The Great Development of Tunisia

Just as Camellia was so nervous and at a loss, Perna, who had been hiding at the end of the corridor and peeking, saw the girl, whose beauty made her heart flutter, run out of the Crown Prince's bedroom and then return to her own room. After waiting for a while, she finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

She didn't know why she did it, but ever since that girl named Camellia appeared, a sense of crisis had inexplicably welled up in her heart.

Especially since, as his Private Physician, she hadn't ridden in the same car as His Crown Prince for a long time—His Highness often worked in the car, which Mr. Eman said would affect him—and Camellia had been in His Highness's car the entire way out of Vienna.

Perna turned and pressed her back against the wall, silently shaking her head. No, she shouldn't have any other thoughts. But the next moment, the Crown Prince's handsome face filled her mind.

"Perhaps I should be braver, otherwise His Highness will be..."

She seemed startled by her own words, suddenly jolted, and hurriedly lowered her head, fleeing back to her room, repeatedly praying in her heart. "God, please guide me!"

From the next day onward, Joseph unexpectedly discovered that Doctor Perna seemed to be constantly finding excuses to hang around him.

After he coughed a few times, she said she needed to check if her Pneumonia had relapsed and stayed in her Carriage.

The carriage became somewhat crowded. In the end Eman reluctantly got off the carriage and rode alongside the Crown Prince's carriage.

Inside the train carriage, Joseph began working on a report on Tunisia immigration policy. The two girls greeted each other politely, then fell silent, heads bowed.

In this strange atmosphere, Perna was so embarrassed she could dig a Versailles Palace out of her toes, yet she gritted her teeth and remained seated, occasionally stealing glances at the captivating figure of the Crown Prince as he diligently handled state affairs.

And so, with the two girls helping him, Joseph finally made it to Paris without any "accidents."

Perna ultimately failed to be "brave." And Camellia still hadn't found the "secret."

Joseph, on the other hand, was well taken care of and, in high spirits, took Camellia to the Petit Trianon to report to his mother.

Queen Mary held Madame Delvaux's granddaughter, tears streaming down her face, and then announced that Camellia would become her third lady-in-waiting.

However, Countess de Berninac immediately and cautiously reminded her that, given Miss Delvaux's background, she was not suited to be Her Majesty the Queen's lady-in-waiting.

Ultimately, Queen Mary had no choice but to comply with court etiquette and make Camellia her maid so that she could keep her by her side [Note 1].

Joseph left his mother's house and had just reached the entrance to his Bedchamber when he saw Brienne waiting there.

The latter came up to him from afar and bowed, saying, "

Your Highness, congratulations on your series of important diplomatic achievements in Vienna. Our alliance with Austria has been further strengthened.

"It's all thanks to God's protection." Joseph skillfully made the sign of the cross, then gestured for the Chief Minister to come inside. "Is there something urgent? Oh, please sit down and tell me."

Brienne nodded hurriedly and said:

"Yes, Your Highness. It's from Tunisia. Your previously formulated ' Tunisia Trade and Construction Plan ' has begun implementation, but we've encountered some trouble due to the actions of certain tribes."

Joseph frowned slightly upon hearing this. After Moreau and Ney held Tamirai, the Sherer Legion completely drove the Morocco army back into Algiers, greatly improving the security environment in Tunisia.

Subsequently, under the government's propaganda, France launched a second wave of development in Tunisia, with tens of thousands of commercial and agricultural immigrants flocking to Tunisia, leading to signs of an economic boom.

Joseph then made preparations in advance, enacting laws to abolish local Tariff and tolls between different parts of Tunisia, reducing commercial taxes, and initiating infrastructure construction such as widening roads and laying Wooden Railway.

In Tunisia's political landscape, tribal power dominates villages and towns. There was a previous incident of tribes refusing to pay taxes, which Joseph resolved using a "Versailles Palace model." What trouble has arisen this time?

He looked at Brienne and said, "Please tell me the details."

"Yes, Your Highness," Brienne nodded. "The main problem is that the major tribes do not allow certain foreign goods to enter their villages and towns."

"At the same time, almost all tribes were also charging exorbitant 'security fees' on the roads they controlled."

"In addition, they often extort money from merchants and farmers who come to cultivate the land."

He looked distressed. "You know, Tunisia's army is insufficient and can only be stationed near the major cities. It has no power to govern these more distant tribes. Moreover, even if we send troops to intimidate them, they will say they will abide by the law to our faces, but as soon as the troops leave, they will immediately return to normal."

Joseph's expression also turned serious.

Let alone North Africa in the 18th century, even in the 21st century, many governments still find it difficult to effectively manage local forces.

Especially for tribes, which are forces bound by blood ties, it is even more difficult for external forces to intervene.

The Tunisia tribes were relatively accepting of taxes, a practice that dates back to the Phoenician era. However, they began to resist the current demands to prohibit arbitrary charges and allow the free flow of goods.

Joseph originally intended to use Tunisia as a pilot program to test local tax reforms before promoting them in France. However, he did not expect to encounter such great resistance.

Brienne cautiously suggested, "Your Highness, do you think we should first implement the law in the major cities, and then expand its scope once the Tunisia have become accustomed to it?"

Joseph immediately shook his head. He was still waiting for the Tunisia dividends to feed back into the France Finance; at this slow pace, it might take eight or ten years to scale up.

Moreover, this will make Tunisia tribes realize that the government can't do anything about them, and they will still encounter various obstacles when new laws are introduced in the future.

He couldn't help but fall into deep thought, realizing that the root cause of local forces' disobedience to government administration lay in transportation and communication.

Poor roads and limited contact between tribes and the outside world inevitably lead to the formation of independent "small worlds." Only through increased interaction with the outside world and the establishment of shared interests can they integrate into the overall nation.

This necessitates road construction as soon as possible, but infrastructure development across Tunisia is not something that can be accomplished overnight.

Another measure is to significantly increase the number of troops or Police, using the Machines of violence to monitor and deter tribes at all times, so that they dare not disobey the law.

However, this would require an enormous amount of funding. Maintaining an army of over 100,000 throughout Tunisia might solve the problem, but a large portion of tax revenue would be consumed by military spending.

Joseph paused, realizing that to intimidate tribes with an army, it wasn't always necessary to station troops near the tribes...

[Note 1]: The Queen's maid was a kind of court official position, usually held by Nobility of high status and close relationship with the Queen. They could take walks and play games with the Queen. Maids, on the other hand, were simply servants who usually stood at the door.