Dominate the Country

In the hall of the Sultan's Palace, Selim III quickly met two familiar envoys.

Wearing a decent dress, a white wig, and the smell of perfume all over the body, there is a hint of arrogance in the "elegant". These are the aristocrats of England and Austria.

What makes Selim III funny is that these two people were showing off to him not long ago, and now they are trying to sell it to him.

This is what happens between countries.

People often say that there is no hatred between husband and wife. This sentence is more applicable between countries. Two countries that were once enemies may become allies overnight because of something, such as Britain and France during World War I; two countries that were once close allies may become enemies overnight because of something, like Germany And Tsarist Russia, and Britain.

The Ottomans are enemies with Austria, and their relationship with the British is not much better, but Europeans have been practicing diplomacy for hundreds of years, and they still have the basic qualities of professional diplomats, and the two sides are still very friendly when they meet. Both the two ambassadors and King Selim III saluted and said hello very politely.

After the polite greetings, Selim III directly raised his own question:

"I wonder why the two envoys came to Istanbul this time? I heard that you just returned to London and Vienna and set off to return to Istanbul again. With such urgency, you should be bringing good news, right?" Selim III There was a hint of teasing in his words.

The British envoy George Johnson said:

"Dear His Majesty the Sultan, the new year is coming, and in this joyous season, the two of us do bring the good news you expected. But in addition to these, we also bring some small requests. If these small If the request can be met, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Holy Roman Empire will give His Majesty even greater good news.”

Only temptation, no threat. Johnson did not say what would happen if their 'small' demands were not met.

London's wisdom is evident.

The Ottoman Empire is no longer the original Ottoman Empire, and their "power" can also be seen.

This is the only first-class power in the Tianfang world. For a country that can stand alone against a joint attack by Austria and Russia for two or three years, overly explicit threats are a very foolish diplomatic approach.

Selim III also laughed, knowing the scruples of London and Vienna, this feeling made him feel really good. What could be more bitter than suppressing one's enemies and not daring to say a harsh word to oneself?

The British and Austrians in front of me dare to be angry but dare not speak out, right? Their 'threats' were not force, but economic interests as bargaining chips. Such threats did not make Selim III angry:

"Then please, Mr. Ambassador, please tell me in detail!"

"Dear Your Majesty the Sultan. All our good news is here." The British ambassador immediately took out a large list. "An order for food, arms and medicine totaling three hundred thousand pounds, and a purchase intention of seven hundred thousand pounds. As long as our requirements are met, they will be turned into gold and sent to His Majesty's palace immediately!"

And this million pounds is just the answer given by the London family. Don't forget that the Austrians will also pay some blood, as well as the Russians. The three families together can make a huge fortune, two million is only a lot more. Even if the Ottomans could only get a small part of the profit from it, it would be two to three hundred thousand pounds.

Of course, more profits lie in China. The life of the Ottomans as second-rate traders is, to put it bluntly, taking chestnuts from the fire for China. In the material trade with the French, the British were more ruthless about Ottoman, the agent, rather than the manufacturer behind it.

But no one in Istanbul has seen through this, or they simply ignored it in the face of huge profits.

Selim III took the list and glanced at it.

The list of supplies purchased is nothing more than cotton yarn, grain, medicine, ammunition, etc. There is nothing special except that the quantity is relatively large. When it came to the purchase intention, he actually discovered the names of a large number of copper, iron, lead, tin and other metals. This surprised Selim III. Could it be that the war in Europe had affected it to this extent?

"As for our small request. We hope that the Ottoman Empire ruled by His Majesty can reduce hostility and maintain peace with the Russian Empire, so that the people on both sides can live a life that is no longer filled with war and blood."

The British attitude was so low-key that they even chose to turn a blind eye to the looming 'trade' between the Ottomans and France. This really made Selim III extremely comfortable. Of course, although the British kept their posture very low, in the end Johnson still revealed a small suggestion for Austria-France trade: In the future material transactions between the Ottomans and France, the Ottomans can completely sell them to the United Kingdom and Austria at equal prices. .

If the Ottomans were willing to give up trade with France, they were even willing to pay a premium to acquire it.

This almost means that we understand the position of the Ottomans - their friendship with France has a long history, so we do not expect the Ottomans to completely sever their relationship with France under the current situation. But it’s okay to ask the Ottoman Empire to do as little business as possible with the French, right? If the Ottomans really have goods, can Britain and Austria pay for them?

