I am the Crown Prince of France

Chapter 202: Target, Tunisia!

Admiral Jervis continued:

"Additionally, Algiers will need an army to deal with the possibility of a successful French landing. As far as I know, their guardsmen are more interested in drinking and seeking out prostitutes than in actual combat. Their fighting capability is not particularly strong."

"We could recruit Albanian mercenaries," Duke Leeds said casually as he savored the aroma of his tea. "The people there are fierce warriors, and they speak Arabic. Most importantly, they're cheap."

Pitt nodded slightly and turned to Jervis. "In your estimation, how many mercenaries would be needed to defend Algiers?"

"At least 10,000, but 15,000 would be better."

"Your Grace, please be cautious," Consul Stewart's voice interrupted the Duke of Leeds's thoughts. The latter quickly focused his attention and crossed the gangplank, setting foot on the port of Mitidja.

After another two hours in a carriage, the Duke of Leeds and his entourage were finally able to secretly meet with Mansur, the current Dey of Algiers. Given that there were quite a few French spies around, they had to act covertly.

Mansur was very welcoming to the British, of course—who wouldn't be, when they were bringing gifts? Last time, the Duke of Leeds had brought him nearly free cannons and dozens of engineers. This time, he brought contracts for mercenaries.

Initially, Mansur was quite reluctant to allow over 10,000 Albanian mercenaries into Algiers, especially since he had to bear a third of the cost. However, he quickly reconsidered when Mr. Stewart, the "Sultan's Advisor," presented a decree from Ottoman Sultan Hamid I. The decree urged Mansur to bolster his defenses and use mercenaries to fend off potential foreign invasions.

In fact, the decree from Hamid I was more of a guarantee—it primarily assured that these mercenaries would obey the Algiers government and would leave as soon as the threat was over.

The next day, during a council meeting in Algiers, the attendees engaged in a heated debate. The pirates, essentially the naval forces, and the local Berbers were in favor of accepting the mercenaries. After all, the intelligence brought by the British indicated that the French were very likely to attack the Algiers navy base. However, the guardsmen were strongly opposed to the idea, fearing the mercenaries would pose a threat to their own power.

In the end, with Mansur's promise to allocate 60% of the British aid to the guardsmen and the navy's firm insistence, the guardsmen grudgingly agreed to allow the mercenaries to garrison Algiers.

Upon receiving the news, the Duke of Leeds was overjoyed. He left Turt to handle the affairs in Algiers and set sail back to Britain, fully satisfied. He had spent more than two months in the Mediterranean, and with just over £400,000, he had successfully thwarted France's expansion plans in North Africa. This was undoubtedly a strategic triumph! To achieve similar strategic goals in the past, Britain had waged a war that cost nearly £10 million.

The world was now entering the industrial age, where only vast colonies could provide the markets and raw materials needed to sustain national development. Over half of the empire's revenue in recent years had come from its colonies in the Far East and the Americas. And France, lacking colonies? Well, it would never have the power to compete with the empire!

...

France, Paris.

In an office on the second floor of the Tuileries Palace, Joseph carefully reviewed the reports on strategic grain reserves across various regions. Due to rapid industrial expansion and the appointment of the new Minister of Industry, the number of industrial system officials had significantly increased. The original industrial planning office was no longer adequate. So, Joseph allocated a small section of the Tuileries Palace for a new planning office. After all, there were plenty of guest rooms here, most of which were rarely occupied.

The data in the report made Joseph frown slightly. There was only a slight decrease in grain reserves for July and August, but starting in September, reserves plummeted by tens of millions of pounds. This accounted for 17% of the total reserves!

He knew this was because the populace had some grain stored, but with the harvests destroyed by hailstorms, many had exhausted their reserves and were now relying on government supplies to survive.

Fortunately, he had begun purchasing grain from abroad at the beginning of the year; otherwise, France might already be in chaos. Historically, it was around this time that the French government could no longer contain widespread unrest, leading to the decision to convene the Estates-General the following year, thus setting the stage for the Revolution.

Joseph sighed softly at the thought. Although the situation was under control for now, vigilance was still necessary.

