Chapter 420: Chapter 414: Abandoning land is not ceding territory
Rifat Pasha understood that the Ottoman Empire was destined not to emerge unscathed from this wave.
Be it the Russian Empire, the French Empire, or the Austrian Empire, they all wanted to tear a piece from the Ottoman Empire, but what set them apart was their attitude towards the Ottoman Empire.
Compared to the Russian Empire, which was determined to dismember the Ottoman Empire, France’s actions were much more gentle.
At the very least, the Ottoman Empire, having lost the Middle East and North Africa, could still exist, but losing Constantinople would immediately lead to collapse.
Rifat Pasha also had no illusions that Britain would exert its full effort to assist the Ottoman Empire in this matter.
After all, the Kingdom of Britain still needed the French Empire to help them resist the Russian Empire.
With no other Great Powers to rely on, Rifat chose the lesser of two evils and decided to compromise with the French Empire once more.
"Minister De Luyss, on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, I am willing to assure France that as long as France can help the Ottoman Empire resolve the threats it currently faces, the Ottoman Empire is willing to pay any price!" Rifat Pasha gritted his teeth and promised De Luyss with determination.
In fact, Rifat Pasha had already silently accepted the conditions previously imposed by Jerome Bonaparte.
"We hope the Ottoman Empire can help the French Empire establish a transit station and telegraph center on Rhodes Island, facilitating the flow of supplies and information for the Expeditionary Army," De Luyss first proposed his initial condition.
"Rhodes Island? That’s not a problem!" Rifat Pasha nodded, agreeing to De Luyss’ condition.
"The materials for the construction of the transit station and telegraph center on Rhodes Island must be independently operated by France! Additionally, for such an important strategic location as Rhodes Island, the French Empire hopes to dispatch troops to garrison it!" De Luyss added a sentence to Rifat Pasha.
Rifat Pasha immediately understood De Luyss’ intention; he wanted not only to make Rhodes Island a transit center but also to directly control it.
"This..." Rifat Pasha hesitated, as Rhodes Island, although not greatly significant to the Ottoman Empire, was not something that could be casually relinquished.
"We can ensure that Rhodes Island continues to pay tribute to the Ottoman Empire, and even increase it by 1.5 times from the original amount!" De Luyss said at a steady pace.
"Alright!" Rifat Pasha gritted his teeth and agreed to De Luyss’ first condition, then continued to ask, "Does the French Empire have any other conditions?"
"Next, we hope the Ottoman Empire can open its ports during the war to ensure the Expeditionary Army’s fleet can pass through freely!" De Luyss proposed his second requirement.
"That, of course, is also possible!" Rifat Pasha agreed to De Luyss’ condition without hesitation, and then added, "If the French Empire is willing, the Ottoman Empire’s army is fully capable of following the Expeditionary Army’s orders! Obeying all actions of the Expeditionary Army!"
"If that’s the case, then nothing could be better!" De Luyss nodded to Rifat Pasha and then continued, "One more thing, now that the French Empire has obtained the decision to protect the Holy Land, France is obliged to ensure the safety of its people! Therefore, I hope to dispatch a military force to station in the Holy Land.
I can assure you that the scale of this military force will never exceed a regiment! Of course, this regiment’s purpose is merely symbolic, to ensure the French Empire’s basic rights in the Holy Land."
"This..." Rifat Pasha hesitated once more.
Once the French Empire’s army entered the Holy Land, getting them out would prove to be difficult.
However, the most pressing threat was the Russian Empire; if they were to capture Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire might completely become history.
Just as their ancestors once destroyed the Byzantine Empire.
"I agree with you!" Rifat Pasha gritted his teeth and said to De Luyss.
"If that’s the case, those are all my conditions!" De Luyss, knowing when to stop, answered Rifat Pasha.
"Still..." Rifat Pasha was about to ask if De Luyss had any other conditions when he immediately heard De Luyss’ next words, and he asked with a delighted expression, "Just those?"
"Just those!" De Luyss confidently replied to Rifat Pasha.
"Alright! Thank you very much for your support of the Ottoman Empire!" Rifat Pasha excitedly shook De Luyss’ hand.
The conditions De Luyss mentioned were far below the bottom line he was willing to accept; such a vast discrepancy couldn’t help but make Rifat happy!
"I said! The Ottoman Empire and the French Empire will become close allies!" De Luyss said with a slight smile and calm tone to Rifat Pasha.
