CHAPTER 523: CHAPTER 515: CHAOTIC LANDING AND FOOD CRISIS

After tasting success, Brigadier General MacMahon handled the first wave of bandits and immediately began clearing the second wave. Each bandit camp was swiftly destroyed by the Zouave soldiers, like a hot knife through butter, and all the bandits in the camps were shot dead at Ivanov’s insistence.

The bodies of the bandits were also bought by Ivanov at a price of ten francs each and transported to Yevpatoria Town by cart.

The wealthy merchants of Yevpatoria Town, who originally had fear and resentment towards the French Empire, immediately expressed their gratitude to MacMahon upon seeing the carts filled with bodies.

For these merchants engaged in the flour and wine business, nothing was more detestable than the Tatar bandits.

To show their gratitude to Brigadier General MacMahon and others, Kasina Cheyev organized the wealthy merchants in town to present honey, fruit wine, grape wine, and flour as gifts to the Zouave Corps stationed outside the town.

After five days of clearing, the Tatar bandits within a ten-kilometer radius centered on Yevpatoria Town were eradicated by MacMahon.

The profits gained from eliminating the bandits amounted to several million francs, including gold watches, gold jewelry, exquisite furniture, flour, etc.

With earnings overflowing, Brigadier General MacMahon brought all the jewelry and furniture to Yevpatoria Town for sale, then converted the sales money entirely into necessities like bread and fruit wine.

Under MacMahon’s operations, the resistance towards the French Imperial Army in Yevpatoria Town almost disappeared, and the town’s residents gained some profit from the bandit elimination operation.

As for the one million francs needed to redeem the town, it was naturally also turned into material by Brigadier General MacMahon.

To store these goods, Brigadier General MacMahon specifically established a warehouse in Yevpatoria Town, and the villagers enthusiastically contributed to furnishing the warehouse for the French Imperial Army.

After the warehouse was built, each villager received a 5-franc bank note with Napoleon’s portrait.

The bank notes can be exchanged at par with France, establishing a preliminary exchange system detached from the Russian Empire on the Crimea Peninsula.

In the following days, one supply ship after another docked at the port of Yevpatoria Town, bringing new and unseen items to the town.

The originally ignorant town broadened its horizons significantly due to the arrival of the French Empire. The keen Kasina Cheyev immediately saw a business opportunity and hurried to MacMahon’s command post to cautiously inquire about the source of the goods on these supply ships.

"Of course, it’s from the French Empire!" Brigadier General MacMahon responded indifferently, then added, "Currently, the processing center is on Rhodes Island!"

Since Rhodes Island was designated as a transfer and processing center by Jerome Bonaparte, machines from France were continuously shipped to Rhodes Island.

Bakeries, canneries, weapon repair factories, artillery production lines were established on Rhodes Island, and the materials needed by these factories were all sourced from the Ottoman Empire. This significantly saved the cost of French supply ships transporting supplies from France to the Crimea Peninsula and also strengthened the French Empire’s control over the Rhodes Island area.

"Brigadier General, could I discuss something with you!" Town Mayor Kasina Cheyev said deferentially to Brigadier General MacMahon.

"What do you want to discuss?" MacMahon glanced at Kasina Cheyev and asked.

Kasina Cheyev proposed his request, hoping that the next supply fleet could bring some machines for processing bread. He offered to buy them at a 20% profit above market price.

"Processing bread?" Brigadier General MacMahon looked up and down at Kasina Cheyev and laughed, "You old fox, you’re quite crafty!"

"I have no choice! In this position, I have to do something!" Kasina Cheyev humbly replied to Brigadier General MacMahon.

"The price of one set of machines is not cheap, are you sure you want it?" Brigadier General MacMahon asked again.

"Of course!" Kasina Cheyev resolutely responded to Brigadier General MacMahon.

"Alright! Since you are willing, I’ll make it happen! However, the price of one set of machines will be higher than the market price by this much!" MacMahon held up three fingers, the meaning was clear.

The 30% above market price indeed made Kasina Cheyev feel distressed, but thinking of making up the difference by providing bread to the French Empire, Kasina Cheyev gritted his teeth and nodded to Brigadier General MacMahon.

"Alright! I’ll inform them over there!" Brigadier General MacMahon nodded and replied to Town Mayor Kasina Cheyev.

The next day, the supply ship arrived at Yevpatoria Town as usual, and MacMahon honestly conveyed Kasina Cheyev’s request to them.

