In the wilderness of Algeria, General Treville finally waited for the decisive battle he wanted. This fierce and bloody battle only lasted a few hours, but it caused very tragic casualties. He was driven by the hatred of the country and the family.
, the tribal coalition forces used all their courage and vowed to defeat the French army.
However, even if they had worked hard enough, the objective laws of reality did not depend on human will. The gap in equipment, firepower and training allowed the French army to quickly gain the upper hand. Although the French army suffered heavy casualties, it
It often caused several times more casualties to tribal armed forces.
As the exchange of fire continued, signs of the failure of the tribal alliance became more and more obvious. Not only were the charges on the platform repelled, but even the cavalry clashes were retreating, and control of the battlefield was lost.
By this time, anyone can realize that the winner is about to be decided.
At this time, General Treville, who had been observing the enemy's situation, finally made up his mind. He ordered the hussars around him as reserves to immediately charge towards the enemy's infantry line, which had become very chaotic.
Although there are only four to five hundred of these hussars, wearing gorgeous uniforms, they are like gods descending to earth, making people subconsciously fearful.
They rushed into the chaotic infantry line, swung their sabers to kill every enemy who could not dodge, and smashed the infantry line into pieces like a hot knife cutting through butter.
This decisive blow also shattered the last trace of morale of the tribal coalition. In the sudden change of emotions, the warriors who were originally fearless of death suddenly collapsed. Some people turned around and chose to escape, while others stayed at a loss.
On the spot, he was then carried away by the deserters and fled to the rear.
The so-called defeat is like a mountain, which describes the emotional collapse under despair. The status of warriors and deserters often changes so quickly.
Seeing that the tribal coalition had fallen into a state of collapse, the French army naturally began to pursue them mercilessly.
The hussars galloped along the open wilderness, killing the enemy's deserters. The casualties caused to the enemy by the "pursuit of death and north" were no less than those in the previous fierce battles.
The French army, which turned into a full-line attack, rushed like a tide towards the abandoned village not far away that was the enemy's base camp. Although some of the remaining warriors still put up a fierce resistance, this resistance was of no use after all, and soon they were defeated.
Submerged in the tide of French troops.
However, General Treville clearly observed that there were several men on horseback running wildly deep in the village - it was obvious that the commander on the opposite side decided to abandon his troops and escape alone.
Although this is indeed a bit embarrassing, it is also a wise move.
The French cavalry tried to catch up with these runners, but they were blocked by the ruins of the village and their mounts were very powerful, so they could only watch them run away.
And this is the only regret the French army has today.
In today's battle, they severely damaged the coalition forces that their opponents had finally assembled, causing the enemy several times their own casualties. This was undoubtedly a great victory. The tribes suffered heavy losses. In the following battles,
Within one or two years, it will be difficult to cause any obstacles to the French army's operations.
In the bleak spring breeze in the wilderness, General Treville rode his horse on the tragic battlefield, staring at the complete and mutilated corpses with an expressionless face. The deaths of these people were ultimately caused by him.
Of course, as long as you win, it will all be worth it.
Wherever General Treville passed, various French troops who had not yet recovered from the joy of victory burst into violent cheers. Some even lifted their military caps high with bayonets, and then
Waving hard.
In this excited mood, General Treville quickly calculated his own losses, which was about three to four hundred casualties. Although the number of casualties reached nearly one-tenth of his own troops, the losses suffered by the opposite side were
It is much larger, so it is acceptable.
He ordered the entire army to rest on the spot, treat the wounded, and then continue to retreat along the same route the next day. But this time, they were no longer a makeshift army, but an upright and triumphant division.
He was envied by his colleagues and cheered by the public.
As soon as General Treville returned to Algiers, the elderly governor-general Marshal Moncey summoned him immediately.
As soon as they met, the old man gave the general a warm hug. "My friend, congratulations on your success."
"This is just the beginning." The Marquis replied modestly, "In order to live up to His Majesty's expectations, I will have to work harder in the future."
"That's natural, everything is for Your Majesty!" The marshal laughed.
Having said that, he also knew in his heart that the Treville family was in a precarious situation recently, so they urgently needed a military victory to silence the outside world.
And his victory this time is nothing less than a shot in the arm for the family. At least for now, no one will doubt that the Marquis has fallen out of favor.
Now that the best result had occurred, Marshal Moncey did not hesitate any longer. Instead, he ordered the Marquis to write a summary report on his military operation this time, and then sent it to Paris with his own compliments.
.
Although in most cases this kind of report is just self-promotion and boasting of military prowess, General Treville wrote it extremely seriously.
Not only did he write down the specific details of this military operation, he also elaborated on his thoughts in another direction.
In the view of the Marquis, the empire's conquest of Algeria was not only to cater to the needs of public opinion to show off its military prowess, but also to expand the living space for the French.
We must work hard both militarily and economically to digest this new territory.
Although the interior of Algeria is a barren desert land, it has quite good agricultural conditions in the coastal zone. With a little development, it can be turned into a prosperous province of the empire.
To achieve this goal, a large number of immigrants must be immigrated to Algeria, allowing French farmers to occupy the farmland, orchards and wells. Only in this way can this conquest be truly meaningful.
Of course, this is not a military issue but a political issue. The general himself cannot make the decision. He can only advise the central government in Paris while using brutal means of burning, killing, and looting in actual actions to support the relocation of immigrants.
Make preparations in advance.
