The Fox of France

Chapter 409: Surprise Attack

After this conversation, Victor felt quite optimistic about his prospects in gaining control over these Christians in the struggle against the Papal States. After all, compared to Bishop Torres, he had far more resources at his disposal. It was similar to how France faced the Papal States.

Currently, the most crucial matter at hand was the distribution of land. While Bishop Torres wished to quickly allocate the land, Victor was not in a hurry. Land distribution held significant power, and utilizing it wisely could quickly establish his influence among these Christians. So, he cited the need to understand these Christians more thoroughly before organized land allocation as a reason to delay the process.

"Bishop, I understand that the believers are eager to get the land. But they have waited for this day for generations. What harm would a few more days do? Land allocation is a matter of great significance, shaping their lives, even affecting their sons, grandsons, and many more generations to come. If we do not consider this carefully, the damage will be inflicted on many generations. Therefore, the more critical the situation, the more we must not be impatient," Victor explained to Bishop Torres, who came to discuss the land distribution.

As he spoke, Victor unfolded a map. It was a map drawn using a new projection method, offering higher accuracy and usability compared to previous maps.

"Bishop, take a look. This is the land allocated to us, mainly in these areas," Victor pointed to several places on the map for Bishop Torres to see.

"Why are they not connected?" Bishop Torres asked with a furrowed brow, noticing that the Christians' lands were scattered.

"Because the unbelievers insist on using a lottery to determine land ownership," Victor explained, "Naturally, the lots ended up this way due to the luck of the draw."

On this point, Victor lied. In fact, it was the French, not the Turks, who insisted on using a lottery to decide land ownership, causing the Christian lands to be scattered.

In Victor's view, the current situation would surely lead to Christian communities forming and living in close proximity with other religions. Living in close proximity meant more interactions and potential conflicts with unbelievers. The village structure of these Christian settlements also meant they would have some self-defense capability in times of trouble. Of course, without French support, they wouldn't last long. This situation best served the interests of France.

On the contrary, if all Christians lived together, they could dig a trench around their land voluntarily, creating a faith-based isolation. This way, they would have fewer conflicts with unbelievers, fewer areas for France to exploit, and less dependence on France. It would be harder for the French to manipulate them.

"Bishop, as you can see," Victor continued, "this distribution will increase the chances of contact between unbelievers and our believers. It benefits spreading our faith. Of course, this also increases the chance of friction with unbelievers. But should we refrain from spreading the truth to those unbelievers? Some of them have good character; they just haven't had the chance to hear the gospel."

"Of course," Bishop Torres agreed. Although, according to the agreement between France and Turkey, Papal personnel could only provide services to existing Christians and not freely spread the faith. But why would Papal representatives come here if not for spreading the faith? So, spreading the faith was inevitable.

"But once conflicts arise. Look at each village; the population they can accommodate is quite small. If the organization is weak, they can easily be bullied by those unbelievers. Therefore, we must ensure that each village has capable and responsible individuals who can unite the entire village. This is essential to secure their interests. So, Bishop, you see, land distribution is not something we can rush," Victor emphasized.

So, Bishop Torres had no choice but to admit that land distribution must be cautious and meticulous.

"Well, Consul Treville, how do you plan to proceed with the distribution?" Bishop Torres asked.

"I plan to rank all Christian families first. This ranking won't involve anything else, only their influence and combat capability. Families with the most influence and combat capability will be designated as village chiefs. They will be given priority in land allocation within their respective villages. Then, based on the village's defense conditions, other families and individuals will be arranged," Victor answered.

The principle in this answer was flawless, but the individuals involved in the selection and land allocation could be used to gain favor with a certain group of people. This intention was so obvious that Bishop Torres naturally noticed it. However, noticing and having the means to do something about it were two different things. With the power in his hands, Bishop Torres had limited influence.

While Victor was busy allocating land to the liberated Christians, in Tunis, after a prolonged siege, the joint French and Turkish forces finally broke through the Barbary pirates' interception and captured the city. Both armies paid a considerable price for this victory.

The French exhausted almost all of their remaining high-explosive shells, and the Turks suffered five to six thousand casualties. As for the Barbary pirates, Pasha Benharden died in battle. Before his death, he ordered the killing of his wives and entrusted his son to his bodyguard for escape. However, his bodyguard failed to escape, so Pasha Benharden's son would be sent to Istanbul. This delicate-looking boy might become a eunuch in the future.

The French fleet had been at sea for a long time, requiring replenishment in Toulon. The Turks, after such a hard-fought battle, also needed a proper rest. Thus, the battlefield temporarily calmed down. The French naval fleet returned to Toulon, and most Turks disembarked to recover on land.

However, two days after the French fleet left, the Turkish fleet was suddenly attacked. It was a moonless night, making it extremely dark, and the Morrocan pirates silently approached the Turkish fleet.

