Chapter 730: French-Ottoman Trade Agreement
Constantinople buzzed with activity, as all residents, as requested, poured into the streets, holding candles, to participate in the celebration.
Just a week prior, the Ottoman army had achieved a great victory at Tours in Egypt, defeating the Mamluks' Eastern Legion.
The two supreme Mamluk rulers, Murad and Ibrahim, hastily dispatched envoys to apologize to Salem III.
Salem III's luxurious carriage emerged from Topkapi Palace, surrounded by more than a dozen elaborately dressed Janissary formations, heading to the Blue Mosque for a series of celebratory rituals.
Inside the carriage, Steller, the general manager of France's Eastern Mediterranean Trading Company, received a handful of dates brought from Medina from the Sultan, bowing slightly as he spoke in Arabic:
"Thank your Majesty for the generous gift!"
These were products from the holy city, considered an exceptionally high mark of favor.
The reason Steller received this honor was entirely because the Topiris New Army had played an extremely crucial role in this campaign.
And Steller himself had arranged and overseen the previous training of the new army.
Steller continued, "Your Majesty, when will Mustafa Pasha launch his next offensive? Oh, you see, I need to prepare the necessary supplies for the army in advance."
More than one-third of the Ottoman army's logistical supplies for this campaign were handled by the Eastern Mediterranean Trading Company. The price was thirty percent cheaper than what the Janissary Corps had procured themselves.
"You are very diligent, however, the war is over," Salem III said calmly, shaking his head, then glancing at the Grand Vizier beside him.
Meleka Muhammad hurriedly said, "Mr. Steller, Murad Bey has already brought Karamale and other officers who dared to wage war against the Sultan's army to Constantinople for trial. His benevolent Majesty the Sultan has decided to pardon the Mamluks.
"Of course, Hassan Pasha's authority in Egypt has been strengthened, and the Mamluk nobles will also pay more taxes to the Empire to demonstrate their loyalty."
Hassan was the Governor sent by the Ottoman Empire to Egypt.
Steller didn't show surprise upon hearing this, only sighing inwardly, 'His Highness the Crown Prince had indeed predicted correctly.'
Yes, Joseph had told him long ago, when Salem III sent troops to Egypt, that the Ottoman Empire couldn't completely defeat the Mamluks and would have to know when to stop.
It wasn't that he possessed divine foresight. Rather, he judged based on historical records of Mamluk clashes with Emperor Napoleon, that the Mamluks' fighting strength was definitely not weak.
This was also why he dared to have Talleyrand incite Salem III to deal with the Mamluks—the Ottoman army, primarily composed of the Janissary Elite Guard, couldn't effectively suppress the Mamluks. And the new army's numbers were too small to decide the course of the battle.
The actual battle situation had indeed proven this.
In the Battle of Tours, Mustafa routed 10,000 Egyptian infantry and 4,000 cavalry, but the Mamluks' total forces numbered approximately 30,000 infantry and over 20,000 cavalry; their core strength was not fundamentally damaged.
The Ottoman army, on its side, also lost two and a half Janissary legions, along with a large number of cavalry and Balkan soldiers, totaling seven to eight thousand men.
If the Ottomans continued the war, after the Topiris New Army suffered heavy casualties, they might even be pushed back by the Mamluks.
And the current outcome was exactly what Joseph wanted.
In this era, Egypt—or more precisely, the yet-to-be-opened Suez Canal—would be the fulcrum to leverage all of Europe!
Whoever controlled Suez would dominate trade between Europe and Asia.
That was a trade volume of hundreds of millions, even over a billion francs annually!
Historically, Emperor Napoleon, acting on Talleyrand's advice, also deeply realized the importance of Suez and thus decided to send troops to Egypt.
However, his strategic planning was truly crude.
The act of directly conquering Egypt made both the Mamluks and the Ottomans feel a significant threat, leading these two previously antagonistic powers to immediately join forces.
Ultimately, although Emperor Napoleon achieved brilliant victories like the Battle of the Pyramids, he was never able to fully control the situation in Egypt. Furthermore, with the French Mediterranean Fleet ambushed by the British, Emperor Napoleon had no choice but to abandon his main army in Egypt and sail back to Paris on a small boat.
Therefore, to prevent a similar situation from occurring, Joseph spared no effort to help the Ottoman Empire train a new army, strengthen Salem III's confidence, and preemptively ignited the conflict between the Ottomans and the Mamluks.
This way, when necessary, France could appear in Egypt as a mediator and play both sides.
At the very least, after this war, the likelihood of the Ottomans and Mamluks joining forces again was already very low.
Of course, for the strategic vision concerning Egypt to be realized, there was a fundamental prerequisite: that the French navy could intercept the British fleet outside the Mediterranean Sea.
Otherwise, even if the Suez Canal was completed, it would simply be a gift to the British.
And after steam warships began service, France had already tentatively acquired this capability.
So the plans for Egypt would have to keep pace.
Meleka Muhammad glanced at the Sultan, who was opening the carriage window and tossing money to the crowds along the road, and said to Steller:
"Mr. Steller, the Topiris New Army performed exceptionally well this time. Therefore, His Majesty hopes your country can train more new troops for us."
In fact, Spain, Austria, and even Russia had previously helped the Ottoman Empire train new armies, but the model was generally to send instructors to the Ottoman Empire to select a batch of new recruits for training.
What this model produced could at best be considered an improved version of the Janissaries.
However, Joseph this time directly brought the Topiris New Army to French military camps in Tunisia for training, completely removing them from the Ottoman environment. Only then did they forge a truly modern army.
Clearly, Salem III was very satisfied with the results of this training.
Based on the combat effectiveness Topiris demonstrated at Tours this time, he estimated that with just 5,000 new troops, he could effectively suppress the over 100,000 Janissary Corps in Constantinople.
The Janissary Class was precisely the biggest obstacle to his Ottoman reforms.
'The Empire's resurgence of glory would begin from here!'
Steller smiled and nodded. "I am most willing to serve Your Majesty. However, as you know, training so many soldiers is a very time-consuming and laborious undertaking, and might even affect the training of our own army."
The Grand Vizier immediately replied, "Please rest assured, His Majesty will pay your country sufficient compensation."
"Ah, you misunderstand," Steller said. "His Highness the Crown Prince has stated that we can train the new army for His Majesty the Sultan free of charge."
"Then what does His Highness desire?"
"His Highness wishes to strengthen trade relations between France and the Ottoman Empire. For instance, a new trade agreement."
Steller, seeing that Salem III was still just tossing money out the window, added:
"As long as the variety of admissible goods can be increased, your esteemed country can set a satisfactory tariff rate. At the same time, the French market will also be open to your country."
Joseph knew that in the worst-case scenario, most of France's maritime trade would be blockaded by Britain. At that time, the Mediterranean Sea would become France's trade lifeline.
And the Ottoman Empire was the wealthiest country along the Mediterranean coast apart from France. Its market would be crucial for France.
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