North Africa provisionally settled (double-length chapter)

Southeastern Tunisia.

The Tataouine Province by the sea on one side and the desert on the other.

Ney stood on a high ground, looking at the town of Remada through his Telescope, and said in a deep voice:

"The scout's report is correct; the terrain is indeed very suitable for the corps to deploy."

"If we launch the attack tomorrow morning, we should be able to recapture the town around noon."

"You're always so Courage and energetic," Moreau said with a smile, "But my advice is, it's best not to attack there yet."

Ney looked at him questioningly. "Why not? There are only 2,500 Ottomans in the town, while we have 4,000 soldiers. The battle will be over soon."

Moreau nodded. "Yes, yes, an easy victory, recapturing an insignificant town. Perhaps we should also send someone to Tripoli to politely inform the Ottomans, 'Hey, your France friends have arrived.'"

Ney paused upon hearing this. Indeed, as he said, launching an attack on Remada's enemy forces would inevitably alert Tripoli, where nearly 10,000 Ottoman Army were stationed.

My mission this time is to completely wipe out Benjiul. If I launch a full-scale attack on Tripoli City, which is already well-prepared for defense, it will likely be a very tough battle.

Moreau patted him on the shoulder, then pulled on the reins, turning his horse around.

"We've seen the battlefield, let's head back."

Ney glanced at the detestable Nobility, spurred his horse to follow, and then had to ask:

So what are your plans?

Moreau didn't hide anything from his straightforward partner:

"You see, although we have 4,000 men, half of them are new recruits who have never been to a battlefield. Some of your soldiers even lack the necessary training."

Their unexpected victory in Tamirai earned them Fief, prompting a surge of Nobility to flock to Tunisia in pursuit of glory. As for the commoners, the General Staff Headquarters established a "Rapid Training Camp" offering five months of basic training to inexperienced but interested soldiers before deploying them to less combat-intensive areas. For those with prior experience in night Patrol or village Public Security Squad, the training period could be reduced to two months. [Note 1]

These "fresh blood" arrived in Tunisia on naval transport ships. Joseph then placed them directly under the command of Moreau and Ney, putting them in charge of the battle for Tripoli. However, Berthier was still not entirely at ease, so he sent an experienced staff officer to assist the two young commanders.

Moreau continued, "It's hard to predict what will happen if such a force launches a direct attack on Tripoli."

Ney muttered to himself, "Once our cannons arrive, everything will be fine."

Yes, Moreau has gained over a dozen young Nobility who can operate cannons—they ran away directly from military academy. Currently, this young legion not only has Artillery but also 1,200 cavalrymen, an absurdly high ratio. Most of them are Nobility classmates that Moreau brought from the academy, which is a real hardship for the Tunisia local government responsible for their logistics.

Moreau nodded. "Cannons can solve some problems, but things will be much simpler if we can get Benjiul's main force out of Tripoli City."

A look of surprise flashed in Ney's eyes. "You must have come up with a solution!"

Although he disliked this cunning Nobility, he still admired the man's intelligence.

"I'm not entirely sure either, but we can give it a try."

As Moreau gazed eastward, he said, "Ah, my lovely Fief, I wonder how much it produces each year."

Ney glanced at him disdainfully and muttered under her breath, "Are all Nobility like this, with such greedy faces?"

The next day at noon, Moreau "requisitioned" a large amount of supplies from the nearest town Medenine, but these items were unrelated to combat and included expensive clothing, jewelry, handicrafts, spices, and so on. Under his coercive orders, Medenine was almost completely emptied.

If he hadn't sent soldiers to block the City Hall, Medenine's officials would have already gone to the Governor to complain.

The veteran staff officer sent by the General Staff Headquarters was terrified and kept urging Moreau to return the items immediately, otherwise he would face Military Tribunal. Ney was already used to his partner's violations, but this time he repeatedly declared to local officials that the matter had nothing to do with him and was all the work of an officer Moreau.

Back at the "God's Guidance" Cavalry Regiment Camp, Moreau again rallied the Nobility soldiers to donate all their possessions, promising to return them immediately after the battle of Tripoli, plus 40% interest.

