Granted the Title "Suffering Savior"

Berthier ignored Sinanidin, who had come as an envoy, and instead sent a messenger to the Kashir Palace with a list of pirates, demanding that Hamud Ali hand over the prisoners immediately.

On Hafsa's advice, Ali decided to take a tough stance and immediately and without compromise drove the France who came to negotiate out of Tunisia City.

Meanwhile, a large-scale mobilization began in Tunisia City.

Having previously deployed a large force to Kairouan to deal with Younis, less than a thousand Guard Corps remained in Tunisia City. However, Sinanidin demonstrated considerable personal ability, mobilizing more than 7,000 Guard Corps in just two days.

This might sound a bit strange to those unfamiliar with Tunisia. That's because the term "Guard Corps" in Tunisia is not the name of an army, but rather closer to a class of people.

More than a hundred years ago, at the height of its power, the Ottoman Empire sent its elite Guard Corps to invade North Africa, including Tunisia, Algiers, and Tripoli, and easily defeated the locals, turning these places into Ottoman provinces.

Subsequently, with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Guard Corps stationed in North Africa began to control these areas and gradually broke away from Ottoman rule, becoming separatist regimes.

The Ottoman Sultan had no other recourse but to bestow upon them the title of "Pasha," a title similar to that of a governor, thus acknowledging their rule over various parts of North Africa.

To prevent assimilation by the locals, these Ottoman Guard Corps strictly enforced endogamy and maintained Ottoman traditions such as clothing and customs, thus becoming a distinct social class.

Over the long years, the Ottoman Guard Corps became extremely wealthy by exploiting the local people of North Africa. The new generation of Guard Corps, raised in luxury, had long lost the bravery of their predecessors.

At the same time, divisions began to emerge within the Guard Corps. The lower-ranking Guard Corps continued to perform military duties, while the powerful and influential could hire others to serve in their place, eventually leading to a situation where military service could be exempted by paying money.

By this point, the Tunisia Guard Corps was no longer an army, but a synonym for Nobility.

Currently, Tunisia's Guard Corps has nearly 90,000 members, but its actual combat troops number less than 20,000.

However, nominally all the guards were still soldiers, so after Tunisia's Bey issued the mobilization order, a large number of guards were pulled out and incorporated into the army.

However, most of these people had never even touched a gun, and their military training was practically nonexistent, so their combat effectiveness was questionable.

The following day at noon, the messenger of the Royal Guard Legion arrived Tunisia City, enumerated the crimes of the pirates, and denounced Hamud Ali for colluding with and protecting them.

Berthier then ordered an attack.

Tunisia City is located next to the Port of Tunisia and is a coastal city. Therefore, its construction mainly focused on defending against threats from the sea. Even its city walls only have three sides – the side facing the inland area has almost no defense.

However, the Royal Guard Legion was attacking from the land.

Unlike the landing operation at Bizerte, this time the entire legion can be fully deployed. Artillery, warhorses, and other equipment are all in place. This is a battle that will allow the Royal Guard Legion to fully demonstrate its capabilities!

Berthier's ability to become Napoleon's Chief of Staff was due to his exceptional talent in troop deployment.

He had already mapped out the surrounding terrain the night before and formulated a detailed battle plan.

At this moment, he stood on a hill opposite the Tunisia City, looking at the massive Tunisia army through his Telescope. Although he was somewhat nervous, he still strictly followed the planned schedule and ordered the Artillery to begin the attack.

The thunderous roar of cannons immediately reached Tunisia City, and coupled with the news of the European fleet blockading the Port of Tunisia the day before, chaos reigned throughout the city.

At the side gate of the Kashir Palace, the guards were surprised to see Bey's nephew, Haji, approaching with more than a dozen attendants.

The head guard quickly stepped forward, saluted, and asked, "Pasha, is there anything I can help you with?"

"I have urgent business with Bey," Haji gestured to the tailor-looking man behind him, "And also, make him a new robe."

"Make robes? Now?" The guard looked extremely puzzled as he listened to the distant cannon fire.

Just then, the "tailors" suddenly rushed into the palace gates and subdued the guards with Pistol. Near the statue at the Kashir Palace, forty or fifty men armed with Musket and Scimitar immediately rushed out, surrounding Haji and continuing toward the inner sanctum.

Due to the impending war with the European, many of the Guard Corps at the Kashir Palace had been redeployed. At this time, only a few dozen guards remained, scattered throughout the palace on patrol.

