Chapter Summaries

Catherine II agreed to give Britain more time to evacuate its citizens from Tehran after Fox offered textile technology, while secretly planning to break the promise. At Zanjan, Valerian Zubov’s overconfident attack was trapped by Abbas Mirza’s prepared defenses, and the Russian assault fell into chaos.

• Fox warned Catherine II that Britain might intervene in Persia, then offered advanced textile technology in exchange for evacuation time and protected trade.
• After leaving the audience, Fox admitted that Britain would not honor its promise to provide Russia with textile technology.
• Three months later, Valerian Zubov ordered General Gazmanov to attack the bastion forts outside Zanjan despite a staff officer’s warning.
• After the Russian Army captured the forts, Gazmanov pursued the retreating Persians and crowded his troops into the position Abbas Mirza had prepared.
• Abbas Mirza’s artillery struck the packed Russian ranks, and Persian Heavy Cavalry routed Gazmanov’s Cossacks.
• Persian Infantry advanced with Brown Bess Flintlock Guns supplied by the British.

Russian forces suffered a defeat in Persia while Russia advanced toward Khiva, prompting Persia to seek British support. Elsewhere, Britain retook De Wetsdorp, and the trapped Kabylia Tribe received an offer of help from Tunis.

• Persian forces routed Gazmanov's Russian Legion, and Strakhovsky helped the survivors escape toward Miyaneh with fewer than seven thousand of the original twelve thousand men remaining.
• Nikolai Bakhov advanced toward Khiva City as Russian officials ordered occupied tribes to clear irrigation canals for cotton cultivation.
• Fath-Ali Shah and Karamanian asked British envoy Malcolm for military aid and funds, and Malcolm reported their request to the British Foreign Secretary.
• Colonel Howard's Marines occupied De Wetsdorp after the Boer Resistance Army withdrew, and Howard warned that Britain needed more troops to hold the Cape.
• Bouzid Mukra prepared to seek forgiveness from Kurulu, but Rum Ferhad offered to lead the Kabylia Tribe into Annaba with help from the Duke of Tunis.

Joseph weighed France’s response to unrest across the Caribbean, choosing to evacuate refugees from the Bahamas and support Saint-Domingue without sending troops. The chapter ended with news that British aid was helping Persia prepare defenses against Russia.

• Mukra reluctantly prepared to flee to Tunis, and Farhad promised that the Kabylia Tribe would return with support from Roman Compatriots.
• Lavalette briefed Joseph on massacres in the Bahamas and rising unrest across the Caribbean, which he said Britain and the United States were fueling.
• Joseph rejected sending an expeditionary force or troops, ordered food supplies for Saint-Domingue, and directed the Atlantic Fleet to evacuate Abaco Island refugees to New Orleans.
• Joseph ordered the Security Bureau to spread propaganda blaming Britain and the United States for the Caribbean’s upheaval.
• Talleyrand reported that Britain had supplied Persia with weapons and loans, and that Fath-Ali Shah was preparing a defensive line against Russia.

Joseph finalized plans for a North African campaign while the United Kingdom was occupied elsewhere, then took Alexandra to Paris Fashion Week and surprised her with a mysterious gift. The chapter ended as Alexandra spotted a huge stone base and wondered if it was the Triumphal Arch.

• Joseph summoned Berthier and finalized a plan to send troops to Annaba and Bizerte, while Lavalette suggested contacting the M'zab Tribe.
• Joseph promised Alexandra a gift and reassured her that she could enjoy Eden Amusement Park despite noble opinions.
• Alexandra opened Paris Fashion Week with Queen Mary's place, drawing admiration from some nobles and contempt from others.
• Joseph left Fashion Week with Alexandra, changed into plain clothes with her, and brought her to a construction site.
• Alexandra saw an enormous stone base and asked Joseph if it was the Triumphal Arch.

Joseph showed Alexandra a steam crane at the Triumphal Arch construction site and explained his plans to develop machinery for future projects. He then brought her to Sasha Zoo, a gift named after her, and led her inside.

• Alexandra watched a steam crane lift and place a massive stone block at the Triumphal Arch construction site.
• Joseph explained that he and engineers from the Engineering Technology Association had designed the crane and planned further improvements for future construction projects, including the Suez Canal.
• Joseph told Alexandra they had to go unwrap her present, and the carriage took them to the Southern Suburbs of Paris.
• Joseph revealed Sasha Zoo, named after Alexandra's nickname, and she hugged him gratefully.
• Kexer directed the Personal Guards to clear a path through the crowd as Joseph took Alexandra toward the zoo.

