The Crown Prince's Personal Expedition

Queen Mary flipped through the document submitted by Joanne regarding the situation in Tunisia, which she had actually read several times yesterday. She frowned and said:

"An attack, another attack! Who did this?"

Joanne stood at the end of the conference table and said cautiously:

"It's unclear at the moment, Your Majesty. ♦👍 💢♘ However, the attack appears to be linked to the Tunisia Guard Corps."

Queen Mary inquired about the specific situation in Tunisia, and then looked at the ministers present:

What are your thoughts on this matter?

The Duke of Orléans glanced at the empty seat of Minister of Foreign Affairs Vergennes —who had been sent to Northern Europe by Brienne to "concern" the war between Sweden and Russia —and felt a sudden emptiness in his heart. Less than a year ago, his power still occupied nearly half the seats in the Cabinet Meeting, but now he was left to fight alone.

He coughed lightly and nodded to the Queen:

"Your Majesty, in fact, this kind of situation often occurs in the Colony of various countries. For example, in Congo, South Africa, Peru, there are uprisings every now and then. The United States even drove the United Kingdom out of the Thirteen Colonies completely."

"Yes, United States. You see, the United Kingdom fought there for seven or eight years, lost more than 30,000 soldiers, spent hundreds of millions of Livre, and still suffered defeat in the end."

"Therefore, I believe we should do everything we can to avoid encountering a situation in Tunisia similar to that faced by the United Kingdom."

He had secretly met with the British Ambassador to France, Hartley, a week earlier. Hartley asked him to help influence France policy in order to withdraw from Tunisia.

His reward was a host of political benefits, including having Vergennes preside over the signing of a seemingly favorable agreement France United Kingdom, which would enhance his political prestige. Vergennes was now the Duke of Orléans' only ally in the Cabinet, and retaining him was of great importance, so the Duke of Orléans immediately agreed.

"I also think we shouldn't invest too much energy in Tunisia," Mono said, raising his chubby arm. "It's full of infidels, and our Finance don't allow us to waste money in North Africa."

Normally, immigration matters are handled by him, the Minister of the Interior, but this time, at Joseph's instruction, Brienne handed over the Tunisia immigration affairs to Mirabeau.

Mono was furious to see a lucrative deal involving tens of millions of Livre slip through his fingers, so he began to work hard to sabotage the deal.

Upon hearing the words "Finance situation," Brienne felt a sense of agreement. However, since the North Africa affairs were initiated by His Crown Prince, he refrained from expressing his opinion.

Joseph frowned upon hearing this. Tunisia was the linchpin of his North Africa strategy, and things had only just begun to look promising; how could he give up so easily?

Not to mention that he was waiting to use Tunisia's fertile land to alleviate next year's Famine, he couldn't just sit idly by and watch the more than one million dollars already invested in immigration go to waste.

He was about to say something when he saw the Minister of War stand up, raise his fist, and shout:

"If a small group of thugs frightens us into withdrawing from our newly acquired Colony, I bet France will become the laughingstock of all Europe tomorrow! In fact, sending just a decent legion will be enough to show those North Africa natives what we're capable of!"

The military naturally hopes to launch a large-scale military operation against Tunisia. This would make the Royal House dependent on the military, and it would also mean that a large amount of war funds would pass through his hands—a golden opportunity to make money.

The Minister of the Navy and Mirabeau immediately expressed their agreement.

One of them was eyeing military spending, while the other hoped to use Tunisia's market and resources to support industrial development.

For a time, the two sides, those in favor and those against, engaged in a heated debate.

Queen Mary blinked her large, bright blue eyes and looked back and forth between the ministers on both sides. She quickly noticed that there seemed to be more ministers who opposed the withdrawal from Tunisia.

So she raised her hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and said in a stern voice, "I have made my decision."

She gestured to the Minister of War: "Marquis of Saint-Priest, please submit a plan for increasing troop deployments to Tunisia as soon as possible."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As Joseph walked out of the Conference Hall, his brow remained furrowed.

Although the Cabinet has decided not to abandon Tunisia, it is clearly heading in the direction of getting bogged down in a counterinsurgency war.

This was completely different from his original plan—a large-scale counterinsurgency campaign would not only consume huge sums of money, but it might also take one or two years to completely subdue the Tunisia, and might even sow seeds of hatred towards France in the hearts of the Tunisia.

This will become an endless source of trouble in the future.

