Chapter 224 The New Province of France

Chapter 225 The New Province of France

Tunisian city.

A group of Berber soldiers wearing white short robes, dark gray studded waistcoats, and white turbans held scimitars and held hundreds of Algiers Guard prisoners. From both sides of the street, beige soldiers, four or four Walking slowly between the square houses.

A large number of Tunisians followed them, loudly cursing the Algiers invaders and throwing various garbage at the prisoners' heads from time to time.

The ambush at Annaba was very successful. Under attack from both sides by the French army, the Algiers Guards only resisted for less than an hour before surrendering.

Joseph specially selected some captives and handed them over to the locals in Tunisia for "exhibition" in major cities such as Tunisia City and Susa.

The external propaganda caliber is "Tunisia's closest French friend, with the help of the rebel army, defeated the Algiers invaders."

Well, Dhemele led the rebel army to transport logistical supplies to the Guards Corps and the Mulan Corps, and also helped a bit when escorting the prisoners, which was indeed a help.

Since Hassan became the Bey of Tunisia, Algiers has often sent troops to interfere in Tunisia's internal affairs, and killings and looting along the way are naturally inevitable. In addition, Tunisia has to pay a large annual tribute to Algiers, which increases the burden on the Tunisian people at the bottom. Therefore, Tunisians hate Algiers extremely.

This time Algiers said it would send troops to suppress the Tunisian rebels and help their Ottoman compatriots restore their rule. The Tunisian people were even more furious.

What they didn't expect was that before the Algiers army entered Tunisia, the French brothers took care of them and captured many prisoners.

When the news came back, the whole of Tunisia was shocked!

People had just overthrown the oppression of the Praetorian Guards, and at this time they defeated the foreign invasion. For a time, they were all filled with pride and self-esteem, and every household was celebrating the victory.

And these two victories are inseparable from the help of my dear "French brothers".

Joseph also seized this opportunity and asked Elder Alayi to help promote it. At present, in the eyes of the Tunisian people, the French army has become the relatives and protectors of Tunisian relatives.

After a week of "exhibition", more than 200 prisoners of the Algiers Guards finally came to the square in front of the Grand Mosque in the center of the city.

The Tunisian City Chief Justice and several officials from the judicial system, who had just taken office a month ago, sat carelessly behind a wooden table. They signaled to the prisoners that they should kneel down neatly, then opened the "work manual" and began to learn how to deal with it on the spot. The current situation.

Yes, Tunisia’s administrative and judicial systems have been established according to the French model after two nationwide “civil service” examinations—from the management structure to the habits of using tables and chairs, everything is basically copied.

Joan brought hundreds of French administrative officials and guided these Tunisian indigenous people who had no political experience in managing the country.

Fortunately, rural tribes in Tunisia have their own traditional management models and do not need too much intervention. Only large cities with developed commerce really need officials. So this month, at least the administrative management of central and northern Tunisia has been barely started.

Qiao An asked people to prepare a "policy manual" for officials in various positions, which was the document that the justice Mr. Justice was looking through just now.

It took the judge more than 20 minutes to figure out what to do first. Nearly a thousand Tunisian people around him waited patiently for him for 20 minutes under the scorching sun.

Finally, the judge began to go through the trial process awkwardly.

An hour later, no one understood what he had done, but they all heard his sentence - "All invaders shall be hanged!"

There is no such thing as human rights in this era, especially in North Africa. Faced with people's anger, there is no need to think about defense or appeal.

Suddenly, the square burst into cheers. People chanted the name of the judge crazily, praised the French brothers, praised the great victory, and then surrounded the prisoners to the execution ground.

Early the next morning, while Haji Bey was having breakfast, he heard bursts of shouting coming from outside the Kahir Palace.

He turned to look at his new wife in confusion:

"Are there any more Algiers prisoners to be tried today?"

Hafsa shook her head:

"It doesn't sound like it. And the prisoners should not be escorted through Cahir Palace..."

While the two were talking, the manservant trotted over in a hurry, bowed to Haji at the door and said:

"Great Bey, thousands of people petitioned outside the palace."

"Petition?" Haji asked nervously, "Petition for what?"