First, due to the severe drought, the grain yield for the second half of the year would certainly be significantly lower than in previous years. According to the Church's estimates, the harvest might only reach 70% of the usual amount, or even less.

France was still an agricultural nation—losing 30% of its grain harvest was akin to the country losing 30% of its lifeblood!

Moreover, after last year's massive grain purchases and with other countries also facing droughts, international grain prices had already risen by 60% compared to the previous year and were still climbing.

Countries like Britain, Prussia, and the German states had all enacted laws to strictly limit grain exports. Now, even if you had the money, it was nearly impossible to buy grain.

And what's more, France didn't have much money...

Joseph had just reviewed the financial system's report. Thanks to his previous efforts, France's debt crisis had significantly eased; at least it wasn't on the brink of collapse anymore. However, the country was still running a deficit, with annual expenditures exceeding revenues by 20.7 million livres.

While this was a significant reduction from last year's 130 million deficit, it was still a frightening figure! Especially since next year would likely see grain reserves exhausted, necessitating huge expenditures on grain purchases. If things went wrong, the recently improved fiscal situation could deteriorate again.

Historically, between 1787 and 1789, France's national debt nearly doubled as the government tried to cope with famine and unrest!

And Joseph knew that the drought would continue until the second half of next year. Until then, there could be no relaxation of effort.

To address the grain crisis, money was needed. Whether buying grain or, in the worst-case scenario, seizing it from others, substantial funds were required.

Currently, France had two main avenues to generate funds:

The first was the newly emerging industry. Although sectors like paper-making, brewing, and carriage manufacturing had developed reasonably well, bringing in more than 8 million livres in revenue, this was still a drop in the ocean compared to what was needed to support national finances.

As for other industries, they were just making small profits, if at all. Major industries like steam engines, textiles, and steel production still required investment and were far from profitable.

The other source of revenue was North Africa.

Tunisia was a particularly wealthy trade hub with several important ports. Almost all of Tunisia's land was suitable for cultivation. If large-scale agricultural development were possible there, it could greatly alleviate France's grain crisis.

In extreme cases, starving citizens could be sent there, given land to farm, and expected to feed themselves.

In Joseph's strategic plan, Tunisia was the key to maintaining France's stability.

At that moment, Aymon knocked on the door and said, "Your Highness, Consul Joan is here, along with that person."

Joseph's spirits lifted, and he instructed, "Let them in."

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

"Yes, Your Highness."

Before long, the tall and dark-skinned Joan entered the office with two others. When he saw the Crown Prince looking their way, he quickly bowed and said, "It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness, the esteemed Crown Prince! I am Bernard Arnaud de Joan, Consul to Tunisia."

The woman beside him, wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a veil and dressed in a new, fitted gown, seemed surprised by Joseph's youth. She whispered a few words to Joan, and after receiving a confirming nod, she removed her hat, curtseyed to Joseph, and quickly spoke a long string of Arabic.

Joan quickly translated for the Prince:

"Ah, Your Highness, this is Lady Aicha Rabia, the eldest daughter of Eunice Pasha. Many of Mr. Eunice's business dealings are managed by her, and she is here as his full representative. She praised your grace and fame just now and sends you her most sincere greetings, wishing you a long and prosperous life."

Joseph smiled and returned the greeting to the exotic-looking Rabia: "Welcome to Paris. Please, have a seat on the sofa," he said, gesturing towards the one covered with a fine wool carpet.

Rabia pointed towards the door and spoke again in her language. Isaac quickly translated for Joseph:

"Your Highness, she says she has brought some gifts on behalf of her father and hopes that you will like them."

He lowered his voice a bit:

"Ah, some of the gifts are just outside, mainly jewelry. There are also some left in the port of Marseille—they're slaves, around fifty or sixty of them... mostly French, with a few Italians."

Joseph narrowed his eyes slightly, recognizing these as "white slaves"—Europeans captured by Barbary pirates and sold into slavery in North Africa. Eunice seemed to be trying to curry favor by returning these French citizens.

He turned to Rabia with a slight smile. "Please thank Mr. Eunice for me. This will be the beginning of a good cooperation between us."

