Victory

The French Academy of Sciences delegation, led by Joseph, received a warm welcome at universities across Italy, especially Joseph lectures, which were always packed. In this era, scientists seem to have gained a kind of celebrity-like popularity. It's true that everyone has some vanity, and even Joseph was no exception. Although he kept telling himself, "Don't be vain," and "You were actually fooled by Napoleon and those bad guys at the École Normale Supérieure, what's there to be proud of?" the surrounding crowds and praise were still irresistible, especially when he was in the limelight and his little girl clapped her hands and shouted, "Daddy's so amazing!"

In addition, through his own means, Joseph also obtained Napoleon's paper, which was described as having "extreme importance" and "high applicability".

Joseph read it carefully several times and was certain that it was ghostwritten by the guys at the École Normale Supérieure. The structure was rigorous, the arguments were meticulous and thorough, and it was almost impossible to find any flaws. Of course, it wouldn't be entirely without problems; for example, some derivations were a bit too cumbersome, making them seem cumbersome and lacking in elegance. However, these were not errors. Overall, the paper certainly deserved those two adjectives.

Putting aside Joseph's ostentatious show-off trip to Italy, now that Napoleon had become a member of the Academy of Academy of Sciences, he naturally had to fulfill a promise. That is, he wanted to choose an empress from among the relatives of the people at the École Normale Supérieure.

However, Napoleon immediately noticed. "Laplace's niece is really ugly, Monge's granddaughter is not good-looking either, Lagrange's grandniece is alright, but unfortunately her waist is too thick, almost as thick as her sister-in-law's... There is still none who can compare to her..."

However, Napoleon was generally a very trustworthy man, and he was now choosing an empress, not a mistress; as long as she was dignified, that was enough. Besides, so what if her waist wasn't slender enough? Strictly speaking, this was the legacy of Rome. Look at the goddesses in the sculptures left from the Rome era—who among them conforms to the modern standard of a slender waist? As the emperor of Rome, how could he not appreciate Rome women, yet be influenced by barbarians and prefer slender, wasp-like waists?

After thinking it over, Napoleon realized that Lagrange's grandniece was actually quite charming. Although she couldn't compare to one of his mistresses in terms of looks and demeanor, she was still above average, unlike Laplace's niece. Furthermore, the young girl's deep respect and affection for Napoleon pleased Napoleon, so he began to frequently date this girl Lola Napoleon.

Joseph continued his travels in Italy, and when he arrived at Naples, the last stop of his journey, new news arrived: the French Army had achieved a decisive victory in Morocco and captured the port of Dar al-Bayda. (The previous text is incorrect; at this time, the city did not yet have the nickname Casablanca.)

The capture of Dar al-Bayda essentially meant the end of the war. France suffered limited losses, especially in casualties. The majority of those killed were enemy soldiers, and among their own side, the majority were Turkey; the France casualties were relatively few.

However, this wasn't the France betraying their allies; at least, the Turkey wouldn't say such a thing. For example, at the beginning of the attack, the Turkey discovered that Morocco was far better prepared for an anti-landing operation than the previous two locations, and they had learned from the lessons of the previous two locations, comprehensively upgrading the port's defenses.

The port and the surrounding waters, which were convenient for landing, were fortified with obstacles and mines. Had the France not deployed their nearest minesweepers, these mines alone would have inflicted enormous losses on the Combined Fleet, most of which would have been borne by the Turkey.

The France minesweepers were actually quite simple. They were flat-bottomed boats. At sea, flat-bottomed boats are not very resistant to wind and waves, but they have a much shallower draft, which makes them less likely to run into mines, especially at high tide.

This type of boat also carries a special device—a rather primitive magnetic anomaly detector. When there are metallic objects in the water within a certain distance, this device can issue a warning.

Next came the minesweeping machinery of this type of ship. This ship could lower something similar to a trawl net in later times. However, instead of a net, the two cables were pulling a large blade resembling a sickle.

This thing is dragged along a depth close to the seabed. If there are anchor mines below, this giant scythe will cut the cables beneath the anchor mines, causing them to surface. Once the anchor mines are on the surface, they are easy to deal with.

Of course, even after several rounds of sweeping, it's impossible to guarantee that no mines will escape. For example, several Turkey warships still struck mines and sank during this attack. However, considering the even more mines the France had cleared, the Turkey understood that without the support of their France allies, their losses would have been many times greater.

During the attack operation following the landing near the port, it was again the France marines who helped the Turkey clear safe passages through the minefields. When the Turkey attacking forces were defeated and the enemy launched a counterattack, the French marines blocked the enemy's counter-offensive and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy.

Finally, it was the French Navy artillery that, using expensive high-explosive shells, destroyed a crucial bastion on a hilltop near Darbel, giving the offensive a breakthrough. The France then used a makeshift port to bring cannons ashore and into the fortress, where they relentlessly bombarded the city. This finally broke down the city's defenses and played a decisive role in the Turkey' eventual capture of the city.

With these tangible achievements, the Turkey naturally couldn't accuse the France of sacrificing their own for their own benefit. In fact, they had to cede even more interests to the France according to the newly signed terms. After Barbary gained these footholds, France's control over the Mediterranean Sea, while not yet comparable to that of the Roman Empire at its peak, was far stronger than that of Athens or Carthage at their height.

Having achieved such a significant victory with ease, and having liberated so many Christ, the Holy See even considered canonizing Napoleon. However, an unexpected event interrupted this process.

Upon receiving news of the Combined Fleet's conquest of Morocco, Pope Pius VI was summoned by God. It is said that on his deathbed, he said, "Now it's alright, I no longer need to worry about whether there really is a God."