Chapter 201 Target, Tunisia!

Chapter 202 Target, Tunisia!

Admiral Jervis continued:

"In addition, Algiers needs an army to deal with the situation where the French forcefully landed successfully.

"As far as I know, their guards only drink and find prostitutes, and their combat effectiveness is not very strong."

"You can recruit Albanian mercenaries." The Duke of Leeds sniffed the tea and said with a relaxed look, "The people there are very tough and can speak Arabic. The most important thing is that they are cheap."

Pitt nodded slightly and looked at Jervis again: "How many mercenaries do you estimate are needed to defend Algiers?"

"At least 10,000 people, preferably 15,000 people."

"My Lord Duke, please be careful. "The voice of Consul Stuart interrupted the Duke of Leeds's memories. The latter hurriedly focused his attention, walked across the gangway, and stepped onto the port of Mitiga.

After sitting in the carriage for another two hours, the Duke of Leeds and others finally had a secret meeting with the current Dai Mansur of Algiers-there are many French spies here now, and they can only act in secret.

Mansur seemed very enthusiastic about the British. After all, they came to give benefits, who could not welcome them?

Last time, the Duke of Leeds brought him almost free artillery and dozens of engineers. And this time, it was a mercenary contract.

At first, Mansur was very reluctant to let tens of thousands of Albanian mercenaries enter Algiers, especially since he had to bear one-third of the cost.

However, he soon saw the "Sultan's Advisor" Stewart. Mr. Tourte brought an imperial decree from the Ottoman Sultan Mihad I, hoping that he would strengthen his armaments and use mercenaries to resist possible invasions by foreign forces.

In fact, what Mihad I sent was more of a guarantee than an imperial decree - the main content was to guarantee that these mercenaries would obey the Algiers regime and would withdraw immediately after the threat disappeared.

At the Algiers Parliament the next day, the participants had a heated discussion.

Pirates, that is, naval forces, and local Berbers were more in favor of accepting mercenaries. After all, the British intelligence brought by Mansur showed that France was likely to attack the Algiers naval base.

The Guards were worried that mercenaries would pose a threat to themselves, and strongly opposed their entry into Algiers.

In the end, after Mansur promised Sixty percent of British aid was distributed to the Guards, and under the strong insistence of the Navy, the Guards reluctantly agreed to allow mercenaries to garrison.

The Duke of Leeds was overjoyed when he received the news, and left Tourt to deal with the affairs of Algiers. He was contentedly boarded the warship back to Britain.

He traveled around the Mediterranean for more than two months, and only spent more than 400,000 pounds to successfully curb the French expansion attempt in North Africa. This is definitely a huge strategic success! You know, in order to achieve similar strategic goals, Britain launched a war and invested nearly 10 million pounds.

The world today has begun to enter the industrial age. Only a large number of colonies can bring markets and raw materials to support the development of the country. Over the years, more than half of the empire's income has come from in the Far East and the Americas.

And a France without colonies? Oh, it will never have the strength to compete with the empire!

…

Paris, France.

In an office on the second floor of the Tuileries Palace, Joseph carefully read the reports on the reserves of strategic grain depots in various places. Due to the rapid expansion of industry and the increase in officials in the industrial system after the Minister of Industry took office, the original Industrial Planning Bureau was obviously insufficient. So Joseph simply allocated a small area in the Tuileries Palace to be used as the office of the new Planning Bureau. Anyway, there are so many guest rooms here that they are usually not fully occupied.

The data in the report made Joseph frown slightly. The grain reserves in July and August only decreased slightly, but from September onwards, the grain reserves decreased by tens of millions of pounds.

This accounted for 17% of the total reserves!

He knew that this was because there was still some grain in the folks before, but with the harvest failure caused by hail, many people's grain reserves had been exhausted and they could only rely on the government's grain reserves to survive.

Fortunately, he started buying grain from abroad at the beginning of the year, otherwise France might have been in chaos at this time. It was from this time in history that the French government was unable to solve the riots that occurred everywhere, and had to announce the convening of the three-level meeting next year, thus opening the prelude to the Great Revolution.

Joseph thought of this and couldn't help but sigh. Although the situation has been barely stabilized at the moment, we still can't let down our guard.

First of all, due to the severe drought, the grain output in the second half of this year will definitely be much lower than in previous years. According to the church's estimates, it is likely to be only 70% of the harvest in previous years, or even lower.

