The Berber servant who came to greet them, upon receiving the silver coins from Hollis, immediately led them courteously into the villa.
Afterward, Hollis met with the highest Commander of the Tunisian Guard in this area, who was akin to the mayor—Uquz.
Sitting on an exquisite wool carpet in the living room, Hollis exchanged pleasantries with Uquz in fluent Arabic before diving straight into the heart of the matter: “Pasha, the French disarmed nearly ten thousand courageous warriors of the Tunisian Guard outside of Tunis City, this is a complete humiliation to the entire Tunisian Guard! We absolutely cannot tolerate this indignity!”
Uquz nodded indifferently, humoring him out of respect for the several thousand silver coins he had brought, “The navy provoked them, yet they targeted the Imperial Guard, this is truly outrageous!”
“Exactly! That’s why we must take our revenge on those French people fiercely!”
However, Uquz immediately shook his head: “How could my few men possibly defeat them?”
Hollis hurriedly said, “Don’t worry, you don’t have to confront them directly. Just attack French merchant caravans every now and then and burn down French factories, houses, and the like under cover of darkness.
“If the French send troops, just claim complete ignorance and pretend to agree to help capture the bandits. They will soon leave. They have only 3000 men in Tunisia and can’t handle these troubles.”
He directly copied all the attack methods the British had experienced in America.
Still appearing uninterested, Uquz said, “But there is still a great risk…”
Seeing this, Hollis had no choice but to pull out his trump card: “To support the vengeance of the Guard, I can offer you 2000 riyals of funding.”
A riyal is a gold coin slightly smaller than a British Pound, and 2000 riyals are worth about 44,000 livres.
Hollis saw that the imperial officer seemed somewhat moved and signaled to the Englishman who had come with him: “This is Mr. Robert. He will come to assess your rebellion regularly, leaving you with monthly expenses from 500 to 1000 riyals.”
Uquz immediately showed a smile, clenching his fist and saying: “I’ve long had an eye on those French people! Rest assured, I will certainly make them pay!”
After leaving the Guard officer, Hollis immediately rushed to the villages outside the city, where he visited a large tribe of the Berbers.
“Respected Clan Leader, you cannot let the French deceive you.” Hollis said earnestly, “They say they’re buying land, but they definitely won’t pay.
“Moreover, the French have a kind of sorcery that allows their cultivated land to take away the ‘vitality’ of nearby lands. If they plant here, in a few years, your neighboring lands will yield nothing!”
The Clan Leader with light brown skin frowned: “Are you speaking the truth?”
“Absolutely!” Hollis said, “For the future of your tribe, you must find every way possible to drive out those French settlers!
“I know it might bring you trouble, but a kindly Pasha is willing to offer you 200 riyals to compensate for the losses due to conflicts with the French.”
“But I heard that the Bey has already ordered cooperation with the French…”
“Don’t you worry, the Bey’s Imperial Guard has already been crushed, there’s no need to fear them.”
Before long, the British Consul left the Berber tribe and continued to his next “stirring” duty in the next city.
…
Tunis City.
The French Consul in Tunisia, Baron Joann, straightened his hat and stepped into Ksar Hellal Palace.
Upon seeing him, the current Bey Haji greeted him cheerfully: “Mr. Joann, your prediction has come true! The Eunice rebels were utterly defeated a few days ago, Koja has already led the troops to chase the remaining hundred or so fugitives into the desert to the south.”
“Congratulations, Bey.” Joann was not at all surprised by this.
After cutting off Eunice’s ammunition and funding supplies, the rebels’ disadvantages in numbers and terrain became evident, and Koja wore them down within a month.
On the side, Hafsa was beaming with happiness as she directed the maids to set out fruit drinks. She had officially married Haji a few days prior, and the two were finally united.
Haji had finished delivering the good news and began to ask Baron Joann some questions about taxation and the appointment and dismissal of officials.
Mediocre in his personal abilities and completely lacking a political base, he had only thirty or so servants and now relied entirely on the French military to make an impression, even entrusting the policing of his palace to recruits from the Paris Police Academy. Therefore, for any matter, big or small, he would consult with Joann.
It was not until dusk fell that Baron Joann left the Ksar Hellal Palace, only to immediately see Ameti, the newly appointed immigration officer, approaching with an anxious expression.
“Do you have any issues?”
Ameti tipped his hat briefly as a gesture and said in haste, “Baron Joann, a newly built workshop southeast of Bizerte was set aflame, and three people have died.”
Joann immediately frowned. Tunisia had recently seen dozens of incidents where French people were attacked. These were the more serious cases; sporadic attacks that hadn’t been recorded were likely even more numerous.
“Have you found out who did it?”
“Not yet… You know, we are severely understaffed… Also, I’ve heard rumors that the Imperial Guards are planning to take revenge on us.”
As the two talked, they walked towards the residence across the street. Upon arriving at the entrance, Ameti’s assistant rushed over and handed him a letter without even remembering to salute: “Sir, it seems a merchant convoy was plundered in Sousse; seven French and three Sardinian people were killed…”
Joann’s expression turned grave: “It seems we must report back to the homeland.”
…
Paris.
In the corridors of the Palace of Versailles, Joseph listened with a gloomy face as Joann next to him reported the situation in Tunisia—for things had gotten somewhat out of control, and the latter had returned to Paris the day before.
“The Tunisian Guard is threatening to attack all French people?” Joseph frowned and looked at Joann, “Have they begun to assemble an army?”
“They have not.”
“Who is calling them together?”
“There seems to be no clear leader.”
“Oh?” Joseph was somewhat surprised, “With no one to rally them, why would the Tunisian Guard take such unified action? I heard you just now say the attacks are happening frequently all over Tunisia.”
Joann said with a pained look, “Your Highness, it’s not just the Imperial Guard, there also seem to be Berber tribes attacking French farmers who have gone there to cultivate the land.”
“Didn’t the newly appointed Bey issue a decree forbidding the attacks on French people?” Discover more stories at empire
“He… Your Highness, in truth, his edicts only carry weight within Tunis City, and that’s only because Colonel Bertier’s legion is stationed there.”
“This situation is quite troublesome,” Joseph shook his head privately. It sounded as if they were about to be embroiled in a full-scale security conflict.
But no, he thought rapidly, if the ruler of Tunisia had no appeal and the region was far from a national awakening, it was virtually impossible for there to be spontaneous resistance to foreign powers.
Therefore, it was very likely that someone was instigating this behind the scenes.
Who could it be? An influential officer in the Tunisian Guard? Someone from the Ottoman Empire? A British person? An individual from Algiers?
He rubbed his forehead. Regardless of the instigator, they had to find a way to stabilize the situation in Tunisia.
After asking Joann some detailed questions about Tunisia, the two had already arrived at the golden doors of the conference hall.
The guards on either side were busy opening the doors for him, then stood at attention to either side.
Inside the conference hall, several Cabinet Ministers had clearly already been informed of the situation in North Africa and were discussing it in low voices.
Soon, Queen Mary also arrived, and after everyone rose to salute, the Cabinet meeting centered on the Tunisian issue officially began.
Mirabeau, responsible for Tunisian immigration affairs, was the first to rise and speak, “Clearly, the news from Tunisia has spread domestically. In the last week, almost no one has applied to go to Tunisia, and even some people who have reached Marseille waiting to embark have begun to return home…”