Topkapi Pce.
Sultan Hamid I, seated on his spacious square chair, saw Yusuf stride through the door and tried to lean on the cushion to sit up straighter, but the weakness in his muscles made him abandon the attempt.
His 43 years of confinement had left him in very poor health, and now at the age of 64, he already showed signs that his life was burning out.
n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
He raised his hand to the Grand Vizier, who was bowing before him, and asked in a clearly breathless voice, "Is there news from the Maghreb?"
"Maghreb" means nd of the setting sun" in Arabic, a term used by the Arabs who first reached North Africa to refer to the central and western regions of North Africa.
The Grand Vizier Yusuf nodded with a worried look, "Your Majesty, the Algiers Guard did indeed march on Said’s instigation... he even used your name."
Hamid I sighed, "Where is the man?"
"His servant returned to Constantinoplest night, saying he had jumped into the Mediterranean half a month ago."
"He preserved the dignity of an imperial envoy."
Yusuf bowed his head and said, "Your Majesty, regarding the incorporation of Tunisia into France, what do you think of... "
Hamid I stared at the patterns on the carpet, waving his hand again, "Send someone to France to express the Empire’s position. But let’s not be too harsh in our words. We need to focus our efforts on the Russians."
Just a few days ago, the Russian Army’smander Potemkinunched an attack on the fortress of Ochakov with six divisions, and within a few hours, upied this key position at the northwest of the ck Sea.
In that battle, Potemkin wiped out and captured more than 13,000 Ottoman troops, with his forces pointing directly at the Danube River.
"Speaking of Russia," Hamid I nced at Yusuf, "how do you n to respond?"
Although the Grand Vizier was not directly responsible for military affairs, as the "Chancellor" of the Ottoman Empire, he was very clear about the deployment of forces.
"The situation is not very optimistic..." Yusuf hesitated for a moment before adding, "Austria and Russia are both reinforcing their troops. The generals believe that we must stop a Russian-Austrian rendezvous at all costs.
"The preliminary n is to gather 150,000 troops to reach the Danube River area by next summer, sessively capture Binj and Arzhu, sever the Russian-Austrian connection, and then retake Ochakov."
"150,000 men," Hamid I nodded, "how confident are you that we can defeat the Russians?"
"Well, we have the advantage in terms of military strength, so we should be able to win."
The Sultan gestured to Yusuf toe closer and leaned forward, whispering, "If we still can’t win this time, try to make peace with Russia. Give up the north shore of the ck Sea for peace..."
Joseph could not have imagined that his actions in North Africa would elerate the disintegration of Ottoman morale. The Ottoman Empire, which was originally determined to fight to thest soldier and was only set to give up the north shore of the ck Sea after three years due to exhaustion, had already lost its will to fight to the death against Russia.
...
London.
10 Downing Street.
The young Prime Minister of Ennd, William Pitt Junior, pushed the resignation letter back across the table and looked up at the Duke of Leeds, "You needn’t do this. North Africa was never within our sphere of influence, and this time luck happened to be on the French’s side. Your strategy was actually not wed. I’m confident I can preserve your position in Congress."
"Hollis acted on my instructions, and now he’s dead," the Duke of Leeds shook his head calmly, "Someone must be held ountable for this, and that person cannot be you."
William Pitt Junior fell silent.
Hollis was a Whig, the opposition party to his own. Now, to quell the diplomatic disaster of "instigating Tunisia to attack the French people," he had mitted suicide."
At the same time, the Duke of Leeds had spent nearly 700,000 British Pounds, a huge sum, and yet failed to prevent France from obtaining Tunisia, marking a significant defeat.
The Whig Party would definitely seize on this series of events to cause trouble in Congress. His position as Prime Minister was already unstable, and if this scandal escted, it could lead to impeachment by Congress.
He slowly lifted his fingers off the resignation letter, sighed, and asked, "So, who do you think should take over as Foreign Minister?"
"The Marquess of Wellesley." The Duke of Leeds was clearly prepared, "He is as young and gifted as you, full of strategy and decisiveness. Although his political experience is shallow, I will use my influence to fully support him."
William Pitt Junior nodded silently. The Marquess of Wellesley was a trusted ally, indeedpetent, and he had always been keen on promoting him.
He paused, then looked again at the Duke of Leeds, "Then, what do you think our next steps should be to counter the advantage the French have gained in North Africa?"
But the Duke of Leeds immediately shook his head, "Prime Minister, France is too close to Tunisia, and now they have already established a stronghold. If we continue to sh with them there, we will suffer greatly."
"You mean to say we should just ept defeat?"
"No! Quite the opposite, we must do all we can to bring France to its knees and press them firmly into the mud. That is the only path to the prosperity of Ennd!"
The Duke of Leeds showed a sly fox-like smile, "North Africa is just a piece of fat, not worth too much fuss. The Low Countries are the real throat to aim for! By putting our efforts there, we can strike a painful blow to France."
The so-called Low Countries are the northwest coastal nations of Europe, namely the Nethends, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
The Duke of Leeds then detailed his strategy for the Low Countries to the Prime Minister, and added, "Moreover, the ambitions of Russia and Prussia are excellent weapons too, and you must find ways to utilize their power."