Zweig was not wrong, lies, repeated often enough, become the truth.
Before Louis XVI reorganized the "French Newspaper," it was less a French official newspaper and more of a tabloid, filled with news that was more or less true. Essentially, no one believed anything in the "French Newspaper."
After Louis XVI realized the importance of newspapers and began to reform them, the news in the "French Newspaper" became much more reliable, and its credibility gradually increased.
However, the editors of these French newspapers were masters of sensationalist reporting.
Regarding the current incident, the "French Newspaper" used a large number of words like "uncertain," "suspected," "doubtful," and "impossible." Yet, these qualifying words disappeared by the time the news reached the ears of European nobles and commoners.
The key was that such news was always processed by people into forms they found pleasing.
Initially, it was just "suspected to be ten thousand Austrian soldiers." Later, it became over ten thousand Austrian soldiers. The reason evolved from "unclear" to "these soldiers discovered Franz II's scandal and were silenced."
In any case, the narrative gradually veered off course, slowly spreading from Europe all the way to the Ottoman Empire.
Even more critical was that this news arrived in the Ottoman Empire almost immediately after Gold, who was sent on a mission there.
Therefore, when Gold requested an audience with the twenty-eighth Sultan, Selim III, Selim III had no desire to meet Gold.
What kind of person was this? An emperor, burning over ten thousand of his own soldiers? Was this something a human would do?
It must be said that Selim III was somewhat of an outlier among the thirty-six Sultans of the Ottoman Empire.
Selim III followed the Sunni creed, was skilled in composing poetry and music, and advocated for peaceful coexistence in foreign affairs. He signed the Treaty of Sistova with Austria in 1791 and the Treaty of Jassy with Russia the following year, which provided an opportunity for Ottoman reform. He thus became one of the earliest Sultans in history to implement large-scale "Westernization" reforms.
In short, he was a bit of a literati, a bit of an idealist. Coupled with the Treaty of Sistova signed between the Ottoman Empire and Austria, or rather, the Habsburg family, Selim III eventually granted Gold an audience.
However, Selim III did not give Gold a warm reception: "The Ottoman Empire has an ambassador stationed in Austria. Why didn't you contact the ambassador first, instead of coming to see me?"
Gold was speechless for a moment. After a long pause, he finally replied, "Your Majesty, while the ambassador can resolve many issues, there are many more that he cannot."
"As is the current situation, our Habsburg family is facing an encirclement by France and England, and your Ottoman Empire is about to face an attack from Tsarist Russia and the Ming Dynasty. If messages are relayed back and forth through the ambassador, the situation might become even worse, wouldn't it?"
Selim III shook his head and said, "You are mistaken. We are not about to face an attack from Tsarist Russia and the Ming Dynasty; we have already been attacked.
"Just yesterday, the Tsarist Russian army launched an attack on us, and the Ming Dynasty's army is marching towards the Kashmir region. It's possible they might launch an offensive against the Ottoman Empire any day now.
"Therefore, please return. The Ottoman Empire is already struggling to manage its own affairs and has no spare energy to help you."
Gold anxiously said, "Since we have both been attacked by the evil alliance, shouldn't we join forces at this time?"
Selim III continued to shake his head: "How do we join forces? Will you send troops to help us, or will we send troops to help you?
Shaking the "French Newspaper" in his hand, Selim III added, "As you can see, your Emperor doesn't even care about his own soldiers, burning them as he pleases. I don't believe he would treat our Ottoman warriors with kindness."
Gold anxiously replied, "This is a misunderstanding—just like the misunderstanding in 1788. This time, it's likely due to the same reason. His Majesty was being pursued by French cavalry at the time, so he had no choice but to abandon the idea of burying them."
Although Gold was not present, his guessed scenario and outcome were quite accurate.
However, the incident in 1788 that Gold mentioned only made Selim III even more displeased.
In 1788, it was Abdul Hamid I, not yet Selim III, who was Sultan. At that time, Austria, led by the Habsburg family, sided with Tsarist Russia and was considered an enemy of the Ottoman Empire. It was not until the signing of the Treaty of Sistova in 1791 that relations between the two sides began to ease.
The incident Gold mentioned was a melee between Austrian cavalry and infantry due to excessive drinking, which resulted in over ten thousand casualties.
Selim III said, "There is an old saying in Saudi Arabia: a camel does not step into the same trap twice. What happened in 1788, and your Austrian soldiers would repeat it again?"
Gold understood the implication in Selim III's words—how foolish were their Austrian soldiers to make such a similar and ridiculous mistake?
It was precisely for this reason that Gold was left speechless.
Before Gold could figure out how to persuade him further, Selim III shook his head in disappointment and said, "Without even resolving your own problems, how can you possibly have the spare energy to help us Ottomans?"
"Similarly, facing Tsarist Russia and the even more powerful Ming Dynasty, we Ottomans cannot guarantee our own safety, and therefore, we cannot possibly divert troops to help you."
"Go back. We can only face our own problems individually and strive on our own. Not causing trouble for each other is the best form of assistance."
