Chapter 664 From Egypt to Poland
Of course, France’s control of Tunisia is an established fact, but the recognition from the Ottomans is equivalent to eliminating the last hidden danger in this matter.
From now on, Tunisia will be France’s undisputed inherent territory.
Talleyrand bargained again, eventually raising the priority purchase ratio to 70%, and agreed on a series of preferential trade terms.
At this point, the Ottoman trend of fully turning to Britain was officially reversed.
Selim III then invited Talleyrand to a banquet.
As the two of them, surrounded by officials, walked around the huge swimming pool in the palace, Talleyrand suddenly said worriedly:
"Your Majesty, I am a little worried about whether Egypt can remain intact. Carry out your will.”
After a long series of preparations, this is the highlight of his trip.
Selim frowned slightly. Although he lacked confidence, he still waved proudly:
"Please rest assured, they dare not go against my will, otherwise they will face God's punishment."
"This puts me at ease." Talleyrand exhaled exaggeratedly, as if he had thought of something , moved closer to the Sultan, and whispered, "Your Majesty, in fact, now is a good opportunity for you to conquer those disobedient people."
"I don't understand what you mean."
" Murad, Abraham and the land of Egypt The conflicts between the Beys are getting bigger and bigger, and even the "Bey Alliance" is hostile to each other. Even people in Paris are talking about it. If a large army is sent to eradicate the disloyal ministers, the situation of Hassan Pasha will definitely happen again. Brilliant!”
Today Egypt is still a province of the Ottomans in name, and the Sultan will also send governors there, also known as “pashas”, but starting hundreds of years ago, the people who actually ruled Egypt were It is the Mamluk military group.
Especially in the past few years, with the death of the Ottoman general Hassan - who once led his army to defeat the Mamluk army in a local battle and recovered the taxes owed by the latter to the empire - the Mamluks have completely taken control of Egypt. , began to call himself Pasha. The pasha sent to Egypt by the Ottomans was restricted to his residence, and was "personally protected" by Mamluk guards when he came in and out.
However, the Mamluk group also prospered and declined, and internal strife began to occur. The central and local military leaders were at odds with each other, and there were constant conflicts between the clergy group and the Mamluks. Historically, Napoleon took advantage of the Mamluks' civil strife to lead his army to defeat them in one fell swoop and gain control of Egypt.
Salem III glanced at the French and said meaningfully:
"The evil beasts of the north are staring closely at the empire. As long as our army marches to Egypt, they will howl immediately. Go south and tear a piece of flesh from the empire.”
What he didn’t mention was that Austria was also thinking about the Ottoman territories from Wallachia to Bulgaria.
This is also the reason why Ottoman never dared to solve the Egyptian problem.
Historically, it was not until the emperor defeated the Mamluks and withdrew to France under the pressure of the British navy that the Ottomans took the opportunity to regain the empty Egypt.
Of course Joseph would not follow the old path of taking the emperor to make wedding clothes for others. Instead, he encouraged Osman to consume the Mamluks first and then pick the peaches by himself.
Talleyrand deliberately quickened his pace, kept a little distance from the Ottoman officials beside him, and whispered to the Sultan:
"I have an important piece of information to send to you. Russia For a long period of time, at least a year, I have no time to look south.”
A flash of surprise flashed in Selim III's eyes, but he returned to normal in an instant:
"How do you know what Russia will do?"
Talleyrand also didn't know what the intelligence agencies were doing. He received such important news, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was very sure that Russia would attack Poland, so there was nothing wrong with it.
He said with great confidence: "Your Majesty, this is reliable information obtained by our intelligence personnel from the Winter Palace."
"Within half a year to a year, Russia will fully invade Poland."
"But I can assure you that they will be in a hard battle." Selim III immediately turned his head and stared at Talleyrand.
The latter continued: "If you don't believe it, you can send someone to investigate Russia's troop mobilization and material reserves around Poland."
Sely Mu III turned around, and a fair-skinned middle-aged eunuch trotted over and whispered a few words to him.
The Sudan looked at Talleyrand again, nodded to confirm his information, but still said calmly:
"Even if your prediction comes true, it is still too risky for the empire to attack Egypt rashly."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Talleyrand nodded, "It is indeed risky to conquer the Mamluks with the current imperial army. , but what if we add 2,000 new troops of Topiz?”
Selim III couldn’t help but feel stunned.
Talleyrand added: "A full set of French army equipment."
A trace of unconcealable excitement flashed in Selim III's eyes, and he said in a deep voice:
"What if Poland was defeated by the Russians before the empire took back Egypt?"
Talleyrand was secretly happy, but he did not expect the Sudan to say what he wanted to say.
He immediately said seriously: "Your Majesty, so you must provide Poland with as much help as possible to resist the Russian attack."
"This is impossible." Selim III had no idea. He hesitated and said, "I can't declare war on Russia for Poland."
Well, if Russia doesn't come to beat Osman, it will be a loss of face. How can Osman dare to take the initiative to provoke him?
Talleyrand smiled and shook his head:
"Your Majesty, you misunderstood. You know, Poland is a poor country. You only need to provide them with some logistical supplies, which will greatly enhance their combat effectiveness."
The Sultan frowned and spoke with some difficulty:
"The empire no longer borders Poland, how can we send supplies there?"
In the early days, Poland and Poland were originally bordering each other. , but the Treaty of Iasi ceded Crimea to Russia. Since then, the two countries have been separated by Ochakov.
Talleyrand said: "You sent people to transport the supplies through the Black Sea to the mouth of the Dnieper River, and then the people of the Crimean resistance organization went north along the Dnieper River into Poland."
Tell the truth. , he himself felt that this plan was a bit strange, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince asked him to convince the Sultan.
After a while, Selim III said:
“After the banquet, please tell me the details in detail.”
……
South bank of the Seine.
A strange ship painted white, with only two slender masts installed at the bow and stern, and a thick chimney standing in the middle of the deck, is floating quietly on the water. .
On the wooden platform next to the pier, under the gaze of hundreds of nobles and reporters, Joseph threw a bottle of wine tied on a long rope to the steamship behind him.
With a "pop" sound, the wine was scattered, and cheerful music and warm applause suddenly sounded around.
Joseph turned around and announced loudly:
"The 'Poroskafi' officially sets sail! I wish it will always have enough coal!"
(End of this chapter)