Scorched-Earth Resistance

However, Admiral Treville and Tayyip didn't need to worry about these follow-up matters. For them, the most important thing now was to "press on with their remaining strength" and immediately march on Tunisia and Morocco to strive for greater victories and more benefits.

However, since they had spent a considerable amount of time in Tripoli, the surprise attack was naturally unsuccessful. When they arrived in Tunisia, they discovered that something seemed to have happened in the port of Tunisia, as if—as if it had just been burned down by a large fire.

Ahadi Pasha of Tunisia has met with Yusuf, who has fled to Tunisia, and learned from him about the terrifying, fire-like weapons used by the evil infidels and the horrific fires they cause. This news has greatly worried Ahadi Pasha.

"My friend, you mean the fortifications are completely ineffective against them, and deploying troops in the harbor will only result in fires... How can we possibly fight this battle! It's utterly impossible!" With few people around, Ahadi Pasha wasn't worried about demoralizing the troops and spoke directly.

"How many mines did you purchase?" Yusuf asked.

Ahadi Pasha was stunned for a moment before saying, "My friend, you know those Britain are asking for exorbitant prices. They're basically treating us like lambs to the slaughter, so I... I don't know if it's too late to place an urgent order with them?"

"My God!" Yusuf exclaimed, startled. "You bought so little?"

"I wanted to buy fewer, but those Britain infidels... as soon as they heard I was reducing my order quantity, they immediately increased the unit price. So, in a fit of pique, I..."

"So what?"

"I didn't buy a single one!" Ahadi Pasha said with a mournful face.

Are those Britain merchants still around?

"Yes, yes. I'll go find them right now and buy all the goods they have." Ahadi Pasha quickly stood up.

"My friend, don't rush. First, let's find out where their goods are. Are they near our port? If their goods are in Gibraltar, or even in Britain, then it's pointless for them to give you a single penny. The Turkey and France won't give us that much time. Besides, I estimate their price will be higher. In any case, mines have been the most threatening weapon to our enemies in previous battles."

"Yes, I'll have someone take care of it right away. My friend, what if... I mean, what if those Britain mines are still in Gibraltar? What should I do then?"

"My friend, naval mines have some effect, but they're not entirely effective; they can use the high tide to avoid them. Of course, this also limits the time they can use for attacks each day. Right now, our most important task is figuring out how to deal with their fire rain. I have an idea..."

Yusuf believed that the massive fire in Tripoli was entirely due to the abundance of wooden houses and roofs. Therefore, to prevent further fires, Yusuf advised immediately clearing away all roofs and other flammable materials from the houses in the port area to avoid being attacked by fire from the enemy.

However, clearing these things out was extremely time-consuming, so progress was very slow. But soon news arrived about the actions of the Turkey and the France in Tripoli. This news immediately strengthened the Barbary Pirates' resolve to resist to the end.

"We cannot negotiate with them, much less surrender. Selim III, that tyrant, needs vast amounts of land to buy off his followers. From whom else can he get land besides us? Look at all the landowners who remained in Tripoli —who has kept their property and their head? We cannot give them what they want, because they want everything we have, including our heads. Therefore, we have no other choice but to resist to the end!" After receiving confirmation, Ahadi Pasha gathered his officers and said this to them.

So the demolition speed increased a bit, but at this pace, it was still impossible to complete the entire firebreak demolition work before the Turkey and France arrived. Finally, an officer suddenly had a flash of inspiration and came up with a better solution.

"Your Excellency Pasha," the officer said, "I think we should set a fire ourselves. That way, we can clear away all the flammable materials in half a day at most."

The houses near the port were mostly poor people's homes, so burning them wouldn't be a big deal. Ahadi Pasha thought about it and decided it was a good idea. He gave the order, and the soldiers immediately sprang into action, driving the poor people out of their houses and then setting them on fire themselves.

However, perhaps due to inadequate cleanup efforts, many residents were not evacuated before the fire broke out. As a result, many civilians were burned to death, and even some soldiers responsible for arson were trapped and burned to death in the flames due to poor coordination.

So now, when the joint France and Turkey Combined Fleet appear off the coast of Tunisia, this is what Tunisia looks like to them.

The Allied forces' first operation was, of course, a probing attack by the Turkey fleet. The first objective was to see if they could lure the forts into firing, so that the France could use high-explosive shells to wipe out the cannons and artillerymen in one fell swoop. The second objective was to see if the rebels had laid a large number of mines outside the harbor.

As a result, only one cannon on the Barbary Pirates' most prominent battery was firing, while the France, deeming it too wasteful to use high-explosive shells for a single cannon, refused to fire. Furthermore, they encountered no mines during their approach to the harbor.

The Britain told Ahadi Pasha that their mines were on ships outside the harbor, and that they could be delivered to the harbor immediately upon payment of a deposit, with payment due on the spot.

Ahadi Pasha's men followed the Britain onto their ship outside the harbor, where they indeed saw the mines. They paid a deposit, and the Britain sold them the mines on cash. However, the Britain secretly replaced the concentrated sulfuric acid in the fuses with distilled water, and the Nitrated Starch in the mine bodies with real starch— the Britain government had notified them two weeks earlier not to sell mines to the Barbary Pirates.

The Barbary Pirates, lacking scientific knowledge, couldn't see through the deception. The Britain then took the payment and went home.