Chapter 217 Combat Meeting

Chapter 218 Combat Meeting

In a room with closed doors and windows on the second floor of the Palais Royal, Madame Sembéran shrank in fear.

More than ten minutes ago, she was still immersed in the excitement of receiving the invitation from the Duke of Orleans, but now she was trembling tremblingly: "Mr. Duke, I didn't... It was the Duke of Chartres who took the initiative to come to me... and, I I really didn’t know I had that disease.”

Her skin was smooth, without any discomfort, and she had indeed not yet entered the second stage of syphilis - many people with good health may not develop obvious symptoms until two years after contracting syphilis.

The Duke of Chartres comforted his father on the side: "Father, there is nothing wrong with Eros. Even the great Francis I suffered from it..."

"Shut up!"

The Duke of Orleans interrupted him with an angry roar, and glared at Madame Sanberran: "Tell me carefully what happened."

"It's... you asked me to seduce... the day when I went to find His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. You know, I failed and he ignored me. Then, the Duke of Chartres suddenly barged in..."

Half an hour later, the Duke of Orleans angrily slammed his fist on the table. The floor of the study was littered with fragments such as teacups and incense burners.

"It's all that damn Louis Joseph!" His eyes were bloodshot and he gritted his teeth, "He must have known in advance that Sambelan's wife was sick, so he deliberately led Philip to that room!

"Yes, that must be the case!"

From that day on, the legal heir of the Duke of Orleans only had at most 20 years left to live, or even only 10 years.

Syphilis is a terrible terminal disease in this era.

He grabbed the pen holder and threw it to the ground, and roared like a beast in his throat: "I swear, I will never let you go. I will tear you all apart! Tear you apart! Even if you risk everything on me!"

…

North Africa.

Algiers, Mitijah.

Hollis, the British consul in Tunisia, signed the handover document in frustration, and then bowed perfunctorily to Stewart, the consul in Algiers: "From now on, North Africa will be left to you. Goodbye, Sir Stewart."

News of the dramatic changes in Tunisia reached London, and then the envoy of the Duke of Leeds, the Foreign Secretary, rushed to Algiers and announced that Stewart would take over all affairs in Tunisia.

Hollis could only lament his bad luck - he had done everything he could, and he didn't know why the natives suddenly rebelled and behaved extremely pro-French.

At dusk, Hollis was packing his luggage alone in the hotel. He would board the ship back to England early tomorrow morning.

"It's not bad to just retire like this." He shook his head and laughed self-deprecatingly, "I can go back to my hometown in Worcester and enjoy fishing for the rest of my life."

There was a sound of pushing the door open behind him. He thought it was a servant coming, so he turned around and said: "Jamie, how many times have I told you that you don't have to ask me about the carriage..."

He was suddenly stunned. It was not Jamie who came in, but a tall man in black.

"you are?"

"Mr. Hollis, your errand is really bad." The man in black closed the door and whispered.

Hollis was shocked: "You, what are you going to do?"

The man in black walked over slowly, rubbing his wrists: "Your private incitement of Tunisian nobles to attack the French will make things very difficult for the government."

"No, that was the instruction of the Duke of Leeds..." Hollis was stunned mid-sentence, "Did he ask you to come?"

The man in black didn't answer, but quickly held him down and put a rope around his neck.

The next morning, the hotel owner repeatedly reminded the British that it was time to get on the ship. After receiving no response, he had no choice but to open the door, only to see the person in the room hanging from the window frame.

…

Little does Stewart know that his former colleague has passed away to heaven. He had to do his best to avoid France getting Tunisia.

He was about to visit Algiers Dey, the ruler here, but unexpectedly, Mr. Said, a special envoy of the Ottoman Sultan, arrived at his consulate first.

In the living room, the middle-aged man with a mustache and standard Ottoman attire nodded to Stewart: "Dear Consul, I think you should have learned about the terrible rebellion in Tunisia."

Stewart immediately thought of something and hurriedly ordered the servant to bring coffee and asked the Ottomans to take a seat: "Yes, alas, that is really a tragedy. I heard that Tunisians openly advocated for their independence from the Ottoman Empire."

