Chapter 277: The Partition of Tunisia (A Ten-Thousand-Character Chapter)

French Prime Minister Jules Ferry was currently in a dilemma. Abandoning the invasion of Tunisia would end the disputes with Italy and Spain, but it would render France's investment in Tunisia completely wasted.

Although France had only committed about 50, 00 troops to this war, the war expenses incurred so far were by no means small.

While French military casualties were light, the resistance from the New Tunisian Army had caused the French a tiny bit of trouble.

If France were to invade Tunisia with great fanfare only to gain nothing in the end, what would the French public think?

The Italian public would angrily besiege the French embassy; wouldn't the Parisian public angrily besiege the French government?

The Italian public could only threaten the French embassy, but the Parisian public could threaten the safety of the French cabinet.

More importantly, the development of this matter also concerned the authority of Prime Minister Ferry. Ferry had intended to push for the invasion of Tunisia to accumulate political achievements for himself and prepare for his next re-election.

If this war were abandoned halfway, not to mention whether he would be impeached, he could forget about the next prime ministerial election entirely.

With his political career at stake, Ferry still wanted to struggle a bit longer. Since the Spanish side had proposed peace talks, France could very well negotiate with the Tunisian government.

Tunisia had its own ruler and government; could a peace treaty reached between France and the Tunisian government not be considered legitimate?

As long as France rushed to reach a relevant treaty with Tunisia, they could at least stand firm on the matter of occupying Tunisia.

As for what happened afterward, he believed that once France had created a fait accompli, the Italians would have no choice but to swallow their pride.

Acting on this thought, Ferry ordered the French ambassador to Spain to stall the Spanish government as much as possible, while simultaneously issuing orders to the frontline troops, demanding that the French army continue its advance on the city of Tunis, striving to facilitate peace negotiations between France and the Tunisian government before Spain could formally intervene.

Upon receiving the government's orders, the French army immediately intensified its offensive and successfully reached the Tunisian capital, the city of Tunis.

Inside the city of Tunis at this time, the Tunisian government was already in total chaos.

The Tunisian ruler, Muhammad III as-Sadiq, gathered the Tunisian officials, attempting to find a way for the broken Tunisia to survive.

But looking at the ashen-faced officials one by one, Muhammad III as-Sadiq also understood that Tunisia had long since lost any hope of continuing.

Even if France did not invade Tunisia, what awaited Tunisia would only be aggression from other great powers.

"Bey, the French army has already surrounded the city of Tunis. We need to evacuate as soon as possible; if we drag this out any longer, we will only end up buried in this city."

Ministers still loyal to Tunisia urged the ruler Muhammad III as-Sadiq to leave the city of Tunis and head to the Ottoman Empire or other non-French regions to form a government-in-exile.

As long as a government-in-exile existed, they would sooner or later have a day when they could return to their homeland and rebuild Tunisia.

Muhammad III as-Sadiq shook his head with a pale face; he did not want to leave this land.

As a monarch with considerable ambition, Muhammad III as-Sadiq had carried out certain reforms in Tunisia modeled after the Ottoman Empire, and the New Tunisian Army was also something he had founded himself.

Originally, he was ambitious, believing that under his leadership, Tunisia could become the most powerful country in North Africa and allow Tunisia to become completely independent from the Ottoman Empire, becoming a truly fully independent nation.

But the French invasion gave him a resounding slap in the face, making him understand the gap between African nations and European nations.

It was not that Muhammad III as-Sadiq had not worked hard; it was simply that the disparity in strength between Tunisia and France was too great.

Let alone simple reforms, even a thorough, comprehensive reform could never allow Tunisia to grow into a super power like France.

"Gentlemen, where can we go if we leave Tunisia? If even we abandon this land, who else can stop the French invasion?" Muhammad III as-Sadiq looked at the ministers who were still trying to persuade him, his eyes filled with tears born of his love for this land, and he could not help but say.

Muhammad III as-Sadiq certainly understood that the situation in Tunisia at this moment was hopeless. The Ottoman Empire could not offend France for the sake of Tunisia, and other great powers were even less likely to do so.