After Rifat Pasha and De Luyss finalized the specific details, De Luyss and Rifat Pasha left the castle.
After traveling back to Paris by train, Rifat Pasha returned to the Ottoman Embassy in France.
De Luyss did not return to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs but went directly to the Tuileries Palace to report the news of the negotiations to Jerome Bonaparte.
Upon entering the Tuileries Palace, De Luyss was led by Mokar to a room on the third floor of the palace.
When De Luyis pushed the door open, he saw Jerome Bonaparte, Mane, and Fuld. The three of them were seated together, seemingly discussing something.
"Your Majesty, Minister Mane, Minister Fuld!" De Luyis bowed in salute to Jerome Bonaparte and the others.
"Luyis, you’re finally back!" Jerome Bonaparte asked De Luyis with a smile: "So, how are things progressing?"
Subsequently, De Luyis recounted the details of his conversation with Rifat Pasha to Jerome Bonaparte and the others.
After listening, Jerome Bonaparte stroked his chin and inquired happily, "So, Cyprus and Damascus are soon to be our territories?"
"No, this still depends on what follows! Once the war ends, the Ottoman Empire will likely try to ally with Britain to challenge us! Therefore, we must be cautious!" De Luyis cautiously advised Jerome Bonaparte.
"As long as we can gain the upper hand, we can leave them far behind!" Jerome Bonaparte said in a calm tone.
"Your Majesty!" De Luyis bowed to Jerome Bonaparte once more and said, "I request to speak with Minister Mane and Minister Fuld!"
"Of course!" Jerome Bonaparte nodded, agreeing to De Luyis’s request.
Subsequently, De Luyis requested Fuld to facilitate the sale of Ottoman Empire’s bonds.
"What is the discount rate on the Ottoman Empire’s bonds?" Fuld asked De Luyis about the discount rate on the Ottoman Empire’s bonds.
As long as the short-term/long-term bond rates of the Ottoman Empire can match those of the French Empire, he will be able to sell them.
If the discount rate on the Ottoman Empire’s bonds is even below that of the French Empire’s bonds, then they can only politely decline.
De Luyis held up five fingers.
"5 percentage points?" Fuld immediately asked.
Such a bond rate was worthwhile for Fuld; as long as the entire Ottoman Empire did not go bankrupt and liquidate, he would not incur any losses.
Even if there were slight losses, Fuld had the ability to shift the crisis onto retail investors at the Paris Stock Exchange, letting them bear the risk, while Fuld could sit back and reap the rewards.
"5.4% is the discount rate for the short-term bonds soon to be issued by the Ottoman Empire, and 5.8% is the discount rate for the long-term bonds of the Ottoman Empire!" De Luyis responded to Fuld.
"Is the Ottoman Empire crazy?" Fuld was dumbfounded by the high interest rates on the Ottoman Empire’s bonds, unable to believe how the Ottoman Empire dared to raise them to such a level.
It’s known that the interest rate on French bonds has remained around 4% for years, rarely veering much to the left or right.
And the Ottoman Empire, in all aspects, was vastly overshadowed by the French Empire.
Yet their bond interest rates far exceeded France’s.
So high that Fuld started to doubt whether the Ottoman Empire could afford the annual interest rate on its bonds.
Upon thinking this, Fuld instinctively glanced at Jerome Bonaparte.
"This annual interest rate!" Jerome Bonaparte murmured for a long while in thought before nodding to Fuld and Mane, "It’s viable!"
5.2%—5.6% is not an unreasonable benefit; decades later, the bond annual interest rate of the Balkan Countries only rose to about 6%—7%, and for some small countries, even exceeded 8%.
Even in such countries, there was still a significant amount of capital willing to initially invest.
However, most of these investments were in short-term bonds, suitable for those "hit and run" types of investments.
In other words, pseudo-colonies.
The annual interest rate of around 5% for the Ottoman Empire couldn’t be compared to the future Balkan Countries.
Under Jerome Bonaparte’s orders, Fuld decided to subscribe to more than 25 million francs of Ottoman bonds, and Mane was also willing to subscribe to 15 million francs of bonds.
The remaining bankers, over the next few days, also ensured they would do their utmost to serve the Empire.
All told, the entire Paris Banking Community was willing to invest 140 million francs in purchasing Ottoman bonds.
However, these Ottoman Empire bonds had not yet been officially listed.
When De Luyis met Rifat Pasha again, De Luyis passed the news to Rifat Pasha, who showed a pleased smile upon hearing the news.