Chapter 226 The wind blows across Europe

Chapter 227 The wind blows across Europe

Topkapi Palace.

Sultan Hamid I, who was sitting on a large square chair, saw Kalafat stepping into the door. He supported the cushion with his hands and tried to sit up straighter, but the weakness in his muscles made him give up.

His life of confinement before the age of 43 left him in very bad physical condition. Although he is only 64 years old now, he is already showing signs of running out of fuel.

He raised his hand and waved to the Grand Vizier who was saluting, and asked in an obviously breathless voice: "Is there any news from the Maghreb?"

"Maghreb" means "the land of the sunset" in Arabic. The first Arabs to arrive in North Africa used this word to refer to the central and western regions of North Africa.

Grand Vizier Kalafat nodded worriedly: "Your Majesty, the Algiers Guards did send troops under the instruction of Said... He even used your name."

Hamid I sighed: "Where are the others?"

"His servant returned to Kostantiniya last night, saying that he had jumped into the Mediterranean half a month ago."

"He retained his dignity as an imperial envoy."

Calafate lowered his head and said: "Your Majesty, regarding Tunisia's annexation to France, you see..."

Hamid I stared down at the patterns on the carpet and waved his hand again: "Send someone to France to show the proper attitude of the empire."

He warned with some worry: "Don't use too strong words. We have to concentrate on dealing with the Russians."

Just a few days ago, the Russian commander-in-chief Potemkin divided his troops into six groups to storm the Ochakov Fortress. It only took a few hours to occupy this important town on the northwest side of the Black Sea.

In this battle, Potemkin captured more than 13,000 Turkish troops, and his troops pointed directly at the Danube River.

"Speaking of Russia," Hamid I glanced at Kalafat, "How are you going to deal with it?"

Although the Grand Vizier is not directly responsible for the military, as the "prime minister" of the Ottoman Empire, he is still very clear about the deployment of troops.

"The situation is not very optimistic..." Kalafate hesitated before continuing, "Both Austria and Russia are increasing their troops. The generals believe that all efforts must be made to prevent the Russian and Austrian divisions from meeting.

"The preliminary plan is to gather 150,000 troops to reach the Danube area before next summer, capture Bingera and Ajud one by one, cut off the connection between Russia and Austria, and then recapture Ochakov."

"150,000 people." Hamid I nodded, "How sure do you think you can defeat the Russians?"

"This, we have the strength advantage and we should be able to win."

The Sultan signaled Kalafat to come closer, leaned forward and whispered: "If you still can't win this time, try to negotiate peace with Russia. Give up the northern shore of the Black Sea in exchange for peace..."

Joseph never expected that his actions in North Africa would accelerate the disintegration of Ottoman morale. The Ottoman Empire, which was originally going to fight to the last soldier but gave up on the northern shore of the Black Sea due to exhaustion three years later, had lost the will to fight to the death with Russia.

…

London.

Number 10 Downing Street.

British Prime Minister Peter pushed back the resignation on the table and looked up at the Duke of Leeds: "You don't have to do this. North Africa was not our sphere of influence. This time luck is on the side of the French. In fact, your plan is not No problem. I am sure of keeping you in parliament.”

"Hollis acted according to my instructions, and he died." The Duke of Leeds shook his head calmly, "Someone has to be responsible for this, and that person must not be you."

Little Pete was silent.

Hollis was a Whig, his own opposition party. Now he has "committed suicide" in order to suppress the diplomatic disaster of "inciting Tunisia to attack the French".

At the same time, the Duke of Leeds spent a huge amount of nearly 700,000 pounds, but ultimately failed to prevent France from acquiring Tunisia, which can be said to have suffered a major failure.

The Whigs will definitely use this series of events to launch an attack in Parliament. His position as prime minister is already unstable. If this matter gets too big, it might lead to impeachment by the parliament.

He slowly raised the finger holding his resignation, sighed, and asked: "Then, who should take over as Foreign Minister?"

"The Marquis of Wellesley." The Duke of Leeds was obviously well prepared. "He is as young and promising as you, full of strategy and decisiveness. Although he has little political qualifications, I will use my connections to fully support him."

