Chapter 1467: Bloodlust
Perrot added, "Your Excellency, besides the benefits mentioned, there is one final, crucial point.
"In a situation where Gaza and the Holy City are threatened simultaneously, there is a very high probability that the Ottoman Sultan will choose to compromise with the Persians. He would then recall his armies from Transcaucasia to deal with you."
Muhammad Ali was an exceptionally sharp man; he pondered this for a moment and nodded in agreement.
To the Ottomans, Transcaucasia was merely a source of extra profit. However, Gaza was the gateway to the wealthy Levant region to the north, and the Holy City was even more significant. Selim III would never abandon them.
Therefore, even if he moved quickly enough to occupy Gaza in a short time, he would soon find himself facing an Ottoman Grand Army of nearly 200,000 men. Egypt currently possessed only fifty to sixty thousand troops, of which fewer than 13,000 were the Albanian soldiers who were truly loyal to him.
Even if luck favored him and he managed to hold Gaza, his vitality would undoubtedly be severely crippled.
'How could the Mamluks and Governor Hüsrev possibly pass up such a golden opportunity to incite a riot within Egypt?'
However, if he followed the French Regent's advice and sent troops to recapture Mecca, although the city would belong to the Sultan, he could recruit the local tribes in that region into his own army.
Muhammad Ali ceased his hesitation immediately and said to the French envoy, "Please convey my most sincere gratitude to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent. He has saved my life more than once.
"I shall do so," Perrot replied.
As he accompanied the "King of Egypt" toward the banquet hall, Perrot reminded him, "By the way, Your Excellency, the Prince Regent also asked me to tell you that before you head for Mecca, it would be best to thoroughly resolve Egypt's internal problems."
Meanwhile, two thousand kilometers away in the Topkapi Palace of Kostantiniyye, the Ottoman Sultan’s face was filled with surprise and gratitude. He said to the French Minister, Gouffier, "I truly do not know how to thank the Prince Regent. He has helped me avoid the worst possible scenario!"
As he spoke, he gave a meaningful look to the Chief Eunuch standing nearby. The eunuch, who had served the Sultan for years, instantly understood this meant "one hundred thousand Kurus." He quietly withdrew from the hall to prepare the gift for the French Regent.
A gift worth over 300,000 francs was not a massive sum, but for an Ottoman Empire currently engaged in a national war, it was at the limit of their capability. It was no wonder Selim III was offering such a generous token of appreciation.
Only yesterday afternoon, he had been consulting with several high-ranking officials about whether to recall the army from Armenia to deal with the Saudi rebels who had occupied the Holy City. One must understand that making a pilgrimage to Mecca was a vital necessity for all Ottoman nobles, and even the Sultan was no exception. Losing the Holy City was a matter of gravest importance.
Then, half an hour ago, the French Minister had paid a sudden visit to inform him that the Prince Regent had successfully persuaded the Egyptian warlord to send troops to Mecca. Traveling from Cairo to Kostantiniyye was very convenient via steam paddleboat.
On February 17, Selim III's decree arrived in Egypt.
He officially bestowed the title of Governor of Egypt upon Muhammad Ali. He also allocated 1.2 million Kurus—more than 3.6 million francs—in military pay for the Egyptian garrison and ordered the Governor to immediately lead his army into the Hejaz to recover the Holy City of Mecca.
Muhammad Ali did not even wait for the Sultan's envoy to depart before he sent troops to drive all of the former Governor Hüsrev's men out of Cairo.
Ten days later, the Egyptian army began feverish preparations, gathering to the east of Cairo. Meanwhile, Muhammad Ali organized a lavish banquet to celebrate his appointment as Governor, inviting every official and noble of status in Egypt. This included more than 260 middle and high-ranking Mamluk officers. The following day, starting at noon, a grand feast began within Cairo's famous Saladin Citadel, accompanied by cheerful music. No one noticed that the Albanian soldiers, who had been resting in the suburbs of Cairo, were marching back into the city in formation.
Over a thousand members of Egypt’s elite reveled there until near dusk, when the banquet finally began to draw to a close.
As arranged by the protocol officer, the Mamluk officers were to head into the city together to receive the blessings of the citizens of Cairo.
When these officers and their retainers—nearly five hundred people in total—walked into the barbican of the Saladin Citadel, the gates at both ends suddenly slammed shut. Moments later, the walls were illuminated by a dense array of torches. Thousands of Albanian soldiers, armed with percussion cap muskets, aimed down at the terrified Mamluk officers. Following a command from Muhammad Ali's confidant, Tahir, the night sky was filled with a flurry of star-like muzzle flashes.
The Mamluk officers, dressed in their ceremonial finery and completely unarmed, had no power to resist. Amidst a chorus of agonizing wails, they were struck by bullets and collapsed.
An hour later, Tahir sent a report to the Governor: all 480 Mamluks who had attended the feast were dead.
Early the next morning, countless Albanian soldiers began a house-to-house search in Cairo for the families of the Mamluk elite, announcing that a "Mamluk conspiracy to rebel had been quelled by the Governor."
As over a thousand "remnants of the rebellion" were executed, Muhammad Ali personally issued a gubernatorial decree.
From that day forward, all Mamluk soldiers and lower-ranking officers would be integrated into the New Egyptian Army. Their fiefs would be retained, and their military pay would be increased by twenty percent, but no one was ever permitted to call themselves a Mamluk again.
Subsequently, the "King of Egypt" acted with extreme efficiency, placing the Mamluk cavalry under the command of Albanian officers. In just half a month, the reorganization was essentially complete.
Hardly any Mamluk soldiers offered any resistance.
Through these incredibly bloody means, Muhammad Ali thoroughly secured his position on the throne of Egypt.
On March 20, 1801, an Egyptian army of twenty thousand set out for Mecca.
Warsaw was experiencing its coldest winter in decades.
By early January, the temperature had already plummeted to twelve degrees below zero. Although the City Council had urgently allocated several batches of cheap bread to cope with the crisis, many people could still be seen frozen or starved to death in the streets.
Before the gates of the Royal Castle, King Stanislaw II Augustus watched as the carriage of the French special envoy, Father Sais, disappeared into the heavy snow. He turned to look at the five high-ranking officials behind him.
"Gentlemen, what should we do now?"
The Minister of War, Trembecki, immediately shouted, "Your Majesty, our soldiers on the front lines have traded their lives for a hard-won victory. We must not miss this golden opportunity for revenge!"
At the end of last year, the Crown Prince of France had suggested that Poland withdraw its troops from the east bank of the Dnieper River. This time, he had specifically sent a special envoy with a personal letter, warning that the Polish army was likely facing extreme danger.
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