Joseph shook his head, unable to come up with an effective solution for the time being. He then returned to his Study and laid out the extensive North Africa materials that Joanne had brought back on the table. He began to study them carefully, page by page, from the political and military structure to the customs and religious culture.

After an unknown amount of time, Eman came in quietly for the tenth time and helped him trim the wicks of the candles one by one.

Joseph opened a document about the demographics of Tunisia and came across a description of its Guard Corps: "... as the highest social class in Tunisia, the Guard Corps has historically practiced endogamy and is a closed group..."

Suddenly, something occurred to him. He quickly found information about religious forces in Tunisia, and his eyes lit up – this was it!

Just to be on the safe side, he gestured to Eman beside him, "Could you please fetch Baron Joanne?"

"Ah? Your Highness, it's already 1 a. m..."

"It's so late? Oh, then let's do it tomorrow morning."

Two days later.

An emergency Cabinet Meeting was convened again.

The Marquis of Saint-Priest, beaming with pride, presented Queen Mary with a thick stack of proposals for increasing troop numbers in Tunisia.

Seeing the Queen blankly flipping through the military plans, he quickly coughed lightly and explained the main points to her:

"Your Majesty, our plan is for General Kellermann to lead 25,000 soldiers to Tunisia, joining the existing 3,000 soldiers there, to divide the forces and control this area, this area, and this area..."

He pointed to the map of Tunisia on the table as he spoke, "Then, a mobile force will be used to wipe out all the major towns one by one..."

After giving a general overview of the battle plan, the Marquis of Saint-Priest continued:

"According to estimates, the initial cost of the entire military operation will be approximately 10 Livre. Additional funding will be provided based on the progress of the battle."

"Furthermore, for the sake of unified command, it is necessary to incorporate Berthier Legion into General Kellermann's command."

"So much money?!" Queen Mary looked at him in shock.

The Duke of Orléans interjected at the opportune moment:

"If the war cannot be ended quickly, it wouldn't be surprising to lose tens of Livre. I still believe that abandoning Tunisia is the best option."

"What are you saying?" the Minister of War asked, clearly displeased. "We will win within months!"

"That's hard to say..."

Joseph suddenly stood up, interrupting the two of them, and said:

"I also disagree with abandoning Tunisia!"

The Marquis of Saint-Priest immediately cast an approving glance at him:

"Your Courage and wisdom are commendable, Your Crown Prince!"

Joseph merely glanced at him indifferently, thinking to himself, "Praise my foot! How dare you plot against my Royal Guard Legion? I'll settle the score with you later!"

He continued loudly, "However, I think we shouldn't rush to send more troops. We can try to persuade the rioting Tunisia first."

"Persuade?"

Apart from Joanne and Mirabeau, who already knew the truth, everyone else in the Hall cast strange glances at them.

"That's right." Joseph nodded seriously, "There are always reasonable people in Tunisia."

"And convincing them will only cost a few hundred Livre."

Joanne and Mirabeau immediately agreed, just as Joseph had instructed.

Brienne was taken aback by the ten million in military spending and immediately expressed his support for the "persuasion" approach.

The Duke of Orléans, contrary to his usual behavior, sided with the Crown Prince —what persuasion? Ridiculous! It was nothing but the delusion of a politically inexperienced child. However, as long as no troops were sent, he could explain himself to the British Ambassador.

Queen Mary was surprised that her son's idea received so much support, so she nodded and said:

"Perhaps you could try persuading them first. If that doesn't work, then you can implement the Marquis of St. Prit's plan."

Joseph smiled and bowed to her.

"I will definitely not let you down."

That afternoon, Joseph was in his Study telling Joanne about the North Africa deployment, "The Tunisia Guard Corps is the only breakthrough point."

"They have always practiced endogamy, refused to integrate into the local Tunisia community, and actively oppressed the locals. This has resulted in them having no 'friends' in the area."

He suddenly changed the subject. "Do you know what politics is?"

"Huh? Politics?"

Joseph stated the answer directly, "Politics is about having as many of your own people as possible and as few of your enemies as possible."

"The Tunisia Guard Corps made this mistake. They made themselves a minority."

"At the same time, they control the vast majority of Tunisia's wealth."

"And they no longer possess the overwhelming military advantage they had a hundred years ago."

"Therefore, now all it takes is someone to guide the Tunisia, and the Guard Corps will easily become the 'sacrifices'."

Joanne nodded thoughtfully. "Your Highness, what should we do then?"

