My Italy

The ultimatum from Italy is a big deal for Istanbul. Although the Ottomans had already decided to fight Italy, when Italy sent the ultimatum, it was still very shocking news for senior officials in Istanbul.

Of course, now for them, facing Italy's ultimatum, they need to consider the outbreak of war.

So this time His Majesty the Sultan held a meeting, and the focus of his discussion was not an Italian ultimatum at all.

"Halim Pasha, can other countries still fight for it?"

Still in the new palace of Dolmabahçe, and in a meeting personally chaired by His Majesty Sultan Hamid, Kamil Pasha, the Grand Vizier, questioned Halim Pasha, who was in charge of diplomacy.

Although both are government officials, the efficiency of the diplomatic department this time was too low and the activities lasted so long. Except for winning the support of France, other countries stood aside and stood aside. And what’s worse is that some countries are trying to take advantage of the situation.

If this is not a failure of the foreign ministry, is it a failure of the entire government?

Facing the Grand Vizier's question, Halim Pasha could not speak, because there was really no way to explain the matter. But after all, some words are still needed, so Halim Pasha thought about it for a while and then spoke. "As for other countries, Germany and Austria don't need to consider it at the moment. The only ones that can still fight for it are Britain and Russia."

Having said this, Halim Pasha secretly looked at the people present.

But it didn't look like the situation was very good. Facing him, the important ministers including the Sultan frowned. The reason for their frowns was very clear to Halim Pasha: he mentioned Russia.

Regarding the grievances and grievances between the Ottomans and Russia, I could not finish them in three days and three nights.

"Halim Pasha, tell me what the Ministry of Foreign Affairs think. Maybe they will have some good ideas."

The words of Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha broke the atmosphere of the scene and relieved him.

Halim Pasha cast a grateful look at the Grand Vizier and continued. "Currently, the only countries our country can win over are Britain and Russia. As long as we have the support of these two countries, it will be of great help to our country's war against Italy."

What Halim Pasha meant in his words was to seek help from Russia. However, considering the current emotions and opinions in the Ottoman Empire, Britain had to be added as a cover. In Halim Pasha's view, although Russia is eyeing Istanbul, this will also mean that the Russians do not want other countries to have inappropriate thoughts about it, and the Ottoman Empire can take advantage of Russia's attitude to benefit itself. Not to mention anything else, as long as Russia sends some ordnance, it will be a huge help.

Of course, the intensity must be controlled well, otherwise ten thousand British and French people will think that the Ottoman Empire has turned to Russia, which will be really troublesome.

After Halim Pasha finished speaking, there was silence as everyone pondered the meaning of his words.

"Halim Pasha, your proposal is very good, but considering our country's relationship with Russia, we should focus our main diplomatic goals on our British friends."

This time it was His Majesty the Sultan who answered him. It was obvious that His Majesty the Sultan was not willing to accept Halim Pasha's idea of ​​seeking help from Russia.

Following Sultan's words, everyone present secretly breathed a sigh of relief. This result was considered the best. It not only prevented them from expressing their opinions, but also solved this problem.

But no one noticed the trace of unwillingness flashing in Halim Pasha's eyes.

However, in addition to seeking support from Britain and Russia, the Ottomans also have an urgent problem that needs to be solved, and that is the issue of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The telegrams sent from Vienna reached double digits, and they all required Istanbul to make a decision on how to respond to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Regarding the telegram sent by the Vienna ambassador, the Ottoman Empire's ministers were also a little helpless.

Refuse, because I'm afraid that the Austro-Hungarian Empire will do it on its own, and then the whole empire will not look good. Agree, this makes Osman lose face again. So before this, Istanbul always adopted a drag-and-drop formula.

But now it can't be delayed anymore, the Vienna ambassador's telegrams are becoming more and more frequent, which also means that the patience of the Austro-Hungarians is about to be exhausted.

So taking this opportunity, Halim Pasha raised questions about Bosnia and Herzegovina.

"So regarding the question that Austria-Hungary wants our country to transfer the suzerainty of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I don't know how to reply?"

Facing another question raised by Halim Pasha, the ministers present were even more speechless.

The reason is simple. At present, the Ottoman Empire only has nominal suzerainty in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the rest is managed by Austria-Hungary. This is actually a question of one sentence, but this sentence hurt Osman no less.

So this problem has now reached the point where it must be solved.

“What are the current conditions for Austrians?”

The person who asked this question was Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha. Facing the head of government of the Ottoman Empire, Halim Pasha could only answer truthfully.

"At present, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is willing to give 2.4 million pounds as compensation. According to the report of our ambassador in Vienna, the Austrians are already a little impatient. Their head of government, Count Carnoky, has said that if our country continues to refuse to agree, they will handle it themselves. Bosnia and Herzegovina will no longer talk to our country.”

