Chapter 189: The North African Lion King
Charles gazed curiously at the magnificent and beautiful city, like a child visiting the capital for the first time.
He had been to London before. In his memory, while it was large, it was dirtier, more chaotic, and smellier than his hometown, Philadelphia. Paris, however, exuded an elegant beauty, with wide, clean streets and not a trace of unpleasant odors.
Some people were still repairing buildings along the streets, but overall, apart from a few broken trees, there were no longer any obvious signs of the recent hailstorm's devastation as far as the eye could see.
He had disembarked in Marseille and witnessed horrifying devastation along the way, with towns and villages looking as if they had been shelled by pirates. He hadn't expected Paris to recover so quickly.
Suddenly, a clamor erupted from their side.
"Hang these shameless rich people!"
"It was his bank that stole our money!"
"They swindled France out of tens of millions of livres—hang him!"
"These fraudsters, they're all cold-blooded killers..."
Silas Deane, the American Ambassador to France, who sat opposite him, explained without even glancing outside:
"Those are a few bankers who colluded with France's former finance minister for illicit gains. They've been exposed, and one of them is being taken to the Town Hall Square to be hanged."
The clamor of the crowd made Charles's ears ring, so he quickly closed the carriage window.
"Mr. Deane, I heard there's a public trial for those pirates in a few days. Will it be like this then? I mean, I might have to attend as a witness."
"Perhaps even 'livelier' than this," Deane replied, recalling the public trial of Vezinier outside the High Court earlier that year. "You'll have to get used to the French people's fervor for these kinds of events. Oh, and another thing they love is mass protests."
Charles nodded, chuckling. "I've heard as much. In America, rioters would be dispersed by the National Guard with guns, but here, they chase after the army."
Deane chuckled too. "They even once drove the King out of Paris."
After chatting for a while, Deane pushed open the carriage window, looked out, and said:
"We're almost there. Pay close attention to what you say later; don't underestimate the French Crown Prince just because of his age. From what I understand, his influence in French politics is immense."
"Understood, Mr. Deane, I'll be careful."
Just as he spoke, the carriage came to a halt. Eman, standing nearby, courteously saluted them with a hand over his chest, then led them into the Industrial Planning Bureau.
Charles looked around, then quietly asked the ambassador, a hint of surprise in his voice:
"Aren't we going to Versailles?"
Deane leaned in and whispered to him:
"The French Crown Prince has something to discuss with you. This is his office in Paris."
Soon, they met Joseph. Deane quickly pulled Charles forward and bowed with impeccable etiquette.
"It is an honor to meet Your Royal Highness, the esteemed Crown Prince."
Joseph smiled and nodded. "It is also an honor for me to meet you, especially this hero who captured the pirates."
"Please, have a seat. Oh, Captain Charles's commendation ceremony will be held later at Versailles. The reason you've been brought here is that there are some important matters I need to ask you about."
Charles, who didn't understand French, found himself staring blankly for a moment. Deane had to step in as interpreter.
Upon hearing this, Charles promptly said to Joseph, "Please ask anything, Your Highness."
Seeing this, Joseph switched to English. "I heard that the Algiers smuggler who provided you with pirate intelligence knows Younis? That is, the son of the former Pasha of Tunisia."
Charles nodded. "Yes, Your Highness. According to Ali, his boss can arrange a meeting with Younis."
A flicker of joy crossed Joseph's eyes. "If necessary, could you arrange for my people to meet with this Younis?"
"I'm not entirely sure. However, knowing Ali's character, it might require some money."
"That can certainly be arranged." Joseph nodded, then asked, "How much do you know about this Younis?"
Charles thought for a moment. "I heard some things about him from Ali in my cell in Algiers."
"Younis is the son of Ali. Oh, not the smuggler, but the Pasha of Tunisia from over forty years ago."
"As for this Pasha named Ali... Your Highness, are you certain you want to hear all of this?"
"Yes, please tell me everything you know, the more detailed, the better."
Charles continued, "Over forty years ago, Hussein, the Bey of Tunisia, deposed his original heir, his nephew Ali, and appointed his own son as the new heir apparent."
"Ali, unwilling to lose power, used the excuse that Hussein's son was born to a Genoese slave woman and thus had no right to succession. He then launched a coup and seized the title of Bey."
Joseph asked, a hint of confusion in his voice, "Bey?"
"Oh, the rulers of Tunisia call themselves Beys. However, they also receive investiture from the Ottoman Sultan, making them Pashas. They choose between the titles of Bey and Pasha depending on the context of their authority."
"Thank you for the explanation. Please continue."
Charles nodded. "Afterward, Hussein led his remaining forces and fled to southern Tunisia. Ali, in turn, dispatched his son, Younis, to lead an expedition against him."
"After five years of fierce fighting, Younis finally emerged victorious and captured Hussein. Hussein's two sons, however, escaped to Algiers."
"At this point, Younis commanded a powerful army. With the support of local Tunisian nobles, he decided to rebel."
"Ali was fortunate. With the support of the Algerians, he defeated Younis and retained his position as Bey. After his defeat, Younis also fled to Algiers."
"The Algerians imprisoned Younis—oh, in the very prison I was in. But Younis escaped and started a smuggling business in Algiers."
Hearing this, Joseph felt even more confident in his earlier assessment. Younis had led troops and had supporters in Tunisia; this could absolutely be leveraged.
Charles continued to recall, "Later, as Ali grew old, Hussein's two sons seized the opportunity to borrow an army from the Algerians, returned to Tunisia, and drove out Ali. The elder brother, Muhammad, became the new Bey."
"Over twenty years ago, Muhammad passed away, and his younger brother Ali succeeded him—you see, another Ali. He is the current Bey of Tunisia."
Joseph thought to himself, 'This drama, with the nephew seizing the uncle's throne and the uncle's sons returning for revenge, is practically the North African version of The Lion King!'
Tunisia's current political situation was extremely chaotic. Although its land area was small, over eighty percent of it consisted of fertile fields. It also boasted numerous excellent harbors, making it far wealthier than Algiers, which was mostly desert.
This was the ideal breakthrough point for their North African strategy!
This American truly was France's lucky star!
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