Mustafa Pasha found Suleiman's plan increasingly plausible. At the very least, Suleiman's proposed solution was the only viable way out of their current predicament—blame everything on the Janissaries, and then, under the guise of returning Ming merchants, express apologies and loyalty to the Ming Emperor to ensure the safety of the Ottoman Empire. In this process, the Janissaries' expertise in artillery was a fact, and the return of the Ming merchants was also true. Only the apologies and loyalty were disingenuous, but with the first two facts serving as cover, the latter, less truthful part would naturally become less important.
The only remaining issue was how to get the Ming merchants to cooperate, or at least to persuade them before they caused any trouble.
Frowning in thought, Mustafa Pasha looked intently at Suleiman, "Regarding the communication with those Ming merchants…"
Suleiman nodded slightly and said solemnly, "I will personally handle the communication with those Ming merchants, and I will also make arrangements to send people to see the Ming Emperor. However, you must restrain those remnants of the Janissaries… of course, not too carelessly."
Mustafa Pasha and Suleiman exchanged a knowing glance and nodded in unison. Mustafa Pasha understood very well that since Suleiman had labeled the remaining Janissaries as remnants, it indicated that Suleiman was highly confident in his ability to communicate with and persuade the Ming merchants. As for the remark about not being too careless, it was naturally a way to leave an escape route—if Suleiman failed to handle the Ming merchants, the so-called Janissary remnants would transform into heroes who dared to resist Ming oppression, and even the recently deceased Mahmud II could be turned into a traitorous sultan who sold out Ottoman interests.
Suleiman's expression gradually turned ferocious, "If we are truly cornered, we will kill all merchants from other countries in the entire Ottoman Empire, and level all concessions. Let them be buried with the Ottoman Empire!"
Mustafa Pasha looked at Suleiman with a solemn expression, "Just now… if it really comes to that, we will have no way back."
Suleiman sneered, "These are two completely different matters. Before receiving a clear reply from the Ming merchants and the Ming Emperor, we absolutely cannot touch a single hair of those concessions and merchants, because they are our only chance."
"If the Ming merchants are uncooperative and the Ming Emperor refuses to accept our apologies, it means the Ottoman Empire has no chance of survival. Those concessions and merchants will naturally become our only hope for revenge—they died because of the Ming Emperor. If there is hatred, let them hate the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Emperor."
"The Ming Dynasty and the Ming Emperor might not care about one or two countries' concessions and merchants. But what about concessions and merchants from all countries?"
As Suleiman's menacing words fell, the entire hall fell silent once more. They were all cunning old foxes, and none of them were willing to let go of the only opportunity for survival. Similarly, these Ottoman nobles and ministers were unwilling to concede defeat. If there was even a sliver of a chance to drag the Ming Dynasty down with them, they would not let it pass.
After a period of silent deliberation, Mustafa Pasha nodded and said to the assembled Ottoman nobles and ministers, "Then let us proceed according to the Grand Vizier's wishes."
He paused and then said to the governor of Istanbul, "Deploy all your men to maintain stability in Istanbul, and also to restrain the civilians in the city. Under no circumstances should the civilians come into conflict with the Ming merchants, at least not for now."
However, after Mustafa Pasha finished speaking, the governor of Istanbul replied with a conflicted expression, "Respected Mustafa Pasha, I will do my best to restrain the civilians in the city, but I cannot guarantee that I will be able to control them—in fact, after the news from Mukalla Port arrived, Istanbul has already been in chaos, and many people are trying to… trying to escape Istanbul."
Mustafa Pasha's face immediately darkened, "Are you an idiot? Regardless of nationality, they are now our only bargaining chips. If they escape, will the Ming Emperor still have any reservations?"