Since France had the confidence to invade Tunisia, they must have made full preparations. Any ideas they had were merely futile; wanting to preserve Tunisia under the French invasion was absolutely wishful thinking.

Speaking of where to go, the Tunisian officials began to argue in a hubbub.

Some officials suggested that Muhammad III as-Sadiq flee to Istanbul (the name Istanbul was used after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, but it did not officially become the name for Constantinople until the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923; before that, Western countries called it Constantinople, while the Ottoman Turkish Empire and its dependencies called it Istanbul), while other officials suggested that Muhammad III as-Sadiq flee to London or Rome.

Among these, besides the proposal to head to Istanbul, the one with the most support was the suggestion that Muhammad III as-Sadiq flee to Rome.

The reason why the call for Rome was higher was entirely because Italy's previous investments in Tunisia had taken effect.

Because Britain and France had previously prevented Italy from forcibly annexing Tunisia, this had led to Italy's colonial actions in Tunisia being primarily economic in nature.

After influencing Tunisia's economy, it was natural to be able to infiltrate the Tunisian government and cultivate those Tunisian officials who had a favorable view of Italy to take office.

The weapons and equipment for the Ottoman Empire's reforms were basically purchased from Britain and France, while the weapons and equipment used for Tunisia's reforms were basically purchased from Italy.

Muhammad III as-Sadiq looked at the ministers arguing about where to flee with a pale face, his heart filled with disappointment.

On the surface, this appeared to be just a lack of consensus among the ministers, but in reality, it represented the disputes between different factions within the Tunisian government.

Those suggesting to head to Rome were the forces cultivated by Italy, while those suggesting to head to London were the forces supported by Britain after infiltration.

As for those suggesting to head to Istanbul, or those suggesting to remain in Tunisia and submit to French rule, they were mostly local Tunisian nobles and factions.

These people possessed extremely high status and prestige in Tunisia, and they could only continue to enjoy their power if they remained in Tunisia.

Although submitting to French rule was equivalent to having an additional master, one could see from France's colonization of Algeria that as long as one did not resist French rule, the French would not exterminate the local indigenous people.

This also meant that they indeed had hope of maintaining their authority through surrender; although there were people above them, they were at least still enslaving hundreds of thousands of Tunisians below them, were they not?

At this moment, Muhammad III as-Sadiq's heart was in extreme turmoil. On one hand, he truly had a great fear of the French and wanted to flee to Istanbul or other European cities before the French captured Tunisia, seeking an opportunity to form a government-in-exile and return to Tunisia.

On the other hand, Muhammad III as-Sadiq was unwilling to give up the power in his hands.

Although he was only the ruler of a country with a population of several hundred thousand, as the Bey of Tunisia, Muhammad III as-Sadiq was still the supreme existence in this country.

Except for nominally having to submit to the rule of the Ottoman Empire's Sultan, Muhammad III as-Sadiq's power in Tunisia faced no obstacles, which also made him very attached to this kind of power.

To suddenly have to leave Tunisia and give up the power he had enjoyed for most of his life was something Muhammad III as-Sadiq was somewhat reluctant to do.

It was precisely because of this that Muhammad III as-Sadiq's heart fell into a struggle; he still could not figure out what choice he should make at this critical juncture.

The good news was that Muhammad III as-Sadiq did not need to agonize over his indecisiveness anymore.

Because not many minutes later, the palace guards brought news that caused everyone present to turn pale: the French army had already breached the city of Tunis.

The reason why Muhammad III as-Sadiq and the others still had time to be hesitant inside the palace was precisely because the city of Tunis was the largest city in Tunisia and possessed facilities like city walls that could truly block the French army's advance.

But it was very clear that the walls of Tunis were destined not to be able to hold back the French army for long.

If it were just an ordinary French colonial army, they would have had to expend some effort to face the walls of Tunis, and it might even have been possible that they would not have been able to take it for a long time.

But this army, carefully assembled by France, included an artillery regiment.

This artillery regiment was exactly what France had specifically used to breach the walls of Tunis, and it had played its due role during the siege of the city of Tunis.

Under the repeated bombardment of French cannons, the walls of the city of Tunis collapsed with a roar.

Where had the Tunisians ever seen such a lively scene? They had already scattered and fled as soon as the French army began bombarding the walls.