After preparations were completed, a luxurious caravan of seventeen or eighteen Carriage departed from Medenine and headed towards the Ghadames tribe in the oasis to the south.

The caravan casually arrived near Remada, the southernmost town in Tunisia, and seeing that it was getting late, decided to camp and rest there.

Unsurprisingly, the Ottoman cavalry that occupied Remada soon spotted this "fat sheep" during their patrol and immediately returned to the town to report.

A few hours later, nearly a thousand Ottoman soldiers swarmed in, quickly overwhelmed the caravan's guards, and seized the Carriage.

Upon hearing the soldiers' report on the loot, the leading officer was overjoyed—a rough estimate put the value of the goods close to 100,000 Riyal!

Soon, he learned from the captured merchants that this was only the first shipment of goods from an Italy caravan, and that nearly seven times more goods would arrive at the Tataouine Port in half a month.

However, due to the high value of the goods, the number of guards was also greater. According to the merchant, the Italy caravan had hired regular France troops for escort, possibly more than a regiment, that is, nearly 2,000 men.

The officer immediately transported the loot back to town and sent word back to Tripoli City.

Inside the white royal palace in Tripoli, Benjiul's eyes lit up when he heard that a shipment worth 700,000 Riyal would be landing in Tataouine.

700,000 Riyal, that's over 15 million Livre! For any warlord, that's an enormous sum that would be impossible not to be tempted by.

Especially after the United Kingdom only paid a small portion of the promised Pound Sterling 100,000 "benefits" and then suddenly stopped paying, it was a real blow to him.

The army under his command was sent from Istanbul. If they couldn't be offered enough benefits, they wouldn't mind replacing the Tripoli Pasha with one of their own—this was a tradition in the Ottoman Janissaries, who had even replaced Ottoman sultans on several occasions.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Benjiul made a decision to personally lead 6,000 soldiers, along with 2,000 men from Remada Town, to raid the Tataouine Port.

He had recently received information that the main French Army was currently fighting the Algerians in Annaba, more than 400 miles away, which meant that Tataouine only had less than 2,000 troops on his side.

The Tataouine Port is only about 70 miles from Tripoli City, which can be reached in a week if you walk quickly.

I should be confident of victory if I lead an army of 8,000 to launch a surprise attack.

After seizing the 700,000 Riyal of goods, he used a portion of it to bribe high-ranking officials in Istanbul, while he took the rest and retreated to Tripoli City. In case things went wrong later, he would leave the defense of the city to his subordinates and escape back to Istanbul to enjoy his newfound wealth.

Four days later.

Benjiul looked back at the wasteland behind him, unable to contain his excitement. They were already in Tunisia, and his scouts reported that they hadn't found any troops all the way to Medenine.

According to reports from the Tripoli Navy, a large caravan did indeed depart from Genoa and head south not long ago.

As for the fleet, Moreau didn't even bother to fake it— the Mediterranean Sea trade was booming, with countless merchant ships traveling between Italy and North Africa every day, Benjiul would naturally "claim" one of the fleets as his target.

When Benjiul's troops reached a hilly area near Medenine, they suddenly heard chaotic shouts coming from ahead.

He frowned and looked at the officer beside him. "What happened?"

The marching column was too long; he was in the middle to rear of the army, nearly two kilometers away from the vanguard.

Before the officer could send cavalry to investigate, Benjiul faintly heard a burst of gunfire.

He had some battlefield experience and immediately judged that it was at least a thousand enemy soldiers firing in unison.

Where did this enemy come from? He hurriedly ordered his troops to deploy in defensive formation on the spot and personally organized the cavalry to line up and prepare for battle.

However, before his cavalry could gather together, the ground began to tremble slightly, followed by the sound of hooves like a sudden downpour hitting the roof.

All the Ottoman soldiers froze on the spot, looking in the direction from which the sound came. Before long, a large number of cavalrymen in white Military Uniform emerged from the distant hills, brandishing their Saber and charging toward them.

At the front of the Ottoman Army, Ney commanded Infantry Line of more than two thousand soldiers, which was steadily advancing towards the enemy step by step.

Thanks to the ample preparation time this time, he was finally able to get these brand-new soldiers into neat ranks.

