Chapter 212 Wiring, Casting the Net

Chapter 213 Wiring, Casting the Net

Ottoman.

Kostantinye.

Said looked lonely and walked between the guards on both sides who were bowing their heads in salute. Then he looked back at the Topkapi Palace behind him, and his heart became more and more desolate.

Just now, Sudan appointed him as a special envoy to "inspect" Tunisia.

A few years ago, this would have been a lucrative job that would have made countless people jealous - usually, marginal provinces like Tunisia would entertain the Sultan's envoy well and give him a lot of "travel expenses" when he left.

However, this mission is destined to have no such benefits.

The imperial war effort in Ochakov was very tight. The Russian Potemkin led a large army to press the border and may capture this important fortress on the north coast of the Black Sea at any time.

Coupled with the previous disastrous defeat in the naval battle of Fidonisi Island, the empire is now facing an extremely dangerous situation, with all aspects such as finance and military being overwhelmed.

At this juncture, a coup occurred in Tunisia.

Hamoud Ali, the pasha appointed by the empire, was killed, and his nephew Haji declared his succession, but did not follow the customary request to the empire for the canonization of a pasha. This compromised the majesty of the empire.

It was against this background that the Sultan selected him to go to Tunisia.

Said sighed. He didn't even have funds for this mission, and he had to pay for it himself.

And according to the empire's practice, if he failed to make the Haji apologize to the Sultan and ask for pasha, then he would probably be executed for "low ability and insult to the dignity of the empire"...

He got on the sedan with the help of his servant, and silently calculated his wealth in his mind. He could probably spend 30,000 sultanas, but he didn't know if this little benefit could "convince" the Haji.

Ah! How ironic that the Sultan's envoy actually wanted to bribe the Pasha of the Border Province...

USA.

Philadelphia.

On the street outside the Independence Hall, two to three thousand citizens were shouting slogans excitedly and waving vigorously towards the parliament hall.

Hamilton stood in front of the window on the second floor, looking at the situation outside with satisfaction, sighing in his heart that the more than 200,000 US dollars spent before was so worth it.

News came back from the Mediterranean yesterday that the U.S. fleet, with the help of France and the Netherlands, wiped out the Barbary pirates in Tunisia. The security of the Mediterranean waterways will be greatly improved in the future.

As a congressman who advocated special allocations to combat pirates, he gained a lot of political prestige.

Madison, who was also a member of the Federalist Party, came over, gestured out the window and said with a famous smile:

"Mr. Hamilton, you are now a legendary hero in Philadelphia! Well, 'Pirate Judge', let's hear the nickname everyone gave you."

He lowered his voice and said, "Looking at this momentum, you may not be able to compete for the throne of the president."

"Ha, you are joking. My reputation is far from enough." Hamilton smiled and waved his hand. But the title of "Pirate Judge" touched his heart.

News returned from the Navy said that the French had captured thousands of pirates and said they could sell them to the United States for $2,000 each.

This money is enough to buy five strong male black slaves. But at that time, the fleet commander thought it was expensive and didn't buy it.

Hamilton shook his head secretly. This idiot should definitely buy hundreds of pirates back, put them on trial in public, and then hang them in public. In this way, his name as "Pirate Judge" will be more worthy of his name!

Those fanatical and proud people outside may really allow themselves to embrace surprises in next year's presidential election...

Thinking of this, he turned to look at Madison:

"I will be submitting a grant application to buy the Barbary pirates in Parliament and ask for your support."

Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Sir Joseph York, the British ambassador to the Netherlands, walked quickly out of the parliament building with a sullen face.

At the just-concluded Provincial Congress, the Dutch did not condemn French actions in North Africa, as the British had hoped.

Not only that, they also issued a statement saying that free trade in the Mediterranean has been better protected in recent times, with the contribution of the Dutch.

York cursed in a low voice. Everyone knew that the small Dutch ship was attacking the French. This was clearly supporting France!

Although the Dutch were frightened by the British, they were extremely dissatisfied with the British bossy. Therefore, if you can seize such small things to disgust Britain, you are very happy to do it.

