“Ha, thank you for saving Great Britain up to 40,000 British Pounds in expenditures!”
As the opposition party’s “strongest firepower,” Charles James Fox snorted, stood up, and sarcastically said, “But this little ‘contribution’ can hardly make up for the huge losses we have suffered in North Africa due to the strategic errors of you and the Prime Minister.”
Speaking, he gestured to the hundreds of members of Congress behind him: “I think the Tory Party must give Congress an explanation for this!”
The Tory Party was currently the ruling party of England.
However, they did not have much of an advantage over the Whig Party in terms of support, largely because King George III had a special preference for young William Pitt and used the influence of the Royal Family to strongly promote him to the position of Prime Minister.
The Whig Party had always been unhappy with this, so since young William Pitt took office, they seized every opportunity to attack the Tory Party.
The Duke of Leeds took a deep breath and told himself that what was expected had come at last, and luckily, he had discussed countermeasures with the Prime Minister yesterday. Now it was time for his performance.
He glanced subtly at the head of the Intelligence Department next to him and then raised his hand to interrupt Fox:
“Respected Member Fox, before you rush to accuse me, please clarify the actual situation first.”
“The actual situation?”
“Yes.” The Duke of Leeds confidently nodded, “The current situation in North Africa is completely under the control of the Prime Minister and myself. We have long received reports and are aware of the French movements in Tunisia. Right, Mr. Butler?”
The head of intelligence immediately stood up:
“That’s right. We discovered the French’s actions months ago.”
The members of Congress, upon hearing this, began to murmur amongst themselves.
Of course, in reality, the Duke of Leeds knew nothing of France’s Tunisian strategy and had only learned of the dramatic changes there from recent French newspapers. However, as politicians, lying was a basic skill.
“Control?” Fox sneered disdainfully, “Do you mean watching the French gain enormous benefits in Tunisia?”
The Duke of Leeds immediately responded loudly:
“No, why would you think the French are profiting? On the contrary, the current situation in Tunisia is the opportunity I have been waiting for!”
Fox gave him a dismissive look:
“Did you drink before you came here? Look at the nonsense you’re spouting!”
Unperturbed, the Duke of Leeds raised his fists and spoke passionately: “Right now, we have the opportunity to repay the French in North Africa for all that they’ve done to us in North America!
“No one knows the serious dangers of colonial uprisings better than we do. Tunisia is like a dangerous swamp crawling with countless crocodiles, and the French are like inexperienced hunters who have stepped into it.
“They only have a force of 3,000 men there. We just need to startle those beasts, and we could take their lives!”
A member of Congress named James asked subconsciously, “What are you going to do?”
The Duke of Leeds spread his hands: “The details of the operation cannot be disclosed for the time being. You may apply to the Prime Minister for permission to learn about them.”
This was a common practice. The British could get insider information from French Cabinet meetings attended by only a few ministers, and France could easily gather intelligence from among the hundreds of British members of Congress. So precise plans were not spoken of during Congressional inquiries.
Fox shouted, “I’m not interested in the contents of the plan. I just want to know how much time your grand Tunisian plan will require and what kind of result it will produce.”
“One year, no, even just a few months, and the French will be rolling out of Tunisia,” the Duke of Leeds declared confidently, “Or alternatively, the French Government would have to invest huge funds there, eventually completely dragging down their finances.”
The British members of Congress all roughly understood—the management of colonies was costly, especially when mired in security wars, yielding no profit while continuously draining money. When the Americans revolted for independence, Britain was in such a predicament, and now, it was time for the French to taste something similar.
The Whigs finally paused their attacks, with Fox ending with a threat:
“I look forward to your success. But if the Tunisian issue is still unresolved, I think you should take responsibility and resign.”
The Duke of Leeds smiled easily, “Of course, but that will depend on Mr. Hollis’ performance.”
George Hollis was the British Consul in Tunisia and also a member of the Whig Party.
Without waiting for Fox to say anything more, the Duke of Leeds immediately added, “Oh, and to better deal with the French in Tunisia, we will need some funding. Perhaps about 300,000 British Pounds…”
…
To the southwest of Tunisia, Gafsa.
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“These damned bastards!” Hollis, wrapped in a white turban, wearing a pale yellow Arab-style robe, cursed under the scorching sun, “You fight for power in London, yet you’ve gambled my future away!”
“Your Excellency, the Consul, what did you say?” The tall middle-aged Englishman dressed similarly, sitting opposite in the open carriage, leaned forward and asked.
“Ah… I meant, fortunately, the Tunisians are very wary of Europeans, so we should not have a hard time convincing them to oppose the French,” Hollis replied.
“True indeed,” the tall middle-aged man nodded, “Besides, their Imperial Guard was just beaten up by the French; they are bound to be resentful.”
“And the new Bey of Tunisia, who clearly lacks ruling power. This should all be good news for us.”
The two engaged in casual conversation, jostling along the rugged path for another half hour until the carriage finally stopped in front of a domed mansion to the south of a town.