Contending for North Africa

At the east edge of the Hall, United Kingdom newspaper merchant Alvin saw Lavoisier approach the front desk and nudged the listless young man beside him, whispering:

"Clark, a big shot is here. Take careful notes, and don't miss a single word!"

Yes, this is Alvin, the man who came to Paris for an interview during Fashion Week. After returning home, he sold all his possessions and risked everything to buy the rights to the Paris Business Daily, translating ""Refining the Firmament"" and ""Ladies, Please Stop"" into English for sale. In just a few months, he made a fortune, and then he acquired a small Newspaper Office and became a boss.

This time, he came to discuss the purchase of licenses for other novels with the Paris Business Daily, but happened to encounter the grand event of France announcing measurement standards, so he brought his reporters to cover it.

"Oh, yes, boss!"

Clark jolted awake, quickly straightening up and adopting a serious note-taking posture. Then, the France named Lavoisier raised his hands and passionately proclaimed, "First, let us thank His Highness the Crown Prince! It was he who spearheaded the standardization of measurement in France..."

Clark casually copied these words into his notebook, but inwardly he was quite disdainful; these people really knew how to flatter the Royal House family.

He glanced around the ornately decorated Hall and muttered to himself in English:

"The France are really extravagant; they're just announcing a few units of measurement, and they've made such a big fuss."

Alvin glared at him and said in a deep voice:

"Stop your pathetic ignorance! This is not just a matter of a few units of measurement; it's a great innovation of scientific civilization!"

On stage, Lavoisier had his assistant push out a Glass case containing a bronze rod, excitedly announcing:

"As you can see, this is the prototype of the meter, the standard unit of length. It is defined as 'one ten-millionth of the distance from the equator to the North Pole along the meridian passing through Paris '..."

Clark's hands flew across the paper as he took notes, but he still muttered resentfully in a low voice:

"Oh, yes, with this, it will be much more convenient for the France gentlemen when collecting taxes. They won't have to keep converting between different units."

After Alvin finished speaking, and the audience erupted in applause, Lavoisier patiently began explaining to his employees:

Do you know why they make the definition of units so complicated?

"This..." Clark scratched his head, "To make them seem really powerful?"

Alvin interrupted him:

"Such a definition yields exactly the same results anywhere in the world. That is to say, whether people are United Kingdom, France, or North America, even if they are tens of thousands of miles apart, they can use the same units for measurement and calculation."

"Do you know what this means? It means that scientific theories worldwide can be described using the same 'technical language,' and human science and technology will begin here to move towards perfection and unity!"

As an idealist, Alvin focused his attention on things like "world science," but in fact, standard measurement is more important for the development of national industry and commerce.

For example, baskets made in northern France used to be unsellable in the South because the South wanted to hold three "mon" of Grain at a time, while northern baskets could only hold a whole "ounce".

At that time, there were more than 800 commonly used measurement methods throughout France, and tens of thousands more with smaller applications. This resulted in additional restrictions on the flow of goods between different regions.

Even worse in the industrial production sector, let alone between two cities, even two Workshop separated only by a street might find that screws made in one city are unusable in the other. How can we even talk about building Industrial Chain under such circumstances?

A unified unit of measurement is the foundation for connecting industry and commerce.

Clark's eyes widened at his boss's words, and he finally understood why the France were making such a big fuss about standardizing metrology.

Immediately afterwards, Lavoisier had a pure platinum weight, encased in Glass, brought out and loudly proclaimed it to be the prototype of the Kilogram, the standard unit of mass...

A week later, newspapers across Europe were reporting on the measurement standards developed by the France Standardization Committee. The academic community in various countries was greatly shocked. As for whether to support the France standards body or to develop their own, governments were arguing fiercely.

At this point, Europe countries had not yet noticed that, from the Paris Fashion Week at the beginning of the year to Louis XVI's birthday celebrations, and now to the announcement of the measurement standards, France had consistently been at the center of international news.

Barbary Coast.

Two United Kingdom armed merchant ships, escorted by two frigates, are approaching Mitija, Algiers, with their sails at half-mast.