York suddenly remembered the gossip he heard two days ago - the Dutch East and West India Companies would merge and accept French investment to form the "United East India Company".

This matter must be verified as soon as possible. If it is true, every effort must be made to prevent the Netherlands from continuing to fall to France.

The lowlands were the strategic "beachhead" of the British Empire, and there was absolutely no room for failure!

…

On the "Forward", Joseph looked at the "Analysis of the Origin of Tunisia" with a smile on his face.

Mr. St. Pierre's writing style is absolutely outstanding. He skillfully connects historical data with various legends and even myths, and the story is very vivid...

No, it should record the colorful history of Tunisia.

He gave the manuscript to Ishaq, the "North Africa expert", and asked him to review it. If there was no problem, he would translate it into Arabic and Berber as soon as possible, and then print it in large quantities.

To improve efficiency, he even brought a printing press and printing craftsmen on board.

Another day later, the fleet arrived at the port of Tunisia.

Berthier and a group of officers had already come to the dock to greet him. However, few soldiers were here as Joseph asked them not to reveal their identity.

After the landing boat moored and stopped, Berthier and others saw an exaggeratedly long gangplank protruding from the ship, and then His Royal Highness the Crown Prince appeared in their field of vision.

After a simple welcoming ceremony, Joseph walked straight onto the carriage that was unloaded from the ship along the 30-meter-long springboard.

Berthier looked at the strange carriage with a sealed bottom and pointed ends. He pulled Quesold in doubt and asked:

"Your Highness, this is..."

The latter spread his hands helplessly and whispered:

"His Royal Highness promised Her Majesty the Queen that she would stay on the ship. So, ah, it's a ship. A ship on a carriage."

Berthier: "..."

Half an hour later, the convoy arrived outside Tunisia. Joseph immediately saw a large number of tents, as many as a thousand, set up in the open space beside the road in the distance.

Judging from the flags around the camp and the costumes of the patrolling soldiers, they should be the Tunisian Guards.

"what 's wrong?"

Berthier, who was sitting opposite the "ship", hurriedly explained:

"Your Highness, this is the Guards led by Koca, with more than 12,000 people. After the war with Younis was over, they returned to Tunisia. I was worried that they would cause trouble, so I let them Stationed outside the city."

Naturally, Koca heard about the fact that the French army had broken through the 7,000-man Praetorian Guards defense line in just an hour. Although the latter was improvised, he still did not dare to clash with the French army easily, so he had to He stayed outside the city honestly.

Berthier continued: "However, these Tunisian soldiers are used to being pampered and clamoring to return to their homes in the city all day long. Oh, they usually only train once every three days and do not stay in the military camp at other times."

Joseph immediately thought of something and asked: "Are the most effective troops of the Tunisian Guards basically here?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

Joseph smiled slightly: "Then let them go to the city and go home."

Berthier said hurriedly: "Your Highness, Mr. Prosper and his men mingled with the French caravan last week, successfully repelled an attack on the caravan and captured several bandits.

“It turned out these were Tunisian Janissaries from north of Kafu.

“A lot of evidence shows that the previous attack on the French should have been carried out by the Tunisian Guards.

"If the tens of thousands of guards here are allowed to enter Tunisia City, they will probably..."

"It doesn't matter." Joseph said, "In order to prevent the assassination of Bey from happening again, they must store their weapons in the armory before entering the city.

"Also, increasing the number of Berber police and strengthening patrols should not be a problem."

Berthier nodded hesitantly:

"Yes, Your Highness."

Early the next morning, Joan took two people, one tall and one short, to Joseph's temporary residence in the south of Tunisia.

The taller middle-aged man has a typical Arab face, but his clothes are very European-style. The short and fat one looked French, but he was wearing a turban and an open robe.

The three of them entered the door under the leadership of Emang, and saw at a glance that the floor of the house was paved with wooden planks to create the shape of a ship.

Qiao An was already used to it and stepped forward to caress her chest and salute:

"Sir, here come Mr. Agathon and Mr. More."

He then said to the two people beside him:

"This is Mr. Joseph."