You know, France is still an agricultural country at present - a 30% reduction in grain harvest is basically equivalent to a 30% drop in the country's life value!

And after purchasing a large amount of grain from abroad last year, and other countries also suffered from drought, the international grain price has risen by 60% compared with last year, and it is still rising.

For example, Britain, Prussia, and the German states have issued decrees to strictly restrict grain exports, and now you can't buy it even if you have money.

What's more, France doesn't have much money at this time...

Joseph had just read the report of the financial system. After his previous operations, France's debt crisis was indeed greatly alleviated. At least it would not collapse at any time like before, but in fact, the current revenue and expenditure was still in deficit.

Annual expenses exceed income by 20.7 million livres.

This has indeed been significantly reduced compared to last year's deficit of 300 million, but it is still a very scary number!

Especially next year, we will face a situation where grain reserves may be exhausted, and we will inevitably spend a lot of money to purchase grain. If things go wrong, the financial situation that has just improved will deteriorate again.

Historically, in the three years from 1787 to 1789, France's national debt almost doubled in response to famine and riots!

And Joseph knew that the drought would not ease until the second half of next year, and he must not take it lightly until then.

To cope with the food crisis, we must first have money.

Whether it is buying food or going out to grab food as a last resort, a large amount of money is needed to support it.

At present, there are two main directions for making money in France:

One is the industry that has just begun to develop. Although papermaking, winemaking, horse-drawn carriages and other fields have developed quite well, adding more than eight million livres to France's income, they are only a drop in the bucket to support the national finances.

As for other fields, at best you can just make some small money. Especially the steam engine, textile industry, and steel industry, which are pillar industries, even require investment, and there is still a long way to go before they can make a profit.

Another source of increased income is North Africa.

Tunisia itself is a very wealthy trade transit point, with several important trading ports. Moreover, almost the entire Tunisia is fertile land suitable for planting. If cultivated land can be developed on a large scale there, France's food crisis can be solved to a great extent.

Even in extreme cases, hungry people can be sent there directly and given farmland to grow their own food to feed themselves.

It can be said that in Joseph's strategic plan, Tunisia is the key to ensuring France's stability.

At this moment, Emang lightly knocked on the door and said:

"Your Highness, Consul Qiao An is here, and there is that person."

Joseph suddenly became energetic and ordered:

"Invite them in."

Ever since he received the report from the intelligence agency about North Africa a few days ago, he had been waiting for this person, and today he finally arrived.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Not long after, Qiao An, who was tall, thin and tanned, walked into the office with two people.

When he saw the crown prince looking this way, he hurriedly stroked his chest and bowed:

"It is an honor to meet you, His Royal Highness the Dauphin! I am Bernard Arnault de Joan, Consul in Tunisia."

The strong-bodied woman next to him, wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a veil and a new slim-fitting skirt, was obviously very surprised by Joseph's age. She asked Joan a few questions in a low and impolite voice, and after receiving a positive reply, she took off her hat, curtsied to Joseph, and spoke a long string of Arabic words quickly.

Qiao An hurriedly gestured to the woman and translated for the crown prince:

"Ah, Your Highness, this is Ms. Aisha Rabia, the eldest daughter of Yunis Pasha. She is responsible for taking care of many of Mr. Yunis's businesses, and this time she is also the full authority of Yunis Pasha. represent.

"She just praised your temperament and reputation, extended her sincere greetings to you, and wished you a long life."

Joseph smiled at Rabia, who had an exotic face, and returned the greeting: "Welcome to Paris after traveling thousands of miles." Then he gestured towards the sofa covered with fine wool blankets, "Please sit down and talk."

Rabia pointed to the door again and muttered for a while. Isaac immediately translated for Joseph:

"Your Highness, she said she brought you some gifts on behalf of her father. I hope you like them."

He lowered his voice slightly:

"Ah, some of them are just outside the door, mainly jewelry. Others are left in the port of Marseille. They are slaves, there are fifty or sixty of them... They were all bought by her, mainly French, but also some A few Italians."

Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew that these were the so-called "white slaves" - Europeans who were kidnapped by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in North Africa. Eunice seemed to want to show his goodwill by sending back the French people.

