Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

Said called for a map and, after a brief look, said to Agold, "Order the vanguard to reach Tami Lai by this afternoon. Rest there for a day, and the day after tomorrow, the whole army will attack Cape Serat."

Cape Serat is the only town on the west side of Bizerte City. According to intelligence, there should be a garrison of three to four thousand men from the Tunisian Army there. Once Cape Serat is taken, the road to Bizerte Port would be a clear path.

The black officer bowed, accepting the order, and quickly relayed the command of the Moroccan Imperial Guard commander.

...

Ney hummed the country tunes of Salz along with the soldiers—who had only been trained for less than four months and only knew these songs—estimating how long it would take to reach Tami Lai.

Just then, his company commander came galloping towards them and shouted, "Moroccans spotted, less than four kilometers from Tami Lai!"

Severely lacking in cavalry, Ney’s unit had to have officers like the company commander, who could ride, double as cavalry scouts.

Upon hearing this, Ney felt a tightness in his chest. It seemed he would arrive at Tami Lai later than the enemy.

This would turn into a siege battle.

He quickly asked the company commander, "How many men does the enemy have?"

"At least two thousand, maybe three thousand."

Ney frowned even more; he did not even have a thousand soldiers at his disposal. Defending Tami Lai might be feasible, but attacking would likely result in a difficult battle to win.

Would they have to fall back to Cape Serat?

He glanced back, knowing that such a retreat would surely earn the mockery of the nobles.

Clenching his teeth, he shouted to his soldiers, "Quick march! We will show those nobles who the real warriors are!"

The soldiers immediately erupted in cheers:

"Let the noble lords see what we’re made of!"

"Victory belongs to us!"

"Long live the King!"

Most of these men were peasants who had bought land for their families. After hearing the Crown Prince’s call for commoners to join the army, those with spare labor at home signed up with great enthusiasm.

They initially only wanted to repay the King for fulfilling their dream of owning land. It was only after understanding France’s current military policies that they realized they could also be promoted to officers through military service and that acts of valor could ensure them a carefree life.

Consequently, although the training level of this "green" army was limited, their morale was exceptionally high.

Strengthening the national identity among the vast majority of France’s lower-class population and their sense of belonging was the fundamental reason Joseph pushed the land distribution policy despite formidable resistance—it was the only way to truly unleash the military potential of the country.

In Napoleon’s era, the population of France was not much greater than it is now, yet he could easily mobilize an army of 600,000 men, while contemporary France struggled to field even 160,000. This was because the great campaigns of France greatly ignited public enthusiasm, awakening a national consciousness. National matters were no longer just the duty of nobles but concerned every French person.

If France could now mobilize an army of 600,000 and ensure logistical support, they could immediately sweep across the European Continent.

After all, Britain, Austria, and Prussia combined could only muster an army of a little over 400,000, which was hardly a match.

Of course, the land distribution policy alone was not enough to invoke absolute national identification among the French people, but it was already a significant step forward.

Ney, watching the soldiers quicken their pace, loudly boosted their morale while continuously reminding the officers to look out for any stragglers.

Continue reading on NovelBin.Côm

Two kilometers away, Victor Moro also received the report that the Moroccans were approaching Tamire.

He looked at the messenger sent by Ney, "How far are your men from Tamire?"

"More than 6 kilometers, Lieutenant sir."

Victor Moro frowned in thought for a moment, then asked, "If I remember correctly, there are still 300 Tunisian soldiers at Tamire?"

"Yes, Lieutenant sir."

Moro nodded, "Then that’s good. Order them to advance to the western side of the town to set up a defensive line and delay the Moroccans as much as possible."

"Yes!" The messenger instinctively replied, but immediately realized something, "But sir, you don’t have the authority to move them..."

"Just say it’s authorized by General Sherelle. The documents will be given to them after the battle."

"This..."

"Don’t delay, otherwise Tamire will be lost!"

The messenger shivered and said with a stiffened chest, "Yes, Lieutenant sir!"

Watching the messenger spur his horse and ride off, Victor Moro’s staff officer whispered, "Lieutenant sir, this will bring you before a military court."

"As long as we can hold Tamire, we will receive medals," Victor Moro smiled, "And even if there are problems, it is Lieutenant Ney who will face the military court. It was his man who claimed to have the general’s authorization."

"..."

Ney sneezed loudly, rubbed his nose, but suddenly heard what seemed like gunfire coming from the west, his heart tensing instantly.

He looked at his formation, already thoroughly disrupted by the forced march, and loudly ordered to regroup in place, continuing forward in columns of fours.

They were now less than half a kilometer from Tamire; the gunshots could likely be the Moroccans looting in the town.

"We shall teach those infidels a profound lesson..."

Before he could finish, he heard from a captain who had gone to scout:

"Lieutenant sir, it’s the Tunisian border guards fighting the Moroccans. But it looks like they cannot hold on anymore."

Ney’s eyes widened, contrary to his expectation, those few hundred Tunisian soldiers should have fled already. He had heard rumors about the Tunisian troops back home, saying they couldn’t even maintain formation and were practically defenceless.

What he didn’t know was that the Tunisian soldiers had been used as elite forces by Lafayette in India... @@novelbin@@

"Quick! Move to support them immediately!"

With a loud shout, Ney took the lead with the first and second platoons, which were already arranged neatly, and rushed towards Tamire.

One-third of the soldiers in these platoons were those he brought from Salz, and their capabilities were much stronger than the others. Originally, he had planned to take them to apply for the military academy—the tuition, lodging, and meals are all free for civilians—but Salz had no military academy, and the enrollment season for other military academies that accepted civilians was over.

Eventually, on the recommendation of a relative who had joined the Guard Corps, he decided to come to North Africa. Along the way, many civilians planning to join the North African conflict learned that he was an officer and voluntarily followed him, swelling the group to as many as eight platoons...

The vanguard of the Moroccan Imperial Guard never expected to encounter resistance; their scouting Cavalry had reported that Tamire’s garrison had already left.

Therefore, when those Tunisian soldiers hiding outside Bizerte City suddenly opened fire on them, it threw them into temporary chaos.

The Moroccan Imperial Guard, composed entirely of black soldiers, quickly regained their footing and launched a counterattack. However, just as they were getting the better of the more than 300 Tunisian soldiers, forcing them to retreat continuously and almost to the point of collapse, a slender line of formation composed of soldiers in white uniforms appeared in their view.