Recaps

Moreau and Ney’s victory secured France’s foothold in North Africa as Joseph used diplomacy, deception, and military promises to draw Austria into an alliance and gain a special trade zone in Wallonia. After rescuing Camellia from a fabricated accusation, Joseph brought her to Paris, where he turned his attention to unrest in Tunisia.

• Moreau and Ney repelled the Moroccan attack at Tamirai, and Joseph rewarded them with promotions, a regiment, and land in Tripoli while preparing for war there.
• Talleyrand negotiated Britain’s recognition of French influence in Tunis, Tripoli, and Annaba, while Alexandra’s theater performance helped Queen Mary present her as Joseph’s future consort.
• Britain and Prussia moved to abandon the Southern Netherlands rebels, so Joseph traveled to Vienna and promised Kaunitz French support against Prussia.
• French agents spread a false report of an Austrian victory at Liegnitz, and the rumor helped Kaunitz persuade Emperor Joseph II to continue the war for Silesia.
• Joseph arranged French military and financial aid in exchange for Wallonia becoming a special trade zone, and Austria accepted the Vienna Special Agreement.
• After Madame Delvaux died, Joseph brought Camellia to Paris and forced Baron Walter to pay compensation and apologize for a fabricated fraud accusation against her family.
• Joseph considered introducing Paper Money to finance French investment, then brought Camellia to Queen Mary, who made her a maid.
• Brienne reported that Tunisian tribes were extorting merchants and farmers, and Joseph considered using troops to intimidate them without stationing soldiers nearby.

France expanded its financial and industrial power while Joseph prepared a risky campaign in Silesia, where the Royal Guard Legion’s bulletproof inserts helped rout Prussian forces. Joseph’s deception drew Austrian troops away from Liegnitz, leaving the Austrian front vulnerable to a surprise Prussian offensive.

• Joanne appointed Sheriffs among the tribes and arranged for tribal leaders to witness French firepower, while French forces defeated the tribal fighters and captured Annaba.
• Moreau and Ney lured Benjiul’s army into an ambush at Tataouine, then advanced on Tripoli as Lafayette advised Tipu Sultan to stockpile supplies and avoid unnecessary battles with the English.
• Joseph introduced France’s new currency and financial institutions, reopened the Stock Exchange, and staged the World Industrial Exposition, which drew visitors and orders for French factories.
• Wellesley captured Pa by exhausting its defenders’ ammunition, while Tipu Sultan received Ottoman supplies and prepared to face further English attacks.
• Talleyrand secured French mining rights in the Donbas and Catherine II’s agreement not to interfere in the Silesian war, as prospectors found valuable anthracite deposits near Jubene.
• Joseph traveled to Austria and struggled to coordinate with Marshal Lacy, while General Leo attacked Ratibor and became surrounded by Prussian forces.
• Joseph led the Royal Guard Legion against Prussian reinforcements near Breslau, where its bulletproof inserts and disciplined volleys broke the Prussian lines and sent their troops fleeing.
• Joseph turned west toward Ratibor and falsely told Lacy that Prussians had surrounded him, prompting Lacy to send Austrian troops away from Liegnitz just as the Duke of Brunswick launched a surprise offensive against the weakened front.

Joseph helped Austria break the Prussian advance, then withdrew French forces from Silesia amid political pressure and unrest between French and Austrian soldiers. Back in France, he pursued industrial and tax reforms, appointed Robespierre to oversee the new Tax Bureau, and devised a new sales strategy for Starry Garden.

• Joseph’s Royal Guard Legion helped Marshal Lacy defeat the Prussians at Liegnitz, while Joseph arranged a paid escape route for trapped Prussian troops and steered the Austrians toward Breslau.
• After Joseph II died, Leopold II suspended his reforms, and Joseph returned to France with the 1st Guards Corps while instructing Fouche to undermine Oscar Paoli’s organization.
• Joseph reviewed France’s industrial growth and found that local levies and the Tax Farmers Guild were undermining profits, so he planned a National Tax Bureau and reforms to tax collection.
• At the French Battlefield Hospital, a dispute between Ferinank and Angers over Annai injured Perna and sparked a brawl between French and Austrian soldiers.
• As fighting and political pressure mounted, Leopold II allowed the French Army to leave Silesia, and the final French unit departed on April 19, 1790.
• The French Intelligence Bureau’s schemes damaged Paoli’s prospects, as a fire destroyed his funds and rumors about Mrs. Pauli’s inheritance led his associates to investigate him.
• Joseph appointed Robespierre Inspector Commissioner of the new Tax Bureau and charged him with overseeing the end of the Tax Farmer System.
• After learning that buyers expected Starry Garden prices to fall, Joseph ordered its manager to raise prices, advertise scarce availability, and use a lottery to select buyers.

Joseph pushed tax and civil-service reforms while using investigations, education, and political maneuvering to weaken resistance. The arc ended with Mysore repelling the English siege as rival companies prepared to win London’s gas-lighting contract through bribery and stolen plans.

• Joseph planned affordable housing and expanded the Royal Insurance Company as wealthy buyers competed for Starry Garden estates.
• Joseph and Marat investigated officials opposing tax reform, while Fouche disrupted their mail and staged threats that drove investigators to uncover corruption.
• Joseph secured church support for a Royal Academy of Public Administration, and the government approved professional examinations and administrative reforms.
• Joseph used evidence of Pauli’s theft to split the Corsican Restoration Organization, then directed Fouche to build pro-government alliances against Paoli.
• Joseph inspected the new gas distillery, ordered workers’ masks and health examinations, and planned labor protections and further gas plants.
• Joseph tasked DuPont with competing for London’s gas-lighting project, while Wellesley and Cornwallis’s siege of Seringapatam faltered after Tipu Sultan destroyed English artillery.
• Tipu Sultan’s forces continued resisting as disease and dwindling gunpowder weakened the English, while Styler offered Mordaunt a bribe to secure London’s gas contract with stolen plans.