Little Pete nodded silently. The Marquis of Wellesley is his confidant, and he is indeed very capable, and he has always wanted to push him forward.

He paused and looked at the Duke of Leeds again: "So, how do you think we can reverse the French advantage in North Africa?"

The Duke of Leeds immediately shook his head: "Your Excellency, Prime Minister, France is too close to Tunisia, and now it has a firm foothold. We will suffer a lot if we continue to fight them there."

"Do you want us to admit defeat like this?"

"No! On the contrary, we must make every effort to knock France to the ground and pin it down in the mud. This is the only way for Britain to become strong!"

The Duke of Leeds smiled like an old fox: "North Africa is just a piece of fat, don't pay too much attention to it. The Low Countries are the fatal throat! Only by using our strength there can we deal a severe blow to France."

The so-called Low Countries refer to the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg on the northwest coast of Europe.

The Duke of Leeds discussed his lowland strategic plan in detail to little Pitt, and then said: "In addition, the ambitions of Russia and Prussia are also excellent weapons. You must try to bring out their power."

Little Peter nodded thoughtfully: "Prussia has always had a close relationship with us. It's just that Russia seems to be getting closer to France recently."

"Interests," the Duke of Leeds raised his index finger and shook it, "Russia's biggest interest currently lies in Poland. As long as you try to feed Poland to Russia, this giant bear will be willing to destroy everything."

The Duke of Leeds seemed to be explaining his "political affairs": "As for Austria, don't look at them marrying women to the French king, but in fact the conflict between Austria and France is the most serious on the entire European continent!

"Don't forget, they have been enemies for centuries."

Little Pete nodded: "You are right, they have serious conflicts of interest in the Rhine region and Italy."

The Duke of Leeds gave him an approving look: "It's just that the Prussians rose too quickly and attracted Austria's attention. If you can make some kind of understanding between Prussia and Austria, then Austria will immediately expand westward and southward, This will lead to a fierce collision with France!"

…

Austria Vienna.

Schönbrunn Palace.

Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria, could not help but smile after hearing the diplomats' report on the situation in Tunisia: "My dear sister grasped the timing very accurately this time."

He looked at the old man next to him with a long face and a big nose: "The strong pressure from the Russians and us made the Ottomans unable to care, so my sister took the opportunity to pick the fruit of Tunisia. The Ottoman Sultan could only Watching helplessly.”

The old man had a serious look on his face and nodded: "Her Royal Highness is becoming more and more proficient in political methods. Even the British can't say anything this time. After all, it will offend Russia, and even us."

The "Her Royal Highness" he was talking about was Joseph II's sister, Marie Antoinette, now Queen of France. He was a veteran of Maria Theresa's era and had hugged Queen Mary when she was a child, so his address was naturally affectionate.

Joseph II was obviously in a good mood. He made a rare gesture to the attendant to pour him a glass of wine, and gave another glass to the old man: "Does this mean that France's strategic direction has shifted to the southern coast of the Mediterranean?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out, Your Majesty."

"Then we should seize this opportunity to congratulate my dear sister and discuss with her the issues about Italy. Prince Rietberg, you have always had a good relationship with the French political circles. Maybe you are willing to go there for me. Palace of Versailles?"

The old man is the Austrian Minister of State, Kaunitz-Rittberg, who is equivalent to the prime minister. The outstanding politician who single-handedly ended the century-old hostility between France and Olida, presided over the marriage of Queen Marie to Louis XVI, and ultimately led to the "Three Skirts" alliance of Austria, France and Russia.

Although Joseph II took back considerable power from him after he came to power, he is still the most powerful minister in Austria.

Kaunitz immediately stood up and said extremely seriously: "Your Majesty, with all due respect, Austria's national policy should be firmly directed towards the German region and keep an eye on Prussia at all times.

"Dispersing efforts now in Italy will only give the Prussians an opportunity to expand their influence in Germany."

"No, this won't take up too much of our energy." Joseph II was a headstrong person and found it difficult to listen to different opinions. "What you want to do is to discuss with France the division of power in Italy, not to monopolize it.

