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France.🐤💝 ❻9ŜυЖ.ℂㄖм ♤♟

Southeast of Provence Province.

A well-organized and well-equipped legion marched into the Toulon.

If you look closely, you'll notice that the soldiers' crisp white Military Uniform are slightly different—some have Fleur-de-lis and Dolphin patterns embroidered on their collars, the insignia of the Crown Prince of France, while others have the badge of the Paris Police Academy embroidered on their collars.

Yes, this is the "Crown Prince's Personal Guard Corps" that is preparing to head to Tunisia. They left Paris and headed south two weeks ago.

At the time, Joseph even skipped attending the Standard Committee's ceremony to announce the measurement standards in order to see them off. Although it was somewhat regrettable, the North Africa strategy was clearly the most important thing at the moment. He personally gave the legion a pre-battle pep talk and escorted them for more than 20 kilometers, which greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers.

Outside Toulon, a Captain leading the troops looked at his soldiers, who were somewhat tired from the sun, and waved his hand, calling out loudly:

Where is the lead singer?

"Yes, sir! I'm here!" A short young soldier carrying Organ hurried over, raised his hat, and saluted the officer.

The Captain patted him on the shoulder and gestured towards the front of the line:

Let's sing a song.

"How about ' Glory and Victory,' sir?"

"Okay, this one. It's also my favorite song."

The lead singer ran to the front of the formation, played a few high notes on the Organ to attract the soldiers' attention, then gestured to the drummer, and shouted:

Sing along with me--

"The bugle calls sounded on the battlefield before dawn."

The warriors stood in neat rows.

"Determination and conviction are written on their faces."

Glory and victory are our beliefs.

Our loyalty will never waver.

"A victory to celebrate His King!"

"Winning unparalleled honor with blood and fire..."

The song was solemn and powerful, and the soldiers, singing along, were quickly invigorated.

However, the melody was clearly the same as "La Marseillaise," which would later become extremely familiar to almost every France. Joseph brought it to his army in advance, and it was indeed very popular with the soldiers. So, Joseph simply adopted it as their military song.

Of course, Madam Galan helped polish the melody, and the lyrics were rewritten by the great writer Beaumarchais, completely transforming the content into a style of loyalty to His Majesty the King and the pursuit of merit and honor on the battlefield.

A large number of naval transport ships and escort Warship were already moored on the dock, swaying gently with the waves.

The navy received 800,000 Livre in funding that Joseph had "scammed" from the United States, but for this anti-piracy operation, they only sent three Warship, and even the supplies were mostly provided by the Dutch people, so they didn't spend much money at all. The navy probably felt a bit "unworthy of their wages", so they responded very actively to the operational needs in the North Africa direction.

As more than 4,000 officers and soldiers, along with military supplies such as warhorses and cannons, boarded the ships one after another, at 2:30 p. m., ten transport ships weighed anchor, set sail, and headed straight toward Tunisia.

The South Tunisia.

The Choukri Valley, located on the border between Kairouan and Sfax.

Under a sturdy Olive, a Tunisia Guard Corps officer in an orange robe swatted a mosquito the size of a mung bean that was desperately sucking blood from his face.

He wiped the blood from his palm, his face grim, and shouted at the soldier fanning him beside him:

"Push harder, you lazy bum!"

"Yes, sir." The soldier nodded hesitantly, increasing the force with which he fanned the mosquitoes.

The officer looked down into the valley for a while, but saw only green grass and trees, and the place seemed calm and peaceful.

He turned to another officer with small eyes and said:

"How much longer are we going to have to stay in this godforsaken place? I'm about to be sucked dry by the mosquitoes!"

The small-eyed officer was fiddling with his boots, not even looking up, and said:

"Be patient, Gedik. This is an order directly from the Kashir Palace to Lord Koja."

Gedik glanced at the woods where he was hiding, frowned, and muttered:

"How could Bey, staying in the palace, know anything about the situation at the front?"

The small-eyed man waved his hand.

"I heard from Lord Koja that it was Lady Hafsa's idea."

"Her?" Gedik scoffed. "A woman talking about war? She has no manners at all!"

"It is said that she was the first to discover this Rebellion. So when she said that Younis would launch a sneak attack, Bey took her advice and told Koja to prepare in advance."

"Lord, how can they believe a woman?"

Before Gedik could finish speaking, two scouts came galloping over, waving their hands vigorously and shouting:

"Enemy situation! Our outpost has been attacked; there are at least a thousand enemy troops!"

