Chapter 214 Another day, another day

Chapter 215 Another day

The decision was made, Joseph immediately asked Eman to summon all the Crown Prince's exclusive entourage.

Not long after, looking at the painters, engravers, pharmacists, acrobats and other entourage standing in two rows in front of him, Joseph sighed again, it was so wise of my mother to let him bring them to Tunisia!

Without these people, it would be really difficult to implement my plan - even if Tunisia could find such masters, confidentiality would be a problem.

As for how to operate it, he didn't bother to think about it. The predecessors have already had mature plans, so just copy them.

He first briefly gave instructions to the pharmacist and ventriloquist, then asked the Police Intelligence Department and the French businessman Agaton to cooperate with them, and then turned to the exclusive engraver with the most important task this time, Mr. Brigitte.

"The traditional Islamic festival Ashura is about ten days away." Joseph said to the sculptor, "I need you to help me make a stone sculpture before then.

"Oh, considering the shipping time, you should only have 8 days."

Brigitte leaned over and asked with an attentive look:

"Your Highness, I wonder what kind of artwork you need?"

"A stone man in common Arab attire." Joseph pointed to the roof. "It should be at least this high. Of course, the higher the better."

Brigitte was stunned. This luxurious hall was nearly 4 meters high!

He immediately showed an embarrassed look: "Your Highness, with all due respect, it would be difficult to complete such a large stone sculpture in 8 days."

"It doesn't need to be too delicate. The face should be slightly sculpted, and other parts as long as you can tell it's a person."

"Even so, it's unlikely..."

Joseph smiled slightly and used his money ability:

"If you complete it one day early, you can get a reward of 1,000 livres. Two days early, you will get 2,000 livres. Three days early, you will get 4,000 livres. And so on, for every day early, the reward will be doubled."

Brigitte's mind was instantly filled with the sound of silver coins, and she immediately touched her chest and nodded without hesitation:

"Please rest assured, Your Highness, you will definitely be able to see the stone man you want within 8 days!"

He paused and asked tentatively: "Your Highness, if you can let me borrow some engineering soldiers, then the construction period will be more guaranteed."

"No problem. You can go to the Legion to select someone later."

Joseph gave some more detailed requirements, and finally warned:

"Oh, by the way, this stone man will be carved with one eye. Please remember that."

Brigitte did not want to waste a moment. After coming out of the Crown Prince's place, she immediately went to Berthier to ask for a few engineers to be responsible for blasting, and then went straight to the vicinity of the Mejerda River - this was the Crown Prince's request, saying It is easy to transport.

He quickly selected a huge piece of limestone and asked the engineers to drill holes in it, install gunpowder, and blast it.

Each of these engineers received 30 livres from the engraver's hard work, so they all showed their special skills. They spent most of the day using extremely precise blasting to blow up the big stone into a human-shaped outline...

A few days later, a prophecy from the Ala'i elders began to spread throughout Tunisia: An oracle will soon descend to Tunisia and be conveyed to the world through water or forests...

People didn't pay much attention to it at first, until one day, a resident living in Majazba dug out a stone from the belly of the fish he bought. There were white marks on it, and a line of writing could be vaguely seen.

The word was not carved on it, so it looked extremely magical.

He immediately took the fish and stones to the town's mosque and asked the clergy to read them.

Soon, the whole town was in a stir because the imam recognized the writing, which read, "The descendants of Rome will expel the Ottoman Guards"!

In the following days, people from the cities along the Mejerda River successively discovered stones with mysterious patterns from the belly of the fish, and the same writings on them.

There was even a fisherman who dug out an "oracle stone" from the belly of a freshly caught fish on the spot. He was so surprised that he immediately knelt down and prayed on the boat.

And in places farther away from the Mejarda River, such as in the mountains of the northeast, some people vaguely heard the cry of foxes at night, and the cry was very much like saying, "Drive out the Ottomans."

Obviously, Elder Alayi’s prophecy has come true! The whole of Tunisia is boiling again. People began to gather together openly to discuss the expulsion of the Praetorian Guards.

This is an oracle!

With the Lord's backing, what's the point of being afraid of even the vicious Imperial Guards?

Of course, all the oracles were actually written by the crown prince's exclusive followers.