The Ottomans are seeking wealth. The British and Austrians both have money. Whose money is not earned?

"Haha!" Selim III burst into laughter.

The British attitude is good, very good. But it is too "simple"!

The current trade volume between the Ottoman Empire and France accounts for more than 50% of the Ottoman Empire's re-export trade, which is not a small number. The money that the French got from China - the proceeds from the sale of Louisiana, part of which was turned into military supplies urgently needed by Napoleon. This is what the Ottoman Empire must hand over to the French. So it is really impossible for the Ottoman Empire to completely cut off trade with France.

But from a certain perspective, this promise of the British has a lot of loopholes to exploit, and it is a huge benefit.

You know, France is different from Britain. The war has caused a heavy blow to France's textile industry. The colonies have been isolated from local interests, and their colonial interests have dropped sharply. In the Ottomans' career as second-hand dealers, nearly 60% of the sales of cotton cloth, cotton yarn and raw silk were exported to France.

The Ottomans' "help" solved a big problem for France. If the British and Austrians are willing to "pay a premium" to buy, it will be amazing. Of course, the Ottomans will still do business with France. Some things cannot be bought with money. At this time, the Ottomans maintained trade with France, which was a continuous transfusion of blood to France. This was to save France's life and could deeply consolidate the friendship between France and the Ottomans.

Even if the British and Austrians were willing to pay the same price to redeem the goods, Selim III would not agree. ,

Besides, these trades are not only huge in amount, but also will last for a long time. Selim III felt that as long as the war in Europe continued like this, the Ottomans and France would maintain this scale of trade in the next few decades. What a rich return.

And this will also make the friendship between France and the Ottomans completely stable, which is directly related to the strategic plan of the Ottoman Empire and its long-term plans for the future-with China in the East and France in the West, with these two major allies, the interests of the Ottoman Empire will be completely protected.

And if France does not have the supply of materials from the Ottomans, the "advantage" of the anti-French coalition countries such as Britain and Austria over France will suddenly rise to a higher level. Even because of the changes in history, Napoleon might end his glorious life ahead of time, and it is not difficult for the history of the French Revolution to be directly rewritten. Then Chen Han's interests would be greatly lost, and the interests of the Ottoman Empire would also be greatly lost.

Even if Selim III was willing to agree to the British proposal, Chen Ming behind him would not let him nod. If the French Revolution was suppressed by the anti-French alliance in advance, Chen Han's loss would be directly at the strategic level. And for Selim III and the Ottoman Empire he ruled, it would also be a disaster. The French Revolution was suppressed, how could they be middlemen? How could they continue to sell weapons to France?

The British would not advance the sales revenue for the next few years to the Ottomans.

Of course, Selim III also hoped that Europe would always be in war. Although a strong continental European country is not in the interests of the Ottomans, if one of Britain and France is destined to become strong, Istanbul would rather that person be Britain than France.

A strong maritime Britain would have huge benefits for both the Ottomans and Selim III himself. This will naturally attract the power of the European continent, thus ensuring the security of the Ottoman Empire.

However, the competition between Britain and France has lasted for three or four hundred years. The contrast has completely caused France, the European hegemon, to fall. Maintaining the two powers' competition is more beneficial to the Ottoman Empire.

Sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight, one of the two tigers will be injured when fighting, and the fisherman will benefit when the snipe and the clam fight...

A series of "Chinese words" echoed in Selim III's mind. The profound Chinese culture is completely "portrayed" with simple words and vivid images of everything the Ottoman Empire is facing now.

Moreover, the Russians and Austrians are the mortal enemies of the Ottoman Empire. Under the encouragement of the British, they really fought a desperate battle with the French Empire. This is simply the most favorable development of the Ottoman Empire.

This also proves the wisdom of the French sages with facts. As the hegemon of the European continent, France is indeed the innate ally of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire, which can easily threaten the core interests of Austria and Russia, really complements France.

"Mr. Envoy, you know the purpose of business very well, and you know that all commercial activities are for profit, so you want to use the power of money to exchange for the goods we sell to France. But you forgot one thing. For a country, there is one thing that is priceless and cannot be bought with money. That is reputation!"

"You can earn money again if you lose it, but if you lose your reputation, no amount of money can bring it back!"

Middlemen also value reputation and dignity.

"Oh? Osman has such a thing?" Johnson didn't say anything, but a hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes.