The supply ship captain readily agreed with MacMahon, saying, "No problem! Just have them prepare 200,000 francs!"

"I will tell them!" Brigadier General MacMahon nodded to the supply ship captain, then inquired about the landing situation of the Allied Forces in Catami Bay.

Why haven’t the Allied Forces completed the landing even after more than a week?

"Ah!" The supply ship captain sighed and complained to Brigadier General MacMahon, "You have no idea how chaotic it is over there!"

"Impossible!" Brigadier General MacMahon asked in surprise, "I remember our army has practiced many times! How could there be confusion?"

"It’s not us!" The supply ship’s captain paused for a moment, then said with a bitter smile, "It’s our so-called allies!"

"What’s wrong with them?" Brigadier General MacMahon asked in confusion.

The supply ship’s captain explained, "According to the original plan, 60,000 of our French Empire troops were supposed to be the first to land. After we completed the landing, the Kingdom of Britain, the Sardinian Kingdom, and the Ottoman Empire would land in sequence.

However, on the eve of the landing, Commander Lagren suddenly changed his mind and insisted that the Kingdom of Britain’s troops should be the first to land, saying it was the request of Prime Minister Palmerston.

To keep the alliance together, Marshal Saint Arno had no choice but to agree to let the Kingdom of Britain be the first to land, giving them ample time to do so.

However, Marshal Saint Arno underestimated the Kingdom of Britain’s landing speed.

Originally, the Kingdom of Britain needed only a day to land, but they took an entire week to complete the process.

Once the British landing was completed, the Sardinian Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire also requested Marshal Saint Arno to allow them to land earlier.

Marshal Saint Arno also agreed to their request. Now, the Sardinian Kingdom and the Ottoman Empire are still landing, and it is expected to take another two to three days to complete.

In my opinion, we might as well go it alone in this war. None of these allies are reliable!"

Upon hearing the supply ship captain’s complaint, Brigadier General MacMahon only smiled slightly. He knew very well that the allies of the French Empire were far less effective than France itself, but the French Empire couldn’t do without their help.

If the French Empire lacked their assistance, it would likely be France versus the three countries of Prussia, Austria, and Russia, unlike now, where the Russian Empire is isolated by all of Europe.

A few days after the supply ship left, an ironclad flying the French Empire flag appeared in the waters near Yevpatoria town.

Brigadier General MacMahon hurried to the dock to welcome the guests from the ironclad. After the ironclad docked, Major General Conrobel and his adjutant, Captain Jerome Patterson, disembarked.

"Major General!" Brigadier General MacMahon hurriedly saluted Major General Conrobel respectfully.

After carefully observing the surroundings, Major General Conrobel nodded in satisfaction and said to Brigadier General MacMahon, "You’ve done well!"

"You’re too kind!" Brigadier General MacMahon responded modestly.

Subsequently, after Brigadier General MacMahon’s invitation, Major General Conrobel and his adjutant, Captain Jerome Patterson, entered the camp for a hearty meal.

After the meal, Major General Conrobel, with a serious expression, made a request to Brigadier General MacMahon. He had come with orders from Marshal Saint Arno to seek aid.

"Is it our allies causing trouble again?" Brigadier General MacMahon responded to Major General Conrobel.

"Alas!" Major General Conrobel sighed and explained to Brigadier General MacMahon.

It turned out that the food supply for the British, Sardinian, and Ottoman troops had been entirely consumed during the landing, and their supply ships could not provide them with enough food. Even though they had desperately scoured the surrounding farms, the supplies they obtained were insignificant compared to their enormous armies.

Therefore, the British, Sardinian, and Ottoman troops turned to Marshal Saint Arno for help, and he had no choice but to agree to their request.

However, they needed to purchase grain from France.

"Can you spare some of it over here for them?" Conrobel inquired of Brigadier General MacMahon.

"I’ll have to ask the mayor!" Brigadier General MacMahon called over Mayor Kasina Cheyev to inquire if they had enough bread.

"How many people?" Kasina Cheyev asked Brigadier General MacMahon.

"Approximately 30,000 people!" Brigadier General Conrobel answered Kasina Cheyev.

"I’m afraid our small town can’t supply that!" Kasina Cheyev responded, then added, "However, if your troops are willing to spend a little money, I might be able to find a way!"

"A way? What way?"

"Odessa!"