Rabia immediately responded with a bow: "My father and I are greatly honored, Your Highness."

Joan provided a simultaneous translation.

Joseph nodded towards Joan and then addressed Rabia: "I believe Baron Joan has explained my intentions to Mr. Eunice. What is his response?"

A flash of fierceness crossed Rabia's eyes as she spoke loudly: "Your Highness, my father greatly appreciates your proposal! Those despicable men, Mohammed and Ali, have usurped Tunisia for over twenty years. It's time to return it to its rightful owner. If you help my father return to the Kasbah, he will certainly show his gratitude to you!"

The Kasbah was the royal palace of the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia and the residence of subsequent Beys.

Joseph was pleased to hear this. He had anticipated that a man like Eunice, who once held military power in Tunisia and rebelled against his own father, would not be content to live out his days in exile in Algiers.

Thus, he had the intelligence services work with the Tunisian consul to reach out to Eunice. The intelligence services recently reported that Eunice was very interested in reclaiming the Bey position and still had many supporters in Tunisia.

However, Eunice apparently did not trust Joan and the agents and demanded a commitment from the French royal family, leading to today's meeting.

Joseph smiled and said, "Pasha Eunice indeed has the purest Bey bloodline. He should rightfully reclaim Tunisia. Now, why don't you tell me how I can help him?"

Rabia seemed eager as she replied, "Thank you, Your Highness. First, my father is being held under house arrest by the Algiers guardsmen. You need to help him leave Algiers."

Joan quickly added, "Your Highness, about that, Mr. Pell from Prussia has already devised a plan. His men will find a way to distract the Algiers guardsmen. The journey from Pasha Eunice's residence to the coast takes about an hour and a half by carriage, or even faster on horseback. However, he will need a warship to pick him up, or the Algiers navy... or rather, the pirates, will intercept him."

Joseph nodded. "That's not a problem. We can send the joint fleet to assist."

Rabia's face lit up with joy as she continued:

"My father has already sent people back to Tunisia to rally his followers. With his reputation, he should be able to raise a large army quickly. However, the main force of the Tunisian guardsmen may still be loyal to Hamud Ali. You know, the guardsmen are very well-equipped, and this will make it a tough battle."

Hamud Ali was the current Bey of Tunisia.

Joseph understood what she was implying. It seemed that Eunice's old troops had been marginalized and were likely relegated to auxiliary roles, making it difficult to defeat the main force of the Tunisian guardsmen in a direct confrontation.

He generously waved his hand. "I can provide you with 5,000 Charleville flintlock muskets and 10 cannons."

The so-called well-equipped Tunisian guardsmen were only well-equipped compared to other North African forces; their arsenal even included some 17th-century matchlock guns. Even the Ottoman guardsmen they admired and envied were less well-armed than the Russian army, considered the least modern in Europe. So, by providing standard French military equipment, a significant advantage could be gained.

Rabia was surprised by the young Prince's generosity and immediately stood up to bow:

"You are too generous, Your Highness! With these weapons, my father will certainly sweep away those traitors!"

She was now fully convinced of the Frenchman's sincerity—when real weapons are provided, what more is there to doubt?

"Then, how can we repay you?" she asked.

Joseph thought to himself that Tunisia would need to fully accept French purchases of land, allow the establishment of factories, agree to tax rates negotiated with France, and align its political and cultural systems closely with France.

Tunisia's vast farmland was crucial to easing France's grain crisis. Establishing factories in Tunisia would allow goods to be sold locally, in nearby Algiers, Tripoli, and Greece, and even shipped to the Ottoman Empire at a reasonable distance. This would reduce transportation costs, making French goods more competitive than British products, which, despite their industrial superiority, would still be more expensive due to higher shipping costs. This would essentially give France access to a vast market stretching from North Africa to the Balkans and Central Asia!

However, he didn't plan to mention all this to the woman before him because it wasn't necessary.

He simply smiled and replied, "I would like the Tunisian navy to declare a ban on raiding merchant ships. Trade should be fully oriented towards France. Also, I would like Bizerte Port to be handed over to French control."

(End of this chapter)

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