Chapter 275: An Open Scheme
Joseph remained remarkably calm as he read the report on the two British spies. 'If the British weren't stirring up trouble, he might actually feel a little out of sorts,' he mused.
Ishaq himself had led the team that captured the spies.
The intelligence had been incredibly precise, so much so that the two men hadn't even had time to swallow their poison before Tunisian agents knocked them unconscious.
Ishaq had also recovered several useful documents from their secret lodgings. These made their identities as spies undeniable, practically removing the need for interrogation.
"Beyond the fact that they're from the British Naval Intelligence Bureau, is there any other useful information?" Joseph set down the thin report and looked at Ishaq.
Ishaq replied with a hint of helplessness: "Your Highness, those two only received orders; they don't even know the identity of the officer who issued them. They were then packed onto a merchant ship and landed in the port of Tunisia, posing as Italian merchants."
Joseph shook his head, a resigned expression on his face. "Send them back to Paris. Have Talleyrand take them to Britain and see what concessions he can wring out of them. Oh, and it would be best if we could trade them for Jeanne. Her Majesty the Queen would likely be quite pleased."
He knew full well that, given the British government's thick skin, even with irrefutable evidence, they would flatly deny these men were their spies. If they truly couldn't avoid it, they would at most pay a ransom.
As the central figure in the Diamond Necklace Affair, Jeanne had been hiding in Britain. Queen Marie would fly into a rage whenever Jeanne was mentioned. Trading two spies for his mother's happiness, while also restoring some of France's prestige, was far more worthwhile than simply demanding money.
Ishaq departed with his orders. Less than ten minutes later, he returned. His expression grave, he bowed and reported: "Your Highness, intelligence just arrived from Tripoli. Four days ago, over ten thousand Ottoman troops landed in Tripoli and declared Bengioul as the Pasha."
Joseph's brows furrowed instantly. Morocco reinforcing Algiers earlier hadn't seemed particularly significant, but now, almost simultaneously, a force of over ten thousand Ottoman troops had appeared to the east of Tunisia. And with British presence observed on both sides, 'This situation is definitely not simple,' he mused.
He instinctively thought of writing to Paris to have the General Staff Headquarters send reinforcements to Tunisia as a precaution.
However, just as he picked up his paper and pen, he paused abruptly.
'The British aren't fools,' he thought. 'They wouldn't possibly believe that a mere twenty thousand North African troops, augmented by ten thousand Ottomans, could shake France's foundation in Tunisia. With the combat power of these armies, France would only need to dispatch another twenty thousand soldiers to make Tunisia impregnable.'
'So, what exactly are the British trying to accomplish?'
Joseph gazed at the map of the Mediterranean Sea hanging on the wall, his eyes narrowing slightly. While Toulon was only a little over 400 nautical miles from Tunisia, it still lay across the sea, separating the two shores of the Mediterranean.
Even if only twenty thousand French soldiers were sent to Tunisia, their logistical consumption would be no different from that of an overseas garrison. Given Tunisia's current situation, not to mention the numerous indigenous tribes defaulting on taxes, even with normal tax revenues, supporting twenty thousand troops would severely impact the economy.
As for a swift victory, completely crushing Algiers and Tripoli wasn't realistic either.
France currently neither could nor wished to wage a major war in North Africa.
France's finances had only just begun to improve, and various domestic reforms required substantial funding. Deploying troops in North Africa at this time would very likely worsen the financial situation again.
Furthermore, no matter which side—Algiers or Tripoli—they attacked, the other would launch raids on Tunisia, preventing the French army from covering both fronts. This would necessitate deploying even more troops, which would only increase the financial burden.
Even if France genuinely defeated both of these adversaries, regardless of the cost, it would be difficult to truly absorb them. If France only occupied the relatively small territory of Tunisia, other European nations wouldn't pay much heed. But adding the two large territories of Algiers and Tripoli would mean seizing most of North Africa, an area far exceeding metropolitan France, and allowing control over most of the Mediterranean trade.
This would be unacceptable to the other great powers of Europe. At that point, Britain could readily form alliances, demanding France relinquish its North African gains, or even directly dispatching its fleet to intervene.
The British Parliament might not risk antagonizing Russia and America by clashing with France over a small territory like Tunisia. But if it concerned most of North Africa, those British MPs would not hesitate to grant Pitt the authority to declare war.
Currently, France was far from being a match for the British in the Mediterranean. Historically, after France had quietly built up its warships for over a decade, and then allied with the Spanish and Dutch navies, they were utterly annihilated by the British fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. 'How much worse would it be now?'
Furthermore, deploying a large number of troops in North Africa without occupying Algiers and Tripoli would be even more unacceptable. The immense military expenditure would have no way of being recouped, and would inevitably cripple French finances, leading to heightened domestic tensions.
Therefore, the best-case scenario for France was to maintain a sizable army in Tunisia, effectively draining Tunisia's fiscal resources.
This would mean Tunisia would yield little benefit to France for a considerable period.
Joseph unconsciously tapped his fingers lightly on the desktop. "The British are playing an open scheme here..."
...
Western Europe, Lisbon Harbor.
Aboard the British third-rate warship HMS Colossus, which had completed its resupply and was preparing to weigh anchor, a knock sounded on the officer's cabin door. Lord Tarmos, the newly appointed British Special Envoy to the Maghreb states, spoke from outside: "Marquis, news just arrived from Constantinople."
"The door's open, please come in."
Lord Tarmos entered the cabin and handed a coded dispatch to Marquis Wellesley, the British Foreign Secretary. "Hamid I is gravely ill, and their Grand Vizier Yusuf appears to have no intention of threatening Tunisia.
"In fact, according to intelligence gathered by our contacts, the Ottomans merely intend to use the Tripoli garrison to threaten the Mamluk officers in Egypt."
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