"We need to address this from two perspectives: identity and the Church."

Joseph explained his plan in detail, but found Joanne seemed somewhat confused, so he shook his head inwardly. It seemed that this consul would have difficulty ensuring the plan was implemented perfectly.

Tunisia is extremely important and cannot be lost. Joseph breathed a sigh of relief; it was probably best to go there himself.

The Petit Trianon.

Queen Mary shook her head so hard she almost threw off her swan-like hair bun.

"Honey, how could you go to North Africa?! It's too dangerous! They say there are lions everywhere there. No, absolutely not!"

Joseph gestured towards the door. "Kexer and the others will ensure my safety."

"Not only are there lions, but also poisonous snakes and scorpions..."

Joseph, left with no other option, resorted to the "secret weapon" he had learned from Clementine: he stepped forward, took the Queen's arm, and swayed it slowly and evenly, whispering:

"Please! I'll be careful. Or, I can take more soldiers with me."

"There are cannibals there..."

Joseph hugged the Queen tightly, buried his head in his mother's chest, and continued to plead:

"Alright, I'll stay on the ship the whole time, is that alright? If you still don't agree, I won't come looking for you again!"

Queen Mary thought for a moment; there were no deadly storms in the Mediterranean Sea, so this seemed acceptable.

She finally relented. "Take all your attendants, eat on time, and write to me at least once every three days."

"Yes, yes, whatever you say." Joseph lightly kissed Queen Mary's cheek. "Thank you, dear Mother, I love you the most!"

"I love you the most too, my darling!" The Queen smiled and gently pinched her son's nose. "Then I'll go and discuss with the Marquis of Saint-Priest which legion should escort you."

"Oh, no need to trouble him. I've already spoken with Villar Duchess; her husband will personally lead 3,000 Moulins Legion with me."

Queen Mary quickly replied, "3,000 men are a bit few. I'll allocate you another 500 Swiss Guard."

The Swiss Guard was Louis XVI's Royal Guards, the most loyal Swiss Mercenaries regiment.

More than ten days later.

The northern Mediterranean Sea, along the Côte d'Azur.

The majestic Fourth-rate Battleship "Forward" billowed its sails, pushed through the seawater, and sailed straight south.

In its officer's cabin, Perna lay weakly on the bed, her limbs limp, her eyes half-closed, her nostrils flaring, and her forehead covered in sweat, as if she had just done some heavy physical labor.

Joseph placed the ice-cold towel on her head and sighed.

"You didn't know you were so prone to seasickness?"

"I... this is my first time on a boat." The girl's elfin, emerald eyes were filled with apology as she said weakly, "I'm so sorry, Your Highness. I intended to take care of you along the way, but instead, you've ended up taking care of me..."

"It's alright, you don't need to be so polite." Joseph waited until she was sound asleep before returning to the ship's officers' Meeting Room and speaking to the several historians who were engrossed in researching materials.

"Thank you all for your hard work. Is there any progress?"

The scholars hurriedly rose and bowed, and the one in the lead said:

"Your Highness, Tunisia is mainly inhabited by Arabs and Berbers who came from Egypt in the past. As for their connection with France..."

"It seems that only two hundred years ago Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire Charles I conquered this place..."

Joseph nodded. "Please continue."

This was the task he assigned to historians—to prove that Tunisia and France people shared a common ancestry. Of course, the best way to get as many people as possible to your side was for everyone to be related.

The scholar wiped away his sweat and lowered his voice considerably:

"And France was also separated from the Holy Roman Empire."

Of course, the Holy Roman Empire that split into Germany, France, and Italy is completely different from the Holy Roman Empire of today. The Holy Roman Empire of today can only be considered a forced imitation; it is neither sacred, nor Rome, nor an empire.

The scholar felt he had exhausted all his life's efforts in far-fetched interpretations.

"So, well, in a way, both the France and the Tunisia can be considered subjects of Rome."

"Excellent! That's it," Joseph praised. "Please find more historical evidence and give it to the Writers to turn into manuscripts."

The historian's eyelids twitched, and he said in a tearful voice:

"Your Highness, how could there possibly be any evidence...?"

"These things don't need to be taken too seriously," Joseph winked at him. "Sometimes, you can ask the Writers to help you come up with evidence."

"This... as you wish, Your Highness."

When the "Forward" reached the waters off Cape Bon, a copy of "Analysis of the Origins of Tunisia" was already on Joseph's desk.

(End of this chapter)