The two parties greeted each other. Joseph invited the two of them to sit down on the carpet in accordance with local customs. He ordered the servants to bring drinks and snacks. After a few brief greetings, he went straight to the topic:

"I hope to use your channels to help me transport some special things to various parts of Tunisia."

Agathon is the French clothing merchant who helped the Police Intelligence Bureau enter the Cahill Palace. He is also one of the top executives of the French Tunisian Chamber of Commerce and has a large number of contacts and resources in Tunisia.

The Mr. Moore next to him is his local partner, a native Arab.

Agathon only heard from Qiao An that the young man in front of him had a distinguished status and had extremely high authority over matters in Tunisia.

So he asked very politely:

"I wonder what you want me to transport?"

"Weapons, ammunition." Joseph said without hesitation, "And some silver coins."

Agathon and More looked at each other, and their expressions suddenly became tense:

"My lord, you know that there is chaos all over Tunisia recently. If these things are hijacked..."

"I will send people to protect you. Although the number of people will not be too many, as long as it is not a large-scale guard force, it will be enough to cope with it. Oh, you can rest assured that the reward will definitely satisfy you."

Seeing that the other party was still hesitant, Joseph came up with a bigger temptation:

"By the way, this matter is of concern to the royal family. If you handle it well, I can guarantee that you will have your own place in Paris's upper class society."

Agadong's eyes suddenly lit up. No matter how much money these French businessmen working hard in the "barbaric land" make, the Parisian aristocrats will only call them nouveau riche with contempt.

And their biggest dream is to become a real French upper class. Who wants to spend their whole life in a ghost place like North Africa?

He immediately nodded vigorously: "Please rest assured, no matter how many weapons...er, I mean goods, I guarantee that they will be delivered to where you want on time!"

"Can you avoid the interrogation of the Imperial Guards?"

"This is the most basic thing, sir. I know very well how to bribe those greedy guys. And I can mobilize the power of the Chamber of Commerce. Even if I am investigated, I can get it back by spending some money."

"Very well, Mr. Agathon! Please allow me to express my heartfelt thanks to you on behalf of His Majesty the King."

…

A suburb of Tunisia.

In a typical Arab-style two-story building, several well-dressed people were circulating two pamphlets with excited expressions.

The title on the cover of the book is clearly - "Analysis of the Origin of Tunisia".

A middle-aged man with a beard pointed at a certain page and said excitedly:

"Girlada Celebi is so right! We are descendants of Rome, with a glorious history and noble bloodline!"

"Celebi" is an honorific title given to a very famous scholar. The Hilada he was talking about was a very influential scholar in Tunisia.

Another person immediately answered:

"These historical evidences show that we have the same origin as France, Spain and other countries, and it is entirely possible for us to integrate into advanced European civilization!"

"You see, Celebi mentioned that many people in France think that we are their long-lost compatriots!"

The bearded man turned two pages and said in a deep voice:

"They are all damned Ottomans who cut off our connection with our homeland of Rome! They made Tunisia dilapidated and in decline!"

Joseph really didn't expect that there would be so many "skills" in Tunisia.

But it’s no wonder that there are many French people doing business in Tunisia. They show enviable fashion, wealth, confidence, and the strength of France itself in front of the locals. In an era when national and national awareness is extremely weak, it is easy for Tunisians to become obsessed with their skills.

Joseph originally planned to try his best to find a common ancestor for France and Tunisia. As for how many Tunisians believed it, he didn't have much hope at all.

Even if you can influence 10% of people, you can always make your plan go more smoothly.

However, his historical evidence of "same origin and origin" has been favored by many Tunisians, especially the intellectual class. No one cared whether the evidence in the article was reliable, but immediately accepted the conclusion. 【Note 1】

Just like if an American scholar in later generations "demonstrates" that Filipinos and themselves share the same origin, the latter will also readily agree.

[Note 1]: North Africa at this time was mainly composed of Berbers, Arabs, and Ottomans. The latter two were standard white people, and their appearance was not very different from Europeans. Even the Berbers only have slightly brown skin, and they have been mixed with Caucasians for a long time. It looks like Caucasians have been exposed to too much sun.