Charles curiously surveyed the grand and beautiful city, much like a child seeing it for the first time.
He had been to London before, and although it was also large, it felt dirtier and smellier compared to his hometown of Philadelphia. Paris, however, was filled with an elegant beauty, its streets were wide and tidy, and not a whiff of excrement was to be sensed.
Along the streets, some people were still repairing buildings, but overall, broken trees aside, there were no obvious signs of the ravages of hail left to be seen.
He disembarked at Marseille and along the way had seen shocking destruction, with towns and cottages as though bombarded by pirates with cannons. He had not expected Paris to have recovered so quickly.
Suddenly, a chorus of shouts erupted from up ahead:
“Hang these shameless rich people!”
“It’s his bank that took our money!”
“France has been cheated out of tens of millions of livres by them, hang him!”
“These swindlers, all cold-blooded murderers…”
Charles stuck his head out of the carriage window and saw, about seventy yards away, a thousand people surrounding a few prison carts inching forward. From time to time, people would throw clumps of earth and rubbish at those on the carts.
The United States Ambassador to France, Silas Dean, sitting opposite him, offered an explanation without even looking:
“Those are some bankers who colluded with the former Finance Minister of France for profit. They have been exposed and one of them is being taken to the town hall square to be hanged.”
Charles, annoyed by the noise of the crowd, hurriedly closed the window:
“Mr. Dean, I’ve heard that in a few days there will be a public trial for the pirates, will it be like this? I mean, I might have to attend as a witness.”
“Perhaps even more ‘lively,'” Dean recalled the public trial outside the High Court earlier in the year, “You will have to get used to the French people’s fervor for these sorts of things. Oh, another thing they love is mass protests.”
Charles nodded with a smile: “I’ve heard about that. In the United States, rioters are dispersed by the National Army with guns, but here, they seem to chase after the troops.”
Dean laughed as well: “They even drove the king out of Paris once.”
The two chatted idly, and then Dean opened the window to look out, saying:
“We’re almost there. Be careful with what you say later, and don’t underestimate the Crown Prince of France just because he’s young. From what I understand, he has significant influence in French politics.”
“Alright, Mr. Dean, I’ll bear that in mind,” Charles replied.
As they were speaking, the carriage came to a stop. Eman greeted them from a short distance away with a polite chest bow, then led them into the Industrial Planning Bureau.
Charles looked around and asked the ambassador in a surprised whisper:
“Aren’t we going to the Palace of Versailles?”
Dean whispered back into his ear:
“The Crown Prince of France has something to tell you. This is his office in Paris.”
Soon, they met Joseph, and Dean, pulling Charles forward, greeted him with a very standard salute:
“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Royal Highness the Crown Prince!”
Joseph nodded with a smile: “I’m also honored to meet you both, especially the hero who captured the pirates.
“Please take a seat. Oh, the commendation ceremony for Captain Charles will take place later at the Palace of Versailles. I’ve asked you here because there’s an important matter I need to discuss with you.”
Charles didn’t understand French and was at a bit of a loss. Dean had no choice but to act as an interpreter.
Hearing this, Charles hastily said to Joseph, “Please feel free to ask anything, Your Highness.”
Seeing this, Joseph switched to English, “I heard that the Algerian smuggler who provided you with pirate intelligence knows Eunice? The son of the former Pasha of Tunisia?”
Charles nodded, “Yes, Your Highness. According to Ali, his boss can meet with Eunice.”
A look of joy flashed in Joseph’s eyes, “If necessary, could you arrange a meeting between my people and that Eunice?”
“I’m not quite sure about that. However, knowing Ali’s nature, it might require some money.”
“That, of course, can be arranged,” Joseph nodded and then asked, “How much do you know about this Eunice?”
Charles recalled for a moment and said, “In the prison cell in Algiers, I heard Ali mention some things about him.
“Eunice was the son of Ali. Oh, not the smuggler, but the Pasha of 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 detailed, the better.”
Charles continued, “Over forty years ago, Bey Hussein of Tunisia deposed the original Crown Prince, his nephew Ali, and replaced him with his own son.
“Unwilling to lose power, Ali staged a coup under the pretense that Hussein’s son, born of a Genoese slave woman, had no right to the succession and took the title of Bey for himself.”
Joseph looked somewhat puzzled, “Bey?”
“Oh, the rulers of Tunisia call themselves Beys. But they also accept the title bestowed by the Ottoman Sultan, which is Pasha. They choose between these identities when they assume different roles.”
“Thank you for your explanation, please continue.”
Charles nodded, “Afterwards, Hussein fled with his remnants to southern Tunisia. Ali then sent his son Eunice to lead the army against them.
“After five years of fierce fighting, Eunice finally emerged victorious and captured Hussein. Hussein’s two sons fled to Algiers.
“With significant forces in his hands and the support of Tunisian local nobles, Eunice decided to rebel.
“Ali was lucky. With the support of the people of Algiers, he defeated Eunice and retained his position as Bey. After his defeat, Eunice also fled to Algiers.
“The people of Algiers imprisoned him—oh, in the same jail I was in. But Eunice escaped and started a smuggling business in Algiers.”
Joseph felt more confirmed in his previous thoughts. Eunice had led troops and had supporters in Tunisia, which could definitely be leveraged to his advantage.
Charles continued to reminisce, “As time went on, Ali gradually aged, and Hussein’s two sons took the opportunity to borrow the military force of the people of Algiers, returned to Tunisia, and drove out Ali. The older brother, Muhammad, became the new Bey.
“More than twenty years ago, Muhammod died, and his brother Ali succeeded him—look, another Ali. He is the current Bey of Tunisia.”
Joseph mused that this story of nephews grabbing their uncle’s throne and the uncle’s sons returning for revenge is practically the North African version of ‘The Lion King.’
The current political situation in Tunisia is extremely chaotic. Although the country is small in size, over eighty percent of its area is fertile farmland, and it also has quite a few good ports, making it much more prosperous than Algiers with its vast deserts.
This is indeed the best strategic entry point in North Africa!
Joseph pondered over the North African affairs and suddenly noticed an issue—Eunice was just a smuggler, even if he had dealings with pirates, he should not have such a clear understanding of their sailing routes.
It seems that the Police Affairs Department will have to thoroughly investigate Eunice’s background. After all, there might be some “cooperation” with him in the future…