Consul

Istanbul was farther away, and they didn't have telegraphs, so Selim III received news of the invincible Turkey army's recapture of Tripoli slightly later than France and other European countries. However, since it was already decided who would rule Tripoli once it was captured when the expeditionary force was dispatched, the Turkey's actions were actually faster than those of the France and the Holy See.

However, the Turkey did not take advantage of this time difference to do anything unethical. Before sending troops, they had already agreed that the distribution of land and the selection of the church site would not be finalized until the France consul and the Holy See officials arrived.

Of course, there are many advantages to being one step ahead. For example, you can gain a lot of benefits when it comes to the distribution of wealth.

So when Victor arrived in Tripoli, the Turkey had already basically registered the situation of the estates there. The remaining tasks were mainly twofold: first, to identify the believers; and second, to allocate the land.

The process of identifying believers should have been simple, since every Christ slave should theoretically have a list. However, the Tripoli fire destroyed a great deal of information, including incomplete lists. Therefore, whether someone is Christ often becomes a Schrödinger's cat problem.

So when Victor saw the "list of Christ slaves" provided to him by the Turkey, he immediately noticed a problem: the number of Christ on the list seemed to be too small.

"Respected Pasha, do you have the original list?" Victor asked.

"Yes, but it's written in Turkey," replied the newly appointed Tripoli, Benhaden. "Do you need to see the original list?"

Victor nodded and said, "Yes, Pasha. This is the sacred mission entrusted to me by the First Consul of France and the Emperor of the Roman Empire. I must take it seriously."

So Ben Haden had the original documents brought to him.

Victor then asked, "Respected Pasha, may I take these things back to study them?"

"No problem. Not at all. You can study it for as long as you like. We are close allies, after all," Ben Haden replied.

So Victor took the original list back and compared it with the current list. He found that almost every name on the original list could be found on the original list. However, many names on the original list could not be found on the current "Christ Slave List".

The next morning, Victor went straight to Ben Haden without even having breakfast, requesting an audience. Upon seeing that he was the France consul, the servant dared not fail to report, and instead invited Victor to have coffee in the front courtyard while he hurried inside to report.

Ben Haden was having breakfast at this moment. This Pasha was known for his temper; he had authority over anyone, regardless of rank, as long as they were one rank below him. Whether you were a general or a nobleman, if you met him, he would give you a hard time without caring whether you were comfortable with it or not. If even generals and nobles were treated this way, those who served under him were naturally treated even worse – they were either scolded or beaten, and if they were, they were either kicked or even killed.

The servant who went in to announce the news arrived inside and found Ben Haden eating. He then remembered the rules that Pasha had established when he took office, one of which was that no one should disturb him while he was eating, no matter what. As the saying goes, God is great, and eating is important.

So the servant dared not approach and stood at a distance, waiting.

But Ben Haden's eyes darted around and landed on the servant, so he asked, "What is it?"

Upon hearing this, the servant quickly stepped forward and reported, "Reporting to Pasha, a guest wishes to see you..."

Before he finished speaking, a loud slap was heard, and five finger marks appeared on the servant's face. Then Ben Haden cursed, "You bastard! What did I order you to do? No matter who the guests are, you're not allowed to come up to me while I'm eating. Don't you have ears? Didn't you hear me?!" With that, he raised his leg and kicked the servant to the ground.

Ben Haden, still furious, went to the shelf beside the table to retrieve his whip. Sensing trouble, the servant quickly said, "Your Excellency Pasha, this guest is extraordinary. He is very important."

Ben Haden grew increasingly angry and shouted, "He's important, but am I not? Whoever he is, is there anyone here more important than me?"

The servant quickly replied, "It is Mr. Treville, the consul of France."

Upon hearing this, Ben Haden, for some reason, immediately lost much of his arrogance and stood there stunned for a long time. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly stood up, and with a loud slap, five more finger marks appeared on the other side of the servant's face. Then Ben Haden jumped up and cursed, "You bastard! Who do we have here! It's the France! The France are here, why didn't you go back sooner and make him wait outside for so long?"

The servant said, "We were originally in a hurry to come and go, but we waited for you in the corridor because we saw you were having a meal, Pasha."

Upon hearing this, Ben Haden raised his leg and kicked him again, saying, "No other guests are allowed to leave. The France has come on official business concerning friendship between our two countries. How can we keep him waiting outside? You fools! Quickly, invite him in!"

The servant quickly ran out and invited Victor into the living room.

Once the two were seated in the living room, Ben Haden asked, "May I ask what brings the Consul here?"

Victor then said, "Yesterday I saw the original register, which also showed signs of burning, suggesting that some names were destroyed during the Tripoli fire. Logically, many Christ slaves must have perished in the fire. Therefore, I understand that the list of Christ slaves you gave me has fewer names than this one. However, I believe that some names on the new list should not be from the original list. Therefore, I think there may have been some errors or omissions in the counting of Christ slaves. I strongly request a comprehensive, thorough check of all slaves to ensure that no one who deserves freedom continues to suffer this misfortune."

Upon hearing this, Ben Haden said, "Ah, is that so? It must be those damned lackeys down there slacking off. If it weren't for the consul's compassion and meticulous attention to detail, a roughneck like me would have been fooled. Fortunately, those slaves are still here. I'll have those guys check again immediately, what do you think?"