Writings were painted on the stones with strong acid and then stuffed into the bellies of live fish. If you want it to be more efficient, take it to the market and sell it directly; if you want it to be more realistic, try to put it into the fisherman's net.

The mass-produced "oracle stone" ensures that almost every big town can get a piece of it.

The ventriloquist was even harder. He had to learn how to bark like a fox over and over again every day, and he had to work at night. He was so tired that he lost six or seven pounds in half a month.

However, what finally caused the Tunisian indigenous people to explode was the shocking oracle that appeared on the day of Ashura.

Ashura is the day of repentance recorded in the scriptures on which Adam and Eve were allowed by the Lord to eat the forbidden fruit. Well, yes, the Islamic and Christian accounts of these two human ancestors are identical.

On that day, tens of thousands of people gathered in the city of Utica to celebrate the festival. The oars of a giant ferry boat that came here hit something in the center of the river.

The captain was very confused and ordered the crew to sneak into the Mejerda River to check, and found a huge stone man there!

Of course, this captain was arranged by the Police Intelligence Department in advance.

So, the city of Utica organized a large number of boats and people, tied the stone man with ropes, and dragged it from the river to the shore.

When people see the one-eyed stone giant, they immediately think of the strange prophecy left by a mysterious ascetic: the stone giant with one eye will purify the fallen Osman.

The prophecy comes true and the oracle appears again!

The clergy of Utica immediately announced that a mosque would be built on the stone statue to facilitate people to worship the miracle. Outside the city of Utica, nearly ten thousand people prostrated around the one-eyed stone man for a long time, loudly praising the power of the Lord and swearing that they would definitely obey the content of the oracle.

Mr. Brigitte spent 5 days completing this huge work and received a bonus of 4,000 livres, and also sent the Tunisian Guards on their last journey.

…

As the astonishing oracle spread from Utica throughout Tunisia, the people finally overcame their timidity and launched the first attack on the Praetorian Guards.

Jamil led the members of the "Sword of Vengeance" and members of the Fawaz tribe, a total of nearly 600 troops, and rushed into the Andalusian town - this small town did not have any decent city defenses - and soon killed 200 people. The Janissaries rushed into the mosque in the city.

Zhemele and the soldiers first knelt down and worshiped the "oracle stone" they brought, then stood up and drew their scimitars, pointed at the enemy's last fortress, and shouted loudly:

"No more Ottoman oppression, obey the oracle! Warriors, attack!"

These 600 people were quite well-equipped, possessing 100 flintlock muskets, and almost universal scimitars and spears. They shouted and rushed towards the Janissaries in the mosque.

As for the Imperial Guards, although they were frightened to death by this formation, they were still from the regular army. Under the orders of the officers, the soldiers picked up their muskets and started shooting outside.

As chaotic gunfire rang out, several members of the "Sword of Vengeance" who rushed to the front were shot and fell to the ground. The people behind saw their bodies torn apart by bullets and the black blood on the ground, and their feet suddenly froze.

When the officer of the Imperial Guard saw this, he shouted sternly:

"You despicable guys, how dare you rebel! You and your families will be hanged outside the city! Don't even think about running away!"

When Jamil's army heard this familiar terrifying curse, most of their courage disappeared in an instant, and they hurriedly turned around and retreated out of the range of the Praetorian Guards.

Zhemele was so angry that he personally led his team to charge again. After several people were shot, the charging team immediately retreated.

Zhemele had no choice but to order a shootout with the guards. In this way, the two sides fought fiercely for a day, with a total of more than ten people killed and injured, and the night came.

When the police intelligence agent Ishaq, who was watching the battle from a distance, saw this scene, he just wanted to curse. Even a few hundred sheep might be braver than this group of people with flintlock guns.

He knew that this was the first time that Tunisians tried to attack the Guards. All the indigenous people in Tunisia were watching, and they must win as soon as possible, otherwise the morale of the indigenous people would soon dissipate.

If other guards came to reinforce, the situation would be even worse.

Thinking of this, he immediately rushed back to the Tunisian city overnight.

The next day, the battle in Andalucian continued, and the Praetorian Guards even launched a breakout. Fortunately, Zhemele led his men to fight back, otherwise they would probably have failed.

It was getting dark, and just as Jamil was distracted, a deafening roar suddenly came from near the corner of the road in the distance. Immediately, bricks and stones flew everywhere where the Guards were hiding, and a half-shaped figure appeared on the back wall. How tall are the holes in people.

