I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 1136 I've found the right person to rely on; it's truly amazing!

On the second floor of the Dabagia Palace, Sirte looked irritably at the room facing his temporary office, hoping that one of the dozen or so people inside would suddenly jump out and tell him, "I know a shocking secret of the Sultan."

But more than ten days have passed, and these Moroccan sultan's brothers and nephews have offered nothing of value other than begging for mercy.

He had to set about preparing the defenses of Marrakech in preparation for Suleiman's army's counterattack.

However, he only had 3500 Portuguese and Spanish soldiers and 4000 Algiers, and without sufficient ammunition supplies, he was not confident that he could hold the position for long.

Just then, his staff officer rushed in, waving a letter excitedly: "Commander, they've agreed! They've agreed!"

Soult stood up abruptly: "The General Staff has agreed to our withdrawal? No, the news shouldn't have reached Paris so quickly."

“It was the Sultan of Morocco,” the staff officer shouted. “He accepted most of the conditions, including recognizing Spanish rule over Tangier, Tetouan, and northern Sierra.

"And declared the Wazan and Rif tribes as 'enemies of the Sultan,' forbidding any Moroccan from providing them with support..."

Surte's eyes widened immediately. He grabbed the letter and unfolded it to examine it.

The letter was from Soldano. It stated that "because the Marrakesh operation has been very successful, Spanish diplomats are currently negotiating with Moroccan officials regarding the details of the ceasefire."

“Why would this happen?” Soult frowned and looked at the staff officer cautiously. “This could be a plot by Suleiman to mislead us. Tell the soldiers not to let their guard down.”

The Moroccan army never arrived. Four days later, a Spanish officer arrived in Marrakech with a large amount of supplies and horses, and explained to Sirte the reason for Suleiman's sudden capitulation.

"I want to support Hisham to become Sultan?" Sirte was full of questions.

The Spanish supply officer nodded with admiration: "That's what everyone in Meknes is saying. They also say that the army in Marrakech has already sided with Hisham and is ready to march north with you to attack Meknes at any time."

It took Soult a full half hour of questioning before he finally understood the reason behind it.

The crux of the problem was that Suleiman was infertile.

Therefore, the next Sultan can only be chosen from among his brothers.

Hisham, Suleiman's second brother, served as governor of Marrakesh, but was later placed under semi-house arrest by Suleiman for failing to support his succession as Sultan.

Suleiman himself preferred to make his fourth brother, Ibrahim, his successor, but since he happened to be in Meknes to stabilize the situation, he left Ibrahim to guard Marrakech.

As a result, his biggest political rival and the designated heir apparent were captured by the "Spaniards" who raided Marrakech.

Afterwards, it would have been a huge disaster for Suleiman if the Spanish government had supported either of the two men.

Hisham, in particular, was very influential in Marrakech and had many sons. Many Moroccan nobles had secret dealings with him. Historically, it was indeed Hisham's son, Abdul Rahman, who ascended to the Sultanate more than a decade later.

Furthermore, Marrakech is Morocco's economic center. Now that Spanish troops control the city, northern Morocco will face financial collapse in less than six months.

Suleiman had absolutely no confidence that he could defeat the Spanish within six months—he was unaware that Sirte had not brought any logistical supplies.

After a quick deliberation, he decided to abandon the two northern provinces. They had already been occupied by the Spanish army, and he knew it would be difficult to take them back; it would be better to use them to secure a ceasefire.

At the same time, if he could use the Spanish to eliminate those northern tribes that had always harbored rebellious intentions, it would also remove a major threat from his mind.

Thus, West and Morocco signed the Treaty of Fez with remarkable speed. After his "one-month tour" of Marrakech, Soult led his army back to Melilla along the northern foothills of the Atlas Mountains.

One month later.

The Spanish First Minister, Count of Florida Blanca, along with a group of Spanish military and political dignitaries, arrived at Versailles Palace and delivered a personal letter from Charles IV to Joseph.

"His Majesty originally intended to visit you in person. However, the war in Portugal is not yet over, which prevents His Majesty from leaving Madrid."

Joseph unfolded the letter and saw that the first half expressed gratitude for France's help in resolving the Moroccan incident, while the latter half mentioned that the Ceuta fortress should be handed over to France ahead of schedule.

According to the agreement between Joseph and Charles IV, after Spain recaptured Gibraltar, Ceuta would be controlled by France.

This time, Spain not only saved its tens of thousands of troops trapped in the Rif Mountains, but also unexpectedly gained the entire northern province of Morocco—Cordoba was originally just asking for an exorbitant price, but Suleiman actually agreed to cede Tangier and Tetouan.

Although these two places are not large in area—about 13,000 square kilometers—they are plains adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea, with fertile land and access to Mediterranean shipping trade, making them excellent colonies.

More importantly, with these two locations, Spain's territory north of the Rif Mountains was now completely contiguous. The Moroccan tribes would no longer be able to launch separate raids.

As for the northern tribes such as the Vozan, having lost their legitimacy, they dared not entangle themselves with the Spanish army any longer and mostly retreated into the Rif Mountains. A few tribes also chose to submit to the Spanish.

So when the news reached Madrid, Carlos IV was overjoyed and immediately decided to hand over Ceuta to France ahead of schedule.

It's important to know that historically, Spain didn't acquire colonies along the northern coast of Morocco until three or four decades later, and it required a massive army of 7. And ultimately, they won the war with the help of France.

Of course, the idea of ​​ceding Ceuta ahead of schedule was also the suggestion of several Spanish ministers. After France gained control of the territory, it would certainly be embarrassed to shirk its responsibility in the attack on Gibraltar.

Joseph put the letter back into the envelope, a smile appearing on his face.

Although Carlos IV wasn't particularly capable, he was quite sensible in his actions.

His early handover of Ceuta made it difficult for me to ask him for the "rental fee" for Sirte.

The French Navy is indeed in dire need of having a base near the Strait of Gibraltar.

Previously, it would take at least eight days to sail out of the Mediterranean from the nearest port of Mittja.

From Ceuta Port, it only takes three hours.

This provided the French Navy with a significant strategic advantage in its later westward expansion into the Atlantic and engagements with the British Navy.

Furthermore, many of the French fleet's steam-powered warships could later replenish their coal supplies in Ceuta, significantly increasing their combat efficiency.

(End of this chapter)