In the bow cabin of the frigate HMS Robinson, the Duke of Leeds was looking through a porthole at the distant Liège- drenched, greyish-yellow coast through Telescope.

There was a fortress there. At that moment, countless figures were busily working on it.

He knew that it was United Kingdom engineers directing Craftsman to reinforce the gun emplacements.

As they drew closer, the Duke of Leeds could clearly see that the fortifications were largely complete. A United Kingdom- made 24-pounder Cannon was being dragged up the fortress by hundreds of Algiers slaves, tied to the ends of dozens of thick cables.

"Heh, I really want to see the surprised expressions on the France faces when they are suddenly bombarded by these heavy artillery pieces."

He smiled as he put away his Telescope and said to Stuart, the newly appointed United Kingdom consul in Algiers:

"The France's move to intervene in North Africa under the guise of combating piracy is indeed a clever one. Russia has even sent us several Diplomatic Note stating that France's actions are also part of helping to safeguard Russia maritime trade."

Stuart nodded with a smile:

"Indeed, Duke Grace, but the France have forgotten our close trade relations with the Ottoman. These France are good at fashion and jewelry, but when it comes to strategy, they're lacking."

The ship came to a slow stop, and the Duke of Leeds, led by the captain, walked toward the deck, but couldn't help thinking about the meeting at 10 Downing Street three months earlier.

It was a sunny day like today...

"Mr. Fox has finally kept silent." The 29-year-old British Prime Minister, William Pitt Jr., gestured with a pleased expression to the sofa before him. "Please have a seat, Duke of Leeds, General Jervis."

He was in high spirits, having just received special funding from Parliament for the situation in North Africa.

He gestured for the Servant to bring tea and snacks, then pointed to the not-so-spacious office and complained to the two men:

"Getting any money from Parliament is really difficult, isn't it? Look at this place, we still don't even have a decent Meeting Room. We have to talk business in this cramped space."

General Jervis sat down and immediately asked:

"Mr. Pitt, the report you submitted to Parliament this morning, oh, about the rising food prices, is it really related to the France? I haven't heard a thing about it."

Pitt smiled:

"To be precise, it's very possible. However, those people were very cunning and left no clues."

"I also came across this by chance in a report from the Dublin Intelligence Department, which said that at the beginning of the year, an Irish helped two grain merchants purchase a large amount of Grain, amounting to hundreds of thousands of Pound Sterling."

He mentioned the Dublin Intelligence Department, which was specifically responsible for dealing with the Ireland uprising and was considered one of the most capable Intelligence Department in the British Government.

At this time, the British Empire was nothing like the world's intelligence godfather it would become in later years; MI6, Scotland Yard, and the like had not yet emerged. Because the United Kingdom embraced liberal ideas relatively early, they were very resistant to government Intelligence Agency, resulting in their intelligence capabilities being only average among powerful nations.

Pitt continued, "You know, the Irish and the France have always had an ambiguous relationship, so I had some suspicions and commissioned Lloyd's of London to continue the investigation [Note 1]."

"They did find some things, such as United Kingdom grain merchants saying that the people who bought the grain often spoke in French in private and that they had been paid by Livre. In addition, France was experiencing a severe crop failure and was in dire need of grain."

"In conclusion, the investigation suggests that the France are very likely the cause of the fluctuations in our food market."

This year, United Kingdom also suffered a severe drought, resulting in a significant reduction in grain production. However, United Kingdom has been a grain exporter for decades, and it had stockpiled a considerable amount of grain domestically. Coupled with its convenient river transport system, it is unlikely to experience Famine.

To everyone's surprise, when Pitt tried to allocate food to the disaster area, he discovered that people had been buying up large quantities of food since the beginning of the year, even buying up all the food reserves in many cities!

When the news broke, grain prices in the United Kingdom market skyrocketed. Although the government strictly controlled grain prices, it had no influence on the prices in private transactions—just like the tricks that Paris bakers had used before.

Seeing that some of the hardest-hit areas in the United Kingdom were on the verge of unrest due to food shortages, Pitt had no choice but to stabilize food prices through government subsidies. Although this ultimately prevented riots, it resulted in a loss of five to six hundred thousand Pound Sterling.

