The Fox of France

Bats and Francis covered each other as they descended below. Bats picked up the fallen torch and extended it, illuminating the surroundings.

"See anything, Bats?" shouted someone from above.

"Nothing..." Bats walked inside, holding the torch, and said. Suddenly, his foot seemed to catch on something.

Bats stumbled, almost falling, and the torch sank down. In front of him, a child with wide-open eyes appeared, but those eyes were all whites.

"Ah!" Bats exclaimed, jumping up, narrowly avoiding colliding with Francis.

"What's wrong?" asked Francis.

"Nothing." Bats recovered and replied, "Just tripped, almost fell on a dead body."

He then extended the torch towards the area. In the firelight, a child with a bleeding mouth lay there, holding a doll. Not far from the child, her mother lay, clutching an empty bottle.

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Further ahead were two boxes with unknown contents.

Soldiers descended, dragging up the boxes and carrying the bodies of the mother and child. The young woman and her child, about two years old, lay lifeless, a common sight that didn't capture much attention. All eyes focused on the boxes.

The boxes were locked, but such locks were only deterrents to thieves. Facing the French, they were useless. A soldier lifted the gunstock, smashing the locks. Then, Philip walked over, uncovering the boxes.

As the lids opened, a burst of golden light almost blinded everyone. The boxes were filled with shining gold coins.

"What is this? Ah, gold! Real gold! Thank Almighty God! All of it is gold!" Philip grabbed a coin, lightly biting it.

"Captain..."

Many soldiers stared at him, their eyes gleaming with a different light.

Philip immediately closed the box, saying, "This is French property. Later, have the priest come to register. This half box of coins should be worth a good sum."

After saying this, he glanced meaningfully at everyone. They understood the captain's intention and burst into laughter.

Although the time the boxes were open was short, everyone saw it wasn't just half a box of coins but an entire box. This meant the captain was willing to lead everyone...

What about this other box? What did it contain? Attention quickly shifted to this question. Another blow from the gunstock broke the lock, and Philip uncovered the lid. People leaned in, but instead of a box full of gold or silver, it contained neatly stacked papers. However, there was no great disappointment. Despite the box appearing larger than the first, it wasn't heavy when lifted. So, even before opening, they speculated it wouldn't contain much.

Philip picked up the topmost paper, a deposit slip from Bovang Bank, worth one hundred thousand francs. Unfortunately, it required a password to withdraw. Without the corresponding password, the money couldn't be accessed by just holding the slip. Even if Abdullah ibn Haqq, the person named on the slip, didn't die in this war and retained the slip, without it, he still couldn't withdraw the money. So, this money was destined to remain untouched in the Bovang Bank account; it might as well be considered Mr. Bovang's money.

There were also some deeds and bills. However, Philip believed these bills were likely uncollectible. At that moment, he noticed smoke rising in other directions, indicating that the siege on other estates was also in full swing.

The Turks and the French attacking the estate from outside were soon discovered by the defending forces inside the city—after all, the tall watchtower on the city wall was not just for show. Adapai Pasha immediately blocked the news, as many people's livelihoods were outside, and if they learned about the situation outside the city, they might not be able to defend the city with peace of mind.

But how could such news be blocked? Soldiers had to go up the city wall for defense. Once on the wall, they could naturally see what the Turks were doing outside. So, military morale began to waver, and some officers immediately came to request that Pasha send troops out to eliminate the invaders. However, Adapai Pasha hesitated, worrying that sending out troops would weaken the defense on the port side. In his dilemma, he received a report that Yusuf Pasha, with his cavalry, was willing to go out and sweep away the enemy.

Hearing this news, Adapai Pasha was overjoyed and rushed to see off Yusuf. Yusuf, with his two hundred cavalry, left the city.

The Turkish cavalry guarding the city gate immediately reacted, firing a firework into the sky to remind their comrades who were happily looting—the enemy was coming out. Then, they approached.

Nowadays, North African cavalry warfare gradually adopted European tactics. They also began to favor cavalry with revolvers. In contrast, Turkish cavalry remained more conservative, still equipped with cavalry spears. Of course, if there was a chance to charge, the long cavalry spears were not necessarily inferior to pistols. However, they wouldn't be foolish enough to engage in close combat when the enemy had pistols. So, with a series of crackling sounds, the Turkish cavalry abandoned their mission of hindering the enemy and scattered. According to post-war statistics, in that moment of cracking sounds, the Turkish cavalry suffered a ten percent reduction. What could they do? Of course, run.

After getting rid of the entanglement with the Turkish cavalry, Yusuf Pasha quickly approached the estate closest to the city.