Then, a second loud noise came...

Ishak really had no other choice but to invite artillerymen from the police academy to "cheat". Use the four-pounder cannon to help Zhemele open the gap.

Zhemele's mind was very flexible. He guessed that someone was using cannons to help, but he stood up and shouted:

"Divine punishment! This is divine punishment from the Lord! The Guards are finished!"

Upon hearing "God's Punishment", the Tunisian natives were immediately boosted in morale. Gods were on their side, so what else were they afraid of? Howling immediately, he followed Zhemele and launched a fierce charge.

The dim sky made it difficult for them to see how many teammates around them had been shot. With a strong momentum, they poured in through the gap in the mosque. Taking advantage of the large number of people, they hacked at the imperial guards inside.

They had been oppressed by the Ottomans for too long, and the anger in their chests was vented and they could not control it at all.

When Zhemele exhausted his energy and put away the scimitar in his hand, he turned around and realized that there were almost no guards left standing.

At dawn the next day, Djemel led his men to search the homes of all the guards in the town, and harvested a huge sum of 30,000 rials that day.

News of Andalucian's victory spread quickly throughout Tunisia. The natives suddenly discovered that the Imperial Guards, which had always been arrogant, were not invincible.

The oracle is indeed right, the fallen Ottomans will be purified!

More importantly, it is said that the Andalusian rebels seized 50,000 to 60,000 rials from the Praetorian Guards in just three days!

Everyone was immediately dominated by greed.

The indigenous people who harbored dreams of getting rich were no longer timid. There were more and more attacks on the Imperial Guards in various places, and soon a prairie fire started.

At this time, there was no attack on the French in the entire Tunisia - the Janissaries were being bombarded with gold coins by the natives. How could they remember the exchange with the British?

As for the indigenous people, everyone is now "descendant of Rome", so naturally they will not embarrass their French brothers who share the same origin. Besides, we have to count on the French brothers to provide weapons and equipment that can explode gold coins.

As for Zhemele, after clearing all the guards in Andalucian, he began to lead his team to support the nearby indigenous people.

After all, they were a victorious army with high morale and a certain amount of experience. They quickly helped five or six towns break through the defenses of the Imperial Guard.

In just half a month, Zhemele gathered an indigenous army of nearly 4,000 people.

These were the brave and capable warriors he had selected, and he drove the cowards back home.

Then, under the guidance of the military advisors brought by Ishak, this strongest indigenous army successfully repelled the Janissaries who came to clear the Tunisian city, and then took advantage of the situation to attack the second largest city in Tunisia, Su. Sa, the reputation was great for a while.

Another half month later, Dhemele's 5,000-strong army arrived in Tunisia.

Several indigenous rebel armies arrived from other directions, gathering together some 20,000 people.

The indigenous people elected Mr. Zaganos, who supported all the rebels, namely Ishaq as the leader and Dhemele as the general. They commanded all the indigenous troops and surrounded the Tunisian city.

As early as a week ago, Joseph ordered the Guards Corps to withdraw to Bizerte, while the Mullan Corps controlled the Kairouan Fortress and would not be involved in the upcoming storm.

…

When Said, the special envoy of the Ottoman Sultan, arrived in Tunisia, he saw war smoke all over the place. A large number of Tunisian Guards were killed and expelled. There was even a group of fleeing Guards who almost robbed him. .

After learning about the situation in Tunisia, he, a pure-bred Ottoman, did not dare to stay too long and fled back to the ship as quickly as possible.

Fortunately, the Tunisian navy was completely wiped out by the Europeans, so there was no need to worry that the natives would sail their ships to catch him at sea.

But in this way, the task of the Sultan asking him to persuade the Tunisian Bey to ask Osman for the title of Pasha became impossible to complete.

If you fail to complete the task, you may be executed by the Sultan.

Said, who did not dare to return to Ottoman, hesitated for a long time, and finally found that he had to find a way to complete the task.

If you want to complete the mission, you must first help the Tunisian Guards stabilize the situation.

He immediately set his sights on Algiers, where the Ottoman Empire still had influence. The Guards there are also a branch of the Ottoman Guards, and have always had a tradition of interfering with the Tunisian regime. They must be persuaded to send troops to have any hope of saving their lives.