Naivesey Mountain Area.
Semiz said to the orderly officer beside him, “General Caheller has requested that we double the number of reconnaissance soldiers. Eliminate all the Tunisian scum nearby.”
“Yes, Commander!”
Just as the orderly officer departed, a courier galloped along the endless line of Albanian mercenaries and handed intelligence to Semiz’s Aide-de-camp.
After reading it, the Aide-de-camp bowed slightly to Semiz and signaled, “Commander, the Bey of Tunisia issued a statement a few days ago opposing our interference in Tunisia’s affairs, and he is very angry with our suppression operation. Moreover, he also mentioned a request for help from ‘French brothers’ to thwart our forces.”
“Ignore it.” Semiz smirked with disdain, “The Tunisian scum have become brothers with Europeans? They are a disgrace to the Islamic world!”
The Aide-de-camp tucked the intelligence away, “Pasha, the Tunisians have been doing business with Europeans for years, and there are a lot of French people within the country. It’s no surprise they might be influenced.”
“Right, I’ve heard that those Tunisian scum have actually started calling themselves ‘Roman Descendants.’ How ludicrous.”
“That’s even better. It’ll excite me even more when I’m killing them.” Semiz snapped his riding crop forward, “Issue the order, accelerate the marching speed. I want those scum to regret their rebellious actions!”
…
“Look! That’s His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince!”
Within the ranks of the military cadets dressed in white uniforms, wearing black tricorn hats, and carrying the latest model Auguste-style Caplock Gun, someone pointed and shouted not far off.
Suddenly, the orderly march was thrown into chaos as soldiers looked afar, following the excitement and shouting, “It’s really His Highness! He’s come to fight alongside us!”
“I see him too! Long live the Crown Prince!”
“Long live the Principal!”
“His Highness will lead us to victory!”
“Look, His Highness is marching on foot just like us!”
It took the officers running back and forth shouting commands for the ranks to realign and continue advancing.
Upon hearing this, Joseph waved to the soldiers, immediately sparking another round of tremendous cheers.
He glanced back at the troops stretching up the hillside, feeling a surge of pride. This was his Guard Corps, and he was going to fight alongside them on the battlefield for the first time.
Perhaps, he would lead them across all of Europe in the future, leaving a glorious chapter in history.
“Your Highness, you really don’t need to engage in battle with the troops,” Bertier whispered to Joseph, glancing at the excited soldiers, “The enemy outnumbers us threefold. It’s far too dangerous.”
“You see, your presence has greatly boosted morale. Even if you were to stay in a safe place now, the soldiers would still feel your presence with them,” he said.
He looked northward and added cautiously, “In fact, if you agree, we could now head towards the coast and arrive at naval warships in less than three days.”
“Hm? Warships?” Joseph was surprised, “Aren’t the nearest warships supposed to be at Bizerte Port? Why would they appear here?”
Bertier bowed his head, “Lieutenant Colonel Andre and I both think that you shouldn’t take risks by joining the battle, so we contacted the Combined Fleet, and they sent ships to follow us…”
Joseph chuckled and shook his head wryly, “I appreciate your concern, Colonel Bertier, but really, there’s no need.”
He gestured toward the advancing white formation, “This is my legion. I’ll often lead them in battle in the future. It’s just a beginning now.”
Joseph knew well that in this era where wars determined the right to survival, one had to be adept at warfare — only kings who could wield armies could bring prosperity and strength to their country.
At the moment, although he couldn’t command a battle, he needed to be with the troops to let them know their Crown Prince wasn’t just enjoying himself in the Palace of Versailles, but was sharing life and death with them. Such troops would become his personal army, his support.
Furthermore, while he didn’t know how to fight, he had plenty of modern ideas and military cases to refer to and could make beneficial suggestions for operational planning.
For instance, the tactic of preemptive attack he proposed could greatly reduce troop losses and win the strategic initiative. He would set the general direction, and the specifics of combat could be left to military geniuses like Bertier. He could also follow them and learn how to fight.
After Bertier advised him for a while longer and saw that the Crown Prince remained unmoved, he had to give up.
He made one last effort, “Your Highness, at the very least, please return to the carriage.”
Joseph looked toward the particular geography of the Atlas Mountains — the gentle hillocks were scattered with yellowish hard soil, and there were hardly any plants taller than 20 centimeters. The sparse weeds were sparsely dotting the ground, making it look incredibly vast and desolate.
In the army, there weren’t any “gemstone”-type carriages with high-end shock absorption. Riding a carriage on this kind of terrain would be a torture.
He had tried riding a horse, but due to the lack of training, he had chafed large blisters on his inner thighs after only a day and was forced to proceed on foot.
Yet unexpectedly, this greatly boosted morale, making it a fortuitous misstep.
As dusk fell, the drumming in the Guard Corps’ formation changed beat and eventually came to a stop along with the bugle calls.
Officers from each company began directing soldiers to the designated resting places — the scouts had already explored ahead on horseback, marking suitable areas for overnight stay.