War reparations

Lefebvre watched as the Fleur-de-lis Flag rose atop the coastal fortress of Annaba Port in the distance, and with a delighted flick of his reins.

He never expected the campaign to go so smoothly, taking only two and a half days to conquer the entire Annaba. Keep in mind, at the Tunisia Legion's marching speed, it would take almost two days to traverse the entire Annaba territory.

In other words, he could return to Europe in a few days and would definitely be able to participate in the major battle in Silesia.

A company commander rode up on horseback, raised his hat in salute to Lefebvre, and said:

"Regiment Commander, we've discovered a large number of heavy artillery pieces in the Algerians ' fortress!"

"Oh?" Lefebvre waved his hand dismissively. "The Algerians ' cannons are of little value."

Given the casting technology available in North Africa, the 32-pounder Coastal Defense Cannon was less powerful than the 18-pounder Cannon in Europe.

The company commander immediately said:

"Sir, those cannons are United Kingdom -made. There are three 32-pounder Cannon, eight 24-pounder Cannon, and the lighter ones haven't been tallied yet."

Lefebvre's eyes lit up immediately—if they were United Kingdom, he would make a fortune with all those heavy artillery pieces!

They certainly made a profit— the Duke of Leeds spent tens of thousands of Pound Sterling building the Annaba coastal fortress, only to have it fall into the hands of the Royal Guard Legion without firing a single shot. Some of the cannons even still had their factory oil seals.

Just then, another cavalryman arrived to report that a large number of Flintlock Gun had been found in the port's Warehouse, including Prussia Potsdam 1740 and Netherlands AIs, as well as some British Brown Bess. The total number had not yet been counted, but it was estimated to be at least 7,000.

These guns were part of the second batch of the United Kingdom aid to the Algiers Guard Corps, but due to the Algerians' procrastination, they had not been delivered to the army even after several months, and thus all of them ended up in Lefebvre's hands.

Lefebvre suddenly felt that not going to Silesia might be acceptable—just the sheer amount of supplies captured should be enough to earn him a commendation from the General Staff Headquarters.

He looked at the staff officer beside him and said:

"Try to get some Fortress Cannon to Constantine (a city in Algiers, derived from Rome, not the Ottoman Constantinople), then we can go back."

Constantine is Algiers city south of Annaba. Holding it would mean controlling the main route from Algiers into Tunisia. With the assistance of 24-pounder cannons, the Tunisia Legion would then be able to complete the task of defending Annaba.

Tunisia City.

Kashir Palace.

Algiers Dey ' envoy Chandler, paced anxiously back and forth in the corridor.

He had already prepared to take a ship to Paris if he didn't meet with the France negotiators by tomorrow.

Fortunately, a bigwig from Paris arrived. He only hoped that General Kehler would hold out for a few more days, so he could use incentives to appease the Army of France.

Soon, footsteps came from the other end of the corridor, and Count Segur, the France negotiating Count Segur, walked over with several officers from the General Staff Headquarters.

Chandler quickly went to greet him, bowed respectfully with his hand on his chest, and greeted him in Arabic.

Segur seemed to pay no attention to what the translator was saying, and went straight into the Hall in front of him, sitting down at the head of the long table—currently, the France model is popular in Tunisia, and people of status are no longer willing to sit on the carpet to discuss matters.

Chandler had no choice but to awkwardly follow them inside. It took him a while to manage to squeeze in a brief interruption from the idle chatter of the France:

"Your Excellency, I am Agha of Algiers Divan, and also the plenipotentiary negotiator appointed by Dayi..."

Divan is the Parliament of Algiers. He holds a position similar to that of Speaker.

Segur glanced at him and said slowly:

"Oh, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Chandler immediately said, "Your Excellency, we should discuss the ceasefire issue in the Annaba region..."

Segur listened to the translator, he smiled and raised his hand to interrupt him:

"That won't be necessary. The battle in Annaba ended the day before yesterday."

He turned his head to look at the officer beside him:

"Lieutenant Colonel Adrien, our legion should already be on its way to Constantine, right?"

Of course, given the current international situation, France has no plans to attack Constantine, but that doesn't stop it from using this to intimidate the Algerians. With the remaining Algiers ' forces, the French Army could even advance all the way to their capital, Mitija.

Chandler contracted immediately. He knew that although he had not yet received any news, the France would not lie about the situation.

He exclaimed in a panic, "Actually, there should be no war between Algiers and France at all; it would be bad for everyone..."

Segur coldly stopped him:

"No, the war already began when the Algiers Guard Corps invaded Tunisia last time."

Chandler cursed the United Kingdom a thousand times in his heart—they had promised to fully support Algiers' attack on Tunisia, but as soon as the French Army appeared, they disappeared without a trace.

"That was just some kind of obligation we had previously placed on the Tunisia Guard Corps," he said helplessly. "We realize it was a mistake and are willing to do something to salvage peace between our two countries."

Segur readily agreed, stating, "Our country has invested over 200,000 Riyal to counter Algiers ' invasion. These losses must be borne by Algiers."

200,000 Riyal is approximately 4.4 Livre. It's not that Joseph was being merciful, but for Algiers, with a population of just over 2 million, this was already their limit.

Segur continued, "Furthermore, Annaba, as a key route for invading Tunisia, will henceforth be under our control. Constantine, bordering our territory, will become a buffer zone, where no troops may be stationed."

"This..." Chandler said urgently, "These demands are probably too many..."

"This is His Majesty the King's decision," Segur said, glancing at him sideways. "You can refuse, and then we will continue our talks in Mitija."

"No, no! These things are negotiable..." Chandar hurriedly waved his hands.

Tunisia.

Susa Province.

Sfik was staring blankly at the low hills behind the tribe, the rumbling of cannons still echoing in his mind.

Suddenly, a group of tribesmen, wielding knives and spears and cursing, rushed toward the main road beside the tribe.

Someone grabbed him and said, "Sfik, let's go teach that Sheriff a lesson!"

"That guy let ten truckloads of Olive Oil go. We didn't even get a single penny of security fee."

"And last time, he let the fur traders from the city into the tribe..."

"How much money have we lost recently? I'm going to kill that bastard!"

"Yes, kill him!"

"The Sheriff?" Sfik was startled, suddenly remembering the Sheriff's white uniform—very similar to the uniforms of the French Army he had seen in Annaba —and shouted in terror, "Are you crazy? You mustn't attack the Sheriff!"

Seeing that he couldn't stop his clansmen, he hurriedly ran to the Tribal Chief's residence and barged straight into the house:

"Uncle, stop them! Harming the Sheriff will bring the army!"

"An army?" the Tribal Chief scoffed. "What's there to be afraid of? The tribe's warriors will drive them away."

"No, no..." Sfik's eyes were filled with fear. "By the way, have you ever seen the Algiers Guard Corps?"

"Huh? No."

"They are Devil! Devil who can tear a person to pieces in an instant!"

Why are you saying this?

"And those armies..." Sfik swallowed hard, his face deathly pale, "Are God of War capable of tearing Devil apart! No one can stop them. If we don't stop them soon, the tribe will be finished!"

On the main road beside the tribe, more than twenty people who had been to the battlefield of Annaba were frantically driving away the unruly tribesmen, fearing that they might harm the Sheriff in the slightest.