By the time the guards came to report, the walls of Tunis had already collapsed, and the French army was already marching toward the city of Tunis.

When he heard this terrible news, Muhammad III as-Sadiq had only one thought: was it still too late to surrender to France now?

If Muhammad III as-Sadiq had had many choices before the French army breached the city of Tunis, then after the French army breached the city of Tunis, Muhammad III as-Sadiq's only remaining choice was to surrender to France as soon as possible.

The result of any other choice would be death, so it was better to live in humiliation; at least there was still hope of retaining his power.

Having thought through the relationships, Muhammad III as-Sadiq no longer hesitated, his gaze immediately turned to the numerous officials, and he said in a deep voice: "Gentlemen, I have decided to sue for peace with France; I will never leave Tunisia!

If you want to leave, then go quickly! I will coexist with Tunisia; the Bey of Tunisia will never abandon his loyal country and subjects!"

Muhammad III as-Sadiq's words could be described as righteous and stern; one could not tell at all that he had just been afraid of death and greedy for power.

The many officials were also speechless as they looked at Muhammad III as-Sadiq like this; the city of Tunis had already fallen, so where could they run to at this time?

Packing up their property and fleeing would only make them the primary targets for the French to strike at; it would be better to stay behind with Muhammad III as-Sadiq. Perhaps, in order to appease the Tunisians, the French would consider keeping the Tunisian government.

"Bey, we will also stay behind and coexist with Tunisia!"

"Yes, coexist with Tunisia!"

Looking at the ministers who were echoing him one after another, Muhammad III as-Sadiq nodded with satisfaction, then waved his hand and issued his order: "Open the palace gates; I want to negotiate with the French at the palace."

Having said that, the current situation actually did not require Muhammad III as-Sadiq to issue an order, because after the French rushed into the city of Tunis, their eyes quickly locked onto the magnificent building that was the Tunisian palace.

Although Muhammad III as-Sadiq had not engaged in extortion and excessive taxation since becoming the Bey of Tunisia, and had even reduced taxes for Tunisians through some reforms.

But the establishment of the Beylik of Tunisia had been nearly 200 years ago, and in these nearly 200 years, the wealth accumulated by each successive Bey of Tunisia was enough to build this magnificent building, which also contained a large amount of treasures and gold and silver jewelry.

Before the French could even enter this magnificent building to investigate, the main gate of the building had already opened, and the representative of the Bey of Tunisia walked out timidly, holding a temporary flag made of white canvas high in both hands.

At this time, there was no regulation that raising a white flag symbolized surrender, but the act of raising a white flag to surrender during war also existed among European countries.

The white flag would not be officially recognized as a sign of surrender until the Hague Peace Conference held in The Hague at the end of the 19th century, which was still nearly 20 years away.

Next to Tunisia was Algeria, which was colonized by France, so it was not difficult to find an official in Tunisia who could barely speak French.

This representative of the Bey of Tunisia, holding the white flag high, shouted in French: "I am the representative of the Bey of Tunisia; we are willing to surrender and conduct peace negotiations with your army," while carefully observing the attitude of the French army.

The good news was that the French side indeed also wanted to reach a peace agreement with the Tunisian government as soon as possible.

Therefore, upon hearing the Tunisian shouting in French for peace negotiations, the French army gave them face and stopped their attack, the soldiers staring curiously at the Tunisian holding the white flag, waiting for the next order from their superior.

Seeing a Frenchman who looked like a high-ranking officer walk out from the army, the representative of the Bey of Tunisia hurriedly shouted: "Respected General, I represent the Bey and am willing to surrender to your army; please order your army to stop attacking and spare those Tunisian civilians."

The French officer stepped forward slowly, first sizing up the Tunisian representative, then nodded and replied in French: "Before the peace talks are concluded, I will order the army to stop attacking.

But I hope you can also show sincerity in the peace talks; if you do not intend to negotiate, or have any other plans, then I will not be able to control my army from stopping."

"That is natural, that is natural." The Tunisian representative nodded hurriedly, not daring to have the slightest rebuttal to the French officer's words.

Subsequently, the French officer said something to his subordinates, and the French army officially stopped its attack, and the two sides remained in a stalemate just like that.

