The landing craft moored and steadied, Bertier and the others saw an exaggeratedly long gangplank extending from the ship, and shortly afterward, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince appeared before their eyes.
After a simple welcoming ceremony, Joseph walked straight along the more-than-30-ter gangplank to the carriage that had been unloaded from the ship.
Bertier, eyeing the strange carriage with a sealed bottom and pointed ends, pulled Kesode aside with a puzzled look and asked:
"What is this... for the Prince?"
The latter spread his hands helplessly and whispered:
"His Royal Highness promised the Queen that he would stay on the ship at all tis. So, that is a ship. A ship mounted on a carriage."
Bertier: "..."
Half an hour later, the procession arrived at the outskirts of Tunis City, where Joseph imdiately saw a vast array of tents—thousands of them—arranged on open ground beside the main road.
Judging by the flags around the camp and the attire of the patrolling soldiers, it seed to be the Tunisian Guard.
"What’s all this?"
Bertier, seated across from the "ship", quickly explained:
"Your Highness, these are Koja’s Imperial Guard, more than twelve thousand strong. After the end of their conflict with Eunice, they have returned to Tunis City. I was worried they might cause trouble, so I had them stationed outside the city."
It was well known that the French legion had breached the defenses of a hastily assembled 7000-strong Imperial Guard in just over an hour, so Koja did not dare to engage the French Army lightly and had obediently remained outside the city.
Bertier continued: "However, these Tunisian soldiers are accustod to living in comfort and have been clamoring to return to their hos in the city. Ah, they usually train only once every three days and spend the rest of their ti away from the military camp."
Joseph imdiately caught on to sothing and asked, "So, the most combat-effective units of the Tunisian Guard are mostly here, right?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
Joseph smiled slightly and said, "Then let them go into the city and return ho."
Bertier hastily said, "Your Highness, last week Mr. Prosper and his n, disguised within the French rchant convoy, successfully repelled an attack on the convoy and captured several bandits.
"It turned out that these n were from the Tunisian Guard in the north of Kaf.
"Many pieces of evidence suggest the previous attacks on the French people were indeed the work of the Tunisian Guard.
"If we let thousands of Imperial Guards into Tunis City, they may very well..." Continue your story on empire
"It doesn’t matter," said Joseph. "To prevent another assassination attempt on the Bey, they must deposit their weapons in the armory before entering the city.
"Additionally, we’ll increase the number of Berber police and strengthen patrols; there shouldn’t be a problem."
Only then did Bertier nod hesitantly:
"Yes, Your Highness."
The next morning, Joan, accompanied by two n, one tall and one short, ca to Joseph’s temporary residence south of Tunis City.
The taller middle-aged man had a typical Arab face, yet his attire was quite European in style. The shorter, plump man was clearly French but wore a turban and an open long robe.
The three were led in by Eman, and upon entering, they imdiately saw the wooden planks on the floor arranged in the shape of a ship.
Joan, no longer surprised by this, ca forward and bowed, pressing his hand to his chest:
"Sir, Mr. Agadon and Mr. Morel have arrived."
He then addressed the two n beside him:
"This is Mr. Joseph."
After the introductions, Joseph, following the local customs, invited the two n to sit on the rug, ordered the servants to bring drinks and pastries, exchanged a few pleasantries, and then got straight to the point:
"I hope to utilize your channels to help transport so special items to various locations in Tunisia."
Agadon was the French-Tunisian Chamber of Comrce’s top mber and French descendent clothing rchant who had previously assisted the Police Affairs Departnt in entering Ksar Hellal Palace. He had extensive connections and resources in Tunisia.
And the Mr. Morel beside him was his local partner, a native of Arab descent.
Agadon had only heard from Joan that this young man before him held a prestigious status and possessed extrely high authority over affairs in Tunisia.
Thus, he asked very politely:
"May I know what you would like to transport?"
"Weapons, ammunition," Joseph stated without any hesitation, "and so silver coins."
Agadon and Morel exchanged a glance, their expressions imdiately tensed:
"Sir, you must be aware, things have been very chaotic around Tunisia lately, and these items might get hijacked..."
"I will send n to protect you. The number won’t be large, but as long as it’s not a sizable Imperial Guard, it should be sufficient to handle it. Oh, and you can rest assured about the paynt, it will definitely satisfy you."
Seeing the hesitation in the other party, Joseph brought out a greater temptation:
"By the way, this matter is of interest to the Royal Family. If you handle it well, I can guarantee you a place in Parisian high society."
Agadon’s eyes imdiately lit up. To these French-descended businessn striving in this "Barbaric land," no matter how much money they made, Parisian nobility would only scornfully label them nouveaux riches.
And their greatest dream was to beco true French upper-class gentlen. Who would want to muddle through life in a godforsaken place like North Africa?
He nodded vigorously at once: "Please rest assured, no matter the quantity of weapons... Uh, I an goods, I guarantee they will be delivered on ti to the place you desire!"
"You can avoid the Imperial Guard’s inspections?"
"That’s the very basic, sir. I am perfectly clear on how to bribe those greedy fellows. Moreover, I can mobilize the power of the Chamber of Comrce; even if there’s an inspection, just a little money should sort it out."
"Excellent, Mr. Agadon! Allow to express my heartfelt thanks on behalf of His Majesty the King."
...
On the outskirts of Tunis City.
In a typical Arab-style two-story building, several well-dressed individuals were excitedly passing around two pamphlets.
The title on the cover of the pamphlets read — "An Analysis of the Origins of Tunisia."
A middle-aged man with a beard pointed vigorously at a page, saying excitedly:
"Ceilabi Xilada is absolutely right! We are Roman Descendants, with a glorious history and noble bloodlines!"
The term "Ceilabi" is a title of respect for a very well-known scholar. The Xilada he ntioned is indeed a scholar with a great influence in Tunisia.
Another imdiately added:
"These historical evidences demonstrate that we share common ancestry with countries like France and Spain, and we can completely integrate into the advanced civilization of Europe!"
"Look, Ceilabi ntions that many people in France consider us as their long-lost kin!"
The bearded man flipped through a few pages and said in a grave tone:
"It’s all because of those accursed Ottoman People, severing our ties with the Roman motherland and leading Tunisia to ruin and decline!"
Joseph had truly not anticipated that there would be so many in Tunisia who were "pro-French".
However, this was not surprising since there were many French people doing business in Tunisia, showcasing enviable fashion, wealth, confidence, and the strength of France itself in front of the locals. In an era where national and ethnic consciousness was extrely weak, it was easy for Tunisians to embrace pro-French sentints.
Initially, Joseph had simply planned to identify as many common ancestors as possible between France and Tunisia, with little expectation that many Tunisians would believe it.
Even if he could influence 10% of the population, it would make his plans go much more smoothly.
Yet, his historical proof of common origins gained huge popularity among many Tunisians, especially the intellectual class. No one cared about the reliability of the evidence in the text and imdiately accepted the conclusion.[Note 1]
Just like in the future, if an Arican scholar were to "prove" that Filipinos and Aricans share common ancestry, the latter would happily agree as well.
[Note 1]: At this ti, the main population of North Africa was Berbers, Arab descendants, and Ottoman descendants, with the latter two being standard Caucasians, not differing much in appearance from Europeans. Even among Berbers, who had slightly browner skin, their long history of interbreeding with Caucasians ant they looked like sun-tanned Caucasians.
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