"Oh, by the way, there is also the 'United Trading Company' they proposed to set up with the Dutch. I am very interested. You can also talk about investing in it."

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go to France." Kaunitz bowed slightly, but said firmly, "But I still want to remind you that Prussia is our most serious concern."

"Yes, Prussia, you are right. So, when do you plan to set off?"

"You can leave tomorrow, Your Majesty."

"Very well. I look forward to your return with good news."

…

St. Petersburg.

Hermitage.

Count Alexei of Bobulinsky saluted his mother nervously. For some reason, he felt a little nervous every time he saw her, even though she was smiling kindly.

Catherine II motioned for him to sit down beside her and said with a smile: "Alyosha, I must admit that your previous contact with the French Crown Prince was very timely."

Russians like to use simplified nicknames when calling close people. Alyosha is Alexei’s nickname.

"Especially the 'Twin Trading Company' you formed. Now that France has obtained a port in North Africa, your trade costs in the Mediterranean will be significantly lower than before. Perhaps your company can also obtain some Tunisian franchises. "

Alexei nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty, His Highness Joseph wrote to me, expressing his intention to double the company's trade volume."

"so much?"

"They not only acquired the Tunisian colony, but also eliminated Tunisian pirates. A large part of the nearly 100 pirate ships captured will become the company's assets, and there are even many skilled sailors on board."

In fact, Joseph captured nearly 160 ships in Tunisian ports, but half of them were large ships suitable for long voyages. As for sailors, many local Tunisians originally served the navy. Now that all Tunisian pirates have been wiped out, these Berbers can basically be used with confidence after being screened.

This directly increased the tonnage of Gemini Trading Company's ships by 150%. That's why Joseph dared to state his goal of doubling trade volume.

For every additional point in French-Russian trade, the British-Russian trade will decrease by one point. This would go a long way towards weakening the close trade relationship between Britain and Russia.

"Oh, that's great." Catherine II gestured to the west, "I think you should congratulate your crown prince friend in person.

"In addition, you can also suggest to him to take advantage of the victory to directly capture Algiers. I remember that those stupid Algiers even took the initiative to attack them."

She was happy to see France continue to harvest the Ottoman provinces in North Africa. Although the Ottomans did not actually rule those places, the constant loss of overseas territories had a huge psychological impact on them.

This would make Russia's war with the Ottomans easier.

Moreover, France may be progressing very smoothly, and it may not even be possible to directly attack the Ottoman mainland from the south.

You know, against a huge empire like the Ottomans, it will not be possible to end the war in three to five years. In the long course of the battle, it was not impossible for France to reach the southern coast of the Ottoman Empire.

"Yes, Your Majesty. In fact, I also want to go to Paris in the near future." Although Alexey is now focusing on running Gemini Trading Company, the colorful world of Paris is also attracting him all the time.

Catherine II seemed to have remembered something, and warned again: "By the way, take Sasha with you. She has been talking about where she wants to go in Paris. But you have to keep an eye on her homework during the trip."

Sasha is Alexandra's nickname.

If this happened in the past, Yekaterina would not trust her beloved granddaughter to her dandy younger son. However, Alexei has obviously become much more mature and stable in the past year, so there should be no problem in letting him watch over Sasha.

…

Paris.

In the Palace of Versailles, the celebrations about North Africa lasted for three days before finally ending.

Joan, Hilada, Ishaq and others immediately returned to Tunisia. After all, there were a lot of things waiting for them to do there.

In Louis XVI's living room, bursts of laughter were heard.

Queen Mary held a clay pot painted with exquisite colorful geometric patterns and admired it up and down.

This is the "hand companion" that Joseph brought back to her from North Africa. It is a treasure made by a Tunisian pottery master hundreds of years ago.

Louis XVI on the side was playing with the camel skin and crocodile skin shotgun bag given to him by his son.

Tunisia's leathermaking craftsmanship is excellent, and the work of top craftsmen is hard to find in Europe.

The happiest person was Joseph's young brother Charles, who was having a great time holding a colorful parrot at the moment.