When Joseph saw the supply train list below, and the cost of deploying troops, he immediately felt a headache coming on.
Just the deployment costs for this first batch of 10,000 men and horses exceeded 500,000 livres. And that was only the expense of moving the troops from France to Tunisia; a continuous supply of food, fodder and various consumables would require at least another 400,000 livres per month.
If a battle occurred, the costs would become incalculable—1,000,000 livres a month might not even be sufficient.
Joseph furrowed his brow, if this were coupled with the second batch of 10,000 soldiers and Murat’s Corps, these forces would just by sitting in Tunisia consume over 10 million livres a year!
He slammed the documents down on the table forcefully—the British had a damn disgusting way of doing things!
He himself had gone through great lengths to take down Tunisia, and now they had to pay extra to stabilize it.
It would be possible to rely on steady management, to train Tunisian local corps and hand over the defense to them, but that would be at least three to five years away.
Not to mention, during this period, the French would be less willing to cultivate Tunisia due to fears of possible warfare there.
This would greatly slow down the pace at which he could develop Tunisia. Read new chapters at empire
So, was there any way to turn the situation around? Joseph pondered with a frown.
Deliver benefits to Morocco to withdraw their troops?
He shook his head immediately—that would only embolden Morocco’s appetite, and the British might just raise the stakes. Would France then follow suit or not?
Inciting Russia to pressure the Ottoman Empire into relinquishing Tripoli?
That seemed unrealistic as well…
Russia was currently engaged in the seventh Russo-Swedish War with Sweden, and the conflict would continue until the middle of next year before any outcome. Russia, having just signed a ceasefire treaty with the Ottoman and having gained significant advantages, would definitely not be willing to provoke the Ottomans into starting a new conflict.
Unable to come up with any effective strategy, Joseph could not help but rub his forehead and exhale a long sigh:
“Why does the world have to have a shit-stirrer like England?”
“Shit-stirrer?” Eman, who sat opposite, paused for a moment before revealing an understanding smile, “That’s a very apt metaphor, Your Highness. Indeed, it’s what the British are best at.”
“That’s why, rulers of France with great aspirations have always wanted to give them a good thrashing.”
Joseph thought to himself; right now, I really want to thrash the British…
Beat the British? He suddenly felt he was onto something.
Right! He had been constantly thinking about how to defend Tunisia, falling into a blind spot; he should take the initiative to attack, to thrash the British instead!
That great strategist once said, “You fight your war, I’ll fight mine.”
One should not duel with the British on the battlefield they have predetermined, but rather seek out their weakness and strike hard there.
As long as it hurt the British enough to make them unable to focus on Algiers and Tripoli, wouldn’t it be a piece of cake to deal with those two smaller countries?
Once he had found the way out, Joseph immediately took out a map, spread it out on the table, and started looking over it.
North America?
There was nowhere to exert force. The United States was too small and weak, and always flirting with the British, completely unreliable.
The Caribbean Sea?
Forget it, as long as it involved naval power, the British were momentarily unshakable there.
Australia?
England hadn’t invested much there yet; even if it were completely wiped out, the loss wouldn’t be much money-wise.
India?
When Joseph saw the upside-down triangular peninsula, a light suddenly flashed in his eyes.
The largest gemstone on the British crown, right?
I will smash it for you!
If I remember correctly, the Third Anglo-Mysore War will break out by the end of this year.
In history, Sultan Tipu fought alone and was ultimately defeated by the British allied with the Indian princely states.
But now, he would have the support of his French friends!
The Kingdom of Mysore, located in the southwestern part of India, was one of the strongest forces on the subcontinent and had always been at odds with the British. In fact, any Indian prince with a bit of spirit was dissatisfied with the British policy of encroaching upon India.
Of course, the majority of Indian princes were those without spirit.
In 1789, the Dutch East India Company prepared to withdraw from India and sold two fortresses to the Travancore Royal, and yet those fortresses were located within the territory of Mysore.
The Sultan of Mysore, Tipu, upon hearing this, was furious—Travancore had always been at odds with him.
After negotiations were unsuccessful, Sultan Tipu led his troops to attack the Travancore Princely State and soon occupied part of the territory adjacent to both countries. Interestingly, Travancore had good relations with France at the time and also lost quite a few soldiers in this battle.
Seeing that they couldn’t defeat Mysore, the Travancore Royal turned to the British for help.
The Governor of India for the East India Company, Cornwallis, declared that the Indian princely states were under British protection, and Mysore’s declaration of war against Travancore was tantamount to declaring war against the East India Company.
Immediately, Cornwallis rallied the Indian princely states of Maratha, Madras, Nizam among others, to join forces in besieging the Kingdom of Mysore.
Sultan Tipu led the Mysore forces and held off the British for two and a half years, during which he also scored some victories in battles, but ultimately fell before the powerful onslaught of the British and their vassals.
From then on, there were no forces on the subcontinent that could threaten British dominance, and it became a veritable backyard of theirs.
Actually, speaking of it, Sultan Tipu did have some opportunities in this war.
His father, Hyder, had started training a new army thirty years earlier, hiring European officers and developing a European-style military force, complete with cavalry and artillery.
Without the British, the other Indian princely states were no match for him.
However, Sultan Tipu had a serious problem: his intolerance towards Hindus, which brought the enmity of other Hindu princely states.
At the same time, Sultan Tipu always wanted to defeat the British in one fell swoop, which made his military tactics too aggressive, forgetting his biggest advantage—being on the home ground, the ability to fight and stall.
This resulted in his early victories being unstable, allowing the British to launch a successful surprise attack and suffer a devastating defeat.
If France could provide some support to Mysore and dispatch some officers to help him avoid these mistakes, there was still a good chance of teaching the British a lesson!
Joseph was reflecting and writing at the same time, and by the time the carriage had reached southeast Montpellier, he had basically sorted out his thoughts.
He put down his pen and smiled as he let out a sigh, wondering if the British would still be interested in stirring trouble in Tunisia after India “caught fire.”
Then he picked up the reports from the General Staff again and continued reading.
Following the information about reinforcing Tunisia, there was a report by Bertier on some developments within the General Staff.
Essentially, it was one statement: the department had started to function in a preliminary fashion. Recruiting new soldiers and training were the first tasks to be undertaken, followed by the expansion of the Paris Police Academy and the integration of other military schools.