Halim Pasha's words silenced the scene for a moment, and even the toughest Minister of War, Nuri Pasha, fell silent. The field marshal was not a fool. If he shouted his objections at this time, there would be no good fruits to be gained. On the contrary, it might lead to the possible intervention of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. When the time comes to face the pressure of war between Italy and Austria, even a fool knows that it is impossible to win.

Not to mention the possibility of triggering a chain reaction throughout the Balkan Peninsula. Countries such as Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria are eyeing the Ottoman Empire's territory in the Balkan Peninsula. Whether Istanbul can be saved by then is a question.

Therefore, at this time, you must not speak at will.

This time, the atmosphere at the scene became more solemn, and the scene of silence reappeared.

Looking at the performance of the ministers in the hall, Abdul Hamid II, as the Sultan, felt a little excited. Needless to say, he knew that these people were waiting for him to make a decision.

When he thought of leaving any problems that these people could not solve to him, Hamid II had the idea of ​​replacing all the people in front of him. But this kind of thought is just a thought. If he really does this, no one will handle the affairs of the empire for him.

Although he couldn't replace them, as the sultan, he could still give them a small punishment. So he pointed his finger at Kamil Pasha, the grand vizier, and asked. "My Grand Vizier, what do you think should be done about this matter?"

Faced with the Sultan naming the problem to him, Kamil Pasha changed slightly, but under the Sultan's attention, he could only bite the bullet and speak. "Your Majesty, I think it would be best to talk?"

Kamil Pasha's words made the Sultan furious. "Why are you saying this again? Just tell me from the Chamber of Commerce that you want to talk. Now the Austrians almost don't want to talk, and you still want to talk."

Facing His Majesty the Sultan's anger, Kamil Pasha sweated on his forehead. He knew that the Sultan was angry and had no other choice but to meet his demands, so he could only defend himself.

"Your Majesty, the last talk was to squeeze more conditions from the Austrians, so no goal was set, but this time it is different. I will send a telegram to the Vienna Ambassador to agree to Austria-Hungary's conditions in due course. .”

After seeing that the Grand Vizier assumed his due responsibilities, Abdul Hamid II turned his attention to other people.

"What the Grand Vizier said is very good, I have no objection."

"I don't have any objection either."

The answers came one after another, allowing Kamil Pasha to take on this responsibility.

After solving this problem, the meeting continued, but many people looked at Foreign Minister Halim Pasha frequently, fearing that he would raise problems again.

Halim Pasha, who was being watched, could only smile bitterly. If he didn't mention this issue, should he just pretend it never happened?

After solving these two problems, things got better next, because the talk was about preparations for war, which gave the main role to the Minister of War Osman Nuri Pasha.

The Army Secretary went on to talk about several existing problems of the Army, such as insufficient supplies, insufficient ammunition stocks, training of officers and soldiers, and mobilization of troops. However, the Secretary of War's problems are much easier for the government to solve. Most of these problems can be solved with money.

At present, the war bonds issued by the Ottomans in Britain, France and other countries are pretty good, so the Ottoman finances are quite comfortable.

Time was lost in such discussions, and the two days given by Italy passed by in this situation.

Istanbul certainly did not forget the threat from Italy. Less than three hours before the final time, a telegram was sent to the ambassador in Rome, Akhtar Mohammad Mansu.

Looking at the telegram in his hand, Mansu didn't feel comfortable at all even though he had been prepared for it. But the order from Istanbul left him no choice.

But before preparing to go out, he had ordered the embassy to burn confidential documents immediately and prepare luggage because they would not be able to stay long.

When he arrived at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, its Foreign Minister Gemini Bacona was already waiting here. He looked at his pocket watch. "Very good, there are still forty-five minutes left. I want to know what your attitude is when you bring your country?"

Faced with Bakona's words, Mansu, who was expressionless, nodded slightly and spoke. "Our country will never agree to your country's unreasonable demands. This is our country's answer."

After finishing speaking, he took out the formal reply message from Istanbul and handed it over.

After receiving the message from the ambassador, Bacona glanced at it and put it aside. Then he took out a declaration of war that he had prepared and handed it to Ambassador Mansu.

"I'm sorry, but since your country has made such a choice, our country has no choice but to meet you on the battlefield."

Facing the declaration of war in front of him, Manersu accepted it silently. "I'm sorry. Since this is your country's choice, let's meet on the battlefield. Let the guns decide who is the loser locally."

Looking at the tough Ottoman ambassador in front of him, Bakona showed a hint of admiration. "Mansu, you have seventy-two hours to evacuate. I don't think you will forget it."

Faced with Bakona's words, Mansu replied calmly. "We will not forget that this is the basic quality of a qualified diplomat. Goodbye, Your Excellency Bakona, I hope to see you in Istanbul."

"Don't worry, I will be waiting for your representative in Rome."

In the evening, the front-page headlines in major newspapers read that Italy was now in a state of war with the Ottoman Empire because of its rude rejection of reasonable demands.

At this moment, the date on the newspaper was so eye-catching. On March 4, 1890, Italy and the Ottomans went to war.