Gedik exchanged a glance with his colleague, then abruptly stood up, his eyes filled with disbelief:

"How on earth did that woman guess that?!"

Hafsa certainly wasn't guessing; Joseph had already informed her that Younis was likely to launch a desperate attack on Choukri Valley.

Because he had Hafsa reveal Younis's movements to Hamud Ali in advance, the latter had ample time to deploy his army to deal with the Rebellion.

At the same time, Joseph also knew that Younis had only a small number of weapons and that his military funds would soon be exhausted. He had only allocated 2,000 Flintlock Gun to Younis, and had not given him a single penny of the promised 2 Livre. It was already difficult for Younis to gather his men with his meager savings, and he had no idea where his soldiers would get their pay and Provisions.

In this situation, Younis had no choice but to take a desperate gamble. Before Kairouan Fortress was fully prepared, he launched a preemptive attack on the fortress's outer defenses, hoping to bypass the fortress and directly capture the wealthy city of Susa, where he could obtain supplies.

Of course, if Younis didn't intend to do so, Joseph's France military advisors, who remained with him, would also advise him on a surprise attack.

Joseph's Tunisia strategy from the beginning was to use one enemy to devour another, inciting Younis and Hamud Ali to fight amongst themselves and deplete the Tunisia Guard Corps's manpower. His real objective was to use his trump card to the rear.

To accomplish this plan, he initially intended to send Spy into the Kashir Palace, posing as military experts to "advice" to Ali.

However, during a mission, the intelligence agent unexpectedly met a French businessman who supplied high-end clothing to Cahill's palace. Through this man's introduction, he encountered another very important figure—Haji, the son of the former Tunisian Beimuhammed ibn al-Hassan, and the nephew of Hamad Ali.

After Joseph made contact with Haji through the Police Intelligence Division, the two quickly agreed to cooperate. Haji then recommended someone even more suitable to influence Hamud Ali —his favorite concubine, Hafsa.

After that, Hafsa pretended to deduce that Rebellion might break out in the South, and after Ali sent troops, she "predicted" that the rebels might launch a surprise attack on Koja.

Joseph's goal was not to have Ali quickly quell the Rebellion, but to inflict a heavy blow on Younis, making him appear as if he were about to be finished.

This will lead to the next step of the plan.

As for Younis, Joseph wasn't worried about him being wiped out. As long as the warships anchored off the coast of Sfax handed him the remaining weapons and some Silver Coin, he could immediately revive on the spot and fight Ali's Guard Corps for another three hundred rounds.

On the slopes on either side of the Choukri Valley, Tunisia Guard Corps officer Gedik hurriedly sent Orderly Officer to order his soldiers to prepare for battle.

Tunisia is flat, with almost the entire country consisting of plains. The so-called valleys are actually only three or four hundred meters high, but they are important passes for entering Kairouan.

With a relaxed expression, Younis's officer, Rum, gestured for his men to speed up their advance.

He had just effortlessly routed Koca's outpost, which made him quite pleased with himself: the Imperial Guard of today was no longer the same as it was twenty years ago. Back then, when he accompanied Younis Pasha in the siege of the former Beyhaisan, his men were so brave and skilled in battle. But those Imperial Guards just now had clearly been enjoying themselves in Tunisia for too long; they were all fat and bloated, barely able to run. It seemed this battle would be won easily.

After he crossed the valley and looked at the boundless plain before him, he immediately ordered his men to send a message to Younis Pasha.

Soon, Younis led his main force through the valley. At that moment, Nizamiddin he had sent to set up cannons on the high ground on the east side of the valley, suddenly engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy.

Gedik was also quite surprised. He saw Younis's vanguard passing by and was preparing to launch a surprise attack on the enemy's main force when suddenly a small squad of enemy Artillery climbed up the hillside.

Left with no other option, he had to launch the attack ahead of schedule.

Younis, being a seasoned commander, immediately sensed something was wrong and hastily ordered the main force to withdraw from the valley, while simultaneously sending his daughter Rabia, to lead a search of both sides of the valley.

Before he could finish making his arrangements, Gedik had already led nearly 6,000 Guard Corps down from both sides of the valley.

The two sides immediately engaged in a fierce battle, but Younis's side was caught off guard by the sudden attack and was in a state of panic. The first few hundred people to enter the valley were slaughtered in less than half an hour.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the valley, the previously arrogant Rum tribe was besieged by the main force of the Guard Corps, personally led by Koja.

