Fox of France

It was not long before the French fleet appeared outside the ports of Algiers, Tripoli, and Tunisia.

This is not the first time that the French fleet has appeared here. Before that, in order to "ensure the safety of the torch", the French fleet has also appeared here. But this time, the pressure brought by the French fleet to the Barbary pirates was obviously greater. Because the French consulate had just retreated, which was almost a sign of a declaration of war.

However, the French were quite honest, saying that if they wanted to give the Barbary pirates three days, they would be given three days. They did not launch an attack immediately, but stayed outside the port to monitor the port out of range of the port fort.

The pashas of the Barbary knew that war was inevitable. Because no matter how many days they are given, they will not be able to hand over the French crew that France wants. Those people didn't know that they were buried in the belly of that fish. They also know that their pirate ships are completely unable to compete with the steam-powered warships of the French Navy, not to mention those steam-powered warships, which are the old-fashioned battleships that the French Navy now uses to maintain its scale, and they are not those of the Barbary pirates. The boat can contend. Therefore, there is no need to think about naval battles. Of course, if the French are stupid enough to run aground because of chasing pirates, that is another matter.

Over the years, Barbary pirates have also bought a lot of cannons from the French. And they are basically front-mounted rifled steel guns, (don’t think about the front-mounted bronze guns, these have been turned into wires. Even the old-fashioned bronze guns in the hands of Barbary pirates were exchanged by the French for new ones. In the past, it became a wire.) Previously, Barbary pirates mounted these guns on their pirate ships for plundering or collecting tolls. But now, if these guns stay on the ship, it really doesn't make sense. So these three days gave these Barbary pirates the opportunity to move the cannons off the ship and transport them to the fort next to the port.

These cannons were placed on the fort, and at this time, they were naturally more threatening to the attacker than on the ship. But the French don't care too much. This is not only because there is a difference between the artillery of the French and the artillery in the hands of the Barbary pirates, but also because it is not the French who charge up against the artillery fire, but the Turks.

There is also a saying that the Barbary pirates obtained some mines from the British, and they may have placed them near the port. Although this news is not very reliable, the French still feel that they would rather believe it than not. So it's better to keep a farther safe distance.

Time passed quickly, three days quickly passed two days. At this time, a huge fleet suddenly appeared on the sea. This is a fleet of hundreds of ships, large and small. On the masts of these warships, the green Xingyue flag flutters in the wind, which reminds people of the era of Suleiman the Magnificent.

Yes, it is reminiscent of that era. This is a fleet belonging to Turkey, a fleet full of a heavy sense of history. This fleet almost retains the majestic appearance it had when it swept across the Eastern Mediterranean hundreds of years ago, but—my lord, times have changed, and Tyrannosaurus Rex is outdated.

At this time, although the pashas in Barbary hadn't received the document officially declaring war on them from Turkey, they knew what they had in mind considering their recent inexplicable conflicts with Turkey.

"Damn the Turks, they are colluding with heretics!" Yusuf Pasha of Tripoli slapped the table and shouted angrily, "They also have the face to say that they believe in the true God!"

However, swearing doesn't solve the problem.

Once the Turkish fleet was in place, Tayyip Pasha, the commander of the Turkish Expeditionary Force, made contact with the French. He met Admiral Treville, commander of the French navy, on board the French flagship, the Inberado. The two sides held consultations on joint operations.

"According to the agreement we reached before, our army is responsible for suppressing the firepower of the pirates on the fort, and your army is responsible for the landing operations." Admiral Treville said, "Although the ultimatum we issued to them will not arrive until tomorrow period, but this will not impose any constraints on your country's army. So your country's army can start operations now, but because our army is limited by the promised time, we cannot directly provide fire support to your country today. So I don't recommend that you launch large-scale operations immediately, but it is possible to carry out some small-scale reconnaissance attacks to let us understand the situation of the enemy's artillery fire."

The meaning of this is actually to use the lives of the Turks as a price to conduct a fire reconnaissance, so that everyone can understand the level of the Barbary pirates.

Tayyip Pasha is also very clear about this, but he has no objection to it. Anyway, there are people in Turkey. Just like the French don't care much about the casualties of the Turks, the generals of the Turks themselves are also very concerned about this. Don't really care.

So Taip Pasha replied: "Well, I will arrange a tentative attack, hoping to expose their firepower as much as possible."

Tayyip Pasha is a very decisive person. Now that he has made such a decision, he immediately took action and returned to his warship. He immediately ordered more than a dozen warships to approach the port of Tripoli. He appeared to be planning to shell the port of Tripoli.

The Barbary pirates on the "boom", "boom" fort began to fire at the Turkish warship. Admiral Treville watched the pirate bombardment with binoculars from the bridge of the "Imberado".

"General, they fired too early, and their artillery skills are really..." A young officer said on the side.

"Ah Kohler, isn't that natural? Pirates lack adequate artillery training. Because gunpowder is too expensive and maintaining a high level of training is costly. The Barbary pirates may have the money to buy artillery, but they can't Sufficient money to maintain a high level of training," replied Admiral Treville.

Indeed, as Admiral Treville pointed out, the pirates fired at too great a distance, which made their hit rate not too high. But as the Turkish fleet continued to approach, their artillery fire finally gradually became more accurate.

"Boom!" A shell hit the hull of a Turkish warship, causing the ship to tremble. However, the shells of the pirates are all solid shells, and one hit is not enough to make the warship lose its combat effectiveness.

But this hit also made the Turks panic, and they even started to release smoke to cover themselves.

"Damn it! These Turkish idiots!" Major Kohler, who was recording and evaluating the Barbary pirates' artillery fire, cursed. The smoke also obscured his vision, making it impossible for him to see the situation on the other side of the fort.

Admiral Treville also shook his head. He was about to say something when suddenly there was an explosion over there. The huge water column soared into the sky and almost surpassed the mast of the Turkish warship. When the water column fell, the hapless Turkish warship had been reduced to floating fragments on the sea.

"Damn it, there are really mines!" Admiral Treville said with a livid face.