"I don't know much about this," the footman lowered his head and said, "But the person taking the lead seems to be Municipal Commissioner Hilada Pasha."

Hilada is the scholar who previously "wrote" the "Analysis of the Origins of Tunisia". In this "Civil Service Examination", he successfully passed the position of Municipal Commissioner of Tunisia.

At present, major matters such as national taxation, finance, and personnel in Tunisia are still under "military control" for the time being. Officials at this level have not yet been selected, so the mayor of the capital is basically the highest-level official in Tunisia.

Haji came to the entrance of the Kahir Palace in panic. It was not until he saw the police intelligence agent as his "guard" that he felt a little more at ease. Last time, it was the French brothers who stopped the rebels who wanted to kill him and saved his position as Bey.

The French guard opened the palace door, and Haji immediately heard the deafening shouts of people:

"The glorious province of Tunisia..."

"Become a province of France..."

"Returning to the arms of relatives in Rome..."

"We want to be with our loved ones..."

When Sirada saw Bey's appearance, she hurriedly signaled the petitioning crowd to quiet down, then came to Haji, bowed respectfully, and handed him a large piece of parchment.

"What, what is this?" Haji didn't dare to stretch out his hand - the last scene when the rebels stormed into the Cahir Palace and killed him left a huge psychological shadow on him.

"It's a petition, my dear Bey."

Hilada helped him unfold the parchment and saw "Tunisia petitions to join the Kingdom of France" written in Arabic on the top.

Below are densely packed fingerprints of petitioners. It looks like there are at least thousands of them.

"Join France?" Haji asked tremblingly, "How to join?"

The official next to Siralda, the scholar who had previously discussed "Origin Analysis" with him, stepped forward and said loudly:

"Tunisia used to be a province of the Ottomans. Now that we have broken away from the Ottomans, we can become a province of the great France!"

Another person also came over: "Yes! Be with the Roman brothers forever!"

"Only a strong France can bring prosperity and strength to Tunisia!"

The petitioners immediately shouted:

"Province of Tunisia!"

"Join France!"

Haji took a few steps back in fear, and Hafsa shouted behind him:

“What will Bey do if Tunisia becomes a province?”

Hilada immediately said: "I have asked Consul Joan to ask the Crown Prince of France for instructions on this point.

"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that he will be granted the title of 'Duke of Tunisia' for you, keep the Cahir Palace, and receive a generous annuity every year. Just like those noble French Dukes."

The scholar next to him added excitedly: "Compared with the pasha of the declining Ottomans, it will be more glorious for you to become the Duke of the great France!"

Tunisian literati like them were the most proficient in law before. In this "civil service examination", they obtained a large number of positions by virtue of their cultural level.

Therefore, whether because of their "sophistication" or for the stability of their positions, they are extremely willing to make Tunisia a province of France.

After the Tunisian rebel army entered the city of Tunisia, Joan only gave a slight signal to Hilada, who immediately led the literati class to fully promote the public opinion of "becoming a French province".

And Tunisia's bottom is also very happy to see this happen.

In the process of overthrowing the rule of the Praetorian Guards, they stole a large amount of wealth from the homes of the Praetorian Guards. And this time Algiers sent 20,000 troops to Tunisia to "quell the rebellion" and restore the rule of the Janissaries. This was something they could never accept - how could they spit out the fat they had eaten?

Therefore, they urgently needed a strong France to protect the wealth they had gained. As for whose province it becomes, it makes no difference to them. My dear "Brother Roman" seems much kinder than Osman.

As for the Tunisian military, they need someone to endorse their previous actions of eradicating the Guards. Moreover, the supreme leader of the rebel army is Ishaq from the Police Intelligence Department, so he naturally strongly supports joining France.

As for religion, since Ottoman has always implemented a rule model of religious integration, Christianity and Islam have always lived in harmony within its sphere of influence. Even Haji’s grandfather Hassan was a Catholic before he became Bey.

Tunisians have been influenced by this concept for more than a hundred years and naturally have no objections to joining a Catholic country.

Haji carefully took the petition and turned to look at Hafsa behind him.