At today's exchange rate, that's a staggering 14 million Livre!

Opposition figures like Fox seized on this incident to launch a fierce attack on Pitt, causing him to lose face.

The Duke of Leeds laughed upon hearing this:

"From what you're saying, it sounds like the France already knew they would have a poor harvest this year. But the truth doesn't matter; we can use this to get Parliament to support your special appropriation bill."

Pitt gave him an approving look:

"That's true. Once Parliament learned that the France had caused the price fluctuations, no one objected to the funding anymore."

The Duke of Leeds nodded. "Those guys in Parliament have no idea how serious the France are about their high-profile 'suppression of pirates'!"

"Once they control North Africa, they will be able to make up for the Colony they lost in the Americas."

"You have to understand how many soldiers and how much money we lost in the Seven Years' War for those Colony. And those guys at Fox's are willing to let France attack North Africa for a little bit of funding."

Pitt said, "Fortunately, we've received funding now, 500,000 Pound Sterling, which isn't a small amount."

"Unfortunately, we have to consider the Russia ' attitude," General Jervis said, frowning and shaking his head. "We can't send troops directly to North Africa."

"Send troops?" The Duke of Leeds gave him a very subtle look. "No, that's not within our sphere of influence either; it's too close to Spain and France. Supporting local forces is the best option."

Pitt nodded and looked at Jervis, saying:

"General, in your professional opinion, what is the France's real target?"

Although the United Kingdom learned of France's North Africa strategy from their intelligence network in France and from the Duke of Orléans, they had to infer the specific details themselves.

Naval Warfare Committee Chairman Jervis thought for a moment and said, "I think it should be Algiers."

Can you explain your reasons?

Jervis nodded. "First of all, Morocco is far from France and is within the Spain sphere of influence, so it's unlikely that the France would go there."

"After more than 20 years of rule, Bey's power in Tunisia is relatively stable. In addition, Tunisia is very wealthy. If France were to engage in conflict with him rashly, it would be difficult to achieve a quick victory."

Tripoli is similar. Its Pasha holds real power, and although it is not as wealthy as Tunisia, it has a relatively strong military, especially its navy.

"So whether it's Tunisia or Tripoli, as long as they can hold off the France for a few months, the Ottoman will most likely intervene to provide support."

"Moreover, the France know we won't stand idly by while they expand. They'll then have no choice but to slink back to the northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea."

Pitt nodded thoughtfully:

"It seems that Algiers is indeed the best target."

Jervis stroked his forehead and said, "The Algiers ' Guard Corps and Navy are at odds, and the local forces should not be underestimated. The three sides are attacking each other, and the internal situation is very chaotic."

"If the France win one or two battles there, the locals will likely turn to them."

"Furthermore, I've heard that the France and United States fleets have just sunk two Algiers Navy ships."

Pitt then looked at the two high-ranking officials in front of him:

"So, what strategy do you two think we should adopt to deal with this?"

The Duke of Leeds picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and said:

"It would be very difficult for us to intervene in North Africa rashly, after all, it is not in our traditional sphere of influence."

"Therefore, the first step is to establish contact with the forces there."

Pitt First Grade:

"You are the Minister of Foreign Affairs. We'll need your help in this regard."

"The Ottoman will be key," Leeds said. "We have good trade relations with the Ottoman, which we can use to influence them. And although the Ottoman have little control over North Africa, they certainly don't want France to become the master there."

"Therefore, we can support Algiers through the Ottoman. We could even have the Ottoman grant our people an advisory or similar position."

Jervis continued, "To prevent the local forces in Algiers from siding with the France, it would be best to keep the French Fleet at bay in the Mediterranean Sea."

"What do you mean?"

"Send men to help Algiers fortify its coastal defenses."

[Note 1] Lloyd's of London was the largest insurance service company in the United Kingdom at the time. In order to investigate the situation of policyholders and whether there was any suspicion of insurance fraud, they hired a large number of intelligence personnel, which led to the company's domestic intelligence capabilities surpassing those of the British Government at one point.

(End of this chapter)

[ ]