Said nodded and said: "I think our two countries have common interests when it comes to the situation in Tunisia.

"It is obvious that if France were to acquire the ports of Tunisia, British trade in the Mediterranean would be immediately at a disadvantage."

Stewart stirred the coffee with a silver spoon and said calmly: "So what do you think?"

"Together we can recommend that Algiers send troops to suppress the rebellion in Tunisia, and maybe we can get everything back on track."

Said leaned forward: “I heard that the British hired a group of Albanian mercenaries to help Algiers defend against the French.

"If the Algiers Guards also sent an army, they could quickly defeat the French army in Tunisia. There should only be 3,000 French people there."

Stewart's expression remained unchanged: "First of all, your intelligence is out of date. There are 6,000 French soldiers in Tunisia.

"Secondly, what can you and your empire offer to this counter-insurgency operation?"

Said immediately smiled:

"I could ask the Dey of Algiers in the name of the Sultan to send troops, which, you know, would greatly reduce the opposition of those in the Algiers Assembly."

Algiers is different from Tunisia, where the Janissaries centralized power. There are three political forces here: indigenous people, the navy, and the Janissaries. They all wanted to gain Ottoman support, so they were still very concerned about the Sultan's attitude.

Said continued: "When order is restored in Tunisia, I believe the great Sultan will consider granting the trade monopoly there to Britain."

The British consul's eyes suddenly lit up: "Actually, I am very interested in your proposal."

Said turned his wrist in an arc, with a look of embarrassment on his face: "It's just that this counter-insurgency war may still require some funds..."

Stewart immediately said:

"I can provide some help in this regard. 300,000 pounds is enough to finish this battle."

Said was immediately overjoyed, bowed slightly and said: "I believe that our two countries can become the guardians of order in Tunisia."

The two blended it in detail, and then went to Dey's mansion in Algiers hand in hand.

Three days later, the Algiers "Difan", or parliament, held a plenary session.

The Algiers Guards were very sympathetic to the suffering of Tunisian "compatriots" in the indigenous rebellion, so they clamored to send troops to Tunisia to combat the rebellion and save the Guards.

In fact, since Hassan led the Janissaries to gain control of Tunisia, they have actively participated in every political change in Tunisia and gained huge benefits from it.

The Navy immediately agreed.

Previously, the combined fleet sank their ship and captured the sailors on board, and they had been planning their famous revenge.

Now that France has gained a port in Tunisia, the threat to them will become more serious in the future. They naturally hope to attack Tunisia as soon as possible.

Only the indigenous forces in Algiers were reluctant to get involved in the war.

However, they were already the weakest among the "Difan". After receiving the instructions from the Ottoman Sultan's special envoy and the British commitment of hundreds of thousands of pounds of military support, they stopped speaking out.

Finally, after obtaining the command of the Albanian mercenaries from the British and the tacit consent of the plundering of Tunisia, the Algiers Deisukri Ali Tous announced that 11,000 Janissary troops would be sent. , plus 12,000 mercenaries, went to Tunisia to suppress the rebellion and restore the rule of the Praetorian Guard there.

…

Paris.

Versailles, Petit Trianon.

Queen Mary asked the maid anxiously: "Has Baron Wemorel set off?"

Countess de Berninac leaned forward and said: "Yes, Your Majesty. He left before dawn and should be almost at Provins now."

"Okay, that's good."

The queen caressed her chest, but her heart was still beating fast.

Last week, good news came back from Tunisia, saying that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince ousted the Tunisian Guards who were hostile to France, and now Tunisia has once again become a paradise for France.

She was so happy that she even agreed to her son's request to land in Tunisia to see the unique scenery there.

However, another warning was sent from Algiers last night. Algiers' "Difan" has decided to send 23,000 troops to intervene in the situation in Tunisia.

When she thought that her precious son might be involved in the war, she wrote a personal letter overnight and sent the captain of the personal guard to rush to Tunisia immediately to bring the crown prince back.

The door was pushed open, and the Minister of War, the Minister of the Navy, and the Chief Minister Brian walked in quickly.

Before several people could salute, the queen said anxiously: "Have you heard about the situation in Tunisia? I want to ensure the safety of the crown prince now!"