Prosper personally led a dozen or so special agents from the Police Intelligence Division at the front of the line. As soon as they saw guards rushing towards them, they would immediately give the order to stop and fire a volley of bullets at them before reloading their Ammunition and continuing their advance.

With this methodical advance, they covered Haji's arrival at the rear hall of the Kashir Palace in just over ten minutes.

Finally, in a Bedroom on the second floor, Haji saw Hamud Ali dressed in casual clothes, and Hafsa standing beside him.

His eyes were instantly filled with endless coldness.

Prosper ordered his men to thoroughly search the house. After confirming that there were no guards, he led his agents out, leaving only Haji's men inside.

Haji's Guard immediately surrounded Ali, who, despite his fierce demeanor, shouted, "Haji, what are you doing?!"

Haji didn't answer, but instead drew the Scimitar from the Guard's waist and strode towards him.

Ali panicked, staggering backward, his voice trembling. "Why, why?"

"Seventeen years ago, you took advantage of my youth, forged my father's will, and stole my position as Bey. I could tolerate that!" Haji said, looking at Hafsa beside him. "Three years ago, you even tried to steal my Hafsa! I knelt down and begged you, but you had me thrown out."

Haji stepped forward, grabbed Hafsa with one hand, and raised his Scimitar with the other. "Don't you understand? Without her, my life is over!"

"Ah, you can take her away, I... I..."

Ali's words were interrupted by a flash of cold light as Scimitar pierced his left ribs, the tip emerging through his back.

Haji gritted his teeth and said, enunciating each word clearly, "I don't need your permission! I swore three years ago that I would personally take her back!"

As he spoke, he suddenly drew his Scimitar, spraying crimson blood all over himself and the woman.

"I did it! Look, I really did it!" Haji tossed his Scimitar aside, turned and hugged Hafsa tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck. "We can finally be together!"

"Yes!" Hafsa nodded vigorously. "I see! From now on, we will never be separated!"

The two embraced tightly, both with tears in their eyes.

After a long while, Ishak's voice came from outside. "Hajipasha, although I shouldn't disturb you, time is of the essence. Are you done on your end?"

Haji quickly wiped away his tears, took a deep breath, and said loudly, "Yes, Mr. Ishaq, you may come in."

Immediately afterwards, Hafsa announced to the palace guards that Hamud Ali had just been murdered by a traitor in the navy, and that his will stipulated that his nephew Haji should succeed him as Bey.

Tunisia City, an Infantry battalion on the left flank of the Royal Guard Legion had broken through the Tunisia Guard Corps's defenses, quickly triggering the collapse of the Tunisia army.

In fact, after more than ten rounds of bombardment by the Royal Guard Legion Artillery battalion, the Tunisia Guard Corps was already in disarray. And by this time, their only two cannons had not yet reached their positions.

Subsequently, the Royal Guard Legion made a feint attack on the right flank, which allowed them to easily break through on the left.

The Tunisia army, which outnumbered the Tunisian army by a factor of two, was completely powerless to fight back and was constantly running around and being attacked.

Just as Berthier was preparing to order the left wing to turn and encircle the city, the Palace Steward of the Kashir Palace rushed from the Tunisia City and conveyed the new Bey's order to the Tunisia Guard Corps: "Cease resistance immediately and allow the French Army into the city."

The Tunisia officers breathed a sigh of relief upon receiving the order—the opposing army was truly terrifying, with impeccable discipline, fierce firepower, and skillful tactical coordination. They had been worried about being shot at any moment, but now, at least their lives were spared.

Berthier left some men to guard the prisoners while he himself led three battalions to the Kashir Palace to provide support to Haji.

It's important to understand that although Hamud Ali is dead, he certainly still has a large number of loyal Tunisia high-ranking officials. Haji, on the other hand, has almost no political power due to Ali's years of deliberate suppression, making it difficult for him to control these people.

The dozen or so people from the Police Intelligence Division alone were simply not enough to guarantee Haji's safety.

As the Royal Guard Legion quickly took control of the main roads of Tunisia City, the city's officials began to flock to the Kashir Palace, either voluntarily or by force, to pay their respects to the new Bey - Haji.

As for Hamud Ali's death, nobody cared—officials knew he had come to power through a conspiracy. Whether he died at the hands of the Tunisia Navy was entirely up to Haji to decide.

The first thing Haji did after taking office was to announce the disbandment of the Tunisia Navy involved in the murder of Bey and to hand over the naval officers involved in the looting to France on charges of piracy.

He then ordered Kairouan's Guard Corps to continue clearing out Younis's rebels and not to leave the fortress without permission.