Joseph and Alexandra explored the newly opened Sasha Zoo while crowds of Parisians struggled to get in. Outside, the Nacelli family bought expensive resale tickets and enjoyed the zoo, where the children met animals and learned that adoption only allowed visitors to name and touch them.

• Joseph and Alexandra entered the zoo in plain clothes and sampled Spiral Potato Towers as they toured the grounds.
• Alexandra asked where the lions and leopards were, and Joseph said they roamed freely on the hills without cages or trainers.
• A ticket scalper sold Nacelli’s family four tickets for four francs and five sous, and the family entered the zoo.
• The Nacelli children marveled at a quagga and fed alpacas while Nacelli paid extra for grass and soda water.
• Madame Nacelli refused to pay five francs to adopt a kangaroo, and the children watched as a young noble named one Hussar and got kicked.

The Crown Prince and Lady Alexandra rode a sightseeing car through Sasha Zoo’s predator habitat, where a lion shattered a window and attacked the carriage. Alexandra stood between Joseph and the lion and ordered it to back off, leaving the confrontation unresolved.

• Madame Nacelli overcame her fear of the predator tour after Nacelli reminded her how much the family had spent on tickets.
• Joseph and Lady Alexandra boarded the sightseeing car with Kexer and Royal Guards disguised as tourists.
• Lady Alexandra recognized the brown bear Vasili as one of the animals from her dowry, while Kexer worried that the tourists might learn her identity.
• As the car passed through the predator habitat, a lion smashed a window and thrust its head into the carriage.
• Lady Alexandra stepped in front of Joseph and shouted at the lion to get out.

A lion frightened Alexandra and the passengers on the Tour Car, but it withdrew when it saw the guards’ guns, and Joseph praised Alexandra for protecting him. At the next Cabinet Meeting, Joseph dismissed concerns about falling French steam-engine sales and heard reports of growing trade with Italy, Britain, and California.

• A male lion pressed its head against the Tour Car window, then retreated after noticing the Royal Guards’ pistols.
• Alexandra reassured the passengers, and Joseph pulled her back to her seat and warned her not to risk herself again.
• The Tour Car left the Predator Zone safely, and a noblewoman who recognized Alexandra later told her sister about meeting the Crown Princess Consort.
• Mirabeau reported that British steam engines were undercutting French models and that French sales and profits had fallen, but Joseph said the market would soon turn around and rejected subsidies.
• Bayei reported that French trade was growing, including exports to Italy, Britain, and the California Region.

Joseph planned to secure France’s interests in California by making influential Mestizos agents for French goods and establishing a French patrol team to protect them from Spanish sellers. In North Africa, Kurulu faced worsening supply shortages from Mukrari’s attacks and ordered Younus brought to him.

• Bayei reported that illegal sales of gold-panning tools in California had cost France more than 70,000 francs, and Joseph rejected bribing the anti-smuggling squad as a solution.
• Joseph proposed appointing influential Mestizos as agents for gold-panning tools, Tough Guy Pants, and other goods so they would oppose unauthorized sellers.
• Joseph ordered Bayei to negotiate permission for a French patrol team of just over one hundred men to protect a warehouse and support the agents against Spanish interference.
• In Mejana, Kurulu kicked an officer after another attack by Mukrari’s units worsened his army’s supply shortage.
• Kurulu declared that Mukrari had to be eliminated and ordered Younus brought to him.

Zhemile’s Tunisian troops ambushed Younus’s force in Tunisia, prompting France to declare war on Algiers and leaving the Divan scrambling for British support. In London, Charlie Montes warned Taylor Graby to sell his Bolton-Watt shares, citing a large sale by the company’s chief technician.

• Younus led two thousand Algiers Guard Corps soldiers into Tunisia, where Zhemile’s four thousand Tunisian troops ambushed them and killed Younus.
• Mukrari watched the defeat from hiding, while Zhemile later received orders to march toward Mejana and Ney’s Corps advanced toward Msila Pass.
• Hadem informed the Divan that France had declared war on Algiers after Younus invaded Tunisian territory and that Younus’s corpse and captured soldiers had been delivered.
• The Algerian councilmen sought Talmos’s help, but he said Britain needed instructions from London, prompting them to blame Kurulu and discuss replacing him.
• Charlie Montes urged Taylor Graby to sell his Bolton-Watt shares, explaining that the company’s chief technician had sold shares worth thirty thousand Pounds Sterling.

Montes and Graby attended Bolton-Watt Company’s presentation of Engine 180, but a boiler explosion injured Sander and Rice and threatened the company’s stock price. Dr. Brusque later revealed that Sander and Rice had only been pretending to be unconscious, leaving the cause of the staged-looking accident unclear.

