A North African Lion King

Charles gazed curiously at the magnificent and beautiful city, like a child visiting a city for the first time. ♡💗 🏆💎

He had been to London before, and his impression of it was that although it was also very large, it was dirtier and smellier than his hometown of Philadelphia. Paris, on the other hand, was full of elegant beauty, with wide and clean streets, and not a trace of excrement.

Some people were still repairing buildings along the streets, but overall, apart from some broken trees, there were no obvious signs of hail damage.

He disembarked in Marseille and witnessed appalling scenes along the way; the towns and villages looked as if they had been bombarded by pirates with cannons. He was amazed at how quickly Paris had recovered.

A shout suddenly erupted from the side front:

"Hang these shameless rich people!"

"It was his bank that ran off with our money!"

"France was swindled out of tens of Livre by them, hang him!"

"These swindlers are all cold-blooded murderers..."

Charles leaned out of the Carriage window and saw, about seventy or eighty yards away, a crowd of thousands of people surrounding several prison wagons moving slowly forward. Every now and then, someone would throw clods of dirt and garbage at the people in the wagons.

Silas Deane, the United States. ambassador to France sitting opposite him, explained to him without even looking:

"Those were several bankers who colluded with the former France Minister of Finance for personal gain. They've been caught, and one of them is to be hanged in the City Hall Square."

Charles's ears were ringing from the noise of the crowd, so he quickly rolled up the car window.

"Mr. Deane, I heard there's going to be a public trial for those pirates in a few days. Will it be like this? I mean, I might have to attend as a witness."

"Perhaps even more 'lively' than this," Deane recalled the scene of Weijinie's public trial outside the High Court earlier this year. "You have to get used to the France people's enthusiasm for these kinds of things. Oh, and another thing they like is mass protests."

Charles smiled and nodded. "I've heard that. In United States, rioters are dispersed by the National Guard with guns, but here, they're chasing after the army."

Deane laughed too, "They even drove the King out of Paris."

The two chatted for a while, then Deane rolled down the car window and looked out, saying:

"We're almost there. Be careful what you say later. Don't underestimate the Crown Prince of France just because he's young. From what I understand, he wields considerable influence in France politics."

"Okay, Mr. Deane, I'll keep that in mind."

As they were talking, the Carriage stopped. Eman bowed politely to the two men from a short distance away, then led them into the Industrial Planning Bureau.

Charles looked around, somewhat surprised, and quietly asked the ambassador:

"Aren't we going to the Versailles Palace?"

Deane whispered in his ear:

"The Crown Prince of France has something to say to you. This is his office in Paris."

Soon, they saw Joseph, Deane quickly pulled Charles forward, bowing with perfect poise.

"It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness the Crown Prince."

Joseph smiled and nodded, "It is an honor to meet you all, especially this hero who captured the pirate."

"Please have a seat. Oh, Captain Charles's Award Ceremony will be held later at the Versailles Palace. I've brought you here because I have some important matters to discuss with you."

Charles didn't understand French, and for a moment they were at a loss for words. Deane had no choice but to act as the translator.

Upon hearing this, Charles quickly replied to Joseph, "Please feel free to ask, Your Highness."

Seeing this, Joseph switched to English: "I heard that the Algiers smuggler who provided you with information about the pirates knows Younis? He's the son of the former Tunisia Pasha."

Charles nodded and said, "Yes, Your Highness. According to Ali, his boss has access to Younis."

Joseph's eyes lit up with delight. "If needed, could you introduce my people to that Younis?"

"I'm not entirely sure. But given Ali's nature, it might cost some money."

"Of course," Joseph nodded, then asked, "How much do you know about Younis?"

Charles recalled for a moment and said, "I heard Ali talk about some things about him while I was in the prison in Algiers."

"Younis is Ali's son. Oh, not that smuggler, but the Pasha of Tunisia more than forty years ago."

"As for this Pasha named Ali... Your Highness, are you sure you want to hear this?"

"Yes, please tell me everything you know, the more detailed the better."

Charles continued, "More than forty years ago, Tunisia's Bey Hussein deposed the original crown prince, his nephew Ali, and installed his own son as crown prince."

"Ali, unwilling to lose power, launched a coup and seized the throne of Bey, using the pretext that Hussein's son was born to Genoa slave and therefore had no right to inherit."

Joseph asked with some doubt, "Bey?"

"Oh, the rulers of Tunisia call themselves Bey. But they also accept investiture from the Ottoman Sultan, that is, Pasha. When they use different identities, they choose one between Bey and Pasha."

Thank you for your explanation, please continue.

Charles nodded and said, "Afterwards, Hussein led his remaining troops to flee to the South Tunisia. Ali then sent his son Younis to lead an army to suppress them."

"After five years of fierce fighting, Younis finally won and captured Hussein. Hussein's two sons fled to Algiers."

"Younis, who now commands a large army, decided to rebel after gaining the support of the Tunisia local Nobility."

"Ali was lucky; with the support of the Algerians, he defeated Younis and retained his position as Bey. After his defeat, Younis also fled to Algiers."

"The Algerians imprisoned Younis —oh, the very prison I was in. But Younis escaped and started a smuggling business in Algiers."

Upon hearing this, Joseph became even more certain of his previous thoughts. Younis had commanded troops and had supporters in Tunisia, which could definitely be used to his advantage.

Charles continued his recollection, "Later, as Ali grew old, Hussein's two sons seized the opportunity to borrow the Algerians ' army, marched back into Tunisia, and drove Ali away. The Muhammad, became the new Bey."

"More than twenty years ago, Mohammed died, and his brother Ali succeeded him—you see, another Ali. He is the current Tunisian Bey."

Joseph thought to himself that this drama of a nephew seizing his uncle's throne and the uncle's son returning to seek revenge was practically North Africa version of "The Lion King."

The current political situation in Tunisia is extremely chaotic. Although the country is small, more than 80% of its land is fertile farmland, and it also has many good ports, making it much richer than Algiers, which is mostly desert.

This is the best strategic breakthrough point in North Africa!

This United States is truly a lucky charm for France!

(End of this chapter)