Life of Being a Crown Prince in France

The M'zab is a large tribe in southern Algiers, with a population of nearly seventy thousand and a territory of over eighty thousand square kilometers.

However, most of their territory lies within the Sahara Desert, and they rely on an underground irrigation system developed over centuries to obtain a bit of oasis suitable for cultivating crops.

Joseph was not surprised at their lack of information. The people here have basically only interacted with Algiers and the Tugurt tribe to the east in their lifetimes. Algiers should be the most powerful tribe in their minds.

Lavallette and Bertier exchanged glances and continued, "Your Highness, do we need to send an army to M'zab?"

The Chief of Staff added, "Eight hundred infantrymen should be enough."

Joseph was about to nod instinctively but suddenly thought of something. He raised his hand and said, "No need. Since the M'zab people are so loyal to Algiers, let them have their wish."

M'zab is basically all desert and lacks natural resources, making it most suitable as a resting place for the Algiers Guard.

He then instructed Bertier, "Tell Colonel Ney to leave some 'defensive gaps' in the mountain pass east of Medea..."

Medea is to the south of Mitidja, the capital of Algiers, and is mostly occupied by the Atlas Mountains, with only a few mountain passes to the west leading south to the M'zab city of Egwaat.

...

In the camp of the Tunisian Legion outside Mitidja City, Zamir drank the "fermented grape juice" sullenly—he couldn't drink alcohol, so he could only drink this.

Just as he drank the eleventh cup, an officer entered his tent, raised his hat to him, and smiled, "Colonel Ney invites you to participate in the ceremony welcoming the Governor tomorrow morning."

Zamir glanced at the visitor. It was Ney's adjutant, and he immediately waved his hand dejectedly, "I've been dismissed. There's no need for me on such occasions..."

He was dismissed two days ago for "disobeying military orders and acting without authorization," according to a command from the General Staff.

The adjutant approached and whispered something in his ear.

Zamir immediately sobered up and stood straight, "Thank you, Your Highness! I won't disappoint him!"

At 9 a.m. the next day.

Amidst a line of hundreds of French soldiers, a majestic squad of hussars cleared the way, and the carriage of Count Uster, the newly appointed Governor of Algiers, drove into the city under the gaze of thousands of Mitidja citizens.

The original Divan Palace, or the council hall of Algiers, had been replaced with the sign of the Governor's Palace. Uster, accompanied by Ney, Zamir, and other officers, as well as more than twenty Algerian nobles, walked in arrogantly.

The Governor was clearly very particular about his residence, continually pointing out areas that needed adjustment, "There, replace it with a portrait of His Majesty the King.

"The garden is too small; it needs to be three times larger...

"Build walls around the hall; I don't like this open-air style..."

A group of Algerian nobles looked at each other, waiting for the new Governor to issue decrees or new policies, but they only received Uster's order to start a banquet.

Until the evening dance ended, a noble of the Guard system, originally a tax officer in Mitidja, cautiously asked the Governor how future taxes would be adjusted. Uster lazily replied, "No adjustments. Everything remains as before; just bring the taxes meant for Kurulu to me."

The Algerian nobles were overjoyed. If the French people only wanted money, it was even better than during the Algiers Council's rule—since the French were not familiar with the local situation, there were many places for them to maneuver.

That night, one of the naval elders of the former Algiers Divan, also the maritime representative and fiscal officer advisor, Mustafa Shefik, was summoned to the Governor's private reception room by Uster.

The alcoholic-smelling Uster pulled Shefik to the window, pointing to the dimly visible lights of Mitidja town, loudly saying, "What a beautiful place, where you can see gold coins everywhere."

After the translator quickly repeated it, the latter immediately bowed and nodded with a smile, "Yes, Governor. I'll send people to bring you the gold coins right away tonight, oh no, tomorrow night."

Uster patted him on the shoulder and asked, "How many gold coins do you have?"

"How many? Uh, about 10,000 riyals..."

Uster showed a dissatisfied expression, "That's too little."

"Then how much do you consider appropriate?"

"One million, no, two million riyals! The more, the better!"

Shefik gasped sharply, "Governor, you know, I don't have that much money."

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The same rationale applies to the Americans; today, the Portuguese are also a mix of various ethnicities. Of course, if you want to know who primarily makes up the Portuguese or which people's genes predominate, it can be said, but to be honest, when we talk about the Portuguese, Spaniards, or French today, it's more of a political concept under a nation-state, while the ethnic concept is weakened.

Returning to the Celts of Portugal, even if the historical timeline slipped back to 1000 BC, the level of civilization of the inhabitants on the Iberian Peninsula was still very low. This cannot be compared to China; China's Xia Dynasty appeared as early as the 21st century BC, reaching the peak of bronzeware culture during the Shang Dynasty from the 17th to the 11th century BC, and by 1000 BC, there were already rites and music systems and a feudal system.

Of course, if by any chance the Iberian Peninsula developed a highly advanced civilization as early as before 1000 BC, then the world's four ancient civilizations might have had to add two more. Following this, the Iberian Peninsula was basically the era of these "indigenous inhabitants" until one day when a country called Rome appeared in the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula.

The Roman rule era

Speaking of Rome, we are all familiar, comparable to our own "Great Tang Dynasty" in China. Even people without any historical concept have heard of Rome's name, and the most glorious period of Roman history was actually from the late Republic to the early Empire, which was the period with the largest Roman territory and influence, making Rome the "ancestor" of Europe.

Rome's powerful expansion once turned the Mediterranean Sea into the Romans' "inner lake," and among these expansions, the Iberian Peninsula was one of the links

In 219 BC, the Romans first set foot on the Iberian Peninsula. Before that, the Iberian Peninsula was a "colony" and commercial stronghold of the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians (refer to the previous section on Spanish history). As Rome gradually rose to power, it began to extend its influence into the Iberian Peninsula and started interfering.