Berthier immediately began to establish the Police force in Tunisia City, composed entirely of Berbers natives of Tunisia. Many of the officers in the force were Instructor from the Paris Police Academy, and the training work was entirely entrusted to them. They would also temporarily assume all mid- to high-ranking positions in the Tunisia Police Force.

The Tunisia City's Guard Corps have all been disarmed, and the city's security is currently being handled by the Royal Guard Legion and these Berbers Police officers.

Meanwhile, Tunisia officials were ordered to begin taking stock of the number of white slaves throughout the country, as well as the number of European living in Tunisia.

France, Paris.

In the past two days, almost every newspaper's front page has been filled with news from North Africa.

His Majesty the King dispatched Expeditionary Force, which, with the support of the naval fleet, annihilated the Barbary Pirates entrenched in Tunisia in just a few months. The Expeditionary Force rescued more than 33,000 Europe citizens who had been kidnapped by the pirates and protected more than 100,000 Christ in Tunisia from the threat of pirates.

On the streets of Paris, people were excitedly discussing Tunisia: "A distant cousin of mine suddenly disappeared five years ago. We only found out he'd been kidnapped by pirates when he was recently rescued by the Expeditionary Force!"

"Those cursed pirates! Thankfully, His Majesty's army wiped them all out!"

"I heard they captured nearly a thousand pirates and seized a large number of Pirate Ship this time. That's fantastic!"

"Long live His King! He is truly the greatest King!"

"Hey, did you see what the newspapers said? The Pope has declared His Majesty the King the ' Suffering Savior,' thanking him for bringing the Gospel to countless Catholicism!"

This title was naturally obtained after Joseph sent someone to communicate with Pope Pius VI. The Pope also wanted to use this to enhance the prestige of the Holy See and to curry favor with France —a win-win situation.

However, among wealthy Nobility and factory owners, the focus was on the news that "a series of agreements have been signed after sincere exchanges between King Majesty the King's diplomats and Tunisia's new leader, Bey."

In a salon in the Louvre Palace District, a group of Nobility were discussing animatedly. "I heard it's now possible to buy land in Tunisia?"

"Yes, I saw it too. It was in the Paris Business Daily, and the land prices are very cheap."

"I have a relative who's in the North Africa trade. He told me that Tunisia's land is very fertile; you can grow three Wheat a year!"

"France has been suffering from drought and hailstorms for the past two years, so buying a piece of land in Tunisia might be a good option."

"Is all you think about is farming? Right now, Tunisia's Tariff on France are practically zero. You can easily make a fortune by shipping Wine or clothing over there!"

"That's right! Viscount Hoien is raising funds to buy two ships for business in North Africa. Anyone interested in investing?"

Versailles Palace, Mirabeau and several officials from the industrial system emerged wearily from their offices. They had just discussed how to expand their industry by taking advantage of the Tunisia agreement that allowed the France to build factories there, and were now on their way to a ball hosted by Her Majesty the Queen to celebrate the successful suppression of pirates.

The Hall of Mirrors was filled with Light Express music and was already packed with Nobility who had come to attend the ball. These celebrations were the most popular, as the King and Her Majesty the Queen were sure to be in high spirits and would often bestow generous amounts of Gold Coin upon the attendees.

Queen Mary, with an extravagantly styled hair bun, walked gracefully up the wooden steps at the front of the Hall of Mirrors, arm in arm with Louis XVI.

The Noblewoman were all talking about the Queen's trendy new hairstyle. It was a huge sailboat that almost covered her entire head, even taller than her face.

"Oh, Your Majesty always sets the trend! This hairstyle is absolutely gorgeous!"

"Oh God, that's a warship!"

"Mrs. Cisneros, do you recognize what kind of ship that is?"

As the wife of a naval officer, Mrs. Cisneros possessed some knowledge in this area and immediately said, "If I'm not mistaken, that should be the flagship of this Combined Fleet, the Forward."

"It is said that the hair ornament was made by His Majesty the King himself."

"Oh, how romantic! If any man built me a boat like that, I would marry him immediately!"

The Queen's maid clapped her hands to signal everyone to be quiet, then bowed and stepped back two paces.

Queen Mary smiled, raised her hands, and then looked at her husband with adoration, proclaiming, "Let us pay our highest respects to the great ' Suffering Savior '!"

The Nobility immediately shouted, "Long live the Suffering Savior!"

Long live His Majesty the King!

Feeling somewhat uncomfortable under the spotlight, Louis XVI rubbed his forehead, thinking to himself, "I haven't really done anything wrong, so why is the Pope being so polite?"