The passage to Egypt
As for the other major European Continent powers, they are unlikely to react strongly to France's deployment of troops to Tripoli.
Austria is suffering heavy losses in Silesia and is begging France for military reinforcements.
Spain is a close relative, and they have a secret agreement with France to jointly recapture Gibraltar and unify the Iberian Peninsula. At most, we can offer them some benefits, and they will definitely stay out of it.
Russia was particularly eager for France to send troops to Tripoli, where the 12,000 soldiers stationed were all Ottoman Guard Corps. If Russia wanted to control the Black Sea, it had to completely defeat the Ottoman. The more Ottoman Army France could eliminate in North Africa, the fewer enemies they would have on the battlefield in the future.
Moreover, the Gemini Trading Company's main route was the Mediterranean Sea. If France could control an additional trading port in the Mediterranean Sea, Russia could also gain more revenue as a result.
Poland is experiencing a national awakening, with the elites spending their days giving speeches and organizing mass demonstrations, creating a huge uproar and leaving them no time to concern themselves with other people's affairs.
The only major power that would oppose a France attack on Tripoli is Prussia. However, the Prussia navy... well, they basically don't have a navy, so even if they have objections, what can they do? Anyway, the Franco-Prussian conflict has already begun in the Southern Netherlands. At worst, they can try sending more troops; let's see if my uncle will rip your ass out in Silesia!
Other smaller countries, such as Sardinia, Denmark, and Bavaria, wouldn't dare to meddle in France's affairs.
So this time, Tripoli -Joseph is definitely in the bag!
In a way, we have to thank the United Kingdom. If they hadn't manipulated things behind the scenes, causing Benjiul to attack Tunisia, he really wouldn't have found such a solid reason to send troops.
In fact, at this time, Tripoli was basically seen by Europe countries as a desolate place with a population of less than 700,000. Although its land area was only slightly smaller than that of Tunisia [Note 1], its output and port location were very average. Only a few Yiju Furniture Store cities such as Tripoli City and Zawiya City, as well as the Tripoli Port, were of some value.
However, Joseph was well aware that Tripoli would be a vital passage to Egypt. Without Tripoli, the idea of building the Suez Canal in Egypt was an unrealistic fantasy—once the Suez Canal opened, it would halve the maritime trade routes between the Far East and Europe. In other words, whoever controlled the Suez Canal would control the economic lifeline of Europe.
In this situation, the United Kingdom would certainly fight tooth and nail to prevent France from getting the canal. Until they could shake United Kingdom's maritime dominance, the only way to gain a foothold in Egypt was through land-based supplies from Tripoli.
Joseph must take advantage of the current favorable international situation to quickly gain control of Tripoli. By the time other countries realize what's happening and try to intervene, it will be too late.
Berthier looked at the Crown Prince in surprise, and after a long while, he spoke:
"Your Highness, a large number of our troops are tied up in Southern Netherlands and Silesia. If we rashly attack Tripoli, the Ottoman might react violently."
In any case, Tripoli was nominally still a province of the Ottoman Empire, so his concerns were not unfounded.
Joseph said calmly, "Selim III's main focus is on promoting domestic reforms, and he will not waste his strength on distant Tripoli. As long as the Ottoman send a large number of troops from their homeland, the Russia will immediately take advantage of the situation and swallow up all their territories along the Black Sea coast."
"And even if the Ottoman were to attack, we have ample troops."
Berthier hesitated, then said tentatively, "Your Highness, if I may be so bold, our troop strength is probably..."
Joseph smiled. "If I'm not mistaken, the fighting in the Southern Netherlands and Algiers will end by the end of the year, and we can then deploy over 60,000 troops to Tripoli."
October 25, 1789.
Paris.
The rain was pouring down, with occasional Lightning making the sky appear gloomy.
Several unassuming black Carriage were parked in the Versailles Palace Square. The door of the first carriage was pushed open, and a male servant hunched his shoulders and got out, placing the steps in front of the door before hurriedly opening an umbrella.
The Marquess Wellesley, the United Kingdom Minister of Foreign Affairs, bent down from his car and looked toward the gates of the Versailles Palace. He saw no one to greet him, only a few guards standing at the entrance, coldly watching him.
Wellesley's face was darker than the clouds in the sky. Just this morning, he had received a secret letter from the Governor of India, Cornwallis.
The letter stated that the Marat Alliance demanded Pound Sterling 250,000 in military expenses from the United Kingdom, along with 20 cannons and 15,000 Flintlock Gun, in order to continue sending troops to reinforce Carnatic.
Hyderabad, on the other hand, made exorbitant demands, proposing that United Kingdom return the Kondavidu region and, after defeating Mysore, obtain the Nellore in Carnatic.
Cornwallis has already agreed to Maratha's demands on behalf of the East India Company. As for Hyderabad, he can only say that he will wait for the board of directors to make a decision in order to delay as much as possible.
Wellesley took a deep breath of the cold air. He couldn't understand why Hyderabad, which had allied with Mysore decades ago, would suddenly become hostile, but Maratha had long since pledged allegiance to the United Kingdom.
Little did he know that Salah, the France consul in Mysore, had secretly contacted Maratha several months earlier.
Salah remembered that His Crown Prince had said that India always felt cheated if they didn't gain an advantage. So he and Shah, the representative of Mysore, made grand promises to the Maratha, even offering to cede North Kanara to Maratha and provide Pound Sterling 200,000 in benefits in exchange for their support of Mysore.
The Maratha then used this as a benchmark to set their demands with the United Kingdom.
As for Hyderabad, they demanded an additional 30% more from the United Kingdom on top of the benefits Salah had offered.
Wellesley knew that the East India Company had no choice but to agree to their demands—without the assistance of the Indian Princely States, the United Kingdom army, having marched thousands of nautical miles to fight Mysore, would eventually be worn down.
He gritted his teeth, stepped through the puddles, and led several diplomatic officials toward the gates of the Versailles Palace.
Whether it was because the rain was too heavy or the Servant hadn't held the umbrella properly, by the time Wellesley finally saw Talleyrand's face, which infuriated him, half of his clothes were soaked through, and water droplets were dripping from his cuffs, making him look extremely disheveled.
[Note 1] At the end of the 18th century, Tripoli only had a relatively large population along a narrow strip of coastline, while the inland areas to the south were almost uninhabited. In addition, Benghazi and the areas further east are not currently part of Tripoli. Therefore, it is far smaller than Libya in the 21st century.