He didn't believe that Osman, a middleman, had any reputation. During the Silk Road, although China earned a lot of gold from Europe, the people of Arabia benefited more. These shameless people have never had any reputation. What can't be exchanged for this trade? Isn't it just asking for a sky-high price, trying to get more benefits.

"Whether as an ordinary businessman or as a country, credibility is a very important quality. Without credibility, will this country still be trusted? And how much trouble will a country that is not believed no matter what it says be in?" Selim III said with a straight face.

In the short term, this matter is wealth and money; in the long term, it is to shape the national image of the Ottoman Empire and to strengthen the deep friendship between the Ottoman Empire and France.

Even if France is defeated, according to France's size and population, according to France's technology and heritage, it will not take long for France to rise again and become the hegemon of the European continent again.

On the European mainland, the only country that has the capital to compete with France is Russia, but Russia is too poor and backward. There is also a "First German Empire" between the two, so fundamentally there will not be too much contradiction and conflict.

"Uh..." The two envoys from Britain and Austria were stunned at the same time.

This is a completely "over-the-top" statement, and no one can refute it. No one can directly say that credibility is irrelevant, especially professional diplomats like them. But they also knew very well that the so-called national credibility was completely guaranteed by the guns and cannons behind them. Without strength, it was impossible for people to keep their promises.

This is the rule of the game in the West, which is a completely different operating mode from the "Millennium" umbrella produced in China.

However, even if they knew that Selim III was using big words to shut the two people up, they could not find a reason to refute. And through this speech, they made Selim III's attitude clear-that is, he would never agree to stop the "commercial" trade with France.

Looking at the two envoys in front of him who looked relieved and lost, Selim III was very happy.

As long as various materials and weapons are continuously delivered to France, and Napoleon and the anti-French alliance countries continue to fight, the Europeans who are concentrating on internal fighting will definitely have no time to care about the Ottomans. And during this time, Selim III hopes that he can flatten the conservative political forces that hinder reform in the country and completely secularize the Ottomans.

The Tianfang under faith cannot bear the flowers and fruits of science and technology, and in the future world, if a country wants to be competitive, it must not leave science and technology.

Science and technology are the first productive force!

This sentence from the mouth of Emperor Chen in the East deeply influenced Selim III. Even in the whole world, whether in the East or the West, whether in the Arab world, it has a great influence.

Everyone understands the meaning of the three words "productivity", and the meaning of "first" is also obvious. Emperor Chen's admiration for science and technology can be seen from this.

The more Selim III was influenced by this concept, the more clearly he realized that faith suppressed science and technology. If the Ottoman Empire could not become a secular society, the flower of science would never bloom on the land of the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire, which was desecularizing, should have stopped and completely retreated behind the scenes, but the Suez Canal made the Ottoman Empire unable to retreat. It became a glowing fireball, standing beside European countries. And driven by interests, the Ottoman Empire not only did not stay out of it, but was deeply involved in it.

Don't look at the current Ottoman Empire, which has not sent troops or fought, but strategic materials don't count? They are already trapped in it. The more profit they made from this, the more hatred they won from Austria, Britain, and even Russia.

Recognizing Selim III's position, the ambassadors of the two countries finally gave up the hope of success through peaceful means. They looked at each other, and finally it was the British envoy Johnson who spoke:

"Your Majesty, the war in Europe involves the powers of the entire Western world. Although your country's actions seem to win huge benefits in the short term, from a long-term perspective..., I hope Your Majesty can consider it carefully."

Johnson's words seemed to warn Selim III to think twice before acting.

And Selim III curled his lips and smiled disdainfully.

This is the trick used by diplomats. If soft doesn't work, use hard tactics, and threaten if negotiations fail. The reason why Johnson spoke so gently at this moment was entirely because the British today could not threaten the Ottoman Empire at all.

Perhaps in the coming year, British cruisers will kill Ottoman merchant ships all over the Mediterranean, but Selim III is not afraid.

Science and technology is the primary productive force!

Steamships can produce wealth continuously.

Do you really think that the Ottoman Empire will remain unchanged? Selim III has made preparations. By next year, the steam-powered paddle steamers in the Golden Horn should be ready. With the speed of steamships, cruisers and battleships cannot catch up. Except for clipper ships in a favorable wind and water state.

But clipper ships are more vulnerable than steam-powered paddle steamers!