards officer was a little moved, and he gestured to the British who came with him: "This is Mr. Robert. He will come regularly to evaluate the results of your resistance and leave you 500 to 1,000 per month." Rial fee.”

Urquz suddenly smiled and waved his fist: "I have long disliked those French people! Don't worry, I will make them look good!"

After coming out of the Guards officer, Hollis rushed to the village outside the city without stopping, where he visited a large tribe of Berbers.

"Dear patriarch, you can't let the French deceive you." Hollis said sincerely, "They said they were buying land, but they definitely won't pay.

"And the French have a magic that allows their cultivated land to rob the 'vitality' of nearby lands. If they farm here, within a few years, your neighboring lands will be barren of harvests!"

The light brown-skinned Berber chief frowned and said, "Are you telling the truth?"

"It's absolutely true!" Hollis said, "For the future of your tribe, you must do everything you can to drive away the French who came to settle!

"I know that this may cause you trouble, but there is a kind-hearted pasha who is willing to provide you with 200 rials to make up for the losses caused by the conflict with the French."

"But I heard that Bey has ordered cooperation with the French..."

"Don't worry, Bey's guards have been defeated, there is no need to be afraid of them."

Not long after, the British consul left the Berber tribe and headed to the next city to continue his mission of "stirring up shit."

…

Tunisian city.

Joan, the French consul in Tunisia, straightened his hat and walked into the Al-Kahir Palace.

As soon as the current Beyhaji saw him, he greeted him happily: "Mr. Joan, your prediction has come true! The Yunis rebels were completely defeated a few days ago, and Koca has led his army to chase more than a hundred remaining enemies. Entering the desert to the south.”

"Congratulations, Bey." Joan was not surprised at all.

After interrupting Younis' ammunition and financial supplies, the rebels' disadvantages in numbers and terrain were fully demonstrated, and they were killed by Koca in less than a month.

On the side, Hafsa was asking the maid to bring out the fruit drinks with a happy look on her face. She had officially married Haji a few days ago, and the two finally got married.

After Haji finished telling the good news, he began to ask Qiao An some questions about taxes and the appointment and dismissal of officials. His personal abilities are mediocre and he has no political foundation. He only has about thirty servants. At present, he relies entirely on the French army to help him support his situation. Even the palace confinement is in charge of the Paris police academy students. So if there was any big or small matter, he would discuss it with Qiao An.

It wasn't until sunset that Qiao An came out of the Cahill Palace, and immediately saw Amedi, the immigration officer who had just taken office, walking towards him with an anxious expression.

"What's the matter with you?"

Ametti simply raised his hat and said urgently: "Baron Joan, a newly built workshop southeast of Bizerte was burned down, and three people died."

Joan suddenly frowned. There have been dozens of attacks on French people in Tunisia recently. These are still relatively serious situations, and there may be more sporadic attacks that are not recorded in statistics.

"Find out who did it?"

"Not yet... You know, we are seriously short of manpower... By the way, I heard rumors that the Praetorian Guards from various places are preparing to retaliate against us."

As they talked, the two walked towards the residence across the street. As soon as they arrived at the door, Amedi's assistant hurriedly thrust a letter into his hand, forgetting to even salute: "Sir, it seems to be a caravan. There was a plunder in Susa, and seven Frenchmen and three Sardinians were killed..."

Qiao An's expression suddenly became solemn: "It seems that we must report it to the country."

…

Paris.

In the corridor of the Palace of Versailles, Joseph listened with a sullen face as Joan introduced the situation in Tunisia - because the situation was somewhat out of control, the latter had rushed back to Paris yesterday.

"The Tunisian Guards threatened to attack all French people?" Joseph frowned and looked at Joan, "Have they started to gather troops?"

"That's not true."

"Who is calling the person?"

"There doesn't seem to be a clear leader."

"Oh?" Joseph was a little surprised, "Why did the Tunisian Guards act in such a concerted manner without anyone summoning them? I heard you just said that there are frequent attacks almost everywhere in Tunisia."

Joan said with a grimace: "Your Highness, not only the Guards, but also the Berber tribes seemed to attack the French farmers who went to farm."

"Didn't the new Bey issue a decree prohibiting attacks on the French?"

"His... Your Highness, in fact, his decree is only valid in the city of Tunisia. That's because Lieutenant Colonel Berthier's regiment is in charge."

"This situation is a bit troublesome." Joseph shook his head secretly. Why did it sound like he was about to fall into a full-scale security war?

No, his thoughts were racing. If Tunisia's rulers had no charisma at all, and the country was far from national awakening, it would be impossible to spontaneously fight against foreign forces.

From this point of view, there is a high probability that someone is secretly instigating it.

Who is the one? Some influential Tunisian Janissary officer? Ottoman people? British? Algiers?

He rubbed his forehead. No matter who it was, they had to try to stabilize the situation in Tunisia first.

He asked Joan some more detailed questions about Tunisia, and the two of them had already walked to the golden door of the conference hall.

The guards on both sides hurriedly opened the door for him, and then stood on both sides with their heads bowed.

In the conference hall, several cabinet ministers had obviously learned about the events in North Africa and were discussing in low voices.

Not long after, Queen Mary also came. After everyone stood up and saluted, the cabinet meeting focusing on Tunisia issues officially began.

First, Mirabeau, who was in charge of Tunisian immigration matters, stood up and spoke: "Obviously, the news about Tunisia has spread in the country. In the past week, almost no one applied to go to Tunisia, and some even arrived in Marseille and were waiting to board the ship. People are also starting to return to their hometowns..."