Chapter 224: The New Province of France

Chapter 225 The New Province of France

Tunisia City.

A team of Berber soldiers wearing white short robes, dark gray studded vests and white turbans, holding scimitars, escorted hundreds of Algiers Guards prisoners and walked slowly between the beige, square houses on both sides of the street.

A large number of Tunisians followed them, cursing the Algiers invaders loudly and throwing all kinds of garbage on the heads of the prisoners from time to time.

The ambush in Annaba was very successful. Under the two-sided attack of the French army, the Algiers Guards surrendered after less than an hour of resistance.

Joseph specially selected some prisoners and handed them over to the locals in Tunisia, and "exhibited" them in major cities such as Tunisia City and Susa.

The external propaganda was "Tunisia's closest French friend, with the help of the rebels, they beat the Algiers invaders."

Well, Jamil led the rebels to transport logistical supplies for the Guards and Moulins, and also helped a little when escorting prisoners, which was indeed helpful.

Since Hussein became the Bey of Tunisia, Algiers has often sent troops to interfere in Tunisia's internal affairs, and killing and looting along the way are inevitable. In addition, Tunisia has to pay a large amount of tribute to Algiers, which has increased the burden on the lower-class people in Tunisia, so the Tunisians hate Algiers very much.

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

What they didn't expect was that the French brothers had dealt with the Algiers army before they entered Tunisia, and also captured a lot of prisoners.

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

People had just overthrown the oppression of the Guards, and now they defeated the foreign invasion. For a time, they were full of pride and self-esteem, and every household was celebrating the victory.

And these two victories were inseparable from the help of their dear "French brothers".

Joseph also seized this opportunity and asked Elder Alai to help promote it. At present, in the mouths of the Tunisian people, the French army has become the relatives and protectors of Tunisia's closest relatives.

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

The Chief Justice of Tunisia, who took office just a month ago, and several judicial officials sat behind a wooden table, signaled the prisoners to kneel in a row, and then opened the "Work Guide" to start learning on the spot how to deal with the current situation.

Yes, after two nationwide "civil servant" examinations, Tunisia's administrative and judicial systems have been established according to the French model - from management structure to the habit of using tables and chairs, basically copied in full.

Joan brought hundreds of French administrative officials to guide these Tunisian natives who had no political experience to manage the country.

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

Joan asked people to formulate a "policy manual" for officials in various positions, which is the document that the chief justice just read.

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 20 minutes in the scorching sun.

Finally, the judge began to follow the trial process awkwardly.

After an hour or so, no one understood what he did, but they all heard his verdict-"Sentence all invaders to death by hanging!"

There is no human rights in this era, especially in North Africa. Facing people's anger, there is no need to think about defense and appeal.

Suddenly, the square was filled with cheers. People frantically shouted the judge's name, praised the French brothers, and praised the great victory, and then surrounded the captives and went to the execution ground.

The next morning, Haji Bey was having breakfast when he heard shouts outside the Kasir Palace.

He turned his head to look at his newlywed wife in confusion:

"Are there more Algiers captives to be tried today?"

Hafsa shook her head:

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

As the two were talking, the servant hurriedly trotted over and bowed to Haji at the door and said:

"Great Bey, there are thousands of people petitioning outside the palace."

"Petition?" Haji said nervously, "What are they petitioning for?"

"This, I don't know." The servant lowered his head and said, "But the leader seems to be the municipal commissioner Shilada Pasha."

Shilada was the scholar who "wrote" "Analysis of the Origin of Tunisia" before. In this "civil service examination", he successfully passed the position of municipal commissioner of Tunisia.

At present, Tunisia's national taxation, finance, personnel and other major issues are still under "martial law" 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 gate of Kasir Palace in a panic, until he saw the police intelligence agent who was his "guard", and he felt a little relieved. Last time, it was the French brothers who stopped the rebels who wanted to kill him and saved his position as Bey.

When the French guards opened the palace gate, Haji immediately heard the deafening shouts of the people:

"Glorious Tunisia Province..."

"Become a province of France..."

"Return to the arms of my relatives in Rome..."

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

Seeing Bey's appearance, Shilada hurriedly signaled the petitioners 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 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 won 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. 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. 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 Cahill Palace was surrounded by petitioners, thousands of soldiers of the Guards Corps were lining up at the legion station in Bizerte to participate in the awarding ceremony of 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.

Afterwards, 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 only be promoted to second lieutenant at most, but he still had to spend a lot of money to do so.

Now, not only has he received the Silver Iris, he has also been quickly promoted to the rank of major and can 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 the report on the situation in Tunisia and glanced at it. She burst into tears of joy and 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 de 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.