Ottoman Empire.
Constantinople.
Sultan Hamid I lay in bed watching the British envoy leave.
The servant bowed his head and closed the door, then he weakly turned to look at the Grand Vizier:
“How do you think we should best handle this matter?”
The Grand Vizier Yusuf pondered for a few seconds before answering:
“Great Sultan, although the British proposal to ‘Jointly strike at Tunisia’ is not practical, they did indeed offer assistance, helping our people take control of Tripoli.
“The Empire has just experienced a failure in Labia and needs some victories to boost morale. I suggest that we dispatch troops to garrison Tripoli and make it a true province of the Empire.
“In addition, this would create a pincer movement on Egypt, threatening the Mamluks to come to the Topkapi Palace and renew their loyalty to you.”
Although Egypt claimed to be part of the Ottoman territory, in reality, it was controlled by the Mamluk faction. The Ottoman Empire had always been reluctant to relinquish the fertile land of Egypt but could not gain an advantage over the Mamluk Cavalry, and so they had never truly controlled Egypt.
Hamid I nodded silently:
“I hope I live to see that day. You choose some troops and have the navy transport them to Tripoli. I need to rest for a while…”
“As you command, great Sultan.”
Yusuf bowed and excused himself.
Due to France’s influence in Tunisia, the current state of the Ottoman Empire differed from that in history—they had not expended their main forces in the Russo-Turkish War, so they still had some military strength to deploy.
A few days later, more than ten thousand Ottoman Imperial Guard and Sipahi Cavalry were aboard transport ships headed for Tunisia.
…
French North African territories, Province of Sousse.
Tunis City.
Joan and Isaac, along with a few officials, welcomed the arrival of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince at a villa north of the city.
Although Joan was now merely the administrative commissioner of Sousse, he was in charge of the administration there as the governor had not yet taken office.
Meanwhile, as Isaac had once served as the leader of the Tunisian Rebel Forces, he also had considerable influence within the Tunisian Legion, which had been reformed from the rebel army.
It could be said that they were the military and political leaders of the Province of Sousse.
Joseph had specifically instructed that his whereabouts not to be publicized, otherwise, being surrounded by a large group of Tunisian dignitaries every day, he would certainly not be able to attend to any serious matters.
Joan and Isaac respectfully ushered the Crown Prince into the villa’s hall and had someone serve high-quality coffee produced locally.
Joseph then signaled for everyone to sit down and asked directly, “Are you aware of the situation in Tripoli?”
Isaac hurriedly said, “Yes, Your Highness, the people of Ben Guerir have completely taken control of the area from Tripoli City to Benghazi, and are now attacking the Pasha’s forces in Zuwara.”
He then spoke in detail about the current warfare in Zuwara.
Zuwara is a city bordering Tripoli and Tunisia. At present, fewer than 600 soldiers remain loyal to Ali I, the Pasha of Tripoli. They are making a stubborn stand here.
However, under the superior firepower of the rebel forces equipped with British equipment, they were barely hanging on, especially after Ali I subsequently fled Tripoli, which further demoralized them.
Joseph then asked, “Will they pose a threat to Tunisia?”
“Your Highness, although there is such a possibility, Ben Guerir only has an army of 2,000 men. If he dares to set foot in Tunisia, he can be completely dealt with by the Tunisian Legion stationed in Sfax.”
As they were talking, an Arab-descended intelligence agent gestured anxiously to Isaac from outside the door. Isaac frowned and quickly stepped outside. After listening to the agent’s report, he immediately returned to the hall and informed Joseph:
“Your Highness, we have just received news. The Sultan of Morocco has dispatched 12,000 of the Imperial Guard to Algiers. In addition, the Algiers Guard seems to have acquired a batch of flintlock guns, mostly produced by Germany or Spain, but it is very likely they were provided by the British.”
Over the years of war, the British have obtained a fair amount of Austrian and Spanish weapons through various channels, and it was entirely possible they had given them to Algiers.
“The British again?” Joseph furrowed his brow, “Murat’s Corps will be able to reach Tunisia in a few days. Have them first stationed on the border with Algiers to prevent any surprises.”
He then looked at Isaac, “How many personnel in the Tunisian Legion are relatively strong right now?”
Although the Tunisian Rebel Forces at the time totaled nearly twenty thousand, most of them were the old and frail who followed for the spoils of war. Additionally, many tribal armies had returned to their tribes after the war ended.
Therefore, those ultimately incorporated into the Tunisian Legion amounted to just over 10,000 men, and among these, even fewer were truly elite and properly trained.
Isaac hesitated, “Your Highness, the stronger ones are the two battalions of Major Zemir and the battalion of Ghazi can be considered combat effective.”
In other words, those with real combat capabilities were just two and a half battalions, not even 4,000 men. The rest of the soldiers could basically just fire their guns from behind fortifications, and there was a high likelihood they would crumble at the first contact in direct combat.
Joseph roughly calculated the military forces on the Algerian side and could not help but frown and shake his head, surprised at how suddenly severe the situation in Tunisia had become. Your journey continues with empire
After all, the last time the Algiers Guard, incited by the British, had launched an attack on Tunisia. With the British involved again this time, precautions were certainly necessary.
After their last disastrous defeat, the Algiers Guard had about six or seven thousand men left. Together with the Moroccan forces, they were nearing twenty thousand. Relying solely on Murat’s Corps and the native Tunisian troops was very uncertain.
“It seems we need to transfer more troops from the homeland,” he concluded.
Joseph immediately penned a letter to Bertier and then continued discussing the eastern and western situations in Tunisia with Isaac and others as the sunlight outside began to fade.
During Crown Prince’s break, Joy busily suggested:
“Your Highness, I have prepared dinner for you. Shall we dine now?”
Feeling the pangs of hunger at his suggestion, Joseph stood up and followed him to the dining hall.
On the way, Joseph peered through the arched windows and saw hundreds of people still swinging hoes and shovels busily. He casually asked Joy:
“What are those people doing so late?”
Joy glanced in that direction, then turned back and said:
“Your Highness, those are captives from Algiers and Albanian mercenaries from the last war. Now they are enslaved, working on road construction across Tunisia. They will not stop until the sky is completely dark.”
Joseph nodded in understanding; no wonder the reports from Tunisia mentioned the roads being built so quickly—it was the work of strong, healthy captives.