The latter glanced at the crowd of petitioners and whispered:

"If you follow the conditions set by the Crown Prince of France, there will be no disadvantage to you. And with the status of Duke of France, you no longer have to worry about the mob daring to harm you."

Haji nodded and turned to Shilada:

"Please draft it on your behalf, requesting His Majesty the Great King of France to accept Tunisia as a French province."

…

While the Cahir Palace was surrounded by petitioners, thousands of Guardsmen were lining up at the legion station in Bizerta to participate in the awarding ceremony for the meritorious soldiers in the Battle of Annaba.

Amidst the solemn and passionate music of "Glory and Victory", Joseph, dressed in a white military uniform and carrying a sword at his waist, strode to the wooden platform at the front of the queue, looked around at the more than ten neat square formations in front of him, and said loudly:

"Today, we are here to witness those warriors who, with their supreme courage, wisdom and faith, have written admirable legends and won supreme glory! They will receive medals that match their honor! Let us They salute!”

With a "wow" sound, the soldiers neatly raised their guns and saluted to the dozen or so people on the stage who were waiting for the award.

Then, Joseph took over the medal from the legion staff and first awarded it to the fallen soldiers who were awarded it by others.

After that, he came to Lefebvre, who had received the Order of the Silver Iris, pinned the well-made silver iris on his chest, and then solemnly raised his hat in salute to him.

The soldiers present suddenly burst into cheers like waves.

You know, Lefebvre is from a civilian background. Among other French legions, someone like him could at most be promoted to second lieutenant, but that would still require spending a lot of money.

Now, not only had he received the Silver Iris, he had also been quickly promoted to the rank of major and could command a battalion of soldiers.

All this comes from the military honors he gained through fighting bravely and fearlessly.

Origin no longer matters!

Almost every soldier's heart is full of hope, because they know that as long as they kill the enemy bravely on the battlefield, they can also receive the same honor, and even become a general one day!

And just this hope can make their morale crush all the armies in Europe at this time.

Joseph came to Dawu again, pinned the bronze iris on his chest, and raised his hat in salute.

He looked at Marshal Davout who stood at attention and responded to him, and then glanced at Berthier and Lefebvre beside him. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart: Napoleon, I have found three marshals under your command, but you are Where did it go?

In fact, months earlier Joseph had asked the Minister of War to help him find a soldier named Napoleon Bonaparte.

According to his memory, Nahuang should have graduated from the artillery academy and is serving in a certain army.

However, the Marquis de Saint-Priest told him that there were no active soldiers with that name.

Joseph didn't find it strange at first. After all, information in this era was extremely limited, and the army was the private property of the nobility. Just like checking someone else's bank statement, it was normal to hide it from you.

So, he put Fouche in charge of the matter again, but until now, the whereabouts of Nahuang have not been found.

He shook his head slightly and told himself that there was no need to worry. After all, Emperor Nahuang was still only a 19-year-old young man. As long as he kept looking for him, he believed that he would be dug out sooner or later!

…

Palace of Versailles.

Queen Mary took a glance at the report on the situation in Tunisia and burst into tears of joy. She gave the chamberlain who delivered the letter a hug: "Great, Joseph is safe and sound!"

She took two steps back and crossed herself on her chest: "Thank you, Almighty God, for your blessing on Joseph!"

She read the report carefully again, and excitedly walked around the room. Finally, she stopped when she passed by the maid, and said to the latter: "Please help me arrange the welcome ceremony, my Joseph will be back soon!"

"By the way, does His Majesty the King know the good news?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, the same document has been sent to His Majesty the King."

"Okay! Then, go get two strawberry cakes and fill them with cocoa sauce. I want to celebrate!"

At the same time, the Marquis of Saint-Villan, who had just marched to the port of Toulon, also received news from Tunisia, but he seemed a little uninterested.

Unexpectedly, the 6,000 soldiers actually defeated the Algiers army. Now that the crown prince was safe, he had no chance to make money anymore.

He suddenly felt regretful. If he had known this, he shouldn't have wasted these days just for that little money. In that case, the credit for defeating the Algiers and protecting the Dauphin might be his own.