• Montes told Graby that Sander had bought an expensive mansion and borrowed heavily against company shares, raising suspicions about Sander’s finances.
• Graby took Montes to Bolton-Watt Company’s experimental center, where Bolton announced that Engine 180 was nearing production and Sander was expected to explain its progress.
• A boiler exploded during Engine 180’s full-pressure test, and Bolton learned that Sander and Rice had been badly injured.
• Montes learned that Sander had entered the workshop to inspect a faulty pressure relief valve, then saw the wreckage and concluded that Bolton-Watt’s stock price would collapse.
• Dr. Brusque secretly told the unconscious-looking Sander and Rice to get up after ensuring no outsiders could see them.

Sander and Rice's staged injuries and the workshop explosion helped Sander escape while concealing Britain's lack of progress on steam engines, and Montes and Graby sold their clients' Bolton-Watt shares before the news spread. Bolton-Watt's share price plunged before stabilizing, and Bolton pushed for a stronger engine as he went to visit Sander.

• Sander and Rice revealed that their injuries and the workshop explosion had been staged by Security Bureau agents to help Sander escape and mislead British researchers.
• Montes and Graby sold nearly 70,000 pounds' worth of Bolton-Watt shares before the explosion news reached the stock exchange.
• Newspaper reports and rating downgrades sent Bolton-Watt's share price plunging, until Bolton displayed the technical documents and appointed Watt Chief Technician.
• Dr. Brusque reported that Sander and Rice were expected to survive, though their real injuries were severe and visits were forbidden.
• Bolton worried that the accident would prevent delivery of the 180-horsepower model, then went to see Sander as Watt and Falkner followed.

Bolton and the Navy Committee visited the badly burned Sander, while Watson suspected his injuries were meant to delay the Engine 180 project and arranged an examination. Major Sean confirmed that Sander’s burns were genuine, leaving Watson and Hope unable to challenge the plan to send him to France.

• Bolton and the others visited Sander and Rice at Dr. Brusque's clinic, where Frank said Sander would need treatment in France.
• Watson suspected Sander’s injuries were connected to the Engine 180 research delay, and Hope agreed to have a trusted doctor examine him.
• Hart and the Security Bureau agents prepared for the Government’s suspicions at the Crown Prince’s request.
• Watson returned to the clinic with Major Sean, who removed Sander’s bandages to examine him.
• Sean saw extensive, genuine burns and concluded Sander might die within a month.

The Security Bureau deceived Watson and Harper into believing Sander was gravely injured, allowing the real Sander to remain hidden and eventually return to France. Meanwhile, Watt began rebuilding Engine 180, but a fire at the company’s Dutch pressure-gauge supplier threatened to halt the work.

• Brusk and the Security Bureau revealed that Cruz had been disguised as Sander while the real Sander hid beneath the bed, and Brusk treated Sander after Watson and Harper left.
• Watson asked Harper to report changes to Engine 180’s development, then went to inspect the Steam Engine Company.
• Watt studied Sander’s drawings, secured 8,000 Pound Sterling, and began assembling technicians to reproduce Engine 180.
• A purchasing manager told Bolton that the Hassman Machinery Factory had burned down and its owner, Carris van Manhas, was presumed dead.
• Bolton learned the company had less than a month of pressure gauges in stock, and Bell said no available domestic gauge could withstand pressure above 0.5 MPa.

The Bolton-Watt Company faced a pressure gauge shortage after its Dutch supplier supposedly burned down, sending its shares plunging and leaving Montes and Graby exposed to losses when buyers defaulted. Bolton promised Harper that supplies would resume soon, but a procurement officer returned from France with the worst news: Lyon Machinery Manufacturing Company refused to sell gauges even at a vastly increased price.

• Bolton ordered Bell to develop pressure gauges and sent a buyer to France while Watt promised to create the company’s own gauges within three months.
• The French Security Bureau leaked the shortage story, and Montes and Graby saw Bolton-Watt shares crash as their clients’ buyers forfeited their margins.
• Montes learned that Lord Sisk, Mrs. Hubert, and Sir Ricefoot had defaulted on contracts, leaving him and his clients facing losses exceeding 23,000 Pound Sterling.
• Half a month later, Bolton assured Harper that pressure gauges would arrive soon and steam engine deliveries would resume, especially for the navy’s orders.
• A procurement officer told Bolton that Lyon Machinery Manufacturing Company had refused to sell pressure gauges even for 20 Pound Sterling each.

Bolton-Watt Company faced production delays after losing access to a critical component, putting its presale contracts and finances at risk. As the Investment Fund moved to withdraw, Pitt the Younger proposed that the government take over the company, leaving the decision unresolved.