He turned to Rabia, smiled slightly and said:

"Thank you Mr. Younes for me. This will be the beginning of our good cooperation."

Rabia immediately leaned forward and responded:

"My father and I are deeply honored, Your Highness."

Qiao An was busy translating simultaneously.

Joseph nodded to Joan and said to Rabia:

"I think Baron Joan has explained what I mean to Mr. Eunice. So, what's his reply?"

Rabia's eyes suddenly flashed with fierceness, and she said loudly:

"Your Highness, my father appreciates your proposal very much!

“Those two despicable guys, Mohammed and Ali, have stolen Tunisia for over twenty years and it’s time to return it to its true owners.

"If you can help my father return to Cahir Palace, he will definitely express his gratitude to you as much as possible!"

The Kahir Palace she was talking about was the palace of the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia and the residence of subsequent beys.

Joseph nodded happily upon hearing this.

He had expected that Younis, a tycoon who once held the military power in Tunisia and rebelled against his father, would never be willing to die alone in Algiers.

So, he asked the Police Intelligence Department to cooperate with the Tunisian consul to contact Younis. As a result, the Police Intelligence Service sent back a report not long ago, saying that Younis was extremely interested in regaining Bey's throne, and that he also had many supporters in Tunisia.

However, Yunis obviously did not trust Joan and those agents, and he proposed that he must get the promise of the French royal family, so today's meeting took place.

Joseph smiled and said: "Yunis Pasha has the purest Bey bloodline, and he should regain control of Tunisia.

"Then, why don't you tell me first, how can I help him?"

Rabia seemed a little impatient and said:

"Thank you, Your Highness. First of all, my father is under house arrest by the Algiers Guards. You need to help him leave Algiers."

Joan immediately followed: "Your Highness, Mr. Prussian Per has made a plan for this. His people will try to delay the Algiers Guards.

"It takes about an hour and a half to drive from Younis Pasha's residence to the coast, and it can be faster if you ride a horse. However, we need warships to pick them up, otherwise they will be intercepted by the Algiers Navy... cough, pirates."

Joseph nodded: "That's no problem. We can send the joint fleet to pick them up."

Rabia looked happy and continued:

"My father has sent people back to Tunisia to contact his followers. With my father's prestige, he should be able to gather a large army soon.

"But the main force of the Tunisian Guard may still obey Hammoud Ali. You know, the Guards are very well equipped, which will make us face a tough battle."

Hamoud Ali is the current Bey of Tunisia.

Joseph understood what she meant. It seems that Younis's old subordinates have been marginalized. They should be just miscellaneous troops. It is difficult to win against the main force of the Tunisian Guard.

He waved his hand generously: "I can support you with 5,000 Charleville flintlocks and 10 cannons. ”

The so-called Tunisian Guards’ sophisticated equipment is only relative to the North African region. The army is even equipped with many 17th-century matchlock guns. You know, even the Ottoman Guards, which they admired, were not as well equipped as the Russian army, which was at the bottom of Europe.

So as long as some of the French army’s common weapons were provided, it would be a dimensionality reduction attack on the North African army.

Rabia didn’t expect the young prince to be so generous. She immediately stood up excitedly and saluted:

“You are so generous, Your Highness! With these weapons, my father will be able to sweep away those traitors!”

She was also convinced of the French sincerity—real guns and cannons were given, so what else could there be to doubt?

“Then, how can we repay you? "

Joseph thought that of course he had to fully accept France's purchase of land and establishment of factories in Tunisia. Tunisia's tax rate had to be determined through negotiation with France, and at the same time, the political and cultural aspects had to be fully aligned with France.

Tunisia has a lot of arable land, and grain output is very important for alleviating France's food crisis.

By opening a factory in Tunisia, the products produced can be sold to nearby Algiers, Tripoli, and Greece, and it is not too far to be shipped to the Ottoman Empire.

In this way, the transportation cost can be much lower than that of goods shipped from Britain. Even if Britain has an advantage in industrial level, the final price will still be higher than that of French goods.

This means that France has a vast market from North Africa to the Balkans and then to Central Asia!

However, he did not intend to mention these to the woman in front of him, because there was no need.

He just smiled and replied:

"I hope the Tunisian Navy will declare a ban on looting merchant ships. Trade will be fully oriented to France. At the same time, the port of Bizerte will be handed over to France for management. "