In the age of Flintlock Gun, marching ranks simply could not defeat well-organized Infantry Line; even if Frederick the Great were reborn, he couldn't have done it.

After only three very disjointed volleys, the Ottomans began to scatter and flee.

Meanwhile, Moreau's thousands of cavalry had broken through Benjiul's rear guard and were turning their horses around to regroup.

Benjiul looked at the soldiers around him who had fallen into chaos, closed his eyes in despair, and then drew his Pistol from his waist...

Tripoli City.

Moreau put down his Telescope, pointed to a large expanse of Farmland on the southeast side of the ancient city, Ney with a delighted expression:

"Look, that's my Fief."

He tilted slightly south. "Ah, that must be your Fief. Looks like we'll be neighbors for a long time to come."

Ney frowned and interrupted him, "Cannons! Can't you even care when those damn cannons will arrive?"

Although Benjiul was dead, the Ottoman Army in Tripoli City was not his own, and a new commander was quickly appointed to continue the defense of the ancient city.

Without the help of cannons, it would be quite difficult to break through.

"Celestine!" Moreau shouted, turning around. "Go see where that damn cannon is!"

While he turned his head, Ney quickly glanced the South through his Telescope and was immediately filled with excitement: God! That's a wonderful piece of land, it looks much more fertile than the land back home!

More than an hour later, the long-awaited cannons finally appeared outside Tripoli City.

As the cannons roared, the soldiers of the legion rubbed their hands together, their eyes gleaming with greed—if they could capture Tripoli, they might also gain control of a piece of nearby land.

As soon as a small gap appeared in the Ottoman defenders' formation, several companies of soldiers charged forward with fervor, accompanied by the booming sound of cannons...

Indian Peninsula.

Salem, a city east of Mysore.

On a luxurious palanquin carried by more than 20 people, Tipu Sultan sighed again, gazing at the faintly visible river in the distance, and said with a melancholy tone:

"I wish you could stay here forever. You helped Mysore achieve a tremendous victory."

Lafayette also sighed:

"I don't want to leave beautiful Mysore either, but as you know, the United Kingdom are instigating their minions to invade our Tunisia, and I have to go back and fight them."

Of course, this was just an excuse. In reality, the fighting in Annaba and Tripoli had already ended, and he should have gone straight to the Versailles Palace for his promotion ceremony after returning.

His appointment as "Interim Assistant to the Minister of War" has been signed by His Majesty the King. His performance in India was adequate, inflicting significant losses on the United Kingdom, but he failed to "defeat the United Kingdom," hence the "interim" designation.

But he was already a high-ranking official, and he could imagine the fawning looks on the faces of those Nobility who had once looked down on him.

"Damn the United Kingdom!" Tipu Sultan slammed his fist on the armrest in anger, then shook his head and said, "From now on, I'll have to deal with these demons alone."

Lafayette, remembering the Crown Prince's instructions, quickly whispered:

"Don't worry, you'll definitely have other friends to help you."

Tipu Sultan's eyes lit up immediately:

"What do you mean?"

Lafayette leaned closer:

"All weapons, raw materials for casting cannons, medicines, Gunpowder, and Military Uniform, etc., will be transported from the Ottoman direction. However, the prices will be slightly higher than before."

The Ottoman were Mysore's traditional trading partner, with numerous fleets traveling between the two countries. These coastal merchant ships sailed close to the coastline, agile and stealthy, making it difficult to stop them even if the English Fleet filled the Indian Ocean.

"Excellent!" Tipu Sultan exclaimed joyfully, "Price is not important."

Mysore has a population of 18 million and has a long history of doing business with Europe, so its treasury is very full.

Lafayette continued, "There are two more things you must remember."

"Please speak," Tipu Sultan, immediately sitting up straight.

"First, you must stockpile large quantities of food in major cities such as Mysore, Seringapatam, and Salem, and preferably also Ammunition."

[Note 1] Nobility of this era generally had to learn skills such as horseback riding, swordsmanship, and hunting from a young age. After adulthood, they would at most be trained in formations and commands, which would give them basic combat capabilities. Of course, there were always lazy or unconventional individuals who were unwilling to learn these skills, but they would be looked down upon by other Nobility.