The Tunisian representative immediately proposed an invitation for the French officer to enter the palace for peace negotiations, but was decisively rejected by the French officer.

Although the Tunisians had been beaten until they threw away their armor and fled, no one could guarantee whether the Tunisians still had other troops in the palace.

If the so-called Bey of Tunisia had hidden a small group of troops in the palace, wouldn't entering the Tunisian palace be equivalent to walking into a trap?

The French commander stated that they could either negotiate in the French military camp outside the city or prepare an open space inside the city for negotiations.

Moreover, the French side only gave Tunisia two hours of preparation time. If Tunisia had not chosen a location for peace talks within two hours, this would also mean that Tunisia had no sincerity regarding the peace talks.

Hearing the French officer's request, the Tunisian representative nodded hurriedly and then conveyed the Frenchmen's request to Muhammad III as-Sadiq.

Although accepting the Frenchmen's request was humiliating, for Muhammad III as-Sadiq at this moment, he had no other choices left.

In the end, Muhammad III as-Sadiq and the French officer agreed to hold peace negotiations in an open space within the city of Tunis, and both armies would maintain peace during the negotiations.

Although it was said to be both armies, the only ones who needed to maintain peace were the French army.

Because the moment the city of Tunis fell, the vast majority of the Tunisian army had long since scattered and fled, and those who remained were basically soldiers who were wounded and unable to move.

Let alone resisting, it was hard to say whether these people could even remain conscious, so they naturally could not pose a threat to the French army.

The French government's plan was to force the Tunisian government to sign a peace treaty early, so the French government had long since prepared a draft of the peace treaty, and all the Tunisian side had to do was sign their name.

When the French officer took out the peace treaty that had been prepared long ago, Muhammad III as-Sadiq only glanced at it twice before his eyes widened.

The Frenchmen's demands were not complicated, but for Tunisia, it was equivalent to handing over everything in Tunisia to the French to manage.

First, to ensure that the killing of French people does not happen again, France demanded to station troops in important regions of Tunisia to guarantee the safety of the French.

The total number of French garrison troops is not large, amounting to only about 20, 00 at most. The problem is that Tunisia itself is a country with a population of only 700, 00-plus, and the original Tunisian army consisted of only 10, 00-plus men.

With the French offensive, the Tunisian army had long since been scattered and collapsed, which also meant that France could completely control the situation in Tunisia with just these 20, 00 garrison troops.

Furthermore, in addition to the garrison requirements, France also proposed assisting Tunisia in managing its finances, taking over Tunisia's diplomatic affairs, and helping Tunisia build a railway connecting to Algeria, among other things.

If Muhammad III as-Sadiq agreed to this treaty, it would be equivalent to handing over all of Tunisia's power to France.

However, there was also good news for Muhammad III as-Sadiq: France did not intend to completely abolish the Tunisian government.

This also meant that Muhammad III as-Sadiq still had a chance to keep his Bey throne and serve as a king with little power under French rule.

Knowing in his heart that he had no other choice, Muhammad III as-Sadiq had nothing to hesitate about; after a brief moment of inner struggle, he signed his name on the peace treaty presented by the French.

After Muhammad III as-Sadiq signed his name, the French officers' attitude toward him improved significantly.

To demonstrate the point that the French were not brutal, after Muhammad III as-Sadiq signed the peace treaty, the French officers ordered the French army to withdraw from the city of Tunis, leaving behind only a small force responsible for helping the Tunisian government maintain order in the city.

Just as Tunisia had entered a state of peace, the diplomatic confrontation between France, Spain, and Italy officially began.

On the very next day, the French ambassador to Spain officially announced to the Spanish government that France had signed a peace treaty with the Tunisian government and that the Tunisian War had ended.

Upon hearing the news that the war had ended, Prime Minister Cánovas was stunned for a moment, followed by a trace of surprise and anger.

What Prime Minister Cánovas did not expect was that the French could actually withstand the pressure from Spain and Italy to forcibly occupy Tunisia.

As for the peace treaty with the Tunisian government that the French mentioned, one could figure out with their toes that this treaty must have been signed under French coercion.