She said, then murmured softly: "I really shouldn't have let him go there. God, there are savages everywhere..."

The Marquis of St. Priest and the Minister of the Navy looked at each other and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, if the troops from Tunisia immediately cover His Highness's evacuation, there should be no danger.

"It's just that most of the 6,000 people sent were newly formed legions. If, I mean just in case, they move slowly and are blocked by the Algiers army in Tunisia, I'm afraid..."

Queen Mary hurriedly said: "What should we do? Oh, you will immediately send troops to Tunisia to meet the crown prince!"

"Follow your wishes." Marquis St. Priest bowed, and then asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, what about the funding?"

"No matter how much money it is, let Archbishop Brian allocate it to you. I want you to send troops immediately!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

…

Tunisia.

Joseph was sitting in a tent on the beach, eating freshly grilled seafood, while discussing the documents in his hand with Joan: "Do you know how many white slaves the Tunisian indigenous people have?"

"The specific data have not been calculated, Your Highness, but the wealth of Tunisia is in the hands of the Janissaries. Very few Berbers and Arabs can afford white slaves. I estimate that there are only a few hundred at most. "

"That's good." Joseph nodded, "In this case, the Tunisian government will pay to redeem them. And the white slaves who previously belonged to the Guards will be freed directly."

According to previous statistics, there were tens of thousands of white slaves in Tunisia, that is, Europeans captured by pirates. These people are basically Christians and are unlikely to return to Europe after being away from home for many years. They have naturally become the backbone of French immigrants in Tunisia.

Joan was busy writing down the last page of the "White Slave Survival Act": "This may require hundreds of thousands of livres, Your Highness."

"It doesn't matter, it's worth it." Joseph asked again, "By the way, how are you preparing for the official exam?"

"Preparations are being carried out in an orderly manner. Mr. Sirada said that the examination can start at the beginning of next month at best."

Joseph nodded. The current bureaucracy of the Tunisian Guards has been completely destroyed, and Tunisia needs a new governance system.

Joseph wanted to take this opportunity to test the bureaucratic assessment and recruitment model here. Somewhat similar to the public examination in later generations.

Of course, in addition to taking some questions on humanities, management, science, etc., there are also nearly half of the knowledge about France and "Roman identity".

The exam syllabus has been announced, and the next step is to "learn well and become an official".

After the Kaogong here has accumulated a certain amount of experience, it will become an important reference for him to implement bureaucratic reforms in France.

As Joseph and Qiao An were talking, they saw Ishaq hurried over with an agent from the Police Intelligence Department.

Several Swiss Guard soldiers immediately stopped them and began to search them carefully.

Joseph smiled and waved to the Swiss: "No, let them come over."

Ishaq stepped forward and saluted, and said hurriedly: "Your Highness, this is Willy who just arrived from Algiers. He sent information. Deitous in Algiers mobilized 23,000 troops. Prepare to invade Bizerte from Annaba.”

"Oh?!" Joseph stood up suddenly, frowning and asked, "When did this happen?"

"About 6 days ago, Your Highness."

With the communication speed of this era, Mitijah's information can be sent to Tunisia City in less than a week, which is already very efficient.

"Inform the senior officers of the Guards Corps and the Mulan Corps to convene a combat meeting immediately. By the way, ask them to bring a few more officers from the Tunisian Guards."

Joseph was about to leave when Ishaq said again: "Your Highness, speaking of the Tunisian Guards, judging from the confessions obtained by the Guards officers interrogated in the past few days, it was the British who encouraged them to attack the French behind the scenes. . The British also spent a large amount of money as a reward for the attack."

Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly. He had previously highly suspected that it was the shit stirrer who did it, but now he was finally convinced.

He ordered Ishaq: "Write a detailed report on this matter and have it sent back to Versailles."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Two hours later, in a villa not far from the Cahill Palace, more than a dozen military officers including Berthier and André stood at a large conference table and neatly raised their hats and bowed in salute to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Joseph raised his hat in return, then looked at the apparently newly built conference table - Tunisians didn't use this kind of table at all - and told Emman: "Please move this table away and replace it with one that can be placed more comfortably." Just get down on the sandbox."