After being reprimanded by Mustafa Pasha, the governor of Istanbul felt like crying without tears. The governor naturally knew that merchants from various countries in the concessions were the Ottoman Empire's only bargaining chips, but who said that those who escaped Istanbul were from those concessions? In reality, the concessions remained as stable as ever. Songs were sung, drinks were consumed, and business continued as usual, completely unaffected by the conflict between the Ming Dynasty and the Ottoman Empire. The merchants in the French concession, in particular, not only prepared champagne but also opened a passage to the Ming concession, inviting Ming merchants for a drink.
Those who truly wanted to escape Istanbul were precisely the relatives of the nobles and ministers present, including the family of Mustafa Pasha and Suleiman. So, what else could the governor say? He could only accept the scolding obediently! Fortunately, Suleiman stopped the furious Mustafa Pasha and then instructed the governor, "Seal off all entrances and exits. Do not allow merchants from any country to leave Istanbul at will. Also, restrain the civilians in the city and prevent them from coming into conflict with the Ming merchants."
After the governor of Istanbul acknowledged, Suleiman said to Mustafa Pasha, "You also go and rally the Ottoman army. Gather as many as you can. I will go and talk to those Ming people first."
As the great Lu Xun once said: Ideals are plump, but reality is skinny. When Suleiman attempted to contact the Ming merchants in Istanbul, he received news that made him extremely frustrated. Although the Ming merchants in Istanbul were not numerous, there were dozens of them. If their followers and employees were included, the number could reach around one thousand.
As a fallen literati once said: When birds get big, all sorts of forests appear. If these dozens of merchant firms were in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, they would only be like a few ants. It wasn't that any yamen runner in Shuntian Prefecture could easily handle them, but at least these dozens of merchant firms would definitely not dare to speak loudly. The capital, under the Emperor's feet, the foremost place in the land, a brick thrown casually could kill a large number of high officials and dignitaries. A mere few dozen merchant firms were indeed not much.
The key was that these dozens of merchant firms were not in the capital of the Ming Dynasty, but in Istanbul. In the tiny city of Istanbul, dozens of powerful merchant firms were crammed in, and sometimes there were conflicts of interest between them. What would happen was self-evident. Business competition was one thing, but they had also engaged in physical altercations offline. If it weren't for the suppression by the Ming Dynasty's embassy in Istanbul and the Ming concession, these dozens of merchant firms might have been tearing each other apart.
Now, according to the information Suleiman received, not only had these dozens of merchant firms inexplicably gathered together, but they had also somehow acquired a large quantity of extremely fine military equipment. What was even more, these thousand or so people had congregated in the Ming concession in Istanbul, sending women and children into the concession while the able-bodied men, armed with various weapons, began patrolling in an organized manner.
In other words, the Ming merchants were fully prepared to engage in a fight with the Ottoman army at any moment. It was uncertain whether Suleiman could reach an agreement with those Ming merchants if he went to them now, but his personal safety would definitely be threatened, as no one knew if those Ming merchants would suddenly go crazy and use his head as a sacrifice.
However, if they were left to their own devices, the situation would inevitably slide into the worst possible scenario—Ming forces attacking from all sides, Ming merchants causing chaos in Istanbul, and a repetition of the Benghazi incident with the slightest misstep. The more Suleiman thought about it, the more his head ached. This was clearly no longer just a matter of merchants; it now involved the Ming concession in the Ottoman Empire. To communicate with the concession, one had to first communicate with the Ming Dynasty's embassy in the Ottoman Empire.
If the communication failed, the plan to kill all foreign concessions and merchants would likely fall apart. If Ming merchants could obtain various weapons, other countries might also be able to do so. At least the French concession certainly could. Whether England, the foolish eagle, or the silly goose could obtain them would have little impact on the overall situation.
However, before Suleiman could figure out how to communicate with the Ming embassy, a messenger dispatched by Mustafa Pasha rushed over, "Respected Grand Vizier, students from Istanbul University have started to cause trouble."
Suleiman's face darkened, and he asked, "What are they making a fuss about? Where is Mustafa Pasha?"