"Mr. Ambassador, are you certain that what you have said represents the stance of the French government?" Prime Minister Cánovas asked with a gloomy face after a moment of silence.

"Of course." The French ambassador nodded, showing no fear toward the gloomy-faced Prime Minister Cánovas, and replied with a smile: "This is the latest news from home. Since the war has ended, we naturally have no need for peace talks."

Prime Minister Cánovas nodded, his expression returning to normal, though his voice was unusually cold: "Since your government has made its decision, I naturally cannot stop it."

"I hope the Italian government can also accept your excuses; Spain will stand on Italy's side without hesitation."

Although somewhat angry at the shameless behavior of the French, Prime Minister Cánovas would not take the initiative to destroy the relationship with France.

Spain's stance was also very clear: to stand with Italy and support Italy's decision.

If Italy wanted to break with France, Spain would choose to fully support Italy. But if Italy chose to back down, Spain naturally could not start a war with France alone.

So the question arises: what exactly was the Italian government's stance?

After the French ambassador conveyed the same message to the Italian government, the Italian government also appeared extremely angry.

They also did not expect that the French would actually withstand the pressure from two countries and choose to quickly occupy Tunisia to end the war.

This also meant that Italy currently had only two choices: either confront the French head-on, or pretend that nothing had happened and play the part of a spineless coward.

If Umberto I could still keep his cool, then Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli, who had actively incited public anger, was the most impatient official in Italy at this moment.

There was no help for it; the position of Prime Minister is always so awkward. Although the Prime Minister symbolizes extremely high power, in such unexpected events, it is very easy to become the target of public fire.

In European monarchies, the Prime Minister has a rather special role: to take the blame for the King and the entire government.

When the decisions of the King and the government face major errors, the Prime Minister usually resigns voluntarily to appease the public's anger.

After all, compared to changing the King, changing the Prime Minister is simpler and has less impact on the country.

"Your Majesty, is King Gao Da still willing to support us?" Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli took the initiative to find King Umberto I to ask about Spain's stance on the matter.

"Gao Da just sent a telegram not long ago; Spain is willing to stand on our side and support all our decisions." A smile appeared on Umberto I's face; this was perhaps one of the only two pieces of good news he had heard in the past few days.

As for the other piece of good news, it was the first time Gao Da had expressed his support for the Italian government.

In other words, Italy's intervention in the French invasion of Tunisia did not receive support from other European powers, which is precisely Italy's rather awkward situation at present.

Gao Da's actions could be described as providing charcoal in snowy weather, which also made Umberto I feel more favorably toward his younger brother.

Hearing that Spain was still willing to support Italy, Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This also meant that Italy had not completely failed in this diplomatic conflict; although France had gained the upper hand, Italy still had a chance to turn things around.

"Your Majesty, considering our country's public opinion, I believe we must not abandon Tunisia; at the very least, we must take back a portion of the land so that we can recoup our losses from investing in Tunisia." After a moment of silence, Benedetto Cairoli looked at Umberto I with hopeful eyes and proposed.

Umberto I sighed, but still expressed his support to the Prime Minister: "Leave this matter entirely to you to handle; as long as you can recoup a portion of the losses, at least we can answer to the public."

Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli nodded, his expression becoming very firm, and he exited the Wang Gong respectfully.

Walking out of the Wang Gong, Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli reconvened the Italian cabinet meeting and announced a bold decision: to send troops to Tunisia and occupy areas the French had not yet occupied, such as the important central Tunisian town of Kairouan, Sfax, and the southern city of Zarzis, among others.

As the European country closest to Tunisia, Italy was relatively well-informed about the situation in Tunisia.

Italy had even invested in a road in Tunisia running directly from the city of Tunis to Gabès, which connected Kairouan and Sfax.

Since the French had already occupied the city of Tunis, Italy could only set its sights on the central and southern regions of Tunisia.

The good news was that in order to reach a peace agreement with the Tunisian government as quickly as possible, France did not choose to occupy all cities in Tunisia, but prioritized attacking Tunisia eastward from Kef.

It is worth mentioning that to prevent the French from reacting, the Italian government was ostensibly only conducting protests and seemed to have no extra moves, attempting to use such behavior to paralyze the French government.

Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli, however, secretly dispatched two armies, which would head to the central and southern regions of Tunisia respectively to seize as much land and as many cities as possible.

In any case, Tunisia's population was only 700, 00, and how much population could be gained was no longer within the Italian government's scope of consideration.

As long as some land could be obtained, it would not be a loss for the Italian government. Having gains would be enough to deal with the angry Italian public, and at least the government would not fall due to public anger.

To keep his position as Prime Minister, Benedetto Cairoli had truly made up his mind.

In addition to deploying two armies with a total strength of over 30, 00 men, he also mobilized the Italian fleet to escort these 30, 00 troops.

Even if they were discovered by the French during the Italian landing, with the protection of the navy, there was no need to worry about the safety of these Italian soldiers.

These army and navy forces combined were enough to confront the French troops in Tunisia and buy more time for the Italian government.

To seize more cities before the French could react, the Italian government kept its actions completely secret, not even notifying the Spanish side.

Precisely because of this, Gao Da was very curious as to why the Italian government had taken no action after learning that France had signed a treaty with the Tunisian government, to the point that he almost sent intelligence personnel to scout for information.

However, thinking that Tunisia did not have much to do with Spain, Gao Da dismissed his idea.

In any case, Gao Da maintained the same stance: to stand firmly behind Italy. If Italy wanted to contend with France, Spain would certainly be happy to accompany them.

But if Italy itself was unwilling to contend with France, Spain could not exactly force Italy to confront France.

Feeling as surprised as Gao Da was the French government; they had prepared for the Italian government to make a huge scene, but they did not expect the Italian government's reaction to be so quiet.

Although the Italian government had various protests and even threatened to conduct partial mobilization in the border regions.

But the French government also understood that such threats from Italy were more like verbal warnings. Unless Italy was undergoing full mobilization domestically, the probability of a war breaking out between them and France was extremely low.

After all, wars between great powers require sufficient preparation; unless one's strength can crush the other, whoever is better prepared will have the advantage.

Italy's comprehensive strength had a significant gap compared to France, and Italy had to make more careful preparations to be qualified to launch a war against France.

Otherwise, if the Italian government rushed into a war, what awaited them would only be a one-sided result.

The French government's surprise ended quickly; on the next day, the French army sent a telegram to the mainland, stating that they had discovered traces of Italians in the central Tunisian city of Kairouan.

This telegram immediately broke the French government into a cold sweat and instantly made them understand the Italian government's intentions.

The Italian government was clearly "building a wooden walkway in the open while secretly crossing the Chencang." Ostensibly using diplomatic protests and verbal threats to attract French attention, they had actually long since dispatched troops to compete with France for Tunisia.

Because the two countries had not completely broken off relations, the French army did not dare to take the initiative to launch an attack on the Italian army.

Upon discovering that there were already traces of Italians in Kairouan, the French army could only set its sights on the region west of Kairouan.

In the French cabinet meeting, after careful consideration, Prime Minister Jules Ferry issued his order to the French army in Tunisia: to head south with all their might and compete with the Italian army for Tunisian land.

Of course, in the process of seizing land, they were to avoid conflict with the Italian army as much as possible.

The two countries competing for Tunisia could still be summarized as a diplomatic conflict, but if a conflict broke out between the two armies, it would likely evolve into a protracted war.

France did not want a real war to break out with Italy; how to avoid war was the issue Prime Minister Jules Ferry was most concerned about at the moment.

The good news was that the Italian side clearly did not want to start a war either.

Upon discovering that the French army had retreated, the Italian army also quite sensibly did not approach the French army.

Both sides tacitly engaged in a battle for territory in the Tunisian region, with the target of the competition naturally being Tunisian cities and other lands.

There was good news for France: when France launched the war, it had split its forces into two routes. The southern army traveled from the Algerian border city of Tébessa along the road toward the western Tunisian city of Gafsa, then arrived at the central Tunisian port of Gabès.

The southern army's original goal was to outflank Tunisia and cut off the Tunisian people's retreat toward Libya.

Unexpectedly, it backfired and instead became a way to cut off the Italians' path of expansion to the south.

