Admiral Jervis continued:
"Furthermore, Algiers will need an army to deal with the situation if the French people forcefully land and succeed."
"As far as I know, their Imperial Guard only indulges in drinking and seeking the company of courtesans, their combat strength won't be too strong."
"We can recruit Albanian mercenaries," said the Duke of Leeds, smelling the aroma of the tea, and spoke with an easy demeanor, "Those people are very fierce, and they also speak Arab. Most importantly, they are cheap."
Peter nodded slightly and looked at Jervis again, "How many mercenaries do you estimate we need to defend Algiers?"
"At least 10,000, but it would be better to have 15,000."
"Duke, please be careful," Consul Stuart's voice interrupted the Duke of Leeds' reverie. The latter quickly focused and walked over the gangplank, stepping onto the port of Mitidja.
After another two hours by carriage, Duke of Leeds and his party were finally able to have a secret meeting with the current Dey of Algiers, Mansur – there were many French spies here, so they had to act covertly.
Mansur seemed very enthusiastic towards the British. After all, they were there to bring benefits; who wouldn't welcome that?
Last time, the Duke of Leeds had brought him almost free-of-charge cannons and dozens of engineers. This time he brought contracts for mercenaries.
Initially, Mansur was very averse to letting thousands of Albanian mercenaries enter Algiers, especially since he was expected to bear one-third of the cost.
However, he quickly saw the decree from the Ottoman Sultan Hamid I brought by "Sultan's Advisor" Mr. Stuart, urging him to strengthen his military and use the mercenaries to resist potential foreign invasions.
Actually, the decree from Hamid I was more of a guarantee than an order – the main content was to assure that these mercenaries would heed the orders of the Algiers government, and they would withdraw immediately once the threat had dissipated.
The next day in the Algiers Council, the attendees engaged in heated discussion.
The Pirates, that is, the naval forces, as well as the local Berbers were rather in favor of accepting the mercenaries. After all, the intelligence brought by the British indicated that France was likely to attack the base of the Algiers Navy.
On the other hand, the Imperial Guard was worried about the mercenaries posing a threat to their own power and strongly opposed their entry into Algiers.
In the end, with Mansur's promise to allocate sixty percent of the British aid to the Imperial Guard and the firm insistence of the Navy, the Imperial Guard reluctantly agreed to allow the mercenaries to come and be stationed there.
Upon receiving the news, the Duke of Leeds was overjoyed and left Tor to handle the matters in Algiers while he himself, satisfied, embarked on the British warship heading back to England.
He had been traveling around the Mediterranean for more than two months, spending just over 400,000 British Pounds, yet had successfully thwarted the French in their attempt to expand into North Africa. This was undoubtedly a huge strategic success! Keep in mind, England had previously waged a war and spent nearly ten million British Pounds to achieve similar strategic goals.
The world was now entering the Industrial Age, and only a great number of colonies could bring markets and raw materials to support the nation's development. Over the past years, more than half of the Empire's income came from colonies in the Far East and America.
And France, lacking in colonies? Ha, it will never have the strength to compete with the Empire!
...
France, Paris.
In an office on the second floor of the Tuileries Palace, Joseph was carefully examining the reports on the strategic grain reserves from various places – due to the rapid expansion in industry, and after the Minister of Industry took office, the number of officials in the industrial system had increased significantly, and the original Industrial Planning Bureau was clearly no longer sufficient.
Thus, Joseph simply allocated a small area in the Tuileries Palace for the new Planning Bureau office. After all, there were many guest rooms here, which were never fully occupied anyway.
The data in the report made Joseph frown slightly – the grain reserves for July and August had only a slight decrease, but from September, the reserves dropped by tens of millions of pounds.
This accounted for 17% of the total reserves!
He knew that this was because there had been some grain reserves among the people, but with the hailstorms causing complete crop failures, many people's reserves were exhausted, and they had to rely on the government's reserves to get by.
Luckily, he had started buying grain from abroad since the beginning of the year; otherwise, France might have already been in chaos by now. Historically, it was from this time that the French Government was unable to deal with riots happening everywhere, and had to announce the convening of the Estates-General the following year, thus ushering in the prelude of the Great Revolution.
Joseph sighed softly at this thought. Although the situation was barely stable for now, vigilance must not be relaxed.
First, because of the severe drought, this year's second-half crop yield would definitely be much lower than usual. According to the Church's estimates, it might only be 70% of the previous years', or even lower.
