Chapter 189 North African Version of The Lion King (Asking for Monthly Pass)

Charles looked at this magnificent and beautiful city curiously, like a child entering the city for the first time.

He had been to London before, and he had the impression that although it was big, it was dirtier and smellier than his hometown of Philadelphia. But Paris is full of elegant beauty, the streets are spacious and clean, and there is no smell of excrement.

There are still some people repairing buildings on both sides of the street, but generally speaking, except for some broken trees, there are no obvious signs of hail damage as far as the eye can see.

He disembarked from Marseille and saw horrifying scenes along the way. Those towns and villages seemed to have been bombarded by pirates with cannons. He did not expect that Paris would recover so quickly.

A burst of shouts suddenly erupted from the side and in front:

"Hang these shameless rich people!"

"It's his bank that took away our money!"

"France was defrauded of tens of millions of livres by them, hang him!"

"These liars are all cold-blooded murderers..."

Charles put his head out of the carriage window and saw seventy or eighty yards away, thousands of people surrounded by several prison cars slowly moving forward. From time to time, people would throw clods of earth, garbage, etc. at the people on the prison van.

Silas Dean, the U.S. Ambassador to France, who was sitting opposite him, explained to him without even looking:

"Those are a few bankers who colluded with the former French Finance Minister to make profits. They were found out. One of them is going to be hanged in the City Hall Square."

Charles' ears were buzzing due to the noise from the crowd, and he quickly closed the car window:

"Mr. Dean, I heard that there will be a public trial of those pirates in a few days. Will it be like this? I mean, I may have to attend as a witness."

"Perhaps it's even more 'lively' than this." Dean recalled the scene of Vezinier's trial at the High Court at the beginning of the year. "You have to get used to the French people's enthusiasm for such things. Oh, another thing they like is Gather a crowd to protest.”

Charles smiled and nodded: "I've heard that. In the United States, rioters will be dispersed by the National Army with guns, but here, they chase the army."

Dean laughed too: "They even drove the king out of Paris."

The two chatted for a while, and Dean opened the car window to take a look and said:

"We're almost there. Be careful what you say later, and don't underestimate the French crown prince just because he is young. As far as I know, he has a very strong influence in French politics."

"Okay, Mr. Dean, I'll keep an eye on it."

Just as he was talking, the carriage stopped. Not far away, Emang politely saluted the two of them, stroking his chest, and then led them into the Industrial Planning Bureau.

Charles looked around and asked the ambassador quietly in surprise:

"Aren't you going to the Palace of Versailles?"

Dean whispered in his ear:

"The Dauphin of France has something to say to you. This is his office in Paris."

Soon, they saw Joseph. Dean hurriedly pulled Charles forward and saluted in a very standard posture:

"It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Joseph smiled and nodded: "I am also honored to meet you, especially the hero who captured the pirates.

"Please take a seat. Oh, Captain Charles's commendation ceremony will be held at the Palace of Versailles later. I asked you to come here because there are some important things I need to ask you."

Charles didn't understand French, so he was a little stunned for a while. Dean had to act as translator.

After hearing this, Charles hurriedly said to Joseph: "Please feel free to ask, Your Highness."

Upon seeing this, Joseph changed to English: "I heard that the Algiers smuggler who provided you with pirate information knows Younis? He is the son of the former Tunisian Pasha."

Charles nodded and said: "Yes, Your Highness. According to Ali, his boss can see Younis."

Joy flashed in Joseph's eyes: "If necessary, can you take my people to meet that Eunice?"

"I'm not sure about this. But judging from Ali's temperament, this may require some money."

"Of course." Joseph nodded and asked, "How much do you know about that Eunice?"

Charles recalled something and said: “I was in the cell in Algiers and heard Ali say some things about him.

"Younes is Ali's son. Oh, not the smuggler, but the pasha from Tunisia over forty years ago.

"As for this pasha named Ali... Your Highness, are you sure you want to hear this?"

"Yes, please tell me everything you know. The more details the better."

Charles continued: "More than forty years ago, Bey Hassan of Tunisia deposed the original crown prince, his nephew Ali, and established his own son as crown prince.

"Ali was unwilling to lose power, so he launched a coup and seized Bey's position on the pretext that Hassan's son was born to a Genoese slave girl and had no right to inherit."

Joseph was a little confused and asked: "Bey?"

"Oh, the rulers of Tunisia called themselves Bey. But they also accepted the canonization of the Ottoman Sultan, that is, Pasha. When they use different identities, they will choose one between Bey and Pasha."

"Thank you for your explanation, please continue."

Charles nodded and said: "Afterwards, Hassan led the remaining troops to flee to southern Tunisia. Ali sent his son Younis to lead an army to conquer.

"After five years of fierce fighting, Younis finally won and captured Hassan. But Hassan's two sons fled to Algiers.

“Younis had a heavy army at this time and decided to rebel after receiving the support of the local nobles of Tunisia.

"Ali was lucky. With the support of the Algiers, he defeated Yunis and retained his position as Bey. After Yunis was defeated, he also fled to Algiers.

"The Algiers put Yunis in prison, oh, the prison where I was at the time. But Yunis escaped and started a smuggling business in Algiers."

Joseph was more certain of his previous thoughts after hearing this. Yunis had led troops and had supporters in Tunisia, which could definitely be used to make some articles.

Charles continued to recall: "Later, Ali gradually grew old, and Hussein's two sons took the opportunity to borrow the Algiers' army, returned to Tunisia, and drove Ali away. His elder brother Muhammad became the new Bey.

"More than 20 years ago, Muhammad died, and his younger brother Ali succeeded to the throne - you see, another Ali. He is the current Bey of Tunisia."

Joseph thought that the drama of the nephew grabbing the throne of his uncle, and the uncle's son coming back to take revenge, was simply the North African version of "The Lion King".

The current political situation in Tunisia is extremely chaotic. Although the country is small, more than 80% of it is fertile land. It also has many good ports, which is much richer than Algiers, which is full of deserts.

This is the best breakthrough point for the North African strategy!

This American is really a lucky star for France!