Haji’s guard immediately stepped forward and surrounded Ali, who shouted with feigned bravado, “Haji, what are you doing?!”
Haji did not respond but simply drew the curved saber from the guard’s waist and strode towards him.
Ali began to panic, staggering back, his voice trembling, “You, why are you doing this?”
“Seventeen years ago, you took advantage of my youth and forged my father’s will, stealing my position as Bey. I could bear that!” Haji looked at Hafsa beside him, his voice filled with emotion, “Three years ago, you even tried to take my Hafsa! I knelt and pleaded with you, yet you had me thrown out.”
Haji took a few steps forward, grabbed Hafsa with one hand, and raised the curved saber with the other, “Don’t you understand? Without her, my life is nothing!”
“Ah, you can take her, I… I…”
A flash of cold light interrupted Ali, as the curved saber plunged into his left side below the ribs, the tip piercing through his back.
Haji, clenching his teeth, said emphatically, “I don’t need your consent! I swore three years ago that I would take her back myself!”
As he spoke, he violently pulled out the saber, and Ali’s crimson blood sprayed over both him and the woman.
“I did it! Look, I really did it!” Haji threw the saber aside, turned around, and hugged Hafsa tightly, burying his head in the nape of her neck, “We can finally be together!”
“Yes!” Hafsa nodded vigorously, “I saw it! From now on, we will never be separated again!”
The two embraced tightly, both with eyes brimming with tears.
After a while, Isaac’s voice came from outside, “Haji Pasha, although I should not disturb you, time is pressing. Are you finished on your side?”
Haji quickly wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, and called out loudly, “Yes, Mr. Isaac, you may come in now.”
Then, with Hafsa taking the lead, the guards in the palace were informed that Hamoud Ali had just been assassinated by traitors in the navy, and that he had left a will before his death appointing his nephew, Haji, as the new Bey.
Outside Tunis City, the left wing of the Guard Corps had breached the defensive line of the Tunisian Guard, quickly triggering the collapse of the Tunisian Army.
In fact, the Tunisian Guard was already in disarray after over ten rounds of bombardment by the artillery battalion of the Guard Corps. By this time, the latter’s only two cannons had still not reached their position.
Afterward, the Guard Corps made a feint attack on the right wing, which allowed the left wing to easily achieve the breakthrough.
The Tunisian Army, outnumbered by double, was completely powerless, constantly fleeing and being hit.
Just as Bertier was about to order the left wing to turn and encircle, the palace steward of the Ksar Hellal Palace came rushing from Tunis City and conveyed the new Bey’s order to the Tunisian Guard: “Stop resisting immediately, and let the French Army into the city.”
The Tunisian officers, upon receiving the order, all heaved a sigh of relief—the army they were facing was terrifyingly efficient, with disciplined formations, fierce firepower, and proficient tactics. They had been afraid of being shot at any moment; at least now their lives were spared.
Bertier left some men to guard the prisoners, and he himself led three battalions of soldiers to Ksar Hellal Palace to provide support to Haji.
It should be noted, Hamoud Ali was dead, but there were certainly many among the high-ranking Tunisian officials who were loyal to him. And Haji, having been oppressed by Ali for years, had virtually no political power and would have difficulty maintaining control over these people.
The dozen or so men from the Police Affairs Department were hardly enough to ensure Haji’s safety.
As the Guard Corps quickly controlled all the strategic points of Tunis City, officials began to make their way, either willingly or by coercion, to Ksar Hellal Palace to pay respects to the new Bey—Haji.
As for the death of Hamoud Ali, no one really cared—the officials knew he too had come to power through a conspiracy. Whether he died at the hands of the Tunisian Navy or not, whatever Haji said would be accepted as truth.
One of the first things Haji did after taking office was to announce the disbandment of the Tunisian Navy that participated in the assassination of the previous Bey, handing over the naval officers who had engaged in piracy to France for prosecution as Pirates.
After that, he ordered the Guard in Kairouan to continue purging the Eunice rebels and not to leave the fortress without authorization.
On Bertier’s side, he immediately began organizing the police force of Tunis City, with its members entirely composed of the local Berber population. There were many instructors from the Paris Police Academy in the corps, and they were given responsibility for the training, while also “temporarily” holding all mid-level and senior police duties in Tunis.
The Guard of Tunis City had been completely disarmed, and for the time being, the security of the city was temporarily managed by the Berber policemen under the guidance of the Guard Corps.
Meanwhile, Tunisian officials were ordered to start tallying the number of white slaves and Europeans living in Tunisia.
…
France, Paris.
The front pages of nearly all the newspapers these past days were filled with news from North Africa.
His Majesty the King sent out an expeditionary force which, with the support of the naval fleet, had annihilated the Barbary pirates entrenched in Tunisia within a few months. The expeditionary force rescued more than 33,000 European citizens kidnapped by the pirates and protected over a hundred thousand Christians in Tunisia from the threat of piracy.
In the streets of Paris, people excitedly discussed the events in Tunisia: “A distant cousin of mine disappeared suddenly five years ago. It was not until he was recently rescued by the expeditionary force that we discovered he had been taken by the pirates!”