Marshal Moncey did not comment on the general's "far-sightedness". Anyway, in his opinion, he had only a few years left to live, so he could just leave these matters to his juniors to decide.
Soon, General Treville's report and Marshal Moncey's letter of commendation were sent to the Palace of Fontainebleau, and this good news also made Aiglon very happy.
Although compared to the past imperial era, this kind of victory on the scale of several thousand people is really not worth mentioning, but in this period when the European continent is generally balanced, it is worth being happy to be able to obtain such a victory.
The people of the empire, after more than ten years of lethargy under the Bourbon Restoration Dynasty, were also very eager for some good news to stimulate their national sentiment.
Of course, although he is willing to satisfy the national vanity of the French people, he does not want to be coerced by this vanity. The conquest of Algeria is exactly the result of this tightrope walk - European countries have no interest in Algeria, but they are also happy to see France
People concentrate here, and for Aiglon, this kind of conquest is not difficult to achieve, and he will not be stuck here and unable to get out.
General Treville's report also reminded Aiglon in another aspect.
"Immigration to the border" is a common occurrence in imperial conquests in history. It is not a strange thing. Even the contemporary British are frantically immigrating to colonies such as Australia and Canada, extending the tentacles of the empire into every corner of these places.
——By the way, the indigenous people also suffered tragic disasters.
Of course, Aigron can imitate this.
However, he is now facing an extremely difficult problem - there are simply not that many people in France who need to immigrate!
Since ancient times, France has been the most populous country in Europe, with a population of about 30 million. The French monarch who left has never lacked troops and can fight all enemies to the end.
However, after the Great Revolution, France's population growth entered a period of near stagnation, and was successively surpassed by Russia and Germany.
Is it because the living environment in France is so bad that it cannot support such a large population?
Of course this is not the case. In fact, the hexagonal land of France is the most fertile and prosperous land in Europe. The rich food culture of the people is enough to show that their living standards are not low.
Is it because of the war? It is true that the French suffered very serious population losses in the late Louis XIV period and the Great Revolution, but as long as there is a "peace period", the population will naturally recover.
So, after eliminating all options, the remaining options are obvious - the French no longer love having children, so they have no motivation to increase their population.
So why does such a result occur?
There are different opinions on this issue, but after debate, there is a generally unified view.
First of all, before the Industrial Revolution, France had already entered into an early urbanization process, and Paris became the largest city. Urbanization often means low birth rates, because the people who crowd in the city and rent cheap houses simply
I don’t want or have the ability to have children.
It would be fine if this was only the case in cities, but French farmers also began to reduce their fertility.
Because during the Great Revolution, the real estate of the nobility and the church was divided and auctioned, and then became the "ancestral property" of the farmers. For the farmers, the land was the lifeblood of the family.
During the Great Revolution, the primogeniture system was abolished and the family property was divided equally among all sons. Therefore, in order to prevent the small plots of land they finally obtained from being divided, farmers were unwilling to have too many children.
Because of these social factors, the French fell into the trap of low fertility in advance during this period. Compared with other countries where the population has doubled, the French population has grown very slowly.
Since the population is increasing slowly, it seems awkward to explore and conquer Algeria. After all, there are not that many people willing to leave their homes and come to North Africa to start their new life.
Historically, after France conquered Algeria, in order to increase its white population base, it had to actively recruit immigrants from poorer European countries such as Spain and Italy. At one time, the number of immigrants from European countries was almost the same as that of the French, and Algeria became
It has become the "back garden" of Europe, and many French people said sadly that it was too embarrassing that we spent so much resources and manpower to conquer Algeria, but became the "pioneer for the king".
Embarrassing as it is, facing reality, the French imperial and republican governments can only try to shape French identity within the European immigrants in North Africa and assimilate them into the French nation in North Africa.
Although such efforts have indeed achieved certain results, in the face of the general trend, they can only be regarded as remedial measures.
For Aigron, this kind of "history" is the problem he hopes to avoid.
In the final analysis, his conquests were to enhance his own strength and prestige. Turning Algeria into an overseas province of France was an important means for him to gain prestige.
To put it more bluntly, he did not want to "push forward for the king". He wanted to do what General Treville proposed and let French farmers fill the best land in North Africa. Only in this way can it be called a real conquest.
To achieve this goal, we must solve the problem of low fertility that is currently spreading in the country and adopt policies to encourage childbirth.
Of course, it is not that easy to change the collective consciousness of society, but he must try to change it - after all, this is his obligation.
From another perspective, Aiglon has set an "exemplary example" in improving France's fertility rate. He and Queen Theresa already have two children, and there will be more in the future; and he also has another child.
Illegitimate daughter, and sister Agnes who is still pregnant.
If the people are as energetic as him, then why worry that the problem cannot be solved! Alas, the people of this generation cannot do it!
However, he himself also knows that if he wants to encourage childbirth, it is useless to just shout slogans. He needs to establish a series of social mechanisms and spend real money to help citizens solve their concerns. Historically, the French government has failed a lot.
It was only after the Second World War that the problem was finally alleviated, allowing the French population to increase from nearly 40 million to more than 60 million in a short period of time.
And this is what Aigron hopes to strive for.
However, in this pre-industrial era, the government's capabilities and resources were also limited. It was impossible for it to invest huge amounts of resources to change the social status quo. It could only do its best.
The farmers of Algeria are the real foundation for the development of the empire. No matter how brutal a military conquest is, it will pass. Only the composition of the population can truly solve the problem.