Chapter 405: Counterattack
As for the other officers and soldiers who had performed meritoriously in battle, Joseph also generously bestowed upon them their due rewards.
After handing over all the documents to the official responsible for confidential communications, Joseph had Eman summon Denico, the general manager of the Paris Business Journal.
The great victory achieved at Tamra this time, besides stabilizing the situation in northwestern Tunisia and securing him two exceptionally capable officers, also held significant propaganda value.
It had only been a couple of months since Joseph's last call at Versailles for nobles to "fight like warriors on the battlefield for His Majesty the King and for France," and already Moreau had led a thousand young aristocrats to outstanding achievements, earning generous rewards. This feat absolutely needed to be widely publicized to attract more nobles to military service.
As for Ney, his status as a commoner from a cooper's family, receiving a fief and a corresponding title after acquiring land, would similarly greatly inspire the common people.
It was foreseeable that France's ability to mobilize troops in the future would far surpass that of other major European powers, and their morale would be elevated to an exceptionally high level.
Of course, given France's current financial situation, it could at most sustain an army of around 150,000 soldiers, many of whom were from older military structures.
However, as the war in India progressed favorably for Mysore, Tunisia should soon see a breakthrough.
Furthermore, the coal and iron industries in the Southern Netherlands and Luxembourg would gradually begin production.
Concurrently, the troops stationed in North Africa and the Southern Netherlands could return home, no longer requiring massive military expenditures.
With increased revenue and reduced spending, the financial difficulties were bound to improve significantly. Within a few years, France would evolve into a "militarily robust" state, capable of raising troops and waging war effectively!
Over an hour later, the slightly corpulent Denico, led by Eman, entered the office in the Tuileries Palace. Upon seeing Joseph, he immediately bowed and greeted him:
"Your Royal Highness, Crown Prince, it has been quite some time since I had the honor of being summoned by you. I am truly thrilled! May God bless you."
Joseph smiled in return, motioned for him to sit, then recounted the great victory at Tamra, concluding:
"I need you to personally oversee the widespread promotion of this event across the entire nation."
"Of course, Your Highness," Denico said, quickly inclining his head. Then, with practiced ease, he continued, "I suggest we first dispatch several reporters to North Africa to interview General Moreau, and..."
"Ney, Michel Ney."
"Yes, yes, and General Ney, as well as the soldiers under their command. The front pages of newspapers for the next week should all feature related news.
"We could also launch a 'My North African Hero' essay contest, inviting citizens to submit pieces extolling the brave warriors who distinguished themselves in battle. We could even award prizes to the best entries."
"Then, we'll find some well-known authors to turn the battle at Tamra into serialized novels. Oh, and Your Highness, do the two commanders have wives or sweethearts, by any chance? You know how people love a good romance."
Joseph looked at the newspaper manager with some surprise. The propaganda tactics he had once devised himself had been thoroughly mastered by Denico; there was nothing left to add.
'They don't seem to be married yet...'
As he spoke, he suddenly recalled the "troublesome woman" Moreau had married in history – Milly Orou.
This woman was extremely ambitious and power-hungry. After marrying Moreau, she leveraged his reputation to constantly 'exchange flirtatious glances' with foreign powers, even participating in a Royalist Party coup.
After the coup failed, she fled to the Russian Tsar – Russia having already joined the Coalition Forces at the time – and colluded with the infamous French turncoat Bernadotte, jointly deceiving Moreau into going to Russia and becoming an enemy of Emperor Napoleon.
Moreau, implicated by this woman, never fully gained Emperor Napoleon's trust, eventually having to exile himself to America and missing many opportunities to achieve glory on the battlefield.
Joseph recalled Moreau's life; he seemed to have married in his thirties. This meant Joseph had ample time to alter the fate that would bring him together with that troublesome woman. For instance, he could arrange a good match for him beforehand...
After arranging the propaganda for the war heroes and seeing Denico off, Joseph prepared to go to Versailles Palace for theater rehearsals – he still had to fulfill his promise to his mother, after all...
Just as he was about to leave, Berthier rushed in, bowed to him, and then produced the document rewarding Moreau, Ney, and the others:
"Your Highness, regarding your commendations for the North African Legion, the promotions, decorations, and so on are all in order. But as for this fief... it seems you've written the wrong place name?"
"Wrong?" Joseph picked up the document he had signed and glanced at it. 'No, it's correct.'
Berthier said, a little awkwardly, "Your Highness, Tripoli is not French territory..."
Joseph opened to the page where Scherel reported on the situation in Tunisia and pushed it towards him:
"Tripoli has repeatedly invaded the southeastern provinces of Tunisia, plundering six tribes and over twenty villages and towns."
"By the end of last month, Benghazi's two thousand troops occupied the town of Remada, south of Tataouine, resulting in over 300 casualties there! According to the Intelligence Bureau, he is still gathering more forces, preparing to launch a larger-scale attack."
"Furthermore, Tripolitan pirates have begun plundering our merchant ships, forcing our combined fleet to rush to the Gulf of Gabes to provide escort."
He looked at Berthier, his tone chilling:
"Provoked in such a manner, we will declare war on Tripoli. As for Moreau and their fiefs, they merely need to conquer them themselves."
After the strongest force in North Africa, the Moroccan Janissaries, failed in their sneak attack, the situation in Tunisia had largely become clear.
Scherel's main force would be responsible for the defense of northwestern Tunisia.
Although this legion was an older style army, with ample preparation, a force of 15,000 men, supplemented by 5,000 local Tunisian troops, would be sufficient to defend against the combined Moroccan and Algiers forces of fewer than 30,000. This was especially true given the latter's recent defeat and low morale.
Meanwhile, the 5,000 soldiers detached from Scherel's legion would accompany Moreau and Ney, this emerging force, southeast to confront Tripoli.
Now, they only needed the British to cease their support for Algiers and other nations, and France could immediately launch a counterattack against Tripoli.
After that, Joseph even planned to teach Algiers a lesson.
And this time, to alleviate the situation in India, the British could only stand by and watch his "little brothers" in North Africa get a beating.
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