• Bolton learned from his assistant that he had to answer to the Fund Management Committee, where he admitted the company could not obtain the component and would be unable to deliver Steam Engines for at least two months.
• Sir Malik calculated that contract breaches could cost Bolton-Watt Company 140,000 Pounds in penalties and, after Bolton left, ordered Brian to report a plan to withdraw the Investment Fund's investment to Parliament.
• Admiral Jervis and Middleton urged Lord Grenville to save Bolton-Watt Company, but Grenville said Parliament would likely approve the withdrawal and refused to interfere with its operations.
• Pitt the Younger proposed that the government take over Bolton-Watt Company, and Henry Petty objected that the treasury could not afford the 500,000-pound investment.

Pitt the Younger persuaded Grenville’s Cabinet to fund Britain’s expenses by issuing additional Paper Money rather than raising taxes or borrowing more, while the chapter warned that the policy could fuel runaway inflation. In Algiers, Ney learned that Zhemile had captured Mitija and left 2,500 soldiers to besiege Kurulu.

• Petty warned Grenville and Pitt the Younger that borrowing another 500,000 pounds would drive interest rates higher, and Grenville considered raising Personal Income Tax.
• Pitt the Younger proposed issuing 500,000 pounds of Paper Money, and Grenville approved Petty’s plan to prepare an additional issue.
• Petty suggested increasing the issue to 1 million Pounds to save the treasury interest, and Grenville said the Cabinet could consider it.
• The chapter explained that Britain’s money-printing policy could become addictive and cause severe inflation, especially with a foreign investor encouraging it.
• A messenger told Ney that Zhemile had captured Mitija with 1,500 soldiers and left Lieutenant Colonel Damat with 2,500 men to besiege Kurulu.

Ney redirected his forces after Zhemile’s unexpected advance into Mitija, while Joseph addressed the disruption and considered how to take control of Algiers. Joseph learned that the M'zab Tribe had rejected French cooperation and was mustering troops to support the Algiers Parliament.

• Ney ordered Major Aliji to eliminate the remaining Kurulu forces near Mount Tousso and Lieutenant Colonel Suham to defend Teniesa Pass, while the other corps marched toward the Sherif River.
• Alexandra defeated Charles in a fencing bout, and Joseph left them practicing after Eman summoned him to meet Berthier and Lavalette.
• Berthier reported Zhemile’s unauthorized advance into Mitija, and Joseph ordered Zhemile suspended pending reflection and proposed assigning the Tunis Legion an Honor Representative.
• Joseph rejected the plan to hunt down or recruit Algiers parliamentarians and told Berthier that France should exploit the region’s three factions by letting them fall into chaos.
• Lavalette told Joseph that the M'zab Tribe had refused French cooperation and was mustering troops to support the Algiers Parliament.

Joseph arranged to exploit M'zab's loyalty to Algiers while the French installed Count Ust as Governor and gave him a free hand to seize wealth. Zhemile met with Hadem Rahman and declared that Algiers must belong only to their "Romans."

• Joseph rejected sending troops to M'zab and ordered Ney to leave gaps in the defenses at the passes east of Medea.
• After receiving a message from the Crown Prince, Zhemile agreed to attend the ceremony welcoming Governor Ust.
• Ust entered Mitija, took over the former Divan Palace, and told the nobles that taxes would remain unchanged except that payments should go to him instead of Kurulu.
• Ust demanded that Mustafa Shefik seize the wealth of the Algiers Guard Corps and the major tribes, and Shefik pledged the Naval Faction's loyalty.
• Zhemile met Hadem Rahman at a cafe and insisted that Algiers should belong only to their "Romans."

Zhemile recruited Rahman to unite Algiers’ Berber and Arab population under the identity of Roman descendants and overthrow the Guard Corps. Joseph’s plan succeeded in dismantling the Guard Corps and driving its surviving members toward M'zab, leaving Algiers ready for French-backed rule.

• Zhemile persuaded Rahman that Algiers’ Berbers were Roman descendants and gained his support for a revolution against the Guard Corps and navy.
• The Algiers Navy exposed the Guard Corps’ crimes, while Rahman joined its public campaign as Berber and Arab crowds began attacking Guard Corps properties.
• Courts across Algiers convicted the Guard Corps, and crowds and rival factions arrested its members and seized their wealth.
• Within months, the Guard Corps’ power collapsed, and its surviving members fled toward M'zab after French troops sealed the routes to Morocco.
• Joseph’s strategy used the Roman identity to unite Algiers’ majority population and direct the Guard Corps fugitives toward the escape route he had left open.