The messenger sent by Mustafa Pasha replied with a slight hesitation, "Those students learned about the casualties of the Sultan and the Janissaries, and also about the Ming Dynasty's declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire. They… they are demanding that the Ming people in Istanbul, and even throughout the Ottoman Empire, be expelled or killed immediately. Mustafa Pasha has already gone with his men. Perhaps… perhaps they might be able to disperse them."
After hearing the news brought by the messenger, Suleiman couldn't help but sigh. It truly was an instance of the Ming proverb: When the house is leaking, it's also raining heavily; when the ship is late, it encounters a headwind. With the current Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mahmud II, sent to feed the fish at the bottom of the sea, the entire Ottoman Empire had been in chaos like headless flies. Just as they had found a glimmer of hope for survival in desperation, these students were now causing trouble. This was a critical situation—if they were forcibly dispersed, it would easily alienate the students. If they were allowed to act unchecked, the entire Istanbul would descend into chaos. Another difficult choice. Suleiman couldn't even remember how many difficult choices he had made today! Was it really God's will to destroy the Ottoman Empire?
After careful deliberation for a long time, Suleiman simply instructed the messenger, "Go and keep an eye on Mustafa Pasha. If the students are willing to disperse obediently, then so be it. If they continue to make trouble, tell Mustafa Pasha to stabilize the students first and await my notification."
After the messenger hurried away, Suleiman, with a dark and sullen face, ordered his attendant, "Change course, go directly to the Ming concession's embassy."
…
Compared to the faintly chaotic city of Istanbul, the Ming concession appeared quite peaceful. Dozens of Ming merchants had gathered in the courtyard of the Ming Dynasty's embassy in the Ottoman Empire. The merchants who usually exchanged sarcastic remarks or even came to blows upon meeting now appeared exceptionally united.
Why wouldn't they be united? What was the point of scheming and struggling in business for a few paltry coins? Even if they made money, they couldn't take it with them when they died. How could it compare to military achievements? If they were fortunate enough to earn a first-class merit, it would not only be recorded in the family genealogy but also in the county gazette. And if they were lucky enough to achieve the first merit in capturing generals and capturing flags, or breaking through cities, their children would see their names in textbooks!
Therefore, Xu Hong, the Ming envoy to the Ottoman Empire, was extremely troubled, looking at the merchants as if they were fools, "Whether to fight or not, this is not something I can decide, nor is it something you can decide, understand?"
Old Master Hu, the leader among the merchants, rubbed his hands and chuckled, "Understand, we all understand. But Istanbul is already in chaos, and we are all prepared. If we don't make a move, wouldn't that be too much of a loss? Your Excellency, don't you want to have a separate page in your clan genealogy?"
Xu Hong glanced at the merchants and said angrily, "Of course, I do! But look where we are. This is the Ming Dynasty's embassy in the Ottoman Empire. I represent the Ming Dynasty now, and I represent His Majesty the Emperor. Can I unilaterally decide to fight? How dare you even think of such a thing!"
After scolding all the merchants into silence, Xu Hong snorted again, "Also, I must remind you: regardless of where you obtained those weapons, do not think of actively seeking trouble with the Ottoman Empire. It is not yet time."
Old Master Hu chuckled sheepishly, "Look at what you're saying. We obtained some weapons in the Ottoman Empire because this place is too chaotic. We just got them for self-defense, for self-defense."
Xu Hong snorted, but he didn't believe these merchants' nonsense at all. Merchants who claimed they wanted to fight the Ottoman Empire, who would dare to expect them to honestly play the role of grandchildren?
Just as Xu Hong was about to scold them further, a message came from the sentry at the gate. The Ottoman Grand Vizier Suleiman had arrived outside the embassy and intended to request an audience with Xu Hong.
ps: This book is almost coming to an end. From the day this theme was opened, it has been targeted and reported. Two days ago, it was reported again. Some things are truly amazing!
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