Chapter 257 France’s Ambition
In fact, the Moroccans have long been intolerable to the French. The French came not only to eliminate pirates, but also took the opportunity to seize the Moroccan market.
In fact, Morocco not only has pirates, but also has a strong maritime trade team. However, due to the robbery of Austrian merchant ships, they were attacked indiscriminately by the Austrian navy.
Afterwards, the French once again sent warships to cruise in the Moroccan Sea in the name of combating piracy and sank a large number of merchant ships.
At the same time, supply points and trading posts were established in its coastal areas and monopolized Morocco's foreign trade.
When Algeria fell, the new Sultan of Morocco, Abdel Rahman, knew that sooner or later the French would attack his country.
For this reason, Abd did something that no Moroccan ruler in history had done. He took the initiative to accept Algerian refugees, funded the construction of houses for them, and set aside land to provide for their livelihood.
There are many refugees in Algeria who are highly educated (junior high school diploma) and have special skills. Many of them have successfully integrated into Moroccan society, and many have even become officials.
Abd knew what the French wanted, but Morocco's strength at this time was not enough to fight France. So he pretended not to care about the behavior of the French. Not only did he strengthen trade with them, he even hired French people as instructors for his army.
But in fact, Morocco purchased a large number of weapons from France and trained an army of 40,000 people, including 8,000 cavalry alone.
At the same time, Abboud also spent money to bribe French experts, set up factories in Morocco, and manufactured weapons to secretly support the Algerians' anti-French war.
When he learned that the French supply point had been attacked, he felt that it was done by a certain tribe in his country, or by the Algerians who had fled. There were too many people in his country who had a blood feud with the French.
Abboud originally hoped to spend some money to get through, but unexpectedly the French official opened his mouth and demanded 1 million francs and 20 beauties.
The dignified Sultan of a country could only ask the other party for a few more days of grace, but at this time a letter made him murderous.
In the following week, Abboud wiped out all the French strongholds along the coast of Morocco and hunted down the French throughout the country, killing more than 800 people.
When the news reached Paris, Guizot's face turned livid and he angrily denounced Alban Roussin, the colonial secretary.
"Damn trash! First it was the Ivory Coast! Now it's Morocco! What's going on? Why did those damn barbarians suddenly become so fearless! Why did Abd, the former model chief, lead an army to rebel!"
"It wasn't him, Abd said it was pirates who did it," Alban Rusan retorted in a low voice.
"Damn idiot! Idiot! Do you believe anything that barbarian says? Use your pig brain and don't force me to use my boots to wake you up. It's obvious that they killed people and left the responsibility to the pirates. So Over the years, those dirty bugs have long been extinct, so how can they be so powerful to kill our great French soldiers?"
"But the Austrians were attacked by pirates not long ago and lost two merchant ships. They also specifically reminded us to pay attention to pirates."
Alban was pushed down by Guizot before he could finish his words. He was a civilized man, but recent events really made him crazy.
First, the Austrian Empire inexplicably embarked on the road of colonization, and then two young people with strong blood actually knew how to tolerate it and did not attack the British.
Just when Guizot thought that the two teenagers were going to be in trouble on the road to colonization, their colonial journey came to an abrupt end.
The matter was not over, but the successive indigenous attacks at this time made him unbelievable. First Ivory Coast, then Benin, and now even Morocco has begun to rebel.
Moreover, Morocco's military strength was much stronger than that of those indigenous countries, with an army of 40,000 people, and it was close to Algeria, which was in chaos, so he had to think carefully.
Alban, an idiot, could no longer be the colonial minister. Even if he gave more bribes, he could not make Guizot betray France.
"You must clean up Morocco's mess, otherwise you will spend the rest of your life in prison, not to mention your position as colonial minister!"
Alban left dejectedly. At this time, Marshal Soult came in, looking radiant, and even sang "Marseillaise".
"My lord, this song is inappropriate," Guizot reminded. After all, this is the Orleans Dynasty. Although it is a constitutional monarchy, it does not mean that the king really has no rights.
"Are you happy, haha! I'm a little carried away, but it's better not to tell King Philip." Soult said.
"What makes you so happy? Miss Ophelia gave birth to your child?"
The 71-year-old Marshal Soult had a 17-year-old lover. The French cabinet knew about this. Apart from this, Guizot really couldn't think of anything that could make this half-buried old man so complacent.
"Ahem, cough, cough, Mr. Guizot, don't joke around. The love between Miss Ophelia and I is pure." Soult coughed twice seriously.
"Look at this and your scowl will disappear."
Soult handed Guizot a confidential telegram.
"This is confidential, can I see it?" Guizot asked.
"If possible, I would like to show it to everyone in France. It's so great. Long live France!" Soult said a little incoherently.
Guizot really couldn't think of anything to be excited about. Could it be that Napoleon Bonaparte was resurrected?
But when he saw the contents of the telegram, his eyes immediately widened, and then tears flowed out uncontrollably. The seven-year Carlos War finally ended with Spanish government forces winning.
When Isabelle II turns sixteen, she will marry Louis Philippe's youngest son, and they will rule Spain together.
Until then, France will once again make the world tremble.
Unknowingly, Guizot's breathing became heavier. This news was too good. All these years of hard work finally paid off.
Moreover, after the Spanish Civil War, France could invest more manpower and material resources in overseas colonies. Coupled with the Spanish market and colonies, France could catch up with or even surpass Britain in just one generation.
At this time, the Spanish royal family owed a huge debt to France. They took the opportunity to use a trade agreement to tie the former to the latter's chariot. A giant would appear in Western Europe. Later, Belgium and Portugal would be included in a Western European customs union. It is definitely more powerful and domineering than the German Customs Union between Austria and Prussia!
After the Spanish Civil War ends, the number of troops sent to North Africa can be doubled. Not to mention Morocco and Algeria, troops can even be sent to Tunisia.
After taking over all of North Africa, France still needs to get back what it lost in the Americas. Coupled with Spanish influence, it is not impossible to turn the entire America into France's back garden.