Joseph looked at the report about the two British spies with a very calm demeanor—if the British weren’t up to something, he might indeed feel a bit uneasy.
The spies were personally captured by Isaac’s team.
Because the intelligence was very detailed, the two were knocked unconscious by agents in Tunisia before they had a chance to commit suicide by poison.
Isaac also found many useful documents in their secret hideout, basically confirming their identities as spies without the need for interrogation.
“Aside from their being from the British Naval Intelligence, is there any other useful information?” Joseph put down the thin report and looked at Isaac.
Isaac replied with some helplessness, “Your Highness, those two only received orders, they don’t even know who the officer issuing the commands was. After that, they were stuffed onto a merchant ship and landed at the Port of Tunis, disguised as Italian businessmen.”
Joseph shook his head resignedly, “Send them back to Paris, let Talleyrand take them to England, whatever advantage we can knock out of them is a plus. Oh, and it would be best to get Jeanne back, Queen Mary will probably be very pleased.”
He was well aware that considering the British Government’s thick skin, even with irrefutable evidence, they would deny that the spies were theirs, and at most, if utterly cornered, they would merely pay a ransom for their release.
As the main character in the Diamond Necklace affair, Jeanne had been hiding in England, and Queen Mary often became furious at the mere mention of her. Trading two spies for his mother’s happiness, while also salvaging some of France’s dignity, was more beneficial than just money.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Isaac departed with his orders and returned in less than ten minutes, bowing solemnly, “Your Highness, intelligence has just arrived from Tripoli. Four days ago, over ten thousand Ottoman troops landed in Tripoli and proclaimed Ben Guerir as Pasha.”
Joseph’s brow immediately furrowed. The reinforcement of Algiers by Morocco did not reveal much, but almost simultaneously, a force of over ten thousand Ottomans appeared to the east of Tunisia, and with British involvement on both sides, there was definitely something complex at play.
He instinctively thought about writing to Paris, asking the general staff to reinforce Tunisia as a precaution.
However, as he picked up his pen and paper, he suddenly hesitated.
The British weren’t fools. They wouldn’t believe that just over twenty thousand North African troops, plus ten thousand from the Ottoman Empire, could destabilize France’s foothold in Tunisia—with these forces’ fighting capability, France would only need to send an additional twenty thousand soldiers to make Tunisia as secure as Fort Knox.
So, what exactly did the British want to do?
Joseph looked at the Mediterranean map on the wall, squinting slightly. Port of Toulon was just over four hundred nautical miles from Tunisia, but still separated by the breadth of the Mediterranean Sea.
Even if only twenty thousand French troops were sent to Tunisia, their logistical consumption would be no different from forces stationed overseas. Considering Tunisia’s current situation, the economy would be greatly affected by supporting twenty thousand soldiers, even if the taxes were collected normally, let alone when many native tribes were in arrears.
As for a swift victory, decisively defeating Algiers and Tripoli was not realistic either.
France now could not, and did not want to, engage in a major conflict in North Africa.
France’s finances had just begun to improve, and domestic reforms also required substantial funds. Engaging in military campaigns in North Africa at this time would likely cause the financial situation to deteriorate once again.
Moreover, whether attacking Algiers or Tripoli, the other side would attack Tunisia, making it difficult for the French Army to attend to both fronts. Unless more troops were dispatched, which would again increase the financial burden.
Even if France really did spare no expense to defeat both adversaries, it would be difficult to swallow the gains—as long as France only occupied the small area of Tunisia, other European countries wouldn’t care too much.
But if it included both Algiers and Tripoli, effectively taking over most of North Africa and controlling most of the Mediterranean trade, the land area would far exceed that of France itself.
This is something the European powers could not accept. At this point, England could form alliances and demand that France cede interests in North Africa, or even directly send a fleet to intervene.
The British Parliament might not risk offending Russia and the United States over a small place like Tunisia to quarrel with France. But for most of North Africa, those British MPs would not hesitate to grant William Pitt Junior the authority to wage war.
Currently, France was far from a match for the British in the Mediterranean. In history, the French people had spent over a decade amassing warships and, even with the combined forces of the Spanish and Dutch navies, were utterly defeated by the British fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. What more now?
Yet, after deploying a large number of troops in North Africa, not occupying Algiers and Tripoli would be even less acceptable. The huge military expenses could not be recuperated, inevitably leading to a financial explosion in France and consequently exacerbating domestic conflicts.
Therefore, for France, the best scenario would be to maintain a sizeable army in Tunisia, sapping Tunisia’s financial revenue.
Which meant that for a considerable period, Tunisia would not be productive for France.
Joseph tapped his fingers lightly on the tabletop unconsciously, “This is an overt scheme by the British…”
…
On the western side of the European Continent, Port of Lisbon.
The officer’s door aboard the British third-rate warship Colossus, which was preparing to set sail after resupplying, was knocked upon. The voice of Lord Talmothes, the newly appointed British Maghreb Diplomatic Envoy, came from outside, “Marquis, news just in from Constantinople.”
“The door is open, please come in.”
Lord Talmothes entered the cabin and handed over a secret report to the Marquess of Wellesley, the British Foreign Minister, “Hamid I is critically ill, and their Prime Minister, Yusuf, seems to have no intentions of threatening Tunisia.
“In fact, according to information obtained by our spies, the Ottoman People only intend to use the garrison in Tripoli as a threat to the Mamluk officers in Egypt.”
[Note 1] The Diamond Necklace Affair: In 1784, a fallen noblewoman named Jeanne who had learned that the Archbishop of Rouen wanted to ingratiate himself with Queen Mary, impersonated the queen’s maid and used forged letters from the queen to deceive the Archbishop of Rouen, making him believe that the queen was interested in him.
Thereafter, Jeanne found a prostitute who bore some resemblance to the queen, dressed her up as the queen, and arranged for her to meet the Archbishop in the pitch-dark night to “share heartfelt words.”
After thoroughly convincing Rouen, Jeanne revealed to him that Queen Mary wanted to buy a diamond necklace worth two million livres, but was short of funds. Without hesitation, the Archbishop paid the down payment himself, bought the necklace, handed it to Jeanne, and instructed her to deliver it to the queen.
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Jeanne and her husband immediately dismantled the necklace and sold it off. The queen only found out about the matter when the jeweler came to collect the final payment. Subsequently, all involved parties were arrested.
However, Jeanne escaped from the Bastille in 1787 and was sheltered in London by the British, who also helped her publish a book about the fraud to humiliate the French Royal Family.