Keep in mind, France was still an agricultural country – a reduction in grain harvest by thirty percent was basically the equivalent of losing thirty percent of the nation's vitality!
Moreover, after the large-scale grain purchases from abroad last year and droughts in other countries as well, the international grain prices had already risen by 60% compared to last year and were still rising.
Countries like England, Prussia, and the German states had already issued decrees strictly restricting grain exports; now, even if you had the money, you couldn't buy it.
What's more, France didn't have much money at this time...
Joseph had just looked over the financial system report, and his previous maneuvers had indeed greatly eased France's debt crisis; at least it wouldn't collapse on a whim like before, but the fact was the current state was still a deficit.
Annual expenditures exceeded income by 20.7 million livres.
Compared to last year's deficit of 130 million, this indeed represented a significant reduction, yet it was still an extremely terrifying figure!
Especially since next year there was the prospect of exhausting food reserves, necessitating the expenditure of a great deal of money to purchase food. Should anything go awry, the recently improved financial situation could quickly deteriorate.
Historically, France nearly doubled its national debt from 1787 to 1789 over the course of three years in order to deal with famine and riots!
And Joseph knew that the drought would continue until the second half of next year before any relief could be expected, so he could not afford to take it lightly before then.
To deal with the food crisis, one first needed money in hand.
Whether it was to purchase food or, in a last-resort scenario, to seize it, substantial capital was required for support.
Currently, France's primary sources of revenue were twofold:
One was its recently revived industry. Although papermaking, brewing, and carriage manufacturing were developing quite well, contributing more than eight million livres to France's revenue, they still represented but a drop in the bucket in terms of sustaining the national finances.
As for other fields, they only earned marginal sums. Particularly in pillar industries such as steam engines, textiles, and steel, more money had to be invested, and there was still some distance to reach profitability.
The other source of increased income was North Africa.
Tunisia was itself a very wealthy trade hub with several important trading ports. Furthermore, almost the entire region of Tunisia comprised fertile land suitable for cultivation, which, if developed on a large scale, could resolve France's food crisis to a great extent.
In extreme cases, it was even possible to send famished people there to cultivate the land and provide for themselves by growing their own food.
One could say that in Joseph's strategic plan, Tunisia was the key to ensuring France's stability.
Just at that moment, Eman gently knocked on the door, saying:
"Your Highness, Baron Joann is here, along with that person."
Joseph was instantly invigorated and instructed:
"Please, let them in."
Ever since he had received a report about North Africa from the Intelligence Department a few days ago, he had been waiting for this person. Today they had finally arrived.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Soon, the tall, tanned, and slender Baron Joann entered the office with two people in tow.
Seeing the Crown Prince looking their way, he hurriedly touched his chest and bowed:
"I am honored to meet you, Your Royal Highness! I am Berna Arnault de Joann, the consul stationed in Tunisia."
The woman beside him, who wore a broad-brimmed hat with a veil and was dressed in a modern, form-fitting gown, appeared quite surprised by Joseph's youth. She inquired softly and somewhat impolitely to Joann, who, after giving her an affirmative response, then removed her hat and curtsied to Joseph, speaking rapidly in Arabic.
Joann quickly motioned to the woman and translated for the Crown Prince:
"Ah, Your Highness, this is Ms. Aisha Rabiya, the eldest daughter of Pasha Eunice. Many of Mr. Eunice's businesses are managed by her, and on this occasion, she is also acting as the full representative of Pasha Eunice.
"She just now expressed admiration for Your Highness's demeanor and reputation, and she extends her most sincere greetings and wishes for your long and prosperous life."
Joseph smiled and returned the courtesy to Rabiya, who had an exotic countenance: "Welcome to Paris, having traveled from afar." He then gestured to the sofas laid with fine wool carpets, "Please take a seat, and let's talk."
Rabiya gestured towards the door, rattling off something in her language, which Isaac promptly translated for Joseph:
"Your Highness, she says she has brought some gifts on behalf of her father, hoping you will like them."
He lowered his voice slightly:
"Ah, some of them are just outside, mainly jewelry. Others have been left at the Port of Marseille—slaves, about fifty or sixty persons... all purchased by her, mainly Frenchmen and a few Italians."
Joseph's eyes narrowed slightly; he knew these were the so-called "white slaves"—Europeans who had been captured by Barbary pirates and sold into slavery in North Africa. It seemed Eunice intended to curry favor by returning French citizens to their homeland.
He turned to Rabiya and said with a slight smile:
"Convey my thanks to Mr. Eunice. This will mark the beginning of our good cooperation."