He only had 1,500 men, and behind him was a narrow valley. The battle lasted only 40 minutes before Rum was shot through the chest by a stray bullet, and his men immediately surrendered.

Koja assessed the size of the enemy force and quickly realized that it was not Younis's main force. He immediately ordered his troops to cross the valley and search for the enemy's main force.

With a livid face, Younis watched through his Telescope as his men scattered and fled from the valley, running around like mice being chased by a cat. He immediately gritted his teeth and ordered the others to retreat first, while he led the core 3,000 soldiers to hold the line near the valley's exit.

Half of these men were former members of his Guard Corps; although they were all quite old, their combat experience was not to be underestimated. Moreover, they were now equipped with fine guns sent by France!

Gedik was in the midst of a fierce battle chasing after the fleeing troops when he suddenly spotted a neat Phalanx of enemy troops in the distance.

At this moment, his morale was high, and almost without thinking, he ordered a frontal assault while simultaneously ordering his cavalry to continue pursuing the fleeing enemy.

A muffled bugle call sounded, and his two Musket regiments advanced in formation from the front towards Younis's army, while a half- Scimitar regiment charged rapidly from both flanks.

However, when the two sides were still more than 100 paces apart, a burst of gunfire erupted from Younis's side.

Just as Gedik was about to mock his opponent for being impatient— Musket were hardly effective at this distance—he was shocked to hear screams erupting from his own ranks. Some cowardly soldiers even saw their comrades rolling in pools of blood, wounded by bullets, and began to shrink back in fear.

After a moment of hesitation, Gedik hurriedly ordered his men to fire back, but at this distance, his guns were not very effective.

After the poorly trained Tunisia Guard Corps fired a chaotic burst of shots, the opposing Younis forces advanced a few steps, reloaded, and fired a volley.

Deafening gunfire erupted, and at least thirty or forty men fell on Gedik's side. Even though the officers shouted orders not to retreat, they could not stop some soldiers from retreating.

For a time, some of Gedik's Musket held their ground, while others retreated, and the battle lines were in complete disarray.

Gedik, peering through the Powder Smoke, saw his men in disarray and had no choice but to grit his teeth and order the Scimitar legion to accelerate their attack, while simultaneously ordering the Musket to retreat and regroup.

Younis gave him no chance at all, immediately ordering the Musket to continue advancing, while the fierce Rabia led hundreds of Scimitar men to meet the Scimitar soldiers on the other side.

Close combat is never like what's depicted in movies, where both sides unleash their martial arts skills, fighting fiercely to the death, leaving a pile of corpses in the end.

In reality, close-quarters combat between two armies is all about momentum and spirit.

Whichever side loses momentum will be overwhelmed almost instantly. So the close-quarters combat lasted less than a minute before Gedik's Scimitar soldiers were so frightened by the female pirate's terrifying aura that they turned and fled.

Once a large-scale military battle begins and troops flee, it's something even a god couldn't control.

Rabia immediately roared and led his troops in pursuit, while Younis's French Musket, after several volleys, were almost touching the enemy's faces.

Before Gedik could even deploy his reserves, his main force was overwhelmed by an enemy force that was only half his size, and they fled in terror.

Younis, having routed the enemy, dared not linger too long and ordered his men to cover the previously scattered troops as they quickly retreated the South Sfax.

Several hours later, when Koja led the main force of the Guard Corps to this side of the valley, he only saw the disheveled Gedik and soldiers carrying corpses with their heads down. Younis's main force had long since disappeared.

He glanced at the sky and dared not continue the pursuit. He ordered them to set up camp and establish defenses on the spot, while sending a report on the battle back to Tunisia City.

On the other side, Younis ran until dusk before finally stopping. It wasn't until dawn the next day that he took stock of the approximate losses: nearly two thousand dead or missing, including the complete annihilation of Nizamiddin and Rum's armies, and several hundred wounded.

At this point, he had fewer than 5,000 men left who were capable of fighting.

Inside the military tent, several officers looked at Younis with gloomy expressions. Just now, someone had suggested continuing south and retreating into the barren Ghadames region.

At that moment, the France advisor accompanying him revealed an inopportune smile:

"Do not be discouraged, everyone. Please believe me, His Crown Prince's aid should arrive soon!"

(End of this chapter)

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