Regardless, the southern army, which was now almost at Gabès, became very important. As long as the southern army could capture Gabès, the Italian army's path of expansion to the south would be completely blocked.

In this way, although Italy occupied many important cities including Kairouan, most of Tunisia's land was in French hands, so France was not too much at a loss.

Furthermore, the land occupied by Italy would be surrounded by France on three sides; whether this was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen.

The competition for land in Tunisia between France and Italy was quite intense, but the land in Tunisia was ultimately limited.

The military actions of both sides lasted for about two and a half weeks, eventually ending with the total occupation of Tunisian land.

Looking at the results obtained by both sides, the one with the biggest harvest was definitely France. France not only occupied the Tunisian capital, the city of Tunis, but also took the central port of Gabès, the western strongholds of Redeyef and Gafsa.

The land obtained by Italy was forcibly divided into two parts by France: the northern part, centered on Kairouan and Sfax, including the port city of Sousse and the coastal city of Moknine.

The southern part mainly included the island of Djerba and some coastal areas near Libya, and extended along the road to occupy Fort Bourguiba.

Further south from here was the desert zone; the Italian army had not yet had time to penetrate it, and there was no need to do so for the time being.

All Tunisian regions except for these were occupied by France, and France occupied the most prime regions of Tunisia.

As mentioned before, Tunisia possesses 160, 00 square kilometers of land, of which 90, 00 square kilometers can be used for cultivation or animal husbandry.

These lands that can be cultivated or grazed are mainly concentrated in the northern and coastal regions of Tunisia, and France was the country that took the lion's share.

However, the land occupied by Italy was not small either, at least 50, 00 square kilometers, of which at least half could be cultivated or grazed, which was also a not insignificant supplement for Italy.

After both sides completed the occupation of Tunisia, it was time for the negotiation phase between France and Italy.

Whether to maintain the status quo according to the actual occupation of both sides, or for one side to force the other to concede to achieve the situation of occupying Tunisia alone, would depend on the results of the negotiations between the two sides.

Far away in Paris, French Prime Minister Jules Ferry sighed. He did not expect that his precise layout would eventually end up on the negotiating table.

Although France occupied most of the land, it failed to occupy Tunisia completely, which for France was equivalent to failing to complete its strategic goal.

Italy occupied at least one-third of Tunisia, which also meant that in the future, France and Italy would engage in relatively intense colonial competition in the Tunisian region.

Although Jules Ferry's planning did not fail, a success that was not completely successful was not a commendation for Jules Ferry himself, and there were still stains on his political record.

Compared to Jules Ferry's sigh, the expression of Italian Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli was clearly much better.

At the very least, Italy has obtained a portion of land, which can now be considered a satisfactory explanation to the Italian public.

More importantly, they must now face negotiations with France. With the support of Spain, Italy may not necessarily fear France in the negotiations.

As long as they can hold onto the land they have already occupied and obtain another portion from France, they can achieve a status quo of splitting Tunisia in two, which is a situation the Italian government can accept.

After all, compared to having nothing at all, obtaining half of Tunisia is already a quite good outcome.

Italy's population is not too large, so developing half of Tunisia is just right. Of course, this also depends on whether the French government is willing.

If the French insist on going their own way, it will be quite difficult for Italy to obtain any part of the land held by France.

After both sides launched a fierce struggle for the land of Tunisia, Yu Kaluo finally understood the Italian government's scheme.

However, Yu Kaluo did not stop the Italian government's actions; if the colonial competition in Tunisia could attract France's attention, that would be for the best.

If Italy did not attract France's enmity, the French would soon discover that the most intense colonial competition with France in Africa was actually with Spain.

By then, the relationship between France and Spain would surely take a sharp turn for the worse, perhaps even becoming a hostile one.

For Yu Kaluo, the reason for strongly supporting any action Italy takes in this incident is precisely to exchange it for future returns from Italy.

If Spain and France engage in fierce colonial competition in the West Africa region, Spain will need Italy to provide diplomatic or even military support.

After all, Spain alone clearly cannot intimidate France. But if Spain and Italy unite, even one of the powerful European hegemons would have to consider the consequences of being dragged into the quagmire of war.

10, 00-word update, thank you all for your support!

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(End of this chapter)