...
Compared to Gold, who was sent on a mission to the Ottoman Empire but was rejected and did not know how to report back, Waltz, who was sent to the Great Ming, had fallen into deep despair.
The Holy Roman Empire, or Austria, was not very far from the Ottoman Empire. However, Austria was a great distance from the Great Ming.
To reach the Great Ming in the shortest possible time and complete the mission assigned by His Majesty the Emperor, Waltz even changed his hairstyle and forged documents to try to board ships bound for the Great Ming.
But no one expected that Waltz would get on the wrong ship—
This French merchant-passenger ship, the "Black Pearl," was indeed a mixed vessel bound for the Great Ming, and its final destination was indeed Tianjin Port in the Great Ming. If Waltz had stayed on the ship from beginning to end, once he reached his destination, he would have been not far from the capital of the Great Ming.
Unfortunately, Waltz was too impatient. Upon hearing the announcement "Great Ming xx Port," he hastily disembarked. After a brief rest, when Waltz began asking people for directions to the capital, he was informed that while this place was indeed Ming territory, the place he had disembarked was called Lanfang Port, which was still 108,000 li away from the capital of the Great Ming. Moreover, the next ship bound for Tianjin Port in the Great Ming would not arrive for another half a month.
Of course, there was also the possibility of a delay.
Upon receiving this news, Waltz almost went mad.
Half a month? And possibly longer?
Did that mean that by the time he reached the Great Ming, submitted his credentials, and the Habsburg family successfully joined the "little broken pot" on behalf of the Habsburgs, the Habsburg family in distant Europe would have already cooled down?
In desperation, Waltz carried his credentials and found the local government office, attempting to persuade them to send a boat to escort him.
The officials of the Lanfang Provincial Administration were very willing to provide assistance to someone carrying credentials to the Great Ming. However, from the county office to the prefecture office, and finally to the Lanfang Provincial Administration Office, several days had passed. And when they saw that Waltz only had credentials and no "local products," the officials of the Lanfang Provincial Administration became rather indifferent. Finally, out of respect for the credentials, they arranged a boat for him.
However, this boat was not a large vessel specifically designed for long-distance sea voyages but a smaller boat more suited for coastal navigation. If it were a large ship, Waltz could have sailed directly from Lanfang Port to Tianjin Port, saving some time. But with a small boat, he could only sail from Lanfang Port to a port in Jiaozhi, then from the port in Jiaozhi to Guangzhou Port, then to Songjiang Prefecture, Ningbo, Ji'mo, Dengzhou, and finally to Tianjin Port.
With this winding route, by the time Waltz finally reached Shuntian Prefecture, it was about a month later than originally anticipated.
However, what followed truly plunged Waltz into despair.
After finally finding the Shuntian Prefecture Office, he was informed that the Shuntian Prefecture Office was not responsible for matters concerning the "little broken pot" and could not arrange for Waltz to meet His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming.
With directions, Waltz managed to find the Court of State Ceremonial Office. The officials there regretfully informed Waltz that the Emperor of the Great Ming was not in the capital at the moment; he had gone on an outing, and no one could say when he would return.
As for the Habsburg family's desire to join the "little broken pot," a clerk at the Court of State Ceremonial Office also provided an answer: the "little broken pot" could not be joined at any time. At the very least, an application could only be submitted when the annual "little broken pot" assembly was held, and a formal response would only be given at the assembly the following year.
More importantly, joining the "little broken pot" required being in a state of peace and the unanimous consent of the Five Virtuous Ones. Currently, the Habsburgs were at war with France and England, two of the Five Virtuous Ones. To join the "little broken pot"? It was difficult.
Waltz suspected that these Ming officials were playing a trick on him.
Based on the news he had gathered recently, Waltz already knew that the Ming army had easily conquered Gorkha and that the Ming Dynasty was about to engage in conflict with the Ottoman Empire. At such a crucial juncture, why would a country's emperor, instead of staying in the capital or going to the front lines, go out for pleasure?
Waltz felt that his brain was not that dull; at the very least, it was not so dull as to believe everything others said.
However, the clerk from the Court of State Ceremonial Office had not lied to Waltz. Emperor Zhu Jinsong was indeed not in Shuntian Prefecture recently but had gone to Jiangnan.
Zhengde had gone to Jiangnan, Mazhi had gone to Jiangnan, and Qianlong the old dog had also gone to Jiangnan.
From this, it can be seen that going to Jiangnan might truly be a popular activity for emperors.
The difference was that Qianlong the old dog went to Jiangnan to inspect the river engineering on the young ladies, while Zhu Jinsong went to Jiangnan to gather his heart.
To gather the hearts of the people of Jiangnan.
Since the migration of scholars and officials southward, there had been a trend of the central plains and the south looking at each other with displeasure. Yang Er's canal dredging had not solved this problem, nor had the North-South examination system during the Hongwu period. Most of these were superficial solutions rather than addressing the root cause.
Zhu Jinsong's trip to Jiangnan this time was intended to find a method to address the root cause.
And to go to Jiangnan.