Leading the Morrocan pirates was Hassan Pasha—or rather, Hassan Sultan's nephew, Osama. After Turkey declared Hassan Pasha a rebel and declared war on him, he promptly declared Morocco's independence and proclaimed himself Sultan.

Osama brought five ships, not pirate ships, but small sailing ships, or more accurately, rowing ships. They had only one low mast, a dark gray-painted fore-and-aft sail, and eight oarsmen.

These ships couldn't function as pirate ships, at least not in this era. Perhaps in the times of Xerxes and Themistocles, they could engage in some piracy. Even then, they wouldn't qualify for the Battle of Salamis and would need to avoid the navy of that era. But now, Osama planned to challenge a fleet that, by the standards of this era, was far behind, yet in the era of the Battle of Salamis, possessed overwhelming superiority.

Osama wasn't acting recklessly; he had an ace up his sleeve—the explosive.

Each ship carried around ten bombs, each with dozens of kilograms of explosives. Once they exploded, even a sail warship like the "Victory" would be shattered into pieces, and even an ironclad warship like the "Invincible" might not survive such an explosion. These ships were not easily approachable, though.

To carry out this attack, Osama deliberately chose a moonless night. It reduced visibility, making it harder for the enemy's lookout to see them. Moreover, his ships were lower, and the Turkish warships were taller. When

he approached, he could stay out of sight and sound until the last moment.

The Turkish warships were anchored. At this time, the crew were mostly asleep, with only a few people on guard duty. Even if there was a guard, they would still need to rest. But for Osama's plan to work, he needed to approach close enough to guarantee the accuracy of his explosives.

Osama was fully aware that the impact of explosives in the water wasn't as strong as on land. Hence, he needed to get close. This was a risk, but it was calculated. When the explosion happened, not only would the shockwave harm the enemy, but it would also raise a large splash, possibly causing the warships to capsize.

Osama only hoped that this surprise attack would be enough to make the Turks suffer heavy losses and leave a strong impression on their commander, Nadir Pasha.

The Morrocan pirates, knowing that they couldn't face the enemy head-on, used a tactic similar to an assassination. Yet, they were doing this to an army rather than an individual.

Although the pirate ships moved cautiously, they inevitably created some noise when rowing. However, the Turkish warships were at anchor, and the tide pushed them slightly. So, the Turkish guards attributed the noise to the natural sound of the sea and ignored it.

At first, everything went well for Osama. They approached the Turkish warships without a hitch. The warships were close to each other, making it easy for the pirate ships to move between them.

However, the pirates' luck ran out at the final stage. When they were about to release the explosives, the wind suddenly changed direction. The wind was initially blowing from the Morrocan pirates to the Turkish warships, but it suddenly changed to the opposite direction.

As a result, the explosive smell wafted towards the Turkish warships.

A guard on the Turkish warship "Blessing" immediately smelled something fishy. He was responsible for checking the night watchmen and immediately ordered everyone to be on high alert. As he was about to order an investigation into the source of the smell, the guard noticed something unusual in the water.

The guard on the "Blessing" shouted, "Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

The cry spread quickly across the fleet, waking up the Turkish sailors and soldiers.

Osama, realizing that their cover was blown, had no choice but to give up the silent approach. He ordered the pirates to row at full speed, creating as much noise as possible to scare the Turks. He also ordered the throwing of torches into the air to light up the night.

The sight of the pirate ships and the smell of explosives immediately caused chaos among the Turks. However, the Turkish warships were well-armed. The pirates dared not approach directly but tried to throw explosives from a distance.

Nadir Pasha, who was sleeping on the "Triumph" warship, was immediately awakened by the commotion. He quickly got dressed and rushed to the deck.

"What's going on?" Nadir Pasha shouted.

"Enemy attack, sir! Morrocan pirates are attacking!" a guard reported.

Nadir Pasha saw the approaching pirate ships. They were small and agile, moving swiftly on the water. The Morrocan pirates started throwing explosive devices towards the Turkish warships, causing panic and confusion.

Nadir Pasha quickly assessed the situation. The pirates didn't have the strength to engage in direct combat, so their main strategy was to disrupt the Turkish fleet and create chaos. He knew that if the pirates managed to throw enough explosives into the Turkish warships, it could lead to devastating consequences.

"Sound the alarm! Wake up the fleet! Ready the cannons!" Nadir Pasha commanded.

The Turkish warships quickly sounded their alarms, waking up the crews and preparing for battle.

As the Turkish fleet scrambled to respond to the surprise attack, the Morrocan pirates continued their assault. The night was filled with the sounds of explosions and the shouts of sailors, creating a chaotic and tense atmosphere.

The outcome of this sudden attack remained uncertain, and the fate of the Turkish fleet hung in the balance.