Chapter 274 Conspiracy

Chapter 275 Conspiracy

Joseph looked at the report about the two British spies and seemed very calm - if the British didn't do something, he might really feel uncomfortable.

The spies were arrested by Ishak himself.

Because the intelligence was very detailed, the two people were knocked unconscious by Tunisian agents before they could commit suicide by taking poison.

Ishak also searched a lot of useful documents from the two people's secret residence, and basically did not need to interrogate them to determine their identities as spies.

"Besides the fact that they came from the British Naval Intelligence Agency, is there any other useful information?" Joseph put down the thin report and looked at Ishak.

Ishaq said helplessly: "Your Highness, the two men only received the order, and they didn't even know who the officer who gave the order was. Then they were stuffed into a merchant ship and landed in the port of Tunisia as Italian merchants."

Joseph shook his head helplessly: "Send them back to Paris and let Talleyrand take them to England. Whatever benefits can be obtained. Oh, it would be best if Jeanne could be exchanged back. Her Majesty the Queen should be very happy."

He knew very well that given the thickness of the British government's skin, even if the evidence was conclusive, they would refuse to admit that this was their own spy. If they really couldn't deny it, the most they could do was to pay some money to redeem the person.

As the protagonist of the diamond necklace case [Note 1], Jeanne had been hiding in England. Queen Marie would be furious whenever she mentioned her. Using two spies to make his mother happy and at the same time save some face for France was more cost-effective than asking for some money.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Ishaq took the order and left. Less than ten minutes later, he returned and bowed solemnly, saying, "Your Highness, Tripoli has just sent intelligence. Four days ago, more than 10,000 Ottoman troops landed in Tripoli and announced that Benjiul would serve as Pasha."

Joseph frowned immediately. Before, Morocco's reinforcement of troops to Algiers was not obvious, but almost at the same time, an Ottoman army of more than 10,000 people appeared in the east of Tunisia, and there were British people on both sides. This was definitely not simple.

He subconsciously wanted to write a letter to Paris, asking the General Staff to send more troops to Tunisia to prevent any accidents.

However, he was stunned when he just picked up the paper and pen.

The British are not fools. They will never think that more than 20,000 North African troops, plus 10,000 Ottoman troops, can shake the foundation of France in Tunisia. With the combat effectiveness of these troops, France only needs to send 20,000 soldiers to make Tunisia impregnable.

So, what exactly do the British want to do?

Joseph looked at the Mediterranean map on the wall and narrowed his eyes slightly. Although the port of Toulon is only more than 400 nautical miles away from Tunisia, it still separates the two sides of the Mediterranean.

Even if only 20,000 French troops are sent to Tunisia, the logistical consumption of these people is no different from that of overseas garrisons. Given the current situation in Tunisia, not to mention that a large number of indigenous tribes owe taxes, even if the tax revenue is normal, the economy will be greatly affected to support 20,000 garrisons.

As for a quick victory, it is not realistic to completely defeat Algiers and Tripoli.

France cannot and does not want to start a war in North Africa now.

France's finances have just improved, and various domestic reforms also require a lot of funds. Using troops in North Africa at this time is likely to worsen the financial situation again.

And no matter which side of Algiers and Tripoli is attacked, the other side will attack Tunisia, making it impossible for the French army to take care of both ends. Unless more troops are stationed, but that will increase the financial burden.

Even if France really defeated both of them at all costs, it would be difficult to take them in. If France only occupied Tunisia, which is not very large, European countries would not care too much. But if Algiers and Tripoli were added, it would be equivalent to taking most of North Africa into its pocket, which is much larger than the French mainland, and could control most of the trade in the Mediterranean.

This is unacceptable to the European powers. At this time, Britain could form alliances and ask France to give up its interests in North Africa, or even directly send a fleet to intervene.

The British Parliament may not risk offending Russia and the United States for Tunisia. But if it is most of North Africa, those British MPs will not hesitate to give Pitt the right to go to war.

France is far from being a match for the British in the Mediterranean. Historically, the French have been accumulating warships for more than ten years, and they have joined forces with the Spanish and Dutch navies, but they were all wiped out by the British fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar. What about now?

After investing a large number of troops in North Africa, it is even more unacceptable not to occupy Algiers and Tripoli. The huge military expenditures spent without any way to make up for it will inevitably explode the French finances, thus causing domestic conflicts to intensify.

So for France, the best situation is to maintain a large army in Tunisia and waste Tunisia's fiscal revenue.

It is equivalent to Tunisia having little output to France for a long time.

Joseph tapped the table unconsciously with his fingers: "The British are doing this open conspiracy..."

...

On the west side of the European continent, Lisbon Port.

After completing the supply and preparing to set sail, the door of the officer's room on the British third-class battleship Colossus was knocked. The voice of Lord Tarmos, the new British Maghreb diplomatic envoy, came from outside the house: "My Lord, the news just sent from Constantinople."

"The door is open, please come in."

Lord Tarmos entered the cabin and handed a secret report to the British Foreign Secretary, the Marquis of Wellesley: "Hamid I is critically ill, and their Prime Minister Yusuf does not seem to have any intention of threatening Tunisia.

"In fact, according to the information we have obtained from our insiders, the Ottomans only want to use the Tripoli garrison to threaten the Mamluk officers in Egypt."

[Note 1] Diamond Necklace Case: In 1784, a fallen noble lady named Jeanne learned that the Archbishop of Rohan wanted to please Queen Marie, so she pretended to be the queen's maid and deceived the Archbishop of Rohan with a forged letter from the queen, making him believe that the queen was interested in him. Later, she even found a prostitute who looked somewhat similar to the queen, dressed up as the queen, and met with Rohan in the dark night to "confide in each other."

After Rohan was convinced, Jeanne revealed to him that the queen wanted to buy a diamond worth 200 The diamond necklace of the Mille-Rivière family was purchased by Rohan, but the money was not enough. So Rohan did not hesitate to pay the down payment and bought the necklace, and gave it to Jeanne, asking her to pass it on to the queen.

Jeanne and her husband immediately dismantled the necklace and sold it. The queen did not know about this until the jeweler came to her to collect the balance. Later, all the people involved in the case were arrested.

But after being arrested, Jeanne escaped from the Bastille in 1787 and was protected by the British in London. She also wrote a book about the fraud to humiliate the French royal family.