Rabiya promptly bowed in response:
"My father and I are both greatly honored, Your Highness."
Baron Joann was busy providing synchronous translation.
Joseph nodded at Joann and then addressed Rabiya:
"I believe Baron Joann has already conveyed my thoughts to Mr. Eunice. So, what is his response?"
There was a sudden flash of ferocity in Rabiya's eyes as she exclaimed:
"Respected Your Highness, my father greatly appreciates your proposal!
"Those despicable men, Muhammad and Ali, have stolen Tunisia for over twenty years; it is time to return it to its rightful owner.
"If you can help my father return to Ksar Hellal Palace, he will surely express his gratitude to you to the fullest extent possible!"
She was referring to Ksar Hellal Palace, the royal residence of the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia and subsequently the dwelling of successive Beys.
Joseph nodded at her words with satisfaction.
He had anticipated that a hawkish figure like Eunice, who once held military power in Tunisia and had even turned against his own father, would not be content to live out his days in solitude in Algiers.
Therefore, he had instructed the Police Affairs Department to coordinate with the Tunisian consulate to make contact with Eunice. Shortly afterward, the department sent back a report stating that Eunice was very interested in reclaiming the Bey's throne and that he had numerous supporters in Tunisia.
However, Eunice clearly did not trust Joan and those agents, insisting on a promise from the French Royal Family, which is why today's meeting came about.
Joseph laughed, "Pasha Eunice is of the purest Bey lineage; it's only right that he resumes control of Tunisia."
"Then, you might as well start by telling me, how can I assist him?"
Labia seemed rather impatient:
"Thank you, Your Highness. First, my father is under house arrest by the Algiers Guard. You will need to help him leave Algiers."
Joan immediately replied, "Your Highness, about this matter, Mr. Pel from Prussia has already prepared a plan. His men will manage to stall the Algiers Guard."
"From Pasha Eunice's residence to the coast, it's about an hour and a half by carriage, even faster on horseback. However, naval support is needed. Otherwise, we will be intercepted by the Algiers Navy... cough, Pirates."
Joseph nodded, "That's not a problem. The Combined Fleet can go there for support."
Labia's face lit up with joy, and she continued:
"My father has already sent people back to Tunisia to connect with his followers. With my father's prestige, a large army should soon be rallied."
"However, the main force of the Tunisian Guard will likely still obey Hamoud Ali. As you know, the Guard is very well-equipped, and this will pose a difficult fight for us."
Hamoud Ali is the current Bey of Tunisia.
Joseph understood her implication; Eunice's old faction seemed to have been marginalized, likely just some odd-job troops, and it would be difficult to triumph against the main force of the Tunisian Guard.
He generously waved his hand, "I can supply you with 5,000 Charleville Flintlock Guns, as well as 10 cannons."
The so-called well-equipped Tunisian Guard is only in relation to the standards of North Africa; the army is even equipped with many 17th-century Matchlock Guns. One should know that even the Ottoman Imperial Guard, which they envy and admire, does not have equipment that matches even the least of the European forces, such as the Russian Army.
Therefore, providing some weapons commonly used by the French Army could have a dimensional impact on the North African military forces.
Labia did not expect the young Crown Prince to be so generous. She excitedly rose and gave a bow:
"You are truly magnanimous, Your Highness! With these weapons, my father will surely sweep away those traitors!"
It also cemented her confidence in the sincere intentions of the French people—they had been given real guns and cannons, what more could be doubted?
"Then, may I ask, how might we repay you?"
In his heart, Joseph thought, of course, it would involve fully embracing French land purchases in Tunisia, establishing factories, setting tax rates in consultation with France, and aligning politically and culturally with France, among other things.
The farmland of Tunisia is abundant, and its grain output is very important for alleviating the food crisis in France.
And setting up factories in Tunisia to produce goods which could be readily sold to nearby Algiers, Tripoli, Greece, and even reach the Ottoman Empire without much distance.
This meant transport costs would be significantly lower than those of goods from England, and even though England may hold industrial advantages, the final price would still be higher than that of French goods.
This would equate to giving France access to a vast market ranging from North Africa to the Balkan Peninsula, and even to Central Asia!
However, he did not intend to discuss these matters with the woman before him, because it was not necessary.
He simply smiled and answered:
"I hope the Tunisian Navy declares a ban on plundering merchant ships. Trade must fully lean towards France. Additionally, Bizerte Port should be handed over to French management."