Chapter 663 From Egypt to Poland

Chapter 664 From Egypt to Poland

Of course, France's control over Tunisia is an established fact, but the recognition from the Ottoman Empire is equivalent to eliminating the last hidden danger for this matter.

From now on, Tunisia is France's indisputable inherent territory.

Talleyrand bargained again and finally raised the priority purchase ratio to 70%, and agreed on a series of preferential trade terms.

So far, the trend of the Ottoman Empire turning to Britain has been officially reversed.

Selim III then invited Talleyrand to attend the banquet.

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When the two of them, surrounded by a group of officials, walked around the huge swimming pool in the palace, Talleyrand suddenly said worriedly:

"Your Majesty, I am a little worried whether Egypt can fully implement your will."

After a long series of preparations, this is the highlight of his trip.

Selim frowned slightly, and although he was not confident enough, he still waved his hand proudly:

"Please rest assured, they dare not go against my will, otherwise they will face God's punishment."

"Then I feel relieved." Talleyrand exhaled exaggeratedly, and as if he had thought of something, he moved closer to the Sultan and whispered, "Your Majesty, in fact, now is a good time for you to conquer those disobedient people."

"I don't understand what you mean."

"The contradictions between Murad, Ibrahim and the local Beys in Egypt 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 eliminate the disloyal ministers now, the glory of Hassan Pasha will surely be restored!"

Today's Egypt is still nominally an Ottoman province, and the Sultan will also send a governor there, that is, a "Pasha", but hundreds of years ago, it was the Mamluk military group that actually ruled Egypt.

Especially in recent years, with the death of Hassan, a fierce Ottoman general - he had 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 controlled Egypt and began to proclaim themselves Pashas. The Pashas sent by the Ottomans to Egypt were restricted to the vicinity of their residences, and were "closely protected" by Mamluk guards when they entered and left.

However, the Mamluk group also declined from its peak, and internal strife began to occur. The central and local military leaders fought against each other, and there were constant conflicts between the clergy group and the Mamluks. Historically, it was during the Mamluk civil strife that Napoleon led his army to defeat them in one fell swoop and gain control of Egypt.

Salem III glanced at the French and said meaningfully:

"The beasts in the north are eyeing the empire. As long as our army goes to Egypt, they will immediately howl and go south to tear a piece of meat from the empire."

What he did not mention was that Austria was also thinking about the Ottoman territory from Wallachia to Bulgaria.

This is also the reason why the Ottomans 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 recover the empty Egypt.

Joseph would naturally not follow the old path of the Emperor making wedding clothes for others, but instigated the Ottomans to consume the Mamluks first, and then pick peaches when he chose the opportunity.

Talleyrand deliberately quickened his pace, distanced himself from the Ottoman officials beside him, and whispered to the Sultan:

"I have an important intelligence to give you. Russia will not have time to look south for quite a long time, at least a year."

Selim III's eyes flashed with surprise, but he returned to normal in an instant:

"How do you know what Russia will do?"

Talleyrand didn't know how the intelligence department got such important news, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was very sure that Russia would attack Poland, and that would definitely not be wrong.

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 tough battle."

Selim III immediately turned his head and stared at Talleyrand closely.

The latter continued: "If you don't believe it, you can send someone to investigate Russia's troop movements and material reserves around Poland."

Selim III turned around, and a middle-aged eunuch with fair skin hurried over and whispered to him.

The Sultan 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 Topijs?"

Selim III couldn't help but pause.

Talleyrand added: "A full set of French equipment."

Selim III's eyes flashed with an unconcealable excitement, and he said in a deep voice:

"What if Poland is defeated by the Russians before the Empire takes back Egypt?"

Talleyrand was secretly happy, and he didn't expect the Sultan to say what he was going to say.

He immediately said seriously: "Your Majesty, so you must provide Poland with as much help as possible to resist the Russian attack."

"That's impossible." Selim III said without hesitation, "I can't declare war on Russia for Poland."

Well, Russia is giving face by not coming to beat the Ottomans. How dare the Ottomans take the initiative to provoke?

Talleyrand smiled and shook his head:

"Your Majesty, you misunderstood. You know that Poland is a poor country. You only need to provide them with some logistical supplies to greatly enhance their combat effectiveness."

The Sultan frowned and spoke with some difficulty:

"The Empire is no longer bordering Poland, how can the supplies be sent there?"

In the early days, Turkey and Poland were bordering each other, but the Treaty of Jassy ceded Crimea to Russia. Since then, the two countries have been separated by Ochakov.

Talleyrand said: "You send people to transport the supplies to the mouth of the Dnieper River through the Black Sea, and then the Crimean resistance organization will go north along the Dnieper River into Poland."

To be honest, he himself thought 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 River

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, was floating quietly on the water.

On the wooden platform next to the dock, under the gaze of hundreds of nobles and reporters, Joseph threw a bottle of wine tied to a long rope to the steamship behind him.

With a "pop", the wine scattered, and cheerful music and warm applause suddenly sounded around.

Joseph turned around and announced loudly:

